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City Defends Multi-Million Gallon Sewage Dump
April 9, 2006 at 2:00 AM HST - Updated July 11 at 6:55 AM
Mayor Mufi Hannemann defends the multi-million gallon sewage dump.
The City diverted 48 million gallons of sewage into the Ala Wai Canal.
(KHNL) -- Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann stands by the city's decision to divert millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the Ala Wai Canal, despite all the problems it's caused.
About 48-million gallons of raw sewage poured into water starting March 24th, when the force main burst, til it was repaired days later.
"There's a lot of armchair quarterbacking going on in terms of what could've, what should've, what have you," said Hannemann. "To me, very clearly, if people wanted their wastewater and sewage system improved, they should've elected me mayor in 2000."
"This problem was definitely inherited from the previous administration," said Kathi Brown, manager of the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water Act Compliance office.
Brown said under the administration of former Mayor Jeremy Harris, the EPA urged the city to assess and understand the status of its sewer pipes, so it can do preventative care and monitoring -- find weaker pipes and repair and replace them.
"The city had a plan to do that," said Brown. "We worked with them in 1995 to develop that. We've been concerned over last 10 years that not all of those projects have been completed."
Eric Takamura, the city's director of environmental services, said that the Harris administration knew that the main that broke last month was a potential problem, but didn't go forward with plans to replace it because of "strong public opposition."
Hannemann says the city set aside $600 million the last two years to improve and upgrade the wastewater system. He says that's the same amount Harris set aside in 10 years.
"There's a different sheriff in town," said Hannemann. "This is an administration that takes its responsibilities to maintain and repair things that are underground, not just things that are above ground which is what has happened in Waikiki."
Hannemann said diverting the sewage was the "last resort." He said some speculated that the sewage could've been moved by tanker trucks, or that a temporary bypass could've been built around the break.
"We really believe these are ludicrous ideas being put forth by people who don't have the professional or engineering background, or appreciate the complexity of the city's infrastructure," said Hannemann.
He says it would've taken 110 trucks to move that amount of sewage.
"It would take approximately three weeks to physically do a bypass," said Takamura.
Brown says the EPA hasn't made a decision on whether to fine the city for this sewage spill, but Hannemann says it was indicated to him that there was a threat of additional fines because of a lack of compliance during Harris' administration.
"We're hoping that the new administration will make this a priority and step up and start working on the wastewater system in Honolulu," said Brown.
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KidScoop Media a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit
Putting Kids Where News and Events Happen
KSM IN THE NEWS
NOTICE: Our website is currently in the process of being completely redesigned and is not being kept up-to-date on new events covered by KSM. Please look at our Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook feeds to see our kid reporters at work! If you would like to get involved with KSM or donate, however, those features are still live and being monitored.
KSM KidScoop Media Reporters
Daniella is 13. Her hobbies are making others laugh by being a silly comedian and her interests are pop culture, music, comedy, speaking in accents, improv and lots of laughing. She has covered Vice President Biden and interviewed Chelsea Clinton.
Gaby's bio coming soon! She has covered Air Force One and interviewed Vice President Biden!
Lucas is 12 years old and loves to play baseball and soccer. If he's not playing sports, then he's usually at band practice. Lucas has been the lead singer for School of Rock for over a year. He gets to perform at clubs all over Los Angeles, including Whiskey A Go-G0, the Hard Rock Cafe on Hollywood Blvd., and the House of Blues.
Jasmine's bio coming soon! She has interviewed Vice President Biden with KSM!
Matthew is 12 and loves history, politics, and science. An avid reader, Matthew loves to learn about everything ranging from European and American history to music and medicine. He plays the piano and clarinet as well as sings in a choir. Matthew also loves airplanes and the business of commercial aviation.
Sammy is a 12-year-old who has loved sports, books, and learning his entire life. This urge to learn has grown into a love for politics. His parents have taught Sammy that learning is very important and helped him realize that there is much more to the world than himself.
Sam is 15 and enjoys reporting on politics, the militrary and government. In May 2015 Sam had an extensive one-on-one interview with the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon. He has interviewed President Barack Obama at the White House, Vice President Joe Biden, and many other notables.
Alexis loves singing, dancing, acting and photography. Musical theatre is her true passion. She also enjoys volunteering with kids and animals. Alexis has reported from the red carpet at the 2014 "An Evening with Women" awards gala and covered the departure of Air Force One.
Shelby is a 13-year-old who loves music, art and Dr. Who. She's covered the Taste of the Nation event and interviewed Sarah McLachlan as a KSM reporter.
Thirteen years old, Cyrus loves trying different foods, seeing movies, and going to the skatepark with his friends. He loves reporting on food and tech!
Kai comes to KSM with reporting experience as the co-anchor of his school's weekly news program. He loves helping others, playing instruments, dancing and doing impressions of celebrities. Kai's first assignment was covering the Human Rights Campaign Gala on the red carpet!
Thirteen-year-old Madison loves cooking, playing softball and helping others. After a school trip to Skid Row in LA, she and three other students organized a blanket drive for the homeless and have continued it for three years. She has reported on Air Force One and attended two events hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama in Washington, DC.
Twelve-year-old Olivia enjoys playing her guitar, performing in the musical and theatrical arts, and she loves to sing. She's an avid volleyball player and varsity cheerleader. Though she's a resident of San Diego, she's a huge Seattle Seahawks and LA Dodger fan.
Joie-May
Joie-May is 13 years old and began singing with the Agape Youth Choir when she was 3. She has appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Ellen DeGeneres show, and sung with many artists, including Will.I.Am. Joie-May's first KSM event was interviewing Sarah McLachlan.
Molly enjoys competitive swimming, water polo, alternative music, and playing the violin in her school's classical and modern music ensembles. She first reported on Michelle Obama's speech at the Jane Ortner awards and is pictured here with her White House press pass.
Teela
Teela's bio coming soon! She has covered the White House Easter Egg Roll!
© 2014 by KSM KidScoop Media
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Edward W. Warren
Of Counsel Appeals
edward.warren@kirkland.com
View All Practices
Ed Warren concentrates his practice in the areas of appellate litigation, administrative law, environmental law, and toxic tort litigation.
Ed joined Kirkland & Ellis in 1970 and was a partner from 1975 to 2005. He served as a member of the Firmwide Management Committee from 1980 until 1993. Ed founded the Kirkland Environmental and Appellate practice groups.
Considered one of the "first generation" of environment attorneys, Ed was selected as one of America's Leading Lawyers for Business in Environment by Chambers USA 2005. Ed was also recognized as a "Washington, D.C. Super Lawyer" from 2007–2011 and in 2013 by Super Lawyers magazine.
Clerk & Government Experience
Extensive litigation experience under all of the federal health, safety and environmental statutes.
Appellate litigation including oral arguments in more than 40 significant cases before the U.S. Courts of Appeals, state Supreme Courts and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Successful litigation record including:
American Auto. Mfrs. Ass'n v. Massachusetts Dep't of Envt'l Protection, 208 F. 3d 1 (1st Cir. 2000) (invalidating Massachusetts zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) regulations under Clean Air Act preemption provisions.);
American Trucking Associations, Inc. v. EPA, 175 F. 3d 1027 (D.C. Cir. 1999) (companion cases invalidating ozone and particulate Clean Air standards on constitutional non-delegation grounds), certiorari granted (May 22, 2000);
Virginia v. EPA, 108 F.3d 1397 (D.C. Cir. 1997) (Clean Air case invalidating attempted EPA imposition of California Low-Emission Vehicle standards in 12 Northeast States and the District of Columbia.);
E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co. v. The Bush Ranch, Inc., 99 f.3d 363 (11th Cir. 1996) (reversing $115 million contempt fine in products liability case on constitutional grounds);
United States v. Hays, 115 S.Ct. 2431 (1995), on remand Hays v. Louisiana, 936 F.Supp. 360 (W.D.La. 1996) appeal dismissed, 116S.Ct. 2542 (1996) (mem.) (invalidating Louisiana Congressional redistricting plan on constitutional grounds);
Arkansas v. Oklahoma, 112 S.Ct. 1046 (1992) (reinstating Clean Water Act permit in interstate water pollution case);
Corrosion Proof Fittings v. EPA, 947 F.2d 1201 (5th Cir. 1991) (overturning EPA ban of asbestos under Toxic Substances Control Act);
Center for Auto Safety v. Thomas, 847 F.2d 843 (D.C. Cir.) en banc vacated, 856 F.2d 1557 (D.C. Cir. 1988) (en banc) (lead case of several against EPA and NHTSA in which we saved the automobile industry nearly $2 billion in CAFÉ fines); and
Indus. Union Dept., AFL-CIO v. American Petroleum Institute, 448 U.S. 607 (1980) (overturning occupational exposure standard for benzene on constitutional and statutory grounds).
Law ClerkHonorable Luther M. SwygertUnited States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit1969–1970
"Reforming Regulatory Reform: Doing Better with Less" (American Enterprise Institute) (forthcoming)
Edward W. Warren & Gary E. Marchant, "More Good Than Harm: A First Principle for Environmental Agencies and Reviewing Courts," 20 Ecology L.Q. 379 (1993). See also, "Judge Leventhal's Revenge: The Courts as "Gatekeepers" of Good Science after Daubert," 1994 Public Interest L. Rev. 93
Judicial Proceedings - D.C. Circuit, 140 FRD 481, 566-588 (1991) (panel consisting of Justices (then judges) R.B. Ginsburg and S. Breyer and Judges Easterbrook, Wilkinson and then Judge Starr discussing the elements of effective oral advocacy.
Adjunct Professor, University of Chicago (1994–present)
Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University, Administrative Law (1995)
Adjunct Professor, George Mason University, Appellate Litigation (1994–95, 1997, 1999)
Member, Board of Visitors, University of Chicago Law School
Chairman, Administrative Law Practice Group, Federalist Society
Member, American Law Institute, American Academy of Appellate Lawyers
Member, Court Appointed Scientific Experts Advisory Committee, American Association for the Advancement of Sciences
Admissions & Qualifications
1971District of Columbia
University of Chicago Law SchoolJ.D.1969
Yale UniversityB.A.1966
19 August 2010 Award The Best Lawyers in America 2011
15 September 2008 Award The Best Lawyers in America 2009
01 May 2006 Award America's Leading Lawyers for Business 2006: Environment
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We’re proud of our people, enthusiasm and remarkable service.
Proven expertise and dedication are at work for you
No one is better at doing what we do. Koverse technology enables global industry leaders to build scalable, secure and high-performing solutions. Our team’s unique experience and expertise enables us to tackle the most challenging problems. Our founders were among the first modern data scientists at the U.S. National Security Agency, building the data infrastructure to handle the most complex challenges with unprecedented scale, security and performance. Our founders also created Apache Accumulo, the scalable and secure data store system widely used in the most demanding environments. We are relentlessly dedicated to making sure we provide solutions that deliver the value you need. We’re not happy unless our customers are thrilled.
“We’re here to solve problems that were previously thought too difficult, enabling our clients to achieve new revenue and game-changing ways of doing business.”
—Jon Matsuo, Koverse CEO
Jon Matsuo
Jon is focused on helping organizations use data for strategic purposes — to drive new sources of revenue or fundamentally change the way they operate to give them a durable advantage or efficiency. His passion is building industry-leading companies.
Jon has over thirty years of executive leadership experience with a strong track record of building successful companies. Some of his responsibilities, prior to joining Koverse, included leading global sales and services at Qpass (acquired by Amdocs for $275 million), being the President of Concur Technologies (CNQR), and being a General Manager of Delrina Corporation (a public company acquired by Symantec). Jon is also a CPA with considerable strategic experience gained at Deloitte & Touche. He has served on numerous boards and advisory boards in Seattle and Vancouver BC. Jon holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from the University of San Diego.
With his expertise in building the world’s largest and most sophisticated data applications, Paul can help you understand how to quickly and powerfully leverage Koverse to achieve high-impact big data results.
Paul has over nineteen years of experience leading big data organizations, both commercially and in the government. He has overseen or advised dozens of big data efforts in intelligence, defense and finance, some of which rank among the largest and most sophisticated big data implementations in the world. Paul led the development effort that resulted in the Apache Accumulo project and the National Security Agency’s (NSA’s) first scalable data system, revolutionizing the way the NSA handles data. Paul also spent several years at Booz Allen leading big data implementations. Paul holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Washington and a Master of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Information Theory and Electronic Communications from The Johns Hopkins University.
Aaron Cordova
Co-founder and CTO
Aaron has built multiple, large-scale, big data systems that are used by the intelligence, defense, finance and healthcare industries. He has a passion for delivering products that are transformative, based on close customer collaboration and iterative development.
Aaron spent five years as a researcher for the National Security Agency (NSA) where he developed and deployed into operations dozens of advanced analytical techniques. He is also the founder of Apache Accumulo, a scalable and secure data store on top of Apache Hadoop and the author of the O’Reilly book, Accumulo: Application Development, Table Design, and Best Practices. Aaron holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Maryland College Park.
Caroline Becker
Resources Director
Caroline leads all corporate operations including finance, information systems, and human resources as Resources Director for Koverse.
Prior to Koverse, she led human resources and information systems management for 16 years at Cartesian, a consulting firm of industry experts in global telecommunications, media, and technology. Before that, she managed sales, marketing, training, IT, and accounting initiatives for The Protocol School of Washington. Caroline has a Bachelor’s degree from UC Davis and Masters in Science from Virginia Tech.
Chad Freeman
Director, Global Services
Chad is a technology leader with over 18 years of software architecture and development utilizing a wide variety of programming languages and data storage technologies.
Additionally, he is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute. Prior to joining Koverse, he worked with various government agencies implementing big data solutions utilizing the Apache Accumulo project. Chad holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science from Michigan State University and a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from University of Colorado in Denver.
Matsuo
Koverse Board Member
Sean has 25 years of experience in Finance, serving in leadership roles across a range of functions, including business strategy, venture investing and business COO. He has been with Credit Suisse since 2004. Currently Sean is Managing Director of Credit Suisse in the Asset Management Division which is responsible for $400 billion of assets under management. Mr. Flynn is Chief Operating Officer for the Americas where his responsibilities cover operational and governance oversight for the region, including regional strategy, business development and product development, distribution coordination and strategy, risk controls, regulatory change, and operations. He is a member of the AM Management Committee. Sean began his career as a Financial Economist at the US Treasury Department in Washington, DC, working on federal debt financing policy and financial markets initiatives. He also worked on counterfeit deterrence and the first redesign of US currency in more than 60 years. Sean is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Montclair Community Pre-K in Montclair, NJ, a non-profit public/private partnership dedicated to providing high-quality education to all young children in the community regardless of financial means. Mr. Flynn holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Notre Dame and undergraduate degrees in Economics and Business Administration from Benedictine College.
Janis Machala
Janis is an experienced corporate director, CEO and senior business executive. Janis has deep experience in the technology, higher education, and B2B software and services sectors. Some of her prior board experience includes independent director roles with Captura (sold to Concur), Chili!Soft (sold to Cobalt Networks), Lizard Tech (sold to AT&T), Performant (sold to Mercury Systems), Realit Works, and Tidemark Computer Systems (sold to Accela). As CEO, Janis was on the Pinnacle Publishing and ChiliSoft! boards. Janis is currently Chairman of the Board for FIRST Washington. As a community and industry leader, Janis has volunteered tirelessly to help America live true to its values (Humane Society and Junior Achievement), establish Seattle as a high-tech leader (NWEN, Tech Alliance, WBBA, WTIA) and to help make the region’s higher education institutions the most entrepreneurially productive in the country (Bellevue College, Lake Washington Institute of Technology, Seattle University, and the University of Washington). Janis holds a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in marketing from the University of Iowa. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in psychology and English from Augustana College (Rock Island, Illinois).
Sterling Wilson
Sterling is currently the President, CEO and a board member of Shiftboard, a leading provider of on-demand workforce management software. Previously, Sterling was the President, CEO and board member at Zettics, a venture capital backed big data analytics software company. He was also President and board member at Qpass, a venture capital backed digital commerce software company that was sold to Amdocs for $300 million. Prior to Qpass, Sterling spent six years as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Operations at Concur, where he helped grow the company from five employees to over 600 and led its IPO and secondary offerings. Sterling also served as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Operations at IntelliQuest, Inc., and Chief Financial Officer at Contact Software International. Sterling is currently on the Board of Directors of two Seattle based venture capital backed companies – Koverse and Yapta.
Careers at Koverse
Everyone is a key contributor to the value of Koverse. You may hear this from other companies, but we really mean it. If you’re a technical person, Koverse is an especially fun place to work – the problems are meaningful and the technology is cutting-edge. And there’s significant “work from home” flexibility and responsibility. You get to focus on important projects, and we offer a work/life balance. You own your path at Koverse and can grow your skills to the greatest level. Koverse values problem solvers and go-getters who exceed expectations in all that they do. We want to hear from you. Contact us at careers@koverse.com. Principals only, no recruiters please.
Account Executive (New York)
Account Manager (New York)
Data Scientist (Multiple Locations)
Senior Software Engineer (Multiple Locations)
Senior User Experience (UX) Designer (Seattle/Portland)
Software Engineer (Multiple Locations)
Solutions Architect (Multiple Locations)
Technical Project Manager – Product (Seattle)
Technical Project Manager – Services (Multiple Locations)
User Interface (UI) Developer (Multiple Locations)
Ready to get started? Have more questions? Want to see a Demo?
We invite you to learn more about how our Intelligent Solutions Platform delivers strategic value.
Or give us a call
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TVXQ and Super Junior Top Japan's Oricon Chart
TVXQ and Super Junior topped Oricon chart in Japan.
TVXQ took over the first place of Oricon's daily album chart with its new Japanese album 'WITH' that was released on December 17, while Super Junior topped Oricon's daily single chart with its new single 'MAMACITA-AYAYA-'.
TVXQ's new album has a total of 14 songs including its hits 'Sweat', 'Answer', 'Time works wonders', and Japanese version of 'Spellbound'. The album also includes the group's new songs such as 'Spinning', 'Chandelier', and 'With love'.
Super Junior's new single 'MAMACITA-AYAYA-' is Japanese version of the group's hit 'MAMACITA' that was released last September. The group has recently successfully finished its concert in Tokyo Dome and Osaka Kyocera Dome, and will hold 'SUPER JUNIOR WORLD TOUR SUPER SHOW 6 in FUKUOKA' on December 20.
Meanwhile, U-Kiss' 10th Japanese single 'SWEETIE' was ranked second on Oricon's daily single chart. 'SWEETIE' is a sweet ballad music, while U-Kiss will be back from Japan and will began preparing to release its new Korean album.
boy group japan music chart News oricon sm super junior tvxq ukiss
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President Trump returns to White House, removes mask
By Jana Katsuyama
President Trump returns to White House
President Trump's doctors say he still has quite a bit off monitoring after being released Monday from Walter Reed Medical Center. He immediately ignited a new controversy by declaring that despite his illness the nation should not fear the virus that has killed more than 210,000 Americans.
WASHINGTON - President Trump landed back at the White House Monday evening after three days of hospitalization at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The President was wearing a mask as he emerged from Marine One, but then, once he ascended the stairs to the White House balcony, the mask came off, he gave a double thumbs up, and shortly after posted a video on Twitter.
"I learned so much about the coronavirus and one thing that's for certain don't let it dominate you. Don't be afraid of it," said President Trump, at one point seeming to suggest his lack of masking and social distancing was a sign of leadership, "I know there's a risk, I know there's a danger but that's ok. And now I'm better."
Dr. Sean Conley, the White House physician said the President is expected to receive another dose of the drug remdesivir Tuesday. That's one of three drugs he received, along with an experimental antibody treatment, and the steroid Dexamethasone, which are not usually available to other Americans in similar conditions.The President's medical team says they will monitor the President.
"Though he may not entirely be out of the woods yet, the team and I agree in all our evaluations, most importantly, his clinical status, support the President's safe return home," said Dr. Conley.
"This is the strange part of this infection, is you can look like you're doing better at the beginning and then you can get more ill," said Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at University of California San Francisco.
Dr. Gandhi says President Trump, the First Lady and anyone else who tested positive should be wearing masks around others and isolating themselves.
"He is absolutely still infectious. If we date the time that he got the infection from Thursday, he is still in that 10-day period where he still has active virus," said Dr. Gandhi.
The number of White House cases continued to grow Monday. Another White House staffer, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany announced she too has tested positive for COVID-19 Monday morning and was not feeling ill. She said she planned to isolate for 14 days.
That makes at least thirteen people who have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending the September 26th Rose Garden Ceremony for Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court nomination. Video shows many people without masks, sitting shoulder to shoulder, hugging and shaking hands.
The White House is not doing contact tracing to track down and inform people at that event of the COVID cases, according to a report Monday by the New York Times.
"Reporters themselves aren't clear from the White House about who they were around, and when, and when those people got positive tests," said Amber Phillips, a Washington Post reporter.
There are questions about whether that disregard for health officials' recommendations might have put other people at risk unnecessarily.
The President was accused by critics of putting secret service agents' health at risk Sunday when the President left the hospital to take a ride past supporters outside.
"Testing your way is actually not the way to get out of COVID-19 because by the time you test positive, you're positive," said Dr. Gandhi.
"They are social distancing, they are hand-hygiene, and they are keeping universal masking on," said Dr. Gandhi, "And that's what we have to do for a while until we get to a vaccine, including the President and all of his affiliates."
Jana Katsuyama is a reporter for KTVU. Email Jana at jana.katsuyama@foxtv.com and follow her on Twitter @JanaKTVU or Facebook @NewsJana
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“We thank Miss Mary Tsingou”
By Virginia Grant| December 01, 2020
Whitney Spivey | Editor
Whitney Spivey Editor SHARE
A half-century after being mentioned in the footnote of a seminal physics paper, one of the Laboratory’s first computer programmers gets the recognition she deserves.
IN 1955, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory published the paper “Studies of Nonlinear Problems,” which detailed the methods and results of a mathematical physics simulation run on the MANIAC, the Laboratory’s first electronic computer. The scientists who wrote the paper—Enrico Fermi, John Pasta, and Stanislaw Ulam—were quickly recognized for the remarkable simulation, which came to be called the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam (FPU) problem. In a footnote, the authors wrote, “We thank Miss Mary Tsingou for efficient coding of the problems and for running the computations on the Los Alamos MANIAC machine.”
It would be decades before that footnote would gain attention from the global scientific community, but Mary Tsingou Menzel (her name since getting married in 1958) was well-known among her colleagues throughout her 40-year career as a mathematician and computer programmer at Los Alamos. Today, she sees that early simulation as only a blip in a career that included the development of the first hydrogen bomb and work on the proposed missile-defense program known as Star Wars (the Strategic Defense Initiative). Though she retired almost 30 years ago, some of her coding work is used to this day, and her legacy remains in the monumental work she performed as one of the first computer programmers of the 20th century.
Human calculators
In 1951, Mary Tsingou was an undergraduate studying mathematics and education at the University of Wisconsin when an instructor told her, “They’re looking for women mathematicians at Los Alamos.” The Korean War was on, and the Lab had found that hiring and training men as mathematicians was mostly futile because they were so often drafted. Faced with a job market that was particularly tough for female math teachers, Tsingou decided to apply. She landed the job, and on January 7, 1952, she moved to Los Alamos.
Upon being hired, Tsingou was flatly informed that she and the other young women would be paid less than men with the same skills and qualifications because “men were breadwinners and women were just supplementary.” Still, Tsingou was excited about work at Los Alamos; she had chosen the job over others at companies such as General Electric because “the salary was twice as much” and because she had never been out West. She also felt pride in her position, working at a national security science laboratory during the Cold War. “We were doing this in the same way young men went into the military,” she says of herself and her colleagues. “We knew it was something that was important for the country.”
Tsingou’s first job was in Theoretical (T) Division, and she worked in the T-1 group on calculations used in preparation for testing the design of the hydrogen bomb, which uses fusion (in addition to fission) to create an explosion even larger than the one an atomic bomb produces. Los Alamos was racing against the Soviets to develop the hydrogen bomb, and the calculations performed in T-1 were of vital importance in determining if and how such a device could be detonated.
Mary Tsingou in 1955.
Almost all the mathematicians who worked as human calculators at Los Alamos were women, most in their early 20s and just out of college. Using Marchant calculators—early machines that could add, subtract, multiply, and divide—they solved specific problems. Tsingou was surprised on her first day of work to discover that she wasn’t using her math degree—she was just using a calculator to add and subtract. “I was sort of disappointed,” she remembers. “When we get out of college, we say we’re going to set the world on fire,” but instead she was assigned what she calls “mundane types of jobs.”
Becoming a coder
Tsingou was soon recruited to work as one of the first programmers, or coders, of the MANIAC (Mathematical Analyzer, Numerical Integrator, and Computer). When the MANIAC was up and running, Tsingou says, the Lab didn’t have anyone to program it, so Jack Jackson, a Los Alamos programmer who later ran the aerospace division at IBM, gave a class on programming. “I was very interested in learning programming,” Tsingou says, “because it was pretty boring sitting there doing addition and subtraction.”
Tsingou’s job as a programmer was to tell the machine what calculations to perform, which required that she know binary (two-symbol) coding language. “It was a very rudimentary machine language,” Tsingou says. “It was nothing like what we have now.” The programming was extremely laborious. “You had to use what the machine recognized, which was only ones and zeros. We typed the directions on a tape and put it in the machine.”
While learning to work on the MANIAC, Tsingou was given the task of programming the computer to compute the sine of an angle (in a right triangle, the length of an angle’s opposite side divided by the length of the hypotenuse, which is the longest side). She checked and rechecked her work many times before running it through the machine. The first time she programmed her work into the MANIAC, her computation came out correct. She says, however, that this was the first and last time in her long career that she ever got a calculation to run correctly on the first try.
Tsingou soon moved to T-7, the MANIAC group, where she worked mostly with theoretical physicists Stanislaw Ulam and John Pasta. While much of their work was in weapons development, the physicists of T Division were also interested in fundamental science—that is, science that is developed purely for scientific advancement, often without a specific endgame. The MANIAC opened new avenues for such inquiry, and Pasta and Ulam were among those quick to explore them.
Operators work on the MANIAC in the 1950s.
The Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou Problem
Once the MANIAC was operational, physicists began trying to think of problems that could not be solved with hand calculations but that could be simulated on the computer. Simulations, now widely used but then in their earliest stages, use math to create models of how systems will interact or develop; simulations can tell us what would happen if something created theoretically were to happen in real life.
“I remember sitting there one day with Pasta and Ulam,” Tsingou says, as they brainstormed “some problems we could do on the computer, some really mathematical problems.” They tried several things, but, eventually, she remembers, “they came up with this vibrating string.”
The vibrating string was a theoretical experiment involving “a finite number of points” along a string “with ends fixed and [energy] acting on the elements of the string,” according to the resulting paper. Under the assumption that the string could move in all directions— not just back and forth—Tsingou programmed the MANIAC to simulate how energy would move between points on the string.
The scientists thought that the energy would eventually reach equilibrium, spreading out in an equal distribution along the string and settling that way. The result of the simulation was completely unexpected. “Let us say here that the results of our computations show features which were, from the beginning, surprising to us,” the authors wrote. The energy moved periodically between different points on the string, never spreading out and never coming to rest.
“I remember sitting there one day with Pasta and Ulam, [as they brainstormed] some problems we could do on the computer, some really mathematical problems. [They tried several things, but, eventually] they came up with this vibrating string.” —Mary Tsingou
The Fermi-Pasta-Ulam problem was a game changer for mathematics and science, and it was a seminal development in computational physics. The problem launched the field of nonlinear science and a number of other scientific concepts, including chaos theory, which posits that patterns exist even in seemingly random, complex systems.
The experiment proved that there were ways to simulate problems that could not be studied with literal experiments or solved with traditional theoretical methods of numerical analysis. According to Cynthia Reichhardt, a scientist in the current T-1 group, Physics and Chemistry of Materials, that revelation “combined with improvements in computer technology, led to the flowering of simulations as a third research approach, complementary to both experiments and traditional analytic theory.”
And in a 2009 American Scientist article, scholars Mason Porter, Norman Zabusky, Bambi Hu, and David Campbell claimed that the problem “rocked the scientific world” and “sparked a revolution in modern science.”
Fermi, Pasta, and Ulam developed the theory; Tsingou made it work. “They didn’t know anything about programming,” she remembers. “They set up the equations, and I did all the programming.” Tsingou is quick to mention that she was given credit in the paper as a programmer. But today, many scientists think she deserves more. In 2008, French physicist Thierry Dauxois argued in a Physics Today article, “Fermi, Pasta, Ulam, and a Mysterious Lady,” that Tsingou had not been given the credit she was due. “It is time for a proper recognition of her contribution,” he wrote. “Let us refer from now on to the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou problem.” As a result, some scientists now refer to the simulation as the FPUT rather than the FPU.
By today’s standards in the scientific community, Mary Tsingou would have been an author on the paper— she might have even been the first author, the person who contributed the most to the project. Among those who agree with the renaming of the problem is David Campbell, Professor of Physics, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering at Boston University and former director of the Center for Nonlinear Studies at Los Alamos. “Certainly,” he says, “today she would have been listed as co-author, which is why the current practice is to refer to the FPUT problem.”
Scientists Enrico Fermi, Stanislaw Ulam, and John Pasta authored “Studies of Nonlinear Problems,” the paper on the vibrating string experiment, which was programmed by Mary Tsingou.
The experiment set in motion the field of nonlinear science, currently studied worldwide, including at Los Alamos, where the Lab houses an entire Center for Nonlinear Studies. Nonlinear science, broadly defined, is the study of complex systems that are typically very difficult to solve because they can’t be broken down into smaller, simpler systems. The central ideas of the field, Campbell says, “have spread over essentially all scientific disciplines and also moved into the social sciences, altering the way we look at the world.”
Tsingou was asked to re-create and expand the simulation at times during her career. “I’m surprised that it got so much notice, even from the beginning,” Tsingou says. “Even when I was still working, people would call me up about it.” Researchers have picked up Tsingou’s work and continue it to this day, pushing the parameters further to see if the energy on the string will ever settle. So far, it has not.
Despite the experiment’s profound influence on modern science, Tsingou remains very humble about her work on the problem. Its name, she says, “didn’t matter to me. I was just doing the job. I was glad to get paid.”
A Fortran “paradise”
Though she initially agreed only to a six-month assignment on the MANIAC, Tsingou ended up working on the MANIAC until she temporarily left the Lab in 1954 to get her master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan.
After returning in 1955, she worked on various computers and projects, gaining particular notice for her expertise in an early programming language called Fortran.
“When Fortran came, it was almost like paradise,” she says. The new programming language was much less laborious than the language used for programming the MANIAC, and it was capable of commands that were impossible before, so programming the calculations was much easier and much faster.
As an early Fortran expert, Tsingou went on to many more career accomplishments, including editing and manipulating the Poisson Group codes. These codes were used on a number of Los Alamos projects, including a proton storage ring used to facilitate the acceleration of a beam of electrons so the beam could travel fast enough to, upon striking another material, cause the release of that material’s neutrons. Magnets were used to keep the beam going around the ring, so scientists needed precise calculations of the magnetic field.
The Poisson codes were also used for Tsingou’s work on programming a system for Star Wars that could pick out a nuclear weapon from a group of weapons, some nonnuclear. “The idea at the Laboratory,” Tsingou says, “was that the Soviets might send a nuclear warhead toward the United States that would be surrounded by missiles carrying nonnuclear warheads, leaving the United States unsure which one to take out in defense.” Tsingou worked with groups that “created simulations to detect which incoming objects were carrying nuclear weapons.”
People called from all over the country with questions for Tsingou about the Poisson Group codes. Frank Krawczyk, an Accelerators and Electrodynamics group scientist who currently manages the Poisson codes at Los Alamos, explains that the users of the codes are still widespread. “All U.S. national laboratories that use accelerators or electromagnetics in general are using the codes,” he says. Poisson is a teaching tool at universities and is included in the curriculum of the U.S. Particle Accelerator School. Tsingou’s team “helped develop software tools that changed the way scientists developed subsystems for accelerators,” Krawczyk says, and these same tools, “are still relevant in the 2020s.”
Before Tsingou retired in 1991, she was one of the main writers of the codes’ user manual. Although the manual has been revised over the years, sections of the current version are “mostly identical to the earlier versions,” according to Krawczyk.
In 2019, Mary Tsingou Menzel and her husband, Joe Menzel, were photographed in their Los Alamos home during an interview for the American Institute of Physics. David Campbell
Mary Tsingou lauds Los Alamos as a wonderful place to work, but she is also frank about the disparities in treatment of men and women throughout her career. “Unfortunately,” she says, “the men always got the more interesting problems, and the women were always relegated to the mundane—keeping the machine going and stuff like that.”
An anecdote told by Mary Kircher, another mathematician who started working at Los Alamos around the same time that Tsingou did, highlights the gender inequalities that were prevalent in the mid-20th century. “Back in the MANIAC days,” Kircher told an interviewer in 2002, “the first sign that it was really not going to be a woman’s job anymore was when Jack Jackson got some of the young men together—none of the women” for an important MANIAC project. “We were not invited.…And there was some bitterness about it, of course.…I know Mary [Tsingou] was upset.”
“We as women were expected to be second rate,” Tsingou says. She was repeatedly told by supervisors that they were trying to raise her salary to equal that of a man with her skills and experience; she never understood, she says, why they couldn’t just do it. Not long before she retired, Tsingou received a settlement from a gender inequity lawsuit filed against the Laboratory by Janet Wing, a fellow computer programmer; Tsingou used the money to buy a video camera for her then-pregnant daughter.
Tsingou still lives in Los Alamos with her husband, Joseph Menzel, whom she met in Los Alamos when he worked in protective forces. They live in the home they were assigned based on the Laboratory’s early point system, determined by salaries, how long they had worked at the Laboratory, and the size of their family. “At that time,” Tsingou says, “when you were married, you were only eligible for apartments, and then when you were at least three months pregnant, you were eligible to apply for a house.” The Menzels moved into their home when Tsingou was pregnant with their first daughter. Their two daughters now live in Texas and Pennsylvania, “but this is our place,” Tsingou says. “This is our home.”
Looking back on her career, Tsingou expresses fondness for the projects she worked on and marvels at the ways in which the world is different from what scientists of the mid-20th century thought it would be. “They thought nuclear energy was going to change the world,” she says, “but it’s the computers that have changed the world.”
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Milton Davis, Portrait of Yayoi Kusama, 2015-16, ink on paper, at the Main Museum; Credit: Shana Nys Dambrot
Artists of the Exceptional Children’s Foundation Grow Into Exceptional Adults
Shana Nys Dambrot August 28, 2018
The Main Museum’s summer show, “Common Ground,” pairs paintings, drawings and ceramics by Milton Davis and Vickie Uyeda — artists who are both longtime active members of the Exceptional Children’s Foundation family, despite leaving childhood behind many decades ago.
Milton Davis, Pancho Villa, 2017, ink and watercolor on paper; at the Main Museum; Credit: Shana Nys Dambrot
For 72 years the ECF has offered art classes and material creative support for people with special developmental needs — which includes adult courses and studio hours. Davis (b. 1949) is ECF’s record holder for longest time with the center, having spent five days a week for the last 50 years at its South L.A. and Westside art centers. For her part, Uyeda (b. 1958) has participated in the ECF Art Centers since 2004 and also spends five days a week making art.
More than a devotion to ECF, the two artists share interests in certain subject matter — landscapes especially, and pop-culture portraiture. But their styles almost could not be more diverse. Davis takes inspiration for his densely, almost obsessively patterned drawings from traditions of indigenous folk art and African textiles. Yet he uses this highly finessed and measured way of constructing his compositions to create rather magical, almost storybook images of nature and more archetypal figures like mothers and children.
Milton Davis, Untitled, 2010, ink on paper; at the Main Museum; Credit: Shana Nys Dambrot
Milton Davis, Mother and Child, 2018, ceramic; at the Main Museum; Credit: Shana Nys Dambrot
Vickie Uyeda, Picture of Birds, 2011, acrylic on paper; at the Main Museum; Credit: Shana Nys Dambrot
Uyeda makes thickly painted, expressive and emotional paintings with dramatic and eccentric color palettes and heavily textured surfaces. Her animal portraits, especially of birds and cats, but also her portraits of John Wayne and Dennis Rodman, are energized by her obvious love of paint itself, lavished on whatever subject captures her attention, and with elements of near-abstraction that support both the story and the mystery of her vision.
The conversation between their works is a poetic one, and the opportunity to appreciate the works of such talented but unknown artists is a gift — but the exhibition itself becomes even more special when considering its context as a success story from the universe of art therapy and continuing education.
Tip: Bring your smartphone and headphones to the museum during your visit to listen to the audio guide on-site.
The Main Museum, 114 W. Fourth St., downtown; (213) 986-8500, themainmuseum.org; Wed.-Sun., noon-7 p.m.; through Sun., Sept. 2; free.
Vickie Uyeda, Kiss, 2018, ceramic; at the Main Museum; Credit: Shana Nys Dambrot
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Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup
Steven Mikulan April 10, 2009
They Vant to Be Alone! The D.A.'s office is examining “dozens” of secrecy-obsessed county agencies accused of violating transparency and open-meeting provisions of the Brown Act. L.A. Times
It Was the Best of Times . . . After a long profit slide, Commerce-based 99 Cents Only stores are making out like bandits, thanks to the recession. Meanwhile, American Apparel continues to flounder, just as it faces a lawsuit from Woody Allen over AA's appropriation of Allen's image on its billboards. L.A. Business Journal, New York
Reality Check Talon Curtis returned a cashiers check for $357,960 she found on the ground. The issuing bank, Pacific Mercantile, instructed her to mail it to the recipient, but Talon managed to deliver it in person — “I just wanted to let her know that there are honest people left in this world.” Associated Press
The Gang's All Here The Sheriff's Department is claiming to have broken the back of an Antelope Valley gang known as the Lancas 13. Joining federal and state law enforcement officers, the LASD arrested 26 suspects Wednesday, in addition to 97 individuals prior to that day's sweep by 400 officers and agents. Antelope Valley Press
Jack Wrangler, 62 Gay porn icon John Robert Stillman, better known as Jack Wrangler, has died in New York of emphysema. Born in Beverly Hills into a dysfunctional Jewish-Catholic entertainment-industry family, Wrangler found his calling in 1970s porn, breaking through with Kansas City Trucking Co. In middle age the longtime Los Angeles resident married singer Margaret Whiting, a story told in the documentary Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon. L.A. Metblogs
Southland Congresspeople Bat for the C-17 Politically strange bedfellows Laura Richardson (D-Long Beach) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) are both fighting to save continued funding for the C-17 Globemaster, which Defense Secretary Robert Gates has put on his endangered-weapons list. At stake are 5,000 Boeing jobs in Long Beach, plus another 30,000 connected with a national supply network for the cargo-transport aircraft. Long Beach Press-Telegram
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Credit: Galen Palmer
Mr. Airplane Man's Margaret Garrett Comes Out of the Blue and Into the Sunlight
Falling James May 30, 2018
Just about every day, a solitary guitarist plugs into her portable practice amp and begins rehearsing at one of several secret outdoor locations around Silver Lake Reservoir. Most of the passers-by, joggers and dog walkers circling the reservoir don’t pay any attention or have any idea who the performer is.
But Margaret Garrett, half of the garage-blues duo Mr. Airplane Man, is not a typical meek folkie strumming airy songs in the park. Collaborating with drummer-keyboardist Tara McManus, Garrett is best known for creating stomping, hard-driving original songs that combine elements of blues, punk, garage rock and psychedelic pop into an unusually compelling and distinctively haunting mixture.
In the late 1990s, Mr. Airplane Man were based in Boston and went on tour and worked with their mentors, Morphine, and played on bills with The White Stripes, The Blues Explosion, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Reigning Sound. Because of their stripped-down guitar-and-drums instrumentation, they often were compared to The White Stripes, but Mr. Airplane Man crafted a stubbornly non-retro, distinctly feminine version of the blues that felt more deeply personal and soulfully entrancing than the more mannered and self-conscious blues affectations of Jack White.
The duo were fairly popular on the East Coast and in Europe, and released a series of prized recordings on Sympathy for the Record Industry and other underground labels in the early 2000s before Mr. Airplane Man mysteriously disappeared for the better part of a decade. McManus and Garrett moved away from each other and began raising their kids, and the group was seemingly forgotten until December 2014, when The Lost Tapes, a collection of unreleased 1999 recordings, was released out of the blue.
“We’re both single moms. We had a lot to juggle,” Garrett says in an interview at a picnic table on a sunny, breezy day in the park at the south end of the reservoir. “We had different bands, but we both missed playing together. We re-met in Boston and played a couple shows, and it felt amazing.”
Newly reinvigorated, Garrett and McManus flew to Europe and began recording the songs that would end up being released in 2016 as Geneva Session by Swiss tastemaker Robin Girod. Mr. Airplane Man also started working again with a former producer, Reigning Sound/Oblivians mastermind Greg Cartwright, and recorded an EP that will be released sometime this year.
Mr. Airplane Man; Credit: Galen Palmer
However, Garrett and McManus weren’t totally satisfied with these recordings. “I remember having a dream. There were mountains in the background, a lot of pollen — or maybe it was dream dust,” Garrett explains. “We had just recorded with some engineer whose face I couldn’t see.
“We were trying to find a label, but no one wanted to put it out,” she continues. “We raised the money on [crowd-funding site] Indiegogo to rent out Panoramic House,” a recording studio in Marin County, north of San Francisco. “It was a magical place on a cliff that overlooks the ocean at Stinson Beach. They had the best 2-inch tape, insane boards. … As we were driving through winding hills to the studio, it was just like my dream. The universe felt it had to be so that we should be there.”
McManus and Garrett rerecorded a few songs from the previous sessions, but they were so inspired by their surroundings that they wrote several new tunes that ended up on Jacaranda Blue, Mr. Airplane Man’s ninth album, which was released in March by Sympathy for the Record Industry, a seemingly dormant label whose recent revival echoes Mr. Airplane Man’s return.
Championed again by producer Girod, the two benefited from working with engineer James Finch. “Having just drums and guitar is a really great limitation,” Garrett says, but on Jacaranda Blue she and McManus found themselves “experimenting with making it sound fuller.”
Mr. Airplane Man’s stark early recordings occasionally had a bass guitar here or there, but on the new album multi-instrumentalist Girod fleshed out the duo’s songs with a lot more bass — as well as percussion, vibraphone, acoustic guitar and theremin. The new songs also have more of a psychedelic dimension, with Finch manipulating a space echo from under the control board to heighten Garrett’s vocals.
“James was down there with the echo flipping out while I was singing,” Garrett says. “We’ve always had a weirder side; we’ve never been a straight blues or straight garage band. … We like to get weird and psychedelic because it’s dreamy and cool. ‘I’m in Love’ has a John Lee Hooker feel, but when I sang it, I’d be thinking of Suicide’s Alan Vega, who had just died. Maybe he was visiting me.”
Jacaranda Blue by Mr. Airplane Man
Discussing the new album’s title, Garrett says, “Colors reflect moods and can bring you into moods. Our practice space was on a street lined with jacaranda trees. We’d come out of practice and feel high looking at this amazing color. … It makes me feel so happy, that color — and there is more than one shade of jacaranda — and that tree. It’s so ecstatic and happy to be alive. Just being here physically [in California] is this amazing experience. Yes, you’re running out of money and there are these difficult things to deal with, but there’s also this explosion of colors and life.”
The plan was for the duo to relocate together to Los Angeles, but McManus, 48, remains in Rhode Island and flies out for occasional shows to join Garrett, who now lives in Silver Lake. When they were living in separate cities over the past decade, Garrett was a member of Jack Oblivion & the Tearjerkers, while McManus played with Turpentine Brothers and Far Corners and now performs with Heavy Connection.
“It’s like being inside of a pinball machine,” Garrett, who was born in Cambridge and raised in Massachusetts, marvels about life in L.A. “I feel like it’s amazing to get anything accomplished here.” But she also feels energized by her new home. “In L.A., you can set up and play outside year round. I really like looking at trees and sunlight. It kind of gets me into a trance state,” she adds, pointing to her favorite tree — a tall, looming pine tree that’s leaning toward the reservoir. “People can hear me. That bothers me more than it does the people — I don’t like to insert myself into other people’s eardrums.
“I’m a loner. I sort of go off on my own and do my own thing,” says Garrett, who is so inspired by living in Silver Lake that she’s begun work on a solo album with Finch. Her new songs are less bluesy, ranging from sun-dappled pop reveries to trance-like Gnawa-style incantations. “I have to please myself. That’s how I’m doing my solo album. I have to sell my car, and with that money I’m going to put it out — that’s my soul. … Just to mend my broken heart, I come to the park. I come out here to play songs, and I don’t have to worry about what people think. I’m pleasing myself — I’ll play one song for an hour.
“The sun is working with me,” Garrett continues. “The birds are my audience; they totally land near me and make a lot of noise while I’m playing. You have to follow your bliss in each moment — somewhere, the universe meets you. … The solo album is going to be called ‘Something Silver Lake,’ like The Birds of Silver Lake or Sirens of Silver Lake or Sunbeams & Daydreams of Silver Lake.”
Garrett likely will preview some of her new solo songs as well as selections from Jacaranda Blue when she appears Friday night at Alex’s Bar as part of a benefit for beloved local scenester Sean Barger, who’s battling cancer. “Sean’s a friend through the music,” Garrett says. “I’m always asking Facebook friends for help — I’m one of those people — and Sean bonded with me and helped me when I moved out here. He’s like a kindred spirit; he’s from the heart. … Cancer is the ultimate thing you can’t control, and I’m a control freak.
“I really appreciate Sean’s spirit,” Garrett confides. “He’s been really brave. I’m inspired by him. His support has helped me through my own hard times.”
Margaret Garrett performs at the benefit for Sean Barger, along with punk mainstays Shattered Faith, His Eyes Have Fangs, The Mormons and Portions, at Alex’s Bar, 2913 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach; Fri., June 1, 8 p.m.; $10. (562) 434-8292.
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Sociology, B.A.
COESS Degree Programs
College of Education and Social Sciences
Sociology (Minor)
Social Analysis (Minor)
Fall 2020 Course Offerings
Sociology Faculty
Sociology faculty members bring versatile academic backgrounds and plentiful professional experience to the classroom. With dedication to teaching and passion for the subject, professors guide students through hands-on learning and academic coursework.
Dr. Tennille Nicole Allen
Professor, Department Chair
allente@lewisu.edu
2009 Ph.D. Northwestern University
2001 M.A. Northwestern University
Tennille Nicole Allen, Ph.D. is Professor and Chair of Sociology at Lewis University. She is also the director of both African American and Ethnic and Cultural Studies. Her primary teaching and research interests are in the intersections of race, class, gender, identity, and place. She is the author of works on social networks, food inequities, the sociological contributions of Zora Neale Hurston, as well as African American intimate relationships, and African American cultural and creative practices. Her current research centers African American girls and women living in Joliet and Chicago as they understand and create resilient and resistive practices in their lives. She also engages and teaches experiential learning courses in community-based participatory research in communities in Joliet and Chicago.
Dr. Thomas Brignall, III
brignath@lewisu.edu
BE150A
2001 Ph.D Western Michigan University
Dr. Brignall specializes in the sociology of social change, multicultural studies and technology in society. Dr. Brignall is the author of two forthcoming books about the Internet's impact on society. He enjoys helping students develop, present and publish their research.
Dr. Jennifer Tello Buntin
buntinje@lewisu.edu
BE160C
2010 Ph.D., University of Chicago
2001 M.A. University of Chicago
1996 B.A., University of Oklahoma
Jennifer Tello Buntin is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Director of the Latin American and Latina/o Studies program at Lewis University. Her research and teaching interests focus on the Latinx experience in the U.S., international migration, social inequality and the intersectionality of race, class and gender. Before starting her position at Lewis University, she was a visiting assistant professor at the Julian Samora Research Institute at Michigan State University and held teaching positions at North Central College and the University of Illinois-Chicago. She received her Ph.D. from the Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago in 2010.
Dr. Gail Gehrig
gehrigga@lewisu.edu
1980 Ph.D., Loyola University
1969 M.A., University of Missouri
1968 B.A., University of Missouri
Dr. Gehrig specializes in criminology and multicultural studies. An advocate of engaged sociology, she encourages students to apply sociology to solve social problems. Dr. Gehrig has published articles on cultural diversity, and is currently conducting research on engaged service learning.
Dr. Carlene Sipma-Dysico
sipmadca@lewisu.edu
BE160B
2013 Ph.D. Loyola University Chicago
1997 M.A. San Diego State University
1988 B.A. University of North Carolina Wilmington
Dr. Sipma-Dysico teaches courses which examine race, gender, and social class inequities, the causes and outcomes of violence, restorative justice and peacemaking, and inequalities in the criminal justice system. She is an alumnus of Loyola University Chicago where her dissertation research explored the reentry experiences of formerly incarcerated men returning to a suburban city from prison. Before coming to Lewis, she was a Research Associate at the George Washington University School of Medicine studying the impact of breast cancer on families and a Visiting Professor of Sociology at North Central College. was a Research Associate at the George Washington University School of Medicine studying the impact of breast cancer on families and a Visiting Professor of Sociology at North Central College.
Her research interests include race, poverty and place, First Generation college students, cultural survival and social/environmental activism of indigenous peoples, and the economic, environmental, and post-civil war structural violence experiences of the Maya of Guatemala.
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The LexGaze Weekly - MESSAGES
Message from the Editorial Desk
Aarushi Relan, Editor, IPR, LexGaze
Issue 26 | January 10, 2021
Mrs. Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, the UNFCCC, while observing the role of traditional knowledge in climate change, remarked, “Indigenous people and communities must be a part of the solution of climate change. As traditional knowledge has been rooted from your ancestors, it cannot be understated and is essential in finding solutions to present and future”. However, the increasing rate of bushfires in Australia and similar events across Brazil, India, and some parts of the US have caused extensive disruption to living organisms and have been the media's centre of attraction. With a lot of regions across the globe becoming victims of bushfires due to emissions, global temperature rise, etc., surprisingly, Brazilian forests, which are maneuvered by tribes and indigenous people, had almost 30 times lesser emissions due to their near-zero deforestation rate compared to the forests which were outside such protected areas. In the South Indian State of Andhra Pradesh, the Konda Reddis tribal communities traditionally grow different varieties of crops to minimize the risk of crop failure caused by climate change or other such natural calamities. In Sikkim, the Dzumsa of Lachen have successfully overcome the adverse effects faced by the region due to climate change through the usage of conventional, traditional knowledge. Along similar positive lines, the Bangladeshi indigenous people have developed various floating gardens, in order to tackle the situation of floods. Whereas, in Australia, the groups of aboriginal people have come up with the strategy of igniting small-scale fires in order to prevent intense levels of bushfires. Such instances and efforts signify and remark how traditional knowledge and folklore act as significant Intellectual Property (IP) tools where the community members of the society innovate, to control climate change and protect the environment by their cultural expressions.
The engagement of indigenous communities is perpetually a must in attaining a low-carbon future and in combating the effects of climate change. For starters, indigenous communities are closely linked with the local biodiversity and ecosystem. This means that such communities will be more vulnerable to adverse changes in climate. Secondly, indigenous communities possess the authentic knowledge of the environment, which is quite critical for adapting to a gradual climate change. Volume 2 Issue 1 of The LexGaze Weekly tries to delve deeper into the nuances of TK and TCEs vis-a-vis Intellectual property rights. With the contentment that the readers will have a lot of takeaways from this issue, I wish you all a Happy New Year on behalf of LexGaze.
RELATED TLW SECTIONS
Stalwarts
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Local campaign organisations
Brexit World
Brexit Backgrounders
Brexit Images
The way you look at life
L4E secretary Andy Pye talks to his friend and former business colleague Chris Rand, who came down from Cambridge to experience his first London march for the Remain campaign.
The Remain campaign is now more than a protest. We are, as Mike Galsworthy (Scientists for Europe) says, building a community. A community which is based on a solid foundation, is here to stay and will sustain until the end of the Brexit episode. It is a community which can put comfortably over a million like-minded people onto the streets of London. A community which can get over 5 million people to sign a petition to Revoke Article 50. Please sign if you have not done so to date. Both of these figures are unheard of in previous protest movements. How extraordinary that as many as 1 in 40 of the entire population of the UK took time off to visit London and protest - just think of what that means.
Chris (second right) with TIG celebrities
Where is the biggest concentration of political engagement right now? It's not with the Tories, or Labour, or the Farageists. It's Remain - an unprecedented grassroots movement that has nothing to do with the old politics and is set to turn it upside down. Ignore it at your cost.
Talking to a marcher in the park, he emphasised one important fact to highlight that hasn't had any press coverage. A march of over a million with no violence - not even smashed windows - is extraordinary and perhaps unique. Contrast that with leave death threats. In fact, we don't need to make the contrast. It's there for everyone to see. But we should emphasise it again and again.
My friend and former colleague Chris Rand came down from Cambridge on the morning train. The crowds were so large that we only met up via text! He takes up the narrative:
"I wonder what the early 80s me would have said, had he seen a vision of me standing in Whitehall in my fifties cheering Michael Heseltine? Actually, they'd probably have said: "I knew you'd turn into a Tory", and then been even more confused to find out they were wrong!
"Sometimes big events happen, and you could have gone but didn't. We all have our regrets: for me it's Live Aid, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iraq War march. I could have gone to see each of them. I made my excuses. This morning I woke up and thought: "The People's Vote March is going to be huge, and I'm an hour away on the train. Of course I'm going to go". And so I did.
"What a fabulous event. A million people, they say. And everyone was so nice – it was an utter pleasure to chat to every stranger I met (four of them MPs!). It made me realise something else: EU membership/Brexit is a political issue, but the reason it's divided parties is because the side of the fence you sit on isn't to do with politics – it's to do with the way you look at life.
"Today's march was for the positive people, the outward-looking ones – yes, the sort of people I want to spend my life with. Many miles away, the execrable Nigel Farage sat in a sad pub car park with a few dozen supporters and even on the TV, you could just feel the spitefulness in their comments. 'No more Mr Nice Guy,' he promised. Yes, half of the country may have voted for Brexit, but maybe that's because half of the country are joyless people; they're driven by what they resent. Many have been dealt a bad hand, and have an excuse. But others are just awful individuals."
Perhaps it is unfair to say that all leavers are joyless? Some were misled by the lies on the red bus of promises to plough more money into the NHS if we left and who wouldn’t want that?
"It is true that many people were misled," says Chris. "People I've met who've changed their minds are usually the sort of caring folks who I would have been surprised to have found voted to leave in the first place. There seem to be surprisingly few of them, however, and that's why I think the reason for voting to leave the EU comes from something deeper than conventional politics. After all that we now know to be true, it's been my experience that 'leavers' who haven't changed their minds are people whose outlook is driven more by distrust of others. The reason we're still waiting for a rational economic explanation to leave the EU is that there never was one; it was about wanting to close our doors on those who aren't like us."
But this was a good day that shows we have a chance of digging ourselves out of the Brexit madness. There were many leave voters present who had changed their minds and were now directing their anger at the lies of the Brexiteers.
Final words from Chris: "A million people in London this afternoon were from a different half of the population – the ones who are driven by what they love. Count me in with those."
Chris Rand
@ChrisRandWrites
The London4Europe blogs page is edited by Nick Hopkinson (Vice-Chair). Articles on this page reflect the views of the author, not necessarily of London4Europe.
Do YOU have experiences to share about Saturday's Put it to the People March? If so, why not send them to us as a blog?
london@euromove.org.uk
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Tactical Asset Management
International Women's Day #BeBoldForChange
Suzanne Abrams | March 08, 2017
While women should be celebrated all year, March is designated as Women's History Month (March 8 is International Women's Day). Around the world, various events such as conferences, exhibitions, concerts, speakers and festivals will help celebrate women’s ongoing contributions to our global community.
The need to recognize women’s significant impact is ongoing as women continue to fight for equality: in the United States, for example, gender and racial wage gaps still exist. At Lundeen Abrams Advisors, we are committed to giving women financial tools to be able to continue contributing to our communities in impactful, profound ways.
How Women’s History Month Started
The first National Woman’s Day was observed in the United States in 1909 in honor of the 1908 garment workers’ strike in New York, and the first International Women’s Day was marked in 1911 in a few European countries. In 1975 during International Women’s Year the United Nations started celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8th. It wasn’t until 1980 that President Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation which established the week of March 8th as National Women’s History Week, and in 1987, Congress declared March as National Women’s History Month.
For the past 30 years the National Women’s History Project has honored a group of women from various fields who have had a significant impact on our society and beyond. Past honorees include U.S. Representative Shirley Chisholm, author Willa Cather, Coretta Scott King, Eleanor Roosevelt and Minnesota resident Sister Mary Madonna Ashton, CSJ who is a public health leader and a former Minnesota Commissioner of Health. This year, the organization’s theme is “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business,” which recognizes that while women have always worked, their work has been undervalued and often unpaid.
This year’s 13 honorees include equal pay activist Lilly Ledbetter, labor organizer Lucy Gonzalez Parsons, CEO and Chairman of Pinnacle Group Nina Vaca and Norma Yaeger, who was the first woman stockbroker to be permitted on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. These women join the ranks of generations of women who have made historically significant contributions to our society, though some stories often remain untold.
By marking Women's History Month, we can pay tribute to all the women of vision who have given their time, their expertise and their passion to important causes, often at a great personal expense. Some people may ask why we don’t have a men’s history month. Consider these two facts: first, women in the United States have had the right to vote for less than 100 years; and second, 59 countries around the world have had a female leader in the last 50 years, but the United States still has not.
March 8th, which is also known as the United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace, marks International Women’s Day. The roots of this annual holiday are in the labor movements at the turn of the twentieth century. Considering that the World Economic Forum predicts the gender wage gap won’t close until 2186, days and months that recognize women’s achievements continue to be necessary.
Women need to learn the stories of the generations of women who came before us, and we need to empower the next generation to believe in our equality. The United Nations continues to be an exemplar in promoting the importance of women as the equal participants with men in achieving worldwide peace, security, respect for human rights and sustainable development. In recognition of Women's History Month, there are a number of events and celebrations around the world.
This year’s theme of International Women’s Day is “Be Bold For Change,” with a focus on creating a more inclusive, gender-equal world. To learn more about International Women’s Day and to access resources about local events in Minneapolis, visit the International Women’s Day website, or check social media including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram for the trending hashtag: #BeBoldForChange
We hope that, this year especially, women and men celebrate Women's History Month (March 8 is International Women's Day) and continue to recognize the profound ways women have shaped our society. At Lundeen Abrams Advisors, we celebrate women’s achievements year-round and are here to help you achieve your financial goals. Contact us today.
Lundeen Abrams Advisors
suzanne@lundeenabrams.com
Lundeen Abrams Advisors (“RIA Firm”) is a registered investment adviser located in Minnetonka, MN. Lundeen Abrams Advisors may only transact business in those states in which it is registered, or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration requirements. Lundeen Abrams Advisors' web site is limited to the dissemination of general information pertaining to its advisory services, together with access to additional investment-related information, publications, and links. Accordingly, the publication of Lundeen Abrams Advisors' web site on the Internet should not be construed by any consumer and/or prospective client as Lundeen Abrams Advisors' solicitation to effect, or attempt to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, over the Internet. Any subsequent, direct communication by Lundeen Abrams Advisors with a prospective client shall be conducted by a representative that is either registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration in the state where the prospective client resides. For information pertaining to the registration status of Lundeen Abrams Advisors, please contact the state securities regulators for those states in which Lundeen Abrams Advisors maintains a registration filing. A copy of Lundeen Abrams Advisors' current written disclosure statement discussing the RIA Firm’s business operations, services, and fees is available at the SEC’s investment adviser public information website – www.adviserinfo.sec.gov or from Lundeen Abrams Advisors upon written request. Lundeen Abrams Advisors does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to Lundeen Abrams Advisors’ web site or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility therefore. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.
This website and information are provided for guidance and information purposes only. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy. This website and information are not intended to provide investment, tax, or legal advice.
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The Feeling of Jazz – Spotlight on Howard McGhee
By dwoodworth • Jan 10, 2021
The Feeling of Jazz, Hour-1, 01-10-2021
The Feeling of Jazz, Program No. 409 airing December 27, 2020 featured a spotlight on American jazz trumpet player Howard McGhee.
Credit Bethlehem Records.
The Feeling of Jazz, program No. 409 airing January 10, 2021 featured a spotlight on American jazz trumpet player Howard McGhee (March 6, 1918 – July 17, 1987) in music presented by Kent Lindquist. Meanwhile, co-host Al Corns featured other main stream jazz artists like Ruby Braff, Scott Hamilton, Lester Young, John Coltrane and more. Engineered by Dave Woodworth.
8 p.m. Hour - Music by Title, Artist, Album Composer, Time length
1. Who Killed Cock Robin?, Howard McGhee, Howard McGhee - The Classic 1960s Albums Music from The Connection (Orig. LP: Felsted/Enlightenment), Freddy Redd, 4:27 min.
2. Rockin Chair, Ruby Braf-Scott Hamilton, A First (Concord 1985), Hoagy Carmichael, 4:31 min.
3. The Sound of Music, Howard McGhee, Dusty Blue (Bethlehem 1961/Enlightenment), Rodgers-Hammerstein, 3:22 min.
4. Just You, Just Me; Lester Young, The Complete Lester Young (Mercury 1987), Jesse Greer-Raymond Klages, 3:09 min.
5. You Stepped Out of a Dream, Howard McGhee, Together Again (Contemporary/Enlightenment), Brown-Kahn, 7:19 min.
6. You Don't Know What Love Is, John Coltrane, Ballads (Impulse 1963), Gene DePaul, 5:09 min.
7. Willow Weep For Me, Howard McGhee, Maggie's Back In Town (Verve), Johnny Hodges, 9:20 min.
8. Little Rabbit Blues, Johnny Hodges, The Big Sound (Verve), Johnny Hodges, 9:20 min.
1. Shades of Blue, Howard McGhee, The Sharp Edge (Fontana./Enlightenment), Howard McGhee, 5:10 min.
2. Once In a While, Julian Priester, Keep Swingin' (Riverside 1960), Michael Edwards-Bud Green, 5:19 min.
3. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out, Howard McGhee, Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out (United Artists), Cox, 2:40 min.
4. Cheek to Cheek, Kai Winding, Kai Winding All Stars (Fresh Sounds), Irving Berlin, 2:51 min.
5. Mug & McGhee, Howard McGhee, House Warming (Argo), Paul, 5:00 min.
6. The Bearded One, Nat Pierce, Kansas City Memories (Coral 1957), Nat Pierce, 3:22 min.
7. Time to Smile, Howard McGhee, Music From The Connection (Felsted/Enlightenment), Freddy Redd, 3:57 min.
8. A Smooth One, Kenny Burrell, A Generation Ago Today (Verve 1967), Goodman, 3:39
9. Sweet Loraine, Kenny Davern-Flip Phillips, John and Joe (Chairascuro 1977), Cliff Burwell-Mitchell Parrish, 4:25 min.
10. Maggie's Back In Town, Howard McGhee, Maggie's Back In Town (Contemporary 1961), Teddy Edwards, 10:40 min.
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Mines Act (Northern Ireland) 1969
Acts of the Northern Ireland Parliament
1969 Chapter 6
Previous: Part
Next: Part
Point in Time (01/01/2006)
Changes over time for: PART II
Version Superseded: 01/02/2017
Point in time view as at 01/01/2006.
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Mines Act (Northern Ireland) 1969, PART II.
PART IIN.I.MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL
N.I.Managers and under-managers
2Appointment, and general duties and powers, of mine managers.N.I.
(1)Subject to the following provisions of this Act, no mine shall be worked unless there is a sole manager of the mine, being an individual duly appointed and having such qualifications, if any, as are required by or by virtue of the said provisions.
(2)The manager of a mine shall have the management and control of the mine, exercisable subject to any instructions given to him by or on behalf of the owner thereof, and shall also—
(a)have the duty of securing the discharge by all others of obligations imposed on them with respect to the mine by or by virtue of the following provisions of this Act; and
(b)have such duties with respect to the appointment of persons to carry out inspections of the mine and to be in charge of, or to supervise or conduct, operations thereat, and such other duties, and such powers, as are imposed or conferred on him by or by virtue of the following provisions of this Act.
(3)The manager of a mine shall be appointed by the owner thereof who, if an individual, may appoint himself subject, in the case of a mine whereof the manager is by or by virtue of the following provisions of this Act required to hold qualifications for his office, to the possession by the owner of those qualifications.
3Rights of mine manager with respect to instructions given by or on behalf of owner.N.I.
(1)Any instructions given to the manager of a mine by or on behalf of the owner thereof, being instructions affecting the fulfilment, in relation to the mine, by the manager of statutory responsibilities of his, shall, so far as they are not written, be confirmed in writing by the person by whom they were given forthwith after the making of a request in that behalf by the manager.
(2)Except in a case of emergency, neither the owner of a mine nor a person acting on his behalf shall, except with the consent of the manager of the mine, give, otherwise than through the manager, any instructions to a person employed at the mine who is responsible to the manager; and where the owner of a mine or a person acting on his behalf gives, in either of the said excepted cases, instructions which, apart from the exception, would be required to be given through the manager of the mine, the person who gave the instructions shall, forthwith after he has given them, inform the manager of the substance thereof and, if requested so to do by the manager, confirm them in writing forthwith after the making of the request.
The foregoing provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any instructions given by an under-manager of a mine or a person appointed by the manager of a mine in pursuance of this Act or regulations.
(3)Where, in the case of a mine whereof the manager is by or by virtue of the following provisions of this Act required to hold qualifications for his office, instructions are given by or on behalf of the owner of the mine to the manager of the mine, an under-manager thereof or a person appointed by the manager in pursuance of this Act or regulations, then, if the manager is of opinion that the execution of the instructions would or might be likely to prejudice the safety or health of the persons employed at the mine (or any of them) or to impede him in the discharge, in relation to the mine, of any duty imposed on him by or by virtue of this Act, he may,—
(a)in a case where the instructions are given to him, decline to execute them until they are confirmed in writing by a person qualified for appointment as manager of the mine who is authorised in writing by the owner of the mine to confirm instructions given as aforesaid;
(b)in any other case, direct that the instructions be not executed until they are so confirmed by such a person.
The foregoing provisions of this subsection shall not apply to instructions given by an owner of a mine who is an individual or by such a person as is mentioned in paragraph ( a).
(4)Where, in the case of such a mine as is mentioned in subsection (3), instructions are given and confirmed as therein mentioned, the document by which they are confirmed shall be preserved by the manager of the mine, and a copy of that document shall be preserved by the owner of the mine, in each case for three years after the instructions cease to be operative.
4Qualifications of mine managers.N.I.
(1)No person shall be qualified to be appointed or to be the manager of a mine of coal, stratified ironstone, shale or fireclay at which more than thirty persons are employed below ground unless he is the holder of a first-class certificate of competency valid with respect to the mine, has attained the age of twenty-six years and satisfies such other conditions, if any, as may be prescribed.
(2)No person shall be qualified to be appointed or to be the manager of a mine of coal, stratified ironstone, shale or fireclay at which more than fourteen but not more than thirty persons are employed below ground—
(a)except in a case falling within paragraph ( b), unless he is the holder of a first-class or second-class certificate of competency valid with respect to the mine, has attained the age of twenty-three years and satisfies such other conditions, if any, as may be prescribed;
(b)in a case where there is for the time being in force a direction, given by[F1 the Executive] by notice served on the owner of the mine, that this paragraph shall apply to the mine, unless he is the holder of a first-class certificate of competency valid with respect to the mine, has attained the age of twenty-six years and satisfies such other conditions, if any, as may be prescribed;
but the Ministry may, by notice served on the owner of any such mine as aforesaid, exempt the mine from the provisions of this subsection.
(3)In the case of a mine of coal, stratified ironstone, shale or fireclay at which not more than fourteen persons are employed below ground,[F1 the Executive] may by notice served on the owner of the mine direct that this subsection shall apply to the mine and, while the direction remains in force, no person shall be qualified to be appointed or to be the manager of the mine unless he is the holder of a first-class or second-class certificate of competency valid with respect to the mine, has attained the age of twenty-three years and satisfies such other conditions, if any, as may be prescribed.
Subs.(4) rep. by SR 1980/333
F1SR 1999/150
5Limitation on number of mines which a person may manage.N.I.
(1)No person shall, without the approval of[F2 the Executive], be manager of more than one mine unless the surface entrances to all the shafts and outlets for the time being in use at all the mines of which he is manager lie within a circle whose radius is[F3 4 kilometres].
(2)Where a person is manager of two or more mines and it appears to the Ministry that by reason thereof the fulfilment, in relation to those mines or any of them, by that person of statutory responsibilities of his is prejudiced, the Ministry may serve on the owner of each of the mines of which the first-mentioned person is manager a notice directing that the person who is the manager of such of those mines as may be specified in the notice shall not also be the manager of the others or of such of them as may be so specified.
6Under-managers.N.I.
(1)For any mine there may be one or more under-managers and (subject to the following provisions of this section and to the following provisions of this Act) in the case of—
(a)a mine which, by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this Act, cannot lawfully be worked unless the manager thereof is none other than the holder of a first-class certificate of competency, being a mine whereof the manager is also the manager of another mine; and
(b)a mine (other than one falling within the foregoing paragraph), being a mine with respect to which there is for the time being in force a direction, given by[F4 the Executive] by notice served on the owner of the mine, that, on the ground of the size or condition of the mine or the system of working it being such as, in the opinion of[F4 the Executive], to render it inexpedient that it should be worked unless there is at least one under-manager, this paragraph shall apply to the mine;
the mine shall not be worked unless there is at least one under-manager.
(2)If[F4 the Executive] is satisfied with respect to any such mine as is mentioned in paragraph ( a) of subsection (1) that it is unnecessary to require the appointment of an under-manager for the mine,[F4 the Executive] may, by notice served on the owner of the mine, direct that so much of that subsection as prohibits the mine's being worked without there being at least one under-manager shall not have effect with respect to the mine.
(3)The jurisdiction of an under-manager of a mine may be limited to part of the mine, but a mine the working whereof is unlawful unless there is at least one under-manager shall not be worked unless every part thereof below ground is within the jurisdiction of the under-manager or (where there are two or more under-managers) some one of them.
(4)It shall be the duty of an under-manager of a mine, to the extent of his jurisdiction thereover, to supervise all operations carried on thereat and, to the best of his ability, to execute and enforce with respect to the mine the provisions of this Act, orders made thereunder and regulations.
(5)No mine of coal, stratified ironstone, shale or fireclay (being a mine which, by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this Act, cannot lawfully be worked unless the manager thereof is none other than the holder of a first-class certificate of competency) shall be worked so long as a person is under-manager thereof who does not satisfy the following conditions, namely, that he is the holder of a first-class or second-class certificate of competency valid with respect to the mine, that he has attained the age of twenty-three years and that he satisfies such other conditions, if any, as may be prescribed; and provision may be made by regulations for requiring that no mine (other than as aforesaid) shall be worked so long as a person is under-manager thereof who does not satisfy such conditions as may be prescribed.
(6)An under-manager of a mine shall be appointed by the owner thereof.
7Temporary appointments during vacancy in office of mine manager or under-manager.N.I.
(1)Where, by reason of death, resignation or other cause, a vacancy occurs in the office of manager of a mine, nothing in section 2 shall prevent the mine's being worked at any time during a period not exceeding seventy-two days (or such longer period as[F5 the Executive] may allow) until the vacancy is filled, if at that time there is a person appointed by the owner of the mine to exercise the powers and perform the duties of manager of the mine during a vacancy in the office, being a person who, at that time, is or could be an under-manager of the mine without the working of the mine thereby being rendered unlawful by or by virtue of section 6(5).
(2)Where, in the case of a mine the working whereof is unlawful unless there is at least one under-manager, a sole or last surviving under-manager dies, resigns or otherwise ceases to hold office, nothing in section 6 shall prevent the mine's being worked at any time during a period not exceeding seventy-two days (or such longer period as[F5 the Executive] may allow) until the vacancy is filled, if at that time there is a person appointed by the owner of the mine to perform the duties of under-manager thereof in the event of a sole or last surviving under-manager ceasing to hold office, being a person who at that time either could be an under-manager of the mine without the working of the mine thereby being rendered unlawful by or by virtue of section 6(5) or has such other qualifications as may be prescribed and has within his jurisdiction every part of the mine below ground.
(3)A person appointed by the owner of a mine as mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) shall, so far as regards any period during which he acts in exercise of his appointment, be treated for the purposes of this Act, orders made thereunder and regulations in all respects as if he were the manager of the mine to which the appointment relates or, as the case may be, an under-manager thereof.
8Daily supervision by mine managers and under-managers.N.I.
(1)No mine shall be worked unless daily personal supervision thereover is exercised by the manager thereof or, during any period during which he is absent on leave or is prevented from exercising such supervision by sickness or other cause beyond his control, by a person appointed by the owner of the mine to exercise such supervision during any such period, being a person who is or could be an under-manager of the mine without the working of the mine thereby being rendered unlawful by or by virtue of section 6(5); but the foregoing provisions of this subsection shall not authorise the working of a mine by virtue of the exercise of daily personal supervision by a person other than the manager thereof for any period exceeding seventy-two days (or such longer period as[F6 the Executive] may allow).
(2)No such mine as is mentioned in paragraph ( a) or ( b) of subsection (1) of section 6 (not being a mine with respect to which a direction under subsection (2) of that section is in force) shall be worked unless daily personal supervision is exercised by each under-manager thereof or, during any period during which he is absent on leave or is prevented from exercising such supervision by sickness or other cause beyond his control, by a person appointed by the owner of the mine to exercise such supervision during any such period, being a person who either is or could be an under-manager of the mine without the working of the mine thereby being rendered unlawful by or by virtue of section 6(5) or has such other qualifications as may be prescribed.
(3)A person appointed as mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) shall, so far as regards any period during which he acts in exercise of his appointment, be treated for the purposes of this Act, orders made thereunder and regulations in all respects as if he were the manager of the mine to which the appointment relates or, as the case may be, the under-manager thereof in whose place he is acting, so, however, that nothing in the foregoing provisions of this subsection shall be construed as divesting the manager or an under-manager of a mine of any power, or relieving him from any duty or liability, conferred or imposed on him by or by virtue of this Act.
9Charge of mine when neither manager nor under-manager nor substitute is present.N.I.
(1)Subject to subsection (2), no mine shall be worked at a time when neither the manager of the mine, nor an under-manager thereof nor a person acting in exercise of an appointment made for the purpose of any of the provisions of sections 7 and 8 is present at the mine unless the mine is in the charge of a competent person appointed by the manager and having such qualifications, if any, as may be prescribed.
(2)Nothing in subsection (1) shall prevent the working of a mine at a time when no persons are employed thereat below ground.
10Duties of mine managers with respect to reading of reports, &c.N.I.
It shall be the duty of the manager of every mine, with respect to each report, record or other item of information which, in pursuance of this Act or regulations [F7 or health and safety regulations], is entered in a book which by or by virtue of this Act [F7 or by health and safety regulations which expressly apply to all mines, any class of mine to which the mine belongs or the mine] is required to be provided for that purpose by the owner of the mine, either to read it himself forthwith or to secure that it is read forthwith by some other competent person and that there is promptly brought to his notice any matter disclosed by the report, record or other item of information which either is of an abnormal or unusual nature as regards the mine or, not being of such a nature, is of a kind which will or may necessitate the taking of any steps by the manager or any other person.
N.I.Surveyors
11Surveyors.N.I.
(1)No mine shall be worked unless there is a surveyor for the mine appointed by the owner thereof and having such qualifications, if any, as may be prescribed; but where by reason of death, resignation or other cause, a vacancy occurs in the office of surveyor for a mine, the foregoing provisions of this subsection shall not prevent the working of the mine for a period not exceeding twenty-eight days (or such longer period as[F8 the Executive] may allow) until the vacancy is filled.
(2)The surveyor for a mine shall have such responsibilities with respect to the preparation of, and otherwise in relation to, plans and other documents required by virtue of the following provisions of this Act to be kept in relation to the mine, and such other responsibilities, as may be imposed on him by virtue of those provisions.
N.I.Officials and technicians
12Deputies.N.I.
(1)Provision may be made by regulations—
(a)for imposing, in relation to a mine, such requirements with respect to the carrying out, by competent persons appointed for the purpose by the manager of the mine and having such qualifications, if any, as may be prescribed, of inspections of the mine as it may appear to the Ministry requisite or expedient to impose for the purpose of securing the safety and health of the workmen employed thereat;
(b)for providing that, subject to any exceptions for which provision may be made by the regulations, the persons appointed to discharge at a mine the duties imposed by virtue of paragraph ( a) shall have the immediate charge of the workmen employed at the mine and of the operations carried on by them thereat;
(c)for prescribing any duties to be discharged by the persons so appointed in addition to those imposed on them by virtue of paragraphs ( a) and ( b) or by or by virtue of any of the following provisions of this Act, and for requiring that, subject to any exceptions for which provision may be made by the regulations, those persons shall devote the whole of their time to the discharge of the duties prescribed by virtue of this paragraph or imposed as aforesaid; and
(d)for requiring or authorising the delimitation in a mine of districts for the purpose of the discharge by the persons so appointed of their duties, for requiring that where, in a mine, districts are delimited for that purpose no one of those persons shall have charge of more than one district and for relating to each district the duties of the person in charge of it;
and it shall be the duty of the manager of a mine in relation to which requirements are imposed by virtue of paragraph ( a) to secure that the number of persons appointed for the purpose of fulfilling those requirements is sufficient to secure the efficient discharge of the duties imposed on those persons.
13Other officials, engineers, technicians, &c.N.I.
(1)It shall be the duty of the manager of every mine to appoint (in addition to any persons appointed by him in pursuance of, or of regulations having effect by virtue of, any provision of this Act other than this subsection) such number of officials, engineers and technicians and other competent persons, if any, as is sufficient (taking into account activities in that behalf which are undertaken in person by the manager of the mine, by any under-manager thereof and by any persons appointed as aforesaid) to secure—
(a)the adequate inspection of the mine and the equipment thereof;
(b)the thorough supervision of all operations at the mine; and
(c)the carrying on of the undertaking of the mine in conformity with the provisions of this Act, orders made thereunder and regulations.
(2)Regulations may require the manager of a mine to appoint, for the purpose of supervising, inspecting or conducting at, or in relation to, the mine, such operations or matters as may be prescribed, such officials, engineers or technicians or other competent persons as may be prescribed, and regulations made by virtue of this subsection may prescribe the qualifications to be held and the duties to be discharged by the persons thereby required to be appointed.
14Duty of mine manager to ensure that persons appointed by him understand their duties.N.I.
It shall be the duty of the manager of every mine to ensure to the best of his ability that every person appointed by him in pursuance of the foregoing provisions of this Act or regulations having effect by virtue of any of those provisions understands the nature and scope of any duties which fall to be performed by that person, being either duties imposed by or by virtue of this Act or duties whose performance is undertaken for the purpose of attaining any of the objects mentioned in paragraphs ( a) to ( c) of section 13(1).
N.I.Provisions ancillary to foregoing sections
15Notification to Ministry of appointments by mine owners.N.I.
Forthwith after the appointment by the owner of a mine of a person to be the manager or an under-manager of the mine, to exercise the powers and perform the duties of manager of the mine during a vacancy in the office, to perform the duties of under-manager of the mine in the event of a sole or last surviving under-manager ceasing to hold office, to exercise daily personal supervision during a period during which the manager or an under-manager is absent or unable to exercise such supervision, or to be the surveyor for the mine, the owner shall give to[F9 the Executive] notice, in such form as may be specified by[F9 the Executive], of the making of the appointment and of the name and address of the person appointed and giving such particulars with respect to his qualifications as may be so specified.
16Disqualification of contractors and their employees for appointment as managers, &c., of mines.N.I.
(1)Where a mine or any part thereof is worked, or any operations in a mine are carried on, by a contractor, and a person is by or by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this Act required to hold qualifications for appointment to any office in the mine mentioned in subsection (2), neither the contractor nor a person employed by him shall be capable of being appointed to that office notwithstanding that, apart from this section, he is qualified for appointment thereto.
(2)The offices referred to in subsection (1) are those of manager of the mine, under-manager thereof and the office to which duties imposed by virtue of section 12(1) are attached.
N.I.Plans
17Keeping of plans.N.I.
(1)Provision may be made by regulations for requiring that, in the case of every mine, the manager thereof shall keep at the office at the mine or at such other place as may be approved by[F10 the Executive]
(a)accurate plans of—
(i)all the workings in the mine (whether abandoned or not) or such of them as may be prescribed; and
(ii)all other workings (whether abandoned or not) within the boundaries of the mine or within the prescribed distance outside any boundary of the mine (measured from any point on the boundary in a straight line on any plane) or such of those workings as may be prescribed;
(b)accurate sections of the seams or veins for the time being worked in the mine and of all the strata overlying them;
being plans or, as the case may be, sections complying with such requirements as are imposed by or by virtue of subsection (2); and regulations made by virtue of this subsection may require the keeping of separate plans for different seams or veins or for the purpose of showing the system of ventilation in the workings or any other prescribed matter and require that plans be so kept as at any time to disclose the extent of workings delineated thereon both up to a day not earlier than such previous day as may be prescribed and up to a distance from their position at that time not greater than such as may be prescribed.
(2)Plans and sections required to be kept by virtue of subsection (1) shall be of durable material and be prepared in such form and manner as may be specified by rules made by the Ministry and on a scale not less than such as may be so specified, and any such plans (other than any whereof the main purpose is to show matters other than the extent of workings) shall show the position, in relation to objects on the surface, of the workings delineated on the plans and record such information as may be so specified with respect to orientation, contours, boundaries, faults, workings other than those delineated on the plans and any such other matters (whether similar to the matters aforesaid or not) as may be so specified.
(3)If, in the case of any mine, an inspector reports to[F10 the Executive] that it appears to him that any information which, by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this section, is required to be recorded on a plan required to be kept by the manager of the mine cannot be recorded thereon fully and clearly,[F10 the Executive] may serve on the manager of the mine a notice requiring him to keep at the office at the mine or at such other place as may be approved by[F10 the Executive] such supplementary plan or drawing specified in the notice as appears to[F10 the Executive] to be requisite for the purpose of recording that information fully and clearly.
(4)Regulations may provide—
(a)for requiring that plans, sections and drawings which by virtue of this section are required to be kept in the case of a mine, or any prescribed class thereof, shall be prepared by, or under the supervision of, the surveyor for the mine;
(b)for requiring, with respect to any such plan, section or drawing as aforesaid which has not been prepared by the surveyor for the mine, that the surveyor or such other person as may be prescribed shall take the prescribed steps for ensuring the accuracy thereof;
(c)for imposing upon the surveyor for a mine such duties as may be prescribed with respect to—
(i)the preservation and production of any prescribed documents, being documents prepared for the purpose of, or in connection with, the preparation or checking of any of the plans, sections and drawings which by virtue of this section are required to be kept in the case of the mine; and
(ii)the recording of the identity of the person who prepared any such document.
F10SR 1999/150
18Furnishing of documents and information requisite for preparation of plans.N.I.
(1)It shall be the duty both of the owner and of the manager of every mine, whether requested so to do or not, to furnish to the surveyor for the mine all such plans, sections, drawings and other documents and information in the possession or under the control of the owner or manager as may be requisite for the purpose of the preparation of any plan, section or drawing which, by virtue of section 17, is required to be kept in the case of that mine and to accord to the surveyor all such facilities as may be requisite for that purpose; and, in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions of this subsection, it shall be the duty of the manager of every mine, forthwith after it is determined to cease to maintain a working therein in an accessible condition, to give to the surveyor for the mine notice of that fact, specifying the working in question.
(2)Each of the following persons, namely, the owner of a mine and the manager thereof, shall, if requested so to do by the owner of another mine, furnish to the owner of that other mine or the surveyor therefor any information in the possession of the person to whom the request is made, and permit the owner of that other mine or the surveyor therefor to inspect and take copies of, or extracts from, any plans, sections, drawings or other documents in the possession or under the control of the said person, being information or, as the case may be, documents requisite for the purpose of the preparation of any plan, section or drawing which, by virtue of section 17, is required to be kept in the case of that other mine.
19Faulty plans.N.I.
(1)If, in the case of any mine,[F11 the Executive] is satisfied that a plan, section or drawing which by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this Act is kept by the manager of that mine is inaccurate, incomplete, dilapidated or wholly or partly indecipherable and that, in the interests of safety, it is desirable for a new plan, section or drawing to be made,[F11 the Executive] may appoint a surveyor to make a new plan, section or drawing.
(2)The following provisions shall have effect where a surveyor is appointed under subsection (1) to make a new plan, section or drawing in the case of a mine:—
(a)the owner and the manager of the mine shall afford to the surveyor all necessary facilities and information for the purpose of making the new plan, section or drawing;
(b)on the completion of the new plan, section or drawing, it shall be sent to the manager of the mine; and
(c)the cost of making the new plan, section or drawing, or such part of that cost as[F11 the Executive] thinks fit, shall be recoverable by[F11 the Executive] from the owner of the mine summarily as a debt.
20Transmission to Ministry, and preservation, of plans of abandoned or disused mines, seams and veins.N.I.
(a)for requiring that—
(i)in the event of the abandonment of a mine or of the expiration of the period of twelve months from the time at which a mine was last worked for the purpose of getting minerals or products of minerals, the person who is the owner of the mine at the time of the happening of that event shall, within the prescribed period thereafter, send to[F12 the Executive] such plans of the workings in the mine at that time (being plans complying with such requirements as are imposed by or by virtue of subsection (2)), and such drawings supplementary to the plans, as may be prescribed and such sections of the seams or veins worked in the mine and of the strata overlying them (being sections complying with such requirements as aforesaid) as may be prescribed;
(ii)in the event of the abandonment of a seam or vein in a mine or the expiration of the period of twelve months from the time at which a seam or vein in a mine was last worked for the purpose of getting minerals or products of minerals, the person who is the owner of the mine at the time of the happening of that event shall, within the prescribed period thereafter, send to[F12 the Executive] such plans of the workings in that seam or vein at that time (being plans complying with such requirements as are imposed by or by virtue of subsection (2)), and such drawings supplementary to the plans, as may be prescribed and such sections of that seam or vein and of the strata overlying it (being sections complying with such requirements as aforesaid) as may be prescribed;
(b)for imposing, with respect to plans, drawings and sections sent to[F12 the Executive] in pursuance of such provisions of the regulations as have effect by virtue of paragraph ( a), such requirements (whether with respect to the persons by whom they are to be prepared, the giving of certificates with respect thereto or otherwise) as it may appear to the Ministry requisite or expedient to impose for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy thereof.
(2)Plans and sections required, by virtue of provisions of regulations having effect by virtue of subsection (1), to be sent to[F12 the Executive] shall be of durable material and be prepared in such form and manner as may be specified by rules made by the Ministry and on a scale not less than such as may be so specified, and any such plans shall show the position, in relation to objects on the surface, of the workings delineated on the plans and record such information as may be so specified with respect to orientation, contours, boundaries, faults, workings other than those delineated on the plans and any such other matters (whether similar to the matters aforesaid or not) as may be so specified.
(3)If[F12 the Executive] is satisfied—
(a)that there has occurred, in the case of a mine, a contravention of provisions of regulations having effect by virtue of sub-paragraph (i) or (ii) of subsection (1)( a) consisting of a failure to send a plan, drawing or section to[F12 the Executive] within the period limited by those provisions or that, in the case of a mine, a plan, drawing or section sent to[F12 the Executive] in pursuance of those provisions is inaccurate, incomplete, dilapidated or wholly or partly indecipherable; and
(b)that, in the interests of safety, it is desirable for a new plan, drawing or section to be made;
[F12the Executive] may, within six months from the expiration of that period, appoint a surveyor to make a new plan, drawing or section, and the cost of making the new plan, drawing or section, or such part of that cost as[F12 the Executive] thinks fit, shall be recoverable by[F12 the Executive] from the person who was the owner of the mine at the time of the happening of the event in consequence of the happening of which the said provisions fell to be complied with.
(4)Subject to the provisions of subsections (5) to (7), plans, drawings and sections sent to[F12 the Executive] in pursuance of provisions of regulations having effect by virtue of subsection (1)( a)(i) or (ii) or made by a surveyor appointed under subsection (3) shall be preserved by[F12 the Executive] or by some other person under arrangements made or approved by[F12 the Executive].
(5)Arrangements under subsection (4) for the preservation by some person other than[F12 the Executive] of plans, drawings and sections sent by the owner of a mine to[F12 the Executive] as therein mentioned shall not be made otherwise than with the agreement of the person who is the owner of the mine at the time when the arrangements are made.
(6)No person except an inspector shall be entitled, without the consent of the owner for the time being of the mine, or a licence of[F12 the Executive], to see the plans, drawings or sections whilst preserved under arrangements made or approved as aforesaid until after the expiration of ten years from the time of the abandonment, but such a licence shall not be granted unless[F12 the Executive] is satisfied that the inspection of the plans, drawings or sections is necessary in the interests of safety.
(7)Where, at the time at which the working of a mine or a seam or vein therein is resumed, any plans, drawings or sections relating thereto are, by virtue of subsection (4), preserved by[F12 the Executive] or by some other person (not being the owner of the mine), the owner shall, on giving not less than fourteen days notice to the person by whom the plans, drawings or sections are preserved and (where that person is not[F12 the Executive]) to[F12 the Executive], be entitled to have delivered to him the plans, drawings or sections subject to affording to[F12 the Executive], if required so to do before the expiration of the notice, a reasonable opportunity of making copies of the plans, drawings or sections or of such part thereof as[F12 the Executive] thinks fit.
S.21 rep. by SR 1980/333
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Mohamed Salah is a victim of his own success at Liverpool, and deserves greater recognition
The Egyptian crowned his 100th Premier League appearance with a goal and assist against Bournemouth on Saturday, but he still doesn't get the recognition his achievements deserve.
Joel RabinowitzStaff Writer
Two seasons in a row now, Salah has scored his 10th goal of the season in early December against Bournemouth away. (Image: Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Saturday marked a century of Premier League appearances for Mohamed Salah, in which he has racked up a phenomenal 63 goals and 28 assists. That's 91 direct goal contributions in 100 appearances, with 13 of those coming as a bit-part figure during his brief and unsuccessful spell at Chelsea half a decade ago.
Only Alan Shearer (79), Ruud van Nistelrooy (68) and Sergio Aguero (64) have ever scored more goals in their first 100 Premier League outings, with Andy Cole and Fernando Torres also level with Salah's tally of 63.
It's an astonishing record given all of these could be classified as bona fide centre forwards in a way which doesn't apply to Salah, who has spent much of his time at Liverpool as a wide forward drifting into central areas from a right-sided starting berth.
The Egyptian now has 81 goals in 124 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool, matching Fernando Torres' total goal tally in 18 fewer appearances than the Spaniard, while Salah is also only one goal short of Luis Suarez total (82), which the Uruguayan managed in 133 appearances.
Almost certainly, then, Salah will end up bettering the goal returns of Torres and Suarez in fewer games than both players.
And yet, in discussions around the greatest Liverpool sides or forwards of the century, Salah's name probably doesn't automatically get a first mention in the same way that Torres and Suarez are instantly held up as among the most gifted players to wear the shirt in recent years.
Only three players in Premier League history have ever scored more than Salah in their first 100 appearances. (Image: Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images)
Liverpool have a potent emerging partnership, and it could take them to new levels
In part, that's because nostalgia tends to make us look back more fondly on memories from the past, focusing on the best versions of those players and overlooking their rough patches of form.
Indeed, it's easy to forget that Suarez was far from a prolific goal machine in his first season and-a-half at Liverpool, while Torres actually only scored 17 and 22 goals respectively in his second and third seasons having peaked with his astonishing 33-goal haul after arriving in 2007.
With Salah though, because he's such a prominent part of the present, every sub-par performance and small run of games without scoring is scrutinised and magnified as a topic of discussion in a way which doesn't happen when looking back on former players.
How Liverpool's unrelenting brilliance has crushed Man City's morale and form beyond repair
It is true that Salah has endured difficult moments so far this season, particularly in the last couple of months whereby he has clearly been playing despite carrying an ankle knock sustained as a result of Hamza Choudhury's cynical foul in the 2-1 win against Leicester City back in early October.
But somewhat coincidentally, having hit double figures exactly this time last year with a hat-trick against Bournemouth away, Salah bagged his 10th goal of the season again at the Vitality Stadium while also supplying his sixth assist of the campaign with a sumptuous backheel flick for Naby Keita in the first-half.
So without being anywhere close to his scintillating best, Salah still has 16 goal contributions in 19 games this season – but the fact is, ever since he hit a ludicrous 44 goals in his first season at the club, he has been continually measured against those outrageous standards.
The two major Liverpool transfer flops which symbolize vast transformation under Jürgen Klopp
While for any normal wide forward, 27 goals would represent an incredible season, when Salah achieved that last season it was seen as a significant drop-off from what had come before.
He might never be quite as ruthlessly prolific as he was in 2017/18, but in part that's also because opposition sides now double or even triple up on him these days, focusing much of their game plan around stopping the supply into Salah in dangerous positions.
Sadio Mané's Liverpool career, by contrast, has unfolded in reverse to Salah, as he has incrementally upped his goal return every season having only scored 13 in his debut campaign, whereas Salah set a bar he was never likely to be able to reach again, despite still maintaining a very high level.
Liverpool are now a much more balanced side with goals coming from virtually every single part of the pitch, which means Salah is ultimately more of a cog in a complete, relentless winning machine, rather than being the one obvious standout individual.
That doesn't mean his achievements should ever be taken for granted, though. In time, if he isn't already, he'll be firmly established as one of the all-time Premier League and Liverpool greats.
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Blog »In Experience That Matters Most, Linda McMahon is Lacking
In Experience That Matters Most, Linda McMahon is Lacking
Without public administrative experience, WWE co-founder Linda McMahon is ill-equipped to head the Small Business Administration and act in the best interests of Main Street.
Yesterday, President-Elect Trump announced his nomination of Linda McMahon to head the Small Business Administration (SBA), immediately raising eyebrows in the small business community. With a personal net worth of more than $500 million, Ms. McMahon is out of touch with the real small business owners she is tasked with assisting at the SBA.
Having contributed at least $6.5 million to the President-Elect’s campaign and associated super PACS, and $5 million to the Trump Foundation, the selection of Ms. McMahon raises conflict of interest concerns that have become synonymous with Mr. Trump and his Cabinet nominations. It begs the question, how much does a Trump Cabinet position cost? For Linda McMahon, the position carries a $11.5 million price tag.
Despite being touted by Mr. Trump as an expert on small businesses, McMahon’s family business, the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), engages in practices that harm small business owners. The McMahons obtained a de facto monopoly in the professional wrestling business by pricing out competitors, many of which were small businesses. Furthermore, unlike the small businesses in Main Street Alliance’s network, the McMahons designated their 150+ roster of wrestlers as independent contractors, leaving them without vital health and retirement benefits or unemployment insurance.
Even more concerning is Ms. McMahon’s inexperience working in the complex, highly technical, small business lending space. The SBA oversees a loan portfolio of $124 billion and provides a range of counseling and technical assistance programs. Under the right, skilled leadership, the SBA has the potential to provide small business owners with badly needed financing, particularly in communities of color and for minority-owned businesses.
“We need a leader who truly understands the struggles of small business owners and has the technical expertise to navigate the maze of complex programs to steer the SBA in the right direction,” said Amanda Ballantyne, Main Street Alliance National Director. “We fear that Linda McMahon does not meet this criterion and is ill-equipped to address the needs of our members and their fellow small business owners."
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Student Success over Mandated Budget Cuts Essay
Submitted By Eurat
Student Success over Mandated Budget Cuts Budget cuts in America’s public school system have become such an extreme issue that not only are people losing jobs, but well needed programs and school days are being cut too. This paper will lay out the pro and cons of the issues that American schools will be facing by attempting to cut so many well needed programs; which range from transportation, art, music, and sports. However, it’s understood that students are the future and cutting the nations education budget is going to cause our future to suffer. Cutting needed programs in public education will be a way of saving money, but at the expense of what, student’s right to learn. Some consumers will argue the fact of some extracurricular activities being more of a liability than an asset but also still is a prominent way of teaching children. For example, sports, promotes teamwork, and in America’s society teamwork is an everyday tool for jobs. For example when on job application they ask questions like what are your hobbies, interests, sports, groups, teams, or organizations? The answer to this question will show if a person knows how to work as a team or if that person works better alone. Public schools may need to figure out which programs can be cut, or minimized so that it won’t affect the entire future of the country.
School spirit is similar to the way individuals practice their faith, you are either a strong believer or you are not, there is no in-between. It’s like being a part of a big organization or club that you give 100% support to. Having school spirit is taking time to support your school’s values and trusting that its good name represents an individual’s beliefs. Sanford believes that “sports encourage spirit, work ethic, and competition in a highly competitive world, and spirited hard work and competition is an American ethos.” In an American based economy, american’s spend most of their time working than doing anything else. Money has been shown to be the most important factor and reason for people to work. Historically work has been thought of as a job, how to make an original contribution to the world, and in the process provide for your family. Accessing about the concept of work ethic and the various elements that encourage people to work irrespectively of any economic necessity. The moral necessities to work ethics include not only how one feels about their job, career or vocation, but also how one does his/her job or responsibilities. A colleague, Susan Ray is a senior project manager, and has been with the company for 12 years, a model employee for good work ethics. She would complete a project and or other task proficiently, and with a great deal of pride in the quality of her work. To her a good work ethic involves attitude, behavior, respect, communication, and interaction. Work is an obligation and responsibility, so people must take pride in their work regardless of the job. Everyone should work to the best of their ability and contribute to society. Work centrality is one of the important aspects in life beside family, religion, community and leisure. This theme of work ethic emphasizes the importance of doing a job diligently; people need both excellence and a good work ethic to succeed. However, “that same hard work and competitive spirit can also create private sports ventures for youth that will not tax public school academics…benefit the community in terms of jobs, revenue, and community esprit de corp” (Sanford). Certain processes play divisive or disintegrative roles in the social life of individuals or groups, which is called dissociative processes. Conflict, competition and mutual opposition are forms of dissociative processes. Many say that antagonistic or decisive processes also strengthen the process of social solidarity. Human biological, psychological, cultural and social needs inspire them for competition. Just as plants
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Fantastic Four (1998) #600
Added to Marvel Unlimited: April 08, 2013
Rating: T
Writer: FIRM 15
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An ailing Doctor Octopus outlines his latest scheme to his new Sinister Six in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #676, and Spidey and Daredevil began investigating a case concerning the Black Cat in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #677. At Horizon Labs, the webslinger stepped into a fellow scientist’s new time doorway in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #678 and into a devastated New York one day in the future, prompting a race against entropy itself in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #679. Afterward, Morbius the Living Vampire turned up at the company, as well as the Lizard, in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #679.1.
The wallcrawler confronted a monstrous Norman Osborn with his teammates in AVENGERS #24, then blasted into space with the Human Torch in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #680 to tangle with Doc Ock’s octobots and zombie astronauts on an orbiting station. As its orbit decayed, the heroes moved to rescue the crew and themselves from the compromised station in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #681. Back on terra firma, the webslinger learned of the incredible Phoenix Force’s approach to Earth in NEW AVENGERS #24, and stood beside the Avengers as they scrambled to head off Hope Summers, a young mutant targeted by the Phoenix, in AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #1 and AVENGERS #25.
Spidey and Wolverine tracked Hope down in AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #2, but the girl escaped after besting them both. Captured X-Men escaped the heroes through trickery in AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #3, and Spidey flew off to Latveria in AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #4 to attempt to stop the Juggernaut and his posse. Later, our hero avoided the Phoenix-possessed X-Men in AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #7, but clashed with a possessed Namor in Wakanda in AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #8. Hiding out with other Avengers in the mystical K’un-Lun, Spidey imparted a lesson in responsibility to Hope in NEW AVENGERS #27, and later while in Limbo battling Magik fell to a savage beating by the X-Men in AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #9. The Avengers assembled once more when Cyclops gained the full Phoenix Force in AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #11, but he lost it to Hope in AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #12.
Avengers Vs. X-Men (2012) #1
Added to Marvel Unlimited: March 04, 2013
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller: John Romita
Cover Artist: Jim Cheung
Mayor Jameson announced he’d close Horizon Labs in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #682, and Spidey gathered the Avengers together when Doc Ock announced his intention to “save the world” before dying. The Sinister Six crushed the team in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #683, and world governments decided to give into Ock’s demands while the webslinger fought the Sandman in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #684. Wanted by the authorities, Spidey and his friends tried to stop further satellite construction by Ock in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #685, but the villain took control of the heroes using Peter Parker’s own inventions in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #686. In the end, some of the Sinister Six turned against Ock in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #687, while Spidey fought the man himself, but felt he failed overall when the Rhino and Silver Sable died in the final skirmishes of the war.
Mysterio opened up a portal to an alternate Earth in SPIDER-MEN #1, through which Spider-Man fell and met Miles Morales, the webslinger of that world. Captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. in SPIDER-MEN #2, Peter joined forces with Miles to push Mysterio back to his corner until the Ultimates arrived in SPIDER-MEN #3. Our hero made the sour acquaintance of the world’s May Parker and Gwen Stacy in SPIDER-MEN #4, and made it back to his own universe after defeating Mysterio in SPIDER-MEN #5.
After helping the Fantastic Four fight the Maestro in FANTSTIC FOUR #609 and A.I.M. in FANTASTIC FOUR #610, Spider-Man investigated a strange connection between Morbius and the Lizard in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #688. Curt Connors retained the Lizard’s evil mind after transforming in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #689, and attempted to change back to his scaly form in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #690. Spidey managed to cure him and all his lizard-lackeys in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #691, thankfully.
Spider-Men (2012) #1
The past assailed Peter Parker in the form of an old warehouse in PETER PARKER:SPIDER-MAN #156.1, the new Vulture in SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #33.1 and SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #33.2, and the so-called “Brooklyn Avengers” in WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #129.1 and WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #129.2. A young man named Andy gained super powers from “Parker Particles” at Horizon Labs and became a hero called Alpha in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #692, got kidnapped by the Jackal in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #693, found it hard to handle fame in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #694 and lost some of his powers to a draining invention of Peter’s.
Spidey reflected upon Luke Cage and Jessica Jones’ departure from Avengers Mansion in NEW AVENGERS #31, but when the hero’s spider-sense malfunctioned due to Tiberius Stone’s device in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #695, he juggled two battling Hobgoblins and the Kingpin in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #696. Afterward, the Avengers received a distress call from the Microverse in AVENGERS #31, and the web-slinger stayed behind in Central Park as the team’s founders shrunk down into the subatomic realm to answer it in AVENGERS #32.
In this article: Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
What If Peter Parker Became Venom?
Chip Zdarsky and Pasqual Ferry bring you a tale of Peter Parker on the edge in SPIDER-MAN: SPIDER’S SHADOW!
'Marvel's 616' Director David Gelb's Favorite Marvel Memories
The director sits down with the 'Marvel's Pull List' podcast to talk 'Spirits of Venom' and more!
'Avengers Mech Strike' #1 Has the Avengers in a Massive New Fight
To fight one of their biggest foes, they'll need their biggest defense!
Fear the Horror of the Man-Thing This April in 'Spider-Man: Curse of the Man-Thing'
Spider-Man joins the fray as Steve Orlando’s three-part saga rages on in April!
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BBC Bias, Brexit, The EU, Bilderberg And Global Government
“The center of gravity of elites has shifted. Today, the most powerful elites are global citizens tied more to international finance than national politics…”
By Steven MacMillan
One of the BBC’s flagship news programmes has shown a “strong” bias towards Britain staying in the European Union (EU), a media monitoring group claimed last week. From the 13th of January to the 11th of March 2016, News-watch analysed 40 editions of the popular current affairs programmeNewsnight.
BBC Director-General Calls for Media Critics to Be Purged From Social Media
Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn to Step Down After UK Election Catastrophe
Labour’s Brexit Strategy Backfires as UK Votes to Leave EU at Any Cost
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This section is devoted to helping you and your loved ones through the difficult grieving process. If you would like to suggest other resources or links that have been helpful to you - please feel free to email us the information and we will add it to this section.
Is a widely accepted model for how we deal with grief. Swiss psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler -Ross developed the theory while working with terminally ill patients. She introduced her model in the 1969 book. "On Death and Dying. The Five Stages of Grief."
Since the book was published. "The Stages" theroy has helped many people understand their frrling after the loss of someone close to them.
Of course, everyone experiences grief differentlly so you may feel each of the Stages as they are defined in a 'textbook" way. The important thing is that you recognize that the feelings you may be haveing are nomal.
1. Denial-At first, you may feel numb or as if you are in shock. It's hard to believe that you loved one has actually died and will no longer be a part of your life. You may find yourself thinking that "it cannot possibly be." During the denial stage, many people withdraw and isolate themselves from others.
2. Anger-You may be angry at the person who has died, the situation, your family members, the dotor, or even yourself. Most experts recommend that you recognize your anger for what it is and you allow yourself to work through it.
3.Bargaining - You may try to make a deal with a higher power so that your loved one will not be ill or die. Understandably, you want things to go back to the way they were. Your mind may also be filled with a lot of"only ifs" and what ifs. "Only if one more procedure is done, only if we had done... Going through this stage can help you deal with aftermath of the loss.
4.Depression -You may feel overwhelming sadness and emptiness. It may be hard to go about daily activities. This is a very natural reaction to a loss. While it is not unusual to feel depression after a loss, you may be concerned about these feelings. If you are worried about how you feel, do not hesitate to seek help.
5. Acceptance - after some time you will begin to feel that thingd will be OK. You may never get over missing the person you have lost, but you feel ready to move on.
the real meaning of the five stages of grief
Dr. Kubler-Ross stages have been applied to grief and other forms of personal loss, such as loss of a job or onset of a disbility. In her book. On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss, Dr.Kubler-Ross says:
"The stage have evolved since their introduction, and they have been very misundert=stood over the past decades. They were never meant to help tuck messy emotions into neat packages. They are responses to loss that many people have, but there is not not a typical response to loss, as there is no typical loss. Our grief is as individual as our lives".
She goes on to say of the 5 stages
"They are tools to help us frame and identify what we may be feeling. But they are not stops on some linear timeline in grief. Not everyone goes through all of them or goes in a prescribed order."
key points to remember about the five stages of grief
You may not experience each of the Five Stages in a stepwise manner
You may find yourself alternating between Stages. For example, an individual may move back and forth between anger, bargaining, and depression.
There is no timetable for grief. How long it takes to move thorugh the stages will vary widely from person-to -person.
Crisis, Grief and Healing
Webhealing.com, the first interactive grief website on the internet, offers discussion boards, articles, book suggestions, and advice for men and women working through every aspect of grief. The site’s founder, Tom Golden LCSW, has provided book excerpts and contact information to help those healing from loss.
Willowgreen
Willowgreen offers support and information for those dealing with life transition & aging, illness & caregiving, loss & grief, and hope & spirituality. The site offers advice, products, and inspirational materials.
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) website contains a Grief & Loss section with grief-related articles and information.
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s website provides a host of information and resources for people facing a life-limiting illness or injury and their caregivers.
Mitchum-Wilson Funeral Home, Inc.
1410 S. 20th Street, PO Box 42873
FD#: FD012919L
www.mitchumwilsonfuneralhome.com
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The Impact of Retouched Photos on ED
Photo retouching and airbrushing are commonly used to erase pounds and modify the features of fashion models and celebrities, creating unrealistic images of physical perfection.
The result of photo re-touching is an almost impossible standard of beauty that can have a negative impact on the self-image of millions of “average” women and men. Numerous studies have linked photo retouching with eating disorders, body-image anxiety and other serious health problems.
Commercial photo retouching can range from smoothing out a model’s or celebrity’s skin tone to reshaping a nose or shaving inches off the waist. The bust may be increased in images of women while muscle tone is added to images of men. Critics of the beauty industry in the U.S. and Europe have long opposed radical photo retouching because of the effect it can have on the psychology of women, men and especially teenagers. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, a significant number of teenage girls and boys use unhealthy measures such as bulimic binging, fasting, vomiting, taking laxatives, smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol to control their weight.
At the 2011 annual meeting of the organization acknowledged that retouched photos in the media create unrealistic expectations of beauty, especially for impressionable children and teenagers.
The AMA called on advertisers to adopt new guidelines for altering images, especially in publications that target the young.
Adobe Photoshop is the software application that is often used to digitally alter photographs. Now researchers at Dartmouth College have developed a software tool that can measure how much a photo has been altered by Photoshop. The tool assigns a score of 1 to 5 to indicate the scale of the alternations (with a lower score indicating less retouching). Dr. Hany Farid, a Dartmouth Computer Science professor, came up with the idea for the tool after reading about a movement among European legislators to put a uniform photo labeling system into place.
Dr. Farid is hoping that the tool will provide an incentive for self-regulation among magazine publishers and advertisers. With his Photoshop rating tool, publishers and advertisers would print a retouch score with every photo. Readers could consult the score to determine whether the subject depicted in a photograph was untouched or had been heavily Photoshopped.
Lesley Jane Seymour, former editor of Marie Claire magazine and current editor of More (a magazine targeting women over 40) stated in a New York Times article that surveys show that most readers want celebrities to look great but to also look real. Most readers are aware that images are digitally altered and would like publishers and advertisers to use restraint when retouching photos. The involvement of technologists like Dr. Farid indicates that concern about the problem of using Photoshop to create false images seems to be growing.
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Morgan Baker
Visit Cairngorms
Showcasing the vast collection of activities, attractions, and places to stay in the Cairngorms National Park
Built using
WordPress, Sass, Block Editor API, ACF Pro
Launched in December 2020, Visit Cairngorms came into existence during a challenging time for tourism & hospitality. The aim was to create a visual experience that showcases the natural beauty and craftmanship the Cairngorms has to offer.
As with other build, I was tasked with building the entire front end from XD mock-ups. Adding in transitions and JavaScript, mainly in the menu operation and UI interactions.
As well as the front end, I would take on the early WordPress integration, creating custom blocks using both ACF Pro and the Block Editor API. The client has a complete toolkit that enables them to build vivid, impactful pages with relative ease.
An example of a business listing when displayed on an iPhone
The business listings, these can be added to a Backpack for later use
The Events calendar when viewed on an iPhone
© 2020 Morgan Baker
Privacy & Your Data
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Change is here for NCUA Board (with more on the way soon)
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(Nov. 25, 2020) Change is coming to the NCUA Board in the next 10 days or so, following change that already occurred late last week with the resignation of one of the board members. Here’s a quick rundown of what happened late last week, what’s scheduled to happen next week, and a look at what may be ahead for leadership of the agency.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced (via the Senate’s executive calendar, which lists when executive branch nominees will begin to be considered by the Senate) that the nomination of Kyle S. Hauptman to be a member of the NCUA Board would be considered as early as Monday of next week (Nov. 30). Hauptman was nominated by outgoing President Donald Trump (R ) last summer to take the seat of J. Mark McWatters, whose term expired in August 2019; McWatters has been serving in a holdover capacity until his successor (Hauptman) was confirmed by the Senate. McWatters is a former chairman of the NCUA Board (succeeded by current Chairman Rodney Hood last year), who was named to that position by Trump.
On Thursday, during the regular monthly meeting of the NCUA Board, both Board Members McWatters and Todd Harper expressed some dissatisfaction with the proposed NCUA budget for 2021, which is scheduled to be the subject of a Dec. 2 briefing by the agency (and which NASCUS has requested to provide comments for). McWatters also announced that he would not support the 2021 staff budget as drafted “as long as I’m on this board.” The NCUA Board is scheduled to consider the 2021 budget at its next monthly meeting, set for Dec. 17.
Late Friday, McWatters released a copy of a letter he said he had sent to Trump that day informing the president that he was submitting his resignation. “As the Senate is scheduled to confirm my successor in the next few days, I hereby resign my position as of today,” McWatters wrote.
Monday, Hood publicly released a statement noting McWatters’ resignation, observing that “his years on the NCUA Board are a credit to his decades-long career in law and policymaking. I wish Mark all the best in his future endeavors.” (NCUA Board Member Todd Harper – who also voiced concerns about the budget – released a statement on social media reading (in part) “Mark leaves the Board with a commendable record of achievement, and I wish him well in his future endeavors.”)
The end result of all of this: When the NCUA Board meets Dec. 17 to consider the 2021 budget – including the overhead transfer rate (OTR) for the NCUSIF portion of the agency spending plan – there could be one new face on the board, and perhaps two votes in favor of the agency’s budget for next year.
Looking ahead, with the transition of President-elect Joseph R. Biden (D) now officially underway in advance of the Jan. 20 transfer of power from Trump, there is likely to be more change. The new president will be in a position to designate a new chairman of the NCUA Board (that position is not confirmed by the Senate if the individual has already been confirmed as a board member). As the only Democrat-appointee on the board, Harper is in line to become the next NCUA Board chairman if the president decides to take action.
The most recent example of the president tapping a member of his own party to be chairman: McWatters was named acting chairman of the agency board by Trump on Jan. 26, 2017 – six days after taking the oath of office as president. McWatters replaced Rick Metsger who remained on the board (ultimately to be succeeded by Hood). The “acting” part of McWatters’ title was removed by Trump in June of that year.
Harper’s term on the board ends in April; however, he may serve on the board until a successor is confirmed by the Senate. Hood’s term ends in August 2023; Hauptman, if confirmed, would inherit a term that runs to August 2025.
Related topics: 20nov25, Harper, Hauptman, Hood, McWatters, NCUA, NCUA Board
Two approaches proposed for simplifying risk-based capital requirements
(Jan. 15, 2021) Two approaches for simplifying risk-based capital (RBC) requirements for federally insured credit unions (FICUs) were proposed by the NCUA Board Thursday, one replacing the current rule with…
NASCUS: Proposal demands careful review
(Jan. 15, 2021) NASCUS President and CEO Lucy Ito urged careful review of the proposal by the entire credit union system – and noted that federal law requires the agency…
Board proposes adding ‘S’ component to exam rating system
(Jan. 15, 2021) Adding an “S” for “market sensitivity” to the examination rating system for NCUA was proposed unanimously by the agency Board Thursday, an addition long supported by NASCUS…
Two approaches proposed for simplifying risk-based capital requirements (January 15, 2021)
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Cinderella Man 2
By Kevin D. Williamson
About Kevin D. Williamson
Glenn Close and Amy Adams in Hillbilly Elegy. (Lacey Terrell/Netflix)
What the ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ film adaptation does, and doesn’t, capture.
Welcome to “The Tuesday,” a weekly newsletter about politics, language, culture, and, this week, film criticism. To subscribe to “The Tuesday” and receive it in your inbox as God and John Wayne intended, please follow this link.
The Mona Lisa of Hillbilly Literature
The Ron Howard film Hillbilly Elegy, a cinematic extract from J. D. Vance’s eponymous memoir, has received savage reviews. Remarkably so, in fact. One suspects that this is not entirely a question of its cinematic merits.
Howard is a conventional Hollywood commercial filmmaker and has made a conventional Hollywood commercial film. Howard’s record for adapting literature into film is mixed: His adaptation of Sylvia Nasar’s A Beautiful Mind is good, but his films based on Dan Brown’s novels are dreck, as are the novels themselves. Howard often has been at his best when there is no underlying literature to agonize over (as in The Paper and Cinderella Man) or when adapting a play, as in Frost/Nixon. In Hillbilly Elegy, Howard has bitten off a big morsel, and, though he intelligently shapes the film as a family drama in which the social commentary is generally implicit, it may be more than he can chew.
I know J. D. Vance a little, and occasionally we are lumped in together as writers who sometimes share a subject (this is in the same sense that the New York Yankees and the Milwaukee Brewers both are comprehended by the category of Major League Baseball teams) and broadly similar origins, and I will confess to having a slightly proprietary feeling about certain aspects of his work and its source material. I have criticized certain aspects of the book but, failing to take my own advice about one-armed paper-hangers, I often have bristled at criticism of the book offered by people who seem to me unqualified to do so, and much of that criticism has been stupid. (Writing in Slate, Rebecca Onion insists that Vance’s citation of Losing Ground is a “warning sign” and suggests that the author of that book, Charles Murray, is a racist, one of the most genuinely stupid ideas in general circulation.) You can take the foregoing as a full disclosure.
There is much in the film that is physically true. The filmmakers went to great lengths to make Glenn Close resemble Vance’s grandmother, who is in turn a pretty good representation of a certain class of grandmothers. She looks a lot like a lot of grandmothers, including my own. (Her glasses, on the other hand, are almost identical to the ones my mother wore.) The omnipresence of cigarettes, the houses and their interiors, the clothes, the sight of someone washing disposable plastic utensils in order to reuse them — all of these have the feeling of documentary truth. And there is much that is situationally true in the film as well: the difficulty of traveling while broke and the loneliness of the late-night long-distance driver, household finances upended by the ruinous expense of untimely car repairs, the lordly attitudes certain low-class people affect toward people in service positions who are their temporary social inferiors, the perversity of families whose members suffocate one another with verbal and physical affection but who cannot bring themselves to behave in the way someone who genuinely loved them would, the immoveable objects of bureaucracy and mulish corporate policy. Some of the events are familiar to me and must be to others: the woman who loses a good job in health care because she is raiding the company pharmacy, the emotional manipulation of a purely pro forma suicide attempt, etc.
And there is much that is emotionally true as well: Hillbilly Elegy is in its largest part a story about shame that is almost never named or acknowledged.
(I watched the film under the immediate influence of The Last American Aristocrat: The Brilliant Life and Improbable Education of Henry Adams, and could not help thinking that a little Yankee reserve and Puritan repression would be just the things for these people, and also that it is unfortunate that orphanages developed such a bad reputation in the 19th century.)
One of the reasons that the shame in Hillbilly Elegy is acknowledged only obliquely is the fact that it is shame connected to maternal guilt of a nature that is at least partly sexual: When the cinematic Vance flies into a violent rage after one of his mother’s former lovers calls her a “whore,” it isn’t because the characterization is unwarranted. This emotional situation put me in mind of T. S. Eliot’s famous essay “Hamlet and His Problems,” in which the poet defended a lonely (and eccentric) critical position about Hamlet, that “far from being Shakespeare’s masterpiece, the play is most certainly an artistic failure. . . . More people have thought Hamlet a work of art because they found it interesting, than have found it interesting because it is a work of art. It is the ‘Mona Lisa’ of literature.” Eliot argues that “the essential emotion of the play is the feeling of a son towards a guilty mother,” and quotes the critic J. M. Robertson, who writes that Hamlet’s
tone is that of one who has suffered tortures on the score of his mother’s degradation. . . . The guilt of a mother is an almost intolerable motive for drama, but it had to be maintained and emphasized to supply a psychological solution, or rather a hint of one.
“Hamlet,” Eliot writes, “like the sonnets, is full of some stuff that the writer could not drag to light, contemplate, or manipulate into art.” Eliot goes on to consider the “excess” of Hamlet’s emotional situation: “The words of Macbeth on hearing of his wife’s death strike us as if, given the sequence of events, these words were automatically released by the last event in the series. The artistic ‘inevitability’ lies in this complete adequacy of the external to the emotion; and this is precisely what is deficient in Hamlet. Hamlet (the man) is dominated by an emotion which is inexpressible, because it is in excess of the facts as they appear.”
Excess seems to me exactly the right word for the emotional state of the protagonist of Hillbilly Elegy. After leaving his family for service as a Marine in Iraq and then succeeding in the gentler ordeal of Yale Law School, he not only had the opportunity to extricate himself from the snake-pit of his family but had successfully done so as a matter of practical fact. It is difficult to understand why the escaped hostage would return to the hostage-takers. In the film’s most deft moment, Vance is gushing sentimentally about his young grandparents uprooting themselves from their home in Kentucky and going all the way to Ohio, at which point his polished Ivy League girlfriend reminds him that her father emigrated to the United States from India with nothing. I believe that much of the anti-immigrant sentiment — and particularly the sometimes-shocking anti-Indian sentiment — that one encounters in parts of poor-white America is a reaction to the rebuke Indian (and Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Nigerian, etc.) immigrants represent to those native-born Americans who believe themselves to be victims of mysterious external forces. In that quick exchange with the woman Vance would go on to marry can be seen the great political truth of Vance’s memoir and Howard’s film is intensely concentrated: Whatever it is that American poverty ultimately and finally is about, it isn’t about being poor.
The critics say that Glenn Close — in the inevitable stupid phrase — “chews the scenery” as Vance’s grandmother. I would suggest that it is the case that she is about as stagey and histrionic on film as the characters she represents are in real life, and that in this dramatic play-acting we can detect the wet, rotten smell of a great quantity of that “stuff that the writer could not drag to light, contemplate, or manipulate into art.”
Words About Words
A headline in Wired reads: “Meet the Microbes Living on Da Vinci’s Iconic Sketches.” There once was an artist named “Leonardo.” He came from a town called “Vinci,” near Florence. His surname was not “da Vinci,” and it was not “Da Vinci,” either: He did not have a surname at all, although it would not have been wrong to identify him as “Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci.” There are at least three (that I know of) reasonably well-known writers named “Kevin Williamson.” (That is why I use my middle initial.) I’m the one from Texas, and it would not be wrong to describe me as “Kevin Williamson of Texas” if you were trying to distinguish me from the famous screenwriter or the Scottish politician. But that would not make me “Mr. of Texas.”
Sometimes, geographic descriptions such as “da Vinci” and up becoming toponymic surnames, family names derived from places. Examples include the surnames of Thomas à Becket, Winston Churchill, Richard Attenborough, Clint Eastwood, Aldous Huxley, etc. But many figures of the Renaissance, Leonardo and Galileo among them, had no surnames, and left behind no family bearing such a name as “da Vinci” or “Galilei.” Leonardo, like Michelangelo, Raphael, and the rest of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, had only the one name — and, like Prince, he needed only the one name.
(Prince didn’t even need the name, as it turns out, during his “the Artist Formerly Known As” years.)
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Sometimes, even people with surnames or quasi-surnames end up being known by a toponym. Michelangelo Merisi is generally known as “Caravaggio,” possibly to the eternal annoyance of an earlier painter, Polidoro da Caravaggio (no relation). Caravaggio, like Vinci, is the name of a town.
About “meet the microbes” and the promiscuous abuse of “iconic,” the less said the better.
Rampant Prescriptivism
There are two ways to be hyperbolic. (“There are countless ways to be hyperbolic!”) Sometimes, hyperbolic describes a curve, a hyperbola — as Merriam-Webster puts it, a “symmetrical open curve formed by the intersection of a circular cone with a plane at a smaller angle with its axis than the side of the cone.” Sometimes, hyperbolic describes the language of someone engaged in hyperbole, or rhetorical exaggeration. Both hyperbola and hyperbole come to English via Latin from a Greek phrase literally meaning “to throw beyond.” The dictionaries report that hyperbole was used to mean rhetorical exaggeration or extravagance in both Latin and Greek. Why this was also used to describe the “symmetrical open curve formed by the intersection of a circular cone with a plane at a smaller angle with its axis than the side of the cone” is unclear. “Perhaps so called because the inclination of the plane to the base of the cone exceeds that of the side of the cone,” say the authors at Etymology.com.
Though I cannot think of a good example in which the rhetorical sense of hyperbolic might be confused with the geometric sense, I do prefer having different words for different things. I suggested hyperbolicious to my correspondent, for the rhetorical sense, but I am not sure that it will catch on.
Send your language questions to TheTuesday@NationalReview.Com
Joe Biden’s presidential cabinet is shaping up to be Swamp Things 2: The Sequel. Prominent figures in the administration will include John Kerry, who is still alive. From my New York Post column:
Biden, having satisfied his pledge to choose a black woman as his vice president, is settling into the familiar pattern of staffing up his administration mostly with mostly rich, mostly white Democratic functionaries long associated with elite institutions: The international law firm of O’Melveny & Myers can count among its veterans not only Mike Donilon but also incoming Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas, while incoming chief of staff Ron Klain was a Fannie Mae lobbyist who is married to an Obama veteran currently serving as a fellow at the Walton Family Foundation. Big jobs like Treasury and State will be filled by familiar faces, while black lives matter mostly for feel-good portfolios such as Cedric Richmond’s new gig over at the White House Office of Public Engagement.
You can buy my forthcoming book, Big White Ghetto: Dead Broke, Stone-Cold Stupid, and High on Rage in the Dank Wooly Wilds of the ‘Real America,’ here. It’s a little bit like Hillbilly Elegy without the empathy.
My National Review archive can be found here.
Listen to Mad Dogs & Englishmen here.
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As I have mentioned above, I have at times been surprised by some of the negative reactions to J. D. Vance’s book, and, now, to some of the reactions to Ron Howard’s film. In a time when we are eternally being lectured about the need for a “national conversation” on this or that, Vance actually succeeded in starting one, and contributed to it intelligently. That is the sort of thing nonfiction writers should aspire to. I know I do.
To subscribe to “The Tuesday,” follow this link.
Kevin D. Williamson is a fellow at National Review Institute, the roving correspondent for National Review, and the author of Big White Ghetto: Dead Broke, Stone-Cold Stupid, and High on Rage in the Dank Woolly Wilds of the 'Real America.'
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Search Library catalogue Title Author Subject ISBN Series Call number for
The purpose of the Archives is to collect, house and make available records pertaining to Australian women. The Archives aim to collect documents of significant historical value which show the activities of individual Australian women and Australian women’s groups.
The Archives hold records that show the contributions of women in the building of Australian society. The focus of the collection is on Australian women although some international material is included where it is relevant. The Archives aim to augment and complement the Library’s books, serials and poster collections and ensure that primary source material on the lives and activities of Australian women is preserved and made available for research.
The material held is mostly contemporary, documenting second wave feminism dating from the late 1960s to the present day. A few collections date back to the turn of the 20th century. Much of the collection does not fit within conventional archival collection policies.
Emmeline Pankhurst illumination
The Archives include letters, diaries, photographs, banners, newspaper cuttings and ephemera, plus the minutes, correspondence and other records of women’s organisations. The size of the collections varies from just one tiny file to extensive collections of more than 10 metres. We hold the storyboards created by participants to record the women’s protests at Pine Gap and Cockburn Sound in the 1980s. We also hold an impressive collection of badges dating from early in the 20th century.
The foundation of the Archives is the range of material received from the former Canberra Women’s Archive in 1993. We now hold about 200 collections which document the influence of the women’s movement in Australian women’s lives. Issues that influenced and shaped women’s lives, particularly over the past 50 years, are also reflected through the records of women’s community groups.
The papers cover topics such as women and the church, women’s rights, abortion law reform, family planning, contraception, women’s refuges, rape crisis centres, health care, discrimination against women in the workforce, equal pay, child care, the peace movement, women in advertising, women in government as well as the papers from academic sources that cannot find a home in a university.
Using the Archives Collection
Prior arrangements are required for the use of the archives. Please contact the Archivist directly by telephone or email.
Email the archivist
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Vitamin E scare study used synthetic, not natural vitamin E
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...)
Tags: vitamin E, bad science, bad medicine
https://www.naturalnews.com/002352.html
Headlines are once again ablaze with the shocking news that taking vitamin E will kill you. Once again, the entire study was based on people taking synthetic vitamin E, which has the opposite molecular structure of natural vitamin E (the kind of vitamin E found in nuts, seeds and other foods). Natural vitamin E is well known to prevent heart attacks and enhance cardiovascular disease, and there exists an abudance of clinical evidence to support that notion.
Highlighting the dangers of synthetic vitamins is a favorite scare tactic of the conventional medical community. By scaring consumers away from vitamin E, they can convince people to take high-profit pharmaceuticals instead of more affordable nutritional supplements. And while nutritional supplements like ephedra get banned for being associated with a few dozen overdose deaths, blockbuster prescription drugs like Vioxx, which are suspected of contributing to more than 27,000 heart attacks, remain perfectly legal and FDA-approved.
There's little hope that the trend will reverse, either. Modern medical researchers continue to look at isolated nutrients like vitamin E or lycopene rather than whole foods like nuts or tomatoes. As a result, they don't get an accurate picture of how these whole foods provide a full-spectrum healing effect on the human body that fights chronic disease, including cardiovascular disease.
These sort of studies on isolated synthethic vitamins aren't honest science. In fact, they're distortions that seem to be designed to discredit all nutritional supplements. True health comes from eating whole foods, superfoods and foods with high nutrient density, including foods with plenty of vitamin E. It also comes from taking nutritional supplements in their natural food forms, not as synthetic chemicals.
Vitamin E at FETCH.news
About the author:Mike Adams (aka the "Health Ranger") is a best selling author (#1 best selling science book on Amazon.com) and a globally recognized scientific researcher in clean foods. He serves as the founding editor of NaturalNews.com and the lab science director of an internationally accredited (ISO 17025) analytical laboratory known as CWC Labs. There, he was awarded a Certificate of Excellence for achieving extremely high accuracy in the analysis of toxic elements in unknown water samples using ICP-MS instrumentation. Adams is also highly proficient in running liquid chromatography, ion chromatography and mass spectrometry time-of-flight analytical instrumentation.
Adams is a person of color whose ancestors include Africans and Native American Indians. He's also of Native American heritage, which he credits as inspiring his "Health Ranger" passion for protecting life and nature against the destruction caused by chemicals, heavy metals and other forms of pollution.
Adams is the founder and publisher of the open source science journal Natural Science Journal, the author of numerous peer-reviewed science papers published by the journal, and the author of the world's first book that published ICP-MS heavy metals analysis results for foods, dietary supplements, pet food, spices and fast food. The book is entitled Food Forensics and is published by BenBella Books.
In his laboratory research, Adams has made numerous food safety breakthroughs such as revealing rice protein products imported from Asia to be contaminated with toxic heavy metals like lead, cadmium and tungsten. Adams was the first food science researcher to document high levels of tungsten in superfoods. He also discovered over 11 ppm lead in imported mangosteen powder, and led an industry-wide voluntary agreement to limit heavy metals in rice protein products.
In addition to his lab work, Adams is also the (non-paid) executive director of the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center (CWC), an organization that redirects 100% of its donations receipts to grant programs that teach children and women how to grow their own food or vastly improve their nutrition. Through the non-profit CWC, Adams also launched Nutrition Rescue, a program that donates essential vitamins to people in need. Click here to see some of the CWC success stories.
With a background in science and software technology, Adams is the original founder of the email newsletter technology company known as Arial Software. Using his technical experience combined with his love for natural health, Adams developed and deployed the content management system currently driving NaturalNews.com. He also engineered the high-level statistical algorithms that power SCIENCE.naturalnews.com, a massive research resource featuring over 10 million scientific studies.
Adams is well known for his incredibly popular consumer activism video blowing the lid on fake blueberries used throughout the food supply. He has also exposed "strange fibers" found in Chicken McNuggets, fake academic credentials of so-called health "gurus," dangerous "detox" products imported as battery acid and sold for oral consumption, fake acai berry scams, the California raw milk raids, the vaccine research fraud revealed by industry whistleblowers and many other topics.
Adams has also helped defend the rights of home gardeners and protect the medical freedom rights of parents. Adams is widely recognized to have made a remarkable global impact on issues like GMOs, vaccines, nutrition therapies, human consciousness.
In addition to his activism, Adams is an accomplished musician who has released over a dozen popular songs covering a variety of activism topics.
Click here to read a more detailed bio on Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, at HealthRanger.com.
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Funeral held for Bartlesville soldier killed in Iraq
Monday, March 7th 2005, 5:55 am
A Bartlesville family said goodbye a soldier Monday afternoon. Specialist Adam Brewer was killed two weeks ago in Iraq. His death came just weeks before he was to come home.
Jeff Brewer says his son Adam joined the Army because he was looking for adventure. Soon after Adam graduated from Bartlesville High School in 2001, he signed up.
Adam's father says his son always had a sense of humor, even doing impersonation of Arnold Schwarzenegger for laughs. Adam's mother said he was planning on joining the police force when he got out of the Army.
Jeff Brewer says the Army helped mold his son into a man. "He was tenderhearted. He was just a really good man. He went in as a boy and came out a soldier."
Last month, Specialist Brewer was killed in Taji, Iraq. While he was on foot patrol, an improvised explosive device detonated and killed him. Brewer was just weeks from coming home from his second tour of duty in Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Hood, Texas.
News On 6 A Bartlesville family said goodbye a soldier Monday afternoon. Specialist Adam Brewer was killed two weeks ago in Iraq. His death came just weeks before he was to come home.
Jeff Brewer says
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Family of Four found stabbed to death in Northampton
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A quadruple investigation has been launched after four members of the same family were found dead with multiple stab wounds at their home in a quiet suburb of Northampton, England.
Two adults, a teenager and a child were found by police at the address in Pioneer Close, Wootton, at 6pm on Sunday evening.
The parents were named locally as Jifeng Ding, 46, and 47-year-old Helen Chui, who were found downstairs in the property. Their children, Xing, 18, and 11-year-old Alice, were found dead upstairs. All four are of Chinese origin.
Both children are understood to attend schools in the town. Alice was a year 7 pupil at Caroline Chisholm School, while her elder sister, who was known as Nancy, was said by locals to be a sixth-former at Northampton High School.
Mr Ding, known as Jeff, was a senior lecturer in the Division of Chemical and Environmental Science at Manchester Metropolitan University. His wife is understood to have been a teacher at the school that her youngest daughter attended, where it is understood she taught Mandarin.
A spokesperson for Northampton Police said: “There was violence inflicted on the four people and they had suffered from stab wounds.”
Post-mortem examinations have not yet been carried out, but Detective Superintendent Glyn Timmins said: “What we can say is that the family has died as a result of violence inflicted upon them, and the likelihood is that this will be a homicide enquiry.
“We have opened a major incident room and there are more than 30 officers involved in the detection of these matters,” he said.
A police statement added: “At this moment, the motive behind the deaths does not appear to be due to burglary or robbery.
“Local officers are conducting house-to-house inquiries and are liaising with residents and local people to offer reassurance and advice over any safety concerns.
“We do not believe there is any risk to the wider public.”
Anyone with details about the incident can call police on 03000 111222 and ask for Operation Nene.
children, death, family, found, Northampton, Northampton Police
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Sex hormone levels in older men are linked to lower biological age
20-Mar-2019 9:00 AM EDT, by Endocrine Society
Newswise — NEW ORLEANS—Older men tend to have lower biological age if they have higher levels of sex hormones, particularly the estradiol form of estrogen, a large new study from Australia finds. The study results will be presented on Sunday at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in New Orleans, La., and appear online in the journal Clinical Endocrinology.
“As populations grow older and sicker, identifying pathways to healthier aging is important,” said the study’s lead investigator, Bu Yeap, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., a professor at the University of Western Australia’s medical school in Perth. “Sex hormones such as testosterone and its active metabolite, estradiol, may reflect or possibly determine biological youth.”
Some people have a lower or higher biological age than their actual chronological age, and slower biological aging is a measure of a person’s ability to remain healthier and live longer. One way to measure biological age is the length of telomeres, which are DNA-protein complexes located at the ends of chromosomes that shorten with age, leading to cellular dysfunction. Past research shows that stress, smoking, obesity, lack of exercise and poor diet can also shorten telomeres, but the effect of sex hormones on telomeres was uncertain, Yeap said.
The researchers studied data from 2,913 men aged 70 to 89 years who lived in the community and not long-term-care facilities. The investigators measured telomeres in DNA from white blood cells using a molecular biology method called quantitative polymerase chain reaction. They measured sex hormones taken from blood samples using an accurate technique called mass spectrometry.
The research team found that the higher the estradiol level, the longer the telomeres were likely to be, indicating lower biological age. This remained true even after the researchers adjusted for actual age, lifestyle factors and existing medical conditions. Yeap cautioned, however, that their study results show only an association and not necessarily a cause.
“Our finding will facilitate future studies aimed at preserving health in the growing demographic of aging men,” Yeap said. “If future research finds that sex hormone exposure modulates biological aging in men, we would need to test the effect on biological age of giving men testosterone, which is then converted to estradiol. The optimal blood level of estradiol in older men also would need to be determined.”
Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world’s oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.
The Society has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.
Register for reporter access to contact details
COMMENTS | COMMENTING POLICY
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David Beckham Is Not About That Brexit Life
Voters will decide the United Kingdom's fate in the EU on Thursday.
David Beckham says he will vote for the United Kingdom to stay in the European Union. The British soccer star made the announcement in a Facebook post Tuesday.
Voters will decide whether the U.K. will stay in the EU when they head to the polls on Thursday.
Beckham started his career in England before going on to play in Spain and the U.S. He posted a photo of himself with Manchester United teammate Eric Cantona, who is French.
Beckham wrote of his Manchester United team, "We were a better and more successful team because of a Danish goalkeeper, Peter Schmeichel, the leadership of an Irishman Roy Keane and the skill of a Frenchman in Eric Cantona."
He went on to say: "We live in a vibrant and connected world where together as a people we are strong. For our children and their children we should be facing the problems of the world together and not alone."
The post came on the same day British Prime Minister David Cameron pleaded with voters to remain in the EU.
"If we left, our neighbors would go on meeting and making decisions that profoundly affect us, affect our county, affect our jobs, but we wouldn't be there," he said during an address.
Advocates for leaving the EU argue that exiting would offer better trade opportunities and more secure borders.
Beckham said no matter the outcome of the vote, both views should be respected.
This video includes a clip from The Guardian and images from Getty Images.
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Home Contractors New York Times feature about subway construction costs attracts attention around the...
New York Times feature about subway construction costs attracts attention around the world
This January 2012 file photo shows the view of construction of a newly built concourse underneath the lower level of Grand Central Terminal. The 3.5-mile East Side Access project is estimated to cost $12billion - or $3.5billion per mile (MTA photo published in the Daily Mail.)
A late December report by the New York Times indicating that the city’s subway system construction costs are the most expensive in the world has attracted international attention.
The Daily Mail in London, England, reported:
In New York, ‘underground construction employs approximately four times the number of personnel as in similar jobs in Asia, Australia, or Europe,’ according to an internal report by Arup, a consulting firm that did work for the MTA as well as other agencies worldwide.
The report provoked an editorial in the Times, which asserted that “New York’s leaders have failed the millions of people who use the transit system every day:
The high costs relate to “politically powerful construction companies and labor unions that drive up costs under the lax oversight of public officials who have no incentive to rouse sleeping legislative watchdogs,” the NYT editorial asserts.
As an example, “the first phase of the Second Avenue subway, completed at the end of 2016, cost $2.5 billion per mile; and the extension of the No. 7 line to Hudson Yards, finished the year before, cost $1.5 billion per mile.”
In contrast in Paris, “a dense and historic city with strong labor unions, is building a line extension similar to the Second Avenue project for just $450 million a mile, which is roughly comparable to the average cost for subway projects around the world.”
The NYT editorial concludes:
Ultimately, Mr. Cuomo and the Legislature need to reform the M.T.A. Lawmakers could require that the authority use the “design-build” process, which puts design and construction teams together early and usually reduces the need for big changes later. The state should also make sure the M.T.A. has a voice in negotiations between contractors and labor unions, to reduce the potential for featherbedding that exists when both sides can pass on costs to the government. If that doesn’t happen, no amount of revenue, whether it comes from higher fares, from a tax on millionaires as Mayor Bill de Blasio has proposed, or from congestion pricing as Mr. Cuomo has suggested, will be enough to fix the subways. Too many of those added dollars would be frittered away.
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Mo Fong
Director, CS Education
Mo has been at Google for over 10 years and is the Director of Google's CS Education Initiatives with the mission of increasing the number girls and underrepresented minorities pursuing studies and careers in computer science and other STEM fields. Prior to this role, she was a finance director and Chief Compliance Officer for Google Wallet and worked at PayPal. She also served as the Executive Director for the Stanford Educational Leadership Initiatives (seli.stanford.edu) — a joint program between the Stanford GSB and GSE working on large scale education reform. She was also as a high school vice principal and taught math and chemistry. Mo holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a BS in ChemE and MA in Education from Stanford University.
Fun Facts: She has two boys (ages 6 and 8), plays the violin, loves cooking experiments (e.g. French Macaroons and bread making), crystal-growing, and visiting science museums. Mo was born in Taiwan and moved to Detroit when she was five.
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Family Physicians Receive Top Awards at Nebraska Medical Association's 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting
byNebraska Academy of Family Physicians
Family Physician Award Winners at Nebraska Medical Association’s 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting
Physician of the Year and Young Physician of the Year are awarded to actively practicing physicians who consistently achieves high standards in the practice of medicine and is looked upon as a role model by his or her peers.
Kevin Nohner, MD – Physician of the Year
Dr. Nohner has held several different board, committee, and administrative positions within these health systems. He is past president of both the NMA and MOMS, and represented Nebraska at the AMA for several years. Dr. Nohner graduated from the Creighton School of Medicine in 1981 and family medicine residency in 1984. He established a solo practice that grew into a small group and later became employed with Alegent/CHI Health. Dr. Nohner obtained his MBA and worked with UniNet until 2017 when he left clinical medicine to become CMO at United HealthCare. He recently moved from Omaha to Lansing, Michigan, to be closer to family and returned to clinical practice with the Sparrow Medical Group.
His nominees stated:
“Dr. Nohner has an extensive and longstanding history of dedication to organized medicine dating all the way back to his time as a young physician where he attended AMA meetings serving as Delegate to the YPS from Nebraska. His leadership continued through service on multiple local and state committees throughout MOMS and the NMA as well as the NAFP. The number of committees and task forces that he has served on, or led, for organized medicine is simply too numerous to count. In each of these roles, Dr. Nohner has provided strong leadership and a dedication to his profession and to our patients. There is very little in organized medicine in which Dr. Nohner has not been engaged.”
“Personally, Dr. Nohner has played a significant role in my professional development and the impact he has had on my career has been great. He, in his humble style, was always willing to invest time and energy into my personal and professional growth. Dr. Nohner helped me become a better physician and leader within organized medicine. True to his character, he has been more interested in benefiting and advancing the careers of numerous young physicians, residents and students than advancing his own path.”
“One last thing that makes Dr. Nohner stand out is his willingness, no insistence, on partnering with other organizations and members of the healthcare team to improve care for populations. While still focused on ensuring the strength of the physician role in the delivery of the care, his primary focus has always been on the patient. For example, his advocacy would extend beyond physician reimbursement through Medicare and Medicaid to also include critical health care resources such as home health or respite care are also reimbursed. I believe that his focus and dedication to improving access to care will define his legacy and his career.”
Josue Gutierrez, MD – Young Physician of the Year
Dr. Gutierrez is a family practice physician and owner of Saline Medical Specialties in Crete, Nebraska and owner of Innovative Clinical Solutions, LLC, a managed services organization providing independent physicians with private practice resources. He also is adjunct faculty at the Lincoln Medical Education Program in Lincoln. Dr. Gutierrez completed his undergraduate studies at the University of the Ozarks in Arkansas where he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry. He attended medical school at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and completed residency in Family Medicine at Lincoln Medical Education Program (LMEP). Dr. Gutierrez has had several achievements over the years. These include receiving the "Making a Difference" award from his local health department - award provided to community member engaged in making a healthier community to the 5 county area, establishing the Healthy Community Alliance free medical clinic in 2017 to provide medical services to uninsured and under-insured individuals in a 5 county area, and being selected for the 2017 NMA Leadership Academy. He is a member of the American Medical Association, Nebraska Medical Association, Nebraska Academy of Family Physicians, and a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Gutierrez enjoys computer programming/building, martial arts, and expressing his culinary skills while grilling. He is married to Carmen Chinchilla and they have a daughter Rebecca.
“There is no one more dedicated or loyal to their community than Dr. Gutierrez. When the company he was working for decided to close suddenly, Josue understood the ramifications that it hold for his community in Crete. He, without hesitation, sought to open a new clinic and find partners in the community to help so that the patients and community of Crete would not be without a medical home.”
“Although taking on numerous responsibilities within his own clinic and community, he still seeks the betterment of the area around him. He has been working with OneHealth Nebraska and the minority health initiative to improve health outcomes for the state, beyond his own area. He is inspiring to the rest of the medical community to do more.”
“Dr. Gutierrez has taken the time to make informational videos in Spanish and disseminate them in the community and social media because he knew there was an information gap there and is a decent portion of his community. He was not asked to do this and was not compensated for his time. He saw a need and did what he could to address that need without prompting. That is what makes a leader.”
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The Federal Districts
Eastern District of New York
The Eastern District of New York (EDNY) is the Federal judicial district that covers the approximately 8 million people living in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk Counties in New York State. The Chief Judge is the Honorable Carol Bagley Amon. The Clerk of the Court is Douglas C. Palmer. The EDNY has 26 Presidentially appointed Article III Judges and 15 Magistrate Judges. The chief prosecutor for the district is United States Attorney Loretta Lynch. There are two Federal courthouses in the EDNY: The Brooklyn Courthouse located at 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, NY 11201 and the Central Islip Courthouse located at 100 Federal Plaza, Central Islip, NY 11722. www.nyed.uscourts.gov
Southern District of New York
The Southern District of New York (SDNY) is the Federal judicial district that covers the approximately 3 million people living in Manhattan, the Bronx, Westchester, Orange, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess and Sullivan counties in New York State. The Chief Judge is the Honorable Loretta A. Preska. The Clerk of the Court is Ruby J. Krajick. The SDNY has 49 Presidentially appointed Article III Judges and 15 Magistrate Judges. The chief prosecutor for the district is United States Attorney Preet Bharara. There are two federal courthouses in the SDNY: The Manhattan Courthouse located at 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007-1312 and the White Plains Courthouse located at 300 Quarropas Street, White Plains, NY 10601-4150. www.sdny.uscourts.gov.
Northern District of New York
The Northern District of New York (NDNY) is the Federal judicial district that covers thirty-two counties in upstate New York, with an extensive border with Canada to the north. Its jurisdiction comprises the counties of Albany, Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Montgomery, Onondaga, Oswego, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, St. Lawrence, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Warren, and Washington. The Chief Judge is the Honorable Gary L. Sharpe. The Clerk of the Court is Lawrence K. Baerman. The NDNY has 8 Presidentially appointed Article III Judges and 6 Magistrate Judges. The chief prosecutor for the district is United States Attorney Richard Hartunian.
The court has offices in Albany at the James T. Foley Courthouse, 445 Broadway, Albany, NY 12207; Binghamton at 15 Henry Street, Binghamton, NY 13901; Plattsburgh at the Gateway Building, 14 Durkee Street, Plattsburgh, NY 12901; Syracuse at the James Hanley Federal Building, 100 South Clinton Street, Syracuse, NY 13261; and Utica at the Alexander Pirnie Federal Building, 10 Broad Street, Utica, NY 13501. http://www.nynd.uscourts.gov/maps-locations-hours
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The Western District of New York (WDNY) is the Federal judicial district that covers the western portion of upstate New York including the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagra, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates. It has jurisdiction over the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, and Elmira. The Chief Judge is the Honorable William M. Skretny. The Clerk of the Court is Michael J. Roemer. The WDNY has 8 Presidentially appointed Article III Judges and 6 Magistrate Judges. The chief prosecutor for the district is United States Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. There are two federal courthouses in the WDNY. The Buffalo courthouse is located at 2 Niagara Square, Buffalo, NY 14202 and the Rochester courthouse is located at 100 State Street, Rochester, NY 14614. www.nywd.uscourts.gov
District of New Jersey
The District of New Jersey (DNJ) is the Federal judicial district that covers the all 9 million people living in the 21 counties of New Jersey: Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren. The Chief Judge is the Honorable Jerome B. Simandle. The Clerk of the Court is William T. Walsh. The DNJ has 23 Presidentially appointed Article III Judges and approximately 12 Magistrate Judges. The chief prosecutor for the district is United States Attorney Paul Fishman. There are three federal courthouses in the DNJ: The Newark Courthouse located at 50 Walnut Street, Newark, NJ 07101 , the Trenton Courthouse located at 402 East State Street, Trenton, NJ 08608 and the Camden Courthouse located at 4th and Cooper Streets, Camden, NJ 08101. www.njd.uscourts.gov
District of Connecticut
The District of Connecticut (DCONN) is the Federal judicial district that covers all 3.6 million people in the state of Connecticut including all 8 counties: Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, Tolland, and Windham. The Chief Judge is the Honorable Janet C. Hall. The Clerk of the Court is Robin D. Tabora. The District of Connecticut has 13 Presidentially appointed Article III Judges and 5 Magistrate Judges. The chief prosecutor for the district is Interim United States Attorney Deirdre M. Daly. There are three federal courthouses in the District of Connecticut: The New Haven Richard C. Lee U.S. Courthouse, 141 Church Street, New Haven, CT 06510; the Hartford Abraham Ribicoff Federal Building, 450 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06103; and the Bridgeport Brien McMahon Federal Building, 915 Lafayette Boulevard, Bridgeport, CT 06604. www.ctd.uscourts.gov
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Islam and the West ( 16 Aug 2017, NewAgeIslam.Com)
Trump Administration Presses Middle East on Religious Freedom
By Laura Rozen
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson today committed the US government to fighting for religious freedom around the world, singling out the Islamic State (IS) and Iran, as well as US allies such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Turkey, for their intolerance toward religious minorities.
The secretary's remarks accompanying the release of the State Department’s 2016 International Religious Freedom Report were particularly noteworthy amid reports that the Donald Trump administration wants to shift away from promoting democracy abroad. Tillerson adopted a much different tone in his opening remarks today, touting the defense of freedom abroad as an ethical and national security priority.
“The United States promotes religious freedom as a moral imperative,” he said. “As importantly, we promote religious freedom because countries that effectively safeguard this human right are more stable, economically vibrant and peaceful. The failure of governments to protect this right breeds instability, terrorism and violence.”
Tillerson’s remarks follow Trump’s nomination last month of Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback to serve as the next ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. The remarks were a hit on Capitol Hill, where many lawmakers have vowed to oppose the administration’s proposed cuts to US foreign aid.
“I applaud Secretary Rex Tillerson's remarks on the release of today's State Department International Religious Freedom Report,” Senate Appropriations Committee member James Lankford, R-Okla., said in a statement. “It is vitally important that our top diplomat clearly and unequivocally proclaim that religious freedom is a core American value and a universal human right.”
Tillerson reserved much of his criticism for the crimes perpetrated by IS. He asserted that the group's mass murder, rape and enslavement of Yazidis met the legal definition of genocide, a conclusion the Barack Obama administration first reached in March 2016.
“[IS] is clearly responsible for genocide against Yazidis, Christians and Shia Muslims in areas it controls or has controlled,” Tillerson said. “[IS] is also responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these same groups, and in some cases against Sunni Muslims, Kurds and other minorities.”
Under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, the State Department is required to report to Congress annually about the state of religious freedom in countries around the world. The report itself does not rank countries or have direct policy consequences, but provides data to help inform policymakers. Ninety days after the report’s release, the secretary of state is supposed to submit to Congress a list of countries deemed “of concern.”
“The purpose of the report is to give Congress and the executive branch data to inform judgments about foreign assistance, allocation of diplomatic resources and other issues, including adjudication of asylum and refugee requests,” Ambassador Michael Kozak, a senior adviser to the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, told journalists in a telephone briefing today. “It is not designed to pass judgment or to rank other countries, but rather to create a fact-based review for use in US government decision-making.”
Tillerson, in his overview of the report, singled out Saudi Arabia for official intolerance of non-Sunni Muslims, and Bahrain for persecution of the country’s Shiite majority.
“We remain concerned about the state of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia,” Tillerson said. “The government does not recognize the right of non-Muslims to practice their religion in public, and applied criminal penalties, including prison sentences, lashings and fines, for apostasy, atheism, blasphemy and insulting the state’s interpretation of Islam. Of particular concern are attacks targeting Shia Muslims, and the continued pattern of social prejudice and discrimination against them."
“In Bahrain, the government continued to question, detain and arrest Shia clerics, community members and opposition politicians,” he added. “Bahrain must stop discriminating against the Shia communities.”
And in Turkey, Tillerson said, “authorities continued to limit the human rights of members of some religious minority groups, and some communities continue to experience protracted property disputes.” He added that “non-Sunni Muslims, such as Alevi Muslims, do not receive the same governmental protections as those enjoyed by recognized non-Muslim minorities.”
Tillerson also accused Iran of persecuting in particular its Baha’i minority. “Members of the Baha’i community are in prison today simply for abiding by their beliefs,” he said.
US officials said one of the lessons learned from tracking the mistreatment of religious minorities is the need to act before systematic persecution of religious minorities.
“There is a growing consensus on the need to act,” Kozak said. “The genocidal acts of [IS] awakened the international community to the threats facing religious minorities.”
Source: al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/08/trump-tillerson-middle-east-religious-freedom-report.html#ixzz4pz2L8ZH8
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islam-and-the-west/laura-rozen/trump-administration-presses-middle-east-on-religious-freedom/d/112220
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You can stay in a haunted Airbnb for just $31 a night this Halloween
Do you love to feel scared?
Airbnb is offering up some of the spookiest spots in the world available for rent this Halloween — and you'll, appropriately, only pay $31 per night (plus fees).
The sale starts Wednesday and includes eight different haunted rental properties available on the site, which renters can reserve for a stay from Nov. 1 to Nov. 3.
The available spots include the Cisco Post Office and Pace Bros Shack in Cisco, Utah, which is essentially the entirety of a haunted ghost town once inhabited by Cold War hero and uranium entrepreneur Charles Steen, who is said to roam the property to this day, looking for uranium. You could also stay in Inspiration House in Oberlin, Ohio, filled with musical toys that play on their own and ghostly footsteps on the stairs, or Gettysburg Historic in Aspers, Penn., which is said to be still inhabited by the original homeowner, a Confederate soldier. There's also the Manor Master Chamber in St. Paul, Minn., where a young girl died of typhoid fever in the 1900s and never left, according to the host, or for a typical ghosts-in-the-attic experience, you can venture to The Enslin Mansion in Troy, New York, where the ghosts will play tricks on you. You can also get pranked by ghosts at The Stroud Forest in Wake Forest, N.C., where you may get pinched by spirits or surprised by a music box that plays on its own.
If you want to venture out of the United States, there's the appropriately named Haunted House in Ontario, Canada, where a ghost bitter about her father ignoring her inheritance still roams the halls (along with her father as well). You can also rent the Rensow Manor Retreat in Rensow, Germany, where the partially candlelit home is occupied by Slavic gods who walked the land 1,200 years ago.
The bookings are first-come, first-serve and apply only to overnight stays on Nov. 1 and 2.
Read more Halloween stories from GateHouse Media:
Should Halloween be on a Saturday every year?
The science of fright: Why we love to be scared These are the best cities for celebrating Halloween, according to this study
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Our vision is a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before
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Jean English Chief Marketing Officer
Mario Queiroz Executive Vice President, Special Projects
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
Nikesh Arora
Nikesh Arora joined as chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks in June 2018. Before joining Palo Alto Networks, Nikesh served as president and chief operating officer of SoftBank Group Corp. Prior to that, he held a number of positions at Google, Inc. during a 10-year span, including senior vice president and chief business officer, president of global sales operations and business development, and president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Prior to joining Google, Nikesh held the role of chief marketing officer for the T-Mobile International Division of Deutsche Telekom AG. He was chief executive officer and founder of T-Motion PLC, which merged with T-Mobile International in 2002.
Nikesh serves on the board of Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., a public Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company, and Tipping Point, a non-profit organization that fights poverty in the Bay Area. Previously, he served on the boards of SoftBank Group Corp., Sprint Corp., Colgate-Palmolive Inc. and Yahoo! Japan, among others. He holds an M.S. in Business Administration from Northeastern University, an M.S. in finance from Boston College and a B. Tech. in electrical engineering from the Institute of Technology at Banaras Hindu University.
As president, Amit is responsible for all go-to-market functions, including sales, support, consulting, business development, partnerships and enablement. Prior to joining Palo Alto Networks, Amit held several roles at Google, including founding and building Google's Cloud business. In this capacity, he worked to help companies move to Cloud-based services like Gmail, Google Docs and the entire Cloud platform suite. He also led business and operations for Google's AR and VR efforts. Prior to Google, Amit spent 20 years at Oracle in various product, engineering, sales and strategy roles.
Amit is a graduate of Rensselaer with a master’s degree in industrial and management engineering and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Delhi College of Engineering.
Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Nir Zuk
Nir Zuk brings a wealth of network security expertise and industry experience to Palo Alto Networks. Prior to co-founding Palo Alto Networks, Nir was CTO at NetScreen Technologies, which was acquired by Juniper Networks in 2004. Prior to NetScreen, Nir was co-founder and CTO at OneSecure, a pioneer in intrusion prevention and detection appliances. Nir was also a principal engineer at Check Point Software Technologies, and was one of the developers of stateful inspection technology.
Lee Klarich
Since early product inception in 2006, Lee Klarich has served as the head of product management at Palo Alto Networks, overseeing the product strategy and roadmap and playing a key role in delivering our Next-Generation Security Platform. In August 2017, he became chief product officer with responsibility for both engineering and product management for the company.
Prior to Palo Alto Networks, he was the director of product management for Juniper Networks, where he was responsible for firewall/VPN platforms and software. He joined Juniper Networks through the NetScreen Technologies acquisition, where he managed the same product line. Previously, he held various positions at Excite@Home and Packard Bell-NEC. He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from Cornell University.
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Jean Compeau
Jean Compeau joined Palo Alto Networks in 2012. In February 2018, she became chief accounting officer, with continued responsibility for the company's accounting and tax functions. Previously, she served as senior vice president, corporate controller at Palo Alto Networks. Jean also held a variety of senior accounting or corporate controller positions, including at Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Exodus Communications and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Jean holds a B.A. degree in Business Economics from UCLA and is a certified public accountant (inactive) in California.
Liane Hornsey
Liane Hornsey joined Palo Alto Networks as chief people officer in September 2018. Liane previously served as chief people officer at Uber Technologies, Inc. where she helped transform the culture during a period of significant turbulence. Prior to that, she served as chief administrative officer and operating partner at SoftBank Group International. In this role she traveled the globe helping portfolio companies scale and achieve unsurpassed human capital success. For almost ten years before joining SoftBank, Liane led People Operations for Google’s Global Business and became Google’s first female vice president in human resources.
Liane has held senior leadership roles at lastminute.com Group, Virgin Media and BMG Music. Liane is widely recognized as one of the world’s pre-eminent practitioners in people operations as well as organization and leadership development.
Liane serves on the board of BUILD, a nonprofit organization that provides real-world entrepreneurial experience to empower youth from under-resourced communities to excel in education, lead in their communities and succeed professionally.
Luis Visoso
Luis Visoso joined Palo Alto Networks in July 2020. Prior to joining the company, Visoso served as the chief financial officer (CFO) at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and was previously the CFO of Amazon’s Worldwide Consumer division. During his 27 years of business experience, he has also held a variety of senior finance positions, including at Cisco Systems and The Procter & Gamble Company, in Latin America, Europe, and the United States. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and a minor in International Business from Tecnológico de Monterrey.
Jean English
Jean English joined Palo Alto Networks as chief marketing officer in August 2019. She has more than 20 years of business-to-business marketing experience. Most recently, she served as senior vice president and CMO at NetApp. Previously, Jean spent 17 years at IBM in a variety of roles, including vice president of Global Marketing for IBM Cloud, and led the go-to-market transformation for IBM’s cloud business. During her tenure with IBM, she also served as CMO for IBM Asia Pacific, wherein she was responsible for all aspects of marketing, communications and citizenship. Jean serves on the board of ATHENA International and is a member of the National Charity League. Both organizations focus on helping women develop and strengthen their leadership skills.
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Mario Queiroz
Mario joined Palo Alto Networks in February of 2020 to incubate special cybersecurity projects for the company.
Before Palo Alto Networks, Mario spent 14 years developing consumer products at Google. He led the creation of Chromecast, the company’s first consumer hardware product, which was (recognized by Time magazine as 2013 “Gadget of the Year."). More recently, Mario worked on the development and launches of Google Home and Google Wifi and served as GM and VP of Product Management for Pixel smartphones. Mario was previously at Hewlett-Packard in engineering, product management, and operations roles.
Mario earned bachelors and masters degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University.
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The Quad Cities sees tourism spending increase
A new report shows that overall local travel-generated expenditures grew by 2.7% in 2019. That’s according to Visit Quad Cities. In Scott and Rock Island Counties, combined travel-generated expenditures equaled $954,000,000 last year, up over the $928,000,000 in 2018.
“We are pleased to see these positive year-over-year results and momentum for tourism,” said Dave Herrell, President and CEO, Visit Quad Cities. “Our visitor economy’s growth is important on so many levels and tourism will be critical to how our community builds for recovery. We know the 2020 numbers will be significantly down from 2019 but we need to be laser focused and execute our strategies to help lead economic growth and further position the Quad Cities regional destination for the future.”
Quad Cities tourism figures for 2019 showed positive growth. Local jobs supported by tourism is 8,270. Local sales tax receipt numbers also grew from $15.3 million in 2018 to $15.8 million in 2019. Local sales tax receipts have increased by $1 million in just two years.
The State of Iowa saw an increase in all tourism spending sectors, and travelers spent $9.26 billion in Iowa during 2019. Tourism in Iowa also supported 70,700 jobs, comprising 4.5 percent of total state non-farm employment in 2019. On average, every dollar spent by domestic travelers produced 16.2 cents in payroll income for Iowa residents.
In numbers released earlier this month, the State of Illinois reported visitors spent nearly $43.1 billion in Illinois during 2019, which is a $1.3 billion boost to the state’s economy since 2018. Illinois welcomed a record 120 million visitors last year contributing to an increase in visitor spending, tax revenue, and local jobs.
The U.S. Travel Association researches and prepares these reports for each state.
Muscatine volunteer grateful for helping those in need during the pandemic
by Karla Sosa, Britni Moses / Jan 19, 2021
Food banks have seen a higher demand for food during the pandemic.
Managers of the Salvation Army chapter in Muscatine say they helped 10 times as many people during the pandemic than they did before it.
Saxophone player earns top honors in Young Artist Auditions
by Linda Cook / Jan 19, 2021
Brennon Cavanagh, a senior at West Carroll High School in Savanna, has been awarded top honors in the Clinton Symphony Orchestra’s annual Young Artist Auditions. Cavanagh won the auditions with a performance of the "Concerto for Tenor Saxophone and Orchestra" by American composer Robert Ward, a news release says.
In addition to the $250 in prize money from the symphony, the honoree is usually given the opportunity to perform their solo piece with the orchestra on one of their concerts. Because of the pandemic, that may not be possible.
Crews battle flames at house fire
by Jarek Andrzejewski / Jan 19, 2021
UPDATE: The Rock Island Fire Department confirms with Local 4 News that the house was unoccupied at the time of the fire and nobody currently lives there.
There is significant damage to the side of the house. The sidewall had to be knocked down to make sure there were no flames inside the walls. Local 4 News was told by firefighters that there wasn't serious damage to the interior.
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Black Lives • 1h 27m
Directed by Marlon Riggs • Documentary • 1991 • 88 minutes
An essential companion to Ethnic Notions, Color Adjustment explores black representation in the age of primetime television. Deconstructing cultural touchstones from Amos ’n’ Andy to The Jeffersons to The Cosby Show, this cogent and provocative documentary illuminates how, as portrayals of African-American lives and families became increasingly mainstream, they remained no less insidious, peddling a fantasy vision of the black experience and the myth of the American Dream.
Up Next in Black Lives
Integration Report 1
Directed by Madeline Anderson • Documentary • 1960 • 20 minutes
INTEGRATION REPORT 1 examines the struggle for black equality in Alabama, Brooklyn and Washington, D.C., incorporating footage by documentary legends Albert Maysles and Ricky Leacock, protest songs by Maya Angelou, and a speech by M...
Capturing the Flag
Directed by Anne de Mare • Documentary • 2018 • 76 minutes
A tight-knit group of friends travel to Cumberland County, North Carolina—the 2016 'posterchild' for voter suppression—intent on proving that the big idea of American democracy can be defended by small acts of individual citizens. What t...
Multiracial Identity
Directed by Brian Chinhema • Documentary • 2011 • 77 minutes
Multiracial people are the fastest growing demographic in America, yet there is no official political recognition for mixed-race people. MULTIRACIAL IDENTITY explores the social, political, and religious impact of the multiracial movem...
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OHCHR > English > Countries > Africa Region > South Africa
OHCHR in Southern Africa
The boundaries and names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations
South Africa and UN Charter-based Bodies
South Africa and UN Treaty Bodies
Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences - Mission to South Africa (A/HRC/32/42/Add.2) Advance Unedited Version
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food - Mission to South Africa (A/HRC/19/59/Add.3)
Report of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination - Mission to South Africa (A/HRC/18/32/Add.3)
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants - Mission to South Africa (A/HRC/17/33/Add.4)
Report of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living - Mission to South Africa (A/HRC/7/16/Add.3)
Concluding observations (2019) CAT/C/ZAF/CO/2
Concluding observations (2018) E/C.12/ZAF/CO/1
Concluding observations (2018) CRPD/C/ZAF/CO/1
Concluding observations (2016) CRC/C/OPSC/ZAF/CO/1
Concluding observations (2016) CRC/C/ZAF/CO/2
Concluding observations (2016) CERD/C/ZAF/CO/4-8
Concluding observations (2016) CCPR/C/ZAF/CO/1
Concluding observations (2011) CEDAW/C/ZAF/CO/4
Contact in Geneva, Switzerland.
Africa Branch
Tel. + 41 22 928 9360
South African environmental activist demands responsible business practices during COVID-19
Turning the tide on gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa
Shine a light on icons of human rights past and present
African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
African Court of Justice
Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions
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Nonprofit Industry Leader and Speaker Ian Adair to Keynote Raise 2020
National Fundraising Conference Returns to Washington D.C. September 14-15
Feb. 13, 2020 — INDIANAPOLIS – OneCause, a leader in online and event fundraising, today announced nonprofit industry influencer and executive director for Gracepoint Foundation, Ian Adair, will deliver the keynote address at the Raise Fundraising Conference in Washington D.C. on September 14-15. Adair is a three-time executive director, building successful nonprofits across the country by winning donor attention, cultivating strong boards, and revitalizing mission awareness with stakeholders and community partners.
“Raise is like no other industry conference out there. We’ve built a unique community and experience where nonprofit professionals come together, in an interactive format, to share ideas and collaborate on the future of fundraising,” said Steve Johns, chief executive officer for OneCause. “We’re thrilled to have Ian keynote this year’s event, bringing his twenty plus years of direct fundraising expertise and passion for helping nonprofits break through the noise and improve donor engagement.”
The annual Raise conference brings together fundraisers and nonprofit industry thought leaders from across the country for learning, collaboration, and insights. In addition to the keynote from Adair, Raise 2020 will feature planned social activities, an expo hall for networking, and more than 30 interactive sessions focused on event and auction fundraising, peer-to-peer and social fundraising, philanthropic strategy, and technology workshops.
“Raise provides an exceptional opportunity for nonprofits to exchange real experiences and ideas that enhance fundraising,” said Adair. “I’m honored to be a part of this year’s conference and look forward to sharing my own experiences building fundraising strategies and leveraging technology to win donor attention in today’s competitive charitable environment.”
Session proposals are currently being accepted through February 29. Nonprofit professionals and industry experts are encouraged to submit bold session ideas impacting and changing the world of fundraising. To suggest a session or speaker, please visit: https://www.onecause.com/raise/speakers/.
For more information and to register for the premiere event fundraising conference of the year, visit: https://www.onecause.com/raise/.
About Ian Adair
Ian Adair is a recognized nonprofit industry influencer, speaker, author, and advocate for mental health awareness. He has more than 20 years of fundraising, leadership, and nonprofit management experience impacting organizational culture and program success at all levels. Ian currently serves as the Executive Director of the Gracepoint Foundation in Tampa, Florida, the philanthropic arm of Gracepoint, one of the largest behavioral health service providers in the state of Florida.
About OneCause®
OneCause creates user-friendly fundraising software that helps nonprofits engage donors, raise more money and save valuable time and resources. Our full suite of cloud-based fundraising solutions has powered 6,000 organizations, well over 20,000 fundraising events, and helped nonprofits raise more than $2 billion. OneCause has been recognized on the Inc. 500 list of Fastest Growing Companies, is a TechPoint MIRA award winner for Mobile Technology Excellence & Innovation and is a five-time Stevie® Award winner for excellence and innovation in Customer Service.
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Athletics acquire reliever Turley from Pirates for $60,000
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Left-hander Nik Turley was traded to the Athletics on Thursday from the Pittsburgh Pirates for $60,000, giving Oakland a reliable reliever for late in games after losing closer Liam Hendriks in free agency.
Turley went 0-3 with a 4.98 ERA and one save over 25 relief outings — most by any big league rookie — spanning 21 2/3 innings for the Pirates in the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season.
The 31-year-old Turley made his major league debut with Minnesota in 2017 then didn't pitch the next two years after working back from Tommy John elbow ligament reconstructive surgery.
Oakland won the AL West at 36-24 for its third straight playoff berth then beat the White Sox in the wild-card round before losing in a four-game AL Division Series to rival Houston last fall.
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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Home / Pocket Squares / On the Southern Plains Pocket Square
On the Southern Plains Pocket Square
Frederic Remington 1861–1909, On the Southern Plains, c.1907.
Designed and Printed in Britain
Remington made a number of trips to the American Southwest, with one of his favourite themes being the American soldier in the West. In this painting, soldiers led by a scout in buckskin charge an unseen enemy. The artist was willing to depart from reality in his works, this piece was intended to represent the 1860's, yet the uniforms and weapons date from the Civil War through to the 1870's. In addition the usual attack formation was a direct horizontal line rather than a dynamic mass as shown in the painting.
Questions? If you have any questions for us regarding any aspect of our products, or just need some tips, then please don't hesitate to get in touch at enquiries@rampleyandco.com.
The Artist - Frederic S. Remington
Frederic Sackrider Remington (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialised in depictions of the American Old West, specifically concentrating on scenes from the last quarter of the 19th century in the Western United States and featuring images of cowboys, Native Americans, and the U.S. Cavalry, among other figures from Western culture.
In the American West of 1881, he saw the vast prairies, the quickly shrinking buffalo herds, the still unfenced cattle, and the last major confrontations of U.S. Cavalry and Native American tribes, scenes he had imagined since his childhood. Seeing the west first hand gave Remington a more authentic view of the West than some of the later artists and writers who followed in his footsteps, such as N. C. Wyeth and Zane Grey, who arrived twenty-five years later when much of the mythic West had already slipped into history.
Remington was one of the first American artists to illustrate the true gait of the horse in motion (along with Thomas Eakins), as validated by the famous sequential photographs of Eadweard Muybridge. Previously, horses in full gallop were usually depicted with all four legs pointing out, like "hobby horses". The galloping horse became Remington's signature subject, copied and interpreted by many Western artists who followed him, adopting the correct anatomical motion.
Macclesfield Printed Silk
Macclesfield was once the centre of the English silk weaving industry and the world's biggest producer of finished silk. The area has been printing silk for over 300 years and at one point had over seventy mills operating in the town. The town is close to a water supply that passes through limestone, and when used in washing and dyeing it gives silk a uniquely attractive lustre.
Our pocket squares are printed at a mill that has been producing printed fabric on the same site for the past fifty years and the process uses water sourced from its own reservoir.
Hand Rolling
The art of hand rolling pocket squares is a unique craft and truly makes each piece individual and unique. We feel that the precision and care taken by our skilled artisans gives each scarf its own unique character, finish and feel. To create the finest rolled hems, the edge of the silk or cotton pocket square must be softy turned over with a handheld needle and then small stitches are inserted approximately one half to one centimetre apart around the edge, creating a supple yet prominent border.
It’s absolutely the best way to finish a pocket square for a variety of reasons but the key ones are for both visual effect and structure. Rolling by hand is the only way to get a really nice clean plump finish on the edge and this gives a really nice depth to the edges. It’s a more expensive process than machine rolling but by using a machine you’re often left with a flat edge and you don’t get the same luxurious feel. On top of this, the rolled edges add a lot more structure to your pocket square.
Datinventory - Daniel Öhrstedt - Sweden
"I was eyeing the Rampley pocket squares for quite a while and was thinking that the idea of turning classic art into pocket squares was quite brilliant and interesting.
When I finally had the chance to see the products in person I was blown away by the rich details in the prints. What you don't realise from the pictures is that the print is actually incredibly detailed even on the back of the square. This results in making it much easier to…" click to read full review.
Editor-in-chief Plaza Uomo - Erik Mannby - Sweden
"My line of work gives me a pretty unique chance of studying finely crafted clothing and accessories and if pressed, I can roll a decent hand rolled edge myself. Rampley & Co’s products are as good as it gets where handwork is considered. The pocket squares I own so far are on the same level, or better than, pocket squares that usually retail for several times the price that Rampley & Co charge. The silk is finely woven and neither too thick to become bulky in ones pocket, nor is it..." click to read full review.
Jesse - United States
"I was elated when I received the most elegant and exquisite pocket square I had ordered from Rampley & Co! It is absolutely gorgeous. The color and clarity of the scene depicted, and the quality of this accessory are truly exceptional." Read more reviews...
Tom - United Kingdom
"Very impressed by both the quality of the product and the customer service. The team fulfilled a last-minute request and got a beautiful pocket square to me via international shipping nearly instantaneously." Read more reviews...
Chris - United States
"I'm a new customer but am extraordinarily impressed with the quality of Rampley's products (so far, two pocket squares) and their customer service. I had a question about ordering ties and they've been incredibly responsive and helpful." Read more reviews...
Customers Wearing Our Pocket Squares
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President Nader
Previous Prev Milestones
Next War Paint
Going Green in campaign 2000, Doug Ireland casts his vote for AIDS drug access, same-sex marriage and the uncynical.
May 1, 2000 • By Doug Ireland
Four years ago, Ralph Nader—the longtime advocate for consumers, workers and the environment—offered himself up to the Green Party as its presidential candidate in a handful of states, and even though he made only a few token appearances and spent just $5,000, he managed to rack up a million votes. This year, Nader hopes to be on the ballot in 45 states as the candidate of the Greens, who are mounting their first full-scale national campaign. His goal is to garner the 5 percent of the vote the party needs to get Federal Election Commission matching funds and become a permanent part of the national political discourse. (For more information, call 202.296.1600, or click on www.votenader.org.)
Nader is the only postulant for the White House to advance a comprehensive program for access both here and abroad to anti-HIV drugs and other lifesaving meds. “We should take all drugs developed with taxpayer dollars—that includes most AIDS drugs, on which the drug companies are getting windfall profits—and put price restraints on them,” Nader told POZ in an exclusive interview. “And instead of giving a monopoly on these drugs to just one company, multiple licenses should be issued to any company that wants to sell them. That would create competition and bring down prices.”
Moreover, Nader said, “If there’s any opposition by the drug companies to this, government should say to them, ‘If you’re going to engage in profiteering, we’ll make them ourselves—and more cheaply than you.’ There’s already a drug company over at the Defense Department that produces three out of four of the globally used antimalarial drugs. While the drug companies claim it costs them $300 to $500 million to develop each drug, the Pentagon does it for about $10 million per.” Nader added that the World Health Organization should be given licenses to produce at the most inexpensive prices possible the drugs the U.S. paid to develop.
Through the Consumer Project on Technology (CPT)—just one of the skein of public interest organizations that his fertile mind has conceived in the last three decades—Nader has been lobbying to make meds cheaply and globally available, long before this became a hot issue in the AIDS community. In fact, CPT provided a nonstop fountain of expertise in international trade law that informed the AIDS Drugs for Africa campaign and made it effective. As a next step, Nader said, “the U.S. could build a plant in Africa and for $300 million supply the whole continent” with the top 10 lifesaving drugs. Nader is also the only candidate to campaign for “universal national health care from the cradle through the nursing home, with a single-payer system like Canada’s. In the U.S., 24 cents of every dollar spent on health care goes to administrative costs, but the Canadians spend only 11 cents. The difference could pay for covering the 47 million Americans who now have no health insurance.”
For HIVers, a critical component of Nader’s health plan is his strong emphasis on medical privacy and patient empowerment. “Patients have to be given the right to band together as consumers, to have watchdog offices with full-time staffs,” he said. “Focusing only on finance and not on quality, accessibility and empowerment does not deal with incompetence, mismanagement, discrimination and corporate domination of the health care system.” Nader also supports needle exchange, medical marijuana and “an intellectual property right to medical files,” including HIV status—“no right to refer, buy or rent without the consent of the owner, meaning the patient.”
Four years ago, when a reporter asked Nader if he supported the Greens’ platform favoring same-sex marriage—a key issue for gay HIVers—he flippantly replied that he wasn’t interested in “gonadal politics.” But in February Nader told POZ that the recent Vermont Supreme Court decision, which held that denying the rights and benefits of marriage to same-sex couples constitutes discrimination, “was right, a humane and touching decision with a very searching rationale—it’s not only a matter of affinity, but of economics on health care and other issues, which makes it all the more needed.”
Many HIVers, such as drug-access advocate David Scondras, the former Boston Democratic council member, believe that “it would be great if Nader could be president, but our collective self-interest tells us that Gore is better than the Republican—it’s always a choice of the lesser of two evils.” But ACT UP/New York’s Eric Sawyer argues that “Nader truly gets the humanity of the global AIDS crisis and, through the Nader family of organizations, is one of the real fighters on global AIDS.” AIDS activist Ann Northrop—who’ll be a featured speaker on AIDS at the Greens’ national convention in June—calls Nader’s “the only uncynical candidacy—it offers us a chance to express ourselves because he’s not part of the self-promoting, power-mongering two-party monopoly.”
Or, as a great labor leader once said, “It’s better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don’t want and get it.” I’m voting Nader in November.
Editor’s note: Columnist Doug Ireland’s vote for Ralph Nader for president does not represent the official endorsement of POZ.
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Double federal funding for basic science research over 10 years
Will "support doubling federal funding for basic research over ten years, changing the posture of our federal government...to one that embraces science and technology. This will foster home-grown innovation, help ensure the competitiveness of US technology-based businesses, and ensure that 21st century jobs can and will grow in America."
All of the Obameter
Promise Broken
By Jon Greenberg December 12, 2016
Obama falls short on basic research funding goal
Part of candidate Barack Obama's message of hope was he would unlock the power of science to cure disease, generate clean energy, create new jobs and otherwise put the country on an upward path.
In 2007, a year before the election, he unveiled his plan which included a pledge to "support doubling federal funding for basic research over 10 years."
The budget numbers show he didn't deliver.
Dollars for basic research come through many agencies, but the big ones are the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the departments of Energy, Defense and Agriculture.
There have been 10 fiscal years since Obama made his promise. We looked at the period from 2007 to 2016 and checked the results using different combinations of agencies and definitions of research.
Under no scenario did basic research double.
The chart below shows the budget trends for basic research across all the agencies, using the American Association for the Advancement of Science record of research spending.
Except for the 2009 bump from the economic stimulus package, by and large, budgets have held steady.
Congress authorized about $32.5 billion for 2007 and $33.5 billion for 2016.
The drive to reduce the deficit basically put this promise out of reach, said Matthew Hourihan, who oversees the research and development budget and policy program for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
"A 10-year doubling would have required annual increases of 8 percent for each of these agencies," Hourihan said. "In most years, the administration did not ask for anywhere near this increase. Certainly not for the National Institutes of Health or the Office of Science. They did regularly seek funding boosts for the big three basic research agencies, but usually not enough to put the agencies on a 10-year doubling path."
On this promise, the numbers speak for themselves. Obama said he would push to double basic research spending, and it largely held steady. We rate this Promise Broken.
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Federal R&D in the FY 2016 Budget: An Overview, Oct. 18, 2016
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Historical Trends in Federal R&D, accessed Dec. 9, 2016
Email interview, Matthew Hourihan, director, R&D Budget and Policy Program, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Dec. 9, 2016
By Angie Drobnic Holan January 15, 2009
Potentially billions for science
Certainly no one is happy that the U.S. economy is in such dire straits that policymakers are talking about a stimulus plan that could cost more than $500 billion. But an unintended benefit for Barack Obama is that the bill gives him a chance to make good on a number of his more expensive campaign promises.
Obama discussed the broad outline of his hopes for the bill in a speech at George Mason University on Jan. 8, 2009.
"It is not just another public-works program," Obama said. "It's a plan that recognizes both the paradox and the promise of this moment — the fact that there are millions of Americans trying to find work even as all around the country there's so much work to be done. That's why we'll invest in priorities like energy and education; health care and a new infrastructure that are necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st century."
Democrats in the U.S. House released a broad outline of what they hope to include in the 2009 stimulus bill and it contained many ideas Obama promised during the campaign, including a big chunk for basic research.
We're not sure how far the new proposal goes toward doubling federal funding for basic research. But it directs $10 billion toward science, including $2.5 billion for basic research. That's a start. And it's enough for us to move the Obameter from No Action to In the Works.
New York Times, Barack Obama speech on the economy at George Mason University , Jan. 8, 2009
U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Web site, Summary: American Recovery and Reinvestment , Report Text , and Bill Text, (pdfs) published and accessed Jan. 15, 2009
Latest Fact-checks
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New Deputy Chief Constable appointed
The CNC welcomes a new Deputy Chief Constable with the appointment of Chris Armitt
Chris Armitt
The Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) has a new Deputy Chief Constable, with Chris Armitt being appointed to fill the role left vacant after Simon Chesterman was appointed Chief Constable earlier this year.
Chris joined the CNC in 2015 as Assistant Chief Constable, after spending 26 years with Merseyside Police and prior to that eight years in the army with the Royal Engineers. During his career, Chris has fulfilled a wide range of operational roles including the role of Gold Commander for the NATO Summit in 2014. In June 2015 he was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for distinguished service.
Deputy Chief Constable Chris Armitt said of his appointment: “It is a great honour to have been selected to be the new Deputy Chief Constable for the CNC. Having been here four years I’ve met most of the people who work for the CNC and I know that as an organisation we have so much to be proud of and also a lot of potential. I am looking forward to playing my part in helping us reach that potential, both collectively and as individuals.”
Chief Constable Simon Chesterman said: “Chris has been through a very rigorous selection process to get this role and I congratulate him on his appointment. The role attracted a lot of very talented and exceptional people, so Chris has really earned it.
“Chris’s enthusiasm, experience and commitment to the organisation and its people are invaluable to the CNC so I am delighted he has accepted the role.”
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Effects of Edaravone on Functional Recovery of a Rat Model with Spinal Cord Injury Through Induced Differentiation of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells into Neuron-Like Cells. Li Yumei,Liu Laibing,Yu Zijiang,Yu Yan,Sun Baofei,Xiao Chaolun,Luo Shipeng,Li Lin Cellular reprogramming Edaravone can induce differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) into neuron-like cells and replace lost cells by transplanting neuron-like cells to repair spinal cord injury (SCI). In this study, BMSCs were derived from the bone marrow of male Wistar rats (4 weeks old) through density gradient centrifugation (1.073 /mL), and the cell purity of BMSCs was up to 95%. The combined injection of basic fibroblast growth factor and edaravone was conducted to differentiate BMSCs into neuron-like cells. In this study, 120 male Wistar rats were used to establish the model of semitransverse SCI; on the seventh day, neuron-like cells were labeled by BrdU and then injected into the epicenter of the injury of rats. On the 14th day after cell transplantation, the biotin dextran amine (BDA) fluorescent agent was used to track the repair of nerve damage. At 7, 14, 21, and 30 days after SCI, the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor scale method was used to measure the functional recovery of hind limbs in rats. Additionally, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, Nissl staining, immunohistochemistry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Western blotting, and Real-time quantitative reverse transcripion PCR (qRT-PCR) were used to observe the regeneration of nerve cells. In the edaravone+BMSC group, behavioral analysis of locomotor function showed that functional recovery was significantly enhanced after transplantation of the cells, BrdU-positive cells could be observed scattered in the injured area and extended to both the head and tail, and the BDA tracer shows that the edaravone+BMSC group emits more fluorescent signals. Additionally, H&E staining, Nissl staining, and immunohistochemistry revealed that the space of spinal cord tissue was attenuated and the neurons were increased. Western blotting and qRT-PCR showed that the expression levels of neuron-specific enolase (NSE), Nestin, and neurofilament 200 (NF) were increased, while the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was decreased. TEM showed that cytoplasmic edema was reduced, mitochondrial vacuoles were attenuated, and nuclear chromatin concentration was declined after transplantation of neuron-like cells. Moreover, with the extension of time of edaravone+BMSC transplantation, the structures of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum tended to be normal. In summary, the induced differentiation of BMSC transplantation can significantly promote the functional repair of SCI. 10.1089/cell.2020.0055
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James Brown is a former Australian Army officer, who commanded a cavalry troop in southern Iraq, served on the Australian taskforce headquarters in Baghdad and was attached to Special Forces in Afghanistan. He is the Research Director and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the US Studies Centre, University of Sydney. He is the author of the acclaimed book Anzac’s Long Shadow.
Firing Line
Australia's Path to War
Going to war may be the gravest decision a nation and its leaders make. At the moment, Australia is at war with ISIS. We also live in a region that has become much more volatile, as China asserts itself and America seeks to hold the line.
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With the Arizona Legislature Signing Off on $1.6 Billion in Budget Cuts, How Can We Justify Music Therapy?
Sarah Fenske
Sarah Fenske | February 26, 2009 | 4:00am
It was the music therapy that pushed me over the edge.
For the past month, I've been getting an endless series of pleas, begging me to lobby the government not to ax this program or that. I've been asked to fight against cuts to education, the closure of state parks, and the reduction of hours at senior centers. After-school programs are being slashed — and yet don't we all believe that children are the future? Libraries are closing on Sunday — but surely people need computer access for their job searches!
Everybody's suffering. Everybody needs help. And everybody is tapped out. What can you feel in the face of such hopelessness except a certain numbed depression?
music therapy for children
Personally, I've been hunkered down, trying to spend less money. Sure, I've written the occasional small check to do my part for the really urgent cases, but mostly I just feel helpless and sad for everybody.
How Will Arizona's Teacher Strike Showdown End?
Then came the e-mail about music therapy.
The Arizona Legislature has been forced to sign off on a staggering $1.6 billion in cuts, just to get the budget on track before the end of the fiscal year in June. (They're now trying to find places to cut another $425 million from next year's budget, although that could change, thanks to the federal stimulus plan.)
Turns out, as part of this fiscal year's cuts, the reimbursement rate for private therapy providers is being slashed. If you have a developmentally disabled kid, the state will still pick up the cost of therapy — but now it's demanding a 10 percent rate cut from its providers. For music therapy, the state is cutting rates by 55 percent.
Now, I'd never argue that the state shouldn't be in the business of supplying necessary therapies to disabled kids. Speech therapy, physical therapy — that's important stuff.
But did you know that we've been paying for trained professionals to help kids express their feelings through music? And it's not just that we foot the bill for underprivileged families. (That I would understand.) But we're doing it regardless of income. In Arizona, it's considered a way to teach "socialization" — and the state subsidizes it without regard for need.
Naturally, there's an Arizona Music Therapy Association. And naturally, it's been organizing the parents who use its services — the parents of developmentally disabled children — to protest those cuts.
Now, as any reporter or legislator could tell you, there are no better advocates than the parents of disabled children. They've had to fight for their kids from birth; many become proficient at fighting simply because they have to. (I wasn't surprised to learn that some plucky parent managed to get President Barack Obama's ear to talk about music therapy during his visit to Dobson High last week.)
But really.
Without the cuts, we were expected to finish the year $1.6 billion in the hole. Billion! And now, thanks to cuts to its budget, CPS says it no longer has enough money to investigate all the complaints it receives alleging abuse and neglect.
Do you realize what that means? Some kid somewhere is going to get hurt and no one's going to be there to check up and make sure he's okay.
Longtime readers of this paper know I'm no fan of CPS. Unlike former Governor Janet Napolitano, I believe the state should err on the side of keeping kids with their families in all but the most clear-cut cases of abuse and neglect. But the fact that some neighbor, or teacher, is upset enough about the way a child is being treated to call CPS, and no one's even going to stop by to check out the child and put the caregivers on notice? That's shameful.
In light of that, it's pretty hard to get upset because the state is no longer picking up the entire bill for music therapy.
I hate to be the one to break the news, but we're in terrible economic times. Meanwhile, Governor Napolitano didn't just fail to save for this rainy day; she actually raided the "rainy day fund" long before it started pouring.
Now we have to make some unpleasant choices. And any middle-class parents whining about how their kid isn't going to be socialized through music therapy had better not expect a lick of sympathy from me.
I know I'm not alone in this, if only because the nation is having a collective anti-OctoMom meltdown. Not since Ronald Reagan inveighed against welfare queens have we felt so damn tired of being forced to subsidize our brother's various keepers (and bail out his five-bedroom McMansion while we're at it).
I'm looking at my tax return and they've taken out thousands of dollars — to give the Iraqis freedom, to pay for healthcare for poor kids, to finance federal grants so the government can encourage us all to stop being so obese. Apparently, I'm also paying to help finance $490 a month for food stamps for Nadya Suleman and her growing brood. And bankrolling all those idiots who thought the great real estate bubble would never burst. And helping Detroit to continue to make cars that I wouldn't drive if they were giving them away.
No wonder the Chicago Tea Party idea is generating such a buzz!
Now, I know that we're supposed to be our brother's keeper. As a good Catholic — actually, make that a serious Catholic, if not always a good one — I understand the importance of feeding the hungry, giving shelter to the homeless, even picking up the Medicare tab for the sick.
I have a harder time with music therapy. And glossy TV commercials urging kids not to do meth. And grants for Arizona farmers, so they can study the effects of conserving parts of their acreage.
Apparently, I've been paying for all of the above.
Fact is, most of us didn't really pay attention at the time to whether such causes were worth the money. Why worry?
In hindsight, it's clear that rather than saving up for an inevitable downturn — or even just holding out for truly worthy programs — the state went on a spending spree.
From fiscal year 2003 to 2007, general fund expenditures in Arizona increased by nearly 70 percent — from $6 billion to $10.2 billion. Sure, the state was adding residents every day, but even when you factor that in and account for inflation, state spending was still through the roof. Over those four years, spending rose at an average of 8 percent annually, even when adjusted for both population growth and inflation. (Those figures come from the non-partisan Joint Legislative Budget Committee, in case you were wondering.) How many households do you think were able to raise their spending at a similar clip?
Of course, many worthy programs were funded during that time. But Ronald Reagan had it right when he wrote, "Government always finds a need for whatever money it gets."
The boom years meant that we, the taxpayers, could foot the bill for music therapy for disabled kids — even if those kids were in wealthy families. They meant that, between the state and various counties, $6.35 million could go to a high-profile ad campaign that warned children of the dangers of meth, even though that same campaign had shown dubious results in Montana. They meant that a high-powered lobbyist could beg the Legislature to appropriate funding for a controversial California-based treatment program, which she thought would help her autistic child — and we the taxpayers ended up giving the company $5.4 million to come to Arizona.
The boom years also meant Arizona Department of Agriculture videos touting the tastiness of Arizona grains. Meanwhile, the Arizona Game and Fish Department gave $50,000 in grants to local "sportsmen's groups" — which are apparently hunting and fishing clubs — to aid them in recruiting new members. Yeah, that's a necessary function of government.
What the heck: The money was there. As the Gipper so rightly predicted, the government found a way to spend it.
None of these expenditures is huge in the big picture. And none makes or breaks $1.4 billion in cuts. It's the carelessness that's offensive.
Take the Department of Commerce, an agency where the reigning political party is notorious for placing apparatchiks. Under Napolitano, the department's funding more than quadrupled, from $3.1 million in 2004 to $14 million in 2008.
The Department of Commerce is supposed to market Arizona to out-of-state companies, but it's long seemed more interested in justifying its own existence. A few years ago, the department's bigwigs actually hired an outside firm for a branding campaign. Not to brand Arizona, mind you — to brand itself, the Department of freakin' Commerce. The firm was actually paid to replace the department's longtime slogan, "Our Job Is Jobs," with "The Center for Economic Advancement." The cost of the branding campaign: $35,225.
On that note, did you know that just about every agency in the state has its own lobbyist? So do most big cities and counties.
Yep, we're paying the government to lobby itself.
The Goldwater Institute published a great study on this issue a few years ago. Just the handful of counties and cities that it surveyed managed to tally up a combined $6 million in lobbying expenses over a five-year period. State agencies spent another $3.3 million during that period.
And don't even get me started on all the money that the government is spending to sue . . . the government. I don't blame the cities one bit for suing the state over the Napolitano-era edict that they kick in more money (they won, after all), but we taxpayers ultimately footed the bill for both sets of lawyers. On the county level, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has now sued his own client, the board of supervisors, twice.
Don't you think we could be better spend that money investigating allegations of child abuse and neglect?
It's kind of funny. While I was researching this column, I stumbled onto a telling quote in a January 2008 issue of Arizona Capitol Times. Governor Janet Napolitano was trying to persuade the Legislature not only to eschew cuts, but to spend even more. She actually wanted to offer free tuition at state universities to any student who maintained a B average in high school.
That plan seems crazy today. But at the time, just one year ago, Napolitano was convinced the state was downright flush. She told the Cap Times, "We must remember that Arizonans years from now won't ask how we balanced the budget. Instead, they'll ask how we improved education, ensured their safety, built a prosperous economy, and planned for explosive growth."
In late January, the Arizona Department of Administration sent out a memo to all state agencies, telling them that employees are now required to turn off the lights when they leave the building at night. Which leads to my question for Governor Napolitano.
Unlike what Napolitano suggested to the Cap Times, I'm not asking, "Gee, Governor, how did you do such a great job improving education?"
I'm asking, why didn't we turn off the lights years ago? What did Commerce do with $14 million in 2008?
And what's up with the music therapy?
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Amended Law on Liability for Oil Pollution in Japan
9 February 2005 No.518
Please refer to our Special Circulars entitled "Proposed amendment to the 'Law on Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1975'(Part-1)-In relation to The measures for abandoned ships on Japanese coast 1" and "AmendedLaw on Liability for Oil Pollution in Japan2" together with Japan P&I News 3" entitled "AmendedLaw on Liability for Oil Pollution in Japan".
As you may recall, the Amendment of Law will come into effect on 1 March, 2005. From that date, all oceangoing vessels over 100 tons (except vessels carrying CLC oil exceeding 2,000 tons) are obliged to hold a certificate of insurance for oil pollution and/orwreck removal (COI). As reported in the above circulars, the Japan Club has been nominated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in Japan (MLIT) as a "designatedinsurer" and thus an original or certified copy of a Certificate of Entry issued by the Club will be recognised as a valid COI.
The Amendment of Law becomes effective shortly after 20 February, the usual renewal date for P&I insurance. Consequently, this led to a concern that there would be insufficient time to ensure that new Certificates of Entry were issued and placed on board allvessels entered with the Japan Club before the effective date. Similar problems were also expected to arise after each subsequent renewal. We, therefore, asked MLIT whether they might grant a grace period to allow sufficient time for new to be issued to eachvessel.In response to our inquiries, the MLIT has advised that it will allow a two month grace period to allow ships to obtain an original or certified copy of the new Certificate of Entry. During this period, a Certificate of Entry for the previous, then expired, policy year issued by the Japan Club will be accepted provided that there is also carried on board an "appropriate copy" of the Certificate of Entry or the Confirmation of Renewal for the new policy year. An "appropriate copy" means a faxed copy, photocopy or electronic copy (in pdf format) of the Certificate of Entry or Confirmation of Renewal issued by the Japan Club for the new policy year. The two month grace period will extend until the 20th April (JST) .
1.No.03-022 dated 12 March, 2004
2.No.04-013 dated 6 December, 2004
3.No. 509 dated 1 September, 2004
Please note that the MLIT intends to circulate details of the grace period only as an internal guideline to the relevant port authorities and is unwilling to make any public official announcement on this matter.
If you have any queries, please contact the MLIT, the details of which are as follows:-
PollutionOther ActsJapanAsiaJapan P&I News
The Amended Law on Liability for Oil Pollution Damage in Japan
Proposed amendments to the "Law on Liability for Oil Pollution Damage,1975"(Part 2) -Increase in the Amount of Compensation to Persons, suffering Pollution Damage –
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Nevada lawmakers want to abolish the death penalty because of concerns over costs, sparking opposition from prosecutors and some victims' families.
Nevada is among 32 states that allow death as a sentencing option. But no inmate has been executed since 2006 and none likely will be any time soon as the state struggles to replenish its supply of execution drugs.
Assemblyman James Ohrenschall and state Sen. Tick Segerblom, both Democrats, proposed Assembly Bill 237 in late February. The bill would end capital punishment and leave life without the possibility of parole as the state’s strongest punishment.
“We believe the death penalty isn’t effective, it isn’t a deterrent,” Segerblom said. “It’s a colossal waste of money, and more importantly, no one is ever going to be executed given the delays from appeals and other things.
“It’s a punishment that’s meaningless, but it’s costing us a fortune.”
Nevada bill to abolish the death Penalty, AB 237 | Felony
‘We’re spending millions of dollars’
In 2013, state legislators passed a bill mandating a study of the costs associated with the death penalty.
An audit report the following year found that the death penalty process, from the arrest to the end of incarceration, costs about $532,000 more than non-death penalty cases. Most of those costs come from the trial and appeal process.
A death penalty case costs about $1.3 million for a defendant who is sentenced to death but isn’t executed. That includes trial, appeal and incarceration costs. If the defendant is executed, then the costs are less.
Cases where prosecutors don’t seek the death penalty cost about $775,000, the report said.
The report was based on 28 cases from 2000 to 2012 in Washoe and Clark counties.
“I know there’s a lot of people that are sitting on death row in (Ely State Prison), which is a very expensive place to incarcerate people,” Segerblom said. “And they have to each sit in an individual cell.”
Currently, there are 82 death row inmates, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections. But the state has only executed 12 prisoners since the death penalty was reinstated in 1977.
A bill in the 1977 Legislative Session brought Nevada's death penalty laws in compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court guidelines, the report said.
The state also recently spent close to $900,000 creating a new execution chamber at Ely State Prison after its old chamber in Carson City fell out of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
But even with an up-to-date execution chamber, the state is unable to carry out capital punishment. One of the two drugs needed to create the lethal injection expired. The state has since been unable to find a company willing to restock its supply.
“We’ve tried this over the years,” Segerblom said of the bill. “It’s very difficult. (The bill) can be pulled. Most of the cities support the death penalty, and they don’t fully appreciate the costs involved.”
“It’s one of those issues that you have to keep bringing it back and trying to explain to voters the reality, which is that it’s not something that’s going to happen (soon),” he said, referring to death penalty executions. “And yet we’re spending millions of dollars that we could be using for educating kids or for giving reparations to crime victims or something beneficial as opposed to pouring it down a rat hole.”
‘Cost is frankly a poor argument’
Support for the death penalty has fallen in the past two decades, but Americans still favor the death penalty more than they oppose it, according to a 2016 survey from the Pew Research Center.
The poll found that 49 percent favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder, and 42 percent oppose it.
Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks said he believes the system is broken.
“I think cost is frankly a poor argument,” Hicks said. “Really, the important discussion to have over the death penalty is: Does our society believe in it?”
Most of the state’s death penalty cases come from Clark County, said Hicks, who is also president of Nevada District Attorneys Association.
“My office uses the death penalty very sparingly and judiciously,” Hicks said. “We reserve it for the very worst offenders. And in the last 10 years, we have only sought the death penalty two times, although we have likely prosecuted close to 100 if not more homicides in that time.”
One of those cases involved Tamir Hamilton, who was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of 16-year-old Holly Quick in 2006.
The other involved James Biela, who was convicted for the rape and murder of 19-year-old college student Brianna Denison. Biela was sentenced to death in 2010 plus four consecutive life terms in prison for the rape of two other women.
In 2015, he filed a motion for a new trial after he exhausted appeals for his conviction. He alleged he had ineffective counseling during his 2010 trial, but he was denied a new trial.
His defense attorney previously said the case could go to federal court.
“It’s really, in my opinion, alarming how many judicial reviews an inmate gets,” Hicks said. “Most people think he’s convicted and the Supreme Court looks at it and either affirms it or reverses it and that’s it.”
A lengthy process
The real problem is the lengthy appeal process, which could take decades to get through, Hicks said.
“In the case of Mr. Biela, the Nevada Supreme Court within two years of his conviction affirmed the jury’s decision to give him the death penalty and said they agreed with it,” Hicks said. “And here we still are years later.”
In a death penalty case, the process includes a longer jury selection and a divided trial – one for guilt and one for sentencing, according to the audit report. The process also includes a complex set of appeals for both the conviction and sentence, which are automatically appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court.
The Nevada Supreme Court can then affirm the sentence, send it back for a new hearing or impose a sentence of life without parole. If the appeal is denied, the inmate can request a review from the U.S. Supreme Court. If that’s denied, the inmate can file a post-conviction petition in the Judicial District Court where that inmate was convicted. The petition is usually assigned to the original judge or court.
A death penalty inmate can also continue appealing to federal courts. The case could then be kicked back the state district court and the Nevada Supreme Court.
“It can take decades, and that’s what’s so frustrating about it,” Hicks said, adding that the evidence in Biela’s case was overwhelming. “There’s frankly no doubt that these individuals did commit these heinous crimes. It’s fact.”
“The fact that they can get upwards of five to six levels of appellate review on the taxpayer’s dime is wrong,” he said. “That’s what needs to be fixed.”
The trial process for a death penalty case costs about $566,352, while the appeal process can cost $142,265, the audit report said. That’s $389,096 and $86,496 more than in non-death penalty cases, respectively.
“You can’t put a price on a victim’s life or a price on justice for that victim,” Hicks said. “I’m sure none of their family members could do that, and I most certainly would never do that.”
Hicks said he and the families of Dennison and Quick are opposed to the bill and plan to attend a hearing Wednesday at the Nevada Legislature.
“We’re not the type of society that says, ‘Oh, it’s broken, we’re just going to give up,’” Hicks said. “That’s essentially what’s being proposed here.
“It should be fixed, of course.”
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Bill Caplan’s 20 greatest heavyweights
by Doug Fischer
Photo from THE RING archives
The big men of boxing made a comeback last year.
From Deontay Wilder’s WBC title-winning victory to Tyson Fury’s monumental upset of long-reigning RING champ Wladimir Klitschko, the heavyweight division recaptured the public’s attention with an influx of new blood in 2016.
Photo by Alex Menendez – Hoganphotos/Golden Boy
Enthusiasm for the heavyweight division was enhanced by a pair of entertaining scraps – Anthony Joshua’s seventh-round knockout of Dillian Whyte and Luis Ortiz’s seventh-round TKO of Bryant Jennings – at the end of 2015 and an early KO of the Year candidate with Wilder’s ninth-round one-hitter-quitter against Artur Szpilka last month.
With this renewed interest in mind we thought it was a good time for a refresher on the standouts that helped make the heaviest weight class boxing’s “glamor division” in the form of all-time Top 20 list.
This particular list is penned by veteran PR ace Bill Caplan and is in no way an “official” all-time rankings by THE RING magazine (although RingTV.com editor Doug Fischer agrees with much of it). However, it should be noted that the view of Caplan, who turned 80 last year, is one that should be respected. After all, Caplan, who can match knowledge with the sport’s most respected historians, actually saw most of the fighters on his list fight live. He worked with many of them, too, most notably, George Foreman, so the Southern California sage had a ringside view during the heavyweight division’s “Golden Age” – the 1970s.
But enough introduction, let’s get to the darn list!
1. Joe Louis. The Brown Bomber was the undisputed heavyweight champion for 11¾ years and met all comers. He was a magnificent boxer-puncher whose biggest loss was to the Internal Revenue Service.
2. Muhammad Ali. He reinvented himself over and over again. Beating Sonny Liston to win his first championship as a 7-to-1 underdog, defeating chief rival Joe Frazier two out of three times, stopping the undefeated George Foreman as a 4-to-1 underdog (to regain the title), outpointing Kenny Norton two out of three times and nearly everyone else during what was truly a “Golden Age of Heavyweights” (the 1960s and ’70s).
3. Larry Holmes. Ali’s former sparring partner dominated everyone except Michael Spinks during his seven-plus years as heavyweight champion (1978-’85). A boxer-puncher with a power jab and heavy right hand who was seldom in a bad fight, Holmes was his own worst enemy PR-wise; constantly spewing negativity with his “I’m never appreciated by you media people” rhetoric. Shut up, Larry, and allow us to appreciate you!
4. Rocky Marciano. “The Rock” is the only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated. Only 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds but was able to generate gigantic power. His best punches may have been to his opponents’ arms. They were so damaging that it was difficult, if not impossible, for his challengers to hold up their hands after that punishment. Rocky was unmatched when it came to the weeks he would spend in a remote training camp preparing for battle. No holidays, no birthday celebrations, his family wasn’t allowed to visit him in camp.
5. George Foreman. “Big George” made history unmatched by any other athlete in world-class sports. He won Olympic gold (at the politically charged 1968 Games in Mexico City) at age 19 with only 21 amateur fights under his belt. He retired for 10 years at age 27 and came back to a successful second career to again win the heavyweight title by knocking out the undefeated Michael Moorer at age 45 in 1994. (At the time, Foreman was the oldest fighter to ever win a world championship. His record was later broken by Bernard Hopkins.) He recaptured the title almost 20-years to the day that he lost it to Ali in their 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle.”
6. Joe Frazier. Smokin’ Joe won Olympic gold at the 1964 Games in Tokyo). His professional career was guided by a group of Philadelphia professional and business men called Cloverlay. Yancy Durham, his advisor-trainer, was highly respected. Joe is another who met all the great heavyweights of “the Golden Age” and beat them all except his nemesis, George Foreman. His 1971 fight with Ali was the most highly publicized fight of all time. Both champions were undefeated (both with legitimate claims to the biggest prize in sports). Frank Sinatra was at ringside shooting pictures for Life magazine. The closed circuit color commentator was Oscar winner Burt Lancaster. Frazier dropped Ali in the 15th round with his lethal left hook and won the decision. Ali won their second and third meetings. The last, “the Thrilla’ in Manila,” was thought by many to be the greatest heavyweight title fight of all time. It destroyed both men.
7. Lennox Lewis. Yet another Olympic gold medal winner (in 1988). He stopped future champ Riddick Bowe in the finals of the Seoul Games. Lewis, an athletic 6-foot-5, was a prototype for the “super heavyweight” era in boxing. With ties to England, Jamaica and Canada, Lewis settled in London for his championship career. His favorite sport for fun was chess. Lewis met and defeated all the top heavyweights of his era with the exception of Bowe, though often attempted, the match was never consummated. Lewis’ only two losses, at the fists of Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall, were reversed via knockout victories. His final fight was with future champ Vitali Klitschko in June 2003 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Lewis trailed on all scorecards in a wild fight that ended when the challenger, suffering a gushing eye cut, was TKO’d in six. Lennox retired champion, turning down many lucrative offers to continue. The handsome, soft spoken, intelligent Lewis did color commentary on HBO fights for a few years after his retirement and is often spotted ringside for big fights on both sides of the Pond.
8. Evander Holyfield. “The Real Deal” is the only man to win the heavyweight title four times. Competing as a light heavyweight in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, he won all of the major cruiserweight titles as a pro before making heavyweight history. His most remembered victories were against Foreman in a record breaking pay-per-view match in Atlantic City in 1991, and his stoppage and DQ wins against Mike Tyson in ’96 and ’97. Evander was a 16-to-1 underdog in the first Tyson match and still a 2-to-1 short ender in the infamous “Bite Fight.” Thought to be undersized in the neighborhood of big heavyweights (Riddick Bowe outweighed the 205-pound Holyfield by at least 30 pounds in the first bout of their classic trilogy), the likeable Georgia native enjoyed one of the most lucrative careers in the history of boxing.
9. Gene Tunney. Who? You know, the man who went 2-0 against the great Jack Dempsey way back in 1926 and ’27. He was the first athlete to receive a million-dollar purse in their second meeting. A classic boxer, Tunney used his fertile Shakespearian-reading brain to outfox the hard-punching Dempsey. His only loss was a 15-round decision to all-time great middleweight champ Harry Greb in a light heavyweight bout earlier in his career. Tunney beat Greb in the rematch and rubber match. His son John became a United States Senator from California.
10. Jack Dempsey. The super popular champion known as “The Manassa Mauler” changed the style of his sport with his bob-and-weaving, body punching attack. Most fighters of his era stood straight up and were head hunters. He won the title by chopping down the huge, 6-foot-6 “Pottawatomie Giant” Jess Willard, who weighed 245 pounds to 5-foot-11 Dempsey’s 187 pounds. The outdoor fight in Toledo, Ohio, was on the 4th of July, 1919, and it was reported to be 110 degrees at ringside. Dempsey gave Willard one of the worst beatings ever seen in a championship bout and the former champ was unable to leave his corner for the fourth round. Willard suffered broken ribs, a broken jaw and lost four teeth but was called “a coward and a quitter” for retiring in his corner.
11. Charles “Sonny” Liston. A heavy punching brutish bomber who took the title from Floyd Patterson by first-round knockout. He proved it was no fluke by starching Floyd again in the opening round of their rematch. His jab was a power punch and his right cross was deadly. His awesome presence seemed unbeatable until brash Cassius Clay burst the bubble in their Miami confrontation and again in a Lewiston, Maine high school gymnasium.
12. Ken Norton. Kenny made the list because he fought the Greatest, Ali, three times, broke the Louisville Lip’s jaw and won the decision in their first fight in San Diego. He lost two very close decisions at the Inglewood Forum and Yankee Stadium. Hall of Fame promoter Don “War-a-Week” Chargin mused, “You could have raised Norton’s hand all three times. His style confused Ali.” Norton fought an epic 15-round war with Larry Holmes and met most of the Golden Age heavyweights. In high school, this superb athlete starred in football, basketball, baseball and track.
13. Riddick Bowe. He could have been higher on the list if he would only apply himself in the gym
Photo by Holly Stein/Getty Images
when training for fights. The only big fight he ever got in excellent shape for was his first meeting (of three) against Evander Holyfield, when he won the undisputed title. Bowe lost the rematch (his only professional loss) and got up from the canvas to win the rubber match by knockout. His all-time great trainer Eddie Futch walked away from Bowe saying “Riddick could be so great if he would only buckle down. I can’t be a party to it any longer. Such a waste of talent.”
14. Jersey Joe Walcott. A hard-punching, relentless stalker with a shuffling style. Many thought he beat our number one, Joe Louis, but he wound up on the wrong end of a controversial decision loss in their first fight. Even Louis, later in life, hinted that he received a gift the night he met Jersey Joe.
15. Floyd Patterson. Another small heavyweight at 5-foot-10 and usually around 180 pounds. His three fight series with Ingamar Johansson will always be a part of heavyweight title lore. This soft spoken, shy, humble role model was a Cus D’Amato creation with fast hands and a leaping, peek-a-boo style. The women loved him. He was their fantasy Teddy Bear.
16. Vitali Klitschko. The older of the two brother champions. He had tremendous power, a strong chin, PhD-intelligence and dedication. Being almost 6-foot-7 didn’t hurt either. A great humanitarian, Vitali retired with his WBC belt to focus on politics of his troubled home country Ukraine and later became mayor of its capitol city, Kiev.
17. Mike Tyson. Why is he so low on the list? He had fast combinations, pulverizing power and was the great intimidator. He netted over 300 million dollars in purses (that he spent) because this anti-hero had record-breaking drawing power. So why isn’t he in the top 15? Iron Mike, another D’Amato creation, was the world’s greatest front runner. Never once did he walk through fire and win. He never came from behind to win. He never rose from the deck to win. Lack of heart? Lack of character? I don’t know. You tell me.
18. Jerry Quarry. Perhaps the best heavyweight to never win a title. Irish Jerry and his lethal left hook knocked out bigger, stronger fighters he was supposed to lose to. Quarry converted Don King from a manager into a fabled promoter when he knocked out paralyzing puncher Earnie Shavers in the first round of their Madison Square Garden biggy. King managed Shavers. Jerry fought Ali, Frazier, Patterson and many of the stars of the Golden Age. If only he didn’t have that tender, Irish skin… Well, he kept his cut-men very busy. You could have called him the Bellflower Bleeder.
19. Jimmy Ellis. He won the WBA’s eight-man heavyweight tournament created to replace Muhammad Ali when he was deposed for failing to submit to the draft during the Vietnam War. Ellis beat Quarry in the finals after Jerry had him out on his feet and failed to finish the former Ali stablemate. Joe Frazier latter flattened him to become the undisputed champion.
20. Last, and least of the top 20, is Vitali’s kid brother Wladimir Klitschko, who held the IBF title for almost 10 years – and collected the WBO, WBA (and RING) versions along the way – during the leanest crop of heavyweights in modern boxing history before losing the belts to brash Tyson Fury last November.
There it is. Lists are made to be argued about. Having worked the fights beginning in 1962 to the present, many of them with the above heavyweights, I have a right to my opinion. The great man, Big George Foreman, is one of my closest friends in life so before you say that number five is a bit high for him let me point out that one of the most respected minds in boxing, Teddy Brenner, matchmaker at Madison Square Garden during their salad days, has Foreman fifth on his all-time list as well.
You can subscribe to the print and digital editions of THE RING Magazine by clicking here. On the cover this month: A look ahead to a possible showdown between star middleweights Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin. You can also order the current issue, which is on newsstands, or back issues on our subscribe page.
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Death in Beijing: Murder and forensic science in Republican China
Daniel Asen
Rutgers Newark, History
In this innovative and engaging history of homicide investigation in Republican Beijing, Daniel Asen explores the transformation of ideas about death in China in the first half of the twentieth century. In this period, those who died violently or under suspicious circumstances constituted a particularly important population of the dead, subject to new claims by police, legal and medical professionals, and a newspaper industry intent on covering urban fatality in sensational detail. Asen examines the process through which imperial China's old tradition of forensic science came to serve the needs of a changing state and society under these dramatically new circumstances. This is a story of the unexpected outcomes and contingencies of modernity, presenting new perspectives on China's transition from empire to modern nation state, competing visions of science and expertise, and the ways in which the meanings of death and dead bodies changed amid China's modern transformation. Presents a textured description of interactions between law and science in early twentieth-century China. Uses compelling historical materials to approach abstract questions about the nature and implications of 'modernity' in China and beyond. Balances a detailed view of everyday life in Republican Beijing with watershed moments in modern Chinese history.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316421987
Published - Jul 28 2016
10.1017/CBO9781316421987
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Asen, D. (2016). Death in Beijing: Murder and forensic science in Republican China. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316421987
Asen, Daniel. / Death in Beijing : Murder and forensic science in Republican China. Cambridge University Press, 2016. 258 p.
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Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey contact form
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Andrew Burton/Getty Images News/Getty Images
Remember Joe Lieberman? He Could Replace James Comey
by Korey Lane
Lately, it seems as though the most effective way to measure time is to go by the number of scandals coming out of the White House. Basically, one scandal equals one day. Or something like that, anyway. But, for every scandal, there are numerous outcomes to follow. Take, for example, Trump's unexpected firing of FBI Director James Comey. News broke of Trump's decision last week, but Comey's position has yet to be filled; Now that the Trump administration is seeking out potential candidates for the new opening, one name in particular has at least a few people saying, "Huh?" So, for those who slept through the 2000 election or just plain forgot, who is Joe Lieberman? Al Gore's former vice presidential candidate and previous senator from Connecticut may be up for the position.
According to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, President Trump is "meeting in the afternoon with the ex-Connecticut senator and three other possible replacements for ousted FBI Director James Comey at the White House." The other potential candidates include acting FBI chief Andrew McCabe, former top FBI official Richard McFeely, and former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating. However, Trump's choice of Lieberman is perhaps the most perplexing. He is the only candidate without FBI experience or who isn't a devout Republican. In fact, Lieberman, 75, is actually an Independent now, but was a Democrat during the 2000 election.
If Trump were to choose Lieberman for the position, it would be a pretty stark break from his current administration's party ties: deeply conservative and very red. However, there is always the option that Trump is only entertaining Lieberman for FBI director to appease his critics, who have argued that his possible obstruction of justice in firing Comey is grounds for impeachment.
During his career as senator, Lieberman was a big advocate for restructuring the Department of Homeland Security, which Congress did following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In the past, Lieberman has been staunchly pro-choice, opposed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, and has voted against increased oil drilling.
But a more progressive agenda doesn't necessarily mean Lieberman is free from scandal. As Vox reports, Lieberman is "now a lobbyist, who works for a law firm retained by Trump." So, yeah. He's not exactly free from any conflicts of interest.
However, none of this means that Lieberman would bring about a potential shake-up of the FBI. There has been no FBI director in history that has had a clear, blatant political agenda when taking the role, meaning that Trump's shortlist is quite unprecedented.
And Lieberman might not even take the job, even if it were offered. According to CNN, Lieberman told reporters that the news "was not sought after or expected." However, Trump's decision to interview Lieberman for the position is certainly interesting, whether or not it goes anywhere.
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RD.COM Holidays & Observances
The History of 12 Popular Mardi Gras Traditions
Elizabeth YukoUpdated: May 01, 2020
The details aren't random. Every bit of this legendary celebration has a story.
Joel Carillet/Getty Images
The reasons behind the revelry
Each year, around 1.4 million people descend upon New Orleans for the city’s annual Mardi Gras celebration. Though many people think of the holiday as Fat Tuesday—the day before Ash Wednesday, when the Christian season of Lent begins—it actually starts on the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th and continues for several weeks before concluding on Fat Tuesday. And there’s a lot more you probably don’t know about Mardi Gras, including the reasons for the many customs associated with the festivities. Make no mistake about it: They’re not random. Here’s why some of the most distinctive customs are included in this legendary, months-long party.
Lynne Mitchell/Getty Images
King cake
If you’ve never had a chance to try a king cake, you’re missing out. While some say the delicious circular pastry dates back to 1870s France, others think it originated in the Middle Ages. Either way, it is typically associated with Christianity—specifically, the feast of the Epiphany. This occurs each year on January 6th (also known as the twelfth day of Christmas), and it and represents the day that the three magi (or kings) visited the baby Jesus. The popular cake has since expanded its reach to the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans, which is several weeks after the Epiphany. A small plastic baby or some other type of trinket is baked into each cake. Whoever ends up with the baby is responsible for the next king-cake party. Want to learn more about cakes? Here’s the fascinating history behind the birthday cake.
rustyl3599/Getty Images
The color scheme
Most Mardi Gras decorations are gold, yellow, and purple, but have you ever wondered why? Back in 1892, the theme for the Rex parade was “Symbolism of Colors,” at which point the three hues were designated as the official colors of the celebration. The colors were chosen because gold represents power, green represents faith, and purple represents justice. But why three colors instead of one or two? The Rex founder decided that Mardi Gras—like any other country or kingdom, including the United States, France, and the United Kingdom—needed three colors in its flag. Here are another 9 random things you never knew had an official color.
Along with beads, masks are an integral part of any Mardi Gras celebration. Though masks have been used all over the world for centuries, this tradition started in the early days of Mardi Gras in New Orleans as a way for people to get around socioeconomic constraints and designations. For these few days each year, people were able to transform into other personas as they moved about the city. Unfortunately, this didn’t always work for women, who could have their reputations questioned if they wore masks. Here’s why Mardi Gras float riders continue to wear masks today.
Skip Bolen/Getty Images
Flambeaux
Flambeaux—or flaming torches—are another traditional part of Mardi Gras. The first flambeaux were used at the celebration of 1857 and began as a way to allow attendees to see what was going on during the parades held at night. Originally, the flambeaux were carried by men of color, both enslaved individuals and free men who were primarily Creoles. The men would perform elaborate dances while carrying the torches, and onlookers would throw coins in the street as tips for the dancers. Though flambeaux are no longer a necessity thanks to modern infrastructure, they remain an important part of the celebration. In case you were wondering, this is what people in New Orleans actually think of Mardi Gras.
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Krewes
If you’ve heard about “krewes” associated with Mardi Gras but aren’t sure what they are, you’ve come to the right place. In short, krewes are different clubs in New Orleans that organize and put on the Mardi Gras celebrations in the city. They date back to 1857 when the Mystick Krewe of Comus put on the first Mardi Gras parade and coined the term. In fact, it was the krewes that originated many of the traditions we’re discussing here, like flambeaux and masks. The five first krewes in New Orleans were Comus, Momus, Twelfth Night, Rex, and Proteus, and membership was initially limited to rich white people. As a result, many new krewes popped up during the beginning of the 20th century to accommodate groups that had been left out, including women, African Americans, Irish, Italians, and Germans. Today, there are more than 70 krewes. Already been to Bourbon Street? Here are the best places to celebrate Mardi Gras outside of New Orleans.
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Mardi Gras has been celebrated in what is now the United States since 1699 when French explorers Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville and Sieur de Bienville landed near present-day New Orleans. They celebrated their arrival and named the spot where they landed “Point du Mardi Gras.” This turned into an annual party, featuring balls and street parties until the Spanish took control of the region and outlawed these celebrations. The Mardi Gras festivities that we know today started up again in 1812 when Louisiana became a state, and they evolved in 1827 when a group of students danced in the streets wearing colorful costumes. A decade later, the first official recorded Mardi Gras parade was held in New Orleans. For more legendary fun, check out the best St. Patrick’s Day parades in the United States.
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A memorable parade typically involves floats, and the ones used in the Mardi Gras celebrations certainly fit the bill. Ranging from being satirical and political to ornate and beautifully decorated, the floats add a new dimension to the parade every year. Many of the city’s krewes select a theme for each year’s festivities, and the floats are created according to that theme. But these aren’t public projects to begin with—most floats are made in secrecy in “secret dens,” with the big reveal happening each year at the parade. There are typically between 14 and 40 full-sized floats in a Mardi Gras parade. No matter much you plan, of course, things occasionally go awry. Here are the biggest float fails from Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parades over the years.
One of the most common associations with Mardi Gras is the alleged tradition of women exposing their breasts in exchange for beads tossed from parade floats. But the thing is, this isn’t actually a Mardi Gras tradition in most of New Orleans. According to the Mardi Gras New Orleans website, “saying it is ‘tradition’ is like saying that people who get drunk and pass out on Bourbon Street are following tradition as well.” This tends to happen in the French Quarter, where many Mardi Gras attendees who are visiting from out of town tend to congregate. People who are interested in that type of celebration gravitate toward that area every year, and the so-called “tradition” continues. Also, you won’t find people flashing for beads at the parades and celebrations in other parts of the city. Don’t miss these other wild parties around the world.
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Many of the krewes come to the parade prepared with some sort of small objects to cast off from their floats, known as “throws.” Beads are, of course, the most popular and well-known of the throws. Parade onlookers can shout, “Throw me something, mister!” at the krewes if they’re interested in receiving beads or whatever else they have that day. The tradition of throwing beads is thought to have started in the 1890s when one of the carnival kings threw strings of beads and fake jewels to his “loyal subjects” on the route. By the 1920s, this became common practice, though the beads were made of glass at the time; they didn’t become the plastic version we know today until the 1960s. As much as people enjoy this tradition, it’s not great for the city’s infrastructure: A few years ago, approximately 93,000 pounds of beads were found clogging New Orleans’ storm drains.
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Not all krewes throw beads. The Zulus—one of New Orleans’ oldest African American krewes, which held its first parade in 1909—are known for throwing coconuts instead. Well, technically, the coconuts are no longer thrown as much as they are gently handed to festival-goers, for safety purposes. And these aren’t your average coconuts from the supermarket (though the tradition did start that way); the ones handed out today are painted and covered with glitter. Check out the strangest tradition in every U.S. state.
Ted Soqui/Corbis/Getty Images
Along with flashing for beads, heavy drinking is another activity associated with Mardi Gras, particularly in the highly trafficked French Quarter. But like baring it all for beads, this isn’t a traditional part of the Mardi Gras celebration, though it is something that’s widely televised, thanks to the crowds of revelers on Bourbon Street. Overindulging is due, in part, to the city’s lax laws on the public consumption of alcohol, which allow open containers on the street as long as they’re in plastic cups. Having said that, the term “cocktail” was thought to originate in New Orleans, and the city is famous for several, including sazeracs, hurricanes, and daiquiris. If you go a little overboard on Mardi Gras or any other day, try these makeup tricks to help you hide a hangover.
Ben Gabbe/Getty Images
While the Mardi Gras parades are open to the public, most of the fancy balls thrown by the krewes are much more exclusive and require an invitation. There are typically more than 100 balls held throughout the Mardi Gras season each year, beginning on January 6th with the Twelfth Night Ball. Tableaux are another popular part of the balls. These staged pageants—which take place at approximately 20 balls each year—tell tales from mythology and history, and involve a final scene where a presentation is made to monarchs and a royal court.
While it’ll cost you a pretty penny to visit New Orleans during Mardi Gras, these are the cheapest months of the year to visit all 50 states.
Elizabeth Yuko
Dr. Elizabeth Yuko is a bioethicist and writer specializing in health and the intersection of bioethics and popular culture. She is an adjunct professor of ethics at Fordham University and has written for print and online publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Salon and Playboy, and has given a TEDX talk on The Golden Girls and bioethics.
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Home Travel Travel Tips
What Happens to Old Cruise Ships?
By Madeline Wahl, RD.com
Daniel Piraino/EyeEm/Getty Images
Like every other work of machinery in the world, cruise ships can't run forever.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, going on a cruise to a new destination was a popular way for people to travel to new countries while being mindful of their travel budget. However, have you ever wondered what happens to cruise ships after they’re no longer in use? While things are uncertain right now, here’s what travel could look like after coronavirus.
Where do old cruise ships go?
Like every other work of machinery in the world, cruise ships can’t run forever. Typically, a cruise ship is built to run about 30 years. When a cruise ship is no longer running smoothly or it’s time for it to retire, there are a few different factors that determine its fate. Two prime considerations include the state of the ship, along with how many potential buyers are interested in snapping it up. “In some cases, retired ships could have a second life and be sold to other companies,” Colleen McDaniel, editor-in-chief of Cruise Critic, tells Reader’s Digest. “In other cases, they’re sold for scrap—meaning the ship will dock at a shipyard and the most valuable parts will be sold piece-by-piece, and the rest of the ship stripped.”
While cruise ships can be sold to other cruise lines and repurposed that way, given the current climate with the pandemic, ships may skip that route and go straight to the scrapyard. “Currently, as cruise lines are retiring select ships, we’re seeing a mix of both—some ships have been transferred to different cruise lines, others are headed to shipyards to be sold as scrap,” says McDaniel. Find out some of the ways cruises could change after coronavirus.
How is an old cruise ship taken apart?
Like retired airplanes, cruise ships have their own final resting place. “The term ‘cruise ship graveyard’ is usually meant to describe those final destinations for ships that have been scrapped,” McDaniel says.
You might be surprised to know that the largest scrap yard for ships in the world located in Alang, India, recycles around 50 percent of decommissioned cruise ships. Cruise ships either use their own power to reach Alang, or they’re towed, which is a bit more difficult. Then there is a process in order to tear cruise ships down.
“If the ship is no longer profitable or has mechanical or other systemic issues, then it will be sold for demolition. In recent years, the most popular place for old cruise ships to get demolished has been Alang, in India, where there is a ten-mile stretch of beach with a 25-foot tidal variance,” says Peter Knego, a cruise journalist and historian. “Ships are beached there at high tide, then when the tide recedes, workers head out, remove all salvageable fittings and begin cutting the ship down. As the ship gets cut away, it is gradually winched ashore until it finally disappears.”
Cruise ships as tourist attractions
Another option is to use retired cruise ships as popular tourist attractions. While we may never know the mysteries of the Titanic, one of the most famous cruise liners of all time, we can get an inside look at other ships like the Queen Mary. With tours and attractions and various dining options available, you’re able to learn more about Queen Mary’s history and learn fun facts, like how the building of this ship was a technological achievement.
What will happen to cruise ships due to the pandemic?
The pandemic has upended many aspects of everyday life. The coronavirus is costing the world a lot of money, and there have been dire consequences for the travel industry. This includes cruise ships. “The pandemic has sped up the process of cruise ship disposal since cruise lines cannot afford to keep vast fleets in warm layup (with full crews to make sure all systems are in working order, the ship is clean, safe, etc.) or even cold layup,” says Knego.
Sadly, many cruise ships have had their lives cut short due to the pandemic. “The eighteen ships that the Carnival Corporation (parent company of Carnival Cruises with multiple cruise lines) and three that Royal Caribbean have thus far disposed of were still viable and popular ships until the pandemic struck,” explains Knego. “For the most part, they could have all been kept in service for several more years but without the demand and with the overhead being so high, they had no choice and had to begin paring down their fleets. If the pandemic continues for much longer, what we have seen thus far is only the beginning of a much larger purge.”
Next, take a peek inside the world’s biggest cruise ship.
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Brockville Recorder & Times
Share this Story: John Ivison: The COVID mission is far from accomplished, despite Trudeau's latest feel-good message
John Ivison: The COVID mission is far from accomplished, despite Trudeau's latest feel-good message
The most positive spin possible was put on Canada’s performance, with one graph showing how Canada had 'flattened the curve sooner than a number of countries such as the U.K., Italy and the U.S'
John Ivison
Jun 29, 2020 • June 29, 2020 • 4 minute read
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau removes his face mask as he visits the Big Rig Brewery, which utilizes the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy given to businesses affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Kanata, Ontario, Canada June 26, 2020. Photo by Patrick Doyle /Reuters
George W. Bush never did say “Mission Accomplished,” as he declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq. In fact he said: “Our mission continues.” But the giant banner that was used as a backdrop aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln trumpeted that bombastic message, and the incident became a byword for hubris.
Fortunately for Justin Trudeau, there were no banners proclaiming victory when he held his morning press conference Monday to update Canadians on the COVID pandemic.
John Ivison: The COVID mission is far from accomplished, despite Trudeau's latest feel-good message Back to video
“After a very challenging spring, things are continuing to move in the right direction,” he said, pointing to the progress in the number of cases, hospitalization and deaths.
Trudeau was citing a new forecast by the Public Health Agency of Canada that suggests modest increases in cases and deaths in the next two weeks. Neither Trudeau nor Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam officially declared an end to the first wave of the pandemic. But it was a feel-good announcement, two days before Canada Day that signalled an end to the spring lockdown.
The new model suggests that the number of deaths might climb as high as 8,865 by July 12, from the current 8,522, and cases could rise to 108,130 from the present 103,250. But emphasis was placed firmly on the “steady decline” in the number of new cases, deaths, hospitalizations and critical care cases. The effective reproduction number (Rt) has been less than one for eight weeks, an indication the epidemic is under control. Cases among those 80 years old and above and are now on par with other age groups.
The most positive spin possible was put on Canada’s performance, with one graph showing how Canada had “flattened the curve sooner than a number of countries such as the U.K., Italy and the U.S.”
After a very challenging spring, things are continuing to move in the right direction
Certainly, if you compare Canada to those three laggards, or Sweden, Brazil and Russia — as the graph does — then this country has fared reasonably well. The grim fandango of death and infection being danced in the U.S. has led to a new prediction of 180,000 fatalities by October (from 125,000 now). Canada’s death rate per 100,000 people is far lower than the U.K., France or U.S.
But when compared to countries that have coped well with COVID, the performance looks less impressive. Canada’s death rate per 100,000 people is double that of peer countries such as Germany, Denmark and Norway. Even when held up against the U.S., Canada is not unimpeachable — 8.3 per cent of all cases resulted in death in Canada, compared to a 4.9-per-cent case-fatality rate in the States. This reflects the appalling carnage in Canadian long-term care homes, where 20,602 cases resulted in 6,920 deaths, fully 81 per cent of all fatalities in this country.
“Canada has flattened the curve but at a high level,” said Amir Attaran, a professor in the Faculty of Law and School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa. He said he would prefer to see the curve look more like a black diamond ski run. “’Flattening’ means a simmering, never-disappearing problem… It’s not something to be happy about, or something for which the Liberals should be claiming credit,” said Attaran.
Tam said “the epidemiology indicates transmission is largely under control.” But we are continuing to see outbreaks in unlikely hot spots including Saskatchewan and the Windsor-Essex region in Ontario, where many migrant workers are based. There is also evidence of infections spiking from funerals and family gatherings.
The model revealed the hospitalization rate of 15 per cent is roughly what was predicted going into the crisis and the numbers requiring intensive care beds and mechanical ventilation has been far lower than many feared (just 431 people needed ventilators).
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But nobody should be under any illusion that the mission has been accomplished. In the Public Health Agency’s early models, it suggested the death toll could be 22,000 people, if the infection rate was five per cent over the course of the pandemic. Canada’s infection rate is currently around four per cent (103,250 cases from 2.6-million tested). That suggests that we will have a period of respite before second and third waves claim more lives.
Tam said the virus has not been eliminated and, with no effective vaccine, we can expect to see a resurgence as restrictions are lifted. “If we relax too much or too soon, we can expect it to rebound with explosive growth,” she said.
The key to avoiding that kind of transmission is rapid case detection (identifying 50 per cent of cases within five days) and contact tracing (locating 50 per cent of contacts within two days). Whether provinces can respond to those demands remains to be seen. Logistics have improved. The time from virus onset to lab collection has fallen from eight days to three. But testing levels have never reached the numbers that were promised.
Attaran suggested mandatory mask-wearing would be the quickest and cheapest way of getting to the next level. “It’s stunningly effective,” he said, pointing to the example of Hong Kong, where there have been just seven deaths from COVID and mask-wearing is widespread.
Attaran is highly critical of Trudeau’s emergence “like a cuckoo clock” every morning to offer the same advice: social distancing and hand washing. “They have to change their advice. They have taken it to a plateau, not a point of success,” he said.
Lest there be any confusion, the mission continues.
jivison@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/IvisonJ
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Muskogee's Honor Heights Park has been regaling Oklahomans and out-of-state visitors alike with stunning natural beauty that comes alive in spring with bursting blooms of azaleas and other flowers. The display is so stellar that it’s commemorated with the annual Azalea Festival which, despite its name, is about so much more than flowers that you’ll want to make plans to get down to Muskogee throughout the month of April for one of the most entertaining set of experiences in Green Country.
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JUST VISITING? LIVING LOCAL? WE'VE GOT YOU COVERED.
Colorful incarnations of the human soul, the charity cosplay group DC Marvel League delivers rewarding and heartwarming experiences one heroic adventure at a time.
Rob Harmon
Valerie Grant
Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, once said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
Any member of the DC Marvel League in Tulsa would tell you they’ve found just that.
The nonprofit charity organization is doing great work in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Arkansas, Missouri and other parts of the Midwest. Suiting up as Captain America, Batman or Wonder Woman, to name a few, these heroes visit children in hospitals, support charity runs, show up at schools, and attend fundraising events to encourage the sick and those who need their spirits lifted.
Don Alam, one of the organization’s cofounders, says that since the cosplay troop began in early 2015, it has been a force for those who are most in need.
“The basis of our charity was built on putting others who are less fortunate than ourselves and needing a smile ahead of our own challenges,” he says. “We want to give children a glimpse of joy and to find pride in what we normally take for granted. From hospital visits, to cancer walks, to Make-A-Wish events, we absolutely love representing our fandom for the children. We strongly feel it gives them a sense of hope and happiness.”
In a world where we are bombarded by bad news and sadness, it is good to find an escape and a level of security with the characters that the group mimics. They also remind us that though superheroes and superpowers may not exist, heroes do, and we are surrounded by them.
As comics and films have shown us, superheroes are not so different from regular people. Take away their abilities to leap tall buildings or move at the speed of light, and they are just like everyone else, struggling to deal with what it is like to fight little battles in our daily lives.
Members of the DC Marvel League supported Walgreens' Red Nose Day. (Photo: DC Marvel League)
And it’s a fight that many in Green Country can relate to. Other founding members of the DC Marvel League, Ashley and Andrew Parrish, have seen the number of members grow, as they combine the love of cosplay with the desire to provide people with a new hope while helping lower anxiety in patients and providing something positive to focus on.
“When we first started, we had around 30 [cosplayers] and now we have over a 100,” says Ashley Parrish.
“We have fun doing this,” says Andrew Parrish. “Any charity event, we welcome.”
Two other active members are Yulia Garland and Kathleen McDonald. Garland joined DC Marvel in May 2016, and McDonald joined soon after, around the time of a Walgreens’ Red Nose Day. Red Nose Day was developed to raise awareness and money to help children in the U.S. and overseas living in poverty.
“It’s been a lot of fun doing all the charity events and hanging out with the children,” says McDonald. “If I had it my way, I would be doing charity work full time. That would be my dream. Before I moved here, I was actually in the process of joining the Peace Corps. But when my grandfather got sick, I moved back.
“He died that year, and I found the DC Marvel League, so it helped me fill that part of me that I wanted to get out in the world. It just makes me happy to help other people. In college, I was very involved in charity work. It’s something that I have to do to be happy.”
For Garland, taking charge and helping people — two musts for any great hero — was in her DNA. So is taking solace in knowing visits and meeting children can provide light during some dark times. To give children a few minutes of joy and happiness, despite their situations, is something amazing to experience.
“When I was super young, I loved to lead people,” she says. “I was in charge of a lot of things in school and was elected to be president of school. So, I’ve always been organizing massive events.
“As I started growing up, I realized that I really liked helping people. I’ve been helping firemen and police officers, doing social work and stuff like that. I had a pretty rough life when I was young, so I think that’s triggering me to want to help people. I know how crappy life can get. At least I can bring a smile to somebody’s face.”
Issues she dealt with as a child also spurred McDonald to lend a helping hand as an adult, providing what she hopes are lasting connections with children and their families.
“I suffered from anorexia for many, many years,” says McDonald. “I was able to go to middle schools, high schools, college classes at my school and talk about my experience, what I went through, and being able to hopefully help other people. That was probably the best experience I’ve ever had by sharing my story, and that just plays into how I like to help people.”
And while talks can provide life-changing experiences, sometimes it’s the littlest gestures that can sometimes provide smiles for many.
“We had an event, and there were so many people there,” says Garland. “There was this family, and you could see they were kind of dressed poorly, and they had two children with them. The children were like, ‘Dad, can we go?’ And the dad was like ‘No, we can’t afford to take a picture with them.’ They thought they’d have to pay. I heard it, and I asked if they wanted to take a picture. The father declined, thinking there was a cost. When I let him know there wasn’t, he let the children take the photos. Small things like that I think is what’s driving me to do what I do.”
Taking part in over 50 events per year, DC Marvel is one busy group of caped crusaders. One of their favorite events they’ve made an alliance with is the CAN (Child Abuse Network) Superhero Challenge, an event that creates awareness and raises funds to provide services to the many children seen at CAN every year.
The next Superhero Challenge is April 8, 2018, at POSTOAK Lodge and Retreat in Tulsa.
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Local nonprofit Rooms with a Heart is fighting to keep magic and make-believe alive for children experiencing critical illnesses.
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The Coffee Bunker provides a light of hope to veterans and service members in a world where sadly, men and women of such great courage and sacrificial spirit are often overlooked and forgotten.
Alternative Advocate
While principal is her official title, “cheerleader” may be a more fitting title for Jenks’ Amie Hardy, who works with students who are challenged in earning a diploma.
To the Extreme
If there’s a math problem, yo, Simon MacFarlane can solve it. Between his unorthodox methods and engaging personality, the Bixby teacher is creating mathterminds one Rubik’s Cube twist at a time.
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Tuesday 31 March '15
By Sentient In law Tags Chicago, entrepreneur, illinois, law, upcounsel
Check out an article featuring quotes from the founder of Sentient Law, Ltd. about the launch of UpCounsel in Illinois. We’re proud to be a part of this. “UpCounsel, an online marketplace connecting attorneys and small business owners, announced Tuesday it had expanded services to Illinois, the company’s fifth market. The San Francisco-based company, launched in 2012 by Matt Faustman and Mason Blake, uses algorithmic matching to connect entrepreneurs with transparently priced legal help. UpCounsel’s service is also available in California, New York, Texas and Massachusetts, with plans to add a state at least every other month, Faustman said.” Continue Reading here.
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Tinseltown Talks column: Life after Tony Curtis takes former wife to Deadwood
Nick Thomas
It’s been 10 years since 85-year-old screen legend Tony Curtis died at his Nevada home on Sept. 29, 2010. The much-loved actor left behind a body of work that included over 150 television and movie roles in such classics as “The Defiant Ones,” “Some Like it Hot,” and “The Sweet Smell of Success.”
Curtis remarried for the last time in 1998 and his new bride, Jill Vandenberg, was some 40 years his junior. The pair became inseparable, traveling the world together, but back in Nevada the couple founded Shiloh, a horse rescue ranch.
“I was horrified to learn that tens of thousands of unwanted American horses are slaughtered each year for human consumption in Asia and Europe,” Jill told me in 2006 when I met her and Tony on their ranch. “I realized I could do more to help horses.”
“We were driving in the car one evening and Jilly told me she wanted to save some of those horses,” Curtis recalled to me. “I told her let’s go do it!”
They did, and the couple soon acquired 40 acres of desert outside Las Vegas, eventually transforming the barren area into a nurturing ranch where hundreds of horses were saved. I still recall Curtis’s joy when I asked him to comment on the success of the Shiloh sanctuary.
“It picks up my spirits to see the good work done there,” was his reply. It’s a sentiment that might also be echoed by fans of the actor’s screen performances.
“He was such a wonderful actor and an incredible person,” Jill told me when I caught up with her recently. “He still has so many adoring fans around the world and that is a true and lasting legacy to the person he was. There will never be another like him.”
Today, Jill Curtis is now Jill Curtis-Weber after marrying Todd Weber three years after Tony died. They sold the Nevada ranch in 2019 and moved to Deadwood, South Dakota, last March.
“Todd and I were ready to start a new life, a simpler life, in a beautiful historic Old West town,” Curtis-Weber explained. “Tony and I watched and really enjoyed HBO’s ‘Deadwood’ series, so I believe he would absolutely love that I now live in the town.”
She also recognizes similarities between her current and former husbands.
“Todd has the same sense of humor and wit, and is very intelligent and kind,” she said. “I think Tony would have liked him. Todd is very supportive of my past life and has never felt he had to live up to Tony, who had a larger than life personality. We have a wonderful life, share the same interests, and work together every day. I think you could say I have been very lucky in love throughout my life.”
In addition to continuing their work at the Shiloh ranch at its new 28-acre Deadwood location (see www.shilohhorserescue.rescuegroups.org), the couple also operate a horse-drawn stagecoach that runs on Main Street.
“I am the teamster, the one who drives the teams, and Todd is the tour guide,” said Jill. “Tony would have really loved that I drive a stagecoach!”
Of course, Tony Curtis was no stranger to horses or the West, having ridden in many films often performing his own riding stunts.
“Being a Jewish kid from New York City, the studios didn’t think I’d be able to ride at first,” he told me during our 2006 interview. “So, I’d go to the studio stables when no one was around, get a horse, and practice!”
Despite the passage of a decade since his passing, Jill says she thinks of Tony every day. “I was so fortunate to have known him and been married to him - I will never get over his passing, but life goes on and one has to continue to move forward as well.”
So does she like to reminisce about her 12-year marriage to Tony by watching his movies?
“I really have a hard time,” she said. “His true personality always comes through in his films and it’s still so hard for me to watch them. The way he moves, speaks, walks, smiles - I just can’t do it. I have tried many times and guess I’m just not ready yet, which sounds weird.”
But she did have plans to acknowledge the 10th anniversary of her former husband’s passing with a hike up to the historic Mount Moriah Cemetery that overlooks Deadwood.
“It’s a beautiful tree-covered mountain cemetery, started in 1878, with beautiful views of our town and is the resting place of Wild Bill Hickok as well as Calamity Jane,” she says. “Since I am not able to visit Tony’s resting place in Las Vegas on the anniversary, I think this will be a good way for me to honor and remember him, surrounded by nature.”
Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for over 850 newspapers and magazines. See www.getnickt.org.
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Shulman Says
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Chef Alan Wong on Culinary Influences and Holiday Meals 12/17/2020
“I wouldn’t want to mess with certain things,” says chef Alan Wong, one of the patriarchs of Hawaii Regional Cuisine. He is discussing the ways in which he applies the tenets of the culinary movement he co-founded in 1991 alongside 11 other noted Hawaiian chefs—including Sam Choy, Peter Merriman, Beverly Gannon, and Roy Yamaguchi—to any gathering during the holidays. A James Beard Award winner, Wong has been called the “master of Hawaii Regional Cuisine” by Bon Appétit, and his flagship eatery, Alan Wong’s Honolulu, is the only establishment in the state to have placed twice in the top ten on Gourmet’s ranking of America’s best restaurants.
The cuisine of Hawaii is a tantalizingly aromatic mix of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Puerto Rican influences. Wong—the son of a Hawaiian-born Chinese father and a Japanese mother—explains here how the food he ate growing up informed his cooking, and how that intersects with Hawaii Regional Cuisine, which promotes the use of locally sourced ingredients.
“I’m borrowing from the influences of my upbringing and using local corn from Kahuku and whatnot because a big part of the HRC movement is supporting all the local producers, the ranchers, and farmers, so that the guest can ‘taste’ Hawaii. In effect, you’re tasting my Hawaii, because you’re tasting part of my childhood inspiration.
“When I look back, there was the Japanese food. My mom loved fish and always served it at dinner. She’d have a sashimi or a cooked dish, and a lot of sides—usually vegetables (whether salted or vinegared pickles or simply cooked vegetables). So, there were a lot of plant-based dishes, with rice and one protein (usually fish) for her. Then there’d be an American dish, like a beef stew, for the kids. She would add ginger to the stew—later, I’d find out that she’d added the ginger because she didn’t like that ‘beefy smell.’ And there’d be some kind of Filipino food, and again rice. There was always rice.
“What’s funny is that now everyone is embracing global foods and ingredients, and wants to know how these are prepared whether in the Mediterranean or in Hawaii. For me this means looking back to the waves of immigrant labor in the 19th century that came with the growth of the sugarcane plantations. First came the Chinese, then the Portuguese and Puerto Ricans and Japanese, then the Koreans, and finally the Filipinos. So, when we say ‘local’ in Hawaii, that’s what we mean.
“Part of the HRC movement was focusing not so much on the dishes, but on the ingredients and flavors used to make them. And what we did—especially those of us who were raised in Hawaii—was to make these kinds of foods popular. We brought those flavors and ingredients into the mainstream. And in my opinion that remains a big part of HRC.
“Now, with New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, there are traditions with Japanese cooking, colors, and ingredients that bring prosperity and good health. You see it with ahi sashimi, or onaga sashimi if you prefer a whitefish.
“A dish like my ginger-crusted onaga actually comes from the traditional Chinese cold ginger chicken that I grew up eating. It started as ginger-crusted chicken, then evolved to ginger-crusted New York strip, and then ginger-crusted mahi-mahi, until after maybe ten renditions, I got to ginger-crusted onaga.
“And that’s an example of my style. I’ll take something made for me by my Chinese grandfather, my Japanese mom or my Filipino stepfather—something from my childhood—and reinterpret it for today’s palate. And when cooking for Thanksgiving it’s the same thing, because HRC borrows from all the ethnic influences found in Hawaii. You can pull from any culture that’s influenced you and incorporate that into a dish or a dressing.
“So, I’d take some kabocha squash, also known as Japanese pumpkin. I’d cube it up with the skin on, so it’s green and orange, and throw it in the oven and roast it with honey. You put the honey on while it’s cooking, kind of toss it, and let it caramelize. I’d also do shiitake mushrooms and peanuts, but I’d start with the honey-roasted kabocha squash, which is really a fine dish for Thanksgiving.
“I wouldn’t mess with the turkey gravy, and I wouldn’t mess with the mashed potatoes, but if I’m going to serve corn, I might prepare it a little differently. I might grill the corn and char it on the outside, then cut it off the cob. Then I’d take some green onions and yuzu and make a miso dressing and toss the whole thing in that. Remember, when we gather to enjoy a holiday meal, in Hawaii—as it is all over the world—the most important thing is the bringing together of family and friends.”
Chef Alan Wong
Alan Wong’s Honolulu
#AlanWong
[Editor's Note: A version of this article was published in Celebrated Living, November/December 2018 (INK)]
Wong’s Wins for Hawaii Regional Cuisine (12.28.17)
20 Years Later HRC Reigns at Alan Wong’s (12.27.15)
What's your take on this subject?
On Kissing Dame Shirley Bassey
How, in Dame Shirley Bassey’s dressing room at MGM Grand in 2000, I mingled with some of the biggest names of Las Vegas entertainment, was photographed kissing Bassey, and laughed as she spoke with a friend on my cell phone [Part 3 of 3]
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Aftermath of UCLA Shoplifting Incident
by admin | Posted on November 29, 2017 January 29, 2019
By: Kendall Gregory
Assistant Sports Editor
On Nov. 7, three men’s basketball players from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) were arrested in Hangzhou, China on shoplifting charges. Freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hall were suspected and arrested the morning after the incident.
The UCLA and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) men’s basketball teams were in China to play their season opener in Shanghai on Nov. 10. UCLA defeated Georgia Tech 63-60.
On Nov. 6, the players and coaches were given a tour of Alibaba Group Holding Limited, an e-commerce company and the sponsor of the game between the two teams.
After the tour, players and coaches returned to their hotel and were given 90 minutes to explore the city on their own. It was at this time that Ball, Riley and Hall shoplifted from a mall near their hotel.
The following morning, the UCLA men were questioned by police and then taken into custody for further questioning. All three men were released on the morning of Nov. 8 on bail and the agreement to give up their passports and adhere to travel restrictions.
The athletes would not travel with the rest of their team to Shanghai for the game.
“I’d like to start off by saying sorry for stealing from the store in China,” said Ball. “I didn’t exercise my best judgment, and I was wrong for that.”
Ball is the son of former professional basketball player LaVar Ball and the brother of current National Basketball Association (NBA) rookie Lonzo Ball.
The players were given permission to leave China on Nov. 14 and arrived back in Los Angeles on the same day.
According to the Associated Press, President Donald Trump reached out to the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, in regards to letting the three men return to the United States.
Following their release, Trump took to Twitter.
“Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail,” said Trump in a tweet.
China’s laws regarding shoplifting are among the strictest in the world and in result can carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
All three players, coach Steve Alford, and Athletic Director Dan Guerrero have reportedly personally thanked Trump.
Trump was displeased when Ball’s father seemed ungrateful for what Trump did to get his son out of jail.
He then took to Twitter and said he should have left Ball and the two other players in jail.
“That’s on your mind, that a father didn’t say ‘Thank you’? And you’re the head of the U.S.?” said LaVar Ball. “There are a lot of other things going on. Let him do his political affairs and let me handle my son.”
The players have been suspended indefinitely and are not allowed to participate in team workouts, practices, suit up, be on the bench during home games or travel with the team.
“To the three UCLA basketball players I say: You’re welcome, go out and give a big thank you to President Xi Jinping of China who made your release possible and, HAVE A GREAT LIFE! Be careful, there are many pitfalls on the long and winding road of life,” said Trump in a tweet.
UCLA is currently 5-1, with their only loss coming from Creighton University, and is ranked 23rd in the country.
Associated Press contributed to this article.
SportsChina Shoplifters National Sports News president trump UCLA UCLA Basketball
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ARCHIVED - 2006-2007 Formative Evaluation of the Akwesasne Partnership Initiative for the period of January 2002 to December 2005
ARCHIVE - 2006-2007 Formative Evaluation of the Akwesasne Partnership Initiative for the period of January 2002 to December 2005
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or record-keeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please contact us to request a format other than those available.
This page has been archived on the Web.
Adobe Acrobat version (PDF 235KB)
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada
Government Consulting Services
Project No.: 570-2610
1.2 Objectives and Scope
1.3 Approach and Methodology
2.0 Findings
2.1 Relevance
2.3 Cost-Effectiveness / Alternatives
3.0 Key Conclusions and Recommendations
Annex A API Logic Model
Annex B Documents Reviewed
Annex C Evaluation Framework
Annex D List of Interviewees
Annex E Interview Guides
[ * ] - In accordance with the Privacy and Access to Information Acts, some information may have been severed from the original reports.
This report presents a formative evaluation of the Akwesasne Partnership Initiative (API), covering the period from January 2002 to December 2005.
The evaluation focused on three areas: Relevance, Success, and Cost-Effectiveness/ Alternatives. Eleven evaluation questions were identified, and data to answer these questions was gathered through document reviews and interviews. Interviewees included representatives of Public Safety Canada and the Joint Investigative Team (JIT), as well as representatives of Canadian and American law enforcement groups with which the JIT works. In addition, interviews were conducted with officials of the Akwesasne Mohawk Council, including the Grand Chief.
As is the case in any evaluation, there are some limitations with respect to the methodologies employed for the evaluation. The main limitation of the evaluation is the fact that while some quantitative information was provided through press release information and organized crime and tobacco control strategy reports, produced by the Officer-in-charge of the JIT, these reports did not always contain consistent information, and did not always include information up to the date of the evaluation. As these reports provided the only quantitative information from the initiative, the inconsistencies and missing information have a significant impact on the evaluation. As a result, we were not able to draw conclusions based on these reports and instead had to rely on information provided during interviews.
When examining the relevance of the API it is clear that organized crime activity in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne continues to be a critical issue. As well, the API aligns to government objectives and to commitments made in recent years by the Government of Canada through Speeches from the Throne and in the National Agenda to Combat Organized Crime. The API also supports the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy through its focus on tobacco smuggling.
As mentioned above, quantifying the impact of the initiative was not possible. While some information was available illustrating results of the initiative, for the most part information obtained through interviews was the basis for many of the findings.
According to interviewees, the initiative is being successful in achieving its expected outcomes. Specifically, based on information gathered during the interviews:
individuals who are part of the JIT have enhanced knowledge and understanding of organized crime issues and tools;
the API has improved the detection, targeting and investigations of organized crime offences and organizations, through the leveraging of resources from the various organizations, and through improved, timely sharing of information and intelligence between API partners;
the JIT is impacting organized crime through an increase in the number of charges laid by the JIT and by the number of seizures executed;
partnerships between the AMP and other JIT members have been enhanced through more frequent contact, heightened credibility and enhanced competence in the investigations;
new partnerships between both Canadian and American partners who interact with the JIT have been created; and
there is increased knowledge and awareness of contraband tobacco activity in the Akwesasne area, mainly as a result of increased sharing between partners and access to the databases of the various partner organizations, and in particular to the databases of the RCMP.
As mentioned, quantifying the impact of the JIT on organized criminal activities and on tobacco smuggling was not possible for this evaluation. Although reports to PS on the nature and scope of organized crime and tobacco contraband activity in and around Akwesasne is provided by the JIT, some of the reports for the evaluation period were missing, and of those that were provided some contained only narrative information and no structured, quantitative information. Therefore, while some information is available, it could not be used to quantitatively report on outcomes of the JIT.
The extent to which the API is having an impact on organized crime at a level higher than the ‘couriers’ is unclear. It appears that given the resources of the JIT, they are not able to apprehend anyone other than the ‘runners’ who are carrying the contraband product across the border. Interviewees suggested, however, that when making arrests at this level the JIT is able to gather information that may be useful to other law enforcement organizations mandated to target individuals at higher levels within the organized crime groups.It should also be noted that it is not the mandate of the JIT to apprehend individuals at higher levels, but rather participate in joint forces operations, such at the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) and the Integrated Border Enforcement Teams (IBET) thereby making the AMP/JIT a vital player in combating organized criminal networks
One of the evaluation questions examined whether or not JIT outreach activities have increased youth awareness with respect to the criminality of smuggling. While JIT members are involved in outreach activities, it is difficult to assess whether behavioural changes in youth, or changes in awareness levels, can be attributed to these outreach activities. Many of the outreach activities tend to be of a sporting nature and there is no evidence of the outreach activities being used as a venue to communicate a message regarding the criminality of smuggling.
Few unintended impacts were identified. Two positive unintended impacts identified by interviewees were: the knowledge and skills transferred to AMP officers who work with the JIT, and increased credibility of the AMP. As well, one possible negative impact cited in the interviews relates to the arrests of a number of young, typically male, Mohawks, who act as the ‘runners’ or ‘couriers’ for organized crime groups. Although not solely a result of the initiative, the concern is that this generation of Mohawk youth is becoming ‘criminalized’.
Cost Effectiveness / Alternatives:
No alternative approaches were identified that would be more effective in meeting the objectives of the API. However, several suggestions were put forward to improve the API. The most commonly identified improvement was additional funding for more resources – human resources and equipment.
A number of recommendations were presented. They are:
Members of the JIT should be provided with training on Bill C-24, and how its provisions may impact the fight against organized crime in and around Akwesasne. Due to the difficulties encountered by JIT members in finding time to take training, and the impediments to sending numerous team members on training at the same time, it is recognized that it may take some time to be able to have all JIT members trained on Bill C-24. However, a plan should be put in place to ensure that all members are eventually provided this training.
The parties of the API should work with the local IBET unit to resolve the issue of JIT’s attendance at the weekly IBET meetings.
The JIT must re-institute its annual organized crime reporting to PS in order to comply with the requirements of the Canada/Akwesasne contribution agreement. In addition, PS and the AMP should jointly examine the reporting requirements, and identify the performance indicators necessary to measure the effectiveness of the API in terms of detecting, targeting and investigating organized crime offences and organizations.
PS and the AMP should jointly examine the reporting requirements for the tobacco control strategy reports, and identify the performance indicators necessary to measure the effectiveness of the API in terms of increasing the knowledge and awareness of the nature and scope of contraband tobacco activity in and around Akwesasne. Reporting on these indicators should be incorporated into the semi-annual tobacco control strategy reports.
The RCMP should make every effort to fill the currently vacant Valleyfield JIT position.
PS should evaluate the funding of the API initiative to determine whether increased funding should be sought to allow the unit to have a greater coverage (e.g., two shifts).
This report presents a formative evaluation of the Akwesasne Partnership Initiative (API), covering the period from January 2002 to December 2005. It is organized in three chapters: Chapter 1 provides the general background, objectives and methodology for the study; Chapter 2 presents our findings, organized in relation to the Evaluation Matrix; and Chapter 3 provides a short summary of key conclusions and recommendations.
Criminal elements in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne exploit the fact that the reserve straddles the Canada-United States and Ontario-Quebec borders. Criminal elements use the territory as a transit point for contraband commodities, including illicit tobacco. The Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne faces very difficult challenges in that the community is divided by the location of the Ontario/Quebec inter-provincial boundary and the Canada/U.S. international border. Criminal organizations have historically sought to exploit the community’s geographic location, and as a result, the impacts of smuggling operations involving illegal migrants, drugs, tobacco, alcohol, firearms and other commodities have been significant and far-reaching.
Since 1997, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police (AMP) and RCMP have been working together in an informal capacity, in partnership with other law enforcement agencies to conduct effective investigations and prosecutions, collect and share intelligence, promote joint law enforcement and crime prevention initiatives. The AMP and law enforcement partners in the area have long recognized that there is a need for all jurisdictions to work together to develop innovate partnership approaches to policing services, particularly to stem the conduct of illegal activities (much of which is cross-border) by criminal elements operating outside of and within the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne.
In response to these concerns, the Government announced new measures to fight cross-border crime on February 28th 2002. This announcement included the investment of $4.6 million to enhance the capacity of the AMP in Canada’s integrated, multi-jurisdictional approach to stemming criminal activities in and around the region. The funding allowed the AMP to increase their presence in the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne, through the establishment of a Special Investigations Unit also referred to as the Joint Investigative Team (JIT). This enabled a more proactive role for the service in collaborative law enforcement efforts, as well as allowed the AMP to strengthen its partnership efforts with Canadian and American counterparts to address these and other law enforcement challenges. The focus of the JIT is organized crime. As is the case with most smaller, community-based policing units, the AMP does not usually undertake its own organized crime-related activities. The AMP is, however, involved in these types of activities through its participation on the JIT. See Annex A for an API logic model.
The JIT was funded through the Measures to Combat Organized Crime (MCOC) Initiative and additional funding from the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy. [ * ].1 :
[ * ] 2
The JIT, a unit within the AMP, is located in the AMP building, on the second floor and consists of one Officer-in-Charge from the AMP, 5 AMP members and 2 RCMP members. The two RCMP members come from the Cornwall and Valleyfield RCMP detachments. However, at the time of writing this report, the Valleyfield RCMP detachment position in the JIT was vacant3. JIT members work with other “partner” law enforcement agencies, such as the Cornwall Police, the Ontario Provincial Police, the St. Regis Tribal Police, and other federal and provincial policing units from the United States and Canada, as required for specific investigations or operations. Given the attractiveness of the Akwesasne area for cross-border and organized crime, the AMP cannot effectively act alone. Through partnering with other area law enforcement agencies, the AMP is able to access additional resources (human resources and equipment) to tackle crime in the area.
A contribution agreement between Public Safety Canada (PS) and the Akwesasne Mohawk Council for the AMP provides the basis for the initiative. The contribution agreement, which was signed in October 2001, provides for the transfer of funds from PS4 to the Akwesasne Mohawk Council for the AMP. Funding, for the purpose of the operation of the JIT, was up to $1M per year, with ongoing funding at $950 K from 2005/2006.
Since the establishment of the Central St-Lawrence Valley Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET)5, officers from the AMP have played a significant role: first as founding members of the IBET, and in the day-to-day operation, working in partnership with Canadian and American police and law enforcement agencies. The AMP, as represented by the JIT, is one of 11 members of the IBET.
Consulting and Audit Canada (CAC)6 was asked to:
develop an evaluation matrix for the evaluation of the API; and
carry-out the evaluation using the methodologies established in the evaluation matrix.
This report presents the findings of the evaluation of the API.
Using the finalized evaluation matrix, CAC conducted the evaluation. The following were the main activities undertaken, beginning in October 2005, to perform the evaluation, and to complete this report:
Document Review:
For a complete list of the documents reviewed, see Annex B.
Health Canada Meeting:
CAC met with representatives of Health Canada (HC) to identify HC’s evaluation needs with respect to the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy.
Development of the Evaluation Matrix:
The information from the document review and the meeting with Health Canada were used to identify: the expected outcomes that the Canada/API is expected to achieve; the associated evaluation issues and questions; data sources; and, methodologies necessary to evaluate this partnership. (See Annex C for a copy of the Evaluation Matrix.)
Development of the Data Gathering Instruments:
Following confirmation of theevaluation matrix, CAC developed the list of interviewees and the related interview guides; identified outstanding data requirements and the means by which they will be addressed; and, scheduled interviews with participants.
Using the developed guides, CAC conducted 19 interviews (some in person and others by telephone) with representatives of PS and the JIT, as well as with representatives of Canadian and American law enforcement groups with which the JIT works, including: the AMP, RCMP, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the Cornwall police, and the St. Regis Tribal Police. In addition, interviews were conducted with officials of the Akwesasne Mohawk Council, including the Grand Chief. Interview guides were provided to interviewees in advance of the interviews. (For a listing of those interviewed, see Annex D. A copy of the interview guides can be found in Annex E.)
Quantitative Data Gathered:
CAC developed a list of required data for the evaluation, to be obtained as possible from the JIT, RCMP, or other sources. This list was provided to PS who was the point of contact for obtaining this data.
Data Analyzed and Report Produced:
Using information gathered during the interviews and any quantitative data available, CAC analyzed the findings according to each evaluation issue and produced the evaluation report.
As is the case in any evaluation, there are some limitations with respect to the methodologies employed. A potential issue with respect to the methodology relates to the sample sizes. There were 19 interviews conducted for this evaluation, and this was the main method used to gather data. No other methods, such as surveys or focus groups, were used. Although, this may seem to be a small number of interviews, those interviewed represent almost all the key staff and partners, and included representation from within and outside the JIT, from numerous policing agencies, and a representative from the Akwesasne Mohawk Council. The number of interviews conducted was considered appropriate, by the consultants, given the size of the initiative.
Additionally, while some quantitative information was provided through organized crime and tobacco control strategy reports, produced by the Officer-in-charge of the JIT, and press release information, these reports did not always contain consistent information, and did not always include information up to the date of the evaluation. As these reports provided the only quantitative information from the initiative, the inconsistencies and missing information have an impact on the evaluation. As a result, we cannot draw conclusions based on these reports and instead have had to rely on information provided during interviews.
This chapter of the report presents our findings, organized according to the three general issues covered in the evaluation: relevance, success, and cost effectiveness/alternatives.
One of the major questions addressed in an evaluation is the extent to which the program or initiative under study continues to “make sense”; that is, are the objectives and mandate still relevant to government responsibilities and priorities. The API evaluation matrix included two questions related to this issue:
Q.1 To what extent does organized crime continue to be a threat in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwasasne?
Conclusion: Organized crime activity in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne continues to be a critical issue. Akwesasne’s geographic location and physical landscape make it an ideal location for cross-border criminal activity and organized crime. The community is unique in that it is intersected by the boundaries of two provinces (Ontario and Quebec), and it straddles the border of Canada and the United States. This creates jurisdictional challenges for the law enforcement agencies that work in the area. There is a great deal of smuggling of tobacco, drugs and, to a lesser extent, weapons. The level of organized crime and cross-border criminality is reportedly overwhelming in this area. As well, organized crime groups in the Akwesasne area are reportedly becoming more sophisticated in their activities.
The geography of the Akwesasne area provides an ideal location for organized crime and other cross-border criminal activity. The community is unique in that it is intersected by the boundaries of two provinces (Ontario and Quebec), and it straddles the border of Canada and the United States. This creates jurisdictional challenges for the law enforcement agencies that work in the area. As well, the physical layout of the Akwesasne area holds advantages for organized crime groups. There are many small channels and waterways that provide criminals the opportunity to hide from and avoid law enforcement vessels. During the winter, the frozen waters of the St. Lawrence River create “ice bridges” that allow automobiles and snowmobiles to cross the border in many places, without using roadways. Finally, the relatively close proximity of the Akwesasne area to major urban centres, such as Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, and Syracuse, New York, makes it attractive to organized crime groups for expediting the movement of contraband further inland.
Interviews conducted with individuals working in the JIT, as well as with other stakeholders and partner organizations, indicate that organized crime activity in and around the Mohawk area of Akwesasne continues to be a critical issue. A large amount of smuggling takes place through Akwesasne, involving various types of commodities. Given its close proximity to cigarette manufacturers located on the U.S. side of the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory, Akwesasne is an attractive location for the smuggling, into Canada, of contraband tobacco produced by these facilities. One interviewee speculated that, “90% of Native cigarette manufacturing in the U.S. is heading to Canada.” Some proportion is believed to be through smuggling activities.
High tobacco excise taxes in the early 1990s resulted in the establishment of a smuggling “infrastructure” through Akwesasne. These established routes are now used for whatever commodity currently has the highest value, or “profit” attached to it. Smuggling cases still typically involve tobacco coming north into Canada, while marijuana is a common commodity smuggled south into the U.S. As noted by one interviewee, tobacco smuggling tends to act as a starting point for other types of contraband. A relationship is built between the smuggler and the client, and the cross-border criminal activity then moves to other commodities such as weapons or hard drugs (e.g., cocaine). The movement of illegal migrants between Canada and the United States was also raised as a potential issue, given the geography of the area. However, interviewees indicated that there has not been a great deal of this type of crime in the Akwesasne area during recent years.
It is generally believed that organized crime is involved in the smuggling activities. Traditional organized crime groups, Asian organized crime groups, and outlaw motorcycle gangs are reportedly operating through First Nations communities close to the Canada-US border. Moreover, there is the potential that inter-relationships are being established between different crime groups. Organized crime in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne is also reportedly involving more First Nations people. Several interviewees suggested that, more and more, Akwesasne residents are becoming involved in the organized crime groups, and at younger ages than was previously the case. The lure of “easy money” draws in the youth. Most of those interviewed suggested that First Nations communities are being exploited by external criminal organizations. However, one interviewee suggested that, although it used to be First Nations people trafficking for the benefit of these organized crime groups, First Nations organized crime is now a group unto itself.
Most interviewees agreed that the level of organized crime and cross-border criminality in the Akwesasne area is overwhelming. Whenever law enforcement agents arrest one criminal, there are several others ready to step in and take over. Several interviewees also reported that organized crime groups in the Akwesasne area are becoming more sophisticated in their activities. They adapt their practices and behaviours in response to law enforcement actions, making it a constant challenge for law enforcement.
Q.2 Is the API consistent with current government objectives, the national agenda to combat organized crime and the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy?
Conclusion: The Government of Canada has over the past several years re-iterated a commitment to ensuring the safety and security of Canadians. As well, in 2000, the Ministers Responsible for Justice endorsed the National Agenda to Combat Organized Crime, recognizing organized crime as a national priority. The API, whose purpose is to address cross-border criminality with a focus on organized criminal activities, aligns to the commitments made in the Speeches from the Throne over the evaluation period and in the National Agenda to Combat Organized Crime. As well, the design of the API bolsters the initiative’s ability to deliver on these commitments due to its partnered approach. Finally, the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy outlines the Government’s commitment to control tobacco products and to minimize their negative effects on Canadian society. The API through its focus on tobacco smuggling supports this strategy.
The Government of Canada has over the past several years re-iterated its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of Canadians. This commitment has been declared in successive Speeches from the Throne, and has been demonstrated through a variety of federal efforts, including: the creation of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada; initiatives funded under the Measures to Combat Organized Crime (MCOC) Initiative; the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy (FTCS) that includes an enforcement component; and Public Security and Anti-Terrorism (PSAT) funding. In the Speech from the Throne to open the 2nd Session of the Thirty-Sixth Parliament of Canada (October 12, 1999), the government committed to “work to combat criminal activity that is becoming increasingly global in scope, including money laundering, terrorism, and the smuggling of people, drugs and guns.” In addition, a commitment was made to “strengthen the capacity of the RCMP and other agencies to address threats to public security in Canada and work with enforcement agencies of other countries”; and to “continue to work closely with the Government of the United States to modernize our shared border for the 21st century.”7 Since that date, each successive Speech from the Throne has identified safety or security as a priority, beginning with the Speech from the Throne to open the 1st Session of the Thirty-Seventh Parliament (where the government committed to focus on safeguarding Canadians from new and emerging forms of crime; take aggressive steps to combat organized crime, and enhance law enforcement tools to deal with emerging threats to security) and ending with the most recent Speech from the Throne of April 4, 2006 where the government committed to ‘tackling crime’.8
In 2000, the Federal, Provincial and Territorial (FPT) Ministers Responsible for Justice endorsed the National Agenda to Combat Organized Crime. “The National Agenda recognizes that the fight against organized crime is a national priority that requires governments and the law enforcement community to work together.”9 A body of FPT government officials, prosecutors, and representatives from the law enforcement community, known as the National Coordinating Committee on Organized Crime, assists in the development and implementation of the National Agenda. A number of key priority areas are set out in the National Agenda, including: illicit drugs; outlaw motorcycle gangs; economic crime; money laundering; trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling; and, street gangs.
The purpose of the API is to address cross-border criminality with a focus on organized criminal activities such as the smuggling of contraband drugs, tobacco and alcohol and illegal migrants, aligns to the commitments made in Speeches from the Throne over the evaluation period and in the National Agenda to Combat Organized Crime. As well, the design of the API bolsters its ability to deliver on these commitments by allowing AMP officers to partner with other law enforcement agencies. This maximizes available intelligence and resources, and increases capacity building as a result of training and on-the-job experiences.
The Federal Tobacco Control Strategy (FTCS) outlines the Government’s commitment to control tobacco products and to minimize their negative effects on Canadian society. Although the FTCS does not specifically discuss tobacco-related smuggling activities, it does highlight a need for integrated, national and provincial, approaches and to work together with partner organizations. As well, a major focus of the FTCS is to target Inuit and First Nations communities on reserves where smoking prevalence is high. The FTCS also notes that “taxation has been proven to be effective in reducing consumption”. Therefore, reducing illegal contraband tobacco entry into, and sale within, Canada is necessary to support the tax deterrent.
Q.3 To what extent do amp officers involved in the initiative have enhanced knowledge and understanding of organized crime issues and tools?
Conclusion: According to interviewees, individuals who are part of the JIT have enhanced knowledge and understanding of organized crime issues and tools, as a result of their participation in the unit and the training that they have received. There is a high level of satisfaction with the training JIT members have received, particularly with the more operational skills training such as interviewing and interrogation. However, with regards to training on Bill C-24, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Organized Crime and Law Enforcement) and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (hereafter called Bill C-24), many of the JIT members did not have in-depth knowledge of the provisions in the Criminal Code.
The nature of the cases undertaken by the JIT and the joint forces operations they are involved in, has allowed participating officers to enhance their skills. JIT members’ exposure to law enforcement officers from other organizations, and the methods used by these officers, allows them to increase their knowledge of effective approaches and activities to combat organized crime.
Recommendation: Members of the JIT should be provided with training on Bill C-24, and how its provisions may impact the fight against organized crime in and around Akwesasne. Due to the difficulties encountered by JIT members in finding time to take training, and the impediments to sending numerous team members on training at the same time, it is recognized that it may take some time to be able to have all JIT members trained on C-24. However, a plan should be put in place to ensure that all members are eventually provided this training.
JIT interviewees identified a wide variety of training that has been taken by JIT members, including training in: drug investigation and enforcement, interviewing, interrogation, major crime investigations, surveillance, source-handling, infra-red thermography, marine issues, and management. As well, interviewees pointed out that the opportunity to take training at police colleges, such as the Ontario Police College in Aylmer, Ontario, or at the Canadian Police College in Ottawa, provides an opportunity to network and learn from other, more experienced officers.
JIT members also mentioned they have learned new skills through informal training and through on-the-job training. Interviewees indicated that they have gained expertise that they would not have gained if they had not been members of the JIT. Due to the nature of the cases they work on, JIT members have developed broader skills. JIT members have had the opportunity to work on major files involving US law enforcement, and on files extending to Toronto and Montreal. JIT members’ skills have improved through day-to-day partnering with organizations such as the RCMP, OPP, State Police, US Border Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police; and through their participation on the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) and with the Cornwall IBET. By working with these organizations, they have learned skills from them, and have also learned how these organizations operate.
In addition, as noted by one interviewee, regular AMP officers outside of the JIT are also benefiting from the training received by JIT members. Knowledge is often passed on informally from JIT members to AMP members when they have the opportunity to work together. JIT members routinely support the work of regular AMP officers, as they are frequently called upon to assist with interviewing, and are also asked to help in the preparation of warrants.
There is a high level of satisfaction, among JIT members, with the training received. All of the JIT members interviewed indicated the quality of the training has been good. According to a couple of interviewees, the course on interviewing and interrogation was particularly good. JIT members also indicated that they have been able to apply the skills they have learned through the training and their on-the-job experience. According to one interviewee, the benefit of the interview techniques course is evident in an increased number of interviews conducted by JIT members, improved diligence in conducting the interviews, more persistent interrogation and staying on track during the interviews. This has reportedly resulted in more statements than before and more information and intelligence gathered.
JIT members and stakeholders did note that given the workload of the unit, it is difficult for members to find the time to take training. Nonetheless, other areas of training identified as potentially useful were:
surveillance,
source handling,
undercover course (for native members),
cover course,
search warrant writing,
interviewing and interrogation,
major crime,
wire tapping,
statement admissibility, and
weapons training.
Interviewees were specifically asked about training on Bill C-24. Bill C-24was passed on June 13, 2001 and strengthens the ability of law enforcement officers and prosecutors to fight organized crime. Specifically, the Act makes participation in a criminal organization an offence, improves the protection of people in the criminal justice system from intimidation, simplifies the definition of “criminal organization”, expands the proceeds of crime provisions to apply to most indictable offences, and provides protection for law enforcement officers from criminal liability when they commit certain acts that would otherwise be considered illegal during the course of an investigation.
While interviewees indicated they were satisfied with the current level of training, when asked specifically about training on Bill C-24, a couple of the JIT interviewees were not familiar with the provisions of the Act and those who indicated they are familiar with C24 provisions provided inaccurate examples of how the provisions are applicable to the JIT, further underlining the fact that they do not understand the provisions. Only a couple of the JIT members have received training on Bill C-24.
Q.4 Has the API improved the detection, targeting and investigations of organized crime offences and organizations?
Conclusion: The API has reportedly improved the detection, targeting and investigations of organized crime offences and organizations, through the leveraging of resources from the various organizations, and through improved, timely sharing of information and intelligence. Due to the overwhelming volume of smuggling activities in the Akwesasne area, no single partner is able to effectively control it. Working together and sharing information is essential. Interviewees indicated that in the past JIT members have participated in IBET weekly intelligence meetings, however recently attendance by a JIT representative has been characterized as “spotty”.
10 Ultimately, impacts on the community can only be measured over time.
Recommendation: The JIT must re-institute its annual reporting to PS in order to comply with the requirements of the Canada/Akwesasne contribution agreement. In addition, PS and the AMP should jointly examine the reporting requirements, and identify the performance indicators necessary to measure the effectiveness of the API in terms of detecting, targeting and investigating organized crime offences and organizations.
Recommendation: The API partners should work with the local IBET unit to resolve the issue of JIT’s attendance at the weekly IBET meetings.
According to the contribution agreement11 between the government (PS, previously the Department of the Solicitor General Canada) and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, annual reports are to be submitted by the AMP’ JIT that describe the nature and scope of joint forces operations (JFOs) in which the AMP participated or led, lessons learned, other related intelligence/information, and a description of the changing role of the AMP through participation in joint forces operations and related investigations of cross-border criminal activity.12 While some of these reports were submitted, the last report made available for this evaluation was for the period ending March 2004. Therefore, while some information is available, it only covers slightly over a two-year period.
Table 4.1 below, provides a count of the number of JFOs that the AMP either led or participated in, as well, as the number that had IBET involvement, and the number of charges laid. Statistical information about the number of, and value of seizures, is not part of the regular Akwesasne reporting.
Table 4.1 JIT Organized Crime Reported Statistics
JIT Organized Crime Reported Statistics
# of JFOs that had AMP JIT participation
# of JFOs that AMP JIT lead
# of JFOs that had IBET involvement
# of charges laid
* - Note: the figures for 2004 are for the months of January to March 2004 only
As illustrated by the table, the AMP involvement in organized crime investigations increased from 2002 to 2003. As well, the number of charges laid, under the Criminal Code or the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, in relation to these investigations increased significantly.
The reports submitted also included narrative description of the results achieved. The reports indicate that the JIT members worked with a large number of different policing agencies on the joint forces operations. One of the earlier reports specified that the JIT members had worked with 12 different policing agencies throughout the six-month reporting period. The reports also described numerous seizures obtained as a result of JIT activities, including seizures of marijuana, cocaine, US and Canadian dollars, vehicles, vessels and weapons.
According to individuals interviewed, the JIT has led to improved detection, targeting and investigations of organized crime groups and offences. Interviewees stated that the JIT has contributed to investigative capacity of the team members, by giving access to experienced resources from different organizations. Some individuals indicated that as a result, the skills and abilities of JIT membershave increased, enabling them to undertake higher-level investigations. However, the extent to which this is happening is debatable. Some interviewees noted that the investigations by the JIT tend to focus on the runner level, and specifically on tobacco-related offences, rather than more broadly targeting higher-level organized crime. (Information in the semi-annual reports submitted by the AMP was not detailed enough to support or refute this claim.) However, these interviewees did admit that the information obtained through these investigations could be used to build up cases by other agencies targeting the middle to upper echelon of organized crime groups.
Interviewees also suggested that there is improved detection and targeting as a result of the secondment of AMP officers into and out of the JIT, and the partnerships developed with other law enforcement agencies. For example, one JIT member has been working with the CFSEU, an RCMP-led organized crime task force in Cornwall, for over 2 years and as a result has gained a great deal of experience. JIT members also indicated that their skills have improved due to their work with the RCMP and the OPP, and other organizations such as the US Border Patrol, the FBI, New York State Police and St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police. Two of the JIT interviewees also pointed out the importance of learning how different organizations do things.
Stakeholder interviews corroborated the statements made by the JIT members. In addition, stakeholders noted that one of the main benefits of the API, in relation to targeting, detecting, and investigating cross-border crime, is that the agencies involved are able to leverage their resources through their partnerships. As mentioned previously, the geography of the Akwesasne region makes it a haven for organized crime. Given the enormity of the problem, the AMP cannot effectively act alone. Through partnering with other area law enforcement agencies, the AMP is able to access additional resources (human resources and equipment) to address the problem, and to undertake specific enforcement actions, as needed. For example, several interviewees noted that in the small community of Akwesasne everyone knows everyone else. This can make surveillance difficult. However, through the JIT, the AMP may have access to a vehicle not readily recognized. Other JIT partnersalso rely on the fact that the AMP members can more easily fit into the community and understand what goes on there. Additionally, by working together as part of the JIT, partner organizations are less likely to duplicate efforts. Finally with regards to leveraging resources, several interviewees mentioned the benefit of having, within the JIT, access to the RCMP databases.
Interviewees also noted that as a result of the JIT partnerships, they have expanded their networks, which has in turn increased the amount of information to which they have access. Several interviewees noted that as a result of the JIT, their organizations now have connections to a number of other law enforcement organizations, which makes communication easier. Individuals now know whom they can call in these other organizations, and what they can do to assist each other. Contact with these other organizations brings access to information they might not otherwise have. Connections with these organizations in both Canada and the United States, provides access to a wealth of additional contacts. Interviewees also pointed out that as a result of this networking, agencies in other jurisdictions have a better sense of what is going on in Akwesasne.
Interviewees also noted that the relationships built as a result of the JIT have lead to improved trust between organizations that participate in the JIT and with other partners with whom the JIT members interact on joint forces operations. This improved trust leads to better, and more timely, sharing of information and intelligence. Prior to the JIT, there were no protocols for sharing information with the various organizations. As a result of the JIT, there has been an increase in the communications and sharing of information amongst partner law enforcement agencies, both Canadian and American, since individual enforcement officers now have contacts in partner organizations and know who they should contact and when they should be contact them. Interviewees also pointed out that the JIT has established direct radio contact with most, if not all, IBET partners.
Interviewees noted that the quality of the information and intelligence shared varies from case to case, although for the most part, interviewees reported that the quality is good and the information shared is helpful. The JIT is valued by other enforcement agencies because of their intimate knowledge of Akwesasne, their ability to identify individuals and confirm information relating to individuals. AMP JIT members also have access to information not readily available to enforcement organizations that are not a part of their community. For example, members are able to recognize associations between individuals within the community. As well, several interviewees noted that the JIT has led to an increase of the AMP’s credibility in the eyes of other enforcement organizations.
Several interviewees pointed out that the JIT participates in weekly IBET intelligence meetings where information and intelligence is shared with a broader range of organizations, leading to collaboration with these organizations. However, the consistency of the JIT participation in these weekly meetings was an area of concern for several interviewees. Although according to interviewees, the JIT attendance at these meetings has been better recently, some interviewees noted that in the past their participation has been somewhat “spotty”.
Q.5 To what extent has this initiative enhanced partnerships between the AMP and other stakeholders?
Conclusion: According to interviewees, partnerships between the AMP and other JIT members have been enhanced through more frequent contact, heightened credibility and enhanced competence in the investigations. New partnerships between both Canadian and American partners who interact with the JIT have also been credited to the JIT. The benefits reported as a result of these new and improved partnerships include: improved, timely communications and sharing; increased knowledge; improved skills; and, access to partner resources and to previously hard-to-reach individuals or groups.
This evaluation question included an examination of two different types of partnerships – those between members of the JIT, and those between JIT members and other enforcement agencies. The establishment of the JIT has brought together AMP and RCMP officers into a co-located location, working jointly on investigations and enforcement actions. This type of arrangement would typically lead to new and/or improved partnerships between participating JIT members. However, interviewees indicated that many of the partnerships currently in existence between JIT partners already existed prior to the establishment of the JIT.
With regards to partnerships between JIT members and other law enforcement agencies, as illustrated by Table 4.1 in Question 4 above, the JIT was involved in numerous joint forces operations between January 2002 and March 2004. This is supported by press release information provided for the evaluation. In several cases the press releases made note of the value of the various police forces working together to combat organized criminal activity. Working on joint forces operations enhances partnerships due, in large part, to the personal connections made by the officers. Interviewees noted that the partners worked on joint forces operations prior to the JIT. However, most interviewees asserted that the partnerships have been enhanced through more frequent contact, heightened credibility of the JIT and enhanced competence in the investigations. Prior to the JIT, information was not systematically shared, but was more ad-hoc or investigation specific. The personal, more regular contact that has come about as a result of the JIT has strengthened the partnerships.
Several of the interviewees did indicate that new partnerships have been established as a result of the JIT. Through the JIT, the AMP has partnered with the following organizations: US Border Patrol and Customs; US Coast Guard; the CFSEU and other integrated RCMP teams; the Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit (PWEU); the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA); and, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Interviewees also indicated that the JIT is a member of the IBET joint management team, resulting in enhanced relationships with the IBET partners. As well, one interviewee indicated that a new partnership with the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) is emerging. The SQ has a liaison officer coming to Akwesasne approximately once a month. One interviewee did suggest, however, that partnerships could be further enhanced if more of the new law enforcement partners were co-located in the JIT.
According to interviewees, the benefits of these new or enhanced partnerships have been:
a more seamless ability to follow illicit activities as a result of improved communication between partners and better hand-off procedures;
improved, more complete intelligence for other police forces, as a result of JIT knowledge of community patterns and trends;
more timely sharing of information, as a result of co-location;
improved skills, particularly with regards to organized crime investigations;
access to the resources of partner organizations (e.g., RCMP lab, forensic unit, firearms registry, Health Canada lab, etc.); and,
access to individuals or groups, through the AMP, that traditional law enforcement and police are not able to reach.
Q.6 Is there evidence that the initiative is making a contribution to disrupting and dismantling organized crime activities in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne?
Conclusion: The API is contributing to the disruption of organized crime activities in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne. JIT interviewees agree that the unit is having an impact; however their impact is limited due to the sheer volume of organized crime activities taking place in the area, and the current investment to attack the problem. Interviewees contend, however, that if it were not for the JIT, the situation in Akwesasne would be even worse than it is. Interviewees suggest that the JIT has an impact on organized crime groups since it is now more difficult for them to operate in the Akwesasne area, and as a result criminal organizations incur higher costs.
The extent to which the API is having an impact on organized crime at a level higher than the ‘couriers’ is less clear. It appears that given the resources of the JIT, they are not able to apprehend anyone other than the ‘runners’ who are carrying the contraband product across the border. It should be noted that pursuing organized crime and the middle and upper echelons is not the JIT’s mandate. However, their participation will contribute to the overall efforts of the RCMP, in partnership with the AMP in the context of the CFSEU, which has a mandate to pursue middle to upper echelon organized crime targets.
It is impossible to quantify the extent to which the API has disrupted and dismantled organized crime activities in and around Akwesasne, as it is not possible to differentiate between the effect the API has had on organized crime activities and that of other activities undertaken by the various police and law enforcement agencies in the area, as well as the community. As well, to provide a quantifiable answer to this question we would need to know the total volume of organized crime activities in the Akwesasne area. This information is not available. However, in spite of this challenge, future collection of specific performance data (such as, for example, number of arrests, number of charges and types of charges, number of seizures and amounts of seizures) could provide some measurement of the impact of the API. For this evaluation the data available to measure impacts comes mainly from interviews, and press releases provided for the purpose of the evaluation. Indications from these sources suggest that the API is having an impact.
All those interviewed who work in the JIT indicated that they believe the unit is having an impact on organized crime. However, they have indicated that the sheer magnitude of the organized crime problem in Akwesasne and the comparatively insignificant investment to effectively combat the issue has limited the impact of the initiative. JIT member and stakeholder interviewees agreed that there is always someone ready to step in and replace anyone who is arrested. For many, the potential pay-off for smuggling activities far outweighs the associated risks. As well, several interviewees noted that it is difficult to combat criminal activities in the Akwesasne area because the community is fairly small and everyone knows each other. Interviewees indicated that while there is no evidence that the JIT has decreased the amount of organized crime activities in Akwesasne, they suggest that if the JIT did not exist the situation would be even worse. As well, interviewees purported that the results achieved, in terms of seizures and arrests, demonstrate that the JIT is having an impact on organized crime.
With regards to the level of organized crime the JIT is impacting, as mentioned in Question 4 above, many interviewees indicated that for the most part, the JIT is able to only stop the ‘couriers’ or ‘runners’ who are carrying the contraband product across the border. However, by making arrests at this level the JIT is able to gather information that may be useful in targeting individuals at higher levels within the organized crime groups. As noted by one interviewee, “anytime you take down anyone there is an opportunity to break up the organized crime group, and to get information needed to go after someone at the higher level”. The mandate of the AMP is to perform a community policing service. The intent of the API initiative is to enable the AMP to participate in joint forces operations with the RCMP and other organizations to target cross-border criminality with a focus on organized crime. It is the mandate of the RCMP and other senior police services to target middle- and upper-echelon organized crime. Currently, information obtained by the JIT members is passed on to these other law enforcement organizations that are mandated to target the higher-levels of criminal organizations. Interviewees indicated that if there was a desire for the API to have a greater impact at the higher level, the JIT would need more funding to enable them to participate on longer projects including conducting surveillance and undertaking wiretaps. Some interviewees did suggest however that the JIT could partner more efficiently with other organizations, such as the RCMP-led Montreal Integrated Proceeds of Crime unit, which could lead to the JIT focusing more on organized crime groups rather than the runners as may be the case now.
Interviewees did agree that the API has made it more difficult for organized crime groups to operate in the Akwesasne area. Over one third of the interviewees indicated that the existence of the JIT has increased the costs of doing business for the organized crime groups operating in the area. For instance, to successfully undertake smuggling activities in Akwesasne, organized crime groups now have to invest resources in counter-surveillance of the AMP and JIT members. Organized crime groups also have modified their operations to include more sophisticated communications methods and equipment; including the purchase or development of alarms and “booby-traps” to deter law enforcement efforts. Finally, interviewees pointed out that JIT efforts force organized crime groups to change smuggling routes and locations, which results in additional costs for these groups.
Q.7 To what extent is there increased knowledge and awareness of the nature and scope of contraband tobacco activity in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne?
Conclusion: It is not possible to quantify the extent to which the JIT has increased knowledge and awareness of the nature and scope of contraband tobacco activity in and around Akwesasne. Although a semi-annual report to PS on the nature and scope of tobacco contraband activity in and around Akwesasne is provided by the JIT, some of the reports provided, for the period of the evaluation, contained only narrative information and no structured, quantitative information. Therefore, while some information is available, it cannot be used to quantitatively report on tobacco-related outcomes of the JIT.
However, based on interviews, there is increased knowledge and awareness of contraband tobacco activity in the Akwesasne area. While the availability and exchange of information between API partners has improved, it is impossible to know the extent to which this is as a result of the JIT. Interviewees, both from within the JIT and from partner organizations, did however note that their involvement with the JIT increases knowledge and awareness of contraband tobacco activity, since their organizations have access to the databases of the various partner organizations, and in particular to the databases of the RCMP. (The RCMP has jurisdiction regarding contraband tobacco and is the AMP’s main law enforcement partner in this area.) However, one interviewee did indicate that since there has not been an RCMP officer from Valleyfield in the JIT, there is less flow of communications from Quebec.
Interviewees also pointed to the existence of JIT-related headlines and articles in local newspapers, and praise from community members, as evidence of an increased knowledge and awareness in the Akwesasne area.
Recommendation: PS and the AMP should jointly examine the reporting requirements, and identify the performance indicators necessary to measure the effectiveness of the API in terms of increasing the knowledge and awareness of the nature and scope of contraband tobacco activity in and around Akwesasne. Reporting on these indicators should be incorporated into the semi-annual tobacco reports.
Recommendation: The RCMP should make every effort to fill the currently vacant Valleyfield JIT position.
In order to answer this evaluation question, the evaluators considered the question from two perspectives: 1) the level of knowledge and awareness of law enforcement and government officials regarding the nature and scope of tobacco smuggling; and, 2) the level of general knowledge and awareness of the issue within the community.
Knowledge and awareness of law enforcement and government officials:
According to Schedule A of the contribution agreement between the Government of Canada (PS, previously the Solicitor General of Canada) and the Mohawks of Akwesasne (the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne), semi-annual reports are to be submitted by Akwesasne on the nature and scope of tobacco contraband activity in and around the Mohawk community of Akwesasne, including information on the number of charges laid, cleared or otherwise cleared, quantity and type of tobacco seizures, forfeiture data, and other related intelligence.13 While some of these reports were submitted, the last report made available for this evaluation was for the period ending March 2005. As well, some of the reports contained only narrative information, and no structured, quantitative information. Therefore, while some information is available, it cannot be used to quantitatively report on tobacco-related outcomes of the JIT.
The reports submitted provided some information about tobacco seizures by the JIT, or by other organizations following joint forces operations. These seizures included seizures of cases and cartons of cigarettes, as well as re-sealable plastic bags of loose cigarettes. Also, according to the reports, numerous vehicles and water vessels were seized. As was the case with the organized crime reports, according to the tobacco control strategy reports, the JIT worked with a number of other organizations to interdict tobacco smuggling activities.
Most interviewees agreed that availability and exchange of information between the co-located JIT partners (RCMP and AMP) and other partner law enforcement organizations has improved. Information exchange is more timely, and the information shared is useful and of good quality. Although some interviewees indicated that the quality and timeliness of the sharing has improved since the creation of the JIT, it is difficult to say whether or not these improvements would have come about in time without the integrated unit. Some interviewees attribute the improvements to the JIT, whereas others suggest the improvements would have evolved with or without the JIT. One interviewee did indicate that since there has not been an RCMP officer from Valleyfield in the JIT, there is less flow of communications from Quebec.
According to interviewees, one of the benefits of the JIT, in terms of increasing knowledge and awareness, stems from the fact that the various JIT members can access information in the RCMP databases, since the RCMP is a partner. Four interviewees specifically identified access to RCMP databases as a benefit of the JIT. AMP JIT members have indicated that with regards to tobacco, the RCMP is their main partner. The RCMP is the main recipient of tobacco information. Whenever the JIT makes a tobacco seizure, the file is turned over to the RCMP. Over one third of interviewees indicated that the JIT also works with the local IBET, which results in an increase in their knowledge and awareness of criminal activity in and around Akwesasne, including tobacco-related activities. A couple of interviewees suggested that the JIT could increase their involvement with the Aboriginal CFSEU in the Montreal area, and with other First Nations partners in the First Nations Organized Crime (FNOC) initiative. This could further increase knowledge and awareness of contraband tobacco activity in the area.
As some interviewees pointed out, the manufacturing of tobacco in the United States, in and around the Mohawk area of Akwesasne, is not an offence. It only becomes a criminal offence when it illegally crosses the border. [ * ] . However, US interviewees did state that if they know of a shipment of tobacco heading towards Canada, they will let the JIT know. As well, if the JIT asks them for help with surveillance, they will assist where they can.
General knowledge and awareness of the issue within the community:
The AMP and JIT officers make presentations to local government representatives and to members of the Akwesasne community at public meetings, to raise their awareness of what is happening in the community. A couple of interviewees indicated that to some extent there is some denial in the community as to what is going on regarding the involvement of organized criminals. During their presentations, AMP and JIT members present actual cases and demonstrate the problems evident in the community. However, one interviewee did point out that those individuals who attend the community meetings and presentations are those who are already aware of the issues, and generally are more open and willing to do something to address the issues.
Two interviewees suggested that an increase in the number, and amount, of seizures demonstrates an increased knowledge and awareness of tobacco-related criminal activity in the Akwesasne area. As well, the semi-annual report submitted by the JIT for the period of June to November 2004 states that the JIT received “praise from the community in targeting those that are making tremendous profits from the smuggling of Tobacco products.” This suggests that awareness of the activity exists in the community. Finally, interviewees suggested that headlines and articles in local newspapers illustrate that the JIT is catching tobacco smugglers and awareness of tobacco smuggling is increasing.
Q.8 Have outreach activities increased youth awareness with respect to the criminality of smuggling?
Conclusion: While JIT members are involved in outreach activities, much of the community outreach is done by the uniformed AMP officers. It is difficult to distinguish JIT outreach activities from those done by all combined forces and community partners, or from the outreach undertaken by the AMP. As well, it is difficult to assess behavioural change in youth, let alone awareness levels with respect to the criminality of smuggling, and attribute these to the outreach activities. Clearly JIT members are involved to some extent in outreach activities aimed at youth. Many of the outreach activities tend to be of a sporting nature and there is no evidence of the outreach activities being used as a venue to communicate a message regarding the criminality of tobacco smuggling. However, interviewees suggested that the outreach activities have been successful in opening up the lines of communication between the community’s youth and the police.
The AMP has a community service officer responsible for community outreach. Although JIT members are also involved in outreach activities, according to some, much of the community outreach is done by the uniformed AMP officers. Several JIT members indicated they would like to be more involved, particularly with youth programs. However two interviewees noted that to have more of an impact through outreach activities the JIT would need a resource dedicated to outreach activities, since this work can be time consuming.
During interviews, many of the JIT members and stakeholder representatives described activities that JIT members were involved in. It is difficult to distinguish JIT outreach activities from those done by all combined forces and community partners, or from the outreach undertaken by the AMP. In any case, JIT members were involved in community outreach activities. For example:
During the 2002/2003 school year, JIT members participated in a weekly event at the local middle school playing hockey ball, volleyball or basketball. A question and answer period followed the games, with officers responding to questions about policing.
In June 2003, JIT members participated in a community scavenger hunt, organized by the Akwesasne Boys’ and Girls’ Club and the Akwesasne Child and Family Services.
On November 24th 2004, the students of the local high school challenged AMP/JIT members to a basketball and skills competition. The event promoted healthy lifestyles by keeping the body and mind active.
In February 2005, AMP/JIT members organized a floor hockey tournament for the youth at the Akwesasne Winter Carnival. The RCMP and Akwesasne Police had several teams entered combining both police and youth on each team. In addition, the JIT, AMP and the RCMP combined a team and played in a benefit game of Boot Hockey against the local Akwesasne Fire Department.
JIT members have also given presentations to schools, community groups and youth groups, on topics such as drugs, telemarketing fraud, and counterfeit currencies.
As indicated by these examples, many of the JIT outreach activities tend to be of a sporting nature. There is no evidence, from either the reports provided by the JIT, or from examples cited by interviewees, that the JIT used these outreach activities to communicate a message regarding the criminality of tobacco smuggling.
While it is difficult to attribute changes in the behavior of community youth to the existence of the JIT, some JIT members and stakeholders believe that the JIT involvement has positively impacted the attitude and behaviours of Akwesasne youth. Several interviewees suggested that these activities have been successful in opening up the lines of communication between the community’s youth and the police. Two interviewees suggested that the contact that the AMP and JIT members have had with the community’s youth has resulted in some of the youth considering law enforcement as a potential career option. Interviewees also believe that, through the outreach activities, the AMP and JIT have become more approachable and accessible to the young people of Akwesasne.
Q.9 Is there evidence that the initiative is disabling tobacco contraband smuggling routes and networks?
Conclusion: It is impossible to quantify the extent to which the API has disabled tobacco contraband smuggling routes and networks. Although most of those interviewed agreed that the JIT is having an impact on contraband smuggling, they agreed that when the JIT makes an arrest for contraband tobacco smuggling there is always someone ready to step in and take the place of the arrested individual. However, without the JIT, interviewees believe there would be even more tobacco smuggling in the area.
As with organized crime, the impact of the API on tobacco smuggling is mainly on the ‘courier’ or ‘runner’ level. While some stated that the JIT should try to target higher up the chain of organized crime figures to have an impact on tobacco smuggling, for the most part interviewees suggested that the API has had an impact on tobacco smuggling simply by seizing the contraband tobacco products, and by forcing tobacco smugglers to change their behaviours and incur increased costs to avoid detection by the JIT.
As was the case with Question 6, regarding the extent to which the initiative has been successful in disrupting and dismantling organized crime, it is difficult to quantify the extent to which the API has disabled tobacco contraband smuggling routes and networks. To provide a quantifiable answer to this question we would need to know the scope of existing contraband smuggling routes and networks in the Akwesasne area. This information is not available. However, in spite of this challenge, future collection of specific performance data (such as, for example, number of arrests, number of charges and types of charges, number of seizures and amounts of seizures) could provide some measurement of the impact of the API on tobacco smuggling routes and networks.
For this evaluation, some information collected through interviews provides insight into the difficulties of combating tobacco smuggling. As suggested earlier, when the JIT makes an arrest for contraband tobacco smuggling, there is always someone ready to step in and take the place of the arrested individual. Interviewees noted that tobacco smuggling is a lucrative business. Individuals consider it “easy money” in that the potential benefits associated with tobacco smuggling outweigh the risks. As long as there is a market for contraband tobacco products, there will be individuals prepared to participate in the illegal tobacco smuggling. As well, the geography of the Akwesasne area facilitates the smuggling of contraband tobacco.
Most interviewees agreed, however, that the JIT is having an impact on disabling tobacco contraband smuggling routes and networks. While the initiative cannot demonstrate a decrease in the amount of tobacco smuggling in the Akwesasne area, and in fact some interviewees suggested that the amount of tobacco smuggling is increasing, it is generally believed that, without the JIT, there would have been a much larger increase.
A lack of manpower was often cited as a major reason the JIT is not able to decrease the amount of tobacco smuggling in the area. One interviewee described the situation as “trying to stop a flood with a teacup.” However, several interviewees suggested that just by seizing contraband tobacco products the JIT is having an impact. One interviewee noted that by focusing on the runners or couriers, the JIT creates a deterrent for the smuggling activity. Several others, however, stated that the JIT needs to try to target higher up the chain in order to have an impact on the amount of tobacco smuggling. Many interviewees suggested, though, that the JIT provides information to the RCMP, for higher-level cases.
As indicated in Question 6 above, interviewees suggested that the API has forced tobacco smugglers to change their behaviours. JIT interviewees indicated that to an extent, smugglers have had to figure out new ways to get around the JIT. According to interviewees, smugglers have changed their routes, and their methods of operations. Smugglers have also had to incur increased costs for operations, such as for counter surveillance.
Q.10 Are there any unintended (positive or negative) impacts of the initiative?
Conclusion: Few unintended impacts were identified. Two positive unintended impacts identified by interviewees were: the knowledge and skills transferred to AMP officers who work with the JIT, and increased credibility of the AMP. As well, one possible negative impact cited in the interviews relates to the arrests of a number of young, typically male, Mohawks, who act as the ‘runners’ or ‘couriers’ for organized crime groups. Although not solely a result of the initiative, the concern is that this generation of Mohawk youth is becoming ‘criminalized’.
Other positive unintended impacts were identified by interviewees however, although these interviewees did not anticipate the benefits identified, those who established the initiative did expect these types of positive impacts.
In all of the interviews of JIT members and other stakeholders, the question was raised as to whether there have been any unintended impacts stemming from the API. Two positive unintended impacts were identified:
knowledge and skills transfer to AMP officers when JIT members are involved in AMP cases, leading to broadened AMP investigations; and,
enhanced credibility of the AMP.
One negative impact cited in the interviews relates to the arrests of a number of young, typically male, Mohawks, who act as the ‘runners’ or ‘couriers’ for organized crime groups. Although not solely a result of the initiative, the concern is that this generation of Mohawk youth is becoming ‘criminalized.’
Finally, while many of the interviewees responded that there had been other unintended impacts, in actual fact although they may have been unexpected for these interviewees, for the most part they were not unintended by those who established the initiative. For example, many interviewees identified the following as unintended impacts:
improved or increased communications, partnerships, and relationships between partners;
the ability to undertake more complex, higher-level investigations;
better quality investigations;
increased costs to organized crime groups for activities such as counter-surveillance, warehouses, and additional security.
While these impacts may have been unexpected by the interviewees, they are not unintended.
Q.11 Are there more effective ways of achieving the objectives of the initiative?
Conclusion: No alternative approaches were identified that would be more effective in meeting the objectives of the API. However, several suggestions were put forward to improve the API. The most commonly identified improvement was additional funding for more resources – human resources and equipment. Several individuals identified specific skills that should be added to the JIT. These included the need for individuals skilled in quickly writing search warrants, and an enhanced capacity to engage in surveillance or undercover activities
Interviewees identified no alternative approaches to more effectively meet the objectives of the API. The integrated policing model was frequently cited as the right approach to take. Interviewees also indicated that the JIT has become a role model for other native police forces.
However, interviewees did suggest changes to make the initiative more effective. The most commonly identified improvement was the addition of more resources. Over one third of interviewees specifically cited a need for more resources when asked about what is needed. Given the extent of smuggling activities in the Akwesasne area, interviewees suggested that the API needed more staff to more effectively cover the Akwesasne area and to add more shift coverage. Interviewees also noted that having the two RCMP resources originally included in the unit (one from Valleyfield and one from Cornwall) would be useful. Currently, an RCMP resource from Valleyfield in not in the unit. Interviewees also specified improvements that could be made through investment in equipment, such as through the purchase of either a faster, or second, boat, or through the creation of a secure communication network for the secure exchange of information amongst the partners.
Several interviewees highlighted specific skills that should be added to the unit. These included the need for partners skilled in quickly writing search warrants, and an enhanced capacity to engage in surveillance or undercover activities. One interviewee also suggested that the JIT would be more effective if roles were identified and specific individuals were designated to fill these roles (such as, for example, the role of writing search warrants) so that expertise in specific tasks is developed resulting in improved overall effectiveness of the unit.
With regards to whether or not additional partnerships should be forged with other law enforcement agencies, opinions varied. While some felt closer partnerships could be established with the SQ, the OPP and the Cornwall Police; others felt that the existing partnerships were appropriate. Several interviewees, however, did suggest that the JIT could be more involved with established groups such as the CFSEU and the IBET. Improved access to Department of Justice lawyers was also identified as something which would be beneficial. Currently, DOJ lawyers in Montreal review wiretap affidavits and source immunity letters of agreement. However, interviewees indicated that access to DOJ lawyers for search warrants would be useful.
Stakeholders interviewed identified two main issues that impede the effectiveness of the initiative:
[ * ] , (Note: This is not solely an issue with the API initiative. Other cross-border crime initiatives have identified the same issue.), and
the inability of JIT officers to act across the various jurisdictions (i.e., across two provinces and two countries). JIT effectiveness would be increased with cross-designation of authority across provinces.
Recommendation: PS should evaluate the funding of the API initiative to determine whether increased funding should be sought to allow the unit to have a greater coverage (e.g., two shifts).
This chapter of the report summarizes some of the key conclusions and recommendations from chapter 2.
When examining the relevance of the API initiative it is clear that organized crime activity in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne continues to be a critical issue. Akwesasne’s geographic location and physical landscape make it an ideal location for cross-border criminal activity and organized crime. There is a great deal of smuggling of tobacco, drugs and, to a lesser extent, weapons; and organized crime and cross-border criminality is reportedly overwhelming and becoming more sophisticated in the Akwesasne area.
The API aligns to government objectives and to commitments made in recent years by the Government of Canada through Speeches from the Throne and in the National Agenda to Combat Organized Crime. The API also supports the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy through its focus on tobacco smuggling.
According to interviewees, individuals who are part of the JIT have enhanced knowledge and understanding of organized crime issues and tools, as a result of their participation in the unit and the training that they have received. However, with regards to Bill C-24, many of the JIT members did not have in-depth knowledge of the provisions of this Bill.
The API has reportedly improved the detection, targeting and investigations of organized crime offences and organizations, through the leveraging of resources from the various organizations, and through improved, timely sharing of information and intelligence between API partners. However, while interviewees indicated that in the past JIT members have participated in IBET weekly intelligence meetings, recently attendance by a JIT representative has been characterized as “spotty”.
According to interviewees, partnerships between the AMP and other JIT members have been enhanced through more frequent contact, heightened credibility and enhanced competence in the investigations. New partnerships between both Canadian and American partners who interact with the JIT have also been credited to the JIT.
Quantifying the impact of the JIT on organized crime was not possible since although the JIT is required, by the terms of the contribution agreement, to provide annual organized crime reports to PS describing its activities and results, the last report received by PS was for the period ended March 2004. As well, performance indicators as identified in the evaluation matrix are not consistently reported in these annual reports. However, based on information in the reports for January 2002 to March 2004, it appears that the JIT is having an impact on organized crime as illustrated by an increase in the number of charges laid by the JIT and by the number seizures executed. JIT interviewees agree that the unit is having an impact; however the impact is limited due to the sheer volume of organized crime activities taking place in the area, and the current investment to tackle the problem.
The extent to which the API is having an impact on organized crime at a level higher than the ‘couriers’ is unclear. It appears that given the resources of the JIT, they are not able to apprehend anyone other than the ‘runners’ who are carrying the contraband product across the border. However, by making arrests at this level the JIT is able to gather information that may be useful to other law enforcement organizations mandated to target individuals at higher levels within the organized crime groups; organizations such as the RCMP.
Quantifying the impact of the JIT on tobacco smuggling is similarly difficult. It is not possible to quantify the extent to which the JIT has increased knowledge and awareness of the nature and scope of contraband tobacco activity in and around Akwesasne. Although a semi-annual report to PS on the nature and scope of tobacco contraband activity in and around Akwesasne is provided by the JIT, some of the reports provided, for the period of the evaluation, contained only narrative information and no structured, quantitative information. Therefore, while some information is available, it cannot be used to quantitatively report on tobacco-related outcomes of the JIT.
Interviews suggest there is increased knowledge and awareness of contraband tobacco activity in the Akwesasne area. Interviewees, both from within the JIT and from partner organizations, noted that their involvement with the JIT increases knowledge and awareness of contraband tobacco activity, since their organizations have access to the databases of the various partner organizations, and in particular to the databases of the RCMP. (The RCMP has jurisdiction regarding contraband tobacco and is the AMP’s main law enforcement partner in this area.) However, one interviewee did indicate that since there has not been an RCMP officer from Valleyfield in the JIT, there is less flow of communications from Quebec. As well, most of those interviewed agreed that when the JIT makes an arrest for contraband tobacco smuggling there is always someone ready to step in and take the place of the arrested individual. Additionally, as with organized crime, the impact of the API on tobacco smuggling is mainly on the ‘courier’ or ‘runner’ level.
While JIT members are involved in outreach activities, it is difficult to assess whether behavioural changes in youth, or changes in awareness levels with respect to the criminality of smuggling, can be attributed these to the outreach activities. Many of the outreach activities tend to be of a sporting nature and there is no evidence of the outreach activities being used as a venue to communicate a message regarding the criminality of tobacco smuggling.
Annex A: Logic Model for the API Joint Investigative Team
Annex B: Sources
Documents reviewed included:
Federal Tobacco Control Strategy Results-Based Management and Accountability Framework;
Measures to Combat Organized Crime Initiative Results-Based Management and Accountability Framework;
Contribution Agreement between Canada and the Mohawks of Akwesasne (as represented by the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne);
Amendment #1 (28 February 2002) to the above Agreement;
Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service Financial Statements March 31, 2003;
Draft Report on the Audit of The Akwesasne Policing Agreement, Department of the Solicitor General of Canada, November 27, 2002
[ * ] ;
API Organized Crime Reports, for January 2002 to April 2004;
API Tobacco Control Strategy Reports, for January 2002 to April 2005; and,
Various API descriptive documents, provided by PS.
Annex C: API Evaluation Matrix
Data Sources and Collection Methods
To what extent does organized crime continue to be a threat in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne?
Stakeholder views regarding the state of organised crime in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne
Interviews with AMP Chief and officers, other stakeholder police forces and community representative(s)
Number of ongoing investigations and intelligence probes in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne
Intelligence reports (AMP, RCMP, OPP)
Is the API in its design and implementation consistent with current Government objectives, the National Agenda to Combat Organised Crime and the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy?
Congruence of API with Government objectives, the National Agenda to Combat Organised Crime, and the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy
Document review (speech from the Throne, Government position papers, National Agenda to Combat Organized Crime, Federal Tobacco Control Strategy)
Stakeholder perception on the extent to which the initiative addresses these objectives
Interviews with AMP Chief and officers, RCMP, PS
To what extent do AMP officers involved in the initiative have enhanced knowledge and understanding of organized crime issues and tools?
Number and type of training provided to AMP police officers
Administrative file review
Level of satisfaction with training provided to AMP police officers
Interviews with AMP Chief and officers
Extent to which officers’ knowledge/awareness of intelligence gathering and investigation practices, tools and techniques, witness recruitment/protection have been enhanced (in particular, interview techniques, search warrants, writing warrants, and surveillance)
Level of awareness of Bill C-24 provisions
Has the API improved detection, targeting and investigations of organized crime offences and organizations?
Extent to which the quality, availability and sharing of information has improved
Interviews with AMP Chief and officers and other stakeholder police forces
Extent of impact of secondment arrangements, partnerships on detecting and targeting
Volume and type of organized crime offence/charges, seizures and organizations targeted
Review of AMP Organised Crime Reports
To what extent has this initiative enhanced partnerships between the AMP and other stakeholders?
Number of Joint Forces Operations (JFOs) in which AMP participate or lead
Stakeholder perception of whether partnerships have been created/enhanced as a result of the initiative
Stakeholder perception of impacts of partnership on information exchange and ability to investigate organised crime offences/groups
Is there evidence that the initiative is making a contribution to disrupting and dismantling organised crime activities in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne?
Stakeholder perception on extent to which initiative is contributing to the disruption and dismantling of organized crime activities in around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne.
Extent of behavioral changes/trends in organized crime groups
To what extent is there increased knowledge and awareness on the nature and scope of contraband tobacco activity in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne?
Extent to which the availability and exchange of information has improved
Level of quality of information provided by AMP as perceived by stakeholders
Extent to which AMP has monitored and reported on contraband tobacco activity
Review of AMP Tobacco Control Strategy Reports
Number and type of contraband tobacco-smuggling offence/charges, seizures and organizations targeted
Have the outreach activities increased youth awareness with respect to the criminality of smuggling?
Stakeholder perception regarding extent of changes in attitudes or behaviour in youth with respect to tobacco smuggling
Is there evidence that the initiative is disabling tobacco contraband smuggling routes and networks?
Stakeholder perception on extent to which initiative is contributing to disabling tobacco contraband smuggling routes and networks
Extent of behavioral changes/trends with respect to tobacco contraband smuggling
Are there any unintended (positive or negative) impacts of the initiative?
Stakeholder views on unintended impacts (community impacts, additional stakeholder benefits)
Cost Effectiveness / Alternatives
Are there more effective ways of achieving the objectives of the initiative?
Perceptions of Initiative partners on alternative design or delivery
Interviews with AMP Chief and officers, other stakeholder police forces
Annex D: List of Interviewees
PS and RCMP Representatives:
Deb Steele
Marc Tardif
Combined Forces Special Enforcement Team (CFSEU)
Insp. Tim Mackin
Officer-in-Charge,
RCMP Cornwall Detachment
Rick Hilton
Valleyfield Detachment
Mike McDonnell
Assistant Commissioner, RCMP
Criminal Intelligence Division
(Previously with Border Integrity)
Craig Bridgeman
Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit
JIT Representatives:
Chief Lewis Mitchell
Akwesasne Mohawk Police
Det. Sgt. Jerry Swamp
Officer-in-Charge, Joint Investigative Team
Members of the JIT:
Det. James Sunday
Det. Jeff Bova
Det. Leroy Swamp
Cst. Pat Dornan
Representatives from other policing organizations:
[ * ]
Federal Bureau of Investigations
Brian Barnes
Deputy Chief
St. Regis Tribal Police
Van Rankin
Regional Intelligence Officer
Shawn White
Cornwall Police Service
Det. Cst. Frank Mitchell
Cornwall Field Unit
Intelligence Bureau
Other Akwesasne Representatives:
Chief William Phillips
Akwesasne Mohawk Council – Police Commission
Wesley Benedict
Annex E: Interview Guides
Interview Guide for the Evaluation of
the Akwesasne Partnership Initiative
Members of the Joint Investigation Team and AMP
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PS) is undertaking an evaluation of the Akwesasne Partnership Initiative (API). The API, which is funded through the Measures to Combat Organized Crime Initiative (MCOC) and the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy (FTCS,) requires a summative evaluation to be finalized in fiscal year 2005/2006. The evaluation is focused on initiative results as well as its continued relevance. Consulting and Audit Canada (CAC) has been contracted by PS to assist in conducting the evaluation. As part of the evaluation, CAC is conducting interviews with key stakeholders and partners in order to identify key activities, successes, challenges and impacts related to the API. This evaluation will also contribute to the evaluation of the MCOC Initiative and FTCS that are currently underway.
Please note that your responses during this interview will be confidential. Individual responses will not be reported in the evaluation. Not all questions will necessarily apply to you. We will focus only on those questions that are most appropriate.
How long were you / have you been part of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police (AMP) Joint Investigation Team (JIT)?
When did you / do you expect to return to regular Police duties/your Police Service?
Can you describe your responsibilities a part of the JIT?
Are you aware of Bill C-24 provisions?
Have your received training on Bill C-24 provisions?
Have you used this tool in your work with the JIT? If not, why?
Has Bill C-24 had any impact on the work of the JIT? If yes, please describe?
What other formal or informal training has been provided to you since joining the Akwesasne Mohawk Police (AMP) Joint Investigation Team (JIT)?
Have you received training on interview techniques, writing search warrants and surveillance?
Has the training you received improved your knowledge and understanding or organized crime issues and tools? Please discuss any particular skills gained.
What additional training would be beneficial?
As a result of working with other Police Services, can you describe if/how your skills and knowledge to undertake criminal and/or organized crime investigations have improved?
Discuss any particular skills gained.
As a result of the initiative, has there been an increase in communication of intelligence information between the AMP and other Police Services around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne?
With which other Police Service is there an increase in communication?
Can you comment on the quality of the information that is being communicated? Has it improved since the creation of the JIT?
Have any new communication tools been developed or new procedures implemented?
To what extent has this intelligence information helped in the detection, targeting and investigations of organized crime offences and organizations?
As a result of the initiative, has there been an increase in communication of information regarding contraband tobacco activity (from AMP to other Police forces)?
To which Police Service is the information communicated?
Do you believe the information being communicated is sufficient to increase the knowledge and awareness on the nature and scope of contraband tobacco activity in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne? Any suggestions for improvement?
Are you aware of how/if the information is used?
Have you established any new partnerships between the AMP and other Police Services as a result of the initiative? Have any pre-existing partnerships been enhanced as a result of this initiative?
With whom, what is the nature of the partnerships and role of partners?
What benefits have these partnerships (including secondment arrangements) yielded, especially regarding information exchange and ability to investigate organized crime?
Prior to the initiative, would the AMP participate in JFOs? If not, why not. If yes, how has this changed since the creation of the AMP JIT?
What outreach activities have been undertaken by the AMP JIT?
Has there been any change in attitude or behavior in youth with respect to tobacco smuggling as a result of these activities? Please provide examples.
Is the initiative disabling tobacco contraband smuggling routes and networks?
Is this evidenced by any behavioral changes/trends in tobacco contraband smuggling activities?
What other evidence would support this?
Do you believe the initiative is contributing to the disruption and dismantling of organized crime activities in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne?
Is this evidenced by any behavioral changes/trends in organized crime groups?
Have organized crime activities in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne increased in the last ten years?
What have been the trends in terms of type of commodity (drugs, weapons, tobacco)
Historically, what have been the key challenges and barriers to combating organized crime in and around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne?
How does the Akwesasne Partnership Initiative help address these challenges?
Have there been any unintended impacts (i.e., results you did not anticipate) as a result of this initiative (either positive or negative)?
Would stakeholders support these proposed changes in design and/or delivery?
Do you have anything else to add?
Interview Guide for the Evaluation of the Akwesasne Partnership Initiative
Stakeholders/Community Representatives
Could you please describe your involvement in the Akwesasne Partnership Initiative?
How long have you been involved with the Initiative?
Can you describe your role and responsibilities with respect to the Initiative?
As a result of the initiative, are you aware of any increase in communication of intelligence information among the AMP and other Police Services around the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne?
Can you provide specifics (e.g., with which other Police Service(s) is there an increase in communication)?
Are you aware of any new communication tools that have been developed or new procedures, relating to communications, that have been implemented?
Do you have an opinion on the extent to which this intelligence information has helped in the detection, targeting and investigations of organized crime offences and organizations?
As a result of the initiative, are you aware of any increase in communication of information regarding contraband tobacco activity (from AMP to other Police forces)?
Can you provide specifics (e.g., to which Police Service(s) has increased information been communicated?
Are you aware of any new partnerships that have been established between the AMP and other Police Services as a result of the initiative? Have any pre-existing partnerships been enhanced as a result of this initiative?
Can you comment on the benefits these partnerships have yielded, especially regarding information exchange and ability to investigate organized crime?
Do you believe that the initiative is disabling tobacco contraband smuggling routes and networks?
Is there other evidence that would support this?
What have been the trends in terms of type of commodity (drugs, weapons, tobacco
Have there been any unintended impacts (i.e., results that were not anticipated) as a result of this initiative (either positive or negative)?
Do you believe there are other, more effective ways of achieving the objectives of the initiative?
1 [ * ]
3 The RCMP has indicated an intention to re-fill the second position however at the time of drafting this report this had not yet happened.
4 Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada is now known as the Department of Public Safety.
5 Integrated Border Enforcement Teams are multi-agency law enforcement teams that target cross-border criminality. The five core partner agencies involved in these teams are: the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canada Border Services Agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
6 Consulting and Audit Canada is now known as Government Consulting Services, PWGSC.
7 as found at date of printing at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/process/info/throne/index.asp?lang=E&parl=36&sess=2
8 Past Speeches from the Throne can be found at http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/process/info/throne/index.asp?Language=E¶m=sp
9 Working Together to Combat Organized Crime: A Public Report on Actions Under the National Agenda to Combat Organized Crime, Spring 2004
10 Note: The mandate of the AMP is to perform a community-based policing service. The intent of the API initiative is to enable the AMP to participate in joint forces operations with the RCMP and other policing and law enforcement organizations to target cross-border criminality with a focus on organized crime. It is the mandate of the RCMP and other senior police services to target middle- and upper-echelon organized crime.
11 Akwesasne Policing Agreement (“Contribution Agreement”), Schedule B.
12 A Joint Forces Operation or JFO is a law enforcement arrangement between two or more police and/or law enforcement. JFOs may be short-term in nature, or more permanent such as is the case with IBET. For the purposes of this report, the JIT is not considered a JFO, although participation of JIT members in an IBET operation would be characterized as their participating in a JFO.
13 Akwesasne Policing Agreement (“Contribution Agreement”), Schedule A.
Associate Deputy Minister
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SEG Racing Academy Experiences
SEG eRacing U19/U23 Series
Tips & differences
Day in the break for Kooistra who climbs to third overall
Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux is one of the most important events in the U23 calendar, and what a way to kick it off. The 136 km long parcour that opened this year’s edition presented a flat first half of the stage with a hilly finale awaiting the riders. The race was off to a fast start, with the bunch staying together until the first intermediate sprint was behind. Shortly after, the breakaway of the day was formed by two riders, including Ronde van Zuid-Holland’s winner, Marten Kooistra in it.
The leading duo opened a big gap to the bunch, reaching the six minutes mark before the bunch picked up the pace and started to reduce the distance. Marten Kooistra was first in the following two intermediate sprints, taking a total of six bonus seconds with him as well as the leadership in the intermediate sprints classification. As the peloton was approaching the breakaway, there was some counter attacks in the bunch with Minne Verboom representing the team’s interest, but they were quickly brought back to the bunch.
In the seventh and last categorized climb of the day, a group of 8 riders broke away of the main group with Jan Maas an Edo Affini in it, but the bunch quickly brought them back. Just three kilometers away from the finish Kooistra’s group was neutralized and the stage glory was decided in a 50-man sprint, with five of our riders rolling in the main peloton. Thanks to the bonus seconds picked up in the intermediate sprints, Kooistra wraps up the opening day in third overall in the overall classification and tomorrow will wear the red jersey as the leader of the Intermediate Sprints.
Dries Hollanders, Performance Manager and DS for the race, looks back to the day:
“Our target was to be present in every move and try to make the race as hard as possible because we don’t have a pure sprinter in the race. After several attempts Marten managed to break clear with another rider which was a perfect scenario for us, as the rest of the team should only follow the moves. The group of Marten was brought back only in the last 3 km and Jan with Edo tried an attack in the last steep climb but that wasn’t long enough, so they were brought back from the peloton. Having five riders arriving in the front group it is a really a good sign for the next stages. Now we have Marten with the sprints jersey, which is a great reward for his effort today, moreover he took some bonus seconds which will be really valuable for the rest of the race. It was a good start and we look forward to the next ones”.
SEG RACING ACADEMY © 2017
website by divide by two
Stay up-to-date with all news and special content around the team and the academy!
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Robert Gehrke: Utah’s state flag is fine, but maybe an update wouldn’t hurt
(Rick Egan | Tribune file photo) Robert Gehrke has come around to the idea of replacing Utah's old state flag.
By Robert Gehrke
| Feb. 19, 2020, 1:59 p.m.
Chances are we’ve all been there, puttering around in an old car, one that maybe does its job, but doesn’t really make you proud to drive and doesn’t turn a head unless it backfires.
In the eyes of a seemingly growing number of Utah legislators, that’s how they feel about the Utah flag. You know the one, the royal blue background with the state symbol — the bald eagle above a gigantic beehive (seriously, don’t mess with these bees) with a pair of American flags on either side.
Sure, the old flag still does its job, not that it’s a terribly difficult job to do. But it doesn’t really instill any state pride. You don’t see it on T-shirts the way you see California’s flag, or hats like Colorado’s. My friend Ryen went and bought a hat with Utah’s flag on it just to be contrary.
Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune The Salt Lake Tribune staff portraits. Robert Gehrke.
Last year, Rep. Stephen Handy, R-Bountiful, sponsored a bill to create a commission and a public process to come up with a replacement for the old Birds and Beehives. It passed the House easily but didn’t make it through the Senate before the end of the 2019 session.
My colleague Benjamin Wood has covered Flagquest with an almost fanatical passion.
To get things kickstarted this year, Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, the Senate sponsor of the flag bill, got in touch with Ben Barnes from the Utah Jazz marketing department to mock up what a new flag might look like.
It’s important to note here that the designs Barnes came up with are NOT the flag the state will adopt. The bill that Handy and McCay are running would launch an extensive process of gathering public input and looking at different designs.
“If you don’t go through a process of helping people see what our values are … then the process is bankrupt,” McCay said. The process is important enough that McCay wouldn’t let me have images of the designs beyond what I could get with my phone.
It’s also probably worth noting that Barnes is among the most sought-after graphic artists in the country. As Jazz beat writer and aspiring art critic Andy Larsen highlighted last year, Barnes collaborated on logos for the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Heat. He created the Lion logo for Real Salt Lake and then redesigned the Utah Jazz look, including the yellow-to-red gradient uniforms inspired by Utah’s red rocks.
On the side, he has helped redesign logos for the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Hornets.
The original Utah flag, Barnes said Tuesday, feels like Utah was trying to show the federal government what the federal government wanted to see — the giant eagle and American flags. But it was done at the expense of being distinctively Utah.
He focused on three concepts: Industry, represented in his designs by a beehive or the kind of hexagonal cell in a honeycomb; Perseverance, represented by the rugged Sego Lily, Utah’s state flower; and Leadership, embodied in a compass star, symbolizing inspiration and Utah’s status as a crossroads of the West.
Here’s the thing: I’ve never been one of those who wanted to change the flag. I thought it was fine. Not the greatest, but it served its purpose, whatever that is. But these? These were really slick with all the bells and whistles. These are flags you’d wear on a T-shirt, even if they were just prototypes.
Some looked familiar, like the Dutch flag, red at the top, blue at the bottom, but flipped with blue at top and red at the bottom (most worked mainly in red, white and blue) with a symbol in the middle, a simple four-pointed compass star or a stylized sego lily. Some were more basic, a plain blue background with a traditional gold beehive or a white sego lily in a gold hexagon. Others brought in a sort of colored cross design, some a mountain silhouette with a symbol over the top.
And suddenly, like I was slipping into heated seats in a new car, Utah’s ragged old flag suddenly felt inadequate. It hadn’t changed, but I was a convert and I understood what Ben Wood had been ranting about all these months: We need this.
We need a new flag.
Not only that, we have an opportunity to do it right. Not just with broad public engagement, which is a must, but we could build an entire curriculum for students around it, blending history and art and civics. Solicit entries from the public — people like Barnes to people like you — then whittle down the field and have two weeks of online voting for the winner.
No, it’s not the most important issue that will come up during the 45-day legislative session. No, it won’t make Utahns lives better or ease the pain of those in need.
But maybe it would foster a little state pride. And wouldn’t it be nice to turn a few heads for a change?
gehrke@sltrib.comFollow @RobertGehrke
Robert Gehrke: What was the first Utah woman to vote thinking, and what would she think of us
Robert Gehrke: Here’s how I’d reform Utah’s higher ed system
Robert Gehrke: Limiting campaign cash sounds like a great idea, but money is like water — it’ll find a way
Robert Gehrke: It’s hard to conceive of a worse presidential nominating process, but there is a better way
Robert Gehrke: Romney’s brave vote to remove Trump should make Utahns proud to have him as their senator
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Camps, respite care at risk under NDIS
By Clare Kermond
May 12, 2017 — 4.35pm
Uncertainty over how the National Disability Insurance Scheme will fund student placements could lead to "a generation of workers [who] don't understand disability or have disability education," according to an academic in the field.
Disabled groups fear they could be forced to scrap camps for people with disabilities, as well as some respite care and other activities after the NDIS said it may refuse to fund services that used university students.
Boris Struk, executive director of Muscular Dystrophy Australia in their North Melbourne office. Credit:Penny Stephens
Many students work on these activities as part of their courses. But universities and disability groups say the NDIS has no clear guidelines or regulations to cover the use of students on placements, and has already indicated it may not approve funding applications for some programs.
Thomas Bevitt, a lecturer in occupational therapy at the University of Canberra, said there had already been a drop in the number of organisations willing to take on students for their placements, due to concerns that the NDIS might not fund services provided by students.
A camp run by Muscular Dystrophy Australia
The NDIS began rolling out in Canberra three years ago. Mr Bevitt said the issue had been raised with the NDIS at a state and federal level, but there was still confusion over how the regulations applied to this situation.
He said experience working with an organisation that was approved to provide services under the NDIS was crucial for students.
The head of Muscular Dystrophy Australia, Boris Struk, said there was a lack of clarity around the funding.
"There is a lot of policy being developed on the run," he said.
A camp run by Muscular Dystrophy Australia. Supplied
MD Australia is among those lobbying the NDIS to fund its camps, which rely on a large number of students working as aides, after it approached the NDIS to clarify the issue but received no assurances. The group had believed this would clearly fall under the NDIS' responsibility to fund social inclusion for people with disabilities.
A spokeswoman for the NDIA, which administers the NDIS, said some services delivered by students on camps or respite programs would receive funding but this depended on several factors including the type of service provided and whether there was a fully qualified health professional supervising them. If a qualified practitioner was present, they student's costs could not be claimed.
However if students were employees, this could be funded under the NDIS. She said a fact sheet would be released soon to provide clear information.
Mr Struk said second and third-year occupational therapy, physiotherapy and nursing students worked at the camps as part of their course placements, received intensive training by MD Australia before they went, and were assessed by their universities while working.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme has no clear guidelines or regulations to cover the use of students on placements Credit:Marina Neil
Mr Struk said it cost the organisation around $1000 per student for each week-long camp, where they worked one-on-one with an adult or child with muscular dystrophy. There were four camps a year, which provided vital respite for families as well as social activities for those with MD.
"There seems to be a lot of things that haven't been thought through by the NDIA. Hopefully it's still malleable, and we want to point out the benefits to society."
Mr Struk said the student placements were also important because of the forecast of huge growth in demand for qualified disability workers once the NDIS is fully rolled out.
He said there was a concern by many in the disability sector that trainers would churn out workers with minimum qualifications and little experience, to fill the demand created by the NDIS.
Robyn Adams, executive officer of the Australian Council of Deans of Health Sciences, said many universities had raised concerns around how to incorporate students into the NDIS funding model. She said the future model needed to balance the twin goals of services continuing to have access to the workforce capacity that students provided, and ensuring students were best prepared for the workforce.
By the time the NDIS has finished rolling out across Australia, in 2019/2020, the scheme will support about 460,000 people with disabilities and the workforce in the disability sector will have at least doubled.
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Sooriya Blog
Malinda Seneviratne: Three poems and a life
July 13, 2020 by shamilka Malinda Seneviratne, Uditha Devapriya
Easily one of the most discernible occurences in the last 20 years within our local English literary sphere has been the ascent of Malinda Seneviratne. Before I get to Malinda the poet, whom I am acquainted with only barely, I need to get to Malinda the man, whom I know personally. There are clear connections between the two, so much so that I can’t separate the one from the other. To understand the reasons behind his rise and ascent, I think it best that we go through his biography before delving into his poetry.
Malinda Channa Pieris Seneviratne was born on September 23, 1965 in Colombo to Gamini Seneviratne, a Civil Servant and a poet on his own right who would eventually retire as the Chairman of the Coconut Development Authority, and Indrani Seneviratne, who taught English Literature and Greek and Roman Civilization in various schools, her longest tenure being at Royal College, Colombo. Both of them were English honours graduates from the University of Peradeniya. Malinda was the second in his family, with an elder brother, Arjuna, and a younger sister, Ruwani. They were all born to a culture of connoisseurship and appreciation of the arts. Malinda’s later forays into literature were consequently initiated by his parents, especially his father, who got him to write a poem when he was 12 revolving around a tune played on the family piano.
He attended Royal College, where he dabbled in Literature and Chess among other activities. Having won all major awards for English literature, he wound up as Prefect and Chess Team Captain, winning the National Championship in 1983. That year he sat for his A Levels, where he offered Mathematics and obtained adequate results to enter the University of Peradeniya. However, he opted to sit for his A Levels in the Arts Stream the following year, where again he secured good enough results to enter University. He entered Peradeniya in 1985 for a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology.
Owing to his exceptional academic performance in his first year, Malinda was selected to an exchange program at Carleton College, Minnesota for a Trimester. During the infamous UNP-JVP bheeshanaya of the eighties Universities were shut down in Sri Lanka. After sitting for both TOEFL and SAT, Malinda got a scholarship to Harvard University in December 1988. As with Peradeniya, he studied Sociology, returning to Sri Lanka two and a half years later towards the end of the bheeshanaya.
Following various stints at politics and teaching, including one as an ELT Teacher at the Medical Faculty of Peradeniya University in 1992, he was hired as an Editor at the Agrarian Research and Training Institute in March 1993 before leaving it the following year. He then resumed his higher studies, when upon a friend’s advice he applied to the University of California’s School of Urban and Regional Planning, got in, applied a year later to Cornell University, and managed to read for a PhD in Development Sociology there. However he never completed his PhD: having left his thesis (titled “Journeying with Honour: In Search of the Vague and Indeterminate”) halfway through, he was instead given a conditional Master’s Degree. As of today, he has not completed it.
His first collection of poetry, “Epistles: 1984-1996”, was published in 1999. He submitted his poetry, in manuscript form, for the Gratiaen Award on six occasions between 2007 and 2013. Five of these collections were shortlisted: Threads” in 2007, “The Underside of Silence” in 2008, “Some texts are made of leaves” in 2011, “Open Words are for Love Letting” in 2012, and “Edges” in 2013, while “Stray Kites on Stringless Days” didn’t make it to the shortlist in 2010. He won the Gratiaen for “Edges”, his best anthology by far. Two years earlier, in 2011, he had won the H. A. I. Goonetilaka Award (also with the Gratiaen Trust) for his translation of Simon Navagattegama’s acclaimed Sinhala novel Sansaranyaye Dadayakkara, which he first read at Cornell University and translated, in part, for a class exercise on Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud.
I would hazard a guess here and contend that of his literary influences, outside his immediate family that is, Neruda and Navagattegama take a prominent place. Malinda’s interest in Neruda – his subtle, effortless use of imagery in verbal terms – is there in his best poetry, and to me that is what characterises his prose as well. In Neruda you don’t see the technical gimmicks that are so nakedly apparent in, say, e.e. cummings or Ogden Nash; you see instead the displacement of myth and conjecture and convenient fictions (whether conceived on the personal sphere or by officialdom) through the use of understatement. There is never a rift between the personal and the social. They get together in ways that one essay can’t do justice to.
Malinda is at his most characteristic, and I’d like to think his most enduring, when he abandons the social for the personal and embraces the kind of life he has grown up on and grown up to love. His poems on his daughters, for instance, merit particular scrutiny:
I’ve held you both
together and separately
in wakeful hours and while asleep
The cutting of a whole sentence into a set of lines is characteristic of Neruda and Latin American poetry in general, but it’s interesting to note that Malinda, unlike most young poets here who are entranced by Neruda (not unlike their descendants who were entranced by what they erroneously felt to be the essence of Rabindranath Tagore’s work), doesn’t confuse technical gimmickry for mastery of language.
But there’s one issue that bothers me. Critics, in their attempt to get at the man, tend to fault him for resorting to religious imagery in his poems. Some of them have faulted him in front of me. Their argument is as follows: for a poet to be truly universal, he or she must transcend his or her affiliations to a particular collective. In the case of Malinda their allegation is rooted in what they feel to be his desire to belong, his exhilaration at being at one with a faith and an ethnicity. I would like to examine two of his poems in this respect, because I know that the yardstick those critics use is a largely mythical image of an artist as a transcendentalist. (They don’t even want him to affirm humanity; they are content in making him reject his ethno-religious garb.)
The first poem is disarmingly simple: “To a little boy holding (onto) a Buddhist flag over his head.” In 24 lines he draws a link between the flag and the collective it represents. While superficially easy, his attitude towards his own faith comes out strikingly in the last line: “It [the flag] is for holding and breaking son.” The flag is a symbol, at most a quasi-secular symbol. What transcends it is the faith it embodies.
Malinda’s politics has reflected his poetry to a lesser extent than his prose. It’s interesting to note that, not unlike his political essays, he is content in dichotomising between the secular and the mythical whilst remaining respectful of the latter. It’s no coincidence that he refuses to indulge in his faith so much in The Underside of Silence, which is chock-a-block with idealisations of his family and his country. He becomes more confident of indulging in faith and ethnic identity, however, in Open Words are for Love Letting (from which the above poem is taken), and even more so in Edges.
In “Dhamma” he goes a step further: he enters his faith without merely gazing at it.
… words can be clap
and can be clasp
some are lit
and others light
this Vesak
Again you see a dichotomy, between clap and clasp, between lit and light, congealing to this Vesak and all time. It now seems as though polar opposites are reconcilable through his faith. There is a transcendentalism here that one comes across very rarely in his other poems. It’s almost a new sensibility, but is it enough to counter what his critics are saying? The answer to that question lies in another poem: “Temples”, also included in Edges and manifestly more lengthy, and exploratory, than the above two.
… their altars crumble
for want of flowery word
and clasped hands
in those timeless
rituals of evermore love
grass peeps from stone-edge
listening for footfall
that tripped on word-edge
In that first poem I mentioned, Malinda differentiates between the flag and the collective: the latter in effect overwhelms the former. In the second, “Dhamma”, he draws a dichotomy between the mundane and the supra-mundane that faith trivialises. He has grown more vociferous here: the altars he refers to (which can be from any place of worship, by the way) thrive on an attitude of devotion among their patrons. Patronage, in other words, is constructive, if not essential, to a faith and a collective. He has let go of any transcendentalist tendencies, and embraced a more frank and sincere conception of the relationship between the laity and the clergy. What can we say to his critics, then?
That they are correct in their observation, but wrong in their remedy. Poets are not uprooted secularists. They do not abandon their religious fervour, and some of the best poets one can name derived their themes from their faith. The myth of a transcendentalist poet can be shattered when considering that transcendentalism was in effect an offshoot of Orientalism, or the belief that the two main world systems – the West and the East – would come together through universalised conceptions of the faiths adhered to in the latter (Buddhism, Taoism, the Upanishads). It evolved from the essays of Thoreau and had its finest hour in the poetry of Whitman. The humanism in their works was largely derivative and decorative, which means that they had to give way once they moved on to the 20th century. To consider that humanism a sign of a poet’s ability to abandon faith and collective is erroneous, because they were informed less by the secular than by the supra-mundane. Malinda is no transcendentalist, but nor is he the obsessive religious devotee he is touted as, by those who happen to take issue with his politics.
Written for: Daily Mirror, November 28 2017
Posted by Uditha Devapriya
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Anula Karunathilaka: The Dhammi of our sensibilities
නලලතේ රැඳි සිකුරා හිනැහෙයි
70 දශකයේ යුග පෙරළිය – සිංහල පොප් සංගීතයේ මහා මෙහෙයුමිකරවාණන්ගේ වෙළඳ ළමා ගී තැටි නිර්මාණයේ රස මිහිර
The Nightingale Sings
පවසනු බස මට වැටහේ – දුර අතීතයක ඇසී නැසී ගිය මියුරසයක ආවර්ජනය
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Oct 8, 2020 | Uncategorized |
St. Nikephoros the Leper (feast day January 4) is a twentieth-century saint who suffered from leprosy for many decades. He has emerged as a major saint to turn to during this time of pandemic, after word spread that he had appeared to an elderly man in Greece in early March, telling him not to fear the virus because he would protect and heal all those who have faith and turn to him in prayer.
Father Nikephoros (Nicholas Tzanakakis in the world) was born in 1890 in a mountainous village in Khania, Greece, which enjoyed a healthy climate, with beautiful forests, rich waters, gorges, and caves.
His parents were simple and pious villagers who died when he was still a young child, leaving him as an orphan. So, at the age of thirteen, he left his home. His grandfather, who had undertaken to raise him, went to Khania to work there in a barbershop in order to learn the job. At that time, young Nicholas showed the first signs of Hansen’s disease, better known as leprosy. The lepers were isolated on the island of Spinalonga because leprosy was a contagious disease and it was treated with fear and dismay.
Nicholas was sixteen years old when signs of the disease began to become more conspicuous, so he left on a boat to Egypt in order to avoid being confined to Spinalonga. He remained in Alexandria, working in a barbershop again, but the signs of the disease became more and more apparent, especially on his hands and face. Through the intervention of a cleric, he went to Chios, where there was a church for lepers at that time, and the priest was Father Anthimos Vagianos, later Saint Anthimos (February 15).
Nicholas arrived in Chios in 1914 at the age of twenty-four. In the leper hospital of Chios, which was a complex with many homesteads, there was a chapel of Saint Lazarus, where the wonderworking icon of the Panagia of Ypakoe (Theotokos of Obedience) was kept. In this space, the course of virtues was opened for Nicholas. Within two years, Saint Anthimos considered him ready for the angelic Schema and tonsured him with the name Nikephoros. The disease progressed and evolved in the absence of suitable drugs, causing many large lesions (a drug would later be discovered in 1947).
Father Nikephoros lived with unquestioning, genuine obedience to his spiritual father, and with austere fasting, working in the gardens. He also recorded the miracles of Saint Anthimos, which he had witnessed with his own eyes, many of which were related to the deliverance of those possessed by demons.
There was a special spiritual relationship between Saint Anthimos and the monk Nikephoros, who always remained close to him. Father Nikephoros prayed at night for hours on end, making countless metanias (bows or prostrations). He did not quarrel with anyone, nor injure anyone’s heart, and he was the master chanter of the temple. Because of his illness, however, he slowly lost his sight, and so he chanted the troparia and the Epistles from memory.
The Chios leprosarium was closed in 1957, and the remaining patients, together with Father Nikephoros, were sent to Saint Barbara’s home for lepers in Athens. At that time, Father Nikephoros was about 67 years old. His members and his eyes were completely altered and distorted by the disease.
There, Father Eumenios also lived there at the home for lepers. He also suffered from Hansen’s disease, but with the medication he received, he had been completely cured. However, he decided to remain in the home for lepers for the rest of his life near his fellow sufferers, caring for them with much love. Thus he submitted to Father Nikephoros, to whom the Lord had given many gifts as a reward for his patience. A crowd of people gathered in the humble cell of the leper Nikephoros to obtain his prayers. Here are some testimonies of those who met him:
“While he was prostrate with wounds and pains, he did not complain, but he showed great patience.” “He had the charisma of consoling those who were sad. His eyes were permanently irritated, and he had limited sight. He also had stiffness in his hands and paralysis in his lower limbs. Nonetheless, he endured all of this in the sweetest, meek, smiling, delightful way, and he was also pleasant and lovable.” “His face, which was eaten away by the marks of his illness, and his wounds, shone. It was a joy for those who saw this destitute and seemingly feeble man saying, May His holy name be glorified.”
Father Nikephoros reposed on January 4, 1964, at the age of 74. After three years, his holy relics were exhumed and found to be fragrant. Father Eumenios and other believers reported many cases where miracles occurred by calling on Saint Nikephoros to intercede with God.
The life of Saint Nikephoros was a brilliant example and model for everyone. He was pleasing to God because he had endured so much. For this reason, we have many testimonies that our saint received from the Holy Spirit the gift of discernment and a host of other charisms. We should note that most of the miracles are recorded, and today the saint gives generous help to anyone in need. Surely there will be many more miracles that not have not yet been made manifest.
Troparion, Tone 1
All the angels were astonished by the struggles and strict asceticism of the Venerable Nikephoros the Leper; / for like another Job, patiently enduring his pain, he glorified God, / Who has crowned him now with glory, distinguishing him through miracles. / Rejoice, instructor of monastics! / Rejoice, beacon of light! / Rejoice, for a delightful fragrance pours forth from your relics!
Kontakion, Tone 8
The valiant athlete of endurance and fortitude, / the steadfast diamond of patience and long-suffering was tried by affliction and sickness, / and in this way he glorified the Most High God, let us extol Nikephoros the Leper, / saying unto him: Rejoice, O namesake of victory!
—Courtesy of OrthodoxChristian.com and OCA.org
Priest’s Corner, December 2020
The Time is Now to Reset Our Priorities
Putting These Times Into Perspective
Christ is Risen and Life Reigns!
Priest's Corner
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Virtual Lesson Tips
About Me & Pineda Conservatory
Pineda Ink
Patricia P. Pineda has been teaching for over 15 years. She splits her time between Central NJ and NYC. After working in the family non-profit (Pineda Conservatory) for many years, she opened her own private studio that caters to all ages, from amateur to professional. She is musical director at the First United Methodist Church of Scotch Plains, NJ, where she directs their choir. She's also a professional headshot and portrait photographer, and offers hair and makeup services and instruction for both performance and personal use. Ms. Pineda received her Bachelors of Music degree in Voice Performance from Virginia Commonwealth University (Cynthia Donnell), where she also studied Fashion Merchandising. She worked with Charles Lynam at UNC Greensboro, where she was honored as the Farrow (Voice) Scholar. Performance credits include the Plays in the Park, Cranford Dramatic Club, the Forum Theatre, Little Opera Company of NJ, UNCG Opera, Greensboro Opera, soloist with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and other various gigs in and around NY, NJ, and VA. Production credits include producing, directing, musical directing, costuming (NJACT Perry Award Nom), hair/makeup design and advertising. Ms. Pineda is a proud member of the National Association for Teachers of Singing (NATS.)
OUR HISTORY - HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
In the fall of 2000, Valerie Pineda and her long time voice teacher, Sonia Lewis, decided Central New Jersey deserved a venue for local opera. Their goal was to create a company that would appeal to seasoned opera goers while also cultivating new audiences.
What started out as a simple concert performance of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro soon blossomed into a staged concert with full orchestra, conductor, chorus, costumes and a star narrator, legendary stage and movie actress, Celeste Holm.
In a nod to these “humble” beginnings, Valerie dubbed her new endeavor Little Opera Company of New Jersey. Within a few years, LOC was presenting fully-staged productions of standard repertory works with full orchestra employing a mix of professional opera singers and local talent.
By 2008, LOC's husband and wife producing team, Juan and Valerie Pineda along with siblings Fausto and Patricia, wanted to expand on the opera company’s original mission. Having already worked locally as a producing/directing team, the quartet decided to develop their own unique program for outstanding middle and high school students that would complement the opera company; thus, Pineda Conservatory of the Performing Arts was formed. The 501(c)(3) non-profit entity would now serve as an umbrella organization encompassing a range of music and theatre programs and performance opportunities including the newly christened Pineda Lyric Opera (formerly Little Opera Company of NJ).
In the spring of 2008, Pineda Lyric presented its first all-student opera, The Pirates of Penzance. These all-student productions presented by our Young Artists became a much-anticipated part of Pineda Lyric's regular season.
In June of 2008, Pineda Conservatory launched its Summer Conservatory Program, a five-week intensive musical theatre immersion program. On top of a rigorous schedule of classes, in just three short weeks conservatory students learn a show from script and score to full production and performance. That first summer, the conservatory hosted sold-out productions of the epic Les Miserable and Rodgers & Hammerstein's classic, Cinderella.
The inaugural summer boasted an enrollment of over 70 students and distributed over $14,000 in talent and need-based scholarships. Instructors came from all levels of professional experience (Broadway, national tours, regional theatre, opera and conservatory graduates).
In the fall of 2008, Pineda Lyric premiered its first professional production, The Merry Widow.
The 2010-11 season marked the opera company’s tenth anniversary. With a gala champagne reception at the historic James Ward Mansion in Westfield, NJ, friends and supporters of Pineda Conservatory welcomed the company into its second decade.
2012 was the Summer Conservatory’s fifth season at Cranford Dramatic Club, with an enrollment of over 100 students with a waiting list for all its programs. In four short years, the summer professional faculty doubled in size to keep up with an overwhelming enrollment demand.
2014's Summer Center Stage production of RENT was one of the very first high school productions in the country to present the unedited adult version of the show. Students raise over $2200 for Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS by collecting donations at each show and through a silent auction of Broadway themed items.
In Fall 2016, Pineda Conservatory opened its first satellite location in Richmond, VA. Juan and Val began private voice, piano, and guitar lessons while Trish, Fausto, and the rest of the NJ staff continued lessons and classes.
In 2017, Fausto and Trish offered one final summer, featuring all new programming and venues for middle and high schoolers only. The Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Mountainside provided a wonderful rehearsal and performance venue for the smaller, more intimate workshop-based programs. Our high schoolers were able to claim Off-Broadway debuts as their summer culminated in performances of their original cabaret show at the famous Players Theatre, in Greenwich Village, NYC!
2018 brought the official close to the non-profit Pineda Conservatory, but ushered in the new Pineda Studio, owned and operated by Patricia P. Pineda. Pineda Studio's one-on-one lessons and coachings continue the Pineda family's long tradition of promoting healthy vocal technique, fearless performance, and always passing The Love!
First LOC Production, The Marriage of Figaro, a staged concert
LOC presents its first fully staged production, L'Elisir d'Amore, which tours to local theatres
LOC hosts its first annual Vocal Excellence Awards, a vocal competition for students and professional singers
LOC presents its first and only all student opera, Hansel & Gretel
Pineda Conservatory of the Arts is formed & its first all student opera, The Pirates of Penzance, produced
Pineda Conservatory launches its Summer Conservatory
Pineda Lyric Opera (formerly Little Opera Company) produces its first professional opera, The Merry Widow
The Summer Conservatory adds Starlight Theatre, an elementary school program, to its summer roster of programs.
Pineda Lyric celebrates its 10th Anniversary Season with a Gala fundraiser at the James Ward Mansion
The Great Pineda Chill-Out raises over $16,000 to install central air for the CDC Theatre and the Pineda Summer Conservatory.
Pineda Conservatory Richmond begins offering classes and lessons in the Richmond, VA area.
THE PINEDA STUDIO
studio.pineda@gmail.com
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"Will the wild ox consent to serve you, Or will he spend the night at your manger?
Geneva Study Bible
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Nave's Topical Bible - Crib; God; Unicorn (Wild Ox, Rsv); Thompson Chain Reference - Animals; Unicorn;
American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Salt; Unicorn; Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Animals; Easton Bible Dictionary - Unicorn; Holman Bible Dictionary - Crib; Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Knowledge; Manger; Nature; Unicorn; World; Morrish Bible Dictionary - Manger; Unicorn;
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Crib; Manger; Unicorn; Wild-Ox; Will; The Jewish Encyclopedia - Buffalo; Unicorn;
Meyer's Commentary
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee? - The "fine elegant animal like a horse, with one long rich curled horn growing out of his forehead," commonly called the unicorn, must be given up as fabulous. The heralds must claim him as their own; place him in their armorial bearings as they please, to indicate the unreal actions, fictitious virtues, and unfought martial exploits of mispraised men. It is not to the honor of the royal arms of Great Britain that this fabulous animal should be one of their supporters. The animal in question, called רים reim, is undoubtedly the rhinoceros, who has the latter name from the horn that grows on his nose. The rhinoceros is known by the name of reim in Arabia to the present day. He is allowed to be a savage animal, showing nothing of the intellect of the elephant. His horn enables him to combat the latter with great success; for, by putting his nose under the elephant's belly, he can rip him up. His skin is like armor, and so very hard as to resist sabres, javelins, lances, and even musket-balls; the only penetrable parts being the belly, the eyes, and about the ears.
Or abide by thy crib? - These and several of the following expressions are intended to point out his savage, untameable nature.
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee? - In the previous part of the argument, God had appealed to the lion, the raven, the goats of the rock, the hind, and the wild ass; and the idea was, that in the instincts of each of these classes of animals, there was some special proof of wisdom. He now turns to another class of the animal creation in proof of his own supremacy and power, and lays the argument in the great strength and in the independence of the animal, and in the fact that man had not been able to subject his great strength to the purposes of husbandry. In regard to the animal here referred to, there has been great diversity of opinion among interpreters, nor is there as yet any one prevailing sentiment. Jerome renders it “rhinoceros;” the Septuagint, μονόκερως monokerōs the “unicorn;” the Chaldee and the Syraic retain the Hebrew word; Gesenius, Herder, Umbreit, and Noyes, render it the “buffalo;” Schultens, “alticornem;” Luther and Coverdale, the “unicorn;” Rosenmuller, the “onyx,” a large and fierce species of the antelope; Calmet supposes that the rhinoceros is intended; and Prof. Robinson, in an extended appendage to the article of Calmet (art. Unicorn), has endeavored to show that the wild buffalo is intended.
Bochart, also, in a long and learned argument, has endeavored to show; that the rhinoceros cannot be meant. Hieroz. P. i. Lib. iii. chapter xxvi. He maintains that a species of antelope is referred to, the “rim” of the Arabs. DeWette (Com. on Psalm 22:21) accords with the opinion of Gesenius, Robinson, and others, that the animal referred to is the buffalo of the Eastern continent, the bos bubalus of Linnaeus, an animal which differs from the American buffalo only in the shape of the horns and the absence of the dewlap. The word which occurs here, and which is rendered “unicorn” (רים rêym or ראם re'êm is used in the Scriptures only in the following places, where in the singular or plural it is uniformly rendered “unicorn,” or “unicorns” - Numbers 23:22; Deuteronomy 33:17; Job 39:9-10; Psalm 22:21; Psalm 29:6; Psalm 92:10; and Isaiah 34:7. By a reference to these passages, it will be found that the animal had the following characteristics:
(1) It was distinguished for its strength; see Job 39:11 of this chapter. Numbers 23:22, “he (that is, Israel, or the Israelites) hath as it were the strength of a unicorn - ראם re'êm In Numbers 24:8, the same declaration is repeated. It is true that the Hebrew word in both these places (תועפה tô‛âphâh ) may denote rapidity of motion, speed; but in this place the notion of strength must be principally intended, for it was of the power of the people, and their ability manifested in the number of their hosts, that Balaam is speaking. Bochart, however (Hieroz. P. i. Lib. iii. c. xxvii.), supposes that the word means, not strength, or agility, but height, and that the idea is, that the people referred to by Balaam was a lofty or elevated people. If the word means strength, it was most appropriate to compare a vast host of people with the vigor and force of an untamable wild animal. The idea of speed or of loftiness does not so well suit the connection.
(2) It was an animal that was not subjected to the service of tilling the soil, and that was supposed to be incapable of being so trained. Thus, in the place before us it is said, that he could not be so domesticated that he would remain like the ox at the crib; that he could not be yoked to the plow; that he could not be employed and safely left to pursue the work of the field; and that he could not be so subdued that it would be safe to attempt to bring home the harvest by his aid. From all these declarations, it is plain that he was regarded as a wild and untamed animal; an animal that was not then domesticated, and that could not be employed in husbandry. This characteristic would agree with either the antelope, the onyx, the buffalo, the rhinoceros, or the supposed unicorn, With which of them it will best accord, we may be able to determine when all his characteristics are examined.
(3) The strength of the animal was in his horns. This was one of his special characteristics, and it is evidently by this that he is designed to be distinguished. Deuteronomy 33:17, “his glory is like the firstling of a bullock, and his horns like the horns of unicorns.” Psalm 92:10, “my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn.” Psalm 22:21, “thou hast heard me (saved me) from the horns of the unicorns.” It is true, indeed, as Prof. Robinson has remarked (Calmet, art. “Unicorn”), the word ראם re'êm has in itself no reference to horns, nor is there in the Hebrew an illusion any where to the supposition that the animal here referred to has only one horn. Wherever, in the Scriptures, the animal is spoken of with any allusion to this member, the expression is in the plural, “horns.” The only variation from this, even in the common version, is in Psalm 92:10, where the Hebrew is simply, “My horn shalt thou exalt like an unicorn, “where the word horn, as it stands in the English version, is not expressed. There is, indeed, in this passage, some obvious allusion to the horns of this animal, but all the force of the comparison will be retained if the word inserted in the ellipsis is in the plural number. The horn or horns of the ראם re'êm were, however, beyond question, the principal seat of strength, and the instruments of assault and defense. See the passage in Deuteronomy 33:17, “With them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth.”
(4) There was some special majesty or dignity in the horns of this animal that attracted attention, and that made them the proper symbol of dominion and of royal authority. Thus, in Psalm 92:10, “My horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn,” where the reference seems to be to a kingly authority or dominion, of which the horn was an appropriate symbol. These are all the characteristics of the animal referred to in the Scriptures, and the question is, With what known animal do they best correspond? The principal animals referred to by those who have examined the subject at length are, the onyx or antelope; the buffalo; the animal commonly referred to as the unicorn, and the rhinoceros. The principal characteristic of the unicorn was supposed to be, that it had a long, slender horn projecting from the forehead; the horn of the rhinoceros is on the snout, or the nose.
I. In regard to the antelope, or the “rim” of the modern Arabs, supposed by Bochart to be the animal here referred to, it seems clear that there are few characteristics in common between the two animals. The onyx or antelope is not distinguished as this animal is for strength, nor for the fact that it is especially untamable, nor that its strength is in its horns, nor that it is of such size and proportions that a comparison would naturally be suggested between it and the ox. In all that is said of the animal, we think of one greater in bulk, in strength, in untamableness, than the onyx; an animal more distinguished for conquest and subduing other animals before him. Bochart has collected much that is fabulous respecting this animal, from the rabbis and the Arabic writers, which it is not needful here to repeat; see the Hieroz. P. i. Lib. iii. c. xxvii.; or Scheutzer, Physi. Sac. on Numbers 23:22.
II. The claims of the “buffalo” to be regarded as the animal here referred to, are much higher than those of the onyx, and the opinion that this is the animal intended is entertained by such names as those of Gesenius, DeWette, Robinson, Umbreit, and Herder. But the objections to this seem to me to be insuperable, and the arguments are not such as to carry conviction. The principal objections to the opinion are:
(1) That the account in regard to the horns of the ראם re'êm by no means agrees with the fact in regard to the bison, or buffalo. The buffalo is an animal of the cow kind (Goldsmith), and the horns are short and crooked, and by no means distinguished for strength. They do not in fact surpass in this respect the horns of many other animals, and are not such as would occur ordinarily as the prominent characteristic in their description. It is true that there are instances where the horns of the wild buffalo are large, but this does not appear to be the case ordinarily. Mr. Pennant mentions a pair of horns in the British Museum, which are six feet and a half long, and the hollow of which will hold five quarts. Lobo affirms that some of the horns of the buffalo in Abyssinia will hold ten quarts; and Dillon saw some in India that were ten feet long. But these were manifestly extraordinary cases.
(2) The animal here referred to was evidently a stronger and a larger animal than the wild ox or the buffalo. “The Oriental buffalo appears to be so closely allied to our common ox, that without an attentive examination it might be easily mistaken for a variety of that animal. In point of size, it is rather superior to the ox; and upon an accurate inspection, it is observed to differ in the shape and magnitude of the head, the latter being larger than in the ox.” “Robinson, in Calmet.” The animal here referred to was such as to make the contrast particularly striking between him and the ox. The latter could be employed for labor; the former, though greatly superior in strength, could not.
(3) The ראם re'êm it was supposed, could not be tamed and made to subserve domestic purposes. The buffalo, however, can be made as serviceable as the ox, and is actually domesticated and employed in agricultural purposes. Niebuhr remarks that he saw buffalo not only in Egypt, but also at Bombay, Surat, on the Euphrates, Tigris, Orontes, and indeed in all marshy regions and near large rivers. Sonnini remarks that in Egypt the buffalo, though but recently domesticated, is more numerous than the common ox, and is there equally domestic, and in Italy they are known to be commonly employed in the Pontine marshes, where the fatal nature of the climate acts on common cattle, but affects buffalo less. It is true that the animal has been comparatively recently domesticated, and that it was doubtless known in the time of Job only as a wild, savage, ferocious animal; but still the description here is that of an animal not only that was not then tamed, but obviously of one that could not well be employed in domestic purposes.
We are to remember that the language here is that of God himself, and that therefore it may be regarded as descriptive of what the essential nature of the animal was, rather than what it was supposed to be by the persons to whom the language was addressed. One of the principal arguments alleged for supposing that the animal here referred to by the ראם re'êm was the buffalo, is, that the rhinoceros was probably unknown in the land where Job resided, and that the unicorn was altogether a fabulous animal. This difficulty will be considered in the remarks to be made on the claims of each of those animals.
III. It was an early opinion, and the opinion was probably entertained by the authors of the Septuagint translation, and by the English translators as well as by others, that the animal here referred to was the unicorn. This animal was long supposed to be a fabulous animal, and it has not been until recently that the evidences of its existence have been confirmed. These evidences are adduced by Rosenmuller, “Morgenland, ii. p. 269, following,” and by Prof. Robinson, “Calmet, pp. 908,909.” They are, summarily, the following:
(1) Pliny mentions such an animal, and gives a description of it, though from his time for centuries it seems to have been unknown. “His. Nat. 8,21.” His language is, Asperrimam autem feram monocerotem reliquo corpore equo similem, capite cervo, pedibus elephanti, cauda apro, mugitu gravi, uno cornu nigro media fronte cubitorum duum eminente. IIanc feram vivam negant capi. “The unicorn is an exceeding fierce animal, resembling a horse as to the rest of his body, but having the head like a stag, the feet like an elephant, and the tail like a wild boar; its roaring is loud; and it has a black horn of about two cubits projecting from the middle of the forehead.”
(2) The figure of the unicorn, in various attitudes, according to Niebuhr, is depicted on almost all the staircases in the ruins of Persepolis. “Reisebeschreib. ii. S. 127.”
(3) In 1530, Ludovice de Bartema, a Roman patrician, visited Mecca under the assumed character of a Mussulman, and among other curiosities that he mentions, he says, “On the other side of the caaba is a walled court, in which we saw two unicorns that were pointed out to us as a rarity; and they are indeed truly remarkable. The larger of the two is built like a three-year-old colt, and has a horn upon the forehead about three ells long. This animal has the color of a yellowish-brown horse, a head like a stag, a neck not very long, with a thin mane; the legs are small and slender like those of a hind or roe; the hoofs of the fore feet are divided, and resemble the hoofs of a goat. Rosenmuller. “Alte u. neue Morgenland, No. 377. Thes ii. S. 271,272.”
(4) Don Juan Gabriel, a Portuguese colonel, who lived several years in Abyssinia, assures us that in the region of Agamos, in the Abyssinian province of Darners, he had seen an animal of the form and size of a middle-sized horse, of a dark, chestnut-brown color, and with a whitish horn about five spans long upon its forehead; the mane and tail were black, and the legs long and slender. Several other Portuguese, who were placed in confinement upon a high mountain in the district Namna, by the Abyssinian king Saghedo, related that they had seen at the mountain several unicorns feeding. These accounts are confirmed by Lobe, who lived for a long time as a missionary in Abyssinia.
(5) Dr. Sparrman the Swedish naturalist, who visited the Cape of Good Hope and the adjacent regions in 1772-1776, gives, in his Travels, the following account: Jacob Kock an observing peasant on Hippopotamus river, who had traveled over a considerable part of Southern Africa, found on the face of a perpendicular rock, a drawing made by the Hotttentots of an animal with a single horn. The Hottentots told him that the animal there represented was very like the horse on which he rode, but had a straight horn upon the forehead. They added, that these one-horned animals were rare; that they ran with great rapidity, and that they were very fierce.
(6) A similar animal is described as having been killed by a party of Hottentots in pursuit of the savage Bushmen in 1791. The animal resembled a horse, was of a light grey color, and with white stripes under the jaw. It had a single horn directly in front, as long as one‘s arm, and at the base about as thick. Toward the middle the horn was somewhat flattened, but had a sharp point; it was not attached to the bone of the forehead, but was fixed only in the skin. The head was like that of the horse, and the size about the same. These authorities are collected by Rosenmuller, “Alte u. nerve Morgenland,” vol. ii. p. 269ff, ed. Leipz. 1818.
(7) To these proofs one other is added by Prof. Robinson. It is copied from the Quarterly Review for Oct. 1820 (vol. xxiv. p. 120), in a notice of Frazer‘s Tour through the Himalaya mountains. The information is contained in a letter from Maj. Latter, commanding in the rajah of Sikkim‘s territories, in the hilly country east of Nepaul. This letter states that the unicorn, so long considered as a fabulous animal, actually exists in the interior of Thibet, where it is well known to the inhabitants. “In a Thibetian manuscript,” says Maj. Latter, “containing the names of different animals, which I procured the other day from the hills, the unicorn is classed under the head of those whose hoofs are divided: it is called the one-horned “tso‘po.” Upon inquiring what kind of an animal it was, to our astonishment, the person who brought the manuscript described exactly the unicorn of the ancients; saying that it was a native of the interior of Thibet, about the size of a tattoo (a horse from twelve to thirteen hands high,) fierce and extremely wild; seldom if ever caught alive, but frequently shot; and that the flesh was used for food. They go together in herds, like wild buffalo, and are frequently to be met with on the borders of the great desert, in that part of the country inhabited by wandering Tartars.‘
(8) To these proofs I add another, taken from the Narrative of the Rev. John Campbell, who thus speaks of it, in his “Travels in South Africa,” vol. ii. p. 294. “While in the Mashow territory, the Hottentots brought in a head different from any rhinoceros that had been previously killed. The common African rhinoceros has a crooked horn resembling a cock‘s spur, which rises about nine or ten inches above the nose, and inclines backward; immediately behind this is a short thick horn. But the head they brought us had a straight horn projecting three feet from the forehead, about ten inches above the tip of the nose. The projection of this great horn very much resembles that of the fanciful unicorn in the British arms. It has a small, thick, horny substance, eight inches long, immediately behind it, and which can hardly be observed on the animal at the distance of 100 yards, and seems to be designed for keeping fast that which is penetrated by the long horn; so that this species must look like the unicorn (in the sense ‹one-horned‘) when running in the field.
The head resembled in size a nine-gallon cask, and measured three feet from the mouth to the ear; and being much larger than that of the one with the crooked horn, and which measured eleven feet in length, the animal itself must have been still larger and more formidable. From its weight, and the position of the horn, it appears capable of overcoming any creature hitherto known.” A fragment of the skull, with the horn, is deposited in the Museum of the London Missionary Society. These testimonies from so many witnesses from different parts of the world, who write without concert, and yet who concur so almost entirely in the account of the size and figure of the animal, leave little room to doubt its real existence. That it is not better known, and that its existence has been doubted, is not wonderful. It is to be remembered that all accounts agree in the representation that it is an animal whose residence is in deserts or mountains, and that large parts of Africa and Asia are still unexplored. We are to remember, also, that the giraffe has been discovered only within a few years, and that the same is true of the gnu, which until recently was held to be a fable of the ancients.
At the same time, however, that the existence of such an animal as that of the unicorn is in the highest degree probable, it is clear that it is not the animal referred to in the passage before us; for
(1) It is in the highest degree improbable that it was so well known as is supposed in the description here; and
(2) The characteristics do not at all agree with the account of the ראם re'êm of the Scriptures. Neither in regard to the size of the animal, its strength, or the strength of its horns, does it coincide with the account of that animal in the Bible.
IV. If neither of the opinions above referred to be correct, then the only remaining opinion that has weight is, that it refers to the rhinoceros. Besides the considerations above suggested, it may be added that the characteristics of the animal given in the Scriptures all agree with the rhinoceros. In size, strength, wildness, untamableness, and in the power and use of the horn, those characteristics agree accurately with the rhinoceros. The only argument of much weight against this opinion is presented by Prof. Robinson in the following language: “The ראם re'êm was obviously an animal well known to the Hebrews, being everywhere mentioned with other animals common to the country, while the rhinoceros was never an inhabitant of the country, is nowhere else spoken of by the sacred writers, nor, according to Bochart, either by Aristotle in his treatise of animals, nor by Arabian writers.” In reply to this we may observe:
(1) that the ראם re'êm is mentioned in the Scriptures only in seven places (see above), showing at least that it was probably an animal not very well known in that country, or it would have been alluded to more often;
(2) it is not clear that in those places it is “everywhere mentioned with other animals common to that country,” as in the passage before us there is no allusion to any domestic animal; nor is there in Numbers 23:22; Numbers 24:8; Psalm 92:10. In Psalm 22:21, they are mentioned in the same verse with “lions;” in Psalm 29:6, in connection with “calves;” and in Isaiah 34:7, with bullocks and bulls - wild animals inhabiting Idumea. But the entire account is that of an animal that was untamed and that was evidently a foreign animal.
(3) What evidence is there that the Hebrews were well acquainted, as Prof. Robinson supposes, with “the wild buffalo?” Is this animal an inhabitant of Palestine? Is it “elsewhere” mentioned in the Scriptures? Is there any more evidence from the Bible that they were acquainted with it than with the rhinoceros?
(4) It cannot be reasonably supposed that the Hebrews were so unacquainted with the rhinoceros that there could be no allusion to it in their writings. This animal was found in Egypt and in the adjacent countries, and whoever was the writer of the book of Job, there are frequent references in the book to what was well known in Egypt; and at all events, the Hebrews had lived too long in Egypt, and had had too much contact with the Egyptians, to be wholly ignorant of the existence and general character of an animal well known there, and we in fact find just about as frequent mention of it as we should on this supposition. It does not seem, therefore, to admit of reasonable doubt that the rhinoceros is referred to in the passage before us. This animal next to the elephant, is the most powerful of animals. It is usually about twelve feet long; from six to seven feet high; and the circumference of its body is nearly equal to its length.
Its bulk of body, therefore, is about that of the elephant. Its head is furnished with a horn, growing from the snout, sometimes three and a half feet long. This horn is erect, and perpendicular to the bone on which it stands, and it has thus a greater purchase or power than it could have in any other position. “Bruce.” Occasionally it is found with a double horn, one above the other, though this is not common. The horn is entirely solid, formed of the hardest bony substance, and so firmly growing on the upper maxillary bone as seemingly to make but a part of it, and so powerful as to justify all the allusions in the Scriptures to the horn of the ראם re'êm The skin of this animal is naked, rough, and knotty, lying upon the body in folds, and so thick as to turn the edge of a scimetar, or to resist a musket-ball. The legs are short, strong, and thick, and the hoofs divided into three parts, each pointing forward. It is a native of the deserts of Asia and Africa, and is usually found in the extensive forests which are frequented by the elephant and the lion. It has never been domesticated; never employed in agricultural purposes; and thus, as well as in size and strength, accords with the account which is given of the animal in the passage before us. The following cut will furnish a good illustration of this animal:
Be willing to serve thee. - In plowing and harrowing thy land, and conveying home the harvest, Job 39:12.
Or abide by thy crib - As the ox will. The word used here (ילין yālı̂yn ) means properly to pass the night; and then to abide, remain, dwell. There is propriety in retaining here the original meaning of the word, and the sense is, Can he be domesticated or tamed? The rhinoceros never has been.
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee,.... Whether there is or ever was such a creature, as described under the name of an unicorn, is a question: it is thought the accounts of it are for the most part fabulous; though VartomannusF25Navigat. l. 1. c. 19. says he saw two at Mecca, which came from Ethiopia, the largest of which had a horn in his forehead three cubits long. There are indeed several creatures which may be called "monocerots", who have but one horn; as the "rhinoceros", and the Indian horses and assesF26Vid. Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 3. c. 26. . The Arabic geographerF1Nub. Clim. 1. par. 8. speaks of a beast in the Indies, called "carcaddan", which is lesser than an elephant and bigger than a buffalo; having in the middle of the forehead an horn long and thick, as much as two hands can grasp: and not only on land, but in the sea are such, as the "nahr whal", or Greenland whaleF2Ludolf. Ethiop. Hist. l. 1. c. 10. Of this narhual, or sea unicorn, see the Philosoph. Transact. abridged, vol. 9. p. 71, 72. ; but then they do not answer to the creature so called in Scripture: and, besides, this must be a creature well known to Job, as it was to the Israelites; and must be a strong creature, from the account that gives of it, and not to be taken as here. And SolinusF3Polyhistor. c. 65. speaks of such "monocerots" or unicorns, which may be killed, but cannot be taken, and were never known to be in any man's possession alive; and so AelianusF4De Animal. l. 16. c. 20. says of the like creature, that it never was remembered that anyone of them had been taken. Some think the "rhinoceros" is meant; but that, though a very strong creature, and so may be thought fit for the uses after mentioned, yet may be tamed; whereas the creature here is represented as untamable, and not to be subdued, and brought under a yoke and managed; and besides, it is not very probable that it was known by Job. BochartF5Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 3. c. 27. col. 969, &c. takes it to be the "oryx", a creature of the goat kind; but to me it seems more likely to be of the ox kind, to be similar to them, and so might be thought to do the business of one; and the rather, because of its great strength, and yet could not be brought to do it, nor be trusted with it: for the questions concerning it relate to the work of oxen; and as the wild ass is opposed to the tame one in the preceding paragraph, so here the wild ox to a tame one. And both StraboF6Geograph. l. 16. p. 533. and Diodorus SiculusF7Bibliothec. l. 3. p. 175. relate, that among the Troglodytes, a people that dwelt near the Red sea, and not far from Arabia, where Job lived, were abundance of wild oxen or bulls, and which far exceeded the common ones in size and swiftness; and the creature called the seem in the original, has its name from height. Now the question is, could Job take one of these wild bulls or oxen, and tame it, and make it willing to do any work or service he should choose to put it to? No, he could not;
or abide by thy crib? manger or stall, as the tame or common ox will; who, when it has done its labour, is glad to be led to its stall and feed, and then lie down and rest, and there abide; see Isaiah 1:3; but not so the wild ox.
Will the unicorn be willing to g serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
(g) Is it possible to make the unicorn tame? signifying that if man cannot rule a creature, that it is much more impossible that he should appoint the wisdom of God, by which he governs all the world.
Beza, Theodore. "Commentary on Job 39:9". "The 1599 Geneva Study Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/job-39.html. 1599-1645.
unicorn — Pliny [Natural History, 8.21], mentions such an animal; its figure is found depicted in the ruins of Persepolis. The Hebrew {(reem} conveys the idea of loftiness and power (compare {Ramah}; Indian, Ram)1Job_39:10}, Job 39:12).
abide — literally, “pass the night.”
crib — (Isaiah 1:3).
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
Unicorn — It is disputed whether this be the Rhinoceros; or a kind of wild bull.
Job 39:9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
Ver. 9. Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee?] The rhinoceros, saith the Vulgate: but that is another kind of beast, so called from the growing of his horn from his nose ( Naricornis). This is the monoceros or unicorn, which cannot be taken alive ( interimi potest, capi non potest), as the rhinoceros may. A very fierce and strong creature it is; and today very rare, but anciently more common. He hath one horn only (and not many, as R. Levi by a mistake would infer from Deuteronomy 33:17), that greweth in the middle of his forehead; and that he lifted up on high; whence also be hath his name in the Hebrew. He is described in Scripture, 1. By this high lifting up of his horn, Psalms 92:10 2. By his strength, Numbers 23:22 3. From his untameable fierceness here. Pliny calleth him a Licorn. Vertomannus saith he saw two of them. Scaliger saith he had seen the horn of a unicorn, a special antidote against poison. But some deny that there is any such creature; because if he had a horn so placed, and of such a length as is affirmed, he could not graze; and besides, it appeareth not certainly that ever any man saw such a creature. Aelian saith that there are a sort of wild asses in India of the size of a horse, that have one horn in the midst of their foreheads in length a cubit and a half; and so sharp, that therewith he pierceth through the hardest things. Some conceive that by the beast here mentioned is meant the wild bull, here opposed to the tame ox, and elsewhere joined to oxen, Deuteronomy 33:17, Isaiah 34:6. Whatever it is, it will not be brought to do man service, though fitted by stature and strength to do much; but lives at liberty, and is provided for by God.
Or abide by the crib?] Heb. lie all night there, as oxen do, ready for service next morning? I think not.
Job 39:9. Will the unicorn, &c.— See Numbers 24:8. Schultens is of opinion, that the animal here mentioned is the Arabian buffaloe, of the bull species, but absolutely untameable, and which the Arabians frequently hunt. See the authorities which this learned writer has produced, in his note on the place.
Coke, Thomas. "Commentary on Job 39:9". Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/job-39.html. 1801-1803.
It is much disputed among the learned, but is not needful to be known by others, whether there be or ever was such a creature as we call the unicorn; or whether this reem, which is the Hebrew name of it, be the rhinoceros, as some would have it; or a certain kind of wild goat, called oryx, which is very tall, and strong, and untractable; or one of that kind of wild oxen or bulls called uri; which may seem most probable, both from the description of this creature here and elsewhere in Scripture, which exactly agrees with its description given by other authors; and from the description of his work in this place, which must in all reason be agreeable to creatures of that general kind; and from the conjunction of this creature with bullocks in Scripture, Deuteronomy 33:17; and especially Isaiah 34:6,7, where having put lambs, and goats, and rams together, Job 39:6, as creatures of the same or very like sort, he mentions bullocks, and bulls, and reems, Job 39:7, as belonging to the same general sort of creatures. But this I shall not positively determine here. He that would know more, may see what the reverend and learned Mr. Caryl hath upon this text out of Boetius and others, and my Latin Synopsis on Numbers 23:22.
Be willing to serve thee; canst thou tame him, and bring him into subjection to thy command?
Abide by thy crib; will he suffer himself to be tied or confined there all night, and to be reserved to the work of the next day, as the oxen do? Surely no. And if thou canst not rule such a creature as this, much less art thou able to govern the world, or to teach me how to govern it, which thou presumest to do.
Second long strophe — JOB’S ATTENTION IS DIRECTED TO THE NONDESCRIPT AND UNTAMEABLE REEM, (WILD BULL,) AND TO THE OSTRICH, WITH HER STRANGE PROPERTIES OF STUPIDITY AND DEFICIENT AFFECTION, Job 39:9-18.
α. The reem, in its structure, resembles the ox — so much so as to be classed under the same genus; but no man can reduce him to the plough or harrow, or any servile office. Job, perhaps, can account for so trifling a matter as this, that so much latent power of this creature (“because his strength is great”) should forever remain unavailable for man’s use. Job 39:9-12.
9.The unicorn — The word , reem, occurs seven times in the Scriptures, and is invariably translated unicorn, or unicorns, in accordance with the Septuagint: Numbers 23:22; Deuteronomy 33:17; Job 39:9-10; Psalms 22:21; Psalms 29:6; Psalms 92:10; and Isaiah 34:7. Among commentators and naturalists some few (Luther, F.A.A. Meyer, Rosenmuller, and Schlottmann) imagine that by this creature the unicorn is intended, but the unicorn is now regarded by most naturalists as fabulous. Others (Jerome, Barnes, etc.) suppose that it is the rhinoceros. Others again (Delitzsch, Dillmann, Hitzig) conjecture that it is the oryx, (antelope leucoryx,) a species of gazelle, which Oppian describes as “wild and untamable,” and is found in Syria, Egypt, and the interior of Africa. and to the present day called r’im; while others, (Schultens, Ewald, Umbreit, Robinson,) fix upon the buffalo, a view which Dr. Wilson justly scouts, having seen the animal in the Huleh tamely yoked to the plough. (Lands of the Bible, 2:167.)
A careful examination of the passages above mentioned will, we think, show, first, that the reem could not have been a one-horned animal, for in Deuteronomy 33:17, the horns of the reem are made a ground of comparison; secondly, that the strength of the animal was in his horns, (Deuteronomy 33:17; Psalms 22:21; Psalms 92:10,) which excludes the oryx or antelope, which have but little strength in the horn, and have to depend for their defence on their agility; thirdly, that it must have been of the bovine rather than the cervine species, which appears from demands of the parallelisms both in Deuteronomy 33:17, His (Joseph’s) glory is like the firstling of his BULLOCK, And his horns are like the horns of a REEM: and in Psalms 29:6, He maketh them also to skip like a CALF, Lebanon and Sirion like a young REEM.
The description (Job 39:9-12) depicts the wonted labour of the tame ox, and necessitates the taking this animal as a basis of comparison, as much as the preceding passage (Job 39:5-8) does the tame ass; and no less peremptorily requires a congener, which in this case must be bovine. Of the former existence of a monster answering all these conditions there are manifold evidences, though it is probable that the race has altogether perished. In the opinion of Dr. Tristram it once roamed freely through the forests of Palestine, and answered to the AVEROCHS of the old German, the URUS of Caesar, the BOS PRIMIGENIUS of naturalists. “We have evidence,” he says,” of the averochs in Germany down to the Christian era. The two horns of the reem (unicorn) are the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh, both growing out of ONE head, Joseph. Deuteronomy 33:17. This, then, entirely sets aside the fancy that the rhinoceros, which the Jews could scarcely have known, or any one-horned creature, is intended. The monuments of Assyria represent it among the wild animals chased by the compeers of Semiramis and Sennacherib.” — Nat. Hist. of Bible, p. 146. This learned naturalist thinks he has found bones of this extinct animal, (the primeval wild ox,) in a mass of bone breccia in the Lebanon, in the flooring of an ancient cave. See his Land of Israel, pp. 11, 12. Assuming, with Dr. Tristram and Prof. Owen, that the reem was probably one with the urus, it becomes doubly interesting to turn to the description of this animal by Caesar. He says, the urus “are of a size little inferior to the elephant: in appearance, colour, and figure they resemble the bull; their strength and velocity are great; and they spare neither man nor beast that come in their way. Even their young are intractable and untamable.” — De Bello Gall., 4:29.
Recent philological discoveries tend to identify this animal, (the wild bull, bos primigenius, of the ancients,) with the reem of the Scriptures. It is now accepted by Assyrian scholars, such as Sayce, Norris, Rodwell, that the ideogram for wild bull was rim or rimu. Sir H. Rawlinson thus translates the thirty-fourth section of the inscription of Tiglath Pileser: “Under the auspices of Hercules, my guardian deity, four wild bulls, strong and fierce, in the desert,’ with my long arrows tipped with iron, and with heavy blows, I took their lives. Their skin and their horns I brought to my city of Ashur.” The inscription cited by Norris is: “Buchal rimi dan-nu-te,” etc. — “Four wild bulls strong and fine; their lives I cut off.” — Assyr. Dic., 1:81; likewise, ibid., Job 1:21. The above Assyrian inscription is taken from the broken obelisk of Assur-nat-sir-pal, and is interpreted, “Rimi’ sa pa-an’ in nir Lib-na-a-ni i-duk,” “Wild bulls which, opposite the land of the Hittites and at the foot of Lebanon, he killed.” “It appears nothing is wanting to show that the meaning of the Hebrew word reem is a wild bull, and that these animals existed in Palestine in historical times about 800 years before Christ.’ The reem is not unfrequently expressed on the monuments as am’si, i.e., ‘the horned reem;’ ‘si being used ideographically for karnu, ‘a horn,’ the Hebrew keren.” — W. Houghton.
These wild bulls were hunted in Palestine, as appears from the monuments. “The wild bull,” says Layard, “from its frequent representation in the bass-reliefs, appears to have been considered scarcely less formidable and noble game than the lion. The king is seen contending with it, and warriors pursue it on horseback and on foot. In the embroideries on the garments of the principal figures it is introduced in hunting scenes, and in groups which appear to have a mythic or symbolical meaning.” — Nineveh, 2:429. See, also, Rawlinson’s Ancient Mon., ii, pp. 513, 514.
Job 39:9. Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee — Canst thou tame him, and bring him into subjection to thy command? Or, abide by thy crib? — Will he suffer himself to be tied, or confined there all night, and kept for the work of the next day as the oxen are? Surely not. It is much disputed among the learned, whether this reem, which is the Hebrew name of the animal here spoken of, be the rhinoceros, or a certain kind of wild goat, called orix, or a kind of wild bull, which seems most probable, both from the description of it here and elsewhere in Scripture. Schultens inclines to this opinion, thinking it to be the Arabian buffalo of the bull species, but absolutely untameable, and which the Arabians frequently hunt. See the note on Numbers 23:22.
Rhinoceros. See Deuteronomy xxxiii. 17., and Numbers xxiii. 22. Sanchez says they are untameable. (Menochius) --- But this is not true, when they have been taken young. (Malvenda) (Calmet)
This is the wild ox, not the tame or domesticated ox. "Extinct since 1627, this enormous animal was the most powerful of all hoofed beasts, exceeded in size only by the hippopotamus and elephant. It was hunted by the Assyrians and is probably to be identified with the aurochs" (Zuck p. 171). Such an animal, even though strong for plowing, would not even spend one night in Job"s barn (39:9), neither could he be trusted to work the fields (39:11-12). "Because Job could not effect so small a change as taming a wild ox and using it in his farming, the implication becomes explicit: Job certainly could not alter the Creator"s ways nor manage His universe!" (p. 172).
"The translators of the Septuagint rendered re"em by the Greek term monokeros (one horn) on the basis of the relief representations of the wild ox in strict profile, which they found in Babylonian and Egyptian art. It thus found its way into the KJV as "unicorn"" (Jackson pp. 82-83).
Unicorn. Pliny ('Natural History,' ) mentions such an animal: its figure is found depicted in the ruins of Persepolis. The Hebrew [ reeym (Hebrew #7214)] conveys the idea of loftiness and power (cf. Ramah; Indian, Ram; Latin, Roma). The rhinoceros was perhaps the original type of the unicorn. The Arab rim is a two-horned animal. Sometimes 'unicorn,' or reem, is a mere poetical symbol, or abstraction. But the buffalo is the animal referred to here, from the contrast to the tame ox used in plowing, etc. (Job 39:10; Job 39:12.) Many animals have become extinct where once they abounded. Thus the wild bison or urus, described by Caesar, is now only found in Lithuania, but was then spread over the whole of the north temperate climes, and Bashan, Lebanon, etc. Dr. Roth found remains of the lion, not in a fossil state, but waterworn, among the gravel at the Jordan, though it is now no longer there.
Crib - (Isaiah 1:3).
Abide - literally, pass the night [ luwn (Hebrew #3885)].
(9) The unicorn.—It is a mistake to identify this animal with the rhinoceros, as was formerly done; it is more probably the same with the buffalo, or wild ox. The most glaring form of the mistake is in Psalms 22:22 : “Thou hast heard me also from among the horns of the unicorns” The way in which the animal is here spoken of, as in analogous contrast to the domestic ox, suggests that it is not wholly dissimilar. It is familiar and homely toil that the wild ox is contemplated as being put to, in the place of tame cattle, whose work it is.
Ellicott, Charles John. "Commentary on Job 39:9". "Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ebc/job-39.html. 1905.
Numbers 23:22; Deuteronomy 33:17; Psalms 22:21; 92:10
Reciprocal: Genesis 1:24 - Let; Isaiah 34:7 - unicorns
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Share this Story: ENTERTAINMENT FILE: Juno winner Curran to perform
ENTERTAINMENT FILE: Juno winner Curran to perform
Cheryl Hazelton
With one Juno award already under her belt, Amelia Curran was still surprised with last week’s nomination of her latest album, Spectators.
“It’s kind of overwhelming,” she said. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
Curran will be performing material from the project — tapped for roots and traditional solo album of the year — when she hits the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage on Saturday.
“I really like the first track off of it,” she said. “It’s really fun to perform — it’s such a big number.”
Curran said it took a long time to narrow down the roster for Spectators, which was recorded in both Toronto and her hometown of St. John’s, NL.
“I probably wrote and demoed and recorded up to 40 songs before I was happy with these 10.”
She said she hugged the edges of her genre more with this album than her previous two, adding in horns and rock-and-roll sounds.
“Half of this album is a little more exploring,” she explained. “It’s right on the boundaries of folk music.”
Curran said most songs are penned in a deeply private process at home, but she’s attempting to train herself to do more composing on the road, especially if another album is in her near future.
“I’m already trying to be diligent about writing as many songs as I can right now.”
She’s been writing originals since she was in her late teens, the same time she picked up a guitar and began busking on the streets of St. John’s and Halifax.
“It happened really organically,” she said of her career. “I was just lucky to be in the communities I was in.”
Curran is still based on the east coast, though she recently wrapped up a European tour and is currently making a quick run across Ontario and Quebec — including a stop in Morrisburg.
It will be her first time performing at the venue, though her opener, Jill Zmud, was featured in an emerging artist showcase a few years ago.
“I always love playing at the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage,” said Zmud, who lives in Ottawa. “It’s a fun place to head to.”
Though she won’t be working from a recent album, Zmud said she’ll have some new songs in her lineup for the show.
She said she’s slowly putting together a new project, after a hiatus in her musical career following the death of her father.
“I really kind of stopped,” she said. “I drilled down to the simple things in life for a while.”
Zmud said she finally returned to composing and playing about a half year ago, leaning heavily on the supportive people in her life.
“I knew that once I picked up a pen it would be about my dad and it was just too hard (for a while),” she said.
She said her next album is guaranteed to include songs about her family and their loss, but that’s the extent of her plan so far.
“I want it to be raw and touch people somehow.”
Though music takes up much of her time, Zmud also aims to reach out to those around her through her part-time job at the Ottawa Mission.
“I feel really lucky,” she said. “Everything I’m doing I believe in.”
Zmud will kick things off in Morrisburg on Saturday night at 7 p.m., with Curran headlining the concert. Tickets are $20 at the door.
• Nearly a dozen artists will have their work on display at OBO Studios this weekend. The showcase will open with a Friday reception from 7 to 9 p.m., and the studio will be open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The exhibit will feature Barbara Benedict, Sandra VanderVeer, Darleen Villeneuve, Pat Briffett and others.
• The 59th Kinsmen Music Festival will feature the best of student musicians and singers this weekend. Workshops and performances will be held at Aultsville Theatre all weekend, culminating in the concert of the stars at 7 p.m. on Sunday.
There will also be a juried show of youth artwork in the venue’s lobby on Sunday afternoon. Admission to all events is free.
ENTERTAINMENT FILE: Juno winner Curran to perform Back to video
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Private Dancer - Stephen Leather
Thailand, 1996, the year of the Rat. Pete, a young travel writer, wanders into a Bangkok go-go bar and meets the love of his life. Joy is the girl of his dreams: young, stunningly pretty and one of the Zombie Bar's top earning pole dancers. What follows is a roller-coaster ride of sex, drugs and deception, as Pete discovers that his own very private dancer is not all that she claims to be and that far from being the girl of his dreams, Joy is his own personal nightmare.
Private Dancer was one of the first downloadable books as I made it available as a free PDF. Over five years or so, more than 40,000 copies were downloaded around the world. This was well before eBooks were available.
It was one of the first books to be available on the Kindle, and still sells well. The Thailand I wrote about in 1996 has pretty much gone for good. The bars are still there but there are much more commercial these days and a lot less friendly. The internet and social media mean that the girls – and the customers – are much better informed, and these days there is virtually no chance of a guy walking into a gogo bar and finding the girl of his dreams.
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Search - Lost in Space - Season 3, Vol. 2 on DVD
Lost in Space - Season 3 Vol 2
Actors: June Lockhart, Mark Goddard, Marta Kristen, Bill Mumy, Angela Cartwright
Genres: Action & Adventure, Comedy, Kids & Family, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Television
2005 7hr 21min
It?s the third and final season of the far-out tales of TV?s most lovable space crew! Complete your mission with these intergalactic adventures! Join in as the Jupiter 2 crew attempts to finally return home to Earth, wit... more »h more help from the wily Robot B-9, more antics from master meddler Dr. Zachary Smith, and of course, more "Danger, Will Robinson!" Along with out-of-this-world extras not available anywhere else, this collectable DVD installment of Irwin Allen?s LOST IN SPACE presents the final 9 episodes of America?s favorite space family. « less
Creator: Irwin Allen
Sub-Genres: Action & Adventure, Comedy, Classics, Family Films, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy, Science Fiction, Classic TV
Studio: CBS Television
Format: DVD - Color,Full Screen - Closed-captioned,Dubbed,Subtitled
Run Time: 7hr 21min
Languages: English, English, French, Spanish
2005 12hr 15min
Lost in Space - The Complete First Season
Directors: Alexander Singer, Alvin Ganzer, Anton Leader, Don Richardson, Harry Harris
The Time Tunnel - Volume One
UR 2006 12hr 45min
Supernatural The Complete First Season
Smallville - The Complete Third Season
NR 2004 15hr 50min
Gomer Pyle USMC - The Complete First Season
Directors: Aaron Ruben, Alan Rafkin, Gary Nelson, Peter Baldwin, Howard Morris
Justified The Complete Second Season
Rocky Bullwinkle Friends - The Complete First Season
Directors: Dun Roman, Gerald Ray, Gerard Baldwin, Jim Hiltz, Rudy Zamora
NR 2003
Supernatural The Complete Second Season
UR 2007 15hr 3min
Director: Francis Lawrence
Director: Darrell Roodt
Quite the grab bag, even if this is "Lost in Space"!
Twiddles42 | MN, USA | 08/05/2005
"Well, the previous set was good enough so I decided to get this one too. After all, it's got "The Great Vegetable Rebellion".
I'll start with DVD quality:
Menu system: Uninspired but passable; what else is new?
Video: Given that the show is released for a niche audience these days, there are some scratches, blemishes, unrestored trailers, dust marks, film jumps, just like in the previous releases. It's overall acceptable and I've seen far worse for TV shows that were far more popular and beloved that cannot be blamed on the quality of the master analogue tapes. Still, more care into the restoration work would have been nice. I do hate film jumps and, quite frankly, this stuff - like all tv and media - should be preserved as a reflection of society at the time... it might be dated and somewhat sexist, but at least the Robinsons prove their moral superiority (and possibly stupidity) by rescuing Doctor Smith from himself every week... And you know Smith wouldn't be tolerated for one attosecond these days!
Audio: Great in mono, nothing to complain about here. Very passable!
As for the episodes themselves:
Target: Earth -- I loved the pre-credits teaser, even if the alien itself looks fairly disgusting (I wish I could cite a parallel, but I'm not keen on toilet humor...). While "Lost in Space" is typically pedestrian with its plotlines and a lot of its dialogue, I found this one to be surprisingly fun. Even Will (think "the original Wesley Crusher but isn't arrogant" ) is well handled. 7/10
Princess of Space -- a typical outing despite having a decent premise. It's not what I'd call innovative or adventurous, however. 5/10
Time Merchant - WOW!!!! While it still has a few "Lost in Space" logic/dialogue issues, and don't forget the show is made for children in the mid-1960s, this one is actually fairly intelligently written and well handled. (man, I wish more modern sci-fi would be as daring with its use of concepts...) Especially for 1967. Highly enjoyable and makes me grateful the series was allowed to run its final season to the end or else we wouldn't have gotten this one. Best of all is a worthy twist: Had Dr Smith not gone on board, the Robinsons would be in far worse trouble than anybody would have ever thought... The actual revelation alone makes this episode a winner, but I can't really knock it in any way, shape, or form. For LiS it's sublime and for general sci-fi for the time it's very ahead of its time. 10/10
The Promised Planet -- whew boy. Another planet where the Robinsons have to engage shallow antisocial hippies. This time it's not a gaggle of shiftless, selfish, bone-idle losers but kids who just want to dance all day in front of (or behind!) screens lit by a series of rotating colors. Oooh, psychedelic man! The excuse for this, folks? The inhabitants of this planet can't grow old. They need Will and Penny for a series of transfusions they think will allow them to grow old. (it's poorly explained but I got the impression they were going to drain the kids of their blood, which is actually quite frightening as a concept, even if it is somewhat silly. But those 2 minutes can't make up for 48 minutes of utter drivel.) In a certain mindset (try being very drunk or stoned, and forgive me if I don't partake...) it might be passable but this one is a true low point. And if you manage to sit through this one's ending unscathed, feel lucky. And that stupid, uninspired "acid trip" music gets stuck in your head too and I doubt the writer had that in mind... UGH! Never mind the one kid's voice who sounds like a total geek and un-hip. Worse, the one pudgy kid at the end who whines that he just wants to shave (!!!) tops it all as being the worst episode ever. 2/10 (why am I so generous? Because Dr Smith, as usual, is a hoot to watch!! And, of course, the 2 minutes' worth of fear at the end.)
Fugitives in Space -- Surprisingly good, if a bit lax on details. 150 degrees would be a fatal temperature, to say the least... There's some great makeup work however and the idea of Smith's and West's fellow captive that he can regenerate when killed must've been taken from "Doctor Who". Nicely put into context for what it's worth, but it's still "Lost in Space". Smith himself is very diabolical here and you have to wonder why the Robinsons would bother to keep him when he pulls really vile stunts like this... definitely more akin to his early season 1 persona rather than his ultimate cowardly clumpish self. 6/10
Space Bounty -- Why look, CBS's answer to the venerable Harry Mudd (Farnum B) makes a return appearance! While NOBODY tops Harry Mudd (except for possibly a certain Q), Farnum's always fun to watch. If only there was a 4th season, how many more episodes would they contrive him into? Smith forging Judy's name is what causes the hapless Robinson family to get wound up into Smith's shameless scheming this time. 7/10
The Flaming Planet -- as said by a flaming reviewer, this is a mixed bag. There are some nice ideas present: A dying race killed off by their own weaponary, the fantasy element of having somebody else take over (though WHY seems to be left unanswered), and a mutated life form that thinks Dr Smith is its daddy. It's an oddball, but surprisingly enjoyable and the ending, by "Lost in Space" standards, is almost educational by its prompting kids to whip out the dictionaries to learn the big words presented. :-) 7/10
The Great Vegetable Rebellion -- WHY DO PEOPLE HATE THIS STORY?! No wonder Guy "tripod" Williams and June Lockhart were having troubles trying to conceal their giggling, this episode is one I'd actually introduce TO potential fans. It's so novel, yet so off the wall and outrageously funny and knows, unlike many episodes from the previous seasons, how to work within its limitations and not end up looking dated, kitschy, or pastiche. This one is genuine fun. Never mind some double entendres that should have had the CBS execs pulling it from the airwaves (note the scene where Willoughby starts nibbling at leafy bits from Dr Smith (who had just been transmogrified into a gigantic stick of celery). They really get away with a lot and I was unstoppably rolling once they started talking about seeds, good grief!!!) This episode is a total riot to watch, and despite the behind-the-scenes issues it actually feels coherently put together. 10/10 and I'd rate it higher if I could!
Junkyard of Space -- notice the lack of Ms Lockhart and the general absense of Guy Williams. They were written out of this one because of their behind-the-scenes antics in "Vegetable Rebellion". It's got the potential to really be a gritty story, but for some reason it just seems average. 6/10
Ultimately, completists will buy this on the spot. It's a fair release, epsecially for the price. But there is some fun to be had in this 2nd and final set, moreso than in set 1 I'd discovered. It's a 60s kids show, but in some ways it tries to transcend its limitations and be more)."
A Sad Finish to a Great Series
Brian A. Wolters | Cabot, Arkansas | 07/25/2005
"Season 3 Volume 2 shows the end of a great series. In my opinion, some of the worst episodes were in the mid 2nd and mid 3rd season, though many believe "The Great Vegetable Rebellion" of this set to be the worst. It may be but it can still be a fun watch over say, "Space Vikings" of the 2nd season. The end of this series follows an interesting route.
The end of the Lost in Space series is definitely schizophrenic. This volume starts out with the excellent "Target: Earth" where a group of uniform creatures want to learn to be individuals. Then we lurch over to "Princess of Space" where Penny is mistaken for a look-alike princess and computers with toupees march in battle. "The Time Merchant" was a great balance of fantasy and a great sci-fi story. "The Flaming Planet" had a decent story but the subplot about the radioactive plant was enough to curdle lunch milk a million miles away. "Fugitives in Space" was a different episode that actually felt fresh, despite the weird court they had. Enough has been said about the "Talking Carrot", so we won't even go there. And because of "bad behavior" from the filming of that episode, we rarely see Guy Williams or June Lockheart in this volume. Heck, even Judy is given a swan song in "Space Beauty."
I do have to take time out to mention "The Promised Planet". It is far from the best ever but it is one of my favorites mainly due to the absurdity of it all. Here, we feature a possible arrival to Alpha Control, which is actually kind of exciting to hear. Then we see where we are going, into a "Space-a-Delic" trance. We have the scary and horrific "Penny Dance", to Smith in a wig and lighting incense cones to the weird eye shaped signs on the doors. And Keith Taylor, the boy from "Return from Outer Space" is easily recognizable in this episodes and makes you wonder why Will doesn't recognize him. This episode is very dated yet a ton of fun.
Despite the "schizophrenic" and cheap feel to this volume and half of season 3, it is still a lot of fun. Jonathan Harris never once stopped putting zeal and fun into Smith. The stories tried to break the "Smith, Will and Robot" trio and they did try different things. If I can say one thing about this season, they took what the series became and did the best they could with it.
Could the series have been renewed for a 4th season? Sure it could have. The ratings were good and the good episodes far outweighed the bad in Season 3 but alas, it was never meant to be. I feel that this season, albeit short, was much better that Season 2 and if Season 2 had been like Season 3, Lost in Space would have easily been a 5-6 season show. We bid adieu and farewell to a great series and we can only hope we have a decent revival of the series on TV one day."
Lost in Space - Forever
W. L. Anderson Jr. | Dacula, Georgia | 06/07/2005
"For the uninitiated these are some of the most outlandish episodes in the series. A lot of people poke fun at the "Great Vegetable Rebellion (Isn't that the Tribble salesman from Star Trek?)" Just have fun with it. "Promised Planet" is my favorite episode of all time. I hope this DVD has some extras but it does appear doubtful. It's just too bad that this is the last batch, this was my favorite show of all time. They just don't make anything like this anymore. 5 stars!"
John A Lee III | San Antonio, TX | 11/18/2005
"This is the last of the series. Over the course of its three seasons it degenerated from a semi-serious science fiction show into a comic farce. It worked. The show was so silly that it could not be taken seriously but it could be taken with lots of fun. The main reason for this is Jonathan Harris playing Zachary Smith. The comic evil villain was always good for a few laughs.
Synopses for the episodes appear below:
Target Earth - This one is less campy and more in the vein of regular science fiction than most, but that's not saying much. As usual, Smith sets the trouble in motion when he accidentally jettisons the pod with part of the robot aboard. The pod lands on a planet and the crew of the Jupiter II head down to retrieve their belongings. That, of course, causes more trouble. The aliens on this particular planet are all identical and are intrigued by the differences between the humans. They are an old race failing because of their lack of diversity. That is the given reason but I think it has more to do with looking like a heap of mud. The aliens come up with a plan to "replicate" the Jupiter II crew and conquer earth.
Princess of Space - It's been a while since I have viewed the previous set but I think this episode sets a new standard for silliness. It's basically the Anastasia story without the Russians, pomp or grandeur. In its place, we get spaceships decked out with a model of the Cutty Sark, air funnels from early steam ships, navigating lanterns (on the inside) and an army of advanced computers which resemble filing cabinets with arms. The cutlass in the hands of the captain is a nice touch also. Basically, the aliens are looking for a lost princess hidden on Earth. They grab Penny instead and try to pass her off to the royal auntie. In short, Penny is mistaken for Princess Alpha from the planet Beta and must fool Aunt Gamma with her knowledge of cousins Iota, Kappa and Sylvia. Complete silliness!
Time Merchant - this time it is Will who unwittingly starts the trouble but, as always, Smith manages to make it worse. While running an experiment, Will accidentally captures a "time merchant". Said merchant is a bit peeved and takes Will as a slave to make up for his troubles. Naturally, Dr. Robinson, Dr. Smith and the Robot follow to get him back. From there, things get more complicated. It seems that Chronos, the time merchant, has a function something like the Greek fates. When a person's "time tape" runs out, Chronos snips it. While all of this is being explained, Smith manages to actually get himself back to Earth with Chronos's equipment but the catch is he is there just before the original Jupiter II takes off. He is not about the get on again but his failure to do so will mean that the ship gets destroyed by an uncharted asteroid. To fix things, the robot is sent back to Shanghai Smith and set things right. The big surprise and what makes this possibly the least believable episode is that Smith has an altruistic moment. It doesn't last but even having it is beyond belief.
The Promised Planet - The Robinson family finally makes it to Alpha Centauri. We don't really know how; there is just an announcement from the robot that they are coming into the Alpha Centauri system. Everyone seems surprised but pleased. They are greeted like heroes by a bunch of teenagers wearing West Point style uniforms and then told that they must be indoctrinated. The older folk are to be processed separately from Will and Penny. From there, things get weirder. The clean cut cadet types become hippies and seem to want to do nothing but turn Will and Penny into hippies as well, get them to deny their family and get the family to leave. Penny falls for it and becomes a go-go dancer but will resists. Dr. Smith falls for it as well and becomes the worst of the delinquents. It turns out they are not on Alpha Centauri at all and their hosts are aliens who cannot age. They want to extract something from the kids to let them grow up. It is all enough to make me shudder with my own memories of being a teenager and, even worse, the 60s.
Fugitives in Space - When a prisoner escapes from the Prison Planet Destructon (that's really the name), said prisoner runs into Smith and trades jackets with him. That leads the guards to suspect Smith and, by association, Maj. West. After a quick and dirty trial, both are condemned to Destructon for life sentences. No sooner are they incarcerated than Smith starts scheming with the prisoner who caused his problems in the first place in an escape attempt. West tries to be a restraining influence but Smith's greed is, as always, the ultimate determiner. This one is not as funny as some episodes nor is it as silly.
Space Beauty - Judy finally takes center stage...kind of. Mr. Farnum, the celestial zookeeper from some episodes back makes another appearance. This time he is the producer for the Miss Galaxy Beauty Contest. He has a mysterious backer who is very particular about who is in the contest. The backer takes a liking for Judy, can't fault his tastes there, but Judy doesn't want to play. It's a good thing she doesn't because the fine print of the contract calls for her soul. Smith, however, is more interested in the big payoff for the winner and he doesn't play fair. After being caught out trying to forge her name, he relies on getting her mad at MAJ West by implying that he has forbidden her to take part. Naturally, that means that Judy must sign up. Like so many episodes, this one can seem very silly...unless you have actually seen the workings of a beauty contest, then all too much is familiar. It should be noted that although Judy nominally takes center stage, it is mostly for display purposes. Her role is minimal and the usual suspects have most of the lines.
The Flaming Planet - Smith smuggles what he believes to be an orange tree aboard the Jupiter II. It is not an orange tree, of course, but is instead a plant with limited locomotion and intelligence. It thinks Smith is its "mother". When the plant is disposed of, it causes some damage to the ship and it is forced to orbit a planet while it makes repairs. As it turns out, the planet belonged to a warrior race with one member left. His price for not destroying the ship is to have a member of the crew fight one last war game with him; at the end, the entire planet will be destroyed. The robot gets selected and Smith's baby plant monster is enlisted to save the day.
The Great Vegetable Rebellion - This one is quite possibly the silliest episode of them all. The crew of the Jupiter II wishes to throw a birthday party for the robot. Smith decides to go down to a nearby planet to find a gift. While picking some flowers, he gets arrested by a giant carrot. Don't worry, the carrot speaks English. He doesn't like animal life. Eventually, he tries to turn everyone into vegetables. I don't think I can go on... Jungle Warfare was never so bad.
Junkyard in Space - Just as the Jupiter II has some mechanical problems, they happen by an intergalactic junkyard. When the robot goes to investigate in the pod, he gets captured by the junkman. The main ship heads off to retrieve him. The junkman likes what he sees and wants to purchase the ship for salvage. Needless to say, the crew doesn't want to sell. In order to pressure them, the junkman contaminates all their food. He offers Smith food for various parts, beginning with the some from the robot, and eventually trick Smith into letting him steal the Jupiter II. In the end, however, love conquers all.
Special Features: most of the special features are minimal, as are the menus but there are 2 that are especially worth while. These are the interviews with Billy Mummy and Jonathan Harris. These two actors, playing Will Robinson and Dr. Smith were the two central characters and helped make the show a success. They are worth watching.
Farewell to the Jupiter II
Lonnie E. Holder | Columbus, Indiana, United States | 09/09/2006
"It has been nostalgic and sad to watch the final episodes of season 3 of "Lost in Space." The 60s were winding down. The final episodes aired at the end of 1967 and the beginning of 1968, which saw the second season of "Star Trek" and the release of the phenomenal and ground-breaking movie "2001: A Space Odyssey." The United States was growing up in so many ways, and "Lost in Space" had failed to keep track with our expectations.
Looking back, these final nine episodes had some excellent moments, and hint at what this series could have been. Among the best episodes is "Target: Earth," where a group of aliens that are similar to each other attempt to duplicate the individualism of earthlings. "The Time Merchant" was one of the best episodes of the entire series. Chronos the Time Merchant plans to take the remainder of the Robinsons' lives because they inadvertently interfered with his travel plans. "Fugitives in Space" provided a bit of deception to keep me guessing how the episode was going to end.
Unfortunately, the series also keep the corny hokum that made season 2 weak. "The Promised Planet" had a great idea at its core, but the music and mod light betray its 1960's heritage. "Space Beauty" may have highlighted Judy's beauty, but Judy was too easily manipulated into entering a beauty contest that she was too smart to enter. This episode was one of the lower points of this volume. "The Great Vegetable Rebellion" is an episode that gets a lot of criticism. This episode was not as bad as some people make it out, but it was a low point for the series.
You can count the number of science fiction television shows that left a lasting impression on viewers on your fingers. As campy as "Lost in Space" sometimes was, it left an impression that is nearly as strong for many people as the impression that "Star Trek" left. "Star Trek" was a much bolder show and tried to present some of the infinite possibilities that exist in the universe. "Lost in Space" reached only a brief distance into the future and was the first non-animated television show that focused on a family of space pioneers. Plot holes abound in "Lost in Space." Dr. Smith has to be one of the most obnoxious central characters in a television show ever. And yet, I retain my fondness for this show.
I think it is easy in this age of sophisticated digital effects and a chain of quality and classic science fiction television that extends back to at least the original "Outer Limits" to look down on "Lost in Space" as unworthy of appreciation. However, the series was influential and it was memorable. Had Irwin Allen maintained the serious nature of the show, it is possible that "Lost in Space" would have been the landmark television show that "Star Trek" became. I know I watched both, and I know I enjoyed "Star Trek" when it came out the year following the debut of "Lost in Space." I considered myself lucky that two such wonderful shows were on at the same time.
I look back on "Lost in Space" with fondness. I enjoyed watching all three seasons. Perhaps my fondness is just nostalgia. If so, I will revel in my nostalgia and just maybe I will watch all the episodes again.
As a side note, after being a little boy and watching "Lost in Space," I admired Will Robinson a lot. I credit Will being a role model for my later years when I studied electronics and physics in college. This show may have been campy, but I am glad that I was encouraged by a show like this one. Perhaps we should all wish for more campy science fiction shows to encourage children to become scientists and engineers.
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Looking Southward
Costin Vlad Alamariu
Favela da Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Race in Latin America is confusing to many Americans, who generally can’t see beyond black and white. Spanish and Portuguese conquistadores and their families from Europe have always formed a kind of local aristocracy. Their descendants were called criollos, and were considered somewhat lower in status than Iberians or other Europeans born abroad. The descendants of single European men who married native indio women formed the core of “the people,” who were subservient.
The possible combinations of different grades of European, Amerindian, and African led to a dizzying proliferation of types, all of which were named and classified according to a racial casta system. A mestizo is the historical name for a half criollo/half indio, a zambo for a half black/half indio. But these are only the better-known terms. Dozens of words for the possible combinations have existed, each with its own role, status, and class associations. There were even pictorial guides.
Racial diversity and integration are perfectly compatible with inequality and slavery—something those who celebrate America’s “nonwhite” or diverse future do not understand. In South America the casta system is no longer used so precisely, but even in our time the countries there remain racially stratified. Go to Rio de Janeiro and look in the boxes at the Teatro Municipal and you will see people as white as in France or Belgium. In Brazil, as well as in Colombia, Venezuela, and elsewhere, those classified as black unfortunately still have generally the lowest socioeconomic status. Then racism becomes based on hue, and usually the lighter you are in color, the higher you are in status.
“What makes people believe a more ‘diverse’ United States is going to be more free or egalitarian?”
Much is being written lately about Venezuela and its destructive socialism, but few understand or want to talk about the fact that it’s a socialism based on race and ethnicity, not Marxist theories. Hugo Chávez was proud of his distinctive look and called himself a pardo, a member of Venezuela’s oppressed mixed-race masses. The white elites of Venezuela are about 15 percent of the population and control most of the economy. Chávez’s government openly targeted them and drove the poor to racial resentment.
Conservatives, when they’ve spoken of race or ethnicity in Venezuela, have focused exclusively on “anti-Semitism.” But the government’s fulminations against Venezuela’s Jews are only part of a broader attack on European-descended Venezuelans and other “white” or “foreign” elites. It is Europeans, Spaniards, and peninsulares who are painted by the Chavistas as oppressors of Venezuela’s “real” people.
Establishment pundits don’t care to notice Venezuela’s abuse of whites as such, but American leftists are less naive and have long celebrated the racial character of Chávez’s revolution. “Set the Arabs on fire!”; “Be patriotic, kill a Turk!”—such graffiti is not found in Trump country, West Virginia, as CNN might have you believe, but in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Racial demagoguery is widespread in Latin America. Lebanese and Palestinian Christians have long ruled the economy of Honduras, and the “socialist” regime of Manuel Zelaya relied on native ethnic mobilization against the domination of these “turcos.”
In Bolivia, Evo Morales led an openly ethnic movement of the country’s native indio population. In his rhetoric he sounds like an American college professor sputtering about the evils of privilege and white “colonialism.” In his inauguration Morales declared an end to the “Spanish” and European colonial Bolivia. He has even proposed to “revert” to a pre-Columbian calendar. (The day he resurrects the sacrifices and high rites of the old religion promises to be very exciting.) The wealthy and largely Spanish-Croatian city of Santa Cruz in the east of the country is not surprisingly seeking autonomy and maybe secession.
In Brazil the situation is not so extreme, but its milder racial politics are a lot more like what you’re starting to see in the United States. Rio de Janeiro has always had slums, but the favelas popularized by movies like City of God and Elite Squad mushroomed in size in the mid–20th century. Local politicians and nabobs were in search of the famous $2-per-day wage favored by oligarchs worldwide, so they imported a population that would work twelve hours a day in the hot sun for next to no pay from Brazil’s poor northeastern provinces. In one move, Rio’s oligarchs achieved both a decline in their labor costs and the political elimination of their traditional competitor, the middle class. The remaining rich Brazilians attained a life of freedom and luxury that is difficult for Americans to imagine.
Putin 1 – International Vampires 0
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Actors - male
Actors - female
The Voice Agency
Voicereel - Gillian McCarthy
Gillian McCarthy
Gillian's most recent credits include THE LOST O'CASEY (Winner of BEST NEW PLAY Irish Times Theatre Awards 2019), TORCH, HENTOWN and JUDGING SHAW directed by Louise Lowe for Anu Productions. FUTUREPROOF directed by Tom Creed and THE ODD COUPLE directed by Conor Hanratty both for the Everyman Palace Theatre, Cork.
Further theatre credits include THE PLOUGH AND THE STARS directed by Wayne Jordan (The Abbey Theatre and British/Irish tour), JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK directed by Howard Davies (Abbey Theatre and National Theatre, London co-production). She played the role of Shelly in the four-hander THE SYLVIA at Smock Alley (which was the first play written by Irish short story writer Philip St John), TRAITOR written and directed by Shane Mac An Bhaird WAITING FOR ELVIS, directed by Mark O'Brien at the Axis Theatre, COUNCIL OF NICEA directed by Iseult Golden at Smock Alley Theatre, WUTHERING HEIGHTS (City Theatre Co.), MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION (Yew Tree Theatre Co.), THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD directed by Garry Hynes as part of DruidSynge.
She was nominated for Best Female Performance for her roles in MR. KOLPERT and PLATONOV in The Rep Experiment (Once Off Productions) performed during the 2007 Dublin Fringe Festival.
Screen work includes roles in 13 STEPS DOWN directed by Marek Losey for ITV and John Crowley's feature BROOKLYN starring Saoirse Ronan and Domhnall Gleeson.
Gillian graduated from the Bachelor in Acting Studies course at the Samuel Beckett Centre, TCD, in 2003. She also won a scholarship and trained at the British American Drama Academy, Oxford in 2002.
She is based in Dublin.
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The APSS Group is grounded in its Core Values and Principles
Integrity and Ethical Operations
to Excellence
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The APSS Group is comprised of former U.S. Military personnel with training and experience in emergency medicine, personnel and infrastructure security, logistics, communications, flight operations, intelligence collection and analysis, counter-insurgency, personnel recovery planning, and disaster response coordination.
Our personnel have gained their experience in Vietnam, Operation Desert Shield/Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom-Philippines, Operation Iraqi Freedom,as well as humanitarian operations during the Baguio earthquake (1990), Mt. Pinatubo eruption (1991), and Typhoon Yolando (Haiyan in 2013).
The APSS Group is an established U.S. Limited Liability Corporation existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, together with its Philippine registered affiliate/subsidiary "Applied Policies, Strategies & Solutions, Inc.' focused in the Asia Pacific Region. The APSS affiliate is duly registered and operating under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines with its office in Subic City, Zambales Province.
The APSS Group is fully compliant with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
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Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Yamuna festival is more than environmental challenge
By Author Bhavya Srivastava on March 17, 2016
Categories Articles, News & Announcements
Click on this panorama to see the photo enlarged.
Editors’ Note: At the IARJ, we are pleased to publish these photos and news-analysis from journalist Bhavya Srivastava, who covered the huge World Cultural Festival in March 2016. The elaborate event was organized in the plains near India’s sacred Yamuna river by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
By BHAVYA SRIVASTAVA
The world’s cultural diversity is vast and that is especially true in the land of India, where many cultural revolutions have shaped the country into a global reservoir of wisdom. In India, philosophy is part of daily life.
Around the world, large religious and spiritual gatherings are held every year, but most of them attract followers from a single religion. That is understandable because many countries draw their identities from national cultures dominated by a single religious tradition.
India is distinct because of its myriad cultures—a great array of religious and spiritual traditions.
News headlines from the four-day World Cultural Festival, sponsored by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Aft of Living Foundation, focused largely on the controversy over the environmental impact of holding this huge event in the sensitive floodplains of Yamuna. Environmentalists charged that the festival would damage flora and fauna. At the same time, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s supporters promised that they would not cause permanent harm—but controversy flared at one point when Shankar appeared to be refusing to pay a large cleanup fee.
The environmental side of this story literally became mired in mud when rains fell across the site.
When the event ended, however, a number of Indian news agencies quoted government official Arvind Kejriwal, the CM of Delhi, describing the event as “historic, divine and amazing”—and agreeing that cooperative efforts would clean up and restore this site in the Yamuna floodplains. Shankar was quoted in Indian news reports making the same pledge of cooperation in the cleanup.
Beyond that environmental perspective on this story, however, is the significance of the interfaith event itself. In most countries around the world, diverse religious events on this scale—focused on interfaith peace—don’t take place.
As I covered this event, I gathered photos (see below) that illustrate the size and colorful scope of the festival in this auspicious venue. The site is significant, because the central plans of northern India are known for the interfaith confluence called Ganges-Yamuna Culture (sometimes spelled Gang-Jamuni). Shankar intentionally situated his organization’s 35th anniversary festival in this sacred site.
Representatives came from 155 countries for this mega gala where every entrant contributed to the cross-cultural community. Large ensembles performed from many of these countries. One estimate placed the total performers at 35,000. Crowd estimates ranged from hundreds of thousands to more than a million.
On the first day of the festival, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the festival, describing it as a “Kumbh Mela of arts and cultures.” Mr. Modi said, “We have to be proud of our heritage, our country.”
Then, the performances of various cultural groups enthralled the huge gathering, starting with a rendition of the Lord Ganesh prayer. That was followed by hundreds of vedic pandits chanting the peace prayer. Later the performances of Indian classical dance forms, Kathak and Bharatnatyam, mesmerized the audience.
There were many amazing ensembles: more than 1,300 artists performing Mohiniattyam and Kathakali from Kerala, a grand symphony of 8,500 musicians, 500 artists from Argentina, 106 dancers from the Philippines, 650 African Djembe drummers, 226 dancers from Brazil performing the samba.
Throughout the event, almost 15,000 volunteers were on the ground to help with logistics—including controlling the litter and collecting empty water bottles.
The organizers claimed that a live broadcast of the festival was carried to 161 countries around the world.
Political and business leaders appealed for world peace. The roster included former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Sheikh Nayan Bin Mubarak Al Nayan from the United Arab Emirates, Forbes Media LLC CEO Michael Perlis, and Businessworld magazine owner Anurag Batra.
A wide range of religious leaders brought greetings from a Vatican representative who read a message from Pope Francis—to Hindu, Jewish, Sikh and Baha’i leaders who participated.
India’s foreign minister Sushma Swaraj was among the top Indian officials who made headlines for attending and endorsing the value of the event. “Sri Sri could hold such a spiritual gathering anywhere in the world,” Sushma Swaraj said in her talk. That means India is lucky that he was born there, she said.
This kind of festival is a model of how religious groups could live in harmony anywhere, she said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the crowd.
The Indian Prime Minister sits with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (black beard). To either side are representatives of Nepal and United Arab Emirates.
The crowd enjoyed Indian cultural presentations on a vast scale.
The African drum corps.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with journalist Bhavya Srivastava.
Bhavya Srivastava is a veteran journalist specializing in religion news. For years, he has worked as a news writer and producer for a number of media companies, including the popular Indian network STAR News (now known as ABP News). His academic work includes sociology, political science, media ethics and post-graduate research in film production and electronic media. He is a member of IARJ.
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Nokia 5.1 review: Cheap price, premium design
Is the Nokia 5.1 the ideal budget smartphone? It certainly looks the part, but it’s not perfect – find out why in our full review.
Is the Nokia 5.1 the ideal budget smartphone? It certainly looks the part, but it’s not perfect – find out why in our review
By Lewis Painter, Senior Staff Writer | 16 Jul 2019
Should I buy the Nokia 5.1?
For less than £200, the Nokia 5.1 is certainly a tempting option for those on a budget. It looks stylish, is comfortable to use and boasts a gorgeous 18:9 display with a higher resolution than some flagship smartphones, but the performance isn’t the best that we’ve seen.
There’s a slight delay opening and closing apps, though in-app performance is much smoother. One department it can’t compete in is game performance; it’s okay with basic 2D games but frankly isn’t up to the task of running something like PUBG Mobile.
Nokia 5.1 full review
Announced earlier this year, the Nokia 5.1 is the 2018 upgrade to Nokia’s popular budget Nokia 5 that came to market last year. Offering a larger display, improved internals and a gorgeous high-end design, is the Nokia 5.1 the ideal budget smartphone? It certainly looks the part, but it’s not perfect – find out why in our Nokia 5.1 review.
Nokia 5.1: Price & Availability
Following a slightly delayed launch, the Nokia 5.1 is now available to buy in the UK and Europe. Those in the UK can pick the smartphone up contract-free right now for only £189, while those in the EU can pick it up for 189 Euros. That’s a slight increase of £10 on last year’s Nokia 5, but we feel like the increase is justified by what’s on offer.
Those tempted can head over to not only Amazon, but Argos and Carphone Warehouse in the UK, while those in Europe can head to Amazon to pick up the budget smartphone.
Is it worth the price?
Nokia 5.1: Design & Build
At a glance, the Nokia 5.1 doesn’t look like a sub-£200 smartphone. In fact, by sporting a Series 6000 aluminium body with high-end detailing and an 18:9 display, the 5.1 positions itself – in terms of look – as a mid- to high-end smartphone.
It certainly wouldn’t look out of place alongside other smartphones like the Google Pixel 2 and Huawei Mate 10 Pro, though it doesn’t quite have the premium look to take on the likes of the iPhone XS and Samsung Galaxy Note 9. But, for the budget pricetag, it’s not to be expected.
As well as looking like a high-end smartphone, the Nokia 5.1 feels comfortable in the hand thanks to curved edges, and the 18:9 aspect ratio provides a larger display without being too unwieldy. It measures in at 151.1 x 70.7 x 8.2 mm, so it’s not the bulkiest phone on the market either.
There is a bit of a forehead and chin above and below the display, but this is present on most of Nokia’s smartphone range and doesn’t make a huge difference to the overall design.
You’ll also be happy to know that, unlike many 2018 flagship smartphones, the Nokia 5.1 features a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top of the device. No need to ditch those wired headphones just yet!
You’ll also find slots for the SIM and microSD cards on the left of the device, while the right side of the device is home to the usual power and volume buttons.
The Nokia 5.1 comes in either Copper, Tempered Blue or Black. We love the look of the Tempered Blue model, but the others certainly look attractive too.
Nokia 5.1: Specs & Features
But while the design of the Nokia 5.1 suggests it’s a mid- to high-end smartphone, the internals remind you that it is a sub-£200 budget one. The specs aren’t bad by any means, but like with most tech, you get what you pay for.
Let’s start with the display; the Nokia 5.1 sports a 5.5in IPS LCD display with a modern 18:9 resolution, providing more screen real estate without increasing the overall form factor of the smartphone.
It also sports an FHD+ resolution of 1080 x 2160, fairly impressive for a budget smartphone in 2018. In fact, it’s higher than the £749 iPhone XR revealed in September by Apple, which offers a slightly disappointing resolution of 828 x 1792.
The display is crisp and bright, even in direct sunlight, but the colours do seem a little muted when compared to other smartphones on the market. It’s certainly not a deal-breaker though; for the price, the display of the Nokia 5.1 is more than acceptable.
Processor, memory and storage
The budget smartphone features a MediaTek Helio P19 chipset, comprised of an octa-core CPU (4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4x1.2 GHz Cortex-A53) and a Mali-T860MP2 GPU along with either 2- or 3GB of RAM depending on the model you opt for.
The storage is pretty standard for budget smartphones too, offering either 16- or 32GB of storage depending on your needs. The good news is that the Nokia 5.1 features a microSD card slot that allows you to up the storage of the smartphone by up to 256GB, providing the option to pick up the smaller capacity now and expand the storage yourself in future.
The specs aren’t exactly high-end, though the performance isn’t as bad as expected. Budget smartphones have certainly come a long way in the past few years! Though we did note a slight delay when trying to open and close apps, in-app performance on the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Google Chrome is great, with minimal lag when scrolling through content.
It does take a while to power on – up to a minute in our experience – but this isn’t something that users will have to experience very often. How many times in the past year have you manually turned your phone off? Exactly.
Gamers should consider another budget smartphone though; we found it was fine when playing basic 2D games, but trying to run a 3D game like PUBG, even with the lowest graphical settings enabled, was met with lag. Not ideal for an online multiplayer game!
This is backed up by our benchmark results. We’ve included all results in an easy-to-use chart below, but the headline numbers include a multi-core score of 3255 in Geekbench 4, a lowly 17fps in the lowest graphics test in GFXBench, T-Rex, and 22.3 in JetStream.
Connectivity and biometrics
The Nokia 5.1 sports a Dual-SIM setup, even in the UK market, offering the ability to use two SIM cards on a single smartphone. It’s not a new feature – it has been a standard feature in Chinese smartphones for years – but it’s finally making its way to the UK market, and we welcome it with open arms. It certainly makes data roaming in other countries easier if nothing else!
Apart from that, the Nokia 5.1 offers a fairly standard suite of connectivity options including Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, GPS & NFC. A nice touch that harks back to old-school Nokia feature phones is a built-in FM Radio, available when using headphones.
You’ll also find a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top of the smartphone, and a microUSB port for charging and data transfer at the bottom.
Oh, and for the security-conscious, the Nokia 5.1 sports a lightning-quick fingerprint scanner on the rear of the smartphone, directly beneath the camera sensor.
The Nokia 5.1 features a rear-facing 16Mp camera along with a dual-LED flash and the ability to capture HDR images. It’s a single- rather than dual-lens setup found on other smartphones, reflecting once again the budget price-tag of the smartphone.
It still takes decent snaps though; the detail captured is impressive for such a cheap smartphone, but we do think colours are a little off, and the noise cancellation is noticeable when zoomed in – even on perfectly lit images. While it might not be up to the standards of a professional photographer, it’s more than enough for a quick point-and-shoot before sharing on social media.
One area where the camera doesn’t perform as well is in low-lit environments. Though expected before testing, our sample snaps show that as well as being darker than the competition, the noise cancellation is over-aggressive, and the details are soft. That’s when we were trying to be as still as possible too – if you’re trying to take a photo of a group of friends on a night out, chances are you’ll end up with a blurry snap.
The rear-facing camera is capable of capturing 1080p Full HD video, but sadly, it’s capped at 30fps. Even if you lower the resolution of the video, no buttery-smooth 60fps recording options are available to you. There’s no OIS or even EIS on offer either, meaning that videos captured on the Nokia 5.1 will be shaky, even when recorded with the steadiest of hands.
The front-facing 8Mp snapper is more than enough for the likes of Snapchat, Instagram and video calling your friends and family, but we’d leave the most serious photography to the rear-facing camera. The quality is decent, but we’ve noticed that images are a little washed out in terms of colour, and highlights easily blow out in bright environments.
The video offering isn’t too impressive on the front-facing camera either, offering a maximum of 720p HD with no OIS or EIS to help stabilise your videos.
The Nokia 5.1 features a built-in non-removable 2970mAh battery that, in our experience, is generally enough to get us through an average day’s use, though this will depend on a number of factors including brightness, cellular vs Wi-Fi usage and more.
The smartphone has run out of battery while we’ve been using it, but that was only when we were testing the GPU and playing different mobile games. If you’re just tweeting, texting and browsing, you should get a full day’s use before plugging it in.
We’ll be running our official battery test in the coming days, so check back soon to see how it compares to other budget smartphones on the market.
Nokia 5.1: Software & Apps
One of the biggest draws of the Nokia 5.1 is in terms of software; unlike most of the competition, the 5.1 offers Android One, based on 8.0 Oreo.
What does this mean to those at home? The Nokia 5.1 provides an almost-stock version of Android that receives monthly security updates, keeping your phone much more up-to-date and secure than some flagship Android smartphones on the market right now.
Thanks to the near-stock nature of the software, there’s very little in the way of pre-installed apps beyond the usual suite of Google apps that appear on all Android smartphones, giving you a blank canvas to fill your 16- or 32GB of storage.
Nokia 5.1: Specs
5.5in IPS LCD 18:9 display
16- or 32GB memory
2/3GB of RAM
16Mp rear-facing camera
Maximum of 1080p HD video
Author: Lewis Painter, Senior Staff Writer
Our resident Apple expert, Lewis covers everything from iPhone to AirPods, plus a range of smartphones, tablets, laptops and gaming hardware. You'll also find him on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.
Recent stories by Lewis Painter:
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Olympus meets delisting deadline
By Amy Davies 14 December 2011
Reveals a $1.1billion deficit
Olympus has filed reports on its accounts, showing a $1.1billion loss
Olympus has revealed its balance sheets just hours ahead of the deadline imposed by the Tokyo Stock Exchange, revealing a $1.1billion loss.
Speculation is now increasing that the company will need to merge or sell assets to repair its assets. Five years of corrected statements were revealed by the company, along with overdue first-half results.
Olympus faced delisting if it failed to make the December 14th deadline. The most recent restatement, which showed the figures for the end of June 2011 showed an 84 billion yen reduction in net assets, while the company added that at the end of September, its assets were just 46 billion yen, down from 225 billion yen at the end of March 2007.
Also confirmed was a net loss of 32.33 billion yen for the six months ending in September.
Several companies have been rumoured to be interested in bidding for Olympus, including rivals Fujifilm and Hoya ever since the initial news that Michael Woodford, the British CEO of the firm, had been sacked after trying to investigate problems.
Olympus was down again on Wednesday, having lost about half its value since October.
Recently, Woodford has visited Japan to try and solve the problems, with several key figures at the company either resigning or being sacked as a result of the ongoing scandal. The entire board has committed to resigning over the scandal, but has said it wants to choose its own successors before departing.
Keep following for more on this story as it emerges.
See more Cameras news
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Deities | Beasts (Polymorph/Familiars) | Feats | Magic Items | Spells | Spell Cards | Tables
Trithereon
(pronounced tri-THEER-e-on)
The Summoner
Quick Descriptions:
Trithereon is a young man with red-gold hair. He is tall and well-built, wearing a golden chainmail shirt with violet and blue clothing. He carries a spear with a large blade, a broad sword and a scepter attached to his broad leather belt studded with gold.
Trithereon's temple is a solid grey stone building topped by a bell tower. The structure looks well fortified, with solid oak doors reinforced with iron, barred arrow slit windows and ramparts on the roof. The only entrance is the front door that leads into a large 30'x30' ante-chamber. Arrows slits surround this area, which is probably used as a kill-room for invaders. Ahead is an archway with a raised portcullis that leads to the main chapel. The 70'x50' room is well-lit with braziers along the left and right walls. Banners and columns are equally dispersed along the walls. Rows of wooden benches and a central aisle with a long purple rug leads up to an ornate stone altar. Behind the altar is a painted mural depicting oppressed people rising up against tyranny.
Trithereon's priest is a staunch middle-aged man, with a stern face and hard eyes. He is wearing a purple robe with a silver scarf. He has a long sword in a scabbard at his hip.
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Trithereon is the god of individuality, self-defense and freedom. His symbol, the Rune of Pursuit, illustrates the need to fight for freedom and to put an end to the actions of those who seek to restrict it. He is an avenging god, who applies the retaliation law without hesitation.
Worshipers, Clergy & Temples
Trithereon's protective aspect appeals to many people, as does his role as a deity of retribution. His cult is particularly lively in conflict zones and on the borders of regions still occupied, where people seek protection and revenge against enemy forces. Trithereon is also worshiped by many of the oppressed and enslaved, or living under a despotic regime.
Due to its activities, the church of Trithereon is one of the most abhorred by the legalistic authorities in place. Worship is prohibited in many lands. At best, they see Trithereon's followers as upstarts and troublemakers. At worst, they see Trithereon's faith as a threat to the rule of law and those who govern.
Trithereon's priests oppose slavery and other forms of oppression. Rugged individualists, they have little fear of questioning authority.
In rural areas, Trithereon's priests often act as border skirmishers and spies (where appropriate). They also work with demihumans and woodsmen, keeping watch against evil humanoids and despots. In urban settings, Trithereon's priests train locals in self-defense and weaponry, practice battle tactics, and recruit like-minded rangers and rogues to train the priesthood in covert conflict and "for the cause of individual liberty." Urban and rural priest both closely watch Lawfully-aligned religions lest they gain too much power.
When people cannot get religious help anywhere else, the Avengers willingly perform all kinds of religious ceremonies: blessings, baptisms, weddings, burials, exorcisms, etc. They can, for example, marry two young people whose union is opposed by their parents.
The Avengers, as the clergy are often called, are surly individualists who are never afraid to question authority. Most people see them as hotheads who draw their sword and tongue too quickly. It must be recognized that, even if they are not harmful, they can cause a lot of disorder. It is also well known, even by the followers of Trithereon, that if you seek tranquility then it is best to avoid living near a temple of Trithereon.
The Avengers have their hearts on their hands, and are always ready to help the poor and the oppressed. This can be against a rigid and too severe administration, or against street gangs which terrorize and extort from city dwellers, or even against monsters who roam the countryside. They do not ask for a reward for their services but they are fanatics who never forget to sing the praises of Trithereon, trying to convert those helped to their worship.
Priests wear robes of dark blue or purple, with silver or golden trim, over which they wear red, silver or gold scarves to designate their rank. Blue cassocks bearing the Rune of Pursuit are worn for special ceremonies.
Most of the time, they adapt to local customs and dress like the common people. When they are in armor (usually chain mail) and want to be recognized, they wear a blue surcoat with the symbol of their god clearly visible on the front and the back. They favor spears, swords, and clubs. The Avengers never use a shield.
The clergy are organized quite simply around four hierarchical levels.
The lowest, the Hopeful Initiates (typically level 1 to 4) are advised to become more experienced before engaging in actions that are too dangerous, and often deal with subordinate tasks, such as helping to maintain places of worship, collecting donations or preaching in the streets and in the countryside. However, they have great freedom of action and can even choose to go on an adventure alone, provided they donate 10% of their earnings to the clergy.
The second is the Sacred Sons and Daughters of Trithereon (level 5 to 8). It is the largest and most important contingent in the clergy; its members are involved in multiple actions across Flanaess.
The Fathers and Mothers of Trithereon (level 9 to 13) are often responsible for a temple or organize resistance in countries where the people are oppressed. They are all seasoned adventurer, and some already have an important influence in the regions where they operate.
The Master Priests and Mistress Priests (level 14+) jointly lead the clergy, without there really being any hierarchical order between them. They are free to make their own decisions and take no orders from anyone (except Trithereon and his celestial servants). They organize large-scale armed struggles, try to overthrow tyrannical governments or eliminate despots, and engage in extremely perilous missions that can lead them to the other end of Flanaess.
The temples are solid stone buildings topped by a bell tower. They always include armory and are designed to withstand an attack and allow effective defense. They also house not only priests but also experienced warriors responsible for their protection.
The faithful are called to come to mass by ringing the temple bell for at least one minute. Generally, the ceremony begins one hour before sunset, but it can be at dawn on holidays or during wartime.
The masses are particularly noisy, the clatter of arms, punctuated by war cries, alternating with enthusiastic hymns to the sound of horns and bells. In the temple lit by ceremonial flames, the priests simulate battles, involving the participants in order to teach them how to use weapons of war and enable them to defend themselves. The ceremony ends with the triumphant procession of new converts to the faith.
The Knights of the Chase are closely linked with the church of Trithereon.
Everyone deserves to live and choose their own place in the world. Slavery and tyranny must must be opposed and overthrown. We must teach ordinary people to defend themselves and their possessions from those wishing to infringe on their freedoms. Those wronged have the right to seek vengeance, especially if no one else will aid them. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
People are born free and equal before the law. The greatest good is freedom and everyone should be able to live their life as they see fit, without prejudice or punishment, as long as this does not affect the freedom and rights of others. Those who deny this right to liberty must be killed, and no sacrifice is too great to achieve it.
Revenge is a legitimate right, but it must be proportionate to the harm suffered. In no case should fathers be punished for their sons and sons for their fathers; everyone will pay for their own crime.
The communities are there to allow people to pool their resources and cooperate in tasks that they could not do alone. This is fine, but individuals are free to join or not to join or leave a community as they wish. In addition, you can never sacrifice an individual for the benefit of a community. However, those who seek to live from the hard work of a community, without trying to bring anything back, are parasites who should be expelled from that community.
Most of these communities come together to form a country with a central authority, but that authority is only legitimate if it has the support of the people. The duty of every leader is to continually prove that he is worthy of the trust that people have placed in him.
However, in this imperfect world, there are always people who seek power at all costs, and who do not hesitate to enslave and oppress their fellow men. We must therefore be ready to take up arms to fight these oppressors who are depriving the people of their fundamental rights. It is the duty of the followers of Trithereon to defend the weak and to support people oppressed by their leaders.
Even when a country is well managed, one must remain vigilant. Evil came sprout from anywhere and must be fought relentlessly. It can be clearly identifiable, or an insidious poison that quietly seeps into a society.
Appearance, Manifestations
Trithereon is depicted as a young man with red-gold hair, tall and well-built, wearing a golden chainmail shirt with clothes of blue or violet. He is armed with three magic weapons: a sword named Freedom's Tongue; a spear called Krelestro, the Harbinger of Doom; and a scepter known as the Baton of Retribution.
Relationships & History
Trithereon is a foe of evil and oppression. His love of freedom sometimes causes him to come into conflict with lawful good deities, such as Pholtus and Heironeous. Bralm hates Trithereon for his promotion of individualism. He is a strong ally of the quasi-deity Krovis, and he is allied with Kurell and Pelor as well. Trithereon is pleased with Lydia's philosophy of individual empowerment through learning.
In his divine task, when he was a mortal, Trithereon saved the souls of three creatures from the forces of evil. They include Nemoud the Hound, Harrus the Falcon and Carolk the Sea Lizard. Trithereon often conjures them to fight alongside him, rescue the faithful or hunt criminals.
The sages agree that Trithereon was formerly an epic warrior known as Trithenon, who distinguished itself during the dark periods which followed the Twin Cataclysms. Trithenon was a lone wolf, freedom-loving, who preferred to act alone. He had great combat skills, and was also able to conjure creatures to help him. His kindness and countless acts of bravery earned him the right be deified by the powers of Good.
Symbol: A three-armed fylfot/swastika
Worshipers Alignment
LG NG CG
LN N CN
LE NE CE
Chaos, Good, Protection, Strength
Individuality, liberty, retribution, self-defense
Worshipers:
The oppressed, enslaved, rebels, peasants
Plane: Arborea (1st layer, Forking Road)
Weapon: Spear
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Inheritance Can Help Pay Off Credit Card Debt, Improve Credit Score
By Ilyce Glink| 2010-01-18T12:00:00-06:00 January 18th, 2010|
Q: My wife and I just received $20,000 that was left to me from my grandfather. We put the majority toward paying off our home but would like to pay off our credit cards.
Would paying them off totally help our credit score more than just paying them down a little? How should we proceed?
A: How you manage the different types of credit that you own, and the length of time you have owned these pieces of credit, are a big part of your credit score. But another important part is the ratio between the debt you carry and your available credit.
For example, if each credit card has $10,000 of available credit, and you carry $8,000 on each card, that’s 80 percent of the available credit of that card. Using more than 20 to 25 percent of your available credit will lower your credit score.
The lower your debt-to-available credit ratio, the better it is for your credit history and credit score.
With that in mind, your smartest move is to pay off your credit card debt entirely. But there’s another reason to pay off your credit card debt: It’s non-deductible debt.
By that I mean you can, if you itemize on your federal income tax return, deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage and home equity loan (if you have them). That has the net effect of lowering the interest rate on the loan. But the interest you pay on credit card debt is not deductible. So you pay whatever is the stated interest rate.
Also, paying off your credit card debt is usually better than paying off part of a mortgage. Generally, interest rates on credit card debts are far higher than interest on a home loan. Today’s credit card interest rates can approach 30 percent and most home loans, even high interest home loans, are below 10 percent.
In the long-run, the savviest way to manage paying off your debt is to pay off your highest non-deductible debt first, such as your credit card debt. Then, tackle your car loan(s). Then, school debt and finally your mortgage.
Read more about handling your inheritance and what you can do to improve your credit score
What Can You Do If Your Mortgage Is Underwater?
Real Estate Market Recap for 2020 and Housing Outlook for 2021
How to Manage Inherited Property Split Between Siblings
3 Financial Resolutions for 2021
Buying vs Renting a Home in 2021
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From Past
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Writers → Playwrights • Poets • Journalists • Novelists • Scripts
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J. K. Rowling, Writer Harry Potter
Joanne "Jo" Rowling, pen names J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith, is a British novelist best known as the author of the Harry Potter fantasy series. The books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, and sold more than 400 mil...
William Dalrymple, Scottish Historian and Writer
William Dalrymple is a Scottish historian and writer, art historian and curator, as well as a prominent broadcaster and critic. His books have won numerous awards and prizes, including the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize, the Thomas Cook Trav...
Roddy Doyle, Irish novelist
Roddy Doyle, Irish novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. Born in Dublin, Ireland. Doyle's work is rooted in his experience as a schoolteacher in working-class Dublin. International recognition came when his second novel, The Commitments (...
Anthony Gottlieb, Writer
Anthony John Gottlieb is a British writer, former Executive Editor of The Economist, historian of ideas, and the author of The Dream of Reason. A Two-Year Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford from October 2017, he has previously held visitin...
Carlo Rovelli, Quantum Gravity
Carlo Rovelli is an Italian theoretical physicist and writer who has worked in Italy, the United States and, since 2000, in France. He works mainly in the field of quantum gravity and is a founder of loop quantum gravity theory. He has also...
Douglas Adams, Writer
Douglas Adams was the creator of all the various manifestations of The Hitchhiker?s Guide to the Galaxywhich started life as a BBC Radio 4 series. Since its first airing in March 1978 it has been transformed into a series of best-selling no...
Over the past twenty years, Smith has written more than fifty books, including specialist academic titles, short story collections, and a number of immensely popular children's books. In 1998, McCall Smith's detective novel, The No. 1 Ladie...
Stephen King, Writer
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. His books have sold more than 350 million copies, many of which have been adapted into feature films, miniseries, television s...
Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigerian Author
Ken Saro-Wiwa was a Nigerian author, journalist, government official and political organizer who was brutally executed by the Nigerian dictatorship in response to a very successful campaign to challenge that government, Shell Oil Co. and th...
Ulrike Meinhof, Co-founder Red Army Faction
Ulrike Marie Meinhof (7 October 1934 – 9 May 1976) was a German left-wing militant. She co-founded the Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion) in 1970 after having previously worked as a journalist for the monthly left-wing magazine konkret....
Back in the 1970s, long before the cyberpunk era or the Internet boom, an Italian academic was dissecting the elements of codes, information exchange and mass communication. Umberto Eco, chair of semiotics at the University of Bologna, deve...
Toni Morrison (born Chloe Anthony Wofford), is a Nobel Prize-winning American author, editor, and professor. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed black characters; among the best known are her nove...
Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank was a German-born diarist. One of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust, she gained fame posthumously with the publication of The Diary of a Young Girl (originally Het Achterhuis; English: The Secret...
Robert Maynard Pirsig, Writer
Robert Maynard Pirsig is the author of the cult classic, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. In the early Sixties, following a slow dance through hell with depression and mental illness that left him in and out of hospitals and trea...
Gabriel García Márquez (Gabo), Writer
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century...
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Media and Democracy: Why Local Newsrooms Need Your Support
|By Kendra Sand
Written by Chuck Plunkett
Your local newsroom is in trouble. Independent press is vanishing at an alarming rate: since 2004, more than 1,800 newspapers have closed. Here’s why you should care and what you can do to support media and democracy.
By the time you get out of school and start working in the real world, you become intimately aware there are just some things society needs to survive. You’ve got to have the institutions that nurture, guide, and protect. Schools, police, political leaders, and the many builders and technicians of infrastructure. Yes, even the Department of Motor Vehicles. Since the earliest days of our grand democratic experiment, the pinnacle, the peak of these desperately needed institutions has been a free, independent, vigorous press.
The Risk of Government Without Newspapers
These days, it’s easy to forget the wisdom of so many of the founders of our democracy. Easy to forget the meaning and power of the First Amendment. Easy to forget that Thomas Jefferson once wrote:
“Should it be left to me to decide whether to have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I would not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” – Thomas Jefferson
Read that again. Newspapers without a government. We also easily forget our place in the universe, so great is our trust in technology. Such hubris it bestows. But, it’s important to remember that the level of civilization available to us now in the 21st century represents but a mark on our species’ long, too-often hateful slog of a timeline.
For such a long time, instinctual reasoning drove our forebears. For such a long time, the barbarians lurked just outside the village, the city walls, the fragile agreements we made and continue to make with one another to hold them at bay. Reductionist, sure, but that’s how civilization functions.
Media and Democracy: Newspapers are a Gift
It’s a fight. We’re fighting against the barbarian in us, and the barbarian is everywhere. Against the ruinous creep of chaos and barbarism arose, like a messiah, the birth of the newspaper. Such a tremendous gift to humankind.
Professional journalism’s best practices, its code of ethics, its mission – what we teach in university journalism programs – have undeniably guided, nurtured, entertained, protected and advanced our civilization.
While it’s never lived up to its full potential and never will, the newspaper has always been a miracle of human invention. A celebration of human imagination that sustains and guides and gives life and freedom. Over the decades, it got better and better. Since at least the 1940s, the promise and ability of its journalists have been one of humankind’s central defining characteristics.
The State of Journalism: No Media, No Democracy
That’s true of the best of the big national papers and it’s true all the way down to the local paper. When you’ve got a properly staffed newsroom in your corner, one whose marching orders are clearly focused on good journalism, your town’s destined for greatness. Its citizens destined to achieve their full potential.
Yet, this brilliant, illuminating miracle represents just a flash on our timeline, and it’s a light easily distinguished. What’s the first rule of thumb employed by every authoritarian ruler who ever lived or lives? Kill the journalists. Or at least crush them and install mouthpieces in their place.
Consider last year’s disappearance of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi. As The Guardian noted at the time, Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinova became the third journalist killed in the European Union that year. UNESCO reports that 1,010 journalists have been killed around the world from 2006 to 2017, and nine in 10 of the murders went unsolved. So grave is the danger in reporting in Russia that since 1991, Dec. 15 marks a remembrance day for journalists killed there.
I mention it because right now our local newsrooms are being crushed and ground into dust. Since 2004, more than 1,800 newspapers have closed.
Entire communities have become news deserts. Thousands of journalists are no longer minding the store.
Colorado Newspapers are Disappearing
Here in Colorado, a recently released white paper details the grim reality. The paper comes from a small group of serious-minded folks from within and outside newsrooms called the Colorado Media Project. They’ve been hard at work since the hedge fund owners of the once-great Denver Post struck the newsroom a mortal blow in the spring of 2018.
Where once The Post – The Voice of the Rocky Mountain Empire – benefited from a staff of more than 300 journalists, it’s been cut and cut and cut to its present staff of 70. The Post isn’t alone.
The Media Project found that since 2004, Colorado lost 33, or almost one in every five, of its newspapers.
At least 44 local owners are nearing retirement and likely looking to sell or close-up shop. Hundreds of Colorado journalists are no longer at work.
For every professional journalist toiling in the trenches, there are almost 10 public relations flacks standing in the way. Thirty counties have but one paper, usually a weekly. The impact hurts rural counties the most, as the farther away they are from the Front Range, the less likely their stories will be told. One county in Colorado – Baca – has no paper at all. Meanwhile, despite its friendly-sounding name, social media has proved mostly the opposite of a solution.
We also need professionals. We need the journalists, or the whole bizarre contraption will fall to sabotage. The barbarians are everywhere, and they’re way too good at mucking up the Facebook and Twitter streams of our lives. So what to do?
How Your Support Can Save Local Newsrooms
At TEDxMileHigh Humankind, I gave a talk in which I argued we must begin the debate for a public funding option or risk the collapse of our grand democratic experiment.
Afterward, I joined a committee within the Colorado Media Project that just released that white paper with all its alarming findings.
Thankfully, this group, staffed with some of the state’s best journalistic and public policy minds, also offers solutions. Real-world ideas for righting the ship with enough public support to keep serious newsrooms in operation at all levels of our lives.
Expand Colorado’s Special District Law
My favorite among the ideas would require that state lawmakers expand Colorado’s existing special district law. That’s the one that stands up the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District whose museums, scientific, and cultural amenities are so popular in our state. Why not create a newspaper and information district that communities could decide whether to put in place in their towns? Such a model, with responsibly defined management, would be a big boost. It’s also scalable; the lessons from communities who do it well would be easily transferable.
Extend Sales Tax to Online Giants, Etc.
The Media Project’s paper includes a handful of other ideas well worth consideration, among them, extending the state’s 2.9% sales tax to include advertising revenue for the online giants that helped destroy state and local journalism even while benefiting enormously from its content.
Read Colorado Media Project’s White Paper
If you care about democracy, this is a white paper you should read. At the very least, give the much-condensed executive summary a look. There are seeds of greatness in these pages.
Even Watchdogs Need Protection
We can’t stand by and let our watchdogs be put down. We cannot allow more of our communities to vanish into darkness.
Newsrooms need our help. It is time to have this debate. It is time for action.
Support local newsrooms you see doing good work. Engage your friends and family on the need to do so as well. And sure, if you want to help the cause with all you’ve got, consider a degree in journalism. We’ll leave the light on for you.
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Less than 1% of data breach investigations by ICO resulted in monetary fines
The Information Commissioner's Office issued monetary fines in only 29 cases out of 11,468 data breach cases it investigated between May 2018 and March this year, indicating that only around one in every 395 investigations resulted in monetary fines.
In the period, the ICO also issued enforcement notices in 13 incidents of data breaches it investigated. If organisations are unable to comply with enforcement notices issued by the ICO, then they will be liable to be issued monetary fines upon the expiration of such notices.
ICO is empowered to issue monetary fines to erring organisations under the 1998 Data Protection Act for data breach offences committed prior to July 2018 and for data breaches committed post-July last year, the new Data Protection Act framed around GDPR comes into application.
While the 1998 Data Protection Act authorised the ICO to issue maximum fines of £500,000 for data protection offences, the watchdog can issue fines of up to €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover of erring organisations under the new Data Protection Act.
In September last year, the ICO issued its first enforcement notice under GDPR to data analytics firm AggregateIQ to direct the firm to stop processing retained data belonging to UK citizens following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Monetary fines issued by ICO not enough
Even though the first fine under the new Data Protection Act is yet to be issued, the ICO issued maximum monetary fines of £500,000 under the older DPA on two occasions between May last year and March this year. In July last year, the watchdog fined Facebook £500,000 for failing to prevent data analytics firms (Cambridge Analytica) from harvesting personal details of millions of users.
It also fined Equifax £500,000 in September for failing to safeguard personal details of up to 15 million UK citizens which were compromised after the company suffered a massive data breach that compromised personal details of up to 146 million people globally. Compromised information included names, dates of birth, addresses, passwords, driving license and financial details of millions of UK citizens.
In November last year, the ICO also fined ride-hailing service Uber £385,000 for failing to safeguard the personal information of around 2.7 million UK customers, including 82,000 drivers. It also found Uber guilty of paying $100,000 to hackers to destroy the data they had downloaded and for hiding the fact from affected customers.
Despite such fines being issued to organisations guilty of not being able to prevent large-scale data breaches, the fact that only around one in every four hundred data breach investigations resulted in a fine suggests that the ICO may not be acting fast enough to convince organisations that data protection offenses will not go unpunished.
"With data breaches being at an all-time high, organisations need an extra push to get their ducks in a row. The lack of monetary penalties is only going to discourage those companies that are making all the internal changes required to comply with GDPR laws while others are having their cake and eating it too," said Jake Moore, Cyber Security specialist at ESET to Business Cloud.
"The appropriate level of enforcement is required to make the needle move; therefore the ICO must practice what it preaches," he added.
Majority of breach reports are inaccurate and heavily delayed
While it is certainly concerning to note that monetary fines issued by ICO are not as per the expectations of security experts, it is also true that the ICO's inability to act against data protection offenses is because of businesses' inability to provide critical details to the watchdog and within mandated timelines.
In March, a Freedom of Information request made by security firm Redscan revealed that while more than 9 out of 10 companies (93%) did not specify the impact of the breach, or did not know the impact at the time it was reported, it also took businesses an average of 21 days to report breach incidents to the ICO after they were identified.
Information obtained by Redscan also revealed that less than a quarter of businesses complied with the requirement of reporting breaches within 72 hours of discovery. Out of 182 breach reports, only 45 were reported within 72 hours of discovery and one organisation too as long as 142 days to report a breach to the ICO. As many as 21% of organisations failed to report breach incident dates to the ICO.
"Data breaches are now an operational reality, but detection and response continue to pose a massive challenge to businesses. Most companies don’t have the skills, technology or procedures in place to detect breaches when they happen, nor report them in sufficient detail to the ICO. This was a problem before the GDPR and is an even bigger problem now that reporting requirements are stricter," said Mark Nicholls, Redscan director of cybersecurity.
"Without the appropriate controls and procedures in place, identifying a breach can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Attacks are getting more and more sophisticated and, in many cases, companies don’t even know they’ve been hit.
"It’s incredibly optimistic to think that businesses are better at preventing and detecting data breaches since the introduction of the GDPR. Despite the prospect of a larger penalty, many are still struggling to understand and implement the solutions they need to achieve compliance," he added.
ALSO READ: Firms not honouring data access requests could face criminal prosecution: ICO
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Vera Zvonareva - Articles and Interviews Thread
rucolo
Discussion Starter • #1 • Jul 2, 2010 (Edited)
Thought it would be a good idea to have a separate thread to post interviews...
Wimbledon, R3: Vera def. Wickmayer 6-4 6-2
The Championships, Wimbledon 2018 - Official Site by IBM
V Zvonareva - 25 June 2010
Q. Just talk about your level. You have to be happy with that.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Obviously, you know, Yanina is a tough opponent, and I'm happy to win, and to win in two sets. Especially since last year, if I remember, last years I had to withdraw in my third round. I'm happy I was able to play today. I played I think pretty good match.
Q. What do you think you did overall that was so good today?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I think there were moments you know, you could always say that maybe I double faulted a little bit too many times today. But I did serve well when I needed it. I think that was good.
Also, I was able to, you know, return well, I think, today. Even sometimes I had some mistakes, but I kept doing what I had to do, and eventually paid off. I was able to break a couple times.
I think I was able to put a good intensity and go for my shots a little bit better, not to hesitate. Yeah, that's pretty much it.
Q. Are you healthy enough now and motivated enough and strong enough to get back to the level where you were before you had the injury?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah, you know, finally I think I feel good. Couple of minor things, but every single tennis player experiences those. But I can say finally I'm healthy and finally I can put up a good work.
You know, I'm looking forward to improve my game and get back to that level where I was before.
Q. How long have you felt that way? Because your results since the spring have not been that great. Roland Garros was not as good as you can play, and Eastbourne.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uh huh, well, Eastbourne was a tough match. Maria Jose is very tough on the grass; it was very close match. That was actually one of the good matches, I think. Yeah, I could have used couple of opportunities, but it's minor things. I think I was already able to put a better level than the whole clay court season.
Yeah, you're right, clay court season wasn't great for me. I think it was mentally tough for me playing on the clay, and I think I can realize it better now than I was there.
Now at least I know what I have to work on for the next year for the clay court season and how I have to prepare myself.
Q. You probably heard this from some of your compatriots, but two years ago there were six Russian women in the top 10; now there's only one, Elena. Is it because of age or injuries? Why do you think that's happening?
VERA ZVONAREVA: You know, you cannot be on top of your game and play the best tennis the whole career. It happened that all of us were playing very good tennis at the same time and get into the top 10. It's not easy. It's very, very hard.
Now it seems like quite a few players got injured, like you can see with Dinara was struggling a lot, I was struggling, and other players as well. You know, injuries, they always put you back a little bit, and it's tough to recover.
I think one of the best players who can do it very well is Serena, because she's not able to play for a long time due to injuries and then come back and still play very strong.
But, um, otherwise, injuries always tough to recover from. It seems like we all got even Elena, you know, she couldn't come here and play here. She had to withdraw in a semifinal of a Grand Slam.
So I think it's just a coincidence of everything together: everyone being in the great form and then everyone suddenly getting injured at the same time. It's a little bit downhill, maybe.
But I'm sure all of us, we're good players, and I'm sure we will get back to that level.
Q. There was also a time when you would have three players and you would have a couple more come up and replace them. You'd have someone that was 21, 22, 23. Now you have Kleybanova, Pavlyuchenkova maybe coming up to the level of top 20, top 10. Do you see them as being real elite players, or do we still have to wait and see on them?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, think they're coming close to that. You can also see I think Anastasia, I think, she beat Venus back to back last year. Two great wins is not easy, so being definitely see the potential out there.
And Alisa, she already has a lot of top 10 wins under her belt. So I think they are up there. It's just a very thin line between the players becoming one of the top 10 players and maybe being ranked 30. Maybe they will need just a little bit more experience. But both of them are very good players.
Serena: "We have great personalities like Jelena (Jankovic) on the tour."
Jelena: "If I had to pick someone after me, I'd pick Serena."
Serena Williams Maria Sharapova Jelena Jankovic
A. Radwanska V. Zvonareva C. Wozniacki P. Kvitova
N. Petrova A. Chakvetadze A. Myskina L. Davenport M. Hingis
A. Kournikova T. Paszek K. Sprem J. Dokic I. Tulyaganova
Backstreet Boys NSYNC Britney Spears Shania Twain Bryan Adams forever
Re: Vera Zvonareva - Interview Thread
Wimbledon, R4: Vera def. Jankovic 6-1 3-0 ret.
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/interviews/2010-06-28/201006281277739160623.html
V. Zvonareva - 28 June 2010
Q. Do you feel like this is the best grass court tennis you're playing this year?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uhm, I don't know. Hard to say. But I think I was able to play pretty good match.
I think I started the tournament pretty slow. It was very difficult for me in the first couple of matches. But I really raised the level of my game for the third, and today for the fourth round.
You know, I'm really enjoying it so far.
Q. Do you feel like you're playing well enough to go another round deeper to make your first semifinal here?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, I always believe in myself. No matter what, I always know that if I can produce good tennis out there, if I can show my best, I can beat anyone on the other side of the net.
Every time I'm coming for the tournament, I'm coming to try my best to win it. So, of course.
Q. Is there an element of your game that you've been particularly pleased with over the last week?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uhm, I think I should be pleased with my movement on the court 'cause I had so much trouble last year. And I think finally I'm getting back. I'm confident about, yeah, the way I move on the court I think.
Q. How soon during the match did you realize that Jelena was having problems?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I haven't noticed it. I was not paying attention to the other side. I knew that this match, I had to concentrate on myself and I had to go for my shots no matter what, because she's a very good player. And I was trying to take it one point at a time.
To be honest, I wasn't paying any attention to what was going on on the other side. I haven't noticed anything until she called the trainer on the court.
Q. Do you know what was wrong with her? What did she tell you when she shook hands with you at the end?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah, I'm not sure exactly what was it. She said something is, you know, really bothering her. I just wished her a quick recovery. I hope it's nothing serious, you know, and she can recover quick, be back for the hard court season.
Q. Both your potential opponents are still on court at the moment. Do you feel like your game works better against one than the other?
VERA ZVONAREVA: It's hard to say. They are both very good players, you know. They have achieved so much in their careers. And, uhm, with those players, you always have adapt to what surface you playing on, the conditions around. I don't know. It's a lot of things.
So I don't think you can really, uhm, say that, Okay, against Kim is better for me or against Justine is better. No, it will depend on that day, on that surface, and who is going to be able to produce the best tennis.
Q. What do you think you have to do well, whoever it is, what will you be concentrating on that day?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I think I will have to stay aggressive no matter what because it is very difficult to win the match against them if you let them dominate, because they will take their chances, they will play risky shots. They're good enough to make it happen.
Wimbledon, QF: Vera def. Clijsters 3-6 6-4 6-2
Q. Looking at your balance and your movements, the way you do splits quite elegantly, is this something you trained for particularly? Do you have a past as a gymnast or a dancer?
VERA ZVONAREVA: No, just actually happens naturally. I never train. I think I'm pretty flexible. I always work on my flexibility since I was a kid.
Then I think tennis is getting quicker and quicker. Sometimes when you try to chase the balls, it just comes naturally. I don't really train it.
Q. Mentally you seemed to manage the match very well. Can you talk about what you were feeling inside?
VERA ZVONAREVA: You know, I was just trying to play one point at a time. I was not looking around. I was trying to stay concentrated, keep my concentration on all the time, trying to think what I will do in my next point. That's about it.
Nothing else was bothering me around. I wasn't noticing anything around. I think that helped me a lot, because I was able to play pretty good tennis from the beginning till the end. You know, there is a couple unforced errors there and there, but I managed to, yeah, overall to play pretty even from the beginning till the end.
Q. Why were you able to do that today when maybe earlier in your career you might not have?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I don't know. I think it comes with experience. You grow up. You're more mature. You know you've been in different situations and you know how to manage them better. You know that it is important just to forget what was before and try to concentrate on the next point.
I think, uhm, right now I have learned a lot from the past, and I can do it much better now.
Q. What do you know about your semifinal opponent? Must be rather a surprise that you're not playing Venus, that you're playing Pironkova.
VERA ZVONAREVA: You know, obviously Venus is going to be always one of the favorite players here at Wimbledon. But if Tsvetana beat her today, she deserves to be in the semifinals. She played great tennis.
I played her in Moscow last year and I lost to her. I will try to remember that match. I know I was not playing my best tennis over there. I will just have to, you know, think about it a little bit and prepare myself the best I can.
I'm gonna try my best over there, just the way I was trying today, and then we will see what's going to happen.
Q. What were her strengths when you played her in Moscow?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I think she's all‑over‑the‑court player. You know, it's hard to predict what she's doing on the court. Sometimes she can slice; sometimes she can hit the ball; sometimes she can play slow; sometimes she can play fast. You never know what to expect, so you lose your rhythm. Then you start thinking maybe too much on the court.
I just know that in that match I will have to concentrate on myself and execute my game no matter what the score, no matter what she's trying to do. Just try not to look on the other side and try to concentrate on myself.
Q. You had some really strong results a while back in your career, then there were some tough results and your injury. What was it like when you were really struggling, trying to get over your injury? Did you imagine relatively quickly you'd reach the Wimbledon semifinal?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, you always dream about it. You always want to be there. Like I always say, I always believe in myself and I believe I can be here.
But obviously when you go through a lot of injuries in your career, it sort of puts a lot of doubts in your head. It is very difficult to come back after an injury. You lose a lot of confidence.
But, uhm, I think, I don't know, I always believed in myself. I always believed I could do it. I was just maybe frustrated that my injuries are not going away. But I know as soon as I feel hundred percent, I will be able to play good tennis again. It's just matter of time.
Because I can work hard. I can work hard every day. I believe that, you know, if you work hard, you will achieve.
Q. This was your first victory against Kim Clijsters today. What made the difference today?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uhm, I think I was able to play one point at a time today. I was able to keep my concentration from the beginning till the end of the match. Also I'm much more experienced right now, much more mature. I think I played tactically better, and I was able to hang in there, not to pay attention to what was going on around.
Even after I lost the first set, maybe there were a couple unforced errors that could have put me back, but I was trying not to think about it. I was trying to think about what I have to do next to win the next point.
I think it helped me a lot.
Q. You are a promoter of gender equality. What have you achieved, and what are your goals with that job?
VERA ZVONAREVA: It is very important to give the same opportunities to everyone in the world. If we are lucky here, in Russia, there are so many countries, where girls, they don't have the possibilities to achieve their dreams.
And I think, uhm, us tennis players, we could be role models for the girls. No matter what they want to do in their lives, they should believe in themselves. They should believe they can achieve great things.
It's not more about of gender equality, it's more about equality for opportunities for everybody, so everyone has the same opportunities. I think our examples, where we are, we should be able to make, you know, a lot of girls around the world to believe in themselves more.
Q. You spoke about concentration. You always had your towel over your head. Is that one part of your concentration? For instance, did you see what the score was between Pironkova and Venus?
VERA ZVONAREVA: No. Like I said, nothing matters on the court besides thinking of what you're going to do next.
I think, yeah, I put the towel because it just helps me to relax and not to see what is going on around. Because in my game, I think I'm capable to do a lot of different things. For me, it's very important that my head is relaxed because then I know what I want to do in the next point.
And if you see all the things around, noticing all the scores, it just takes your concentration a little bit away, and then maybe you will make a wrong decision on the court.
And for me, if I know what I want to do, I think I'm capable of, you know, beating anyone on the other side. So for me it's very important just to keep my concentration.
Q. So you didn't know about Venus?
VERA ZVONAREVA: No.
Q. Pironkova is one of the younger players left here. Why do you think we're not seeing more teenagers breaking through at these big tournaments?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, to break through as a teenager, it's very difficult. There were some great examples in the past.
But I think to be able to reach this stage of a Grand Slam, you need an experience. You need the maturity. It comes with years on the tour.
I think it is very difficult to play unbelievable tennis and reach the Grand Slam semifinal, final very early. Only few girls were able to do it. Uhm, those girls became great players.
But, yeah, I think you need that experience to be here.
Wimbledon, SF: Vera def. Pironkova 3-6 6-3 6-2
V. Zvonareva - 1 July 2010
Q. What does this mean to you and what does it feel like?
VERA ZVONAREVA: You know, I'm very excited. I think I haven't realized it yet that I will be playing in the final.
But, yeah, it's one of my dreams to be out there, to be on the Centre Court, and play in the finals of Wimbledon.
So at the moment, you know, I think I'm thinking too much about my final. But I'm sure when the tournament finishes, finally I will realize that it's, you know, one of my dreams came true and I was able to make it to the final.
Q. If it is Serena Williams as your opponent, how would you describe the challenge before you?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, it's going to be a tough challenge, for sure. Serena is great player, defending champion, and very tough to play against.
But, you know, I always believe in myself. I think I will just have to go out there and try to play my best, like I did in previous matches. We will see what's going to happen then.
Q. You've been a very good player for a long time. You've been working towards this moment for a long time. What in particular in these last two weeks has worked so well for you?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uhm, I don't know. It's hard to say. I think I'm more experienced right now, even though I had a couple bad losses, you know, at the French Open and then Eastbourne I lost first round. But I thought I was playing already much better tennis much, and I knew I just had to keep working hard.
I knew few things that I have to improve. I was trying to go on the court and try to bring it out of myself. And if it wouldn't work that day, it wouldn't work. But I just knew I had to keep going for my shots and play the way I play.
Q. Have you worked with a professional on the mental side of your game? Is that just poise and maturity, or have you worked with a sports psychologist or performance coach?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I always believe in myself. I always know that, you know, I can do anything. For me, I think it came with an experience and I know better how to handle different situations.
But, uhm, I don't care what people say around. And when they do, I can get ‑‑ I can break the racquet, but it doesn't mean I'm not there in the match. I'm trying all the time.
But I think right now experience helps me a lot. I've been in a lot of different situations in the past of my career, and I think I know how to turn the matches around much better now.
Even if something is not working, I think I know in my head that I just have to take it one point at a time and just keep trying. In the end, we will see what's going to happen.
Q. Do you think the injuries might have been almost like a disguised blessing, that it gave you time to reassess?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Injuries are never good. You never want them. But I think definitely, you know, when you have bad injuries, you appreciate the opportunity to play out there on the court. You really appreciate that you're able to do this.
Even if you have bad losses, I think you're able to bounce back quicker because you know, you know, you're still healthy, you're still playing. You get the chance to go out there and play better.
If you're injured, you're not able to do it. So I think, yeah, maybe in a way it helped. But I don't wish anyone to get injured (smiling).
Q. Can you describe how you felt emotionally today versus how you felt when you played Dinara in Australia in the semifinals and didn't play your best.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, it's two totally different matches. It's very tough to compare those. I think Dinara played really good tennis that day. Maybe I did not expect something from her.
But today I think I was prepared better. I knew what to expect against Tsvetana. I think in the beginning was very difficult because she's very difficult opponent, especially here on the grass. But I managed to turn it around.
That match with Dinara, I think she was just too good that day for me. It was very difficult for me to turn it around.
Q. You spoke earlier about how tough a challenge Serena Williams would be. Can you get more specific about what the key to you possibly having success would be against her?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, I will have to stay aggressive no matter what and not to let her dominate. Because when Serena dominates, she's very difficult to play.
So, I don't know. It's too early to say. I will have to sit down and just talk to my coach a little bit and see what the best things to do.
But I know that she's a great fighter. When I go on the court I will have to expect a very tough match, I will try to fight for every point, and I think try to make it difficult for her on every point. Try not to give her any points.
Q. How much of an advantage does her serve give her against anybody?
VERA ZVONAREVA: It's a very big advantage, I would say, especially here on the grass. But, uhm, I think if you can find the timing you can return it.
You know, it's very difficult when she's serving well, but there are moments where she may not serve as well. You just have to use those chances. You know, if she served well, okay. You go to the other side, try to return the next one.
But there will be moments where she doesn't make a first serve. I haven't seen anyone make a hundred percent of first serves. So then you will just have to take your chances then.
Q. Is there anything in your background, in your experience with her, that might give you particular confidence going in against her?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uhm, I remember I played a very good match against her in Cincinnati one year, and I was able to beat her. It was a very, very tough one, but I think I was able to play the right way against her.
So I will just have to try to do it again.
Q. You've had three coaches now in the last eight months. Can you talk about that. Was it difficult for you? Can you talk about your new relationship with Sergei, who has just come on the scene.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Like you said, yeah, I changed three ‑‑ I don't think three coaches. I actually just worked with one coach. I think it was Antonio in the beginning of the year.
Q. Sam.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah. Well, Sam was able to help me out during Charleston because Vika was injured. Thanks a lot for that. But after that, I just started working with Sergei right away. So I didn't really change that many people.
I've known Sergei for many, many years. We actually won mixed doubles Russian championships one year. I think he was a good player. He stopped playing himself like a year ago, and I think he really enjoys coaching.
He's also the one who can hit with me on the court, so I don't really need to find hitting partners. It's very helpful.
So for me it's always a tough challenge against him. He's playing good tennis. So, yeah, so far, you know, it's working quite good.
Q. Are you still a student?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yes, I am.
Q. What are you studying?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I'm studying international economic relations at the diplomatic academy back home in Russia.
Q. Do you do it online?
VERA ZVONAREVA: No, I have to take classes over there and I have to take my exams when I'm coming back there.
Q. Why did you choose that subject to study?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I don't know. My first degree is in physical education. You know, I need to keep myself busy. I always love studying. It was always very important for me to keep my head busy with something else.
And traveling around the world, meeting different people, I just thought that international economic relations is something interesting, something, you know, close. I have a lot of experience from around the world. Maybe this way, you know, I can use it a little bit.
Q. What will you get? Is it a full degree? What is it called?
VERA ZVONAREVA: It's going to be like, I don't know, master's degree. I don't know how you call it. Yeah, diplomatic academy, it's the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Russia. It focuses a lot on international affairs, as well.
So I was doing a little bit of work with UNESCO back home. I think my experience at the academy, what I'm studying, helps with that.
Q. So how is the economy looking?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, I don't think I have enough experience and knowledge yet to tell you what's going on (smiling). I don't know. Maybe when I graduate I will be able to answer that better.
Q. I saw you on the BBC talking about Robin Van Persie, the Dutch football player. Did you meet him in Amsterdam somewhere during rehab?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah. We were actually doing the rehab together. I got the surgery, and then he got injured and he got his surgery, as well. So we were at the same place doing rehab. Yeah, in Amsterdam. I got the chance to meet him.
He was working very hard. I was working very hard out there. He was working very hard. It was a pleasure, you know, just to have a fellow athlete next to you working. You know, I wish him the best at the World Cup.
Q. Are you still in touch with him somehow?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, sometimes, you know, our physio back in Amsterdam will tell me, Robin said hi; congratulations. I will sort of send him message this way, as well.
But when I was back there in Amsterdam for regular checkup, I saw him, as well. It was a couple months ago. He was there. But, uhm, yeah, other than that, we are not really in touch.
Q. Are you going to watch the game tomorrow?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I might.
Q. He'll be playing tomorrow.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah.
Q. Studying economics, how much of tennis is a business and a job for you and how much of it is just love for the sport?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uhm, I think it is both. It is very difficult to say because our job, tennis, is our life. You cannot, like, separate it. But when we go on the court, when we practice, it's more a love of tennis. You don't think about any other things.
When you go out there, you play your matches. You want to win not because you will get better prize money, just because you want to win. You want to see that hard work paying off. It's just a joy of winning. That's the most important part of it.
I think everyone works very, very hard. When you go out there and you see the result of it, that you're able to win and you're able to play good tennis, you can really enjoy, you really don't care about anything else.
Q. At this point Serena Williams is considered maybe the biggest favorite to win the title in the last 10 years, maybe in history. When you think of the possibility of an upset, you against her, what goes through your mind?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uhm, you know, I always believe in myself. I don't care about what everyone says. I'll just have to go out there on the court and try to play my best tennis.
I know if I play my best tennis I can beat anyone on the other side of the net. That's what I'm gonna try to do on Saturday. I never look at any odds or comparisons. It's not important to me.
1 day before Wimbledon final vs Serena
V Zvonareva - 2 July 2010
Q. Is fitness okay after your doubles?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah, felt pretty good on the court. I think we actually played really well with my partner; didn't spend many hours on the court.
It was great, and I'm very excited about, you know, our win today.
Q. How will you spend the rest of the day? Serena said she's going to be watching Desperate Housewives.
VERA ZVONAREVA: No, I ran out of those (smiling). I'm just joking.
You know, just relaxing, getting some treatment. Yeah, maybe watching a little bit of some semifinal, men's semifinals. That's about it.
Q. Can you draw much on your previous matches with her, or they've been so long ago there's not much relevance?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, there is always something you can remember about those matches and use it for the future. But I know that it's going to be a new day. I never played her on the grass. It's going to be a very tough challenge.
You know, Serena is one of the greatest players and also greatest champions. So it's not going to be easy. But, you know, I'm going to go out there and try my best.
Q. Do you remember the first time you dreamt of this moment, making the final?
VERA ZVONAREVA: You mean like in general?
VERA ZVONAREVA: You know, I think every single kid who is watching TV and watching Wimbledon on TV wants to be in the final, wants to take part at Wimbledon and then eventually be champion of it.
So I think, uhm, everyone who eventually became a professional tennis player has this dream since they're very young.
Q. Could you talk a little bit about your studies in diplomacy. Are you actively studying?
VERA ZVONAREVA: At the moment, no. I had to take one year off. It's a three‑year course. I had take one year off due to the surgery and all these things, and I was not able to keep up.
I still had to do couple exams this year to finish from the previous one. But starting September, it's gonna be my last year. So I will have to, you know, start taking some classes and showing up.
Q. What are some of the classes you envision taking?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uhm, well, my favorite one was in the international economic relations. That's the class.
Also world diplomacy. International affairs. That was very interesting one. And a little bit of statistics and world trade organization. Those are my favorite ones.
Q. I don't mean to be rude, but could you talk a little bit about your emotions. You had a great display in Charleston and some other places.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Tennis is an emotional sport. If you don't have any emotions, you will never be able to win. You know, you go out there to give your best. And, you know, sometimes you just ‑‑ I think, you know, it doesn't matter how emotional, what you show; it's more important what you have in there. If you believe in yourself or you don't, or you know what to tell yourself or you don't know what to tell yourself.
It doesn't mean if I break the racquet I'm going to stop playing or something. No. I think with an experience and maturity, I learn a lot about myself, and I know where I have to pump myself up and where I have to calm myself down. That's the most important thing.
But emotions, I think they're good. They should be there. It's sport. It shows that you care, that you trying your best out there.
Q. Novak just double‑faulted at a key point and smashed his racquet and then got a warning. Do you think in any way that the rules might be a little bit too tight?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah, I think if you look back at those times when John McEnroe used to play, he used to do whatever he wanted and he never got fined or penalized. I think sometimes they're strict.
You know, there are some times you can just bounce the racquet back and it breaks. In the rule, it's automatic fine or whatever. You know, it's something ‑‑ it's part of the game. Emotions are part of the game.
Of course, you cannot just throw the racquets all the time and say things. But sometimes a little show of emotions I think is good. It should be there. Otherwise we also become like robots, you know. It's difficult.
On the court you don't see the differences between players because they're not allowed to express themselves sometimes.
Q. Do you think your emotions have gotten in the way of your success, or is that a misperception?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uhm, I don't know. I don't care what everyone says, whatever everyone thinks.
Q. Has it been something you've had to learn how to deal with?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, of course. But I think it's not only emotions, you know, it's something that comes with experience. It's how you go out there and how you able to bring the best out of yourself on the court.
It's what you learn along the way. You know, you can get sometimes emotional and play your best tennis; and then you see the most calmest person in the world, tennis player who never says anything, who is never upsets about anything and could never win a match.
What's better? You know, you never know. It's whatever helps yourself to perform the best way.
Q. Have you had much opportunity to watch Serena this Wimbledon? If so, what do you make of her serve? It seems rather powerful at the moment.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, I got the chance to play her in doubles, so I got the feeling of how she plays. But Serena is very talented player. She can serve hard, but she can also serve with a precision. She doesn't need to use the full power. You know, she can really put the balls on the lines, and that's what makes it difficult against her.
But, you know, I got the feeling in the doubles, you know, she serves well, but there are many good players that serve well, as well. She's not the only one.
So, you know, we will see tomorrow what's gonna happen.
Q. How about the rest of her game?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, she's No. 1 in the world, you know. She's a very good player. But, you know, it's hard to say. She has an all‑over‑the‑court game that is very good. But she lost a few matches in the past. It's always possible to beat her.
I think I will just have to find my way tomorrow. I will just have to try to play the game that's bothering her the most.
Q. I think the general feeling is that you're not going to have any more of those outward emotional outbursts. Listening to what you're saying, I'm not sure you would feel that way. Do you think you still might break a racquet?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah, of course. Yeah, of course. It happens. You know, sometimes you need to do it. You cannot keep everything inside. If you're not happy about yourself, sometimes you need to break the racquet and move on.
If there is something inside of you that's stopping you from bringing the best out of the yourself, you need to scream at yourself, pump yourself up, break that racquet, I will do it if I know it will help me to perform better. Why not?
Q. You talked about international economic relations. If you win tomorrow, there will be quite an international economic happening. Will you be pleased with the money you earned? Secondly, can you imagine lifting the plate at the end?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, you know, first of all, I'm thinking about my match tomorrow. I really don't care about anything else. I think in my head right now it's about how I'm gonna go out there and how I'm gonna try to do my best.
Everything else around, I don't think about it.
Q. Why is it happening for you right now?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uhm, I don't know. You know, I think sometimes it's hard work, sometimes it's experience, sometimes it's maturity, everything together. Maybe if you put all these things together, that will bring the results.
You know, it's very difficult to say why now and why not two years ago, why not if five years. I don't know what's gonna happen in the future. But I'm just trying to live in the moment. I'm trying to enjoy this moment and trying to do my best.
Wimbledon, Final: Serena def. Vera 6-3 6-2
Ladies' singles runner-up, V Zvonareva
Q. You seemed overwhelmed by emotion understandably at the end. Can you put into perspective what it all meant to you?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, you know, I think it's great to be in the final, and think I will realize it later. But at the moment I think I'm still a bit disappointed with the performance today.
I think I could have ‑ not with the result but more the way I played ‑ I could have done better today. I did not show my best today, and it's a bit disappointing because it's the final. You know, you don't reach the Wimbledon final every day, so...
But overall, you know, Serena played really well. She didn't give me chances to get into the match.
Q. How difficult was it to deal with your frustrations during the match with the unforced errors?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I was not frustrated. I was just thinking about how to pump myself up to get out of it, to try to make those shots in.
The errors, yeah, maybe you can call them unforced errors. But you always take more risk against Serena because you know she's such a great mover and she can play a great defense.
So if you gonna take more risk, you will have to make more errors. And, uhm, I think she was lucky on a couple of occasions. She miss‑hit the ball and I didn't time it well. I missed it. Then I was a little bit ‑‑ I stopped going for my shots as much, and that's where she started playing her game.
Q. You said before the match that you had to stop her from dominating. How do you do that, and why is she so dominant?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, she's very powerful. She's very quick around the court, so it's very difficult to put her in defense right away. If you have to handle 120‑miles‑an‑hour serve and try to return it in a way to put her in defense, it's very difficult; it's not easy.
So you just have to find spots around the court and try to return the way that she ‑‑ you know, she's not in a great position. The same with the serve. You don't want to serve to her best shots so she cannot make her best returns.
I think today I was able, you know, to serve okay. Just those couple double‑faults, but it's nothing. Return, I was able to do the return. The most difficult were in the rallies where I didn't make the right choices at the right time. Maybe sometimes I went for too much and sometimes I didn't attack enough.
Q. Do you think she's beatable?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah, of course she's beatable. She's a human being. She's not a machine. I mean, it's very difficult to beat her. You have to play your best. But, you know, if you do, you can do it.
Q. After being involved in the final today, how do you use that as motivation to go one step further in future slams?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, you know, first of all I'll be thinking about how to get to that final first and then to go one step more. But it was definitely good experience for me. You know, it's been a great week. Hopefully it can help me in the future, yeah.
Q. Can you describe her serve for us, what it's like facing her serve, what kind of spin she's using, those sorts of things.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, she can use different serves. She can hit flat and she can use what is very good on the grass, effective on the grass, is a slice serve wide where it's very difficult to return. Then, you know, you can cover one side, but then she can go flat very hard the other side.
So she always changes it. And the second serve she can put so much rotation in, so it's very difficult to attack it, as well.
I think I made a mistake today. I stepped back, and I should have been more aggressive on her second serve. But, you know, it's something that I will keep in my mind for the future.
Q. There are very few players who play both singles and doubles. You're in both finals. To what extent has your singles game improved by having played doubles?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uhm, I want to think, yeah, that, you know, a little bit extra because I didn't have enough matches. I haven't played enough matches on the grass before I came here. That's why I wanted to play doubles as well.
Also here you have to be a little bit quicker in doubles more. You have to use more volleys. You have to come into the net. I think in this week it helped a little bit me playing singles.
Q. What was the whole experience of being in the final like? What was the morning like, the buildup, and how were you?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Just as usual. I didn't feel any pressure. I didn't feel any ‑‑ you know, I was not nervous. I was just trying to prepare myself the best I can.
I think today maybe would have gone to the third set with Serena I would have done maybe better. But, you know, I did not realize what I had to do, you know, on the court against her. I made some, I think, bad tactical choices, and that's why she was able to break me.
Q. Most people would be really intimidated being in their first final. You didn't look intimidated at all.
VERA ZVONAREVA: No, I was not. Maybe because I have enough experience behind my back for so many years. Yeah, maybe I never played in a Grand Slam final, but actually, I did a mixed doubles and doubles, and I think maybe that helps as well.
Yeah, for me it was just another match. But, uhm, yeah, I think it was very difficult for me to play my best today because she was just ‑‑ you know, she was better. I would make I think the right choice, and then she will make a really good get and a passing shot.
Then next time you feel like you have to go for even more, and then you start missing.
Q. Did you have to be persuaded to parade around with your trophy at the end? You didn't seem quite to know what to do.
VERA ZVONAREVA: No, they were just asking me if maybe you should go around to show your trophy. So that's what I did because ‑‑ well, they asked Serena before.
Q. If you had to characterize this tremendous two‑week run of yours, how in a word or two would you characterize?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, you know, I think I'm such a perfectionist that I wouldn't consider it as a fabulous result, because you know how I always want everything perfect.
Even if I lose, you know, I feel like I could have done better. Sometimes I can lose some matches and think that, Well, I did everything I can today, and it was better. But I think at the moment I'm still disappointed because I think I could have played better tennis.
But otherwise, you know, I think I was able to come through a lot of difficult matches for the past two weeks. And I think it should give me more confidence, you know, in myself, because in the beginning of the tournament I really didn't play great tennis.
My first two rounds, I was like, Well, I better be raising my level of my game for the third one if I want to be in the fourth round. I just kept working and I kept fighting for it. I really was able to do it.
The fourth round, that's where I started playing, you know, much better tennis.
Q. Does your drive for perfection help you in your career or is it sometimes a problem? Did you have any health issues before going into the final?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uhm, well, I think the perfectionism is something that can help you and something that can destroy you, as well. I think now I know how to handle my perfectionism better. I know that, you know, if I haven't done better today, I will try to do it tomorrow. I want everything perfect, so I know I will keep working hard.
But maybe earlier in my career I wanted everything perfect and everything perfect right now, and if it doesn't work right now, then I will get so angry with myself, you know.
But, yeah, health issues, not really. I just got a little bit sick. I lost my voice. But it's something, you know, that's not a big deal.
Q. Of all the weapons that you've seen other players have, how would you describe Serena Williams' first serve as a weapon?
VERA ZVONAREVA: As a weapon? Well, it's something that, I don't know, it's hard to describe. It's just something that's putting the opponents always in trouble. Like, you know, she uses it the way that, you know, Okay, I'm going to try to return; I'm going to try to stay aggressive.
But if you don't break her, it's also putting pressure on your serve because you know that, Well, I better be winning this game, otherwise she's gonna hold hers.
So it's not only the weapon like a shot weapon; it's also like maybe in a way a mental weapon that she's so confident in it that she knows that she can take more risk and she can go more on the returns. Even if she's not returning well, she can go for it because she can rely on her serve the next game.
Great tournament, Vera. :yeah:
She can be really proud of reaching Wimbledon final.
goldenlox
Vera Zvonareva caught up with Maria Kirilenko Wednesday in Cincinnati, fighting back from 2-5 in the third set to win 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (3) and reach the third round. Two days earlier we caught up with Zvonareva on her Wimbledon final, being emotional on court, growing up, and, yes, her attractive new coach.
Do you think of yourself differently after having been in the Wimbledon final?
In my mind I always knew I can be there. I always believed in myself. I just feel like I got that extra experience and I was able to go through some tough matches. And I was actually able to play seven matches in a row. It was the first time I had to play seven matches in a row in one tournament. It was just a great experience for me. Now I’m just looking forward. Hopefully I can improve my game a little bit and it will help me to go to the last stages of the Grand Slams every time I play.
Did playing Serena Williams, the best in the game, in a Grand Slam final make the experience even more special for you?
She’s definitely a great champion, and it’s definitely hard to play against her, especially in those finals. She’s so experienced and is able to go on the court and play those matches like she’s so relaxed, like it’s [the] first round or something. That’s what I will have to learn. Next time, if I will get the chance to be in the final of a Grand Slam, I will have to put everything out of my head and to play it like it’s my first match, to forget all that attention you’re getting by being in the final.
Serena hit 19 aces in two of her matches at Wimbledon. Did you go into the final expecting her to hit a lot of aces?
No, I never think this way. I actually thought that I’m a good returner, so if she can do it against me, that’s good for her. But otherwise I will make her go even for more. If she wants to ace me, well, she has to go for more. But I’m going to try to guess every serve and be there. No, I was just thinking about what should I do tactically to beat her: How should I hit that shot so she doesn’t hit her favorite shots? How do I make her more vulnerable on the court compared to previous matches?
Some players might get tight because they maybe don’t believe they can do it. For me it’s [the] opposite. I believe in myself so much, and I believe I can do it. Because I believe so much, I put more pressure on myself. Even if I’m losing 6-0, 5-0, I still believe I can win that match. Most players don’t in that situation. Maybe that’s why sometimes for me it’s tougher to come back—because I cannot relax. I keep fighting and keep fighting and sometimes I’m never relaxed on the court.
You get a lot of questions about being emotional on court. Does it bother you?
Yeah, sometimes if you’re tired, it feels like people always ask the same thing. It feels like they remember one match from, like, five years ago and they keep talking about it all the time. But that’s fine if they want to ask me this question. The most important thing is that I know I’m much more mature and experienced right now, I know how to manage myself. There are times, when I’m too tired, it’s much more difficult. You’re squeezed like a lemon—you cannot get anything out of yourself. But otherwise I know that if I put my mind into it, I know how to manage myself. Now I have so much experience, and I can always rely on that experience in the tough situations. And if people want to talk about emotions, they can talk about it. That’s fine.
How are things working out with your new coach?
So far so good. He’s a young coach, but…
Is he younger than you?
No, he’s my age, a bit older, but [around] my age. He was a player himself, so he knows about tennis a lot. It takes time to trust someone, but we talk about my game much more than in the beginning. I think he’s able to point a few things out much more now. He feels much more comfortable, he understands my game much better now. Coach cannot give to the players everything right away, because they have to learn—[with] some players you have to be gentle, some players you have to be more aggressive. It depends on the player’s personality. So coach has to find ways and keys to give you right direction. I mean, we’ve all been playing tennis for the past 20 years. We all know how to play. It’s the coach’s job to give a little direction, to point out things he thinks may not help you during the match or he thinks are helping you during the match, so you’re able to use those things to your advantage more during the matches. So in the crucial moments you’re able to make the right choices, you’re able to go for the right serves, you’re able to go for the right shots. He’s getting much more comfortable. He’s seeing my game much better now. So we’ll see—no pressure on that. We’ll work together, and we’ll see where it’s going to take us.
Did you know that he has quite a fan club? The women seem to really like him.
No [laughs]. I don’t follow all that.
The most wasted of all days is one without laughter....
Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there
Enjoy This Moment!!
HEALTH and HAPPINESS to EVERYONE:hearts: :wavey:
Good interview,thanks for posting, like the bit Bepa doesn't know about the coach being attractive
BepaZvonareva :worship on't read my reps anymore, very relaxing Lydia Ko , Felicity Jones, Emilia Clarke, Rachel Khoo.
Cincinnati, R2:
http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=65472
http://assets.usta.com/assets/663/15/V Zvonareva - 08 11 10.pdf
V. ZVONAREVA/M. Kirilenko
7-5, 2-6, 7-6
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. What happened to your game after the first set? Second set was difficult, and then all the weather delays in the third. Talk a little bit about that.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, I think the first set was very close and very tough. I believe that the second and third set they were also very close. Just one of those matches I think that the score doesn't really reflect what's going on in the court.
In the second set I was down 5-2, but I felt like there are only couple of points and I could have been up 5-2. So I just had to hang in there, especially with all those conditions. We started when it was very, very hot and humid, and then wind came. It got a bit windy and cloudy.
Then the rain delay, then you have to warm up, go back, and then it's hot again, humid. You know, all those conditions, they didn't make it very easy on the court. I think we both had some ups and downs in our games.
But I'm very happy the way I came back in the third set to win it from 5-2 down.
Q. How much of a factor was your confidence? You played her three times before and won all three matches. The weather comes, you're down 5-2 in the third. How much of a factor did that play in your ability to come from behind today?
VERA ZVONAREVA: You know, I was not thinking about it. I was just concentrating on my own game. I was trying to think, What do I have to do to beat my opponent today? I was not really thinking about the scores. I knew if I can come up with a good game, there is a good chance I can turn the match around or I can win it.
I always believe in myself. It was just a matter of me trying to think through what was I doing wrong, and maybe my shot selection wasn't perfect. So I just had to really put my mind into it and just to think about every shot that I'm hitting to make sure I'm hitting the right shot and going for my shots and not waiting for her to miss.
Q. Were you a lot more aggressive in the third set? It seemed to me like after the last rain delay you were far more aggressive at the end of the match than in the beginning.
VERA ZVONAREVA: I think was executing my shots better. I think there were moments in the second set, third set, where I was not going for my shots, maybe trying to be a little bit patient, and maybe not putting that much pressure on her.
I know if I play my game I can beat anyone on the other side of the net. So I had to come up and be a little bit more aggressive than before.
Q. During the delays today, did you talk with your coach about changing your strategies?
VERA ZVONAREVA: He gave me couple of tips, but the most important thing was to keep going for my shots no matter what. It's not this change my style of game or anything.
You know, I think I was losing the second set and the third set -- like I said, there were only couple of points, but maybe because I was not brave enough to go for my shots. I was just trying to maybe wait a little bit maybe for her to miss or something instead of playing my game.
So he just told me basically just got to play my game. That's it. That's what I was trying to do in the third set.
Q. After what happened to you with the ankle in Charleston, do you get more worried about conditions on the court after a rain delay?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Um, well, you can't think about it. You know, I think I'm over it. There were -- of course I was struggling a little bit during the clay court season because I think I still had worries about the court. Clay you have to slide a lot, so I was very careful and maybe was not perfect with my movement.
But hardcourts, you know, it's a hardcourt. You can control your movement. Of course if it gets slippery or if it's raining, you have to stop. I'm not gonna continue. I'm gonna be more careful about it if it's a little bit wet and we know we can slide on the lines. I'm not gonna go for it.
Other than that, when the court is dry, you got to play. Nobody is ensured against the injuries. You never know. When you are out there and you try to put 100% in it and full effort, if you think about your injuries or something, you're not gonna be able to do it and play your best game.
Q. At Wimbledon I felt like you were sliding more than a lot of players usually do. Seemed like semi-clay. Did you feel that way?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah, I always slide.
Q. On grass?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah, on any surface, even on the hardcourts, on the grass courts. And actually I'm surprised, because I think I was sliding on the grass court more than I was doing it on the clay court. So that's something to work on for the next year.
Q. Did you think you would have been able to win this match if not for the rain delay at 5-2?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I don't know. I always believe in myself. For me, doesn't matter if I'm down 6-Love, 5-Love, I still believe I can win it. I just have to think about what I'm gonna do next.
Maybe the rain delay helped; maybe not. It's hard to say.
Q. What parts of your game are you really happy with today, and what parts do you really want to focus on and improve not only to go deep in this tournament, but to have a good run at the Open.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Definitely have to be consistent, and I will definitely need to play my game a little bit more instead of having doubts in my head, Oh, maybe I should do this and this. I should make one decision at a time. Sometimes it feels like I'm making three decisions, and then I don't know which shot I want to hit. I just have to build my game slowly to where I want it to be on the hardcourts.
And of course those serves. A little bit too many double faults. That's what I need to improve, the serve consistency for my next match.
Q. When you were coming back in the third set after the second rain delay, what was really running through your mind?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Not much. Like I said earlier, I just wanted to -- I knew that I have to play my game at that point. That no matter what the score is, I just got to go out there and go for my shots. That's basically what I told myself, and that's what I was trying to execute on the court.
Q. Have you ever needed longer to finish a match? It was like six hours and 15 minutes.
VERA ZVONAREVA: I think it was the longest one.
Q. Was it?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah. Well, sometimes the rain delay can -- well, sometimes matches are delayed for the next day. But like going back and forth on the court, yeah, I think that was the longest one.
Q. The longest in one day?
Q. You think you play Flavia Pennetta next. What are your thoughts on playing her?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Oh, she's a great player. She showed a great form last week, and it's gonna be very difficult, tough challenge for me. We played few times last year; always very close matches. You know, just I haven't thought about it yet. You just told me who I'm playing next anyway, so... (laughter.)
Yeah, you know, we will see tomorrow. I think I will have the same mindset: just to go out there and try to play my game and just try to have one decision in my mind and not to have too many decisions. That's it.
End of FastScripts
Love this bit
VERA ZVONAREVA: Not much.
http://tennis.sport-express.ru/reviews/7545/
no kremlin cup this year?
my cats eats peanuts
Montreal, R3:
VERA ZVONAREVA / Agnes SZAVAY
Interview with:
JOURNALIST: Do you feel you’ve been cruising through this tournament?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Actually, I don’t think so. It always looks easier from the side than it is on the court. I’ve played against two tough opponents... It was not easy for me out there, but I think I managed it quite well. I think I played the way I was supposed to play... I was trying my best on the court and it worked for me.
Q. You may be facing Kim Clijsters in the final. You’ve had your trouble with her in the past...
VERA ZVONAREVA: Definitely, Kim, she is a great player. I think we always had tough matches, a lot of three-setters or very tough ones, but I never managed to beat her before, and finally at Wimbledon, I was able to play very consistently and managed to beat her. I always believe in myself and believe I could beat anyone on the other side of the net. You have to come out there and not only know the game plan, but to be able to execute it. It is very important to play your best to beat someone in the quarter finals in such a big event.
Q. What do you think you are doing well in this tournament?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I think I am a little more consistent and a little bit more relaxed than in the previous tournaments. For me it is always hard to (adapt to) the surface and the transition between the surfaces. This week I feel a lot better. I am playing the game that I am supposed to play on the hard courts.
Q. Why do you play doubles? A lot of top players don’t.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Sometimes when you want to play those extra points, it is always good, especially with the double match formats... I enjoy my time on the court, and I have a great doubles partner. We talk, we chat, we laugh about stupid mistakes. In singles you are a little more intense and you are alone, but in doubles you support each other.
Q: How do you find the courts here? Do you find them different from Cincinnati?
VERA ZVONAREVA: They’re good. I like them so far. Pretty similar. The balls are different, but the surface has been pretty consistent.
Rain in Montreal:
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA & VERA ZVONAREVA
JOURNALIST: How was your day?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I had the best day in my life. We were competing in soccer. Who kicks the most amounts in a row. I was losing to Vickie so I couldn’t stand it so I had to beat her up. I ended up taking forever but I did manage to (win). That’s it, and the other most popular thing today in the players’ lounge was the computer and the I-Phone.
VERA ZVONAREVA: I slept through everything. I don’t even know what happened in the players’ lounge. I just woke up, like an hour ago... I was catching up on sleep
Q. Is it difficult to wait and wait when it rains like this?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: We went out to the court and we were almost ready to play and to serve and the rain started to go again. It’s hard. You warm up ten times a day and you are ready to play. It’s hard to be on and off.
VERA ZVONAREVA: It’s difficult for everyone, to keep your concentration, you are relaxed and then you have to warm up and when they tell you they are going to dry up the courts. You wait, and then nothing. They dry the courts again. You warm up again, you change your clothes. It rains. You go back. You have to go change again. You don’t know what’s going to happen.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I took all my clean clothes with me. I took everything I had in my room.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah we have, like eight outfits with us.
Q. How much time do you need to warm up?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Today was better. I came to the court and it was raining and then it stopped. The match was scheduled at 11, so I came at 10 and hit the balls until 10:30 and the it stopped, we had lunch, others slept (and) did other things. And then two times we did warm up and we are almost ready to go on.
VERA ZVONAREVA: My day started early, I booked the car at 7:45 because I wanted to have an early warm up and warm up for 45 minutes before I went on the court. I was actually able to hit for 45 minutes. The court was wet but I was still able to get the practice in. For hitting, it was OK this morning. Then another 30 minutes of warm up to try to get ready.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: She had the advantage. She warmed up more than anybody today.
VERA ZVONAREVA: I was running on the treadmill with Caroline. We ran together. I don’t know where you were. You were probably playing soccer.
Q: Two full days of waiting. Can you remember in your careers waiting that long due to weather?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Not for me.
VERA ZVONAREVA: No, I don’t think so. Actually, yes, I remember, it was at Wimbledon three or four years ago, I was waiting to play my mixed doubles match. We were able to finish the tournament in time. The doubles match, it was the men’s double and it went into the fifth set. We were supposed to play at the end of the first week and we ended up playing on Friday of the second week.
Q. How are you able to stay so positive? I mean, we’re grumpy over here.
VERA ZVONAREVA: We are not in a rush. We are here, we are going to New York next week.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: We have one week. We prefer to have two days holiday just to go to New York and do some fun stuff. Instead we spend two days in the players’ lounge. Everyone is disappointed but there is only one way to look at it positive. It is good that we don’t have to play next week. This is very good for us.
VERA ZVONAREVA: It’s hard on fans. All the fans who came to watch tennis, they wait, they want to see us play. We play in tournaments every week. We are used to it, it’s our job. We have to wait and see. It’s very difficult for fans. We saw a lot of people walking with umbrellas. I think all the players appreciate them coming to try and watch tennis. It is very important for us for the people who come to support us during the semi finals and finals. The fans have been great all week, supportive of all the players. We can only imagine how disappointing it was for them.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I think we will have a prize for the best fans who stayed in the stadium. It was a very big effort and it’s nice to see how they appreciate this game.
Q: What is the plan for the locker room before the game if it rains tomorrow? A soccer game?
VICTORIA AZARENKO: I doubt that you will find a smile on our faces if we meet here again tomorrow afternoon. Let’s cross our fingers and hope that we play tomorrow.
Q. The rain is scheduled to stop at exactly 10 a.m. tomorrow. That’s the hourly forecast.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I think if it was to happen in Moscow, we would have a huge vent, they would do someting to stop the rain forever. They have special planes to move the clouds away. That is why it never rains in Moscow.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: That is why if you plan your vacation, come to Moscow in August.
The 4 players in SF did interviews:
Vera/Kuznetsova did one interview together, the other was Azarenka/Wozniacki.
No idea why there is a Victoria Azarenko in this interview.
And 2 Kuznetsovas in the end.:rolls:
Montreal, Final:
Caroline WOZNIACKI / Vera ZVONAREVA
JOURNALIST: How different was it playing on centre court?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, it was a different atmosphere, a different court and it was a bit more windy. It was just difficult for me to keep my concentration out there. I played my first match and even though I know it was only one set and unfortunately Vickie had to retire, it was a tough set and we spent pretty much the same time on the court... Yeah, I think it was difficult preparing myself to play against (Victoria) the past couple of days. Vickie and Caroline have absolute different styles of game. Playing the final felt like I was playing a semi final... just totally, in my head, I was not in the final, and then I got so frustrated with myself that I couldn’t concentrate because playing against such a good player like Caroline, that makes you play a lot of balls, you have to keep your concentration level very high and it just wasn’t there today.
Q. How tough was it for you dealing with the weather yesterday, and playing today?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I think it was not that tough. We didn’t even start our match. It is always more difficult when you go on the court and you start a couple of games and then you have to go... the waiting was not that difficult. It was more difficult to play two matches in one day, like today. It’s not only physically, I am no physically tired at the moment, it was more... about the concentration thing, it’s very difficult to refocus yourself from one thing to another. That was my biggest challenge. Some players are easy to focus, but for me I give it all, I put so much concentration on the court, like in the first match. I give it all, and then I have to come back and start over again. I had never had the experience of playing two singles matches in one day in my career, so that was difficult for me.
Q. At 5-3 in the first set, what was your analysis of that moment?
VERA ZVONAREVA: She came up with a couple of good serves, so there was nothing wrong that I did. I went for my shot and I think there were a couple of mistakes, where I lost my concentration and I wanted, for example to go cross court, like I had used in the previous matches, and then I remembered for this match I had to go down the line. If I could keep my concentration up, the match would have been different. I am not sure if I would have won the match, but it would have been different. My (concentration lapses) gave the match to Caroline, I think.
Q. Talk a little bit about this week, winning important matches against tough opponents. Does this build up your confidence as you prepare for the U.S. Open?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah, I was just trying to concentrate on one match a time, just trying to be in this tournament, trying to get a lot of matches. I always start slow on the hard court season and it was difficult for me the past couple of seasons. I was finally able to come up with good tennis this week. I know what I have to work on and I will be happy to be back on the court and improve a little bit for the Open. Everyone is going to raise the level of their game and they will be at their best for the Open.
Q: You feel as a favourite for the U.S. open?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I don’t know. I never look at the statistics. I never read any odds. I just believe in myself. Any tournament that I am coming to I know I can win it. It doesn’t matter who is in the draw, I never look at the list of players who are in it, it doesn’t matter for me. I just always believe in myself and I always believe that I can beat anyone on the other side of the net, if I am able to play my best tennis. It’s just a matter if I am able to produce and able to play my best on that day. I still think I have to take it one match at a time. Women’s tennis has very tough competition right now. Everyone is fighting from the first round.
Q. At the end you seemed frustrated with your racquet?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I was having some issues with the racquets. The throat pieces, they keep breaking. If they break, my string always breaks in the throat of the racquet and then you cannot see if it is broken, and when you hit the ball it goes off. We are trying to fix the issue. It’s small things, but we’ll fix it. In the first match it broke three times. I know some other players were having the same problem. It doesn’t change anything about the game, but...
PersephoneDisco
Sergey's interview from the Times. That photo is worth the £1 fee alone.
Sergei Demekhine is blessed with the looks that might have brought a respectable modelling contract, but it is as the coach to the new No 2 player in women’s tennis that he expects to be judged.
And he is sensible enough to know that the minute Vera Zvonareva decides that she would be better suited with another face in her corner, his chiselled features will not save him.
As the best eight players fit enough to contend for the WTA Championships seek to find the edge that can secure the prestige attached to such a title, a word or a gesture here or there could make all the difference.
In her 38 matches since teaming up with someone she had first known as an 11-year-old in Russian junior squads, Zvonareva has lost ten, reached two grand-slam tournament finals and not dropped a set in her first two matches in the white group here.
It all points to the continuation of a beautiful friendship, one that may be more than simply skin deep. Demekhine admits that he has no specific qualifications and senses, yes, there are those in a sport of many wicked whispers who think he has the job on account of his face, rather than any scientific genius he can impart.
“They say, how can I be a coach when I was only 673 in the world?” Demekhine said. “But that was as far as I could go with my career because I could not fund myself any higher. I was playing money events in Italy to permit me to travel to tournaments around the world and then came the opportunity to help out some players. I do not think I could do any better.”
First, Anastasia Pivovarova (the present world No 126) contacted Demekhine and when that partnership ended, he went on to assist Alla Kudryavtseva (No 58), who obviously felt a bit isolated the moment that Zvonareva joined them to form a trio travelling the world this spring.
When Kudryavtseva decided that three was company, it became the Vera and Sergei Show. In a short period of time they have journeyed to the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open and, this week, to the highest ranking of her career.
Zvonareva defeated Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus — who was only confirmed in the Championships last week — 7-6, 6-4 and has one leg in the semi-finals. She was a bit raggedy at times yesterday but is managing to find a way to win more often than not.
The humidity here had returned with a vengeance. Azarenka complained afterwards that she simply could not grip her racket well enough and every time she unwrapped a different towel it was wet through by the subsequent changeover. Zvonareva kept the game simple, which is exactly how Demekhine says it ought to be played.
“I see so many coaches come up with complications for their players,” he said. “They are trying too hard to sell the product, which is themselves.
“With Vera, it is a case of keeping the psychology simple and I understand the Russian mentality that knows what she wants and how she is going to get it, even if it isn’t always the right way.”
Was not modelling potentially a more stable environment? As he was the face of Abercrombie & Fitch in Russia, one would think so, but Demekhine grew tired of the world he was frequenting.
“They did not judge you as a person, but as a picture,” he said. “That is the difference. Everything in life has to be 100 per cent for me and I wasn’t interested enough in that.”
A few tough words were required for Kim Clijsters after her 6-2, 6-3 victory over Jelena Jankovic, for there were inevitable signs of rust after her first match since defeating Zvonareva in the final in New York. Too often, the Belgian allowed 40-15 leads to dissolve into deuce games against a player who was hanging on by the skin of her teeth.
Caroline Wozniacki’s coronation as the year-ending No 1 was delayed for a day at least when Sam Stosur became the first player this year to defeat two players holding that ranking. The Australian, who had beaten Serena Williams in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, yesterday thumped the Dane 6-4, 6-3.
Sharapovian
Holiday Q&A: Vera Zvonareva
BRADENTON, FL, USA - Vera Zvonareva had the best season of her WTA career in 2010, reaching two Grand Slam finals and making it all the way to No.2 in the world. Now doing her off-season training, the Russian talks about the next big things coming up - Christmas, New Year, Russian Christmas, 2011...
On what Christmas means to her...
"To me, Christmas is an important family holiday. Unfortunately I'm not usually at home on December 25 because I'm away doing pre-season training, but me and my team won't forget to make it a special day with a nice dinner and presents Also, we celebrate Russian Christmas on January 7, so I'll be making lots of phone calls to my friends and family back home on that day."
On how her holiday shopping is going...
"I'll probably do all of my shopping online soon since I've already decided on what to give everyone But I'll probably need to make a last minute run to the mall too for some funny last minute gifts!"
On New Year's...
"New Year's Eve is the biggest holiday in Russia. Back home we usually exchange presents on New Year's Eve, while Christmas is more of a day spent with family. When I was a kid I couldn't wait for Kurants (the big clock on the main Kremlin tower) to ring at midnight on New Year's Eve so I could run down to open my presents under the tree! This year's I'll be going to New York for the countdown, though. It fits in my travel schedule perfectly and I think it would be great to see the ball drop in Times Square at least once in my life!"
On her pre-season training and the new season...
"I'm excited about the beginning of the new season! I'm definetly working very hard and trying to improve myself the best I can. I'm excited about the challenge and will try my best to do better than the previous year."
Follow Vera on her official website, Twitter page and Facebook fan page.
http://www.wtatour.com/page/OffCourtNews/Read/0,,12781~2249932,00.html
I will update this Thread now.
First the interviews from US Open 2010, then from Aus Open 2011.
US Open, R4:
V. ZVONAREVA/A. Petkovic
Q. You said that the wind was a problem. Was the temperature also an issue for you?
VERA ZVONAREVA: No, the temperature is not an issue. And the wind, it wasn't an issue. It's just something that the conditions are like that. We had to deal with the wind.
You play with the wind on one side and you play against the wind on the other side. So you have to adapt. You have to change your strokes a little bit every two games. But that's something, you know, all the players have to deal with.
Q. You said on TV there's so many players that can win the tournament. Do you really believe that or do you think there's three or four strong favorites?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, obviously, you always, like -- I couldn't name one, two, or three girls. If you ask me, I will name, I don't know -- yeah, a lot of players. I really believe that.
I think right at the moment it's very competitive and it's very hard for everyone. There are unpredictable results, what they will call unpredictable, every day.
So I think that's what makes, yeah, the game interesting at the moment.
Q. But if it's unpredictable, are you surprised you've reached the quarterfinals?
VERA ZVONAREVA: You know, should I be surprised (laughter)?
No, I think, you know, I always believe in myself and I always believe if I can produce a good tennis, I can beat anyone. I know that it's not easy out there, even though it may look that the match today was easy. But it was not easy out there at all. I think I just was a little bit more experienced player tonight. I started off well. I made it very difficult for her.
But, you know, game-wise, it is never easy out there.
Q. What about Kaia Kanepi? What will you have to do?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I don't know. I think I never faced Kaia, actually. I remember her since juniors. We grew up together playing junior tournaments. But I also know that she's doing really good.
She reached quarterfinals of two Grand Slams this year. So that says a lot. Her game, you know, is very solid.
I haven't gotten the chance to think about it at all, and I never played her before. I'm still thinking about my match tonight, still, all that.
You know, I will take my time and I will think about it later. But at the moment, all I can say, it's going to be very tough challenge for me. I'm expecting a very tough match.
Q. If I recall correctly, a tough injury in Charleston, a run at Wimbledon, then here. Are you thrilled by this? Are you a little surprised by it? Is it the result of a lot of hard work?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I don't know. I'm just happy. You know, I'm happy that I played my first Grand Slam final this year. But I did something in the past. It's not something I'm trying to think about at all.
I'm happy that I made it to the quarterfinals today. Here it's going to be my first US Open quarterfinal.
But that's it. You know, I'm not thrilled or surprised or anything. I believe in myself and I'm happy that things are working out for me at the moment.
Q. At what point can you, as a player that's been around for a while, sense that a young player with potential, like Wozniacki, can actually come to a Grand Slam, not get nervous and beat a player like Sharapova? Sometimes young players play a veteran player and they can't handle it emotionally.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, I think Caroline is doing a very good job. She's very tough mentally. And I think it was a great experience for her to go through all this when she was a junior player. She played a lot of junior competitions and she was one of the best ones, and she had to handle those situations all the time: to go on the court, defend herself, go through all these junior competitions. So they make you stronger.
When she came on the tour, she was already prepared. And I think she's doing a very, very good job because her game improved a lot. She got a lot of experience from the finals here last year. She beat a lot of, you know, top players in her career already.
So, uhm, you know, I think she deserve to win. You know, Maria is still a great player. You never know what's gonna happen next time. But, you know, today, I don't know, Caroline was just better.
Q. A lot of tennis, many people say, is about belief, inner feeling. Can you imagine yourself lifting the trophy a week from Saturday as the winner?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I'm taking it one match at a time. Like I said, I always believe in myself and I always believe I can win any tournament I'm coming to. Doesn't matter which one it is.
There is no reasons for me to come to the tournaments if I don't believe I can win it. That's the only reason I'm coming to play it.
So, you know, but I also know that it's not gonna happen every time. I'm not going to win the tournament every time, because it's just too difficult, 'cause everyone is working very hard. You know, I'm just thinking about my next match. Right now I'm still enjoying my win today. But tomorrow I will think about my match and I will take it one point at a time. I'm not going to look far ahead of me.
Q. Has your schoolwork in any way helped you as a tennis player?
VERA ZVONAREVA: You know, both -- I think it goes both ways. It helps. Of course, it helps to take your head away from tennis and experience different things, learn different things, enjoy doing something else besides tennis, because studies is something that I loved since a kid.
I used to love to go to school. Most kids hate it. You know, I loved it. I loved my school.
But also I'm a little bit disappointed because you need to put time into it. You need to put time into studies. With me playing tennis, you know, at that level it is very difficult. Right now I started school when I was injured, so I had a lot of time. But right now it is very difficult.
If I'm doing something, I want to do it hundred percent. So when I just go there and just try to do my exams, just answer those questions, I always want to learn a little bit more. But I really don't get the chance on the tour.
So on one hand it helps me, you know, to take my head away. On the other hand, it could be a little bit too many things to do in the same time.
Q. Are your studies on hold now?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Actually, September 1st was the first day back to school, and I missed it (smiling). But it started already. So my friends attended some classes already, but without me.
Q. Can you do any of that online, or is it all in person?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uhm, well, online, not really. Exams you cannot do online. You have to go and find a teacher and you have to do your exams in person. But you can study. I'll always get a lot of e-mails with what was happening. Also there are websites that are given that you can do your own research and study on your own. Then you'll just have to attend and do your exams.
Q. The courses you're taking?
VERA ZVONAREVA: It's diplomatic academy of the ministry of foreign affairs. It's the faculty of international economic relations. There are a lot of different courses, yeah. But it's pretty much international economic relations.
Q. Which ones are you taking now?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, international economic relations is general. In this, we have finances, world trade organization. We have also history of diplomacy, because it's a diplomatic school. There are a lot of different ones, and they change every half year.
Q. You said after Wimbledon that you felt like you rushed too much mentally in the final. Is that something you're going to try to be careful about here, not to rush through your games?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah, I think that's something I already -- that's an experience that I took from Wimbledon. That's something I put in the back of my head. That's something I will carry on with me. So I'm not really thinking about it at the moment, you know, because I'm not looking back. It's something that I know I shouldn't do. Yeah, I'm just gonna go and take it one match at a time and that's it.
All those experiences that I've had in the past, they are there. I know them. So if I'm in the same situation again, hopefully I can find words to myself, saying, Hey, you've been in that same situation, try to change it up at the moment, don't make the same mistake.
Q. How do you prepare each match and with who?
VERA ZVONAREVA: With my coach. You know, we just talk a little bit about the match. He warms me up before the matches. That's it.
Q. No tactical?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah, of course we talk about tactics. We talk about opponents. We talk about what should I do with my game to try to beat my opponent. We try to focus on that in my prematch warmups.
Before each opponent, we do different type of warmup, depending on what I want to do in the match. That's it.
US Open, QF:
V. ZVONAREVA/K. Kanepi
Q. Crazy, crazy kind of weather out there today. Talk about the match and the conditions, how you were able to prevail.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah, I think the weather was definitely not for the good tennis out there. But no matter what match had to be played, and we both were trying our best out there.
Like I said on the court, the most important thing was to find the right balance between being patient and being aggressive. I think I did it well.
Q. You've had such great success at the majors this year, been so consistent in the majors. Do you find yourself at a point where you're as confident as you've ever been playing in the big championships?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I don't question myself. You know, I always believed in myself. I always believe. I'm just going out there and trying my best in every match.
You know, it's been working pretty good for me so far.
Q. If you have a matchup with - we don't know yet - but with Caroline, you've been 50/50 with her. You're pretty evenly matched.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Um, yeah, well, it's gonna be tough match for both of them tonight. I don't know who's gonna win yet, Caroline or Dominika.
If it's Caroline, she's playing great tennis at the moment. She's been so consistent this year and won a few tournaments in a row. She's very tough opponent. You know, we played few times and we always had tough matches. I'm expecting a very tough one in the semifinal.
And even if Dominika wins, we just played a three-setter like few weeks ago. It was a very tough one.
No matter who's going through it, it's gonna be a tough challenge, and I'm up to it.
Q. With how many unforced errors she was making, you were talking about being balanced and aggressive. Were you trying to be a little bit more patient because of the errors she had been making?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, I don't think she was just making errors for no reasons, you know. Um, I think I was making it difficult for her. She had to go more for her shots. I was trying to, you know, guess where she was playing and reading her game.
So I was trying to make it as difficult as possible for her. With those conditions, well, unforced errors, it looks like it's an easy shot. But with the wind going all the different directions and blowing, it's not easy to make those shots.
So sometimes you have to make the right choices. I think today I made, you know, right choices where I had just to, you know, put the ball in play and where sometimes I had to step up a little bit and do a little bit more with the ball.
Q. What did you learn from the match against Flavia last year?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Um, well, that match was in the past, but I learn from every single match. There is something to learn about from every match you play. So there are probably things that, you know, made me more experienced player at the moment.
Q. What's it like to compete in this tournament without Serena being here?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Um, well, I still have to go out there and fight against everyone. It's not easy out there. It's tough challenge for everybody.
Of course it's great to have Serena. She's a great champion, she's a great fighter, but it doesn't really make the field any more open.
There are so many great players out there. It's a challenge for everybody.
Q. How important is it - if you have to play Caroline - not to get frustrated, because it seems like she makes everyone play patiently?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, you have to be patient against her. She's a tough player because she reads the game well. So you have to be patient but still go for your shots.
But, you know, you cannot get frustrated if you are playing against anyone. If you get frustrated, well, you will probably lose the match. Doesn't matter if it's Caroline or someone else on the other side of the net.
I think you can -- you know, you should get sometimes angry with yourself. Sometimes you should pump yourself. But you have to always be out there and trying not to get frustrated against anybody.
Q. Will experience matter for you, or do you think that Caroline has enough experience now where you being on the tour longer and being in bigger matches is all that matters to you?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, I think Caroline's got enough experience right now. She's very mature for her age, and I think a lot of people are underestimating her. But she's going out there and she's doing her job very, very well.
I can say she's very experienced, so it's, you know -- if I have to play Caroline, it's just going to be a tough match, but we both have been in those situations.
Q. What happened in your final in Montreal? Did you get frustrated there?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Oh, in Montreal I think I just couldn't find my game. I think I had to play Victoria in the morning, and they have absolutely different styles of game, Victoria and Caroline. It was very difficult for me just to change the mindset and switch to another match.
I was getting ready and preparing myself to play Victoria for two days while we were sitting in the rain.
Then I played her, you know, the style that I wanted, and then I had to play against Caroline, who's playing absolutely different. So I just couldn't manage and couldn't adapt to the differences in the game.
Then when I finally started, you know, finding my game a little bit, Caroline came up with some great shots. I felt like I just didn't have enough time on the court to get used to the game.
Q. What does it say about yourself that you were able to reach two Grand Slam semifinals in a row this summer?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Um, what does it say? I guess I'm improving. I'm still improving, you know. I've been playing for a while, but I'm still out there and still working hard. I'm still improving.
That feels great, you know. I can go out there, and I will try to work even more.
US Open, SF:
V. ZVONAREVA/C. Wozniacki
Q. What was the key to your victory today?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Um, I think it's the same probably as the previous match, very similar. It's the right balance between being patient and being aggressive. You know, with those windy conditions you have to play sometimes ugly, you know. You don't have to expect to play your best tennis.
That's what I did well. I was not expecting to play my best tennis, but, you know, I was trying to be patient when I needed, and step up when I got the chance.
Q. In what way did your experience of being in the Wimbledon final maybe be a help to you in this tournament so far? And looking ahead to tomorrow, how might it help?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I think it was a great experience overall at Wimbledon. You know, it's something that I will always remember. But I'm trying to look forward. Wimbledon is in the past. I have this experience. I'm just looking forward.
You know, I was looking forward to play my match today, and I'm gonna look forward to play the match tomorrow. I'm gonna take it just as another match. I'm gonna play point by point and not to think about anything else.
Q. It seems to me, having been in most of the press conferences, if not all of them in these last two weeks, that you are emoting tremendous confidence. I feel that from you. Is that a fair assessment of the way you've felt in this two weeks?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I don't know. I always believe in myself. I always believe I can beat anyone on the other side of the net if I'm able to play my best tennis. There is nothing really changed for me, you know. I know I'm not gonna play perfect tennis all the time, like most of the players, but that's what we all trying to do.
I know if I'm doing it, if I'm playing well, I can beat anyone.
Q. What are your emotions right now? Are you happy? What?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Of course I'm happy. I just won my semifinal, and it was my first semifinal in the US Open. Of course I'm happy. You know, I beat a very tough opponent.
Caroline played here last year in the finals and she's No. 2 in the world. You know, I should enjoy this moment.
Q. What does it feel like to be at this stage of the competition again in another Grand Slam?
VERA ZVONAREVA: You know, I don't really think about what stage of the competition it is. I'm taking it one match at a time. I know that I won my match today. I know that I have to play another match tomorrow.
Tomorrow is another day, and I will have to go out there and try my best again. That's it. I'm not really thinking about what stage of the tournament it is.
Q. Right now you don't seem to be very, very excited, but normally you are someone who emotionally gives a lot to the public, to the crowd. I've seen sometimes crying, sometimes smiling. I mean, what do you think is better, weakness, or is it strength to be very emotional?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, I play with passion, but I leave it on the court. Off the court, I'm very calm, and, you know, just not that emotional at all. The tennis is an emotional game. As long as you know yourself and you know which emotions are good for you, which are bad, you can use it to your advantage. That's it.
I think that tennis is an emotional game and that you should show your emotions, because it shows that you are trying your best out there.
Q. Which match provoke you more emotions if you can remember in the past? Which one shocked you a little bit more than others?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Nothing shocked me. Nothing. I'm out there. I'm trying to do my best. I'm trying to play my best. Sometimes I'm happy; sometimes I'm not; sometimes, you know, I have to be hard on myself; sometimes I have to pump myself up; sometimes I have to say to myself that, Okay, it's time to relax.
That's what I'm trying to do. If I say something wrong to myself, I just take it as an experience, and I know that in the next match I'm not gonna do it.
Q. Last year you were very unhappy leaving the US Open, what is the different circumstances between last year and this year in terms of your emotions and your ability to play so well at a high level?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, last year is something that was in the past. I had some experience last year, not only here at the US Open, the whole year overall I played a lot of matches. I take that experience and I try to use it to my advantage. Never look back. I'm just looking forward all the time.
Q. Were you asked about the strings? You broke a lot of strings in the match.
Q. Can you say what happened? Has it happened before? Did you actually take your coach's racquet?
VERA ZVONAREVA: No, that was actually my old racquet. Yeah, that's my old racquet. I had five newly strung racquets before the match, and I don't know what happened. I mean, in one hour to go through five racquets, it's quite a lot. But, you know, it happens.
I will just have to bring some more racquets tomorrow. (Laughter.)
Q. Have you ever broken that many strings in a match?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Not that I could remember, you know. I remember I played a junior event, like I said on the court, but I only had two racquets. Two strings broke. I had to, you know, borrow the racquet from one of the fans, but that's it.
Now I have many more racquets, and still happens to me. It was the first time.
Q. You mentioned you only look ahead. We don't know who your next opponent will be, so starting with the possibility of playing with Kim, a person you've beaten the last two times you've played, both in three-set matches, can you give a preview of what that match will come down to if you play her?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Any match with Kim will come down to the tough challenge, you know. She's a great mover on the court. She has a lot of experience. She won here last year. You know, it's going to be tough. You know, we played a couple of matches for the past couple of months, but those matches are in the past.
I will think about what worked the best for me, and I will try to take it with me tomorrow, and, you know, do it again. Those things that didn't work well for me, I tried to avoid them. That's it.
Q. Against Venus, if you play her, a person you haven't beaten in seven years, how would you describe the challenge there?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, Venus is very powerful and aggressive player, and for sure it's a tough challenge to play against her, even though I haven't won a match in a while against her. I really felt we had a lot of tough, very close encounters.
You know, I will just think about it over again. I will think about what I was doing well, and I will try to do it again tomorrow.
Q. I know you don't want to look back too much but it's pretty amazing when we look back at that vision when you're hitting your knees on the court and tears are flowing in this US Open. For you to bow out in the round of 16 there and now in the final is pretty amazing for us. Is it amazing for you? Can you sum it up?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I think I have my team that supports me and believes in me all the time when most people don't. But I'm the one who believes in myself a lot. I knew that I could be in that position. It's not easy. Every player is working hard. I'm working hard. It's not easy to do it every time, but I believe I can do it.
Last year, like I said, you know, it happens to everybody. I'm sure there are a lot of players that had a lot of match points and lost that match and broke a lot of racquets and were disappointed a lot. It happens to everybody.
So, you know, that's in the past. It's just an experience, and I'm just looking forward and trying to, you know, manage it better the next time.
Q. Wozniacki today made a lot of unforced errors, a lot more than she usually does. How much of that was to your credit, do you think, and how much of her level was just below...
VERA ZVONAREVA: You know, I don't think about it at all. I was just trying to do my job on the court. I knew I had to be patient, and I know I don't give much rhythm. With those windy conditions, it was difficult for both of us to play each other, because we both don't give much rhythm.
We are very patient on the court. It's maybe something different. Maybe I was different opponent to her.
But I really don't think about it. I was just trying to execute my game plan and concentrate on my own game.
Q. If you had to go out for dinner with a Russian tennis person, which one do you choose between the women and which one do you choose between the men?
VERA ZVONAREVA: That's a tough question. We go eat out with a lot of girls, you know, during the tournament, Russian girls. A lot. With guys more...
Q. Pick one.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Why? You need a story? (laughter.)
You want a story?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I'll pick Matt Damon.
He might be -- he might be Russian in his next movie. (Laughter.)
rucolo 2 mo ago
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WATCH: Chuka Umunna says threats from Corbyn’s supporters made it ‘unbearable’ to stay with Labour Party
April Roach
Published: 11:42 PM February 23, 2019 Updated: 6:10 PM September 17, 2020
Chuka Umunna left the Labour Party to join the new The Independent Group this week. Photo: PA / Anthony Devlin - Credit: PA Archive/PA Images
Chuka Umunna said that the failure of the Labour Party to do something about anti-Semitism and bullying made his position as a member 'untenable'.
.@ChukaUmunna says he has "received threats from supporters of the leader where I've had to call in the police and someone was arrested" and says that "there is a rule by fear" in the Labour Party
Follow live updates on today's politics news here: https://t.co/KkPO32hAs9 pic.twitter.com/F2EVuYFTwU
— Ridge on Sunday (@RidgeOnSunday) February 24, 2019
The MP for Streatham is among a group of 11 MPs who recently left their parties to form the new Independent Group.
Speaking on Sky's Sophy Ridge programme, Umunna said that being part of the Labour Party had become 'unbearable'.
'Going to meetings being heckled, shouted at. I have received threats from supporters of the leader where I've had to call in the police and somebody was arrested.
'Ultimately you don't join a party to be fighting year after year other people within it.
'At times it's been extremely unsettling.'
He went on: 'I blame Jeremy Corbyn, but I also blame other people who have acted as bystanders.
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'There is a rule by fear, particularly post 2017 when the Labour Party rules were changed.
'My principals and values of what I believe in come before being an MP. If you're not prepared to lose your job for your values, you should not be doing it.
'The left party is institutionally anti-Semitic. The failure to do something about it made my position untenable.'
A lack of confidence in Corbyn to become Britain's next prime minister also formed part of Umunna's decision to leave the Labour Party.
He said: 'After really soul searching on this issue, can I in all conscience say that I want to make Jeremy Corbyn prime minister and the team around him, put them in charge of our national security... in all conscience I can't do that.'
The Streatham MP told Sophy Ridge that both the Tories and Labour politicians 'were just as bad as each other' and that it is time for a new style of politics.
In the interview at a youth club in Streatham, he said: 'Ultimately our party system is broken. You've got a bunch of parties which are divided.
'We're quite clear that we believe that we should have the closest possible relationship with the European Union because we're internationalists.
'Individuals should be given platforms to succeed. The older tribal politics where you have opposition for opposition's sake is done.
'I do think we need realignment, we're trying to break a system which is usually rigged in favour of different parties.'
When pressed about whether he meant to become the leader of The Independent Group, Umunna admitted that he hoped to play the biggest part.
He said: 'The recognition is that we're all leaders.
'We're going to try to be our best to be culturally different from other parties.'
Umnna added that he doesn't 'intended to leave the field' when asked about whether he planned to defend his seat at the next election.
Polling Figures
Progressive alliance could see Labour win 351 seats at next election...
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Russia report accuses government of ‘badly underestimating’ the risk of Russian interference in the UK
Published: 9:23 AM July 21, 2020 Updated: 6:09 PM September 17, 2020
Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives in Downing Street, after attending a Cabinet meeting, that was held at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London. - Credit: PA
The Russia report has openly accused the government of being too slow to act on the risk Russian interference, claiming it had 'badly underestimated' its response to the threat.
The long-awaited report alleges that Downing Street had taken 'its eye off the ball' and failed to respond to Moscow's meddling in UK elections and institutions.
The heavily-redacted Intelligence and Security Committee's (ISC) report noted that there had been widespread allegations that Russia sought to influence voters in the 2016 Brexit referendum but it would be 'difficult - if not impossible' to assess whether any such attempts had been successful.
The committee said the government was 'slow to recognise the existence of the threat'.
It said the intelligence agencies and ministers should have been aware of the risk of Russian interference as a result of 'credible open source commentary suggesting that Russia undertook influence campaigns in relation to the Scottish independence referendum' in 2014.
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Publication of the committee's report was postponed by Boris Johnson's decision to call a general election and the subsequent delays in setting up a the ISC in the new parliament.
The report and a press summary were prepared by the previous incarnation of the committee in the last parliament.
The committee said Russian influence in the UK is 'the new normal' as successive governments have welcomed oligarchs with open arms.
There were Russians with 'very close links' to Vladimir Putin who were 'well integrated into the UK business, political and social scene - in 'Londongrad' in particular'.
The ISC said it was a priority to 'mitigate the risk, and ensure that where hostile activity is uncovered, the proper tools exist to tackle it at source and to challenge the impunity of Putin-linked elites'.
The committee noted that 'a number of members of the House of Lords have business interests linked to Russia, or work directly for major Russian companies' and these relationships should be 'carefully scrutinised' given the potential for Moscow to exploit them.
They said: 'It has been clear for some time that Russia under Putin has moved from potential partner to established threat, fundamentally unwilling to adhere to international law - the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 and the annexation of Crimea in 2014 were stark indicators of this.
'We therefore question whether the government took its eye off the ball because of its focus on counter-terrorism: it was the opinion of the Committee that until recently the government had badly underestimated the response required to the Russian threat - and is still playing catch up.'
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael welcomed the findings: 'This watershed report confirms an alarming truth: this Conservative government has failed to take the Russian threat to our democracy seriously, even despite the clear evidence they interfered to help Donald Trump to the presidency in 2016.
'The first duty of government is to protect its citizens. However, the Conservatives have been found asleep at their post with their failure to conduct an assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum.
'The protection of our democracy should never come second to the Tories covering their embarrassing connections to Russian oligarchs before an election. Given what has come to light, Boris Johnson should think again about who his party takes money from and gives influence to.
'Without delay, the prime minister must now announce a wide-ranging and properly funded investigation of potential Russian interference in our democracy, including the EU referendum and independence referendum.'
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January 8, 2010 | Social Issues
'Shorter' people get more lung disease
By Daily Guide
People who develop chronic lung disease are more likely to be shorter in height than the general population, University of Nottingham researchers say.
They looked at more than one million people aged over 35 for their study.
They say those with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) were 1.12cm shorter on average.
In the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, they write this lack of height may be a "marker" that people have come from a poorer background.
They say that historical studies had shown a strong relationship between adult height and the risk of developing COPD but they wanted to test whether the effect remained today now that living conditions have improved.
They obtained data on 1,025,662 people from a general practice database called the Health Improvement Network.
The association between height and lung disease was strongest in people aged 35 to 49 years and decreased progressively with age.
The smallest height difference was in the over 90s where the average difference was only 0.51cm.
They say this could be because many of the older generation who suffered from the disease actually died from it in recent years.
People with COPD have permanent scarring to the lung tissue caused mostly be smoking.
It is estimated that 3.7 million people in the UK have the disease, but only 900,000 are currently diagnosed.
The researchers think that people who came from poorer backgrounds were more likely to have had mothers who smoked, had poor nutrition during their early years affecting general growth and lung development, and were more likely to live in smoking households and smoke themselves.
Richard Hubbard, professor of respiratory epidemiology at the University of Nottingham, who co-authored the study said: "There's a double whammy associated with deprivation.
"Poorer nutrition in the 'womb' and when growing up as a child can affect general growth and lung development.
"This is combined with an increased likelihood to live with families and peers who smoke - influencing the chance of taking up and sticking with the habit.
"We know that smoking is the principal cause of COPD and all of these factors combined could increase the risk even more."
Professor Mike Morgan, chairman of the British Thoracic Society, said: "We need to make it easier for people from disadvantaged backgrounds to make positive life choices and improvements to their health - whether it be eating well or stopping smoking.
"GPs and primary care professionals could also look out for height alongside smoking status and other chronic lung disease symptoms, to ensure that the disease is caught early."
A Department of Health spokesman said several factors which may affect growth, such as poor nutrition, are also risks for COPD.
"As part of the forthcoming national strategy on COPD we will be investigating how we can best identify these risk factors and take action to either prevent people developing respiratory conditions or halt the progression of the disease once diagnosed." Source: BBC
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Kanye West Filed A Costly Lawsuit
Kanye West together with his touring company have filed a $10 million lawsuit because Saint Pablo Tour had cancelled some of the shows.
According to the reports, the singer’s team is alleging breach of contract as well as breach of good faith and honest dealing.
The rapper’s team says that more than 8 months later the insurers have not managed to pay on the high-end claim. They also gave not denied it. Moreover, they have not even explained or promised anything.
Last November the rapper’s representative stated that the Saint Pablo Tour dates were cancelled.
Another source tells that West was working around the clock on many projects. Besides, he was trying to find time to spend with his close ones.
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September’s PlayStation Plus games are now available to download, links here
Here’s you monthly reminder to go and grab you free(ish) games from Sony along with some handy links so you don’t even have to turn on your PlayStation 4. This month your haul includes fighting game Street Fighter V and the iconic battle royale, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
Though not quite the first of its kind, PUBG became the definitive battle royale game for many when it launched in Steam Early Access in March 2017. It was an absolute phenomenon, spawning countless imitators, and lead to the revival of Fortnite from a co-op wave-based survival game into something people actually gave a damn about. PUBG then made the jump to Xbox One at the end of 2017, before arriving on PlayStation 4 in December 2018.
The gist, for those that don’t know, is that you and up to 99 other players drop into one of a range of maps with nothing but the clothes on your back. From there, you have to scrounge around for weapons, armour and other items, fighting for survival as a storm pushes players closer and closer together until one final person (or team of up to four) is crowned victorious.
The game is also notoriously wonky and has mediocre performance, regardless of the platform you run it on. We handed it a solid 8/10 in the original review on PC citing those bugs, while for its PS4 release, we called it “Rough, Ready, But Still Relevant.”
On the other end of the scale is Street Fighter V, the latest entry in Capcom’s long-running fighting game series in which you go one on one with another player or the AI. You’ve got a variety of single player modes to take part in, but the real test will be in online matches.
Street Fighter V is now into its fifth year of content, with Capcom switching to a seasonal approach to its development. Still, at the time of its release in 2016, we had high praise. In out Street Fighter V review, Dave said:
Even as a person whose grasp of fighting games is nowhere near top-tier standard, Street Fighter V is the most fun I’ve had in a fighting game in years. It’s a bold choice by Capcom to make this an expanding platform rather than a simpler game release, and it means that while it’s light on content, you have to appraise its stability, core combat and look to its true form in the future. Based on the strength of the gameplay and performance, Street Fighter V is a sublime fighting game and shows that this old dog still has some new tricks.
PUBG and Street Fighter V will be available until Monday 5th October.
Tuffcub
News Editor, very inappropriate, probs fancies your dad.
January’s PlayStation Plus games are now live – download links here!
Sony are giving refunds to players who already own a digital copy of Maneater on PS5, one of January’s PS+ games
January’s PlayStation Plus games have been revealed with a bonus game on PS5
PlayStation Plus free online multiplayer weekend will be held mid-December
rapidly-greying 03/09/20, 18:15
Will just be the basic street fighter content or the goodies that you have to pay for to?
I already have the disc but haven’t even used it yet.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon PS5 graphics and performance modes detailed
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Ron Paul Now President Of The United States
Funny story written by Nowido
Former Pres George W Bush
George W Bush in a special message from the Oval Office announced that Ron Paul would soon be sworn in as President of the United States by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
He recounted that just an hour ago that both he and Dick Cheney submitted their resignations to the Congress on the condition that the House of Representatives convene immediately by telephonic link and elect Rep Ron Paul [R-TX] to be Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The current Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, told him, "Sure, no problem, anything to get rid you and Dick." By a unanimous vote of the House of 434 Yea, 0 Nay, with 1 abstention (Ron Paul), Ron Paul was elected Speaker of the House. As the third in the Presidential line of succession, the resignation of the current President and Vice President automatically makes him President of the United States of America.
When questioned as to why he would do such a thing, Former President George W Bush said, "I didn't want that phoney, Hillary Clinton as my President and even a "nut-case" like Ron Paul would be better for the country than her."
There are reports of mass confusion in national press offices across the country beginning to come over the wires. One unconfirmed report said the Bill O'Riley was last seen chugging on a liter bottle of "Jack Black" while staggering down the hallways of Fox News.
There are also unconfirmed reports from military bases all over the world who were all getting carried away and they were launching missiles as sky-rockets in celebration of the news. One PFC, Harry Smith, is quoted as saying, "WOW, the 4th of July has come a bit early this year."
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English People Don't Know Who Ron Paul Is 25 October 2007
Yet Another Phone-in/Ratings Controversy Rips off an Unsuspecting Public on TheSpoof.com 23 October 2007
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Posts in '2018'
A big festive thank you
This is a guest blog post by our partner Asda.
This Christmas, we’re saying a big festive thank you to everyone helping to deliver our £20m Asda Fight Hunger Create Change campaign. That’s all the unsung heroes – the volunteers, our colleagues and our customers – who share our vision that no-one in this country should go hungry.
People like Christine Bromley, who volunteers at FareShare’s East Midlands warehouse four days a week between 8.30am and 5.30pm.
Read about Christine and some of our other volunteers
Grandma Christine spends four full days a week volunteering with FareShare
Christine, who’s 67 and has two children and four grandchildren, said: “I’ve lived and worked in Leicester all of my life, so it means a lot to me to be able to help people from all walks of life in the city.
“I know there are lots of people in the city that need help – it’s the same in any big city.
“I used to work as a secretary, but in 2015 the company I worked at went under. I decided I wanted to become a volunteer and now I spend four days a week at the warehouse, working on average eight hours a day.
“I just wanted to help people, and also stop food waste. Good food being thrown away just shouldn’t be happening so I really wanted to do something to help.
“I used to go out with the drivers and see the people we help for myself – foodbanks, hostels, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, schools – and it was a real eye-opener. You appreciate how fortunate you are. I feel like I’m doing a good deed by helping all these people who are in need.”
“I really enjoy it. My family think the fact I volunteer here is brilliant, they’re all for it too.”
“When I worked as a secretary I felt like I was just a number, and it was all about profits only. This is completely different, it’s not for profit and is a much more positive and friendly environment.”
Asda’s Fight Hunger Create Change campaign has funded a new warehouse for FareShare East Midlands, meaning they can provide even more food to those in need.
Christine said: “Asda’s support means a lot to me, and it means a lot to everybody at FareShare. Asda being involved really highlights the work we do and the work FareShare does, so people find out about us, know what we’re about and how we help people.”
“The new warehouse is a lot better, we’ve got much more room and more space for chilled products, we used to be tripping over each other in the old warehouse.”
“I load food on to the vans, book food in and tidy up – anything that needs to be done really. There’s always a lot to do, the days fly by.”
“It’s a very physical role but I enjoy that side of it too – I used to really dislike sitting at a desk all day!”
So here’s a big festive thank you to Christine, for everything that you do!
Warrington Community Champion Liz is helping to get fresh food to those in need
People like Liz, the Community Champion at our Warrington store. She’s been working with a local group to provide fresh food for people in the local community in need.
It all started when Ames, a local volunteer, rang the store and asked what Asda did with its food waste and whether we could donate it to her project.
“Her idea was to put community fridges in various community centres,” said Liz. “Local supermarkets could donate food, and members of the public could access the fridge and take fresh food in times of need.”
“Ames at this point didn’t have a fridge, so I offered her space in store to bag pack and raise money for the first fridge.”
With the first fridge in place, Liz supported Ames to access food distributed through the FareShare network and the three Asda stores in Warrington began to donate food each month. Called the Hapi Hub project, there are now four of these community fridges in the area.
Liz said: “Ames has also set up a community lunch club, and with our support ran the first one using produce donated to make a fantastic two-course meal, open to everyone, for only £3.”
Liz helped raise money on the day and the Asda Foundation supported with a top up too.
“Three sessions later and Ames is over the moon to be in profit for Hapi Hub, which will enable the next step of the journey – cooking lessons for kids starting in January!”
So here’s a big festive thank you to Liz, and to Ames, for everything that you do!
Community Champion Jenny is a ‘lifesaver’ for Redcar Foodbank
People like the Community Champion at Asda Middlesbrough, Jenny Barnett. Taking inspiration from our Fight Hunger Create Change campaign, Jenny contacted Redcar foodbank earlier this year to see if they needed help and has proved “a lifesaver” for them, setting up a permanent collection point in the store and volunteering with them every Wednesday.
The foodbank say they would have really struggled to stay afloat without Jenny and Asda’s help.
Foodbank manager Helen Hedges said: “The collection point has been a godsend to us, a real lifesaver, because sadly we’re getting more clients than ever. South Bank is quite a needy area.
“Sometimes we get half a ton of donations each month from Asda which has kept us afloat, particularly in the summer when we struggle for donations.”
“It’s brilliant having Jenny and Asda on board, the whole relationship works really well. She’s helped us set up awareness days in the store too which is great.”
“Jenny’s fantastic, particularly with the children who come in with clients.”
Jenny said: “With the Fight Hunger campaign I wanted the store to have a strong link to a local foodbank, so I contacted the one at Redcar.”
“I set up a permanent collection point and wanted to offer my services in person too. After my first shift there they said ‘please come back next week!’ so I go every Wednesday.”
“I have a great relationship with them, they’re absolutely brilliant – they’re like my best friends.
“When I’m there I help out in the cafe serving free hot meals to guests, wash up, make up food parcels, meet and greet the guests and play with their children while they’re getting support – anything they need.”
So here’s a big festive thank you to Jenny, and to Helen, for everything that you do!
Community Champion Lynn helps Gateshead Foodbank which provides ‘vital’ food to those in need
People like Jackie Beeley, who set up the Gateshead Foodbank with a group of church friends six years ago, when they discovered Gateshead did not have a foodbank.
Asda Gateshead’s community champion Lynn Ivison has helped them from their inception, and crucially helped them secure a permanent donation point in the store. This began six months ago and has made a huge difference to them.
Jackie said: “We set the foodbank up six years ago and it’s run totally by volunteers.”
“A few of us went to a local church concert and saw a sign for Durham Foodbank. We wondered if there was a Gateshead Foodbank and found out there wasn’t, so we thought it would be a good idea to set one up.”
“We gradually got volunteers and referral agencies on board and it went from there.”
“My working background is in social care and project management, so I use those skills to manage the foodbank.”
Jackie says that she has been really grateful for Lynn’s support.
“Lynn’s always been around to help us during the six years, and we’ve built up a great relationship with her” she said. “She also helped us get a £1,000 Asda Foundation for Christmas hampers to give out last year.”
“We hold awareness days in the store, and six months ago we got a permanent collection point in the store which has really taken off. Before that, they could only donate on our awareness days in the store.”
“Customers can now put food in whenever they want, and we go along every week to collect the donations. This is vital, we feed around 125 people a week, and we now have a regular supply of food which allows us to supply food to more people.”
So here’s a big festive thank you to Jackie, and to Lynn, for everything that you do!
Deptford driver Derek says volunteering is the ‘best thing’ he’s done
People like the fantastic team at FareShare’s London depot, who ensure essential food supplies are delivered to the charities and foodbanks helping people in need in the capital is expanding thanks to the Asda Fight Hunger Create Change campaign.
Derek Blunden is one of the volunteer drivers who distributes food for FareShare. He wanted to give something back to the community after selling his printing business following a cancer diagnosis.
Derek said: “I was going to work until I was 70, but I got diagnosed with prostate cancer about five years ago. About two years ago I fell asleep at work, which was due to the side effects of the treatment. I thought, ‘What am I doing, I’m 67 – I’m going to jack this in and give something back to the community.”
“I wanted to volunteer with the NHS but signing up with them would have taken several months, so I went along to a local volunteering centre. They suggested FareShare, and it’s been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“I distribute food parcels to all sorts of people – on a typical day I could be visiting a foodbank, a community centre hosting a meal for elderly people and a hostel for homeless people – and they’re all extremely grateful. That’s one of the best things about doing the driving job – you see the end product, and you’re the person they thank, even though all I do is deliver the food!”
We’re investing £20 million over the next three years to help FareShare and The Trussell Trust – and at FareShare’s London depot our funding has paid for a delivery driver and a charities coordinator to join full time.”
FareShare’s London development manager Rachel Ledwith says this will be a tremendous help.
She said: “Asda’s support is making a huge difference. This funding means we can expand our reach further across the city, reaching those communities in the Greater London boroughs where we are seeing an increasing need for our services.”
“Without drivers we have no way of delivering the food. Our volunteers are brilliant and keep our operation moving, but with an employed driver we have a guarantee that deliveries will happen on the days they work – it makes our operation and support much more sustainable.”
“FareShare’s mission is to access and redistribute the estimated 270,000 tonnes of food which goes to waste in the UK each year, and redistribute it to those in need. Asda’s funding is enabling us to do that – affording us the opportunity to invest in our resource to over the next three years, feed thousands more vulnerable people across London and the UK each week.”
So here’s a big festive thank you to Jeff, Rachel and all the team at FareShare London for everything that you do!
Campaigning for change: how do we engage with politicians?
Garry Lemon
Director of Policy, External Affairs & Research
At The Trussell Trust, we have been clear: no one in the UK should need to use a foodbank. But during the last year, we’ve seen huge increases in people being referred. This isn’t right. And it isn’t inevitable.
We can end hunger and poverty in the UK. Poverty acts like a current, with big structural things – like the rising cost of living or insecure work – sweeping people away and leaving them without enough money for the basics. We know what things will anchor people against those tides and reduce the need for foodbanks. (more…)
More people than ever expected through foodbank doors this Christmas, as charity releases new figures
The Trussell Trust says not only was December the busiest month for foodbanks last year, but year on year December figures are rapidly increasing, as it prepares for its busiest Christmas yet
New data released today shows December was the busiest month for foodbanks last year. During December 2017, The Trussell Trust’s network provided 159,388 three-day emergency food supplies to people in crisis; 65,622 of these went to children. This is a 49% increase on the monthly average for the 2017-18 financial year.
The figures reveal the year on year need for foodbanks in December is increasing steeply – the number of food supplies given to people mark a 10% rise from December 2016 when 144,677 were given out. (more…)
The next stage of Universal Credit: what should the new Secretary of State do?
The new Secretary of State has said she wants to make sure that Universal Credit “becomes a force wholly for good”. After successive cuts, flawed design and problematic delivery, this is a bold ambition. Her first test will be the much-anticipated next stage of Universal Credit roll-out – ‘managed migration’.
The government is poised to debate regulations which determine the process for the next stage of Universal Credit, where people claiming benefits under the old systems will need to move to the new benefits system. The task at hand cannot be underestimated. Three million people will have their benefits stopped and will need to reapply to continue to receive support.
What does this week’s announcement on Universal Credit mean?
On Monday afternoon the Government published an update to its plans for the next stage of Universal Credit, ‘managed migration’.
Until now, only people making a new application have gone onto the new benefits system. This next stage will see people already receiving a benefits or tax credits payment under the old system move onto Universal Credit.
At The Trussell Trust, we’ve been watching the development of these plans closely. As a nation we created systems like our national health service, fire service and benefits system because we’re a country that believes in protecting each other – but we’ve seen more and more people needing foodbanks in areas where Universal Credit has been rolled out.
Action still needed on Universal Credit wait, as new figures show a 13% increase in foodbank use in just six months compared to this time last year
The Trussell Trust’s foodbank network provided 658,048 emergency supplies to people in crisis between April and September 2018, a 13% increase on the same period in 2017. The charity says if the five week minimum wait for a first Universal Credit payment is not reduced, the only way to prevent even more people being forced to foodbanks this winter is to pause all new claims to Universal Credit.
The inability of benefit levels to cover essential living costs and issues with payments remain the most common reasons for referral to a foodbank. Universal Credit is not the only benefit people at foodbanks are experiencing problems with, but the new system is increasingly driving referrals due to benefit delays, which include waiting for a first payment or having problems with a new claim.1
Foodbanks typically receive more referrals for emergency support during the second half of the financial year, raising concerns that foodbank use this winter will rise further, as hardship experienced annually during the colder months is compounded by more people left waiting at least five weeks for benefit payments.
The Trussell Trust welcomes changes to Universal Credit announced in the recent Budget. However much of the support will not come into force until July 2020.2 To protect people who will move onto Universal Credit before that point, the charity is calling for the Department for Work & Pensions to be resourced to reduce the five week minimum wait for a first payment.
Emma Revie, Chief Executive of The Trussell Trust explains,
“We created systems like our national health service, fire service and benefits system because we’re a country that believes in protecting each other. Our benefits system is supposed to anchor any of us from being swept into poverty, but if Universal Credit is to do that, we need to see urgent changes.
“It’s not right that people are being forced to use foodbanks after weeks of waiting for Universal Credit payments. The changes announced in last week’s Budget are a good start – but they won’t solve all of the problems foodbanks see, and they won’t help people making new claims this winter.
“We’re seeing soaring levels of need at foodbanks. The time to act is now. If the five week wait isn’t reduced, the only way to stop even more people being forced to foodbanks this winter will be to pause all new claims to Universal Credit, until funding is in place to reduce the five week wait. Foodbanks cannot continue to pick up the pieces – we have to make sure our benefits system can protect people from hunger.”
A national petition calling on the Government to fix Universal Credit from the End Hunger UK campaign, backed by The Trussell Trust and a range of charities and faith groups, will be delivered to 10 Downing Street on Wednesday 7th November.
Contact The Trussell Trust Press Office at 020 3137 3699 or [email protected].
Between 1st April and 30th September 2018, foodbanks in The Trussell Trust’s network provided 658,048 emergency supplies to people in crisis between April and September 2018. 232,761 of these supplies went to children.
This is a 13% increase on the same period in 2017, when 580,949 emergency supplies went to people in crisis; 206,327 of these went to children.
The main reasons for referral between April – Sept 2018 were: benefit payments not covering the cost of essentials (31%), benefit delays (22%) and benefit changes (17%)
‘Benefit delays’: The Trussell Trust can compare trends over time using data gathered from electronic foodbank referrals since April 2016. Electronic referrals are completed by referral agencies in the same way as traditional paper vouchers, and can collect more detailed information about the reason behind the referral.
Additional information about the type of electronic referral due to a ‘benefit delay’ includes waiting for a first payment, waiting for a new claim to be awarded and interrupted payments. Universal Credit accounted for the following proportion of electronic foodbank referrals due to a benefit delay:
Time Period Proportion of electronic referrals due to a benefit delay due to waiting for a new Universal Credit payment or award
1st April – 30th September 2017 16%
1st October 2017 – 31st March 2018 27%
More information about our network’s electronic referral system and what the figures between April and September 2018 show can be found here.
The Budget: The Trussell Trust welcomes the Universal Credit changes announced in the recent Budget, however the changes will not help everyone referred to a foodbank following a Universal Credit issue. Changes aimed at addressing the five-week wait will not come into force quickly enough to make a difference this winter.
While the government has now introduced 100% advance payments to manage the five-week wait, these must be repaid. The 2018 Budget announced the government would attempt to make repayments more affordable by reducing the maximum rate of Universal Credit deductions to repay debts from 40% to 30% of the Universal Credit personal allowance. It will also increase the period over which advances can be recovered, from 12 to 16 months. However, the former change will not happen until October 2019, and the latter only from October 2021.
Building on the 2017 Budget announcement that Housing Benefit claimants will receive an additional payment providing a fortnight’s worth of support during their transition to Universal Credit, the government announced that it will extend this to cover the income-related elements of Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance, and Income Support. However, this excludes significant groups, such as people receiving tax credits, and will only come into force from July 2020.
About The Trussell Trust:
The Trussell Trust is here to end hunger and poverty in the UK. We support a network of 428 foodbanks, operating out of more than 1200 centres across the UK.
It takes more than food to end hunger. We do three things: support our network to provide emergency food to people referred; help foodbanks provide additional support to resolve the cause of foodbank referral; and bring together the experiences of hundreds of communities on the frontline to challenge the structural issues that lock people in poverty. We’re campaigning for long-term change so we can see a future without the need for foodbanks.
Read more at trusselltrust.org
Trussell Trust foodbank statistics:
Trussell Trust statistics are a measure of volume rather than unique users. Our data system can calculate the average visit frequency within a time period and shows people visited on average around two times between April and September 2018, leading us to estimate that approximately 329,024 people are likely to have been unique users in this six month period.
The data is collected using an online system into which foodbanks enter data from each foodbank voucher, and the number of three day emergency food supplies (containing enough food for 10 meals) is recorded, along with the reason for referral.
Trussell Trust figures cannot be used to fully explain the scale of foodbank use across the UK, because our figures relate to foodbanks in our network and not to the hundreds of independent food aid banks. Research suggests that Trussell Trust foodbank centres account for roughly two-thirds of all emergency food banks in the UK. You can read more about this here.
The Trussell Trust Responds to The Budget
Responding to today’s Budget from the Chancellor, The Trussell Trust’s chief executive Emma Revie said:
“Today’s Budget suggests the Government has started to recognise our benefits system must be ready and able to support anyone who needs it. By restoring work allowances and increasing support to those moving onto Universal Credit the Government has listened to evidence from the frontline and from foodbanks. These are significant improvements that will make a real difference to many people supported by Universal Credit in the future.
“However, right now, more and more people across Britain are struggling to make ends meet, unable to afford food, and facing hunger as a result. The huge rise in foodbank use where Universal Credit has been rolled out is the opposite of what should be happening: our benefits system should be protecting people from needing a foodbank, not forcing people to use one.
“By failing to ensure benefits cover essential living costs, the Government risks undermining the health, wellbeing and dignity of millions of people.
“We know it doesn’t have to be like this. In a country that created a benefits system to anchor people from poverty, it is imperative that the Government goes further. We look forward to hearing more detail about what support will be in place during the next stage of Universal Credit. We must see the Government act now to help end hunger and poverty in the UK for good.”
Analysis from The Trussell Trust shows a 52% average increase in foodbank use in areas that have had Universal Credit for 12 months, compared to 13% in areas that have not. Universal Credit is not the only issue driving foodbank use but it is an increasingly significant factor.
Contact: The Trussell Trust press office on 020 3137 3699.
Notes to Editor:
Information about Universal Credit and foodbank use is available here.
The Trussell Trust is an anti-poverty charity that supports a network of over 420 foodbanks across the UK.
In 2017-2018, 1,332,952 three day emergency food supplies were provided to people referred to foodbanks in The Trussell Trust’s network, a 13% increase on the previous year. Over a third of supplies (484,026) went to children.
It takes more than food to end hunger. The Trussell Trust therefore does three things: supports its network to provide emergency food to people referred; helps foodbanks to provide on-site additional help or signpost people to relevant local charities to resolve the cause of foodbank referral; and brings together the experiences of hundreds of communities on the frontline to challenge the structural issues that lock people in poverty and campaign for long-term change so we can see a future without the need for foodbanks.
The Trussell Trust responds to Universal Credit report from the Public Accounts Committee
Universal Credit causes financial hardship for claimants, including increased debt and rent arrears, and forces people to use foodbanks, according to a report published by a cross-party committee of MPs today.
Responding to the conclusions of the Public Accounts Committee, Emma Revie, Chief Executive of The Trussell Trust, said,
“We’re a country that prides itself on doing the right thing. We created our benefits system to make sure support would be in place for each other, but today’s findings are clear: if Universal Credit is to continue this legacy, more must be done and it must be done now.
“The report echoes the experience of people at foodbanks across the country. Waiting weeks for Universal Credit, not being able to access support, receiving payments that just don’t cover the cost of essentials – these are the things forcing people to use foodbanks. This is completely unacceptable.
“These Universal Credit issues are not one-offs, and with the next stage of the system looming, problems are only likely to increase if the Government doesn’t acknowledge the scale of the problem and learn the lessons of roll-out so far. This is the time to act – the Budget next week is an opportunity to do the right thing and invest in Universal Credit. If our benefits system is going to anchor people from being swept into poverty, it needs to be properly funded.”
How can this year’s Budget reduce the need for foodbanks?
Garry Lemon, Director of Policy, External Affairs, and Research
Universal Credit is at a crossroads. And it is in the upcoming Budget that we will get a better idea of what sort of a social security safety net our country will have in the future. The stakes could not be higher.
The new benefit has rarely been far from the front pages in recent days, and with good reason. The admission from the Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey that some households would indeed be much worse off under the new system has caused growing disquiet, and added to calls for reform or even scrapping of the system.
Here at The Trussell Trust we have long been warning that Universal Credit is not providing the support it should be, particularly for the people who need it the most – families with children and people with disabilities or illness.
Foodbanks in The Trussell Trust network have on average seen a surge in demand where Universal Credit has rolled out, and the evidence on the link between foodbank referrals and moving onto Universal Credit is growing stronger. A survey of people referred to foodbanks who were meant to be supported by the new benefit revealed the immediate and severe consequences of the five-week wait for payment. People told us of a lack of support, the inability of payments to cover the cost of living for people who most need it, and at times woefully poor administration leaving people penniless and destitute.
This, of course, is not how things were supposed to go. Universal Credit was supposed to support people into work, make work pay, simplify the system, and reduce error.
Whether the new system could have come close to this vision we do not know, as successive cuts have drastically reduced the generosity of the benefit – particularly for families with children and disabled people. That’s why the health, wellbeing and dignity of millions of households now and in the future will depend on the Treasury reinvesting in Universal Credit so that it supports everyone that needs it.
With hints in the press that the Chancellor is reconsidering some of these decisions, we are calling for investment in Universal Credit, first to put the money taken out of the system back in, and second to fund proper support for people moving onto the system.
Families and disabled people have borne the brunt of cuts to Universal Credit. We want working families to keep more of what they earn by restoring the work allowance, and for Child Tax Credits and the Child Element of Universal Credit to be uprated in line with inflation. We are also calling for a reversal to the cut to the ESA ‘work related activity group’ and UC ‘limited capacity for work’ element from £102.15 to £73.10, reflecting the additional inescapable costs of living with a disability.
More support is needed for people moving onto the new system. For disabled people who move onto Universal Credit, we want to see a minimum two-week Employment and Support Allowance run on before the first payment, to ease the burden of the five-week wait. And while the announcement that Citizens Advice will lead on delivering Universal Support is a welcome step, more funding is urgently needed to ensure people can get the advice they need when moving over. This is even more urgent as the next stage of Universal Credit begins in 2019.
Across the UK, thousands of volunteers and donors have done an extraordinary job in the face of the challenges thrown up by Universal Credit, providing not just food, but links to vital services; a cup of tea and non-judgemental human interaction in a time of deeply distressing crisis in people’s lives.
But however dignified the service our volunteers provide, it is no substitute for the dignity of having enough money in your pocket to put food on the table for you and your family. To be able to afford bus fare. Toiletries. Sanitary products. Nappies for your baby. Winter clothes. A warm space for your child to do their homework.
With the right investment, the Government has an opportunity in the Budget to ensure Universal Credit works better, and moves us closer to a future where nobody in financial crisis is referred to a foodbank again.
Charity warns next stage of Universal Credit could further increase foodbank use
Anti-poverty charity The Trussell Trust fears the next stage of Universal Credit – which will see three million people moving from tax credits and the old benefits system onto the new system – could lead to a significant increase in foodbank use as new research highlights a major increase in the proportion of foodbank referrals made for people moving onto Universal Credit.
Issues with benefits are the main reason for all Trussell Trust foodbank referrals. Analysis of data from frontline agencies referring to foodbanks across the UK between April 2016 and April 2018 shows that benefit transitions, most likely due to people moving onto Universal Credit, are increasingly accounting for more referrals and are likely driving up need in areas of full Universal Credit rollout. Waiting for the first payment is a key cause, while for many, simply the act of moving over to a new system is causing hardship.
The findings come as the Department for Work and Pensions finalises its plans for the next stage of Universal Credit to take to Parliament later this month. Until now, only people making a new application for benefits in certain areas have been able to apply for Universal Credit. This next stage – ‘managed migration’ – will see the three million people currently receiving tax credits or benefit payments under the old system sent a letter telling them to reapply for these payments under Universal Credit.
Each person will have to wait at least five weeks for the first payment, and if people miss the deadline for application, could face having all their payments stopped. The Trussell Trust says this is particularly concerning because many people most in need of financial support will be in this group, with the majority relying on payments for housing, half claiming tax credits, and a third claiming disability benefits. Previous research shows half of people at foodbanks have a disability or health condition, or live with someone that does, suggesting they are already more likely to need a foodbank’s help.*
Emma Revie, Chief Executive of The Trussell Trust, explains:
“We created our benefits system in this country to free people from poverty, not lock them into it. As we look at the current plans for the next stage of Universal Credit, we’re really worried that our network of foodbanks could see a big increase in people needing help. Leaving three million people to wait at least five weeks for a first payment – especially when we have already decided they need support through our old benefits or tax credits system – is just not good enough.
“It doesn’t have to be like this. We know the problems people are likely to face as they move over to the new system, so we can learn from them. The Department for Work and Pensions has shown they can act on evidence from the frontline to make a real difference to people who need our benefits system’s vital support. Now is the time for our Government to take responsibility for moving people currently on the old system over, and to ensure no one faces a gap in payments when that moves happens. Universal Credit needs to be ready for anyone who might need its help, and it needs to be ready before the next stage begins.”
The Trussell Trust recommends the Government moves people onto Universal Credit – rather than leaving people to make their own claim – to ensure there is no gap between old and new benefits payments; expands Universal Support, the wraparound digital and financial support service that should come with every Universal Credit claim; and publishes a schedule for the next stage of Universal Credit, ensuring there are opportunities to review the process and make changes whilst it is underway if needed.
The executive summary and full report, ‘The next stage of Universal Credit’, can be read here.
The Trussell Trust has been working with its network of foodbanks to monitor the impact of Universal Credit. Universal Credit is not the only benefit people at foodbanks experience issues with, but it is an increasingly significant factor.
Analysis of foodbanks that have been in full Universal Credit rollout areas for a year or more shows that these projects experienced an average increase of 52% in the twelve months after the full rollout date in their area. Analysis of foodbanks either not in full Universal Credit areas, or only in full rollout areas for up to three months, showed an average increase of 13%.
More information about the next stage of Universal Credit and The Trussell Trust’s concerns can be found here.
*More information about disability, health and foodbank use can be found in Financial insecurity, food insecurity, and disability, R Loopstra 2017: https://www.trusselltrust.org/what-we-do/research-advocacy/oxford-university-report/
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by Cathy Gohlke
2016 Christy Award Winner! (Historical novel category)
2016 Carol Award Winner! (Historical category)
All her life, Hannah Sterling longed for a close relationship with her estranged mother. Following Lieselotte’s death, Hannah determines to unlock the secrets of her mother’s mysterious past and is shocked to discover a grandfather living in Germany.
Thirty years earlier, Lieselotte’s father is quickly ascending the ranks of the Nazi party, and a proper marriage for his daughter could help advance his career. Lieselotte is in love—but her beloved Lukas is far from an ideal match, as he secretly works against the Reich. Yet Lieselotte never imagined how far her father would go to ensure her cooperation.
Both Hannah’s and Lieselotte’s stories unfold as Hannah travels to Germany to meet her grandfather, who is hiding wartimes secrets of his own. Longing for connection, yet shaken by all she uncovers, Hannah must decide if she can atone for her family’s tragic past and how their legacy will shape her future.
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christian living, spirituality, religion and christianity, world war ii era book, christian novel, family read, chapter book, nazi germany, jewish genocide, travels to germany
Reader Reviews(3)
In a small North Carolina mountain town in the early 1970s, Hannah Sterling struggles with questions of forgiveness after her mother’s death. Taking leave from her job as a high school teacher, Hannah rummages through her emotionally distant mother’s old home, only to find letters connecting her grandfather to the Nazi party. Hannah embarks on a journey through Germany to uncover the secrets of her family’s past, a task her octogenarian grandfather and his close associate are only too eager to block. Told from both Hannah’s viewpoint and that of her mother as a young woman, this well-researched epic depicts life under the Nazi regime with passionate attention. While the Sterling family story serves as a warning about digging into the past, it is also a touching example of the healing power of forgiveness and the rejuvenating power of faith.
by Publishers Weekly
connywithay
“I came searching for my parents, for the family I want so desparately – have wanted all my life – and this is what I get?†Hannah worries in Cathy Gohlke’s novel, Secrets She Kept. ~ What ~ This four-hundred-and-sixteen-page paperback targets those who are intrigued by romantic Christian historical fiction involving Nazis and Jews during World War II. With no profanity or detailed sexual scenes, topics of physical and sexual abuse, imprisonment, murder, and death may not be appropriate for immature readers. The ending includes the author’s notes and first chapter of a previous book. In this tale told in first person by two individuals over thirty years apart, twenty-seven-year old Hannah Sterling is unable to get over her mother’s death, especially when she learns the man who raised her is not who she was lead to believe. Lieselotte Sommer was only thirteen when her mother died and slowly begins to learn things are not what they seem when her father rises in the Nazi ranks in Berlin in 1938. In love with a boy her father forbids and compassionate toward the needy, the teen gets caught up in aiding others, convinced her father is unaware of her intentions. As Hannah learns her grandfather is still alive, she flies to Germany, only to uncover secrets, heartbreaks, and lies that she cannot fathom or correct. Dealing with the truth, both women learn in different ways about love and forgiveness. ~ Why ~ With the historical background of the Reich abusing the Jews, the book draws the reader to how family relations are pivotal yet sometimes destructive during wartime. I found Gohlke’s writing superbly sensitive to the horrors of the Holocaust and how loved ones dealt with its tumultuous aftermath. ~ Why Not ~ With the story dwelling on a hideous time of humankind with the over-whelming cruelty toward Jews, some may be uncomfortable reading the gut-wrenching account. ~ Who ~ Two-time Christy Award winner, Gohlke has written several books and lives in Virginia and Maryland with her husband. ~ Wish ~ Due to the tenderness Gohlke approached the topic of war, I hope a new book will be written shortly. ~ Want ~ If you find historical fiction of WWII from the Nazis’ perspective engaging, this story of survival through secrets on both sides of the war will stimulate forgiveness of others. Thanks to Tyndale House Publishers for offering this book to read and review for my honest opinion.
Hannah Sterling has always wished for a relationship with her mother. When death closes that door, Hannah is determined to unlock those secrets of her mother, Lieselotte's, past. Why was her mother the way she had always known her? She then learns that she has a grandfather who still lives in Germany. Meanwhile, thirty years earlier, Hitler is rising to power and Lieselotte's father is climbing the Nazi ranks. A proper marriage for his only daughter could help him advance in his career. What happens when Lieselotte is in love with a man who is secretly working against the Reich making it far from an ideal match? Exactly how far is her father willing to go to ensure that she cooperates and how will their actions echo through generations? When Hannah goes to Berlin to visit her grandfather, both stories are uncovered. She also learns that her grandfather has wartime secrets of his own. Longing for connection with her family, yet is shaken by the things that she uncovers, Hannah must decide if she can atone for her family's tragic past...and how their legacy will shape her future. Cathy Gohlke has a talent for storytelling and her research was thoroughly done. Secrets She Kept is engaging and powerful. It is a story that is crying out to be told and is a must read. You may know about the Holocaust, but there's more to what occurred during World War II than many realize. Be prepared to walk through some concentration camps and to cry, but also for rejoicing because it is a story of forgiveness. Don't miss out on this one! Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review, which I have given. I was not required to write a positive review and have not been compensated for it in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.
Rebecca Maney
Forgiveness is often reclusive, lingering in the shadows of an embittered soul, hoping that the light of truth never deems to shine in its direction. Hannah Sterling avoids the specter of forgiveness like a plague, and some would argue that she has good reason to embrace anger, bitterness and regret; especially in light of the horrific circumstances that preceded her own birth and proceeded to ruin the lives of her family members, both known and unknown. Following the death of her mother, Hannah travels to Germany, intrigued by items that a search of her childhood home has initiated. She is determined to find answers to the secrets that her mother kept locked away in a safe deposit box until the day she died. Discovering a grandfather that she never knew existed, Hannah is shocked when he is less than forthcoming about her mother's past, and with good reason. Lieselotte Sommer was a relentless champion for freedom and thus an enemy of the Reich, paying for her courage with the right to a happy future. Aided by an unexpected friend and confidant, Hannah unearths a literal trove of atrocities, only to find her own life at a strategic crossroads; will her family's past destroy her as well, or will it send her on a path of love and redemption that she never knew existed. Written in dual voices, "Secrets She Kept" traces the amazing lives of not one, but two young women whose lives are miraculous testimonies, with very different endings.
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James Gammie, MD
Chief, Cardiac Surgery
Available for Telemedicine Visits
About James Gammie, MD
Toggle accordion item
Dr. Gammie was named a "Top Doctor" in the specialty of Cardiac Surgery by Baltimore magazine in 2020 and 2019.
Dr. Gammie, an expert in mitral valve repair, is a Professor of Surgery and Chief of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Maryland. To make an appointment with Dr. Gammie, call 410-328-5842
He joined the University of Maryland Heart Center from the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, where he was an assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery and surgical director of cardiac transplantation and mechanical circulatory support. He received his medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He completed his general surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he also completed a research fellowship in the Divisions of cellular therapeutics and cardiothoracic surgery.
His clinical and research interests include mitral valve repair, beating heart mitral valve repair, surgical treatment of infective endocarditis, and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation. Special interests include aortic valve bypass surgery, heart and lung transplantation, and cryoprobes and microwave technology.
Read Dr. Gammie's publications on PubMed.
Language(s): English; French
UM Prince George's Hospital Center
UM St. Joseph Medical Center
Member of UM Faculty Physicians, Inc.
University of Massachusetts Medical School, 1990
UPMC-University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 1995
UPMC-University of Pittsburgh Medical Center - Surgery, Thoracic & Cardiac Surgery, 1999
American Board of Thoracic Surgery - Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery, 2000
In case of emergency, please call 911
University of Maryland Surgical Associates
306 West Redwood Street
Cardiac Surgery | UM Professional Building
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Aug. 27, 2013 / 10:11 PM
Ex-Salvadoran colonel gets prison for immigration fraud
BOSTON, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Ex-Salvadoran Col. Inocente Orlando Montano, suspected of killing six priests and two others, was sentenced to prison Tuesday in Boston for immigration fraud.
Montano was given 21 months in federal prison for immigration fraud and perjury and is to serve another year on probation in the United States, La Pagina reported. Prosecutors had sought a 51-month term for Montano, who had pleaded last year, the Salvadoran newspaper said.
Spain wants Montano extradited to that country to face human-rights charges in the 1989 slayings of the Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her teenage daughter. The United States has yet to comply with the extradition request.
Montano was deputy minister of public security at the time of the killings.
The Center for Justice & Accountability, a human-rights advocacy group in San Francisco, alleges Montano, who resettled near Boston a decade ago, conspired with other high commanders to murder the priests and other two victims.
"Today, we are one step closer to justice for the victims of the massacre," the group said in a statement posted on its website. "CJA commends Assistant U.S. Attorney John Capin and his whole team for an exemplary job in this case. The sentence of 21 months sends a message to human-rights abusers that they cannot seek safe haven in the United States and avoid accountability for their actions.
"Now, the extradition process for the trial in Spain can begin, where Montano will be tried for his role as one of the decision-makers who ordered the 1989 killing of the Jesuits in El Salvador. This is the moment of justice that the victims of the massacre deserve."
Biden, Harris call for healing in COVID-19 memorial ahead of inauguration
Jan. 19 (UPI) -- President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris called for healing in an event honoring those who have died of COVID-19 as they prepare for Wednesday's inauguration amid heavy security.
Jan. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. markets rebounded from losses last week as the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 116 points and tech stocks helped the Nasdaq rise.
5 of Biden's Cabinet picks begin Senate confirmation hearings
Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Five nominees for President-elect Joe Biden's Cabinet gave testimony to Senate confirmation committees Tuesday: Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen, Alejandro Myorkas, Avril Haines and Austin Lloyd.
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Defining Readiness
Using Readiness
Studying Readiness
Getting To Outcomes
Partners & Projects
Randy Schwartz joins the Wandersman Center
We are delighted to bring Randy Schwartz, MSPH, onboard with the Wandersman Center. Randy is a nationally recognized public health professional with over thirty-five years’ experience in implementing health promotion/disease prevention initiatives in state health department and voluntary health organizations with an emphasis on chronic disease prevention and control, cancer control, tobacco control, community-based health promotion and healthy public policy. He is currently President of Public Health Systems Consultants, and serves as the Sr. Public Health Consultant for Cancer Control with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD). He is an Adjunct Faculty member for several leading academic public health programs. Randy has written and presented on the importance of engaging public health practitioners along with researchers and engaged communities as a key factor in advancing implementation science.
Randy brings to The Wandersman Center his strong experience as a public health practitioner, thus grounding the reality of implementation in real world situations. He has a long history of linking public health practice with academic and research partners to advance translation, dissemination and quality implementation. Randy’s participation with the work of the Wandersman Center will help bring that lens of real world public health practice to our work.
Prior to this, he served as Vice President for Health Systems for the ACS, New England Division (2000-2015), implementing the Division's Program of Work for Cancer Prevention, Cancer Detection, and Quality of Life/Patient Support.to reduce the burden of cancer on the communities and citizens in the six-states of New England. Before this work at ACS, he was Director of the Division of Community and Family Health of the Maine Bureau of Health (now Maine CDC), where he worked for seventeen years, fifteen of which were in a senior position as a Division Director. In that role, he directed all chronic disease prevention and control and health promotion programs (including cancer control, CVD prevention, tobacco prevention and control and community health promotion/healthy communities), as well as the maternal and child health and public health nursing programs. In these positions he has directed the implementation and evaluation of health promotion/disease prevention interventions in multiple settings including community, worksite, health care and public policy.
Randy has participated on numerous national review panels and committees, including the Institute of Medicine Committee to Review the CDC Centers for Research and Demonstration of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; was a member or Chair of the grant review panels for CDC’s Prevention Research Centers over a period of more than thirty years; and served as a reviewer on numerous CMS, HRSA, OASH, NIH/NCI grant review panels. He has served as a reviewer for the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) and numerous other grant review and advisory panels.
He has authored or co-authored numerous articles on health promotion and chronic disease prevention. Randy is the Founding Editor of the journal, Health Promotion Practice, a journal of the Society for Public Health Education. He has been awarded the Society for Public Health Education’s Distinguished Fellow Award, the Society’s highest honor.
Also, check out Randy's conversation about the role of implementation science in public health
Available Tools
Serve & Connect
Wandersman Center
"At some point, we just have to roll up our sleeves and do something different.
That's what readiness provides. It's the something that makes implementation a bit better."
Dr. Brittany Cook
VP of Education and Human Development
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Wärtsilä strengthens presence in hydro services with American Hydro’s expertise
22 August 2017 at 3:15 PM E. Europe Standard Time
In June 2016, Wärtsilä acquired American Hydro, a specialist in optimising, upgrading and servicing hydroelectric and water distribution systems. With its offering of consultancy, design and precision performance enhancement services for hydro-turbines and pumps, the company was a natural extension to Wärtsilä Services’ portfolio, supporting its customers in hydro upgrades and plant rehabilitation.
As energy demand continues to increase on a global level, hydro power operators around the world face a significant need for extensive efficiency upgrades in old hydro plants. In addition to answering this demand, Wärtsilä’s expertise in new technologies and utilisation of real-time data and analytics provide opportunities to optimise the daily operations and maintenance of hydro power plants. Building on American Hydro’s strong position in North America, Wärtsilä is now targeting a rapid global growth in the hydro market.
Increasing hydropower plant efficiency around the world
Now, a year later, the acquisition has proven to be a successful strategic step towards Wärtsilä’s target of growth and expansion in the hydro sector. American Hydro’s recent customer projects include a contract with Alabama Power, a Southern Company, to replace, rehabilitate and install unit two at the 100 MW Jordan Hydro Dam. In April 2017, American Hydro signed a contract with H2O Power to upgrade, rehabilitate, and install two Francis turbine units at their Island Falls Generating Station located on the Abitibi River in Ontario, Canada.
“Thanks to the acquisition of American Hydro, we have further expanded our knowledge and understanding of the hydro market, and can now better support our customers in hydro upgrades and plant rehabilitation, including hydro seals and bearings, hydro-electrical and automation upgrades and industrial generator bearings,” says Lee Martindale, Director, Business Development, Seals & Bearings at Wärtsilä Services. “The results of the integration of American Hydro have exceeded our expectations, and we are now looking to gain a strong foothold in the hydro markets of Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia, as well as keeping our eyes open for new acquisition opportunities in these areas,” Martindale continues.
Growing offering and organisation
Wärtsilä has more than 30 years’ experience in supplying seals and bearings to the global hydro and industrial and marine markets. It offers customers around the world optimising and predicting solutions through full operations and maintenance services as well as plant upgrades, including reconditioning, remanufacturing and upgraded component supply. To further support its hydro power customers and continue to grow and expand in the business area, Wärtsilä offers hydro services utilising its existing, well-equipped re-manufacturing workshops and in-situ machining technologies, expanding the latest developments in laser welding, babbitting, machining and coating services to hydropower plant customers.
More information on Wärtsilä’s Hydro and Industrial Services
Lee Martindale
Wärtsilä Services
lee.martindale@wartsila.com
Claire Webster
Marketing Manager, Seals & Bearings
Tel: +44 (0)7 595 068473
claire.webster@wartsila.com
Wärtsilä Services in brief
Wärtsilä Services provides high-quality lifecycle services that enhance customers’ business. Its broad range of services supports both shipping and power generation companies, whenever and wherever needed. Solutions range from spare parts and basic support to ensuring the maximised lifetime, increased efficiency and guaranteed performance of the customer’s equipment or installation – in a safe, reliable, and environmentally sustainable way.
www.wartsila.com/services
Wärtsilä is a global leader in advanced technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2016, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 4.8 billion with approximately 18,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki, Finland.
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