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Different venues
Woodcuts in Modern China, 1937-2008
dal 1/12/2008 al 25/4/2009
DeWitt Godfrey
Zhang Minjie
Xu Bing
Joachim Homann
Renee Covalucci
Different venues, Hamilton
Towards a Universal Pictorial Language
Co-curators: Joachim Homann and Renee Covalucci
This exhibition is a comprehensive overview of the use by Chinese artists of the western-style woodcut that laid the foundation of modern Chinese art. It features many of the leaders in the field, from the founding generation to contemporary printmakers such as Zhang Minjie and Xu Bing.
The early works are drawn from the collection of over 200 woodcuts from the Chinese revolution donated to the Picker by Theodore Herman, professor of geography emeritus and director emeritus of peace studies, who acquired them from the artists in 1948.
A Year of Chinese Art at Colgate University
Over the coming year, Colgate's campus will come alive with a series of events that present twentieth century Chinese art in both historical and contemporary contexts. Major support for these events is made possible through the generosity of Robert H. N. Ho '56 in honor of Theodore Herman, professor of geography emeritus and lifelong friend of the Ho family.
Exhibitions in the Picker Art Gallery, the Clifford Gallery, the Longyear Museum of Anthropology and Loesch Special Collections; two scholarly catalogues; lectures by visiting artists; performance; and curricular programming will explore contemporary Chinese woodblock print art, installation art, and film.
These events will offer an unprecedented opportunity to raise awareness and the profile on the Colgate campus of China's burgeoning contemporary art scene and the traditions from which it has arisen. Drawing upon Colgate's own art collections and resources, contributions by contemporary Chinese artists, and the expertise of scholars of Chinese arts and culture at Colgate and neighboring institutions, A Year of Chinese Art at Colgate University will stimulate research and cross-disciplinary curricular opportunities in unique ways, and will encourage students to engage with Chinese artistic culture as an important part of their educational experience.
Co-organized by the Picker Art Gallery and the Department of Art and Art History, with the support of the Institute for the Creative and Performing Arts, Asian Studies, the Liberal Arts Core Curriculum, Music Department, Longyear Museum and Colgate Libraries, A Year of Chinese Art at Colgate University will focus the strengths and resources of multiple University entities on contemporary Chinese Art for the first time.
For a complete schedule of events please please go to http://www.colgate.edu/arts or contact akowalski@mail.colgate.edu
ICPA The Institute for the Creative and Performing Arts at Colgate University
The mission of the Institute for the Creative and Performing Arts at Colgate University is to support and promote excellence in the creative and performing arts, and to stimulate critical dialogue on the arts in the liberal arts context. The Institute encourages and supports projects that embody the broad vision and centrality of the arts, and that underscore the interdisciplinary, international and cross-cultural dimensions of creative and performing arts practice.
For further information on The Institute for the Creative and Performing Arts, please contact: DeWitt Godfrey, dgodfrey@mail.colgate.edu
The Institute for the Creative and Performing Arts
Picker Art Gallery, Dana Arts Center,
Colgate University Lally Lane, Hamilton, NY 13346
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Venezuela’s Controversial Dictator Hugo Chavez dead at 58….
March 5, 2013 admin World News 0
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has died, his vice-president has announced.Mr Chavez had not appeared in public since he returned to Venezuela last month after cancer treatment in Cuba.An emotional Nicolas Maduro made the announcement on Tuesday evening, flanked by leading Venezuelan political and military leaders.Earlier, he said the 58-year-old Venezuelan leader had a new, severe respiratory infection and had entered “his most difficult hours”. One of the most visible, vocal and controversial leaders in Latin America, the former army paratrooper won the presidency in 1998 and had most recently won another six-year presidential term in October 2012.
Hugo Chavez Born 28 July 1954 in Sabaneta, Barinas state, the son of schoolteachers Graduated from military academy in 1975 Had four children Keen baseball player
Last May, he said he had recovered from an unspecified cancer, after undergoing surgery and chemotherapy in 2011 and a further operation in February 2012. However, in December 2012, he announced he needed further cancer surgery in Cuba, and named his Vice-President, Nicolas Maduro, as his preferred successor should the need arise. Mr Chavez remained out of public view, finally returning to Venezuela in February.
via BBC News – Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez dead at 58.
Katherine Albrecht With Adrian Salbuchi: Global Power Elite Fixing Elections To Ensure Chains of A Global Debt
Big Brother News: Troops Deployed Ahead of Economic Collapse & Gun Confiscation…
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I am a Chartered Accountant and Management Consultant by accident, a civil servant by day and a writer by night. I am a voracious reader and a lover of cinema. I am a non - conformist by choice....I am Ahmed Faiyaz...
Trailer of The Graveyard Shift
Tweets by @ahmedfaiyaz
BOOKS BY AHMED FAIYAZ
Graveyard Shift captures a sequence of events during the course of a night in the lives of its varied characters who come from different walks of life. Its darkly funny, tragic and bittersweet, given how these people's lives change and how they affect each other
Hitesh discovers that a shortcut to success can lead one to a point of self destruction. He realizes this when he's on the run, being a much wanted man accused of investor fraud and embezzlement.
Urban Shots: Brightlights
Urban Shots: Bright Lights is an anthology of compelling stories set in urban India. It was published in 2012 by Grey Oak Publishers, India. It went on to receive highly positive reviews for its vibrant snapshots of daily life in urban India.
Urban Shots: Crossroads
Edited by Ahmed Faiyaz this is a compilation of a number of stories that revolve around the urban concrete jungles in India. Works of writers, engineers, teachers, journalists and people from different backgrounds have been brought together in this book, giving it a more pungent taste of reality.
Urban Shots: Love Collection
Edited by Sneh Thakur, and with popular writers like Arunava Sinha, Ira Trivedi, Paritosh Uttam, R Chandrasekar, Ahmed Faiyaz and Malathi Jaikumar among many new voices, this is an anthology of urban Indian fiction, translated regional literature and stories never told before – straight from the heart.
Urban Shots
Edited by bestselling author, Paritosh Uttam, this is an anthology of 29 urban tales by 13 young writers. Each of these fresh, vivid and deceptively simple stories focuses on an epiphany. The stories are set with the backdrop of our urban metros with their bright lights, sky rises, glitzy malls, tenements, crowds and the chaos that comes with it.
Love, Life and all that jazz...
A slice of life journey of four young friends who experience love, loss and confusion as they come of age in the bustling metropolis on Mumbai.
Another Chance
This is a story the depicts the complex maze of human relationships centred around Ruheen, a desirable and fragile woman confronted with a difficult choice. A choice between two men she's loved at different points of time in the past decade.
Films by Ahmed
Graveyard Shift is an independent feature film adapted from a novella by the same name written by Ahmed Faiyaz. The book comes out by the Dec 2012. It is a sequence of events taking place one night in Mumbai which changes the lives of 25 characters who are drawn from different walks of life.
All the Lost Souls
Saira is a talented young Indian actress living and working in Prague with her boyfriend, Marcus, an out of work British actor. Troubled by her past, her drug addiction, the difficult relationship with Marcus and with the struggles with finding good work..
Copyright © Ahmed Faiyaz 2012
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TomT Fri, 06/17/2016 - 7:28am
Americans have lost faith in pretty much everything - Gallup Poll - Market Watch
American confidence
Jim Norman
Market Watch - June 14, 2016
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/americans-have-lost-faith-in-pretty-much-everything-2016-06-14?mod=MW_story_recommended_d...
...with link to Gallup Poll
http://www.gallup.com/poll/192581/americans-confidence-institutions-stays-low.aspx?g_source=Politics&g_medium=newsfeed&g_c...
...As Gallup’s Jim Norman explains: “Americans clearly lack confidence in the institutions that affect their daily lives: the schools responsible for educating the nation’s children; the houses of worship that are expected to provide spiritual guidance; the banks that are supposed to protect Americans’ earnings; the U.S. Congress elected to represent the nation’s interests; and the news media that claims it exists to keep them informed.”...
...Congress actually earned the “ignominious” distinction of being the only institution sparking little or no confidence in a majority of Americans in the poll....
TomT's blog
David Slesinger Tue, 10/30/2012 - 4:00pm
Cuomo assesses damage of WTC site The vehicle security center's underground ramps literally funneled storm surge into the floode
Patrick Foye Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20121030/REAL_ESTATE/121039991#ixzz2AomKLBfg
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20121030/REAL_ESTATE/121039991
Cuomo assesses damage of WTC site
The vehicle security center's underground ramps literally funneled storm surge into the flooded construction pit.
Print Email Reprints Comment
By Daniel Geiger @dangeiger79
October 30, 2012 2:44 p.m.
Updated: October 30, 2012 3:50 p.m.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday said the World Trade Center site had suffered extensive flooding as a result of Superstorm Sandy.
"What I saw last night in downtown Manhattan were some of the worst conditions I had ever seen," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a press conference on Tuesday morning, providing the first official description of the impact of the storm at the WTC site. "The Hudson River was literally pouring into the Ground Zero site with such a force we were worried about the structure of the pit itself."
Patrick Foye, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the bi-state agency's top New York official, said he doubted the storm surge had caused any structural damage at WTC site but that equipment and electrical systems being installed may have been damaged by the flood waters.
"There was a substantial incursion of water," Mr. Foye said. "I think it's fair to say that salt water and modern electrical equipment don't mix well. We don't expect structural damage but damage to equipment. That assessment is underway and is a high priority."
Mr. Foye said that West, Washington and Cedar streets, roadways that surround the WTC site, were all flooded during the storm. The storm surge swept into the WTC site, a construction pit largely open to the elements, primarily through the Vehicle Security Center on the southern end of the project. The security center will have ramps to allow traffic to pass underground via subterranean roads and parking areas. It appears those ramps served as a chute for the storm's oncoming water.
The WTC site is especially vulnerable to flooding because its located in low lying neighborhoods. Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Joseph Lhota said in a press conference Tuesday morning that the nearby South Street station at the southern tip of Manhattan had been completely flooded during the storm.
David Slesinger's blog
TomT Sat, 09/24/2011 - 11:16am
"THE 9/11 DECADE" by David Chapman
THE 9/11 DECADE
by David Chapman 9/23/2011
http://www.bmgbullion.com/document/988
pdf - http://www.bmgbullion.com/doc_bin/9.23.11_TechnicalScoop_9_11Decade.pdf
"...One could go back further and find further evidence of financial collapses... ...What does appear to be consistent is that war, speculation, debt and financial chicanery (usually present in all periods of speculation) resulted in sovereign, banking and individual debt collapses...This time has been no different..."
"...But the process takes years and the 9/11 decade was probably only the beginning. This coming decade may be even more stressful as bankruptcy and war continue to dominate the headlines. History seems to suggest that the long-term down cycles are in full force and the worst may be yet to come.... -- David Chapman
When the airplanes struck the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 (aka 9/11) the stock market had already been falling for over 18 months. The high tech/internet bubble of the 1990s had topped first with the Dow Jones Industrials (DJI) on January 14, 2000 followed by the NASDAQ on March 10 and the S&P 500 on March 24. By the close of September 10, 2001 the DJI was down 18 per cent, the NASDAQ had fallen an incredible 66 per cent and the S&P 500 was off 28 per cent from the highs of 2000. The markets re-opened on September 17, 2001 and after four more days of losses, the markets found a temporary rest on September 21. By that time the DJI was down 30 per cent, the S&P 500 was off 37 per cent and the NASDAQ 72 per cent from the highs of 2000. Fear gripped the markets just as it gripped the world on 9/11.
grumpy brian Sat, 09/03/2011 - 12:15am
9/11 and the Economy: Counting the $5 Trillion in Costs to America
Al Jazeera provided an interactive breakdown on how much 9/11 has cost to the American economy in 10 years.
I have outlined it below in short; further down is the longer version with explanation details for each main and sub-category. It is stated that many of these categories are conservative calculations and that many categories are certain to rise in cost.
Note: $5 trillion dollars is equal to 5 million millions.
grumpy brian's blog
GroundZero Sat, 10/02/2010 - 10:04am
Environmentalist Osama Bin Laden Demands Green Economy
http://wearechangenewjersey.com/?p=324
Glenn Zarmanov
WeAreChangeNewJersey.COM
The internet is abuzz with rumors of a new terror attack to be launched by alleged 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden and his latest unconfirmed audio warning that America must be punished for climate change and its economic practices.
http://green.yahoo.com/news/afp/20101001/wl_afp/qaedabinladenpakistanclimateislam.html
Bin Laden concerned by climate, Pakistan floods: audiotape
By Wissam Keyrouz
Fri Oct 1, 2010
The tape would be the first time Bin Laden has spoken publicly since March 25.
Bin Laden's whereabouts are unknown, but in August, the US commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, said bin Laden is "far buried" in the remote mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan and that capturing him remains a key task.
GroundZero's blog
synergist Thu, 01/21/2010 - 7:14pm
How economic depression leads to fascism: history to Austria, warning to America
hyperlinks and video live at source: http://www.examiner.com/x-18425-LA-County-Nonpartisan-Examiner~y2010m1d21-How-economic-depression-leads-to-fascism-history...
Kitty Werthmann was born in Austria in 1925; her family experienced the depression-era economy and her nation’s desperate embrace of Nazi fascism. Today, she tells her story to all who will listen. Her audio testimony is transcribed below.
As a teacher of US Government classes with an Ed.M from Harvard, I can tell you that the defining US policies are now fascist and not those of a constitutional republic. This conclusion from understanding basic definitions of political theory requires only a high school-level understanding, the time to examine the objective facts of US policies, and the intellectual integrity and moral courage to tell the truth.
Therefore, the topic of this article is not US descent into fascism, but rather a warning about consolidation of fascist power as a "solution" presented to desperate Americans facing economic depression caused by the fascists themselves.
synergist's blog
synergist Sat, 11/28/2009 - 11:38am
US Government sues banksters: Fraud on student loans. Vampire banks feed on near-children
hyperlinks and video live at source: http://www.examiner.com/x-18425-LA-County-Nonpartisan-Examiner~y2009m11d28-US-Government-sues-banksters-for-fraud-on-stude...
Banksters took a hit through disclosure of court documents of US lawsuit for $280 million for fraud to college students through student loan disinformation. JP Morgan, Citigroup and Nelnet are the defendants in the lawsuit.
Banksters have sucked trillions through direct transfer of American taxpayer money to their pockets. This suit is heartening and I hope shows true law enforcement for the public good. However, the larger context is that our political “leaders” of both parties facilitate ongoing fraud as the banksters’ pimps while heartlessly ignoring Americans’ unemployment and poverty and reneging on their promise of funding the end of poverty with only 0.7% of GNI.
Congress and Mr. Obama stand aside and allow a million children to die every month from preventable poverty. As you should know, ending poverty in every historical case reduces population growth rates, decreases environmental pressure from desperate people, and reduces terrorism.
synergist Fri, 11/27/2009 - 11:47pm
Washington's Blog: Instead of creating jobs for American, Obama spends in Afghanistan, Iraq
abundant hyperlinks live at source: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-25059-Nonpartisan-Examiner~y2009m11d27-Washingtons-Blog-Instead-of-creating-jobs-for-Am...
Washington’s Blog is one of my favorite sources for revealing facts and analysis in economics and policy. The recent post, Instead of fixing the US Economy or creating jobs for AMERICANS, Obama will spend the money in Afghanistan and Iraq, is so comprehensively brilliant in putting together the documentation that our wars are fraudulent and damaging to our economy, I’m reprinting it for you.
Needless to say, I recommend following Washington’s Blog for such insightful writing! Without further ado:
America is in the most severe unemployment crisis since - and perhaps including - the Great Depression.
And yet Obama, like Bush, has done virtually nothing to create more jobs. Instead, they both gave trillions to the biggest banks (who are not loaning it out to the little guy) and for waging wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Obama is apparently escalating - not ending - the wars. And its not cheap.
synergist Mon, 09/07/2009 - 11:02pm
Maximizing employment: the ONLY policy proposal for full success
hyperlinks and video live at source: http://www.examiner.com/x-18425-LA-County-Nonpartisan-Examiner~y2009m9d7-Achieving-full-employment-the-ONLY-policy-that-ca...
Today is Labor Day, a holiday celebrating workers' organized efforts to achieve living wages, safe and dignified working conditions, and benefits (economists translate this into wages). I want to consider a more fundamental goal: achieving employment in order to have the above.
One of the key statistics to determine how well government policy is supportive of labor is unemployment. A government role in employment may be distasteful for some of you, but give me a moment to explain government's rightful role in supporting full employment. The failure of unemployment often translate into even more distasteful social costs: loss of potential economic productivity, crime, public health costs, and the immeasurable feeling you get seeing beggars in arguably the most successful economic environment in world history.
Major news suppression: ALL government cost studies show sheltering the homeless is most cost-effective
hyperlinks and video live at source: http://www.examiner.com/x-18425-LA-County-Nonpartisan-Examiner~y2009m9d3-All-government-cost-studies-sheltering-the-homele...
The US Interagency Council on Homelessness has found that all cost-benefit analyses show that paying for the homeless to have minimal housing, food, health care, and job counseling costs less than public costs of their street life. The greatest savings come from decreased emergency room visits, police calls, and court time. What isn't counted, and significant, is the increase of business in areas where the homeless are vagrants. In addition, these studies show most of these participants find jobs and leave these programs.
As always, please share this with all who say they want to be responsible citizens.
Philip Mangano, former Director of the US Interagency Council on Homelessness, provides an overview of the US and local government's experience of the costs and benefits:
MichaelCollins Wed, 05/27/2009 - 12:40am
SHIP OF STATE OR SHIP OF FOOLS
Geithner
Petraeus
The Money Party at Work
We keep doing the same things over and over again and expect different results.
MichaelCollins's blog
GeorgeWashington Thu, 05/07/2009 - 2:35pm
The Economy Will Not Recover Until The Perpetrators Of Our Crises Are Held Accountable
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/05/economy-will-not-recover-until.html
One of the leading business schools in America - the Wharton School of Business - has written an essay on the psychological causes and solutions to the economic crisis. Wharton points out that restoring trust is the key to recovery, and that trust cannot be restored until wrongdoers are held accountable:
How To Solve the Economic Crisis
9/11 is mentioned at the end.
http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2009/02/most-dangerous-words-theres-nothing-we.html
The Economics of Trust
A 2005 letter in premier scientific journal Nature reviews the research on trust and economics:
Trust ... plays a key role in economic exchange and politics. In the absence of trust among trading partners, market transactions break down. In the absence of trust in a country's institutions and leaders, political legitimacy breaks down. Much recent evidence indicates that trust contributes to economic, political and social success.
Forbes wrote an article in 2006 entitled "The Economics of Trust". The article summarizes the importance of trust in creating a healthy economy:
GeorgeWashington Mon, 12/15/2008 - 4:36pm
The Madoff Scandal and Post-World War II America
http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2008/12/madoff-scandal-and-post-world-war-ii.html
This is the third of 3 essays on trust and the economy (the first two are here and here).
An article in Business Week says this of the Madoff scandal:
GeorgeWashington Mon, 12/15/2008 - 1:01am
How To Restore Trust So As to Revive the Economy
http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-to-restore-trust-so-as-to-revive.html
In addition to the technical factors which have brought on the financial crisis - the huge speculative bubble and leverage, derivatives, fractional reserve banking, spending beyond our means, etc. - there is another major factor.
As market psychologists Richard L. Peterson M.D. and Frank Murtha, Ph.D. wrote in October:
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Epidemiology and behaviour
What’s the relationship between PrEP, condom use and STIs?
Roger Pebody
HIV experts and professionals agree that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a valuable addition to HIV prevention, but have varied views of the relationship between PrEP, reduced condom use and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), according to a study published last month in the Sociology of Health & Illness.
Professor Martin Holt of the University of New South Wales and colleagues closely examined the ways in which reduced condom use and STIs “were constructed as policy problems”. They identified a concerned and alarmed perspective, a neutral and normalising stance, and an optimistic and critical position.
“All three stances were selective in the way they performed evidence, emphasising some elements and ignoring or downplaying others,” the authors say.
Twenty one Australian professionals were interviewed in 2017. Nine of the participants worked in policy or policy/advocacy roles, five in clinical roles, five in research and two in health promotion.
Concerned and alarmed views were most often expressed by clinicians or by government policymakers - a professional group who are encouraged to anticipate risks in order to minimise them. These interviewees tended to see the link between PrEP and STIs as self-evident:
“The evidence is there and our clinicians are telling us we need to be prepared that we’re going to get an increase in STIs. We’re very concerned we’ve got a, we, you’re aware of the syphilis outbreak? We’re very concerned about antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea. We have the highest rate of antibiotic resistance for gonorrhoea in the country. Yeah. So these are, yeah, these are quite, you know, we’re aware of this, as a consequence or by-product of introducing PrEP, so we need to be mindful of responding to that.”
The fear of uncontrolled or untreatable STI epidemics and the potential threat to public health underpinned this viewpoint. As well as resistant gonorrhoea, interviewees talked about serious complications of undiagnosed syphilis and other unusual cases.
Holt and colleagues point out that while we do know that PrEP users use condoms infrequently and are diagnosed with STIs at high rates, antibiotic resistance is rare in Australia and among PrEP users.
The ways in which these relationships are understood have implications for the future rollout of PrEP.
In contrast, many participants expressed more tempered views, often questioning the self-evident linking of PrEP, reduced condom use and increased STIs. These neutral and normalising accounts engaged with much of the same evidence, but positioned these effects as predictable and manageable. Interviewees often described longer-term trends:
“We’ve also seen a decade-long, trend increase in STIs prior to PrEP’s arrival as well as probably a decade-long trend down around condom use. So PrEP is acting maybe as an accelerant at this moment in time… I don’t have concerns. It’s another tool that’s arrived and it’s about how we effectively incorporate it within our prevention response.”
These interviewees said the benefits of PrEP outweighed any risks. They emphasised that PrEP’s main purpose was to prevent HIV, but sometimed added that it has other benefits:
“Of course, one of the primary concerns was that there’d be this massive spike in other STIs because people would stop using condoms where certainly we’re, you know, in some areas there seems to be a slight, a slight decrease in condom use but that’s, that was always gonna happen. And there are people that will sometimes, you know, decide not to or choose not to use condoms anyway. And the reality is that they’re more engaged with a health service that they trust and so any STIs that might be transmitted are getting picked up earlier anyway.”
However, Holt comments that it is debatable whether changes in condom use are ‘slight’. His own research has identified large-scale shifts in sexual practices among gay and bisexual men in Australia.
The third and final stance is described as optimistic and critical. People expressing these ideas tended to be both optimistic about PrEP’s benefits for STIs and critical of the ‘sex negative’ and ‘reactionary’ views of the first group of interviewees. These respondents most often worked in community organisations or in academic research. Their optimism was based on beliefs that PrEP would facilitate regular screening for STIs:
“I think a lot of people will understand that actually having large numbers of HIV-negative, gay men who can be regularly tested is actually a really good thing that’s actually quite difficult to achieve in other ways. So PrEP has that positive effect… There’s some interesting modelling out of the CDC on this, it might be the case that the effect of secondary prevention is enough that it will drive down incidence of STIs.”
However the authors comment that these optimistic scenarios and mathematical modelling studies are an unproven future. Just as the ‘worst case’ scenarios described earlier have not actually happened, these ‘best case’ scenarios have not been observed among PrEP users or in communities that have embraced PrEP. At the same time, PrEP has been transformed from being an HIV prevention technology into being both that and a technology to increase STI testing.
The same respondents tended to be critical of what one described as a “frenzied fear about increased STIs”. They noted that such concerns tend to focus on gay men rather than any other group, noting parallels with the ways in which the sexual behaviour of gay men has been scrutinised since the beginning of the HIV epidemic.
Interviewees said that sex between men has been ‘pathologised’. While PrEP has the potential to relieve gay men of a persistent fear of HIV, this has inspired a push back:
“I think that’s partly why you also hear these arguments about, you know, ‘What about STIs?’ or ‘Everyone’s gonna be a ‘slut’’. It’s sort of the lingering effects of that, of those decades of pathologisation, which I really don’t think can be underestimated.”
The researchers say that the ways in which these relationships are understood have implications for the future rollout of PrEP and the experience of its users.
The concerned and alarmed approach suggests that PrEP is problematic. This implies greater caution in promoting PrEP, that PrEP users should be encouraged to use condoms and that PrEP might be better positioned as a niche tool for those who can’t use condoms. Moreover, the behaviour of PrEP users should be monitored and treated with caution.
The neutral and normalising stance suggests a ‘wait and see’ approach that supports the continued, measured rollout of PrEP. As PrEP is primarily seen as an HIV prevention tool, condom and STI trends should be considerably separately.
The optimistic and critical stance implies that PrEP should be promoted more enthusiastically to help with HIV and STI epidemics. It also suggests that positive framings of PrEP should be used to encourage uptake, including celebrating the relief and pleasure experienced by people using PrEP.
Holt M et al. HIV pre‐exposure prophylaxis and the ‘problems’ of reduced condom use and sexually transmitted infections in Australia: a critical analysis from an evidence‐making intervention perspective. Sociology of Health & Illness, early view, 18 June 2019. (Abstract).
Condoms and lubricant
PrEP policies and guidelines
PrEP science
Sexually transmitted infections epidemiology
Open the e-atlas for more news from Australia >
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Maxi driver sues State...again
Justice Shaffeyei Shah, presiding in the San Fernando High Court, had ordered the State to pay damages to Kenny Mitchell, of Ste Madeleine, after he was arrested in 2002 and taken to the Princes Town Police Station. There, he was made to strip naked, but Mitchell was never charged with any offence.
Mitchell sued the State for damages and the judge made the award for false imprisonment in a trial in which the State led evidence from the police witnesses who arrested Mitchell. Yesterday, however, attorney Kevin Ratiram filed another false imprisonment lawsuit in the Civil Court, San Fernando, in which Mitchell was arrested on December 9, 2006. He spent three days in the Couva Police Station, but was then told by police officers that a computer error led them to believe that there was a warrant for his arrest.
In his lawsuit, Mitchell stated that at about 9 am he was arrested by police officers at the Couva Police Station. He was told that there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest. The lawsuit stated that Mitchell, who is a maxi taxi driver, told the officers that they had made a mistake. He insisted that they double-check their information, but they refused.
Mitchell stated that he was placed in a cell with prisoners. According to the pleadings filed in court, Mitchell requested police officers to allow his relatives to furnish him with a supply of diabetic medication, but they paid no heed to his request.
The lawsuit went on to state that at about 4.30 pm on December 11, 2006, police officers informed him that a computer error had led them to believe that there was a warrant for his arrest. Mitchell was then released without being charged with any offence.
"Maxi driver sues State…again"
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Home>Uncategorized>THE GREAT WAR
The year was 1863. The American civil war, fought by the Northern union army, and the southern confederate army, had reached a stalemate.
The location was Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
The Confederate army was led by General Robert E. Lee.
General Robert E. Lee
Most of the war was fought in the south. But now General Lee decided to attack and take the fight to the north.
He moved his southern confederate army of nearly 60,000 men into northern (union) territory.
The plan was to destroy as many military installations as possible in Maryland and Pennsylvania, as the northern union army was in Washington D.C. defending it.
One key target was Camp Curtin, the largest military deport in the north. His intention was political, to cause mayhem in the north and thus discourage the northern population into losing faith in the war.
Without the backing of the population, and low morale of the troops, it is very hard to win a war.
This was the objective the southern confederate General, Lee, wanted to achieve in attacking the north.
As General Lee’s main army moved north, a skirmish erupted between two infantry units at Gettysburg. What happened was that another southern confederate general, General Heath had an infantry division at Cashtown and wanted to move to nearby Gettysburg to get shoes from a shoe factory there.
General Heath did this without foreknowledge about what was ahead of him at Gettysburg. He did not know that there was a northern union force there. Thus he run into the northern union infantry division and a skirmish broke out.
General Lee heard of the skirmish. The report said that a major northern union force was there. So, instead of sending a cavalry reconnaissance force to confirm the report, General Lee diverted from his original plan and ordered his entire army to mobilize and converge at Cashtown, a small village about seven kilometers from Gettysburg.
Soon General Lee’s 60,000 strong force of confederates (southern forces) began approaching Gettysburg from the nearby towns of Cashtown and Carlisle.
Meanwhile a much smaller force of 3000 union (northern) soldiers took up defensive positions at McPherson Ridge, a ridge which was between the town of Gettysburg which the northerners were defending and General Lee’s southern forces that were approaching from the towns of Cashtown and Carlisle.
The small northern union force of 3000 men were to hold back General Lee’s much larger army of 60,000 southern army until reinforcement could arrive from Washington D.C.
The northern union force tried to fight General Lee’s confederate army and hold it back, but since they were far outnumbered, they could not hold back the southern confederate force for long. So they withdrew to a nearby ridge called cemetery ridge.
This was a range of hills that formed the shape of a question mark. Cemetery ridge provided a very strong defensive advantage for the Union (northern) force. It was so good that when the Northern Union General Hancock arrived, he declared it the best defensive position that he had ever seen in his military career.
General Hancock
Since the union force was much smaller in numbers, and their reinforcement was slowly arriving, confederate General Lee (probably to take advantage of the union’s small force before reinforcements fully arrived) gave the order to attack. The order was not a clear and decisive one because he said “attack when you think it is practical” not “attack”.
The General receiving the order was confederate General Uele. General Uele did not think it was practical to attack and so didn’t. This is because General Uele knew that the troops were exhausted and wanted to rest.
This delay to attack gave the smaller northern union forces’ reinforcement time to arrive, strengthening their position further.
General Lee conferred with another of his fellow confederate Generals, General Longstreet. General Longstreet had other ideas. He wanted their confederate (southern) army to attack Washington D.C. This move would force the Northern Union forces occupying the strong defensive position of cemetery hill to leave that strong defensive position, come down, and pursue General Lee’s army that would be headed to attack Washington D.C.
General Longstreet
General Lee’s army would then be able to fight the northern union army without the union’s advantage of the good defensive high ground of cemetery hill. They would thus be able to defeat the northern union army.
General Lee refused to attack Washington D.C. as General Longstreet’s suggested and decided (probably because of seeking honor and to show his strength and courage) to attack the union army where they were, on cemetery hill. This was despite the fact that cemetery hill was a strong defensive position, and it was suicidal to attack any force occupying it head on.
So General Lee’s Confederate (southern) army attacked cemetery hill head on. The fighting was fierce. But General Lee’s southern confederate army failed to dislodge the Union forces from their defensive positions. Despite heavy casualties General Lee kept attacking. They charged again and again head on but like a fly trying to fly through the glass of a window they were repulsed again and again.
General Lee’s southern confederate army was at a disadvantage. They were on lower ground attacking their enemy who occupied the high ground, cemetery hill which was perfect for defensive purposes.
General Lee’s soldiers were unprotected from the volley of heavy gunfire by the northern union forces that were dug in and well protected by their defensive lines and the high ground they occupied.
Finally General Lee’s confederate army was defeated amidst heavy losses. And so the southern confederate army lost the battle of Gettysburg.
This loss was one of the factors that caused the confederate army of the south to lose the American civil war.
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Spending Restraint?
We can't write a blank check for Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Even if the famously corrupt politicians of Louisiana were bypassed and every dollar went for its intended purpose, we can't afford another $60 billion or $200 billion! The web effort to encourage cutting the pork has been substantial - see NZ Bear's Porkbusters - but ignored, as far as we know. Good News! There is a sign of life. In the US Senate, of all places. Bob Novak reports at Real Clear Politics.com
WASHINGTON -- The Senate was up to its old tricks Monday evening. It prepared to pass, without debate and under a procedure requiring unanimous consent, a federal infusion of $9 billion into state Medicaid programs under the pretext of Katrina relief. The bill, drafted in secret under bipartisan auspices, was stopped cold when Republican Sen. John Ensign voiced his objection. The bill's Democratic sponsors railed in outrage against Ensign, a 47-year-old first-termer from Las Vegas, Nev., who usually keeps a low profile. But he was not acting alone. Ensign belongs to, and, indeed, originated, a small group of Republicans who intend to stand guard on the Senate floor against such raids on the Treasury as Monday night's failure. The group includes Sen. John McCain, who long has tried to wean Republicans from ever greater federal spending but attracted little support from GOP colleagues until recently.
The bill they stopped - or delayed - was pork at its worst. You find a specific need that is widely accepted, then you put your own pet project on it.
The "emergency" Medicaid bill is a classic case of how government grows and spending soars. Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln, concerned by health problems of evacuees in her state of Arkansas, introduced a bill increasing Medicaid funds to the states. The Senate Finance Committee's Republican chairman, Chuck Grassley, and its ranking Democrat, Max Baucus, drafted the scaled-down, $9 billion substitute and marked it for quick passage. No hearings, no debate, no trouble... Ensign noted that Congress had appropriated an extra $62 billion in the wake of Katrina. He pointed to the fact that the bill is a general Medicaid enrichment unrelated to hurricanes. It makes sure that 29 states scheduled for federal Medicaid cuts would be "held harmless" -- that is, would not suffer a reduction. That list is headed by $78 million in extra funds for Alaska.
The Alaska pork master, Don Young, is at it, even in the Senate! The two Republicans from South Carolina are on the team also - Lindey Graham - we are watching him - and Jim DeMint.
Posted by Ron at 9:39 PM No comments:
Democrats decline influence over court appointments
Our US Senator Cantwell announced that she will vote against John Roberts for Supreme Court Cheif Justice. Seattle Times I think she made a mistake and Senator Leahy of Vermont made a wise move by voting for him. Here is the letter I sent Senator Cantwell today:
Senator Cantwell, Justice Ginsburg got 96 votes in the US Senate. Not because the Republicans supported her positions on issues, but because she was qualified and the president chose her. Why aren't you Democrats as fair as the Republicans? You have shown that you will vote against any nominee of President Bush - even the most qualified. You have shown that you are an extremist. If Roberts had gotten a lot of Democrat votes you would have shown that you judged each individual. And you would have had some sway over future nominees. But since you will vote against anyone you have no influence over Bush. If you want Supreme Court justices that reflect your views then you had better win some elections. President Bush makes court choices, not you senators. Truly, Ron Hebron
Media Low Lights
Cindy Sheehan got a private interview with Senator McCain by lying. Lying. She got to see him because she said she had one of his constituents in her group, but she did not.
He said he might not have met with Sheehan had he known none of his constituents was in the group.
I include this under "media low lights" because she is the creation of the media. See National Review Online's Media Blog NBC supports lying reporters. This is Dan Rather PLUS. On MSNBC's Scarborough Country a Louisiana-based reporter Heath Allen said:
It’s the responsibility of the photojournalist to capture that and put it on television because those people at that point needed help no matter what was true, what was false, what was exaggerated.
And Dan Rather himself is still clinging to the lights, even though they were turned off. RadioBlogger has the transscript of Dan's interview with Marvin Kalb. Here is Duane's intro:
Elder abuse. Oh, sure. I could have come up with some clever title for the staged interview between Marvin Kalb and Dan Rather at George Washington University two nights ago. But after you read and hear these two ponderous dinosaurs talk about what is or isn't journalism, what is or isn't media, and what is or isn't reality with regards to the Bush National Guard story, I'm afraid the reaction in the blogosphere, especially on the conservative side, could easily be considered elder abuse. Want an example of Dan at his most vacuous? Here's 13 of them. If you want to be the Blogger of the Week and needed help, pick one of these and do some analysis.
Posted by Ron at 7:52 AM No comments:
NOLA - Watch Your Wallet
We need to and intend to rebuild New Orleans, Lousiana. But we have to be careful with our money because Louisiana has a long and wide history of corrupt politicians. John Fund in the Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal points out today:
In just the past generation, the Pelican State has had a governor, an attorney general, three successive insurance commissioners, a congressman, a federal judge, a state Senate president and a swarm of local officials convicted.
Only Arkansas could match that recent record. ;-) Even one of the levee boards was under investigation at the time Katrina hit. And just this summer:
As for New Orleans, no city in America would better serve its most vulnerable residents with a clean sweep of its institutions. Just this summer, associates of former mayor Marc Morial were indicted for alleged kickbacks involving public contracts. Last month the FBI raided the home and car of Rep. William Jefferson as part of a probe into allegations he had misused his office.
We have to have careful control of the funds we provide. We have to be sure the LA politicians don't pay each other off with our money. Is this partisan politics or reputable oversight?
Despite assurances from President Bush, "the government is fighting this war [on waste] with Civil War weapons, and we're just overwhelmed," Joshua Schwartz, co-director of the George Washington University Law School's procurement law program, told Knight Ridder. Democrats are already scoring political points. Rep. David Obey, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, is lamenting the lack of accountability in the aid package. He is calling for "the beginning of some new thinking" on how to handle disaster relief.
Actually, I agree with the Democrat. But honorable Senator Landrieu will deck you if you interfere with her family's "right" to control most everything:
Indeed, many local officials are quick to attack any outsiders who question the local way of doing things. Sen. Landrieu is especially sensitive since politics is her family's business. Her father was mayor of New Orleans, her aunt sits on the city's school board, and her brother is the state's lieutenant governor. She did a passable imitation of the overwrought Aaron Brossard when she told ABC News that if President Bush utters any criticism of how local officials responded to the disaster "I might have to punch him--literally."
If the they send street fighters to the US Senate imagine what sort of politicians they are hiding at home.
Posted by Ron at 10:21 PM No comments:
France fighting declining population
France has looked the "benefits" of a stable or declining population in the eye and has concluded that the costs are higher than the benefits. France announced that women will be rewarded for having children this week. Deutsche Well reports:
They include an increased monthly grant for mothers who take time off work for a third baby. France has one of the highest birth rates in Europe. Of the 25 nations in the European Union, only Ireland's rate is higher.
The problem is not enough children to support the social welfare programs 10 years and more in the future. You can't have lavish benefits for everyone if there is not enough tax revenue to support them.
Evelyne Sullerot, one of France's leading sociologists, points out that France also has one of Europe's highest proportions of women in the workforce. She adds that more needs to be done to promote a balance between work and family life. "Things aren'’t going well in France. With 1.9 children per woman, we have one of the highest birth rates in Europe. But itÂ’s still not enough for us to reproduce our generations," said Sullerot.
And they see the requirement to work as reducing the birth rate.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said the new measures were intended to "allow a better conciliation between professional and family life up to the child's majority." Under the proposals, a parent who takes time off from work for a third child will have the option of a boosted monthly pay-out of 750 euros ($915) for one year. Currently the figure is set at $500 available over three years. According to Hubert Brin, president of the National Union of Family Associations (UNAF), the increased payment is to encourage higher-earners to have a third child. The current rate is only attractive for couples on low incomes. But we have to encourage professionals with higher incomes to have babies," he said.
And how about other countries in Europe? Is this a trend?
Falling birth rates are a growing worry across the EU, with demographers predicting that large-scale immigration will be necessary in many countries in order to sustain the benefits enjoyed by a steadily aging population.
Dead voters in Sri Lanka
They intend to top Ron Sims's mismanagement of voting in King County. From the BBC: Tsunami dead to get voter cards
Sri Lanka is to send out voting cards for those people believed to have died in December's tsunami because it cannot be sure who survived. The country is holding its presidential election on 17 November. The election commission fears electoral fraud by people impersonating the dead, so the cards will be specially marked to show the voter is believed dead. Those that have survived will have to prove their identity. More than 30,000 died in the tsunami in Sri Lanka.
Yes. If we mailed voter registration cards to dead people we would have to be on the watch for people impersonating them. OK. They have a problem not knowing who lived and who died. Here is my idea. Make everyone register again. It is much harder for a dead person to impersonate a living one than for a living person to impersonate a dead one. ;-)
Posted by Ron at 3:55 PM 1 comment:
Distorted News on Sheehan
How do you make a pitiful showing of 30 people appear to be a crowd? This is the group of 30 people Cindy Sheehan attracted from throughout the 50 states of the US to march on the White House yesterday, September 21. Not much of a showing if you ask me. Confederate Yankee reports that all the major news media left out this one fact - only 30 people participated. PowerLine Blog
After a carefully stage-managed vigil by liberal PR firm Fenton Communications, and a pair of 3-week long national bus tours to drum up support for her cause, "Mother Sheehan" managed to bring with her just this tiny gaggle with her to the gates of the White House. The organizers backing her show hope to draw "tens of thousands" of fellow protestors this weekend, but if this sad crowd and last night's turnout of just 150 in New York are any indication, the fledging anti-war movement of Cindy Sheehan is all but dead.
And Getty Images, a top source of photos for professionals, carefully cropped each of the photos they are selling. It looks like a crowd when you close in on a handful and leave out the "panorama" showing all 30. Getty's 12 photos
Pay for NOLA by cutting pork spending
We need to rebuild the coastal area devastated by hurricane Katina - Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. But ee can't just "find" $200,000,000 to do it. Congress is irresponsible if it just throws the ball down the field by spending money out of thin air. Where are those dollars coming from? The Highway Bill passed by Congress this summer is filled with "highways to no where" - special little projects for one congressman to buy votes from his district. For one of the worst offenders and his "important" projects see Scott Glabe at Weekly Standard - "Old Don Young Had a Farm"
"DON YOUNG'S WAY" is a $231 million bridge to be built in Anchorage. Don Young's "way" is to use his position as chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to bring home as many federal dollars as possible for his home state. For instance, the highway bill passed at the end of July netted over $1 billion in special projects for Alaska. That's $1,448 in pork for every man, woman, and child in Alaska. Young's eponymous bridge isn't even the most egregious bit of largesse. That honor goes to another bridge, which, for $223 million will connect Ketchikan, population 8,000, with Gravina Island, population 50. The Gravina Island Bridge, which is slated to be taller than the Brooklyn Bridge, will be a towering monument to unnecessity; the small island is already served by ferries, one of which departs every half hour. Young claims the bridge will facilitate Ketchikan's growth by providing ground access to the airport on Gravina Island, a rationale that is sure to be mentioned in a "documentary about infrastructure that demonstrates advancements in Alaska, the last frontier," to which the highway bill allots another $3 million. Perhaps the documentary will also explain how an airport with fewer than 10 flights a day can facilitate such growth, or why the government simply doesn't purchase a Lear Jet for every inhabitant of Gravina Island--which, as Citizens Against Government Waste has noted, would be cheaper than the bridge.
OK. Let's do something about this. N.Z. Bear is running a pork-identification project--with a powerful assist from Glenn Reynolds--in which bloggers point out federal spending that could be cut to balance out the costs of Katrina reconstruction. It's a great idea, and it has a nice logo: We can help. Find a wasteful project in your state or - best - congressional district. Then go to Porkbusters and enter it.
Violating the Constitution in New Orleans
While looters were shooting at them the police made the situation less safe. Did the police need the help and cooperation of law-abiding citizens? Yes, they needed them. But the police refused them. The police violated the Constitution of the United States by confiscating the legal weapons of law-abiding people. But they didn't take guns from the criminals. So they made the situation less safe. By what authority did they do this? None. What they did was illegal. Dimitri Vassarlos of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has this one liner:
Businesses selling bumper stickers that read "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns" also should offer one with the rejoinder "We told you so."
Update. See also Gun Owners of America Update. 9/24/05 The police now have to obey the Constitution because a "higher authority" requires them to; a federal judge issued a restraining order. Why they were exempt before I dont' know. In The Houston Chronicle
In documents filed in federal court in Baton Rouge, La., New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Police Chief Eddie Compass and St. Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain deny ordering the confiscation of firearms. But news reports quoted Compass as saying that only law enforcement officials would be allowed to have firearms and Deputy Chief Warren Riley as saying, "We are going to take all the weapons."
And we saw what they said on those news reports.
Blair Kills Kyoto at Clinton's Summit
UK PRime Minister Tony Blair stood on stage with Bill Clinton and announced that the UK will not be bound by the Kyoto Treaty on Global Warming. Why would Blair do such a thing? Because he does not want to send his country backward; he refuses to kill all economic development in the UK. James Pinkerton at TechCentralStation.com has the story:
"My thinking has changed in the past three or four years." So what does he think now? "No country," he declared, "is going to cut its growth." That is, no country is going to allow the Kyoto treaty, or any other such global-warming treaty, to crimp -- some say cripple -- its economy. Looking ahead to future climate-change negotiations, Blair said of such fast-growing countries as India and China, "They're not going to start negotiating another treaty like Kyoto." India and China, of course, weren't covered by Kyoto in the first place, which was one of the fatal flaws in the treaty.
The US Senate voted 95 to 0 to reject the Kyoto treaty if developing countries were excluded and they were. And he was looking to the future:
But now Blair is acknowledging the obvious: that after the current Kyoto treaty -- which the US never acceded to -- expires in 2012, there's not going to be another worldwide deal like it. So what will happen instead? Blair answered: "What countries will do is work together to develop the science and technology….There is no way that we are going to tackle this problem unless we develop the science and technology to do it." Bingo! That's what eco-realists have been saying all along, of course -- that the only feasible way to deal with the issue of greenhouse gases and global warming is through technological breakthroughs, not draconian cutbacks.
Now he's talking my language. Trying to promote growth instead of agreeing to quotas that can only be met by shutting down industry and requiring people to stop driving. Rather, let's work on technology that can reduce the emissions we are concerned about. Isn't it fitting that Blair did it at the conference Bill Clinton put on to showcase himself and Hillary? Pinkerton says that major media didn't cover Blair's statement, so it seems to be a TCS exclusive - by default. But soon everyone will know it.
Marriage Helps Family Finances
According to a report by the Brookings Institution and Princeton University, stable marriage can increase the financial prosperity of couples and improves the lives of American children. The study finds that while the poor see lack of money as a barrier to marriage, a healthy marriage actually ensures them healthier finances in the long run. And this is true even when the couple had children out of wedlock. Brookings Institute is not conservative at all; Princeton University too. They highlight some signs of interest:
The Bush administration is proposing to spend $1.5 billion over the next five years to increase “healthy” marriages. Gays and lesbians are demanding the right to marry. A few states are reconsidering no-fault divorce laws and experimenting with new types of “covenant marriage.” And legislators are scrutinizing tax and transfer policies for “marriage penalties.”
The report consists of several articles including: Healty Marriage Programs: Learning What Works by M. Robin Dion (Mathematica Policy Research) on marriage education programs. Via World Magazine's blog. Reuters also carried a summary of the report.
Honor our US Constitution
Saturday is Constitution Day. Thomas Sowell asks at Townhall.com: "Why do we pay attention to the Constitution in the first place?"
But the moral and legal bases for the authority of the Constitution do not rest with those who wrote it. The moral and legal authority of the Constitution comes from those who ratified it -- "we the people" -- not those who wrote it.
That's you and me, not the 100 Senators who look so important on television. CFIF recommends that we celebrate this day by - surprise - reading it. Find it HERE.
Crisis at the United Nations
The United States has finally taken the logical action. Everyone knew the party couldn't last forever. But now it is over. The United States has been paying 23% of the budget of the UN, funds 48 per cent of the UN's World Food Program and 41 per cent of the UN High Commission for Refugees. And what have we gotten? Endless abuse. When Kofi has messed up his budget and needs cash, who comes through? The United States. Now the US is asking the UN to reform itself and Ambassador John Bolton is doing the asking! Some of our complaints as listed by the Telegraph newspaper of the UK:
Only last week the UN was described as incompetent, corrupt and in urgent need of change by the Volcker commission, the organisation's own report into the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal.
Elsewhere in the organisation, Washington looks on enraged as countries such as China and Cuba are voted on to the UN's human rights commission.
America is appalled too by the UN bureaucracy, where staff are appointed according to nationality and where pay aims to match that of the most generous member state.
Yet few UN civil servants are ever held to account, as the oil-for-food report underlined. Even before it was published, Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, said: "I don't anticipate anyone resigning." No one did, despite blistering attacks on named staff including Mr Annan himself.
They won't even do anything when they got caught with the largest misuse of funds in history - the "Food for Oil" program. So Bolton stepped in:
Yesterday, with just 24 hours to go before world leaders convene for the UN's 60th birthday summit, Mr Bolton was still refusing to agree a shopping list of ambitious policies designed to change the world. Many are in stark opposition to the policies of President George W Bush's administration. Why, the Americans are asking, should we go along with this?
The "ambitious policies" are the same old stuff from the UN's bureaucrats. Empty words about reform. And solid proposals to get the US to pay more. In past years our diplomats went along with most of this nonsense. But now the party is over for the UN. What does the United States want the UN to do? To promote democracy. To stop glorifying dictators. The have the Human Rights Commission to be composed of countries that uphold human rights, not the abusers like Sudan and Libya. To get rid of corruption that has been allowed to entrench itself and grow. Hopefully change can begin now.
Cantwell Dunce of the Week
We are all bothered by the even higher price of gasoline this week. Can't someone do something about it? Two actions can improve it: 1- increase the supply of refined gasoline, or 2- decrease the demand for it. Enough of either will bring the price down. Can a US Senator increase the supply or decrease the demand? I haven't seen one do it. But Senator Maria Cantwell has another course of action: price controls. Both the theory and the experience of economics show what happens when the price is limited in the absence of actions 1 and 2 - you get a shortage. It has happened every time. Wikipedia In 1973 price controls resulted in rationing and line ups at every gas station and gimicks to reduce them, such as alternating days by even-odd license plates to match the numeric day of the month. Jeff Jacoby says it well:
There is only one rational and efficient way to allocate a scarce commodity: through price. That is because the more a person values something, the more he is generally willing to pay for it. By charging what the market will bear -- for gasoline or anything else -- vendors channel their product to the customers who value it the most. A mandatory cap on the price of gas may seem like kindness to the poor, but all it will do is raise demands that can't be met. The result will be "Sold Out" signs on Joe's pumps, or gasoline lines stretching around the block.
Painful as they are, price spikes are invaluable -- especially after a disaster, when critical goods and services are at a premium. At $3 or $4 a gallon, post-Katrina gasoline prices are transmitting two urgent messages. To consumers they say: "Conserve! Buy only as much as you really need, and look for ways to use even less." To the energy industry they say: "Produce! Get those refineries back online and supply more gasoline ASAP." Aren't those exactly the behaviors we want to encourage? But the power of market pricing to affect behavior is unwelcome to those who think useful things don't happen unless the government tells them to happen. In The New York Times last week, Senator Levin dismissed the idea that higher prices will induce consumers to use less gasoline. "By that logic," he snorted, "you could raise prices to $10 a gallon and you make sure that people walk." In the real world, though, consumers do make choices based on price, as the large photo accompanying the Times story illustrated nicely. It showed a woman turning away from gasoline pumps charging $5.88 a gallon. The caption read: "The price of gas at a station in Stockbridge, Ga., last week was too high for one customer, who returned to her car without buying."
Back to Cantwell. Rich Karlgaard of Forbes Magazine honored her as Dunce of the Week for this brave proposal. Actually she isn't the only one! Two more US senators and the governor of Hawaii share the "Dunce" award. See also No Price Gouging.
Posted by Ron at 7:58 PM 2 comments:
The Israelis may save the world - Hydrogen
Scientists in Israel have invented a process to produce hydrogen from the sun's energy. Hydrogen is the fuel of the future, everyone seems to agree. But the future has appeared to be far off because producing hydrogen has required burning fossil fuels - that's supposed to be the past. But now there has been a breakthrough, Israel 21C reports:
In a breakthrough that has dramatic implications for energy use worldwide, Israeli researchers have shown that hydrogen fuel can be produced with the help of sunlight - propelling the dream forward of using hydrogen as a 'green' fuel. The innovative solar technology developed at Weizmann Institute of Science that may offer an environmentally sound solution to the production of hydrogen fuel has been successfully tested on a large scale, and also promises to facilitate the storage and transportation of hydrogen. The chemical process behind the technology was originally developed at Weizmann on a scale of several kilowatts. It was then scaled up to 300 kilowatts in collaboration with scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology... The new solar technology developed by the Israelis and their European colleagues creates an easily storable intermediate energy source form from metal ore, such as zinc oxide
And the storage problem is handled by this method, as well:
The process generates no pollution, and the resultant zinc can be easily stored and transported, and converted to hydrogen on demand. In addition, the zinc can be used directly, for example, in zinc-air batteries, which serve as efficient converters of chemical to electrical energy. Thus, the method offers a way of storing solar energy in chemical form and releasing it as needed.
And there have been enthusiastic reactions, such as:
"The Israelis may save the world if this technique for producing hydrogen pans out and proves practical," wrote Professor Juan Cole of the University of Michigan on his influential blog Informed Comment.
I continue to be optimistic about our energy future because the Earth is bombarded with huge amounts of energy from the sun every day. We just have to find ways to capture, store, transport and use the solor energy. Hat tip to The American Thinker. They say that Juan Cole has nothing good to say about Israel, so his endorsement is a strong indication.
Posted by Ron at 10:21 PM 1 comment:
Remember 9/11
Don't forget. We didn't realize we were at war through attacks in New York in 1993, against US barracks in Saugi Arabia, two US emabassies in East Africa simulataneously, and the USS Cole. It took simultaneous attacks on New York City and Washington, DC, before we realized. Don't forget.
No Price Gouging
We see it again. When an event causes a shortage that everyone knows about, prices start going up - as you would expect. Then some US Senator says "Price Gouging." Then every talking head starts parading their ignorance. "This was done intentionally by BIG OIL." ... etc. Prices change according to the Law of Supply and Demand. If the supply is cut, but no one wants the commodity, then the price goes down slightly. If the supply is cut, but there is constant or increasing demand, then the price goes up. And those who value the commodity the most get it, because they are willing to pay more. Anyone who tries to do away with the Law of Supply and Demand makes things worse - they cause shortages. Iain Murray at TechCentralStation covers the basics.
For various reasons, I took a lot of trips to the local hardware store on Sunday. On my route there were two gas stations gazing at each other across the thoroughfare. On the first trip, I noticed that one was charging $3.41 a gallon for regular, while the other was charging $3.29. And there, in a nutshell, was proof that gas price "gouging" does not exist. This was actually an excellent case study for the basic economic lesson on supply and demand in situations of scarcity. Price is not an arbitrary figure. It contains a vast amount of information from the viewpoints of both the supplier and the customer. In normal circumstances it represents a balance between the effort and risk undertaken by the supplier to provide the product and the preferences and needs of the potential consumer taken in aggregate. Each individual consumer will have different preferences and needs, so that one may balk at a price another finds perfectly reasonable and another considers a bargain, but as a whole the price represents a signal about the balance of considerations among consumers in the market for the product. When the product becomes scarce, however, additional information is added in the form of increased price that represents notice from the producer to the consumer that he may not be able to supply every customer with the full amount of the product desired. The customer is then more able to balance his wants with his needs and, again taken in aggregate, the market will respond to the scarcity by reducing its demand to meet the expected supply. ... Gouging in the gas market makes no sense. The owner of the station that was charging $3.41 as I drove by was presumably reacting to his own supply constraints. Yet because the other station took a lot of his business, those constraints eased. By the third time I drove past the station, he had reduced his price to $3.29 also.
So, economics tells us that "gouging" simply doesn't exist in a rational market. Responsible higher prices actually ensure that as much of the good or service as possible is available for use. In an emergency, that is an important consideration.
Disaster 101 by Bob Williams
Bob Williams was the state representative for the district that contained Mt. St. Helens when it blew in 1980 killing around 70 people; it knocked out bridges, flooded homes with mud or destroyed them, destroyed good-size businesses and just blew away a lot. He is now the president of Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a Washington-oriented think tank in Olympia. They do first-class work. Williams covers the basics of who is responsible for what in a disaster. Samples:
The plain fact is, lives were needlessly lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana's governor, Kathleen Blanco, and the city's mayor, Ray Nagin. The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his emergency operations center. The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city.
Mayor Nagin was responsible for giving the order for mandatory evacuation and supervising the actual evacuation: His Office of Emergency Preparedness (not the federal government) must coordinate with the state on elements of evacuation and assist in directing the transportation of evacuees to staging areas. Mayor Nagin had to be encouraged by the governor to contact the National Hurricane Center before he finally, belatedly, issued the order for mandatory evacuation. And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation.
Congratulations, Bob, for getting in the WSJ, my main source of economic and national news.
Timothy Goddard plugged on national radio
Blogger friend Timothy Goddard got in a plug for his blog on Hugh Hewitt's national talk radio program. The Flag of the World He has an item "1951 vs. 2005" on disaster preparedness.
The Real Plan in New Orleans
Someone discovered the real plan by the city of New Orleans in case of a disastrous hurricane. Not the show piece Mayor Bragin put on their web site. No, the one they used. The New Orleans Times-Picayne on July 24, 2005 had the story:
City, state and federal emergency officials are preparing to give the poorest of New Orleans' poor a historically blunt message: In the event of a major hurricane, you're on your own.
That is the plan: You are on your own.
In scripted appearances being recorded now, officials such as Mayor Ray Nagin, local Red Cross Executive Director Kay Wilkins and City Council President Oliver Thomas drive home the word that the city does not have the resources to move out of harm's way an estimated 134,000 people without transportation. In the video, made by the anti-poverty agency Total Community Action, they urge those people to make arrangements now by finding their own ways to leave the city in the event of an evacuation. "You're responsible for your safety, and you should be responsible for the person next to you," Wilkins said in an interview. "If you have some room to get that person out of town, the Red Cross will have a space for that person outside the area. We can help you. "But we don't have the transportation." Officials are recording the evacuation message even as recent research by the University of New Orleans indicated that as many as 60 percent of the residents of most southeast Louisiana parishes would remain in their homes in the event of a Category 3 hurricane. Their message will be distributed on hundreds of DVDs across the city. The DVDs' basic get-out-of-town message applies to all audiences, but the it is especially targeted to scores of churches and other groups heavily concentrated in Central City and other vulnerable, low-income neighborhoods, said the Rev. Marshall Truehill, head of Total Community Action.
Do these poor people all have DVD players? But it's moot because the DVDs have not yet been distributed! Blogger Brad Delong quotes the entire article. I don't know of a link to the original. Plan II Mayor Nagin himself is quoted with a modified version:
Plenty of missteps at the local level contributed to last week's disaster too, from a failure to take basic steps to protect the telecom infrastructure to inadequate food and water at the Superdome. New Orleans may be able to stage events such as Mardi Gras and Jazzfest and provide parking, crowd control and adequate toilets for millions of visitors, but its hurricane plan was more rudimentary. "Get people to higher ground and have the feds and the state airlift supplies to them -- that was the plan, man," Mayor Ray Nagin said in an interview yesterday.
Timeline Rich Moran has constructed a timeline of the events with links. Using it will aid our discussions.
Blame the 3d String for the Starters' Failure
The federal government doesn't have the first responsibility in disaster response. The local government and the state are the "first string." The federal government is supposed to come in later. The feds role is to provide backup resources - backup. The locals and state are supposed to provide the initial resources, then the feds come later. No, this does not fit the "blame Bush for everything" meme. The City of New Orleans had a great plan for a major hurricane. This is the Google cache of it. But they didn't follow it. For example, the plan says to stock the Superdome with food and water for something link 10,000 people for 3 days. But they didn't stock anything at all. Do you blame Bush for that? News Snipet Blog covers the plan. Police Our Constitution prevents the federal government from policing our civilian population. This is because of fear of misuse of the power by the president resulting in a police state. So, of course, it is the local government that provides the police - during normal times and during disasters. The locals know their area and are known by the population, so they are the best source of police. During a disaster the governor of the state has control of the national guard and can use them for policing. Only as a desperate last resort are federal troops used. Hugh Hewitt is a law professor and he covers the legal basics. Skip past his coverage of the ridiculous claim that Condoleeza Rice is to blame.
For starters, the police power resides in the states. There is no general federal police power. It is the power to take care of a citizenry's health, safety and morals. It was described by Chief Justice Taney in the Licensee Cases this way: But what are the police powers of a State? They are nothing more or less than the powers of government inherent in every sovereignty to the extent of its dominion. And whether a state passes a quarantine law, as a law to punish offenses, as to establish courts of justice, or requiring certain instruments to be recorded, as to regulate commerce within its own limits, in every case it exercises the same power; that is to say, the power of sovereignty, the power to govern men and things within the limits of its dominion. "To the extent of its dominion," is the key phrase. For the federal government to act in the face of a natural disaster, it's help must be requested and its guidance accepted by the state and local officials.
Locals Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco made major errors. The federal FEMA made some and they should be held accountable. Director Brown did poorly and should be replaced. Levees - Does reduced funding for the Army Corps of Engineers explain the failures of the two levees? No. First, the levess that failed had been rebuilt and were in good shape, says the Army Corps of Engineers. Second, A New Orleans levee board was being investigated for corruption before Katrina:
Rampant public corruption was doing big business in New Orleans long before Hurricane Katrina ever hit. What then Congressman, now Senator David Vitter calls "corrupt, good old boy" practices were apparent in the New Orleans Levee Board just one year before the collapse of regional levees, emergency communications and government services brought the Big Easy to the brink of anarchy. In fact, Senator David Vitter requested a federal investigation into improper practices of a number of public utilities, including the New Orleans Levee Board, and anew Task Force was to have been initiated in the Baton Rouge office, beginning in July 2004.
Buses - There has been a lot of coverage and an aerial photo of the 255 school buses that are still sitting in flood water; they were not used to evacuate people. If they were crammed with 55 people in each, then 14,025 could have been evacuated. Photo - You can't blame Bush for the mayor not using them. Resource - Rich Moran has built a timeline of the events in the Katrina response.
New Orleans Air Traffic Controllers
Air traffic controllers in the New Orleans area had a triple challenge when the rescue/relief efforts scaled up last week. They were short of staff due to people caring for their own flooded homes. Most of thier phones lines and some radios were out. And they had to handle up to 100 helicopter operations per hours, which they hadn't done before. Kudos to the FAA's air traffic controllers and their union, National Air Traffic Controllers Union. Story in USA Today - 9/6/05
Katrina Responses
I am overwhelmed by the natural disaster of Katrina, the human tragedy of its victims and the combination of heroism and folly, extraordinary effort and apparent laziness in the responses of both victims and responders. My friend Jim Miller expresses frusteration equivalent to mine. The mayor, governor and president ordered evacuation and attempted to get people to carry it out. Many people chose to stay when they were capable of leaving. Some could not. Now there was provision to shelter a few thousand who were hard to relocate. But the facilites were overwhelmed by numbers increased by those who could have left. And furthermore, the Superdome was chosen as a shelter for its strength against the hurricane. NOT for the flooding and the extended stay it required. Low lights Jesse Jackson, who claims to be a reverend, looks only at race. Race baiting made him rich. But I don't care what JJ declares since he got caught spending donations to his nonprofit to pay for his mistress's house.
And he also criticized the role given to former presidents George Bush senior and Bill Clinton as coordinators for a fund raising effort following the Katrina tragedy, similar to their role as tsunami fund raisers. "Why are there no African Americans in that circle?" Jackson asked. "How can blacks be left out of the leadership and trapped into the suffering
Mike Fancher, the reader's representative at the Seattle Times thinks that it is incredibly brave to carry a notebook and ask questions. The herioc reporter is a first responder taking notes while others are saving lives. Oh. Mixed Errol Lewis of the New York Daily News considers the people to still under slavery!!
That hard, unsympathetic view is the traditional American response to the poverty, ignorance and rage that afflict many of us whose great-great-grandparents once made up the captive African slave labor pool.
Then he points out the ugly facts on the corruption that the people of New Orleans and Louisiana have allowed.
These government failures are not merely a matter of incompetence. Louisiana and New Orleans have a long, well-known reputation for corruption: as former congressman Billy Tauzin once put it, "half of Louisiana is under water and the other half is under indictment." That's putting it mildly. Adjusted for population size, the state ranks third in the number of elected officials convicted of crimes (Mississippi is No. 1). Recent scandals include the conviction of 14 state judges and an FBI raid on the business and personal files of a Louisiana congressman.... The rot included the New Orleans Police Department, which in the 1990s had the dubious distinction of being the nation's most corrupt police force and the least effective: the city had the highest murder rate in America. More than 50 officers were eventually convicted of crimes including murder, rape and robbery; two are currently on Death Row.
Can they expect a full-faith effort from the politicians, bureaucrats and police who have gotten away with allowing such a mess? Of course not. I am praying for the people displaced, injured, sick, victims of looting. And for the responders sent in to help.
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NOTE: Apparently, I posted this essay after the House of Deputies passed the resolution in question. (The Web site tracking legislation apparently is not always updated in a timely fashion.) Since the resolution was not amended by the deputies, my comments about the resolution itself are still appropriate.
The Episcopal Church’s 2009 General Convention has a lot on its plate, not all of which is of great interest to the world (or even the Anglican Communion) at large. The world will certainly be watching how the convention deals with the 2006 convention’s eleventh-hour Resolution B033, however. (See my earlier post, “Kudos for Bonnie.”) The World Mission Legislative Committee (WMLC) has now reported out resolution D025 for consideration by the House of Deputies, making this a good time to look at how the convention might deal with what many now consider its mistake of three years ago.
Resolution D025 was proposed by D. Rebecca Snow, an attorney and deputy from the Diocese of Alaska. The original text can be found here. The WMLC was assigned a number of resolutions dealing with B033 and chose to rework D025 to produce a proposal on the subject for forwarding to the House of Deputies. The committee vote on the revised resolution was 24–2 among deputies but 2–3 among bishops. (More details are available in the ENS story “B033-related legislation to move to House of Deputies.”) The difference in the vote among deputies and bishops is striking, but it is not clear how significant it is. The bishops may want a stronger or a weaker resolution, or simply a better one, and the votes of five bishops may not be representative of the House of Bishops generally. We may never know, of course, as the resolution may not even reach the junior house in its current form.
I find it interesting (and unhelpful) that the WMLC, while editing D025 a good deal, did not at all modify the Explanation of the resolution. (I assume this is standard practice.) As I have complained before, the General Convention is not always clear about why it is doing what it does. Whereas members of the two legislative houses may cast identical votes for quite diverse reasons, legislative committees could be more helpful by explaining why they have done what they have done. In this case, however, although many words have been changed, the thrust and spirit of the original resolution seem to have come through the committee process intact. Actually, if the committee had to agree on a statement explaining what it just did, its work might take twice as long! Sigh!
I want to offer my own commentary on the current version of the resolution, which I will do paragraph by paragraph. In what follows, the original resolution appears on the left, and the current resolution appears on the right.
D025 as of July 12
The resolution begins:
Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That this 76th General Convention reaffirm the abiding commitment of The Episcopal Church to the fellowship of churches that constitute the Anglican Communion and seek to live into the highest degree of communion possible; and be it further
Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 76th General Convention reaffirm the continued participation of The Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion; give thanks for the work of the bishops at the Lambeth Conference of 2008; reaffirm the abiding commitment of The Episcopal Church to the fellowship of churches that constitute the Anglican Communion and seek to live into the highest degree of communion possible; and be it further
Although the current resolution is not particularly objectionable, one wonders why the committee chose to tinker with the original. This paragraph has lost focus, which should be on our commitment to the Anglican Communion and to maintaining the highest degree of communion possible. (Am I the only person sick of this phrase?) Anyway, if we reaffirm our commitment, why do we need to reaffirm our participation? It seems to me that we reaffirm our participation—whatever that means—by participating. No doubt, the bishops on the committee were responsible for inserting the gratuitous thanks for the work of the Lambeth Conference. (Would bishops have the same fondness for the Anglican Communion if they didn’t get a junket to England every 10 years? Did I really say that? Sorry.) The committee avoided serious irony by not also expressing gratitude for the work of the Primates’ Meeting, the Anglican Consultative Council, or the Archbishop of Canterbury. Reference to the Lambeth Conference calls attention unnecessarily to these omissions. Both the original and current texts omit a needed semicolon before “and seek.”
The resolution continues:
Resolved, That this 76th General Convention encourage dioceses, parishes, and members of The Episcopal Church to participate to the fullest extent possible in the many networks and relationships of the Anglican Communion, including but not limited to networks involving youth, women, and indigenous people; networks and ministries concerned with ecumenical and interfaith work, peace and justice, liturgy, environmental issues, health, and education; and companion diocese relationships; and be it further
Resolved, That the 76th General Convention encourage dioceses, congregations, and members of The Episcopal Church to participate to the fullest extent possible in the many instruments, networks and relationships of the Anglican Communion; and be it further
Mercifully, the committee shortened this provision. Sadly, it did not eliminate it. Participation of the church at all levels should be contingent on its facilitating mission; it should not be an end in itself. The lack of a needed comma after “networks” is clearly an artifact of a faulty editing process.
The next paragraph is the following:
Resolved, That this 76th General Convention reaffirm its financial commitment to the Anglican Communion and pledge to maintain its full asking for the Inter-Anglican Budget; and be it further
Resolved, That the 76th General Convention reaffirm its financial commitment to the Anglican Communion and pledge to participate fully in the Inter-Anglican Budget; and be it further
I think the revised wording is less specific, and may therefore express a slightly weaker commitment than does the original resolution. Personally, I would like to see this resolve dropped. The first paragraph of the resolution implies that we will do our part financially. We should stop at that implication. (Arguably, we are paying more than our fair share. If Nigeria can make demands on the Communion by virtue of its containing such a large share of the world’s Anglicans, let it pay as though that fact means something.) Anyway, this resolve brings to mind our government’s reluctance ever to rule out using nuclear weapons, the purpose of which is to avoid giving our enemies the confidence that they are safe from our nuclear stockpile no matter what they do. Likewise, we should not give the Anglican Communion reason to think that our commitment to paying about a third of the Communion’s expenses is absolute, no matter how much our church is abused by the Communion.
Resolved, That this 76th General Convention affirm the value of “listening to the experience of homosexual persons,” as called for by the Lambeth Conferences of 1978, 1988, and 1998, and acknowledge that through our own listening the General Convention has come to recognize that the baptized membership of The Episcopal Church includes same-sex couples living in lifelong committed relationships characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God; and be it further
Resolved, That the 76th General Convention affirm the value of “listening to the experience of homosexual persons,” as called for by the Lambeth Conferences of 1978, 1988, and 1998, and acknowledge that through our own listening the General Convention has come to recognize that the baptized membership of The Episcopal Church includes same-sex couples living in lifelong committed relationships “characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God” (2000-D039); and be it further
This resolve survived without any significant change. (Note, however, that the addition of “(2000-D039)” is not clearly marked as such on the legislation tracking site.) This resolve, of course, is getting to the heart of what the resolution is all about. The text makes its point powerfully and succinctly. The quotation from 2000-D039 is correct, although one might have wished that semicolons had been employed to clarify the syntax. I would also like to see commas around “through our own listening.”
Next, we have the following:
Resolved, That this 76th General Convention recognize that individuals who are part of such relationships have responded to God’s call and have exercised various ministries in and on behalf of God’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church over the centuries and are currently doing so in our midst, often without the church’s recognition of their lifelong committed relationships and the blessings bestowed by such relationships, and be it further
Resolved, That the 76th General Convention recognize that gay and lesbian persons who are part of such relationships have responded to God’s call and have exercised various ministries in and on behalf of God’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and are currently doing so in our midst; and be it further
It is certainly positive that this resolve identifies specifically the people about whom it is talking, rather than using the phrase “individuals who are part of such relationships,” referring to the previous resolve. On the other hand, it pleads its case somewhat less passionately. I would place a comma after “Apostolic Church.”
Moving right along, we have:
Resolved, That this 76th General Convention affirm that God may call such individuals, like any other baptized members, to any ordained ministry in The Episcopal Church, which call is tested in our polity through our discernment processes carried out under Canon III of The Episcopal Church and the canons of its dioceses, and be it further
Resolved, That the 76th General Convention affirm that God has called and may call such individuals, to any ordained ministry in The Episcopal Church, which call is tested through our discernment processes acting in accordance with the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church; and be it further
This resolve might be clarified by not having to refer to the previous resolve. I like the addition of “has called and” to the current text. One can quibble about other changes, but I have no strong feelings about them. Another comma fault is present as a result of careless editing. The comma after “individuals” is needed in the original, but it is misplaced in the revised paragraph. Then, there is the matter that our discernment process does not act. There are more serious problems here, however. (See below.)
And now, the last resolve:
Resolved, That this 76th General Convention acknowledge that, while the members of The Episcopal Church, like those in our sister Provinces of the Anglican Communion, are not all of one mind on this issue, and that Christians of good conscience, based on careful study of the Holy Scriptures, may disagree about this issue, the validity of the Church’s sacraments comes from the action of the Holy Spirit in and through them, not from the frail humans celebrating them in God’s name.
Resolved, That the 76th General Convention acknowledge that members of The Episcopal Church as of the Anglican Communion, based on careful study of the Holy Scriptures, and in light of tradition and reason, are not of one mind, and Christians of good conscience disagree about some of these matters.
This final paragraph acknowledges, quite properly, of course, that all Christians are not of one mind concerning LGBT persons, even if The Episcopal Church can agree on matters relating to such persons in a manner specified by its governing documents. The WMLC wisely threw out the reference to the Donatist heresy, which, though relevant, is too complicated to explain adequately here. Alas, the current text is not felicitously phrased. First, there should be a comma after “The Episcopal Church.” But the real problem is that the various elements of the sentence simply do not come in the most logical order. The original phrasing was much better, but it lead to the Donatist business that the committee decided to scrap. There are more serious problems, however, as the resolution refers to members of The Episcopal Church and members of the Anglican Communion. But members of The Episcopal Church are humans, and members of the Anglican Communion are provinces (churches). Oops! Something like the following should be substituted:
Resolved, That this 76th General Convention acknowledge that, whereas the members of The Episcopal Church, like those in our sister Provinces of the Anglican Communion, are not all of one mind about these matters, Christians of good conscience, based even on careful study of the Holy Scriptures, may disagree about them.
I still find myself uncomfortable about the use of “these matters,” as it is not completely clear what matters are being referenced.
Further Thoughts
On the whole, the revised D025 is not a bad effort, even though it needs another copyediting pass. I cannot help but feel that, although the resolution seems to mean to undo the effect of the infamous B033, it doesn’t quite do the job. The draft asserts that the call of “such individuals”—I hate the indirection here—to ordained ministry in our church “is tested through our discernment processes acting in accordance with the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church.” The implication is that the nondiscrimination provisions of our governing documents will cause us to ordain LGBT persons and even consecrate them as bishops. Why don’t we just say that? Those reading this may not know our canons well enough to get the implication. As Richard E. Helmer recently said of this moment in the life of The Episcopal Church,
So it seems to me certain in this moment, as General Convention meets and considers next steps in the aftermath of B033, our primary call is to speak the truth about who and where we are as a Church—perhaps with gusto, perhaps with some humility, or offered with the spice of both.
But it must be the truth. Period.
There will be consequences, of course, to passing a resolution such as this one, and not all of the consequences involve the churches of Nigeria, Uganda, or the Southern Cone. In my own diocese, the many conservatives who broke with Bishop Robert Duncan to remain with The Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Pittsburgh will clearly be unhappy with the passage of D025 or anything like it that weakens the virtual moratorium of B033. (See “Diocesan Deputies Help Shape Sexuality Debate” on the diocese’s Web site.) On the other hand, those folks had to know that the trajectory of The Episcopal Church was targeted at the eventual approval of same-sex unions and the selection of bishops without regard to sexual orientation. A failure to abrogate B033 would trouble the more liberal members of the diocese, myself included. We have feelings and passions, too. There is concern that passage of something like D025 will discourage those who have left The Episcopal Church from returning to it. So be it. Non-passage will surely not encourage their return. Property lawsuits might.
As for the Anglican Communion, I believe that we, as a church, have prolonged the agony of the Communion by repeatedly suggesting that we may not go where we know we want to go, where we sincerely believe God is calling us to go, and where we know we are going soon, if not in 2009. We are not willing, and we should not be willing, to wait for consensus about LGBT persons within the Anglican Communion because we know that, effectively, that will happen when hell freezes over. We actually have a better chance of preserving the Anglican Communion by making it clear now where we stand, thereby telling the Communion that it can accept the decision of an autonomous member of the fellowship, or it can change the nature of the Communion and go its own way without us. One way or another, as our conservative brothers and sisters have advised us, the Anglican Communion is going to change. If we are to be a part of the Anglican Communion, we must ensure that we are part of a Communion we can live with. If a divorce in our fellowship is in our future, we will not stand alone, and we will be better off once that painful divorce is final.
Posted by Lionel Deimel at 11:28 PM
Deconstructing Rowan
What D025 Has Done
In Support of Judge Sotomayor (maybe)
Nice try, but
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e10vq
QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization) (I.R.S. Employer
Natchez, Mississippi 39120
(Address of principal executive offices)(Zip code)
(Registrant’s telephone number,
including area code)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definitions of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer o Accelerated filer þ Non-accelerated filer o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2). Yes o No þ
As of November 3, 2006, there were 20,747,773 shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, outstanding.
Page No.
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005
Consolidated Statements of Operations for Each of the Three and Nine Months in the Periods Ended September 30, 2006 and September 30, 2005
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for Each of the Nine Months in the Periods Ended September 30, 2006 and September 30, 2005
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
Item 6. Exhibits
Certification Pursuant to Section 302
(In thousands, except share data)
September 30, December 31,
(Unaudited) (Note 1)
— 26,770
Restricted investments
Fair market value of derivatives
Oil and gas properties, full-cost accounting method:
Evaluated properties
Less accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization
(582,999 ) (539,399 )
Unevaluated properties excluded from amortization
Total oil and gas properties
Other property and equipment, net
Long-term gas balancing receivable
Restricted investments-long-term
Investment in Medusa Spar LLC
Other assets, net
Undistributed oil and gas revenues
Asset retirement obligations-current
Asset retirement obligations-long-term
Accrued liabilities to be refinanced
Preferred Stock, $.01 par value, 2,500,000 shares authorized;
Common Stock, $.01 par value, 30,000,000 shares authorized; 20,742,213 and 19,357,138 shares outstanding at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively
Capital in excess of par value
Unearned compensation restricted stock
— (3,334 )
10,435 (331 )
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
$ 44,878 $ 31,722 $ 137,516 $ 116,402
14,973 9,313 43,600 38,392
Accretion expense
1,082 864 3,832 2,495
Derivative expense
27,063 23,030 75,480 71,880
Other (income) expenses:
Other (income)
(354 ) (352 ) (1,354 ) (650 )
Total other (income) expenses
Income before Medusa Spar LLC
Income from Medusa Spar LLC, net of tax
Preferred stock dividends
— — — 318
Net income available to common shares
$ 9,630 $ 3,683 $ 34,700 $ 22,151
Net income per common share:
$ 0.47 $ 0.19 $ 1.74 $ 1.23
Shares used in computing net income:
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash provided by operating activities:
Amortization of deferred financing costs
Non-cash derivative expense
Income from investment in Medusa Spar LLC
(1,313 ) (1,292 )
Deferred income tax expense
Non-cash charge related to compensation plans
Excess tax benefits from share-based payment arrangements
(1,449 ) —
Changes in current assets and liabilities:
(687 ) (279 )
Change in gas balancing receivable
(131 ) 14
Change in gas balancing payable
149 (89 )
Change in other long-term liabilities
Change in other assets, net
(2,692 ) (361 )
Cash provided by operating activities
(122,002 ) (57,382 )
Distribution from Medusa Spar LLC
Cash used by investing activities
Change in accrued liabilities to be refinanced
2,000 —
Increase in debt
Payments on debt
(51,000 ) (12,000 )
Issuance of common stock
Buyout of preferred stock
— (637 )
Equity issued related to employee stock plans
Capital leases
Cash dividends on preferred stock
Cash provided (used) by financing activities
14,811 (6,642 )
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents:
Balance, beginning of period
Balance, end of period
$ 2,946 $ 25,797
The financial information presented as of any date other than December 31 has been prepared from the books and records of Callon Petroleum Company (the “Company” or “Callon”) without audit. Financial information as of December 31, 2005 has been derived from the audited financial statements of the Company, but does not include all disclosures required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for the fair presentation of the financial information for the periods indicated, have been included. For further information regarding the Company’s accounting policies, refer to the Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes for the year ended December 31, 2005 included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed March 15, 2006. The results of operations for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2006 are not necessarily indicative of future financial results.
2. Stock-Based Compensation
The Company has various stock plans (“Plans”) under which employees of the Company and its subsidiaries and non-employee members of the Board of Directors of the Company have been or may be granted certain equity compensation. The Company has compensatory stock option plans in place whereby participants have been or may be granted rights to purchase shares of common stock of Callon. For further discussion of the Plans, refer to Note 11 of the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2005 included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed March 15, 2006.
On March 9, 2006, the Board of Directors of the Company approved the 2006 Stock Incentive Plan (“2006 Plan”). The 2006 Plan was approved by the shareholders at the May 4, 2006 annual meeting. Pursuant to the 2006 Plan, 500,000 shares of common stock shall be reserved for issuance upon exercise of stock options, restricted stock or other stock-based awards.
In August 2006, the Board of Directors approved the award of 520,000 shares of restricted stock from the 1996 Stock Incentive Plan. Of the 520,000 shares, 20,000 shares were granted to non-employee members of the Board of Directors and vested immediately. The remaining 500,000 shares were issued to employees of the Company with 20% vesting immediately and the remaining 80% vesting ratably over the next four years.
Effective January 1, 2006, the Company adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 123 (revised 2004) (“SFAS 123R”), “Share-Based Payment,” utilizing the modified prospective approach. Prior to the adoption of SFAS 123R we accounted for stock option grants in accordance with Accounting Principals Board Opinion No. 25, “Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees” (the intrinsic value method) and, accordingly, recognized no compensation expense for stock option grants.
Under the modified prospective approach, SFAS 123R applies to new awards, unvested awards as of January 1, 2006 and awards that were outstanding on January 1, 2006 that are subsequently modified, repurchased or cancelled. Under the modified prospective approach, compensation cost recognized in 2006 includes compensation cost for all share-based payments granted prior to, but not yet vested as of January 1, 2006, based on the grant-date fair value estimated in accordance with the original provisions of Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 123 (“SFAS 123”) “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation,” and compensation cost for all share-based payments granted subsequent to January 1, 2006, based on the grant-date fair value estimated in accordance with the provisions of SFAS 123R. Prior periods were not restated to reflect the impact of adopting the new standard.
As a result of most of the Company’s stock-based compensation being in the form of restricted stock, the impact of the adoption of SFAS 123R on income before taxes, net income and basic and diluted earnings per share for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2006 was immaterial.
SFAS 123R requires the cash flows from tax benefits resulting from tax deductions in excess of compensation cost recognized for stock options exercised (excess tax benefits) to be classified as financing cash flows. The $1.4 million of excess tax benefits classified as a financing cash inflow for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2006 would have been classified as an operating cash flow had the Company not adopted SFAS 123R. There were no cash proceeds from the exercise of stock options for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 due to the fact that all options were exercised through net-share settlements.
For the three-month period ended September 30, 2006, we recorded stock-based compensation expense of $2.3 million, of which $1.2 million was included in general and administrative expenses and $1.1 million was capitalized to oil and gas properties. For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2006, we recorded stock-based compensation expense of $2.8 million, of which $1.5 million was included in general and administrative expenses and $1.3 million was capitalized to oil and gas properties. Shares available for future stock option or restricted stock grants to employees and directors under existing plans were 535,666 at September 30, 2006.
The following table illustrates the effect on operating results and per share information had the Company accounted for stock-based compensation in accordance with SFAS 123 for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2005 (in thousands, except per share amounts):
Net income available to common-as reported
Add: Stock-based compensation expense included in net income as reported, net of tax
Deduct: Total stock-based compensation expense under fair value based method, net of tax
(207 ) (1,270 )
Net income available to common- pro forma
Net income per share available to common:
Basic-as reported
Basic-pro forma
Diluted-as reported
Diluted-pro forma
The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model to estimate the fair value of stock-based awards with the following weighted-average assumptions for the indicated periods.
4.6 % 4.2 %
Expected life of option (in years)
Weighted-average grant-date fair value
Forfeiture rate
7.5 % —
The assumptions above are based on multiple factors, including historical exercise patterns of employees with respect to exercise and post-vesting employment termination behaviors, expected future exercising patterns and the historical volatility of our stock price. There were no stock options granted during the three months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005.
At September 30, 2006, there was $249,000 of unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested stock options, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.3 years.
The following table represents stock option activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2006:
Weighted-Average
Number of Weighted-Average Remaining
Shares Exercise Price Contract Life
Outstanding options at beginning of period
1,205,558 $ 10.11
(480,333 ) 10.66
Outstanding options at end of period
740,225 $ 9.93 4.31 Yrs.
Outstanding exercisable at end of period
The aggregate intrinsic value of options outstanding was $2.9 million and the aggregate intrinsic value of options exercisable was $2.9 million. Total intrinsic value of options exercised was $4.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2006.
The following table summarizes our nonvested stock option activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2006:
Number of Weighted-Average
Shares Exercise Price
Nonvested stock options at beginning of period
39,000 $ 16.94
(9,000 ) 16.71
Nonvested stock options at end of period
Restricted Stock
The Plans allow for the issuance of restricted stock awards. The unearned stock-based compensation related to these awards is being amortized to compensation expense over the vesting period. The compensation expense for these awards was determined based on the market price of our stock at the date of grant applied to the total numbers of shares that were anticipated to fully vest. As of September 30, 2006, there was $8.7 million of unrecognized compensation cost associated with these awards.
The following table represents unvested restricted stock activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2006:
Shares Grant Price
Outstanding shares at beginning of period
272,000 $ 13.66
520,000 15.83
Outstanding shares at end of period
3. Per Share Amounts
Basic net income per common share was computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted net income per common share was determined on a weighted average basis using common shares issued and outstanding adjusted for the effect of common stock equivalents computed using the treasury stock method. In addition, an adjustment was included for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2005 for the dilutive effect of the convertible preferred stock.
A reconciliation of the basic and diluted earnings per share computation is as follows (in thousands, except per share amounts):
(a) Net income available to common Shares
Preferred dividends assuming Conversion of preferred stock (if dilutive)
(b) Income available to common shares assuming conversion of preferred stock (if dilutive)
(c) Weighted average shares outstanding
Dilutive impact of stock options
Dilutive impact of warrants
443 1,523 894 1,309
Dilutive impact of restricted stock
Convertible preferred stock (if dilutive)
— 94 — 843
(d) Total diluted shares
Basic income per share (a¸c)
Diluted income per share (b¸d)
Stock options and warrants excluded due to the exercise price being greater than the stock price (in thousands)
30 — 27 12
4. Derivatives
The Company periodically uses derivative financial instruments to manage oil and gas price risk. Settlements of gains and losses on commodity price contracts are generally based upon the difference between the contract price or prices specified in the derivative instrument and a NYMEX price or other cash or futures index price.
The Company’s derivative contracts that are accounted for as cash flow hedges under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133 (“SFAS No. 133”), “Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities,” are recorded at fair market value and the changes in fair value are recorded through other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax, in stockholders’ equity. The cash settlements on these contracts are recorded as an increase or decrease in oil and gas sales. The changes in fair value related to ineffective derivative contracts are recognized as derivative expense (income). The cash settlements on these contracts are also recorded within derivative expense (income).
Cash settlements on effective cash flow hedges during the three-month period ended September 30, 2006 resulted in an increase in oil and gas sales of $3.2 million compared to a reduction of oil and gas sales of $3.6 million for the same period in 2005. The nine-month periods ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 included an increase in oil and gas sales of $5.7 million and a reduction of oil and gas sales of $8.3 million, respectively, for cash settlements on effective cash flow hedges.
The Company recognized derivative expense of $30,000 and $150,000 for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2006 and $5.6 million and $6.5 million for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2005, respectively.
Included in derivative expense for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2005 were cash settlements on ineffective derivative contracts of $1.4 million and $716,000, respectively. These contracts were deemed ineffective as a result of a shortfall in production volumes due to downtime resulting from damages caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the third quarter of 2005. In addition, continued downtime resulting from damages to oil and gas transmission lines and facilities owned by third parties caused some of our derivative contracts for October and November 2005 to be deemed ineffective. Due to the fact that it was probable that the shortfall in production volumes would continue in October and November, we recognized a non-cash derivative expense of $3.8 million in the three-month period ended September 30, 2005 to reclassify the unrealized loss on these contracts, which was included in other comprehensive income (loss), to earnings.
As of September 30, 2006, the fair value of the outstanding oil and gas derivative contracts was a current asset of $14.0 million and a long-term asset of $2.0 million.
Listed in the table below are the outstanding derivative contracts as of September 30, 2006:
Volumes per Quantity Floor Ceiling
Product Month Type Price Price Period
30,000 Bbls $ 60.00 $ 77.10 10/06-12/06
600,000 MMBtu $ 8.00 $ 9.30 10/06-12/06
300,000 MMBtu $ 7.00 $ 13.10 10/06-12/06
5. Long-Term Debt
Long-term debt consisted of the following at:
Senior Secured Credit Facility (matures July 31, 2010)
$ 12,000 $ —
9.75% Senior Notes (due 2010), net of discount
Capital lease
Less current portion:
On August 31, 2006, the Company closed on a four-year amended and restated senior secured credit facility with Union Bank of California, N.A. The credit facility includes more favorable borrowing rates and financing flexibility. The initial borrowing base is $75 million, which will be reviewed and redetermined semi-annually and can be increased to a maximum of $175 million. Borrowings under the credit facility are secured by mortgages covering the Company’s major fields. As of September 30, 2006, there was $12 million outstanding under the facility with a weighted average interest rate of 6.96% and $63 million available for future borrowings.
6. Comprehensive Income
A summary of the Company’s comprehensive income (loss) is detailed below (in thousands):
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Change in fair value of derivatives
8,472 257 10,766 (2,736 )
Total comprehensive income
$ 18,102 $ 3,940 $ 45,466 $ 19,733
7. Asset Retirement Obligations
The following table summarizes the activity for the Company’s asset retirement obligation for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2006:
Asset retirement obligation at beginning of period
Liabilities incurred
Liabilities settled
(16,411 )
Revisions to estimate
Asset retirement obligation at end of period
Less: current asset retirement obligation
(5,499 )
Long-term asset retirement obligation
The upward revisions to estimate were primarily due to a sharp increase in industry service costs for the Gulf of Mexico region experienced in the first quarter of 2006, principally as a result of the weather patterns during the second half of 2005.
Assets, primarily U.S. Government securities, of approximately $6.2 million at September 30, 2006, are recorded as restricted investments. These assets are held in abandonment trusts dedicated to pay future abandonment costs for several of the Company’s oil and gas properties.
8. Accounting Pronouncements
In June 2006, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) released interpretation No. 48 (“FIN 48”), Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes. FIN 48 clarifies the accounting for income taxes by prescribing the minimum recognition threshold a tax position must meet before being recognized in the financial statements. FIN 48 also provides guidance on derecognition, measurement, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure and transition. The effective date for FIN 48 is fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2006. The Company is currently reviewing the provisions of FIN 48 and has not yet determined the impact of adoption.
In September 2006, the FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 157, (“SFAS 157”), Fair Value Measurements. SFAS 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and requires enhanced disclosures about fair value measurements. SFAS 157 is effective for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently reviewing the provisions of SFAS 157 and has not yet determined the impact of adoption.
In September 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued SAB No. 108, (“SAB 108”), Considering the Effects of Prior Year Misstatements When Quantifying Misstatements in Current Year Financial Statements. SAB 108 addresses quantifying the financial statement effects of misstatements, specifically, how the effects of prior year uncorrected errors must be considered in quantifying misstatements in the current year financial statements. The guidance in SAB 108 is effective for fiscal years ending after November 15, 2006.
This report includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this report, including statements regarding our financial position, adequacy of resources, estimated reserve quantities, business strategies, plans, objectives and expectations for future operations and covenant compliance, are forward-looking statements. We can give no assurances that the assumptions upon which such forward-looking statements are based will prove to have been correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations (“Cautionary Statements”) are disclosed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for our most recent fiscal year, elsewhere in this report and from time to time in other filings made by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified by the Cautionary Statements.
Our revenues, profitability, future growth and the carrying value of our oil and gas properties are substantially dependent on prevailing prices of oil and gas, our ability to find, develop and acquire additional oil and gas reserves that are economically recoverable and our ability to develop existing proved undeveloped reserves. Our ability to maintain or increase our borrowing capacity and to obtain additional capital on attractive terms is also influenced by oil and gas prices. Prices for oil and gas are subject to large fluctuations in response to relatively minor changes in the supply of and demand for oil and gas, market uncertainty and a variety of additional factors beyond our control. These factors include weather conditions in the United States, the condition of the United States economy, the actions of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, governmental regulations, political stability in the Middle East and elsewhere, the foreign supply of oil and gas, the price of foreign imports and the availability of alternate fuel sources. Any substantial and extended decline in the price of oil or gas would have an adverse effect on the carrying value of our proved reserves, borrowing capacity, revenues, profitability and cash flows from operations. We use derivative financial instruments for price protection purposes on a limited amount of our future production, but do not use derivative financial instruments for trading purposes.
The following discussion is intended to assist in an understanding of our historical financial position and results of operations. Our historical financial statements and notes thereto included elsewhere in this quarterly report contain detailed information that should be referred to in conjunction with the following discussion.
Our primary sources of capital are cash flows from operations, borrowings from financial institutions and the sale of debt and equity securities. On September 30, 2006, we had net cash and cash equivalents of $3 million and $63 million of availability under our senior secured credit facility. Cash provided from operating activities during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2006 totaled $107 million, a 24% increase when compared to 2005. The increase was primarily attributable to higher oil and gas prices. Net capital expenditures from the cash flow statement for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2006 totaled $122 million.
We are experiencing downhole mechanical problems at the A-1 well in the Medusa field. This will have a negative impact on our cash flow for the fourth quarter of 2006 and possibly into the first quarter of 2007 depending on the nature of the problem and the timing of repairs. However, production of our reserves during 2006, despite the problem at Medusa, is projected to be higher than that experienced during 2005 due to 11 new discoveries that have commenced production during 2006 or are scheduled to commence initial production during the remainder of 2006. Additionally, 2005 production was negatively impacted by tropical weather conditions. Given the current pricing environment for oil and natural gas and the higher production volumes, our cash provided by operating activities for 2006 is expected to exceed the amount realized during 2005.
Our capital expenditure plans for 2006, including capitalized interest and general and administrative expenses, will require approximately $150 million of funding. We expect that cash flows generated from operations during 2006 and current availability under our senior secured credit facility will provide the capital necessary to fund these planned capital expenditures as well as our asset retirement obligations which are expected to be approximately $14 million. See the Capital Expenditures section below for a more detailed discussion of our capital expenditures for 2006.
On August 31, 2006, we closed on a four-year amended and restated senior secured credit facility with Union Bank of California, N.A. The credit facility includes more favorable borrowing rates and financing flexibility. The initial borrowing base is $75 million which will be reviewed and redetermined semi-annually and can be increased to a maximum of $175 million. Borrowings under the credit facility are secured by mortgages covering our major fields.
The Indenture governing our 9.75% Senior Notes due 2010 and our senior secured credit facility contain various covenants, including restrictions on additional indebtedness and payment of cash dividends. In addition, our senior secured credit facility contains covenants for maintenance of certain financial ratios. We were in compliance with these covenants at September 30, 2006. See Note 5 of the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2005 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed March 15, 2006 for a more detailed discussion of long-term debt.
The following table describes our outstanding contractual obligations (in thousands) as of September 30, 2006:
Contractual Less Than One-Three Four-Five After-Five
Obligations Total One Year Years Years Years
Senior Secured Credit Facility
$ 12,000 $ — $ — $ 12,000 $ —
9.75% Senior Notes
200,000 — — 200,000 —
Capital Lease (future minimum payments)
1,374 366 485 447 76
Throughput Commitments:
Medusa Spar LLC
9,740 3,328 5,388 1,024 —
Medusa Oil Pipeline
$ 223,566 $ 3,824 $ 6,019 $ 213,575 $ 148
Capital expenditures from the cash flow statement were $122 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2006. Of this amount approximately $110 million was for exploration and development costs related to oil and gas properties and the remaining $12 million was for plugging and abandonment activities.
Included in the $110 million for exploration and development costs related to oil and gas properties was approximately $69 million of costs for the Gulf of Mexico Shelf Area, which included drilling costs associated with nine wells and completion and development of our discoveries. Five of the nine wells were successful, two were unsuccessful and two were in progress as of September 30, 2006. In the onshore Louisiana area we spent $12 million, which was associated with the drilling and completion of our Prairie Beach discovery as well as the drilling of two exploratory wells which are in progress. Interest of approximately $5 million and general and administrative costs allocable directly to exploration and development projects of approximately $7 million were capitalized for the first nine months of 2006. The remainder of the capital expended includes the acquisition of seismic and leases and costs related to our Gulf of Mexico deepwater area.
Capital expenditures for the remainder of 2006 are forecast to be approximately $40 million and include:
• the completion and development of our 2006 discoveries, including development wells;
• the non-discretionary drilling of exploratory wells;
• the acquisition of seismic and leases; and
• capitalized interest and general and administrative costs.
In addition, we are projecting to spend $2 million in the fourth quarter of 2006 for asset retirement obligations.
In December 2003, we announced the formation of a limited liability company, Medusa Spar LLC, which now owns a 75% undivided ownership interest in the deepwater Spar production facilities on our Medusa Field in the Gulf of Mexico. We contributed a 15% undivided ownership interest in the production facility to Medusa Spar LLC in return for approximately $25 million in cash and a 10% ownership interest in the LLC. The LLC will earn a tariff based upon production volume throughput from the Medusa area. We are obligated to process our share of production from the Medusa Field and any future discoveries in the area through the Spar production facilities. This arrangement allows us to defer the cost of the Spar production facility over the life of the Medusa Field. Our cash proceeds were used to reduce the balance outstanding under our senior secured credit facility. The LLC used $83.7 million of cash proceeds from non-recourse financing and a cash contribution by one of the LLC owners to acquire its 75% interest in the Spar. The balance of Medusa Spar LLC is owned by Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII) and Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR). We are accounting for our 10% ownership interest in the LLC under the equity method.
The following table sets forth certain unaudited operating information with respect to the Company’s oil and gas operations for the periods indicated:
Net production :
Total production (MMcfe)
Average daily production (MMcfe)
Average sales price:
Oil (Bbls) (a)
$ 62.31 $ 46.16 $ 58.33 $ 41.01
Total (Mcfe)
Oil and gas revenues:
$ 23,754 $ 17,649 $ 78,133 $ 66,142
Oil and gas production costs:
Additional per Mcfe data:
Depletion, depreciation and amortization
General and administrative (net of management fees)
(6.91 ) (6.98 ) (7.81 ) (8.04 )
— (8.80 ) (0.81 ) (5.07 )
Average realized oil price
Comparison of Results of Operations for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2006 and the Three Months Ended September 30, 2005.
Oil and Gas Production and Revenues
Total oil and gas revenues increased 41% to $44.9 million in the third quarter of 2006 from $31.7 million in the third quarter of 2005. The increase was primarily due to higher gas production and oil prices. Total production on an equivalent basis for the third quarter of 2006 increased by 31% versus the third quarter of 2005, which included downtime for tropical storms and hurricane activity.
Gas production during the third quarter of 2006 totaled 2.7 Bcf and generated $21.1 million in revenues compared to 1.5 Bcf and $14.1 million in revenues during the same period in 2005. The average gas price after hedging impact for the third quarter of 2006 was $7.79 per Mcf compared to $9.32 per Mcf for the same period last year. The 80% increase in production was primarily due to production from our new wells at East Cameron Block 90, North Padre Island Block 913, High Island Block 73, Brazos Block 405 and West Cameron Block 295 and third quarter 2005 production being negatively impacted by tropical weather conditions. The increase was partially offset by normal and expected declines in production from our Habanero, High Island Block 119 and Mobile Bay area fields and older properties.
Oil production during the third quarter of 2006 totaled 381,000 barrels and generated $23.8 million in revenues compared to 382,000 barrels and $17.6 million in revenues for the same period in 2005. The average oil price received after hedging impact in the third quarter of 2006 was $62.31 per barrel compared to $46.16 per barrel in the third quarter of 2005. Production was flat for the third quarter of 2006 compared to the third quarter of 2005, which was negatively impacted by tropical weather conditions.
Lease operating expenses were $8.1 million for the three-month period ended September 30, 2006, an increase of $2.4 million compared to the same period in 2005. The increase was primarily due to new wells coming on line, higher costs for fuel and marine transportation and an increase in insurance rates for our policies which were renewed on April 1, 2006. In the third quarter of 2006, we incurred higher throughput charges at Medusa due to an increase in production as compared to the third quarter of 2005 where production was negatively impacted by tropical weather conditions. In addition, we incurred approximately $1.4 million for pipeline repairs at our South Marsh Island Block 261 field during the third quarter of 2006.
Depreciation, depletion and amortization for the three months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 was $15.0 million and $9.3 million, respectively. The 61% increase was due to higher production volumes and a higher depletion rate resulting from higher costs associated with our exploration and development activities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Accretion expense for the three-month periods ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 of $1.1 million and $864,000, respectively, represents accretion of our asset retirement obligations. The increase was primarily due to the addition of plugging and abandonment obligations associated
with new discoveries and an increase in plugging and abandonment cost estimates. See Note 7 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
General and administrative expenses, net of amounts capitalized, were $2.9 million and $1.6 million for the three-month periods ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. The 82% increase was primarily due to non-cash charges of approximately $1.1 million that were recognized in the third quarter of 2006 for the vesting of 20% of restricted shares issued as part of the 2006 restricted stock award. See Note 2 for more details.
Interest expense was flat at $4.0 million during the three months ended September 30, 2006 compared to $4.1 million during the three months ended September 30, 2005.
Income tax expense was $4.9 million and $1.6 million for the three-month periods ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. The increase was primarily due to an increase in income before income taxes.
Comparison of Results of Operations for the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2006 and the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2005.
Total oil and gas revenues increased 18% to $137.5 million in the first nine months of 2006 from $116.4 million in the first nine months of 2005. The increase was primarily due to higher product prices. Total production on an equivalent basis for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 decreased by 6% versus 2005.
Gas production during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 totaled 7.2 Bcf and generated $59.4 million in revenues compared to 6.6 Bcf and $50.3 million in revenues during the same period in 2005. The average gas price after hedging impact for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 was $8.20 per Mcf compared to $7.65 per Mcf for the same period last year. The 10% increase in production was primarily due to new producing wells at East Cameron Block 90, North Padre Island Block 913, High Island Block 73, Brazos Block 405 and West Cameron Block 295, and 2005 production being negatively impacted by tropical weather conditions. The increase was partially offset by the normal and expected declines in production from our Habanero, High Island Block 119, and Mobile Bay area fields and older properties.
Oil production during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 totaled 1,340,000 barrels and generated $78.1 million in revenues compared to 1,613,000 barrels and $66.1 million in revenues for the same period in 2005. The average oil price received after hedging impact in the first nine months of 2006 was $58.33 per barrel compared to $41.01 per barrel in the first nine months 2005. The decrease in production was primarily due to normal and expected declines in production from our Habanero Field and older properties.
Lease operating expenses were $21.3 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2006, an increase of $3.0 million compared to the same period in 2005. The increase was primarily due to new wells coming on line, higher costs for fuel and marine transportation and an increase in insurance rates for our policies which were renewed on April 1, 2006. The increase was partially offset by the shut-in of our Main Pass Block 163 Field after the first quarter of 2005, which became uneconomic and is being plugged and abandoned, and a decrease in throughput charges for Habanero resulting from lower production.
Depreciation, depletion and amortization for the nine-months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 was $43.6 million and $38.4 million, respectively. The 14% increase was a result of a higher depletion rate primarily due to higher costs associated with exploration and development in the Gulf of Mexico.
Accretion expense for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 of $3.8 million and $2.5 million, respectively, represents accretion of our asset retirement obligations. The increase was primarily due to the addition of plugging and abandonment obligations associated with new discoveries and an increase in plugging and abandonment estimates. See Note 7 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
General and administrative expenses, net of amounts capitalized, were $6.6 million and $6.1 million for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. The increase was partially due to non-cash charges of approximately $1.1 million recognized in the third quarter of 2006 resulting from the vesting of 20% of restricted shares issued as part of the 2006 restricted stock award. These non-cash charges was offset by non-cash charges of $1.0 million we recognized in the second quarter of 2005 for the accelerated vesting of performance shares pursuant to the terms of the plan due to death or disability for an executive officer and two directors of the Company. See Note 2 for more details on the 2006 restricted stock award.
Interest expense decreased by 5% to $12.3 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 from $12.9 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2005. This decrease is primarily attributable to an increase in capitalized interest resulting from an increase in our investment in unevaluated properties over the last year due to expanded exploration activities.
Income tax expense was $17.7 million and $11.1 million for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. The increase was due to an increase in income before income taxes.
The Company’s revenues are derived from the sale of its crude oil and natural gas production. The prices for oil and gas remain extremely volatile and sometimes experience large fluctuations as a result of relatively small changes in supply, weather conditions, economic conditions and government actions. From time to time, the Company enters into derivative financial instruments to manage oil and gas price risk.
The Company may utilize fixed price “swaps”, which reduce the Company’s exposure to decreases in commodity prices and limit the benefit the Company might otherwise have received from any increases in commodity prices.
The Company may utilize price “collars” to reduce the risk of changes in oil and gas prices. Under these arrangements, no payments are due by either party as long as the market price is above the floor price and below the ceiling price set in the collar. If the price falls below the floor, the counter-party to the collar pays the difference to the Company, and if the price rises above the ceiling, the counter-party receives the difference from the Company.
Callon may purchase “puts” which reduce the Company’s exposure to decreases in oil and gas prices while allowing realization of the full benefit from any increases in oil and gas prices. If the price falls below the floor, the counter-party pays the difference to the Company.
The Company enters into these various agreements from time to time to reduce the effects of volatile oil and gas prices and does not enter into derivative transactions for speculative purposes. However, certain of the Company’s derivative positions may not be designated as hedges for accounting purposes.
See Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for a description of the Company’s outstanding derivative contracts at September 30, 2006. There have been no significant changes in market risks faced by the Company since the end of 2005.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by an issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is accumulated and communicated to the issuer’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. The Company’s principal executive and financial officer has concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”)) were effective as of September 30, 2006.
There were no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the Company’s last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
3. Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws
3.1 Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, as amended (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 3.1 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003 filed March 15, 2004, File No. 001-14039)
3.2 Bylaws of the Company (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 3.2 of the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-4, filed August 4, 1994, Reg. No. 33-82408)
4. Instruments defining the rights of security holders, including indentures
4.1 Specimen Common Stock Certificate (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 4.1 of the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-4, filed August 4, 1994, Reg. No. 33-82408)
4.2 Rights Agreement between Callon Petroleum Company and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, Rights Agent, dated March 30, 2000 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 99.1 of the Company’s Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed April 6, 2000, File No. 001- 14039)
4.3 Form of Warrant entitling certain holders of the Company’s 10.125% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2002 to purchase common stock from the Company (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.13 of the Company’s Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2002, File No. 001-14039)
4.4 Form of Warrants dated December 8, 2003 and December 29, 2003 entitling lenders under the Company’s $185 million amended and restated Senior Unsecured Credit Agreement, dated December 23, 2003, to purchase common stock from the Company (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.14 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, File No. 001-14039)
4.5 Indenture for the Company’s 9.75% Senior Notes due 2010, dated March 15, 2004, between Callon Petroleum Company and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.16 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2004, File No. 001-14039)
31. Certifications
31.1 Certification of Chief Executive and Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32. Section 1350 Certifications
By: /s/ Fred L. Callon
Fred L. Callon, President and Chief Executive Officer (on behalf of the
registrant and as the principal financial officer)
Exhibit Number
Title of Document
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The Joker’s Wild Casting for Season Two
Alex Davis
Looks like Snoop Dogg’s slot machine will continue to spin. The Joker’s Wild is casting for contestants.
Hot off the heels of its first season finale, TBS’s revival of the classic game show The Joker’s Wild appears to be coming back for another run. They’re currently looking for contestants. If you’re interested at a shot of winning $25,000 and meeting the legendary Snoop Dogg, click here to apply. You must be a legal US resident and at least 18 years old.
The Joker’s Wild is a revival of the iconic 70s game show. Hosted by Snoop Dogg, contestants put their knowledge, skill, and luck to the test, spinning the iconic slot machine and answering questions to bank as much cash as possible. The day’s winner has a chance to win $25,000 in the Face the Devil end game.
The first season was a solid performer for TBS, premiering in the top 10 of cable with nearly 1.2 million viewers and a 0.46 in the 18-49 demographic. Throughout the run it consistently stayed around the top 20 shows on its air day.
Update: TBS has officially announced the second season today.
Casting TBS The Joker's Wild
Buzzr Kicks Off 2018 with Supermarket Sweep and Celebrity Name Game
NBC Renews Ellen’s Game of Games for a Second Season
The “High” Concept and the Death of The Million Second Quiz... May 26, 2014 | Christian Carrion
Interview: Adam Ray March 6, 2016 | Cory Anotado
Now Casting: Win $25,000 on “Celebrity Name Game”... May 26, 2014 | Alex Davis
America’s Got Talent Announces Season 11 Nationwide Open Auditions... September 10, 2015 | Alex Davis
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iA LAB Member Spotlight: Brit Suttell
13 November 2020 at 12:00 p.m. ET
Nov. 13, 2020, noon Nov. 13, 2020, 9:01 a.m. insideARM.com The iA Institute
http://www.insidearm.com/news/00046848-ia-lab-member-spotlight-brit-suttell/
In 2020, the Consumer Relations Consortium (CRC) launched its inaugural Legal Advisory Board (LAB), an exclusive membership group of outside counsel with expertise in the accounts receivable industry who have each pledged their time and resources to support the mission of the CRC. Throughout the year, the LAB served as a legal resource to the CRC and iA Innovation Council membership and assisted in fulfilling the mission of promoting forward-thinking approaches to the issues raised by regulatory policy and technology innovation in the accounts receivable industry.
Today's spotlight, which showcases LAB members in their own words, highlights Brit Suttell of Barron & Newburger, P.C.
What inspired you to become a lawyer?
My Dad (Bill Suttell) and my mom's side of the family (her 3 siblings are all attorneys and her parents were both attorneys). My Grandma became an attorney in the early 1950s when there were not many female attorneys. I'm a third-generation female attorney.
Other than the CFPB rules, what is a hot topic in legal/compliance you think industry members should be paying attention to in the next couple of months?
I think industry members need to be paying attention to the consent orders and other actions taken by the CFPB. While it has been said that enforcement actions and investigations dropped under Director Kraninger, recently there have been a series of consent orders and enforcement actions that seem to indicate otherwise. Following consent orders and enforcement actions can give the industry a clue as to what the CFPB is looking for and allow companies to reevaluate their own processes in those areas.
What has been the highlight of your career thus far and why?
Winning the Donald Kramer Award from the National Creditors Bar Association, which is awarded to “someone whose efforts have made a substantial and lasting impact for the benefit of the credit and legal collection community.” It was completely unexpected and I’m humbled to be among the ranks of some of the industry’s most prominent names.
What industry behavior keeps you up at night and why?
Debt collectors who just don't follow what the FDCPA says, especially 1692g.
If you could give one piece of non-legal advice to the industry, what would it be?
It would have to be similar advice that I give to my sons every day: be awesome; be kind. Although I think it’s implied in the “be kind” part, I would add “don’t be a jerk.”
About Brit Suttell
Brit Suttell works in the Pennsylvania office of Barron & Newburger, P.C. They are a member of the firm’s Consumer Financial Services Law Practice Group.
Prior to joining the firm, Brit was a shareholder at Burton Neil & Associates, P.C., where they served as the firm’s Director of Compliance. In addition to their litigation experience, Brit is experienced in the creation, implementation, and administration of policies, procedures, and compliance management systems. Their non-litigation experience also includes the handling of regulatory complaints. They have substantial familiarity with multiple consumer financial protection laws and has trained collectors and facilitated law firm audits by clients in the financial sector.
Brit is the President of the Pennsylvania State Creditors Bar and current member of the Board of Directors for the National Creditors Bar Association, as well as the Association’s immediate past parliamentarian. They are a frequent contributor to industry newsletters and webinars.
About the Consumer Relations Consortium
The Consumer Relations Consortium (CRC) is an organization comprised of more than 60 national companies representing the diverse ecosystem of debt collection including creditors, data/technology providers and compliance-oriented debt collectors that are larger market participants. Established in 2013, CRC is evolving the debt collection paradigm by engaging stakeholders—including consumer advocates, Federal and State regulators, academic and industry thought leaders, creditors and debt collectors—and challenging them to move beyond talking points and focus on fashioning real-world solutions that actually improve the consumer experience. CRC’s collaborative and candid approach is unique in the market. CRC is managed by The iA Institute.
Learn more at www.crconsortium.org.
About the iA Innovation Council
The iA Innovation Council is a collaborative working group of product, tech, strategy, and operations thought leaders who envision the future of collections and map how to get there. Group members meet throughout the year to engage in substantive dialogue and whiteboard sessions with the creative thinkers behind the latest innovations for the industry, the regulators who audit and establish guardrails for new technology, and educators, entrepreneurs and innovators from outside the industry who inspire different thinking.
Learn more at www.iainnovationcouncil.com.
Next Article: Harvest Strategy Group, Inc. Announces Leadership Changes
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February 19, 2009 - 4:30pm to 6:00pm
32-155 Stata Center
32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
On February 19, Israeli architect Eyal Weizman will present a public talk on the "architecture of occupation" in Israel Palestine. Weizman has taught, lectured, curated and organized conferences in many institutions worldwide. His books include Hollow Land, A Civilian Occupation, the series Territories 1, 2, and 3, Yellow Rhythms and many articles in journals, magazines and edited books. He became a member of B'Tselem's managing board in 2008.
Joining the discussion as commentator is Salim Tamari. Tamari is director of the Institute of Jerusalem Studies and a professor of sociology at Birzeit University. He edits Hawliyyat al Quds and Jerusalem Quarterly and is the author of several works on urban culture, political sociology, biography and social history, and the social history of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Along with the Center for International Studies this event was co-sponsored by Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Bustani Lecture Series and Jerusalem 2050.
Free & open to the public | Refreshments served
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November 2, 2015, 7:00 pm ET -
November 2, 2015, 7:00 pm ET - House amendment offered
November 3, 2015, 6:06 pm ET - Amendment (A032) offered by Mr. Costello (PA) to the Rules amendment (A001).
November 3, 2015, 6:06 pm ET - House amendment offered/reported by : Amendment (A032) offered by Mr. Costello (PA) to the Rules amendment (A001).
November 3, 2015, 6:09 pm ET - On agreeing to the Costello (PA) amendment (A032) Agreed to by voice vote.
November 3, 2015, 6:09 pm ET - House amendment agreed to: On agreeing to the Costello (PA) amendment (A032) Agreed to by voice vote.
November 3, 2015, 6:09 pm ET - Amendment agreed to Committee of the Whole
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Hubbard v. Nestor
TERRELL S. HUBBARD, Plaintiff,
TOM NESTOR, MICHAEL YOWELL, WADE ADAMS, DERIK MATTHESON, and COLE BRITTON, Defendants.
SCOTT T. VARHOLAK UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.
This civil action is before the Court on Defendants' Motion to Reconsider (the “Motion to Reconsider”) [#174], which was referred to this Court for resolution [#175]. This Court has carefully considered the Motion to Reconsider and related briefing, the case file, and the applicable case law, and has determined that oral argument would not materially assist in the disposition of the Motion to Reconsider. For the following reasons, the Motion to Reconsider is GRANTED.
Plaintiff brings claims for alleged violations of his Fourteenth Amendment right to Due Process and violation of his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights while he was detained at the Lincoln County Jail. [See #61 at 4-5] On October 12, 2018, Defendants filed a Motion for Summary Judgment (the “Summary Judgment Motion”) seeking summary judgment in their favor on all of Plaintiff's remaining claims in the lawsuit. [#153] More specifically, Defendants argue that (1) Plaintiff was not entitled to a hearing prior to being relocated within the Lincoln County Jail, because the relocation was related to maintaining the order, safety, and security of the jail, its staff, and other inmates; (2) Plaintiff's Fourth Amendment rights were not violated, because he did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in his jail cell and he has not established the violation of any rights under the Fifth Amendment; (3) Plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies prior to bringing this lawsuit; (4) Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity; and (5) Defendant Sheriff Tom Nestor is not liable in his official capacity, because Plaintiff failed to prove any underlying constitutional violation and Sheriff Nestor is entitled to qualified immunity. [Id.] On November 11, 2018, Plaintiff filed his Response to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (the “Summary Judgment Response”). [#157] On December 3, 2018, Defendants filed their Reply in the Matter of Their Motion for Summary Judgment (the “Summary Judgment Reply”). [#164]
On December 24, 2018, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Strike New Arguments and Affidavit Raised in Defendants' Reply in the Matter of Their Motion for Summary Judgment (the “Motion to Strike”), arguing that Defendants' Summary Judgment Reply contained new arguments and evidence that were not raised in the Summary Judgment Motion and thus should be stricken. [#165] On January 14, 2019, Defendants filed a response to the Motion to Strike [#169], and Plaintiff then filed a reply in support of the Motion to Strike [#171]. On January 25, 2019, this Court issued an Order granting in part and denying in part the Motion to Strike. [#172] Relevant to the instant Motion to Reconsider, the Court granted the Motion to Strike “to the extent it [sought] to strike Defendants' argument that ‘Plaintiff was not a typical “pre-trial detainee”, in that he was a parolee (and, therefore, still a “constructive prisoner”), who was on pre-trial status for a new charge' while detained at the Lincoln Country Jail” and determined that the stricken argument “[would] not be considered by the Court in connection with Defendants' Summary Judgment Motion.” [Id. at 6-7]
The entirety of Defendants' argument in the Summary Judgment Reply related to Plaintiff's parolee status (the “Parolee Argument”) consists of the following two paragraphs:
Defendants stress that, while Plaintiff was a pretrial detainee with respect to the criminal charge he received for making a “shank” while being held in the Limon Correctional Facility, he was transported to the Jail as a parolee on his prior charges in order to face his new charge, and remained on that status while he was an inmate at the Jail . . . In Colorado, “a parolee is considered to be under a restraint imposed by law and is not a free person, but rather, a constructive prisoner of the state and under the control of the appropriate state officials.” People v. Gallegos, 914 P.2d 449, 450 (Colo.App. 1995).
Plaintiff was not a typical “pre-trial detainee”, in that he was a parolee (and, therefore, still a “constructive prisoner”), who was on pre-trial status for a new charge. It was not unreasonable for Jail officials to take that factor into account when managing Plaintiff's behavior. “Admittedly, prisoners do not shed all constitutional rights at the prison gate, but lawful incarceration brings about the necessary withdrawal or limitation of many privileges and rights, a retraction justified by the considerations underlying our penal system.” Sandin v. Connor, 515 U.S. 472, 485 (1995) (internal citations omitted).
[#164 at 8-8]
On February 8, 2019, Defendants filed the instant Motion to Reconsider, which requests that the Court reconsider that portion of its January 25, 2019 Order that granted the Motion to Strike to the extent it sought to strike the Parolee Argument. [#174] On February 19, 2019, Plaintiff filed a response to the Motion to Reconsider [#179], and Defendants then filed a reply in support of the Motion to Reconsider [#185].
II. LEGAL STANDARD
“The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure do not specifically provide for motions for reconsideration.” Spring Creek Expl. & Prod. Co., LLC v. Hess Bakken Inv. II, LLC, No. 14-cv-00134-PAB-KMT, 2015 WL 3542699, at *2 (D. Colo. June 5, 2015). Rather, “motions for reconsideration fall within a court's plenary power to revisit and amend interlocutory orders as justice requires.” Id. Although a court has the authority to revisit and amend its interlocutory orders, judges in this district generally “have imposed limits on their broad discretion to revisit interlocutory orders.” Id. Accordingly, in determining whether to revisit an interlocutory order, courts generally “consider whether new evidence or legal authority has emerged or whether the prior ruling was clearly in error”. Id. “Motions to reconsider are generally an inappropriate vehicle to advance ‘new arguments, or supporting facts which were available at the time of the original motion.'” Id. (quoting Servants of the Paraclete v. Does, 204 F.3d 1005, 1012 (10th Cir. 2000)).
In the Motion to Reconsider, Defendants offer two arguments in support of their contention that the Parolee Argument should not have been stricken by the Court. First, Defendants contend that, upon raising a defense of qualified immunity in their Motion for Summary Judgment, the burden shifted to Plaintiff to establish (1) a constitutional violation and (2) that the constitutional right at issue was “clearly established.” [#174 at ¶¶ 11-12] As a result of this burden-shifting, Defendants argue that the waiver cases relied upon by Plaintiff in his Motion to Strike are inapplicable and Defendants' Parolee Argument is properly construed as a rebuttal to Plaintiff's arguments in the Summary Judgment Response in support of a constitutional violation. [Id. at 4] Second, Defendants contend that, because qualified immunity may be raised at any time prior to trial, Defendants “could, hypothetically, submit an additional Motion for Summary Judgment on the stricken issue (which relates to qualified immunity) at any time.” [Id. at ¶ 17] Defendants thus contend that “it would promote judicial economy, as well as adhere to this ...
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Desde Abajo
Podcast de Cine de Terror, Sci-Fi y mas
Available on October 14th: «Jack Goes Home». Here is our review without spoilers!.
9 October, 2016 by Zed Kosnar in Movie Reviews and tagged Daveigh Chase, Jack Goes Gome, Lin Shaye, Louis Hunter, Nikki Reed, Rory Culkin, Thomas Dekker, Thrillers
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Jack Thurlowe, a popular magazine editor living in Los Angeles, has to come back to his hometown to help her mother to heal after a car crash where also his father died. Soon after his arrival, his childhood friend Shanda tries to help Jack coping with his loss, since he is in an emotional block, even when he does not want to admit it, partly because he was very close to his dad, and also because he is very soon to be a father himself.
Just after a few hours of staying together we can see that the relationship between Jack and his mother, Teresa, has always been tense, and that the recent loss has left her with damages beyond the physical type, making Jack’s temperament and a repressed resentment from her to clash and create a series of conflicts that become increasingly aggressive. The real problems however, start when in the middle of nightmares and hallucinations, Jack seems to be receiving messages from his deceased father, giving him hints that they might be secrets in his family that Jack never imagined, and that could make him question not only his apparently perfect life, but also his sanity.
There are lots of positive things in «Jack Goes Home», but the one that stands out for me is the acting performances of the two leads, Rory Culkin (Scream 4, Intruders) effortlessly shows how Jack starts to brutally falling into the acceptance of his father’s death and at the same time has to deal with a lot of stuff that seems to be just waiting to pile up on him. Lin Shaye’s performance showed that she has a great acting range that most of the audience might not be aware of, specially the people that only know her from recent horror and comedy films. With her portrayal of Teresa we see a very cynical lady that also is very fragile and still, she has no problems to release her anger and resentment now that the world she knew has crumbled, and that at the same time she wants to protect Jack from digging about the past, she is eager to take him by the hand and let him fall into the abyss.
“Jack Goes Home” is not a film that I can recommend to just anyone, and i want to state right now that is not a real horror film despite what the trailer might trying to hint, I would even dare to say that it barely falls into the psychological thriller territory. Still, this film will resonate strongly with all of us that have dealt with a death in the family so sudden that will keep us in the denial stage for too long, and that makes this film worth watching more than once. The movie has several tense moments that are not broken by silly jump scares and manages to make us think about everything that is happening all the way to the end, an ending by the way, I think will divide the audiences,
The problem could be that while the pace is stable and never gets boring, you can get the feeling that it has not a very clear idea of all the themes that it was trying to cover or how to do it (besides themes of loss, grievances and suppressed resentments, of course), and I say that because at the end we are left with several unanswered questions, specially about some secondary characters, which brings me to another (minor) issue: The film has interesting characters, but there were some actors that felt underused, and were no more than a cameo, like in the case of Natasha Lyonne, I thought there was more to see on her story (and an unanswered question, too) but more than that, it was nice to see her in a very different character that the one we saw recently in «Antibirth» (you can read our review here) , but take that as a rant from one of her fans, same in the case of Nikki Reed.
“Jack Goes Home” was written and directed by Thomas Deker (know, among several other characters, for playing John Connor in tv’s “The Sarah Connor Chronicles”). In the cast we can see Rory Culkin, Lin Shaye, Daveigh Chase (The Ring, Donnie Darko), Louis Hunter and Nikki Reed (From the Twilight saga).
In the end, I liked the film a lot, and i think is worth debating the ending and some of the themes over a cup of coffee (I prefer beer, but hey, whatever works!), just do NOT go to see the film expecting tons of gore or rivers of blood, because there are pretty much non-existent. The film will be released on select theaters on October 14th and on VOD, courtesy of Momentum Pictures.
← «Jack Goes Home» Reseña sin spoilers. Disponible el 14 de Octubre!
Reto Kosnar S02E07- Dawn Of The Dead….En 3-D!! →
D.A. 264- Apuestas, Voces y Herencias Mortales
D.A. 263- El Regreso que Nadie Pidió!
Reto Kosnar V #31- Resolution, Candyman y Dog Soldiers
Reto Kosnar V #30- TRIPLE FUNCION!! «El Espinazo Del Diablo» y más.
Reto Kosnar V #29- Needful Things (Pacto con el Diablo)
Liobalam en D.A. 148- Hail To The King! (Especial de «The Evil Dead»)
Zed Kosnar en FTS #33- Kaijus gachos, Votos mortales y Asesinas kawai
Nelson Martínez en FTS #33- Kaijus gachos, Votos mortales y Asesinas kawai
Rick Sánchez en FTS #31- Clinicamente Toxico y Barrido
Zed Kosnar en D.A. 243- El terror de la Decada Vol 2-C
Archivos Elegir el mes June 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 July 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 November 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014
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We’re Here
Taos Furniture
Taos Treasures
UNM-Taos 12×12″x45
© COPYRIGHT 2019 DAFA, Writers and Represented Artists
Taos institute for glass arts
Most Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and by request. If you are traveling to Taos with DAFA on your agenda, you can reach someone at 575-770-5733 to make sure someone is there when you arrive. As a woodworker/owner, I spend most of my working hours at my workshop which is in a separate facility.
Gail Goodwin, Taos
Taos Art Insurgency: The New Protagonists
Taos Opera Institute at DAFA June 09
12 x 12″ x 45 UNM-Taos Artists
Follow DAFA on Twitter
Taos Institute for Glass Arts Announces Call for Artists for 2014 Taos Art Glass Invitational
The Taos Institute for Glass Arts announces its Call for Artists for the 2014 Taos Art Glass Invitational, an international biennial exhibition occurring this year from October 11 through November 9, 2014, with a private collector preview on October 10, 2014. Deadline for the call is May 1, 2014.
The Invitational includes both featured master artists who exhibit excellence in their medium internationally and are invited directly by the TIGA board, as well as artists invited through a jury process. Artists working in glass or glass combined with other media from around the globe are encouraged to submit an application.
All juried selections for the Taos Art Glass Invitational will be chosen through this Call for Artists application process. For the first time in 2014, the Art Glass Invitational is featuring four categories in which an artist may compete:
• Wall Works
• Wearable Works
• Functional Works
Artists from each of these categories will be selected to exhibit. For detailed specifications and to submit an entry for consideration, please visit the Taos Institute for Glass Arts website.
The jurors for the 2014 Taos Art Glass Invitational are Herb Babcock, Chairman of the Art Glass Program at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan, and Tina Oldknow, Curator of Modern Glass at the Corning Museum of Art in Corning, New York, and Stephanie Grilli, freelance writer, art historian and Curator of Artscribe.net Mr. Babcock received his BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art and his MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Ms. Oldknow holds a BA in Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles and an MA in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. A trustee of the American Craft Council from 2003-2009, she presently serves on the advisory board of North Lands Creative Glass, Caithness, Scotland, and she is member of the International Council of Pilchuck Glass School. Ms. Grilli graduated summa cum laude from University of Pittsburg and received her PhD from Yale University.
Numerous artists who represent excellence in glass internationally have been invited to exhibit their work, including Herb Babcock (USA), Hiroshi Yamano (Japan), Paul Stankard (USA), Martin Janecky (Czech Republic), and Paul Schwieder (USA).
“Glass is the new medium in the world of contemporary art. It is cutting edge and involves both science and art. Its luminosity and translucence is compelling and offers a world of unexplored territory for the artist. These qualities also make glass exciting for the collector” said Delinda Vanne Brightyn, the president of the board of the Taos Institute of Glass Arts and founder of the Taos Art Glass Invitational.
Invited and juried art will be exhibited in galleries throughout Taos and all artists and galleries will be featured in a brochure that will include “The Walking On Glass Tour,” a self-guided experience of the town-wide Taos Art Glass Invitational.
For more information on the 2014 Taos Art Glass Invitational Call for Artists, visit the website. Or, click here to join the mailing list for 2014 Taos Art Glass Invitational travel, educational and event offerings.
The Taos Institute for Glass Arts (TIGA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2009 by local artists to expand the understanding of and appreciation for the Contemporary Glass Art Movement. Throughout the year TIGA offers educational programs such as classes, workshops, lectures and demonstrations. Every other year TIGA sponsors the Taos Art Glass Invitational, an international juried exhibition and related special events that showcase the best from renowned and emerging artists, serving and integrating the needs of the artists, collectors, gallery owners and community.
September Glass Art Exhibit
The glass will be arriving soon and we will be busy painting pedestals and getting a feel for how the show will be presented. Should be interesting as some of the work is still in production.
The reception will be from 5 – 7 pm and many of the artists will be present.
The show continues through October 7.
No Newer Posts
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5 Easy Factual Statements About Chile Women Explained
The Energía de Mujer Award (Ladies’s Power Award) is a nationwide award that reflects Enel Group’s commitment to the country’s social and cultural improvement and to strengthening the role of girls in our society. Arte, Mujer y Memoria: Arpilleras from Chile continues on the Museum of Latin American Art (628 Alamitos Ave., Long Seashore, California) by means of March 29. The exhibition was curated by Gabriela Martínez, MOLAA’s Director of Training. three. ^ The Chilean structure does not enable a direct reelection; the term of office is 4 years.
But Chile’s silver linings also have dark clouds—which additionally dangle over other OECD nations like the United States and the UK Based on the Inter-Parliamentary Union, less than 16 p.c of lower house politicians and only 18 percent of senators in Chile are women. These numbers fall wanting the world common of over 22 % feminine representation, ranking Chile 93rd among the many 142 countries surveyed worldwide. 28 Nonetheless, relative to the UK and United States, whose legislatures are made up of only about 20 percent ladies, Chile’s numbers are only marginally lower. Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Cuba, have surpassed nations just like the United States and the UK in terms of the proportion of women elected to national legislatures with feminine participation rates starting from 35 to 50 percent. High-profile success tales of women in leadership mar the truth of rampant sexism in Chile’s authorities.
AFP s are a major focus of the pension reform. Since there has been little competition among the many AFP s, the administrative charges they cost account holders are excessive, resulting in profits which are a lot larger than other sectors of Chile’s financial companies industry. Account holders have had decrease net charges of return (and smaller pensions) in part as a result of AFP s have charged high administrative fees.
Regulation 20.255 relies largely on the July 2006 President’s Pension Advisory Commission Report (Marcel Commission 2006). thirteen In line with the Commission, the capitalization system is geared towards employees with stable https://bestlatinawomen.com/chilean-women/ jobs who recurrently contribute to an individual account for his or her whole working lives. The report contends that the system needs to adapt to the changing social situations in Chile.
Finding The Most useful Chilean Women
39 El Independiente, Santiago, December 16th 1876, p. 2. Two weeks later, on December twenty ninth, the newspaper published a letter in help of Le Brun signed by the academics who built-in the commissions that took her students’ exams and that, by the best way, were not nominated by the university, however by Le Brun herself to show her college students’ abilities. In response to the signatories, the exams have been “worthy of being seen by the college commissions”. El Independiente, Santiago, December 1876, 1. This letter was also published in El Ferrocarril, Santiago, December 30th 1876, 2 and in La República, Santiago, January 18th 1877, 2.
Why Every one Is Talking About Women Of Chile…The Simple Truth Revealed
To enhance monetary literacy in Chile, the new regulation establishes a social safety schooling fund, financed by contributions from the state and personal donations to develop a financial education program by means of a competitive process. The fund was arrange in July 2008 and is supervised by the ministry of labor and undersecretary of social safety. Also, the government will set up an accreditation system for pension advisors to create a network of professional advisors that present skilled and impartial monetary recommendation to account holders. These professional advisors can be permitted to cost a charge of two % of the employee’s individual account steadiness, up to a maximum of 60 UF (US$ 2,427) (Asociación AFP 2008a).
thirteen Dictated by the one conservative representative within the cabinet of president Federico Errázuriz, Abdón Cifuentes, this decree established that the State faculties wouldn’t be examined by private colleges as “this activity has grow to be excessively expensive and detrimental to the Instituto Nacional”, and from then on, exams can be taken within the respective faculties, and they would be legitimate to use for college. This disposition raised turmoil in the Universidad de Chile, the federal government and the press, wherein defenders of the liberty of schooling and people of a State-run faculty system confronted one another. The text of this decree is registered in Anales de la Universidad de Chile (from now on AUCH), e book XLVI, 1872, 19-21. The controversy surrounding this measure is analyzed intimately in Serrano, Universidad y Nación, 229-239.
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Les Drassanes (Shipyards)
You are in Buildings and monuments Twitter Facebook
Old building where ships were built. It dates from the 16th c. although it was reformed during the 17th c.
To be observed
The exterior of the building although the interior has been modified and currently houses a private hotel.
The original building is a civil work projects from the 16th Century which underwent a series of refurbishments in the 18th Century. Since then to the 20th Century, it is a building with a rectangular layout with two slopes and Arabic tile roof. Its interior played a major use because the port warehouse and the ships were also built and repaired there. Currently, the building houses the remains of the old dockyards whose boundaries are defined by Plaza Les Drassanes, number 1-2, the Calle Port, 15 and la Calle Pilota, 3.
Today, we can see a sturdy 3-floor building crowned by an attic where part of the materials of the first floor originally comprised the old port warehouse from the 16th century, which had different functions, among them, ship construction.
This port warehouse was a long narrow building with one floor plus a chamber with a double slope Arabic tile roof.
As mentioned above, the original structure is only partially conserved in the first floor where we see five three-centred or “carpaneles” arches of coarse stone, with skylight, corner-pieces, and divider cornices with the same stone. The 6th arch, in the current number 3 of the square was demolished in the late 20th Century. Today, everything in the upper floors is completely modern and has been integrated inside a building with larger dimensions.
In relation to the architecture, also note the layout of the original façade openings, dimensions, type and exterior decoration elements.
You will find it in the port, opposite the monument known as Bous a la mar (Bulls to the sea).
Plaça de les Drassanes, 2
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Maple Ridge Receives BC Games Legacy Funding for Community Initiatives
TOPICS:BC Games
The BC Games Society is rallying behind the City of Maple Ridge following cancellation of this year’s summer games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Province, through the society, is providing $125,000 to support local sport and community development projects and ensure people will still benefit from the city being chosen to host the BC Summer Games.
Read more about the BC Summer Games: https://www.bcgames.org/Games/BC-Summer-Games
“Cancelling the Games was a very hard but necessary decision. I know how much time and effort goes into the planning process,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. “Although the Games did not take place, we are proud to ensure that the work to prepare is not lost and the sport, arts and community organizations in Maple Ridge can benefit from the legacy funding.”
Alison Noble, president and CEO, BC Games Society, said, “We are very pleased that Maple Ridge will benefit from a BC Games legacy. This funding will allow for a lasting positive impact in the community and is an acknowledgement of the tremendous work that the volunteers had put into the planning of what would have been a very successful BC Summer Games.”
The Province and BC Games Society are also announcing the unveiling of the Karina LeBlanc Game Changer Award. The award will recognize a local athlete or young volunteer living in the Games’ host community who has demonstrated commitment to breaking down barriers and providing people with opportunities to participate in sport. The first award will be presented in the fall.
LeBlanc is a retired Olympic bronze medallist and professional athlete. She had a prestigious career in soccer that spanned almost 18 years at the international level, participated in five FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) World Cups and two Olympic Games.
“I’m honoured to have this award created in my name and to see more people recognizing and working hard to remove barriers in sport,” LeBlanc said. “For me, sport has been a game changer in my life to be the woman I am today, and I want sport to be that opportunity for others. When we make sport more accessible to people from all walks of life, everyone wins.”
The BC Games brings valuable competitive opportunities for British Columbia’s best young athletes, develops coaches and officials, helps volunteers gain valuable skills, attracts local tourism and provides direct economic benefits to the host community.
The Province invests close to $50 million in sport annually, including $2 million to the BC Games Society to support the BC Summer Games and BC Winter Games, and to prepare for Team BC participation at the Canada Games.
Each edition of the BC Games brings $1.6 million to $2 million in economic benefits to the host community.
The BC Games are held every two years. Greater Vernon will host the 2022 BC Winter Games, Prince George will host the 2022 BC Summer Games and Maple Ridge will host the 2024 BC Summer Games.
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Entertainment, Sports
Maple Ridge Hosting 2020 BC Summer Games
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Home » Electric guitar » Guitar World – How to Play The Jimi Hendrix Experience Axis: Bold As Love
Guitar World – How to Play The Jimi Hendrix Experience Axis: Bold As Love
10 comments Tags: Blues, Rock
Only one DVD will teach you how to play the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s groundbreaking 1967 album Axis: Bold as Love. With more than three hours of lessons, How to Play the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Axis: Bold As Love DVD will show you the guitar parts to such album tracks as “Ain’t No Telling,” “Up from the Skies,” “Spanish Castle Magic,” “She’s So Fine” and “Bold as Love.”
Plus, this ultimate DVD includes a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Axis: Bold As Love, complete with rare footage of Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix authority Andy Aledort walks you through every guitar part on Jimi’s timeless masterpiece. What’s more, each track is meticulously recorded and videotaped at Electric Lady Studios in New York, the facility that Hendrix owned and helped design.
The format of this video is “watch and play” approach. Aledort plays with a backing drummer at full speed and distortion and then repeats at a slower pace with explanation of what chords or scales are being alluded to in the musical passage being analyzed. We get a close-up of his left hand on the main screen and an inset close-up of his right hand work at the same time. He turns down the distortion/effects when playing the slower versions. Typically he instructs on the playing of the backing guitar track first and then moves on to the melody or solo part next playing it over the background tracks.
Aledort explains details of musical explanation as he works the way through the video explaining, say, the pentatonic minor in the first tune and mostly just referring to it at later points in the video. If you aren’t working your way through the video in order you may find this annoying but if you are, or you are a more experienced player, you’ll be thankful to be saved some of the repetition.
This isn’t a great video for a beginning player in terms of understanding the musical theory behind what Jimi is playing. Aledort explains it as if he is referring to concepts to people who already have a understanding of musical concepts. For example, when he says that “Jimi adds a 9 to the chord” here, he does so with the understanding that his audience will understand what he is talking about. The novice player would still know how to play the chord by watching the video though so it is not as if the video does not hold anything for the less experienced.
Songs from the album include:
You Got Me Floatin’
Up From the Skies
Castles Made of Sand
Spanish Castle Magic
She’s So Fine
Wait Until Tomorrow
One Rainy Wish
Ain’t No Telling
Little Miss Lover
Bold As Love
If 6 Was 9
Guitar World editor-in-chief Brad Tolinski examines the making of the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s brilliant second album. This behind-the-scenes documentary also includes commentary by the album’s chief engineer (the legendary Eddie Kramer) and rare footage of Hendrix. Plus, the included 11-page booklet gives you the history of rock’s electric guitar genius. Guitar World’s Alan di Perna unravels the myths and larger-than-life tales that have obscured the real story of Jimi Hendrix, starting with Hendrix’s christened full name and ending with an examination of the guitarist’s vulnerable psychological state in his final days.
Video: MPEG2 NTSC 4:3 (720×480) VBR
Audio: Dolby AC3, 2 ch
Booklet: Yes (PDF)
Guitar World – How to Play The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Axis: Bold As Love
Download Guitar World – How to Play The Jimi Hendrix Experience Axis: Bold As Love free and other lessons from our site
jabra / 05/12/2014
sory my mistake,i download agan and its ok.Thank you again!
Bjorn / 04/12/2014
there is no any password
thanx,but i need pasvord for extraction!
thanx mate ,but whot is pasword?
jupa1128 / 15/07/2014
thank you! downloading…i´ve been
searching for this.
signorebb / 06/05/2014
The file is broken can you repost please
PanchoG / 27/04/2012
Thank’s! i’ve been searching for this for a long time!! jimi rules!!
bob dylan / 08/03/2012
lo estaba buscando hace mucho tiempo , gracias man aguente jimi :rockin:
loko_beatle / 17/01/2011
buen aporte amigo, gracias!!
amakunai / 11/01/2011
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Home Salud Fighting the opioid epidemic
Fighting the opioid epidemic
By HOY en Delaware -
Fuente: John Carney
Recently in Georgetown, Delaware, I sat at a table with four families who had been through hell. One couple lost their son to a heroin overdose. The other three families have sons who survived a heroin addiction. But these parents live in fear their sons will relapse, and they wear the pain of living through their sons’ ordeals.
I listened to them detail their excruciating experiences. Picking their kids up from jail. Coming home early to find them with needles in their arms. Discovering valuables stolen — taken to finance their sons’ disease. As a father, it was heartbreaking and terrifying to hear.
I’ve been traveling the state to learn more about the opioid epidemic that’s ravaging Delaware and the nation.
I met with hospital staff, first responders, substance abuse counselors, and treatment facility staff, along with families deeply affected by this crisis. I talked to the emergency room providers who spend their days reviving addicts after an overdose. And I talked to counselors trying desperately to help addicts get on the road to recovery, and stay there.
We’re facing an opioid epidemic. From prescription drugs to heroin — abuse, addiction, and overdose are tearing apart families and communities.
Nationwide, we’ve experienced a 200% increase in the rate of opioid deaths in the last 15 years. During 2014, 47,055 drug overdose deaths occurred in the U.S. — more than any other year. And these numbers are rising.
In Delaware, 228 people died from a drug overdose last year. That’s one person every other day. According to the CDC, Delaware ranks 9th in the country in drug overdose death rates.
These numbers have real costs. This epidemic is a crushing weight on thousands of families. It comes with financial burdens, healthcare costs, a significant emotional toll, and worst of all, death.
Delaware is especially susceptible to heroin trafficking. Our location along the I-95 corridor means that we’re in the middle of trafficking routes.
But many abusers don’t start with heroin, and some never get to that level. We have to look at the root causes, and take a harder look at how we’re prescribing pain-killers. This spring, the Centers for Disease Control provided clearer guidance to doctors about prescribing opioids for chronic pain. But there’s a lot more work to do in addressing pain management, so Delawareans don’t become addicted to powerful narcotics.
Lastly, both our state and our country lack what we need to treat those fighting addiction. Each patient is different. For some, out-patient medication, counseling, and skills training help them get and stay clean. For others, extended care facilities are crucial to preventing relapses. We’re simply not dedicating enough resources to treatment and recovery.
So how do we address a battle raging on so many fronts? We have to look at it comprehensively as a public health crisis, including the range of issues that surround the epidemic: the presence and availability of these drugs, the causes of addiction, and the lack of appropriate treatment and education.
This month, Congress passed, and the President signed, legislation aimed at addressing some of these problems. The new law authorizes grant programs, increases access to treatment, expands drug take-back programs, and creates a task force to address pain management.
This legislation came through Congress with bipartisan support — that’s a good sign. Delawareans are rightly frustrated by Congress’ inability to work together, and this was a step in the right direction.
That being said, we can and should do more. The package passed by Congress lacks the dollars to back it — requiring that we also pass a funding bill so we can act on many of these new initiatives.
And to fully address this problem we need an all-hands-on-deck approach. That means working with state and local governments, law enforcement, the medical community, and non-profits. New Delaware regulations will help address over-prescribing. Additionally, we should encourage more clinics, both in-patient and out-patient, to open in Delaware. The state should also continue to better integrate behavioral health into routine medical care, including education on all addiction treatment options.
We also have to improve enforcement efforts that prevent the trafficking of these drugs into our communities. Increased funding for collaborative programs, such as the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program or the Counterdrug Task Force led by our National Guard, will help local law enforcement catch traffickers. I’m also heartened by compassionate law enforcement efforts such as New Castle County Police Department’s ‘Hero Help’ and Dover Police Department’s ‘Angel’ program, which help treat addicted individuals, not punish them.
At Nanticoke Memorial Hospital in Seaford, I met with an emergency room nurse who has made it her mission to get the addicts she sees into treatment. She had tears in her eyes as she told me about the overdose patient who finally, after his fifth, sixth, or tenth overdose, is ready to get clean. But by the time she’s able to get the patient into treatment, it’s three or four days later and he’s back to using again.
This could be anyone’s story — a patient recovering from a surgery, or a veteran with chronic pain.
We need to do better — for the sake of those struggling with addiction, for their families, and for all of us.
John Carney represents Delaware in the U.S. House of Representatives
(Photo: HOY en Delaware)
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