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Home > News > …And the answer is not simply 2S
…And the answer is not simply 2S
Find out more about the exciting future of mathematics teaching in Wales at a series of special events in December.
Organised by the Education Achievement Service (EAS), the “…And the answer is not simply 2S” events will take place on 5 – 9 December at Beechwood House in Newport.
Delivered by the EAS Numeracy Team, the sessions will examine the merits of both the underlying principles of Mathematics and Numeracy in ‘Successful Futures’ and the Singapore Maths scheme.
An EAS Mathematics Adviser explained: “Successful Futures promises great things for Wales and, in addition, plans are moving forward to establish a Centre of Excellence in Mathematics.
“At the same time, there is increasing speculation about the merits of Singapore Maths and whether this is the best way forward.
“These sessions will ask the critical question – does it have to be one scheme or the other? Does the answer actually lie somewhere between the generic ‘Successful Futures’ and the subject-specific Singapore Maths?”
Participants will enjoy a series of workshops and talks covering a number of key areas including:
An update on the work of pilot schools in the region.
What does Successful Futures say about pedagogy and assessment in the future curriculum?
How will this affect mathematics and numeracy?
What are the main fundamentals of Singapore Maths?
How transferable is Singapore Maths to a Welsh social, cultural and learning environment?
An EAS Mathematics Adviser added: “Change is in the air and we are keen to support schools in stepping into something new.
“Wales now has a range of national documents to underpin teaching and learning in mathematics; however, schools still need significant support. This is where the EAS comes in. We are here to help them succeed.
“Teachers want to provide the best possible education to their pupils and, to do that, they need to learn from best practice. That could be one scheme or even a combination. It is about tailoring the teaching to the needs of the pupils.”
To book a place or for more information, go to http://www.sewales.org.uk/cpd
Successful Futures is an independent review of curriculum and assessment arrangements in Wales. Singapore Math is a teaching method used on children in Singapore. It is renowned around the world as being one of the most successful methods of teaching mathematics.
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Sorry Day in Shepparton, 2017
June 8, 2017 May 29, 2017 by Admin
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the tabling in the Federal Parliament of the Bringing Them Home Report — the report that identified the profound loss and trauma caused by the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. The report recommended: “That the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, in consultation with the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, arrange for a national ‘Sorry Day’ to be celebrated each year to commemorate the history of forcible removals and its effects.” Here, we bring you an account of the Sorry Day Observance in Shepparton, 2017.
National Sorry Day is an Australia-wide observance held on May 26 each year. This day gives people the chance to come together and share the steps towards healing for the Stolen Generations, their families and communities. Stolen Generations refer to Aboriginal Australians who were forcibly removed from their families and communities. A Sorry Day observance was held at Monash Park Shepparton, on Friday May 26, 2017. The event was facilitated by Shepparton Region Reconciliation Group, the City of Greater Shepparton, Yorta Yorta Nation, Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative and Latrobe University. Students from local schools led the Sorry Day event.
April Atkinson of Mooroopna Secondary College read the Introduction: Sorry Day is now commemorated nationally with thousands of Australians from all walks of life participating in gatherings to commemorate and remember all those who have been impacted by the government policies of forcible removal. It was these policies that resulted in the Stolen Generations.
Shania Jones of Mooroopna Secondary College then read the History: It is important that we remember there has been a long history of injustice for the Aboriginal peoples of this country commencing with years of invasion, genocide, massacres and dispossession. This was followed by many generations of living under the different laws and policies that governed and kept people imprisoned on reserves and missions.
These laws and policies were imposed on the very general and most intimate parts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ lives. They applied not just to their living and working conditions, but everyday decisions about personal, social, emotional, religious and recreational aspects of their lives. The First Peoples of Australia know racism and oppression.
They know suffering and pain, having lived with the impacts of personal experiences and remembered histories of what was done to them, their families and communities. Shania Jones then led the Sorry Day observance into the need for reconciliation: Therefore, a real process of trust and relationship building is necessary and will take time, energy and patience for a true Reconciliation path to be forged.
Chelsea Merkel, TJ Turner and Moroka Boon from Notre Dame College led the gathering in the Laying of the Wreath and Minute’s Silence: Chelsea Merkel called upon Sam Cashion and Sarah Firebrace from ASHE to lay a wreath at the base of the flagpole as a mark of respect and to commemorate those members of the Stolen Generations past and present. We acknowledge their profound sense of loss, grief and suffering pain and suffering.
TJ Turner of Notre Dame College then asked those that are able, to stand for a minute’s silence to pause to remember those who were taken from their families and to acknowledge the pain and suffering this practice caused to individuals, their families and communities.
Moroka Boon of Notre Dame College then called upon Denzel Jackson, Dylan Olsen, Jake Cooper, Kayden Mansfield and Tara Woolley from Berry Street School who will raise the three flags – the Aboriginal flag, the Torres Strait Islander flag and the Australian Flag.
Taleah Briggs of Shepparton High School spoke about the Bringing Them Home Report: The Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families is a tribute to the strength and struggles of many thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by forcible removal. We acknowledge the hardships they endured and the sacrifices they made. We remember and lament all the children who will never come home.
Taleah Ahmat from Shepparton High School told the gathering that the Report was dedicated, with thanks and admiration, to those who found the strength to tell their stories to the Inquiry and to the generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people separated from their families and communities. Today we also acknowledge those who told their stories and those who were separated from their families and communities.
Tannah Thorne of Goulburn Valley Grammar gave a Bridge Walk Reflection: Seventeen years ago, in 2000, the word ‘Sorry’ was written in the sky above 300,000 Australians walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Other Bridge Walks around the country took the numbers to over 500,000. Reconciliation will not happen if we let the future move forward without acknowledging and putting right the wrongs of the past. Sorry Day is an important part of this reconciliation journey. After the historic bridge walks it’s fair to say the future for reconciliation is far better than in the past. And while there’s still a way to go, respect, trust and the knowledge to turn good intentions into effective actions pave the way forward.
Will Dwyer from Goulburn Valley Grammar continued the reflection: Reconciliation has been a journey that has exposed truths, shared and celebrated stories of pride and strength such as the lives of Uncle William Cooper and Uncle Doug Nicholls , and woven together a hopeful vision of a future where respect lives in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians. So let’s all walk and work together!
Ashlee Kirkpatrick of Sirius College gave an overview of Reconciliation Week 2017:
Tomorrow is the beginning of National Reconciliation Week – a week that is celebrated across Australia each year between May 27 and June 3. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey – the anniversary of the successful 1967 referendum on May 27 and the 1992 High Court Mabo decision on June 3 which recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had rights to the land – rights that existed before the British arrived and can still exist today.
The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2017 is “Let’s take the Next Steps”
This year, we reflect on two significant anniversaries in Australia’s reconciliation journey.
May 26 marks the 50th anniversary of Australia’s most successful referendum and a defining event in our country’s history. The 1967 referendum saw over 90 per cent of Australians vote to give the Commonwealth the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and recognise them in the national census. For the first time Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would be included in the population.
Rafl Alaathamy of Sirius College continued the talk on National Reconciliation Week: June 3 is the 25th anniversary of the High Court of Australia’s landmark Mabo decision that overturned the concept of “Terra Nullius” or Nobody’s Land.
At the time of the First Fleet arrival in 1788, the British Government acted as if Australia was uninhabited. So instead of admitting it was invading land that belonged to Aboriginal people, Britain acted as if it was settling on empty land.
The Mabo decision legally recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a special relationship to the land – a relationship that existed before colonialisation and still exists today. This recognition paved the way for land rights or Native Title.
National Reconciliation Week reminds us that big changes like the 1967 Referendum and the 1992 Mabo decision take persistence and courage.
As we commemorate these significant milestones, we ask all Australians to be a part of the next big steps in our nation’s reconciliation journey We invite you all to take part.
So let’s celebrate and together take the next steps.
Students from Sirius College at the Sorry Day Celebration
Categories Indigenous Tags Bringing them Home Report, Monash Park Shepparton, Sorry Day, Sorry Day Observance, Stolen Generations Post navigation
Ramadan Message
Interfaith Meeting, Euroa
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Director Ricky Rijneke
Ricky Rijneke graduated as Master of Arts in European Media with honors. She is a film director who also works as scriptwriter and editor. She also trained her skills at the Berlinale Talents programme of the Berlin International Film Festival.
Her new project ‘The Hunter’s Son’ was selected for TorinoFilmLab, Script&Pitch.
At the same time she was invited to participate in the Toronto Talent Lab (TIFF), mentored by director Wim Wenders, Polish director Małgorzata Szumowska and Jim Stark.
The Sam Spiegel International Film Lab 2017 in Jerusalem has invited her with her second feature in development ‘The Hunter’s Son’ to finalize the script.
Her first short ‘Wing, the fish that talked back’ premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Leopards for young talent. This award winning film gained international acclaim at more then 50 international film festivals, such as Ghent (competition Prix UIP), San Francisco (Golden Gate Award competition), Hamburg, Denver, Bilbao and Toronto.
Ricky’s first feature film ‘Silent Ones’ won 11 awards out of 15 nominations and premiered in competition at the 42th International Film Festival Rotterdam nominated for the Tiger Award. The film was selected for many major and independent film festivals, such as Sarajevo, Moscow, Mostra de São Paulo, T-Mobile New Horizons, Films de Femmes de Créteil, Toronto, Berlin, New York and many others.
Silent Ones was released in December 2014 in Dutch film theatres for eight weeks. It received great critical acclaim. A film critic of 'De Volkskrant', leading Dutch daily newspaper ranked Silent Ones as Best Film.
Silent Ones is released on VoD and DVD in 2016 by Filmfreak.
For SILENT ONES Ricky cooperated with European talent such as Berlinale’s shooting star Orsi Tóth, cinematographers Gergely Pohárnok, who lensed György Pálfi’s ‘Hukkle’, ‘Taxidermia’ and Jean-Paul de Zaeytijd, the regular DOP of all Bouli Lanners films. Andrey Dergatchev (composer of The Return, The Banishment and Leviathan by Andrey Zvjagintsev) designed the soundscape and composed the music. Actress and singer-songwriter Vanessa Paradis contributed with her famous song ‘Joe Le Taxi’.
Press Ricky Rijneke:
http://www.cineuropa.org/it.aspx?t=interview&did=236023
http://centrephi.tumblr.com/post/64221908336/silent-ones-interview-with-director-ricky-rijneke
http://www.holland-herald.com/emag/december-2014#/46/
https://www.iffr.com/en/news-2013/ricky-rijneke-on-silent-ones-nationality-is-irrelevant-/
http://cineville.nl/magazine/ricky-rijneke-over-silent-ones
http://www.previewmag.nl/specials/091214-interview-ricky-rijneke/
http://cinemagazine.nl/interview-ricky-rijneke-silent-ones/
http://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1038/Rotterdam/article/detail/3808887/2014/12/11/...
http://www.filmkrant.nl/TS_februari_2013/8659
www.rickyrijneke.com
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Game of Thrones season 7: A new key ally for Jon Snow?
Cinema 20 February, 2017
While the shooting ended, could Game of Thrones’ season 7 offer a new key ally to Jon Snow?
A weighty character! Lately, we revealed that chaos and panic would be in the coming episodes of Game of Thrones season 7 , and today it is a thrilling piece of information about Megan Parkinson. Remember, the actress was spotted on on the set of Season 7 and there was plenty of speculation that she was embodying Jon Snow’s next companion. However, this will not be the case and the love life of our hero may not have a twist. The fan site Watchers on the Wall has come in possession of documents from the agency representing the actress and they reveal that she will play the role of Alys Karstark . From now on, The question is, who is this famous Alys Karstark? Alys is the daughter of Lord Rickard Karstark, a Stark family bannerman who fought alongside Ned Stark and swore his loyalty to Robb Stark when he was declared King of the North.
As a reminder, at the beginning of the series, Jaime Lannister killed two of the sons of Rickard, and therefore his brothers of Alys, in combat. Then, when Catelyn Stark released Jaime from his captivity, Rickard murdered his cousin in retaliation. An event that annoyed Robb, so he said that Rickard was a traitor and beheaded him for not following the orders. In the wake of all this, the only remaining brother of Alys, Harald, swore his allegiance to Ramsay Bolton and since then we are not certain that he died at the Battle of the Bastards. In any case, Alys has never appeared in Game of Thrones, but it remains important because of her family lineage and because she can claim the lands belonging to her family in the North .
In books, she becomes a key element in the political maneuvers of Jon Snow on the wall . We know that Megan Parkinson was involved in a major-staged scene with cast members including Kit Harington and Gwendoline Christie (Brienne). For the moment, it is only referenced for one episode, but it is still possible that his destiny follows that of the books of George RR Martin and that it becomes a major ally for Jon Snow. Lately, we wondered if the release date of Season 7 of Game of Thrones had leaked! What do you think of the arrival of this character?
Теги Game of Thrones Season 7, gilly, HBO, leak, photos, samwell tarly, season 7, shoot
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CQ Press
Grove Press v. Gerstein (1964)
Edited by: John Vile, David L. Hudson & David Schultz
In: Encyclopedia of the First Amendment
Subject: American Political Thought, Law & Courts, American Political History
Vile, J., Hudson, D. L. & Schultz, D. (2009). Grove press v. gerstein (1964). In Encyclopedia of the First Amendment (pp. 539-540). Washington, DC: CQ Press doi: 10.4135/9781604265774.n624
Vile, John, David L. Hudson and David Schultz. "Grove Press v. Gerstein (1964)." In Encyclopedia of the First Amendment, edited by John VileDavid L. Hudson and David Schultz, 539-540. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2009. doi: 10.4135/9781604265774.n624.
Vile, J, Hudson, D L & Schultz, D 2009, 'Grove press v. gerstein (1964)', in Vile, J, Hudson, DL & Schultz, D (eds), Encyclopedia of the first amendment, CQ Press, Washington, DC, pp. 539-540, viewed 17 July 2019, doi: 10.4135/9781604265774.n624.
Vile, John, et al. "Grove Press v. Gerstein (1964)." Encyclopedia of the First Amendment. Eds. Washington: CQ Press, 2009. 539-540. SAGE Knowledge. Web. 17 Jul. 2019, doi: 10.4135/9781604265774.n624.
In Grove Press v. Gerstein , 378 U.S. 577 (1964), the Supreme Court rejected a Dade County, Florida, ban of Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer, one of the most ...
Entries by Letter: [0-9] A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U W Y Z
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GOA, DAMAN AND DIU JUDICIAL COMMISSIONER'S COURT (DECLARATION AS HIGH COURT) ACT, 1964[REPEALED]
GOA, DAMAN AND DIU JUDICIAL COMMISSIONER'S COURT (DECLARATION AS HIGH COURT) ACT, 1964
[Act, No. 16 of 1964]
[16th May, 1964]
An Act to declare the Judicial Commissioner's Court for Goa, Daman and Diu to be a High Court for certain purposes of the Constitution.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Fifteenth Year of the Republic of India as follows: -
(1) This Act may be called the Goa, Daman and Diu Judicial Commissioner's Court (Declaration as High Court) Act, 1964.
(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the date of commencement of the Goa, Daman and Diu (Judicial Commissioner's Court) Regulation, 1963,1
1. The said Regulation came into force on 16.12.1963.
Section 2. Definition
In this Act, "article" means an article of the Constitution.
Section 3. Declaration of Goa, Daman and Diu Judicial Commissioner's Court as High Court for certain purposes
The Court of the Judicial Commissioner for the Union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu (hereinafter referred to as the Judicial Commissioner's Court) is hereby declared to be a High Court for the purposes of Articles 132,133 and 134.
Section 4. Appeals to the Supreme Court not to be barred on account of judgment, etc., being of a single Judge
An appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court under the provisions of Article 133 from any judgment, decree or final order of the Judicial Commissioner's Court notwithstanding that such judgment, decree or final order is that of a single Judge.
Section 5. Appeals to Supreme Court from judgment, decree, etc., passed or made by Judicial Commissioner's Court
Subject to any rules made under Article 145 or any other law as to the time within which appeals to the Supreme Court are to be entered, an appeal shall lie to that Court from a judgment, decree or final order of the Judicial Commissioner's Court, under the provisions of Article 132 or Article 133, or from a judgment, final order or sentence of such Court under the provisions of Article 134:
PROVIDED that an appeal may be preferred within ninety days from the date of passing of this Act from a judgment, decree, final order or sentence passed or made by the Judicial Commissioners Court before that date.
Section 6. Exceptions and modifications subject to which the provisions of Chapter V of Part VI of the Constitution apply to the Judicial Commissioner's Court
The provisions of Chapter V of Part VI of the Constitution shall in their application to the Judicial Commissioner's Court have effect subject to the following exceptions and modifications, namely: -
(a) The provisions of Articles 216, 217, 218, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 224A, 225, 230 and 231 shall not apply;
(b) References -
(i) In Article 219, in the proviso to clause (3) of Article 227 and in Article 229 to the Governor shall be construed as references to the administrator of the Union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu;
(ii) In Articles 219 and 229 to the State (except in the expression "the State Public Service Commission") shall be construed as references to the Union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu;
(c) The reference to the State Public Service Commission in the proviso to clause (1) of Article 229 shall be construed as a reference to the Union Public Service Commission.
Section 7. Appeals to lie to the Supreme Court from judgment, decree, etc., passed or made by Tribunal de Relacao
Any person aggrieved-
(a) By any judgment, decree, order or sentence of the Tribunal de Relacao passed or made before the 20th December, 1961, against which an appeal would lie to a superior Court in Portugal in accordance with law but could not be preferred by reason of Goa, Daman and Diu becoming part of the territory of India, or against which an appeal having been preferred to a superior Court in Portugal in accordance with law had not been disposed of before the said date; or
(b) By any judgment, decree, order or sentence of the Tribunal de Relacao passed or made on or after the 20th December, 1961,
may, within ninety days from the date of passing of this Act, prefer an appeal from such judgment, decree, order or sentence to the Supreme Court as if such judgment, decree, order or sentence had been passed or made by the Judicial Commissioner's Court.
Section 8. Repeal of section 7 of Act 1 of 1962
Section 7 of the Goa, Daman and Diu (Administration) Act, 1962, is hereby repealed.
Repealing Act1
Judicial Administration Laws (Repeal) Act 2001
THE JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION LAWS (REPEAL) ACT, 2001
[29th August, 2001]
An act to repeal the Civil Courts Amins Act, 1856 and certain other enactments.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Fifty-second Year of the Republic of India as follows:--
1. Short title
This Act may be called the Judicial Administration Laws (Repeal) Act, 2001.
2. Repeal
The enactments specified in the Schedule are hereby repealed.
(See section 2)
repeal of enactments
Subject or short title
The Civil Courts Amins Act, 1856.
The Bombay High Court (Letters Patent) Act, 1866.
The Unclaimed Deposits Act, 1866.
The Acting Judges Act, 1867.
The Procedure of the High Court for Uttar Pradesh.
The Presidency Magistrates (Court-fees) Act, 1877.
The Punjab Courts (Supplementing) Act, 1919.
The Federal Court Act, 1937.
The Federal Court (Enlargement of Jurisdiction) Act, 1947.
Constituent Assembly Act V
The Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act, 1949,
Rajasthan Ord. XV
The Rajasthan High Court Ordinance, 1949.
The Judicial Commissioners' Courts (Declaration as High Courts)Act, 1950.
The Bhopal and Vindhya Pradesh (Courts) Act, 1950.
The Mysore High Court (Extension of Jurisdiction to Coorg) Act, 1952.
The Manipur Court-fees (Amendment and Validation) Act, 1953.
The Goa, Daman and Diu Judicial Commissioner's Court (Declaration as High Court) Act, 1964.
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Great Wall Motors admits losing $47 million in commercial dispute in Russia
globaltimes.cn.- Great Wall Motors – GWM, one of China’s top carmakers, has admitted a huge loss in a commercial dispute in Russia, but it claimed that this was an isolated incident that won’t have any impact on the company’s plans and operations in the country.
Responding to recent reports that GWM was defrauded of $58.4 million by a Russian distributor, the company issued a clarification on Tuesday, saying that it had recorded 323 million yuan ($46.9 million) of bad debts in 2017 arising from a commercial dispute with Russian car dealership.
The amount was equivalent to 0.33% of GWM’s total revenue in 2018 and 6.32% of its profit that year. The commercial dispute will not influence GWM’s operations in Russia, and Great Wall Motors will fully defend its legal rights and interests. GWM believes Russia’s judicial authorities will give fair treatment to the case, read the note.
The note said that since October 2014, Russian distributor Irito had failed to pay a total of $48.44 million to GWM due to devaluation of the ruble. GWM filed a suit in October 2015, demanding that Irito subsidiary IMS pay the money, but a local court dismissed the appeal, saying that IMS had filed for bankruptcy. GWM’s further appeal in 2018 has not received any response from the local court.
Russia is an essential part of GWM’s global drive. It recently announced that it had completed construction of its plant in Russia’s Tula region, which attracted lots of attention.
“I believe our globalization strategy has the potential to go beyond opening international markets, it will propel Haval – a sport utility vehicle brand of GWM – to be a key player on the global auto stage,” Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motors, said in June when the $500 million facility finished construction.
For Chinese auto brands, Russia’s market size and consumer demand are attractive. Chinese brands can also approach Eastern European countries by establishing plants there, said Zhang.
Tags: GWM, Haval
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Automobile production has shrunk by 9.7% in Russia in 2014
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Bethel Missionary Church
1995 | Lion's Head ON
The congregation of the New Bethel Missionary Church is presently raising funds to construct a new facility. The proposed church will be approximately 9,000 square feet in area. The design is organized in 2 wings, each with its own separate entrance, yet also sharing common areas. The first of these areas is the Sanctuary. The seating in this room is intended to be oriented on a 45 degree bias to create a more intimate relationship between the congregation and the pulpit. The ceiling in this area will be an asymmetrical vaulted profile with strip cedar cladding.
The second area is the Fellowship Hall which is intended to be a community oriented multi-purpose room. The ancillary areas include several classrooms, a library, and kitchen.
The building has been designed utilizing conventional technologies and materials which can allow for construction with volunteer labour. The building was clad in architectural block, local stone and profiled metal roofing.
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Tag Archives: Julie Gelfand
Climate Action, Clean Energy and the Case for Nuclear
May 29, 2018 – 12:33
By John Barrett
Canadian Nuclear Association
Originally published by Policy Magazine.
With more and more countries struggling to meet the emissions goals set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement, it makes sense to consider all the low-carbon options at our disposal. Canadian Nuclear Association CEO John Barrett makes the case, ahead of the G7 in Charlevoix, for an approach that includes a renewed focus on nuclear energy.
As world leaders gather in Charlevoix, Quebec, this June for the 2018 G7 Summit, the agenda will focus on concrete solutions to global challenges that extend far beyond the borders of these seven countries. Climate change and clean energy will be front and centre. What does Canada have to offer in leadership and real solutions?
Canada and France are leading the way in clean energy generation in the G7 and this is due in part to major investments in low-carbon, affordable nuclear power. In fact, according to a recent report by Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s electrical system is 80 per cent free of greenhouse gas emissions, second only to France out of all G7 nations. Furthermore, thanks to investments in clean energy, Canada’s overall GHG emissions profile went down by a few percentage points in recent years even as the economy grew.
This is important because time to meet international climate change targets is running out.
The International Energy Agency’s first Global Energy and CO2 Status Report found global carbon emissions hit a record high in 2017, after three years of being flat. In Canada, a joint audit, conducted by federal Environment Commissioner Julie Gelfand and auditors general in nine provinces, found Canada was not on track to meet its 2020 or 2030 greenhouse gas emission targets.
Investments in clean and affordable energy aren’t just about reducing emissions, they are the foundation to ensuring access to jobs, health-care and education. Clean and cheap energy is necessary to lift communities out of poverty while ensuring environmental protection. Without proper electricity, countries suffer. As the World Bank reported, “one-quarter of the world population have no access to electricity. In the absence of vigorous new policies, 1.4 billion people will still lack electricity in 2030.”
And, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), seven million people die every year from air pollution. The challenge is to produce policies and investments to transition to a lower-carbon economy. And to help other countries, where appropriate, to acquire the technology and materials for generating electricity from low-carbon sources.
Some propose single solutions based on a preferred technology. Single answers to complex problems invite false hope for technologies that are today neither available nor proven effective when quantity, reliability and affordability are considered. This adds a considerable risk for huge costs as well as detrimental environmental impacts.
For example, Germany’s Energiewende is a cautionary tale on why going green isn’t as easy as it sounds. Germany has shut down nuclear plants while making huge investments in wind and solar energy. However, its emissions have not declined. The new renewable energy has only offset the loss of nuclear—meaning that Germany has given up on meeting its 2020 emissions targets. Coal still represents 40 per cent of Germany’s electricity mix. At the same time, the cost of power over the last decade has escalated, rising by close to 50 per cent.
This begs the question that, if we are really concerned about the impacts of climate change and if we really do need to ramp up energy production as a method of lifting people out of poverty and driving economic growth, why would we not include a low-carbon option such as nuclear power?
Instead of looking to Germany, look to Canada, especially the province of Ontario. Ontario is the real clean energy leader.
Nuclear power is the main driver of Ontario’s almost zero-emission energy grid. The province is home to one of the largest investments in clean-energy nuclear on the planet. Nuclear provides the bulk of the electrical generation to the province; close to two-thirds of the energy supplied every day comes from the nuclear generating stations.
Outside Ontario, New Brunswick has also demonstrated the benefits of nuclear to a clean and affordable electrical grid; displacing tens of millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. And thanks to the power of uranium from Saskatchewan, a pop-can sized amount of this rock is all the amount a person would need to power their lifetime; using a small amount of the Earth to create massive amounts of power.
The next generation in nuclear energy technology is already here. Natural Resources Canada is leading a mapping process under the Energy Innovation Program to explore the potential for on- and off-grid applications for small modular reactor (SMR) technology in Canada. Driven by interested provincial and territorial governments and energy utilities, the exercise will assess the characteristics of different SMR technologies and how they align with user requirements and Canadian priorities. The roadmap will be an important step for Canada to advance innovative, next-generation nuclear technologies and become a global leader in the emerging SMR market.
Meanwhile, the CANDU-reactor refurbishment program, supported by Ontario’s Long-Term Energy Plan, is underway and moving through the first phase at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station on time and on budget. This program will replace major components and refurbish 10 reactors in total over the next 12 years at Darlington NGS and at Bruce Power’s site in Kincardine.
This $26 billion program is the single largest clean-energy investment by any jurisdiction in the western hemisphere and possibly beyond. Moreover, it has unleashed creative juices, as both Ontario Power Generation and Bruce Power are encouraging innovation and advanced technology use at every step. Already there are important advances in robotics and control systems that will have application in other, non-power sectors of the Canadian economy.
Canada’s nuclear contributions to the G7 aren’t limited to energy. Nuclear science and technology has many proven benefits, meeting nine of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Nuclear reactors provide opportunities for water desalination to communities that experience water shortages. Desalinating water requires a tremendous amount of energy and nuclear can do it while releasing hardly any greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
Research and innovation in health care has helped to make Canada a world leader in the production of Cobalt-60, which is used in many areas of our health industry. Cobalt-60 is used in sterilization, diagnostics and treatments. This includes isotopes to help detect and treat diseases, new research into gamma therapy, and blasting tumor cells from the inside out and protecting healthy, surrounding tissues.
Canada’s nuclear reactor technology and uranium exports have, over the last 30 years, contributed globally to the avoidance of at least a billion tonnes of CO2 (in displacing fossil fuel sources)—a unique and ongoing contribution to global climate change mitigation which no other Canadian energy source can claim.
The next generation of nuclear technology will build on Canada’s track record of excellence, looking to recycle current spent fuel, developing reactors that can provide power and heat to communities and even hold the promise of carbon-free gasoline.
Climate change and clean energy are two of the most pressing issues of our time. Canada has a real opportunity to continue to take centre stage on these issues. The facts still matter. If we are to achieve our climate targets, sustainably manage resources for future generations and provide the world with access to clean and cheap energy, then we need nuclear to be part of the mix. Recognizing this is an important step to bringing real solutions today, without waiting for technologies that are not here now.
With time running out to meet greenhouse gas emission targets and to prevent climate change from increasing temperatures by two degrees Celsius—now is not the time to expect a silver bullet to appear or to rely on one technology over another.
A more effective and realistic approach is to foster collaboration that makes the best use of all available solutions to create a low-carbon future, allowing the world to meet emission targets while avoiding the potentially catastrophic impacts of climate change.
Thanks to nuclear’s role in our electricity mix, Canada and Ontario can show how it can be done.
Tags Bruce Power, Canada, Canadian Nuclear Association, Clean Energy, climate action, Energiewende, Energy Innovation Program, france, Germany, International Energy Agency, John Barrett, Julie Gelfand, Natural Resources Canada, Ontario, Ontario Power Generation, WHO, World Bank, world health organization | Permalink | Comments Off on Climate Action, Clean Energy and the Case for Nuclear
CNA2015 Speaker Highlights
May 7, 2015 – 06:00
From renowned climate scientists to utility CEOs, distinguished professors to Canadian politicians, CNA2015 included speaking presentations from some of the nuclear industry’s most prominent figures.
If you weren’t able to attend CNA2015, now is your chance to see the presentations you missed. If you made it, now you can re-watch your favorites in the comfort of your home or office.
Dr. John Barrett
Dr. Barrett provided an update on the state of the the nuclear industry both domestically and internationally, its various challenges, and the opportunities that will shape future strategies.
Dr. James Hansen
Dr. James Hansen is one of the world’s leading climatologists and former head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Dr. Hansen spoke to the CNA2015 crowd about the impact of emerging technologies and discoveries on our ability to maintain a sustainable climate.
Dr. Leslie Dewan
Dr. Dewan is a key figure in the future of nuclear power generation. In 2011, she co-founded Transatomic Power, which is making steadfast progress towards commercializing an innovative molten salt reactor fueled by nuclear waste. She has been named to Forbes “30 under 30″ in energy, and was listed among TIME Magazine’s “30 People Under 30 Changing the World”.
Dr. Matt Nisbet
Matthew C. Nisbet, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Affiliate Associate Professor of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University. He is a Senior Editor at Oxford University Press’ Research Encyclopedia Climate Science and “The Age of Us” columnist at The Conversation.
Hon. Bob Chiarelli
The Honourable Bob Chiarelli addressed the CNA2015 audience, providing important energy insights from the province of Ontario.
Hon. Greg Rickford
The Honourable Greg Rickford, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources delivered a keynote address on Canada’s nuclear sector.
Julie Gelfand
Ms. Julie Gelfand, Canada’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, shared the findings of her Fall 2014 Report.
Preston Swafford
Mr. Swafford shared the impact CANDU technology has had and will continue to have on clean power production worldwide.
Mr. Mitchell shared with the CNA2015 crowd an update from Ontario Power Generation, as well as strategic directions which Canada’s nuclear leaders are collaboratively working towards.
Dr. Michael Binder, President and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, discussed the current state of nuclear safety regulation.
Panel: Canada’s Energy Options
This panel featured three Canadian environmental experts discussing the energy options available to us in 2015 and each one’s long-term potential to combat climate change in a meaningful way.
Panel: Emerging Technology
This panel featured global leaders speaking to the future demand for electricity that will emerge from growing technologies such as electric cars, ocean desalination, and advanced manufacturing.
All of these videos are also available on our website and on our YouTube channel.
Tags Bob Chiarelli, Canadian Nuclear Association, CNA, CNA2015, Greg Rickford, James Hansen, John Barrett, Julie Gelfand, Leslie Dewan, Matt Nisbet, Michael Binder, Preston Swafford, Tom Mitchell | Permalink | Comments Off on CNA2015 Speaker Highlights
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Home Premier League Exclusive: 20-year-old still has future at Manchester United amid La Liga transfer...
Exclusive: 20-year-old still has future at Manchester United amid La Liga transfer rumours
Sport Witness understands Timothy Fosu-Mensah could leave Manchester United on a loan deal this summer.
By Naveen Ullal -
Timothy Fosu-Mensah has no plans to leave Manchester United on a permanent transfer in the summer transfer window, sources have told Sport Witness.
Jose Mourinho allowed the Dutchman to join Crystal Palace on a season-long loan deal last summer. He made 21 appearances for the Eagles, playing in both right-back and centre-back positions.
Fosu-Mensah’s displays for Palace earned him a call-up from Ronald Koeman for the Netherlands’ international against England in November 2017.
According to Marca, the 20-year-old’s form for the London club has attracted interest from Valencia. The La Liga outfit had reportedly contacted the Red Devils as they wanted to sign the versatile player in the summer transfer window.
United completed the signing of Diogo Dalot from FC Porto, Marca believes the Portuguese defender’s arrival saw Valencia turn their attention towards Fosu-Mensah.
However, the Dutchman has no plans to leave the 20-time English champions on a permanent deal as he still has a future at Old Trafford. Fosu-Mensah can play anywhere across the back line and also as a defensive midfielder.
There are reports that Mourinho is looking to bring a new centre-back this summer. This would mean there would be increased competition for a place in the starting lineup, but Fosu-Mensah is ready to fight.
Sport Witness also understands another loan move for the former Ajax academy player could be a possibility this summer.
Previous articleEverton offer Davy Klaassen in exchange for World Cup performer
Next articleClub hope to sell player ‘next week’ and West Ham only named destination
Naveen Ullal
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Simon Says: Film & Photo Blog
Film Review: "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018).
"Real heroes. Not actual size." They are Ant-Man and the Wasp. The superhero film directed by Peyton Reed, written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, with Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari, based on the Marvel Comics characters, and produced by Marvel Studios. It is the sequel to 2015's Ant-Man, and the twentieth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). As Scott Lang balances being both a Super Hero and a father, Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym present an urgent new mission that finds the Ant-Man fighting alongside The Wasp to uncover secrets from their past.
Talks for a sequel began three months after the release of Ant-Man. Reed, Kevin Feige, and Michael Douglas expressed interest in returning for a sequel or prequel. Douglas expressed the desire to have his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones play Janet Van Dyne, and Evangeline Lilly had Michelle Pfeiffer on her wish list to play Janet. Sharon Stone was considered for Janet as well. In October 2015, Marvel Studios confirmed the sequel, titled Ant-Man and the Wasp, with a scheduled release date of July 6, 2018, with Rudd and Lilly returning to reprise their roles. The film was placed in Marvel's packed Phased Three lineup, and subsequently moved the release dates of Black Panther (2018) and Captain Marvel (2019). A month later, Reed was officially returning to direct. In the same month, Adam McKay, one of the original writers, expressed interest in returning. Reed mentioned that pre-production would "probably" start in October 2016, with filming scheduled for early 2017. Two of the original writers, Gabriel Ferrari and Andrew Barrer, signed on to write the script along with Rudd, with writing starting "in earnest" in January 2016. In early November 2016, pre-production began. In February 2017, Douglas was confirmed to return. At San Diego Comic-Con 2017, the cast was rounded out with Hannah John-Kamen, Randall Park, Walton Goggins, Judy Greer, Laurence Fishburne, and Pfeiffer. Reed was inspired by the films After Hours (1985), Midnight Run (1988), and What's Up, Doc? (1972) for the look and feel of the film. Filming took place from August to November 2017, at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia, as well as Metro Atlanta, San Francisco, Savannah, Georgia, and Hawaii. In June 2017, Reed confirmed that Christophe Beck, the original composer, would return to score the film.
It stars Rudd, Lilly, Peña, Cannavale, Greer, Harris, Dastmalchian, Fortson, and Douglas reprising their roles, with Goggins, John-Kamen, Park, Fishburne, and Pfeiffer. The cast, despite their best efforts, gave comically-insufferable and cliched performances that relied upon one too many cliches and jokes to flesh out their characters. Pfeiffer's screen time as Janet was criminally limited, hopefully it will be extended the next time round.
Everything tolerable about Ant-Man, a mere three years ago, has vanished with its sequel. In its place, Ant-Man and the Wasp has substituted noise, cliches, multiple villains, irrelevant stunts, misguided story lines, and insufferable jokes. It isn't as tolerable as its predecessor.
Simon says Ant-Man and the Wasp receives:
Also, see my reviews for Ant-Man and Avengers: Infinity Wars.
Posted by Simon Shin at 15:00
Film Review: "Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle...
Film Review: "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacatio...
'Once Upon a Time in Canada' Chapter 46.
Film Review: "Sicario: Day of the Soldado" (2018)....
Simon Shin
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Home Community William Miller House turns 295
William Miller House turns 295
by Webmaster - July 15, 2015
Historical society launches campaign to restore home by its 300th anniversary in 2020
The William Miller House turned 295 years old over the weekend. The birthday celebration also kicked off the Miller Place-Mount Sinai Historical Society’s five-year fundraising initiative to restore the oldest home in Miller Place by its 300th birthday. Photo by Erin Dueñas
By Erin Dueñas
The William Miller House celebrated its 295th birthday on Sunday, complete with balloons, music and even a replica cake of the house. But in spite of the festivities, old age is catching up to the oldest house in Miller Place, which is in need of a long list of repairs and updates.
The house, located on North Country Road in the historic district of Miller Place, is the headquarters of the Miller Place-Mount Sinai Historical Society. Built in 1720, the house is on the National Register of Historic Places and is significant for the very few changes that have been made to the home’s interior and look over the centuries. The house showcases artifacts ranging from doctor’s equipment and farm tools to children’s toys and furniture from the 1800s.
“It’s a living museum,” said Antoinette Donato, vice president of the society.
Donato said the birthday party was the kickoff to a five-year campaign, which seeks community assistance in order to get the repairs completed in time for the house’s 300th anniversary in 2020.
The society acquired the home in 1979 from the estate of Harry Millard, the last descendant of William Miller, and restored it in the early 1980s.
“We’re working very diligently to get the house up to snuff,” Donato said, noting the house is in desperate need of a new roof as well as repairs to sixteen windows, paint, and doors that need adjusting so that they can open and close properly.
“We need it to be authentically restored,” Donato continued. “It can only be done by skilled craftsmen that have the expertise of historical restoration.”
Society President Gerard Mannarino blows out the birthday cake candles. Photo by Erin Dueñas
According to society President Gerard Mannarino, who was presented with a proclamation from Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) at the party, estimates for the roof came in close to $20,000, with the least expensive at $18,000. He said that without help from the community, there is a slim chance the society will be able to foot the bill.
“We need people to join the society; it helps us,” Mannarino said. “We are hoping the party will get us exposure to get people interested in us.”
The society is currently constructing a brick pathway, which extends from the street up to the post office on the grounds of the house. Bricks can be purchased for $100 and personalized, and all proceeds benefit the Society.
“My big push is to get 200 families from Miller Place to purchase one of these bricks,” Mannarino said. “That’s the money to fix the roof.”
Mannarino said Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) has been a huge help to the society’s efforts over the years, securing grants that allowed them to continue offering programs to the community.
“She’s our biggest fan,” Mannarino said.
Anker said people need to be motivated to help the society, echoing Mannarino’s goal of getting support from local families.
“We need to prioritize getting these renovations done,” she said.
Donato stressed it is the efforts of the society’s volunteers who deserve credit for getting so much accomplished at the house so far.
“I call them the silent vigilantes — they see that things need to be done and they just do it,” she said. “They understand the importance of the history here.”
One of those volunteers is Miller Place’s Doug Flynn, who saw a loose and splintered board on the porch of the post office and quietly repaired the board and gave the whole porch a fresh coat of paint.
“I enjoy fixing things,” Flynn said. “There is so much to be done here, whatever I can do, I do it.”
Society trustee Margaret Dosher Cibulka chaired the birthday party committee. She said she was pleased with the way the party turned out and noted its importance to the community’s history.
“It was wonderful in all respects,” she said. “The purpose was to acquaint the community with the value of the house.”
“It’s the beginning of Miller Place,” she said. “We need to preserve it so the children realize what a jewel they have in their own community.”
Miller Place-Mount Sinai Historical Society
William Miller House
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Northport Rita J. Egan Mount Sinai Smithtown Port Jefferson Port Jefferson Village Suffolk County Police Department Miller Place Daniel Dunaief Rocky Point Suffolk County Huntington Station Stony Brook Desiree Keegan Stony Brook University Huntington Kevin Redding Lacrosse Centereach Kings Park Bill Landon Ward Melville Port Jefferson Station Setauket Police
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Principal Accompanist
Adam’s career began in 2005, studying with composer Roger Smalley and pianist Anna Sleptsova at the University of Western Australia in Perth, Western Australia. Shortly after this, Adam was invited to complete a double-major in classical Piano Performance and Composition under Emeritus Professor Larry Sitsky and Geoffrey Lancaster at the Australian National University. Study at the ANU was temporarily interrupted due to an invitation to travel to France and study for one year with Emeritus Professor of the University of Ottawa, Jean-Paul Sevilla, and completed a Diplome d’Etudes musicales.
Returning to Canberra, completing his Bachelor of Music, and beginning professional work in 2011 as the resident accompanist for the ANU, Adam also began teaching privately, performing as a classical chamber and jazz pianist, and receiving contracts as a composer/arranger.
Adam completed his first-class Honours degree in 2012, giving the world premiere of Sitsky’s Sonata No. 2, in three movements, composed for Adam. Adam also edited this piece, which is published under The Keys Press. In 2012, Adam was awarded the biennial Michael Kieran Harvey Scholarship, given to postgraduate piano students to help them further their career overseas. With this funding, Adam traveled to Paris in order to study composition and improvisation with several established Parisian pianists, and complete a Monotremes-related arrangement project of Maurice Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales.
Since returning to Australia, Adam has relocated to Melbourne and currently enjoys freelancing and contract work – as the piano teacher at Victoria University Secondary College, as piano teacher, and Head of Composition at Parkville Music School, and as Senior Accompanist with The Australian Children’s Choir. Adam also accepts work for arrangement/composition, transcription, editing, as well as classical, jazz and band performances.
As a pianist, Adam has performed in most Canberran venues (National Gallery of Australia, National Library of Australia, High Court, Llewellyn Hall, etc), and has performed for several years running in the Canberra International Music Festival as well as Art, not Apart, Bloom Festival, Dragon Dreaming Festival, Viva la Gong Festival and others.
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Summit Point Baseball League History
Founder and Former League President
"In the summer of 1963, several young boys knocked on the door of Ernie and Joyce Rudolph's home to ask if Mr. Rudolph would teach them how to play baseball. Thus was the humble beginning of the current organization that now consists of a total of 19 teams. No one realized on that fateful day what a phenomenal circumstance had occurred. The course of history for children in Summit Point would be positively affected for the next 36 years. Mr. Rudolph told the young boys to meet him at the old school yard the following Saturday, and he would give them some pointers. They were excited because "Mr. Rudolph" was a transplant coach from the Little League system in Charles Town, and they had heard that he was a good coach. He coached in the system beginning in 1956 and brought his team to a championship position, so his reputation preceded him (at least with little boys wanting to learn to play ball).
The enthusiasm of the children was contagious and Ernie decided this would be a great opportunity to fulfill his dream of starting a league that allowed every child to play that wanted to. He often lamented to his wife while in the Charles Town system that he could not stand the disappointment of the children who were not selected and that all interested children should be permitted to participate. Joyce supported him completely and encouraged him to start the league in Summit Point. This meant using their private funds to purchase balls and bats, but they were unanimous in their commitment to the children. Their own children later benefited from the offerings of the league. Later Ernie contacted friends in the Charles Town league and asked for discarded uniforms and equipment. They were very supportive and provided the Summit Point group with their used equipment. In the early years at the school-yard in front of the Methodist Church, the first tee-ball group was formed. The mothers of the children dubbed it the "diaper league" and it rapidly became one of the highlights of the program. Once when a little boy in the "diaper league" ran to second base, he yelled over to his mother and said, "Mommy, I made a half a home run". Also, during those early years, some of the children did not have phones, so it was difficult to contact them if a game needed to be called off because of rain. However, a young player approached Ernie with a solution; he asked him to please send him a postcard if the game was rained out because he didn't have access to a phone.
Later in 1972, the league constructed a new field at South Jefferson Elementary School and moved the operation. They remained there until 1979 when Ernie was approached by Mr. Q.D. Flemming to consider putting his league in the Summit Point Park. At that time, the park consisted of a huge cornfield and a few areas of vacant land. The decision was made to accept the offer and the league built the first of many ball fields to come. A few years later, Governor Rockefeller presented Ernie the highest State award available for community service, and in conjunction with the honor the Parks and Recreation Board formally dedicated the first ball field as the "Ernest W. Rudolph Field". The honors bestowed upon Ernie have been significant over many years, but the most rewarding thing for him has been that his sons, Mark, Paul, and John all share his philosophy and continue to participate as coaches and instructors. The family goals continue with the next generation."
As Compiled and Written by Ernest W. Rudolph
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Heat's Wade, Spurs' Parker named Players of the Week
Subject: Heat's Wade, Spurs' Parker named Players of the Week Mon Mar 21, 2011 1:29 pm
The Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade and San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, March 7, through Sunday, March 13.Air Jordan 2011 - White Black/Anthacite Wade led Miami to a 2-1 week, averaging 28.7 points on .508 shooting (30-for-59) to go along with 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds. On March 12 vs. Memphis, Wade became the first guard since Michael Jordan in 1988 to have at least 28 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five blocks in a game. This is the third time in the 2010-11 season that Wade has garnered Player of the Week honors.Parker led the Spurs to a 3-0 week, clinching their 14th consecutive playoff berth. He led the Spurs in scoring for the week averaging 23.7 points, scoring 21 or more in all three games.Air Jordan 2011 He has notched 24 games this season of scoring 20 or more points. On March 9 vs.Detroit, Parker scored 23 points to go along with seven assists and four blocks to secure a 111-104 victory. This is Parker's second Player of the Week award of the season.
Gov. Jindal anticipates La. payment to Hornets:Gov. Bobby Jindal says Louisiana expects to pay the New Orleans Hornets about $7 million in subsidies which kick in whenever the team does not meet certain annual revenue benchmarks.Air Jordan 2011 - Black Red White The governor mentioned the anticipated payment after discussing his role in a new marketing effort designed to strengthen the Hornets' season ticket base and secure the club's future in New Orleans.Jindal, several other high-ranking politicians, popular local musicians and celebrities including Saints quarterback Drew Brees are part of the Hornets' "I'm In" campaign.Hornets' officials say the fact they're working so closely with political leaders on such efforts demonstrates their commitment to staying in Louisiana for the long term.
Shoulder injury leaves no timetable for Gay's return:While an MRI exam Monday showed that Memphis forward Rudy Gay's left shoulder is healing, no timetable has been set for his return. Memphis made the announcement during Monday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers.Air Jordan 2011 - Black Blue White Gay underwent the MRI earlier in the day. He had tweeted Monday afternoon: "I hate bad news."The team said the 6-foot-8 forward "underwent a follow-up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) today on his left shoulder, which revealed that while the shoulder is healing from a subluxation, it needs more time to fully recover."Gay, the Grizzlies' second-leading scorer at 19.8 points a game, injured the shoulder on Feb. 15 against Philadelphia. He has missed 10 games with the injury.Memphis entered Monday night's game at 5-5 in Gay's absence as they fight to hold on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Bulls' Boozer remains day-to-day with ankle injury:Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer remains day to day even though his sprained left ankle continues to improve.Boozer was still limping slightly Monday and is not sure when he'll be return.The team's second-leading scorer and rebounder, he has missed the past two games after an awkward landing during a flagrant foul by Kwame Brown in a win last week at Charlotte.Air Jordan 2011 - Black The Bulls host Washington on Tuesday before visiting New Jersey and Indiana on Thursday and Friday.Coach Tom Thibodeau hopes to have him back ``within the week.''The Bulls have won 13 of 15 and trail Eastern Conference leader Boston by a half game. They've played well without Boozer, with easy wins over Atlanta and Utah.
» This game sure can be adamant about wanting players to take certain weapons
» Are any of your Build-A-Bears/Virtual B-A-Bs named after Pokemon?
» *SPOILERS* 2012 Sub Exclusive and More named!!
» Have You Ever Heard Of A Boy Named Dunnery Bond?
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Broken Ballots
Will Your Vote Count?
Book Extract
Internet Elections
Published by the Center for the Study of Language and Information. Distributed by the University of Chicago Press.
Supplemental Material on Internet Elections
The ICANN Election
The Arizona Democratic 2000 Primary
The Arizona Libertarian 2008 Primary
One of the first major political elections in the U.S. that allowed Internet voting was the 2000 Arizona Democratic primary. Arizona state Democratic Chairman Mark Fleisher boasted: “This will be the first thing to come along to motivate people to vote since the repeal of the poll tax.” [1]
The enthusiasm for Internet voting, however, was not universal. Deborah Phillips, President of the Voting Integrity Project, warned of hackers, voter fraud, loss of privacy, and lack of access for some communities. [2]
All aspects of the Arizona election, including Internet voting and poll site voting, were run by election.com, the same company that ran the ICANN election, in partnership with VeriSign Corp. Registered voters had to express interest in voting via the Internet by January 24, 2000. A potential Internet voter was sent a PIN for use in the voting process. Voting could be done from the voter's computer between March 7 and March 11, prior to Election Day. Election Day voting was possible from one of 124 polling sites in the state.
Election.com, which provided both the machines used at the polling sites and the voting software, was quite secretive about the election. The software was never examined by independent experts, web logs that might have shown evidence of an attack were never released, no outsiders observed the processes, and even the budget was never made public. It is impossible, therefore, to know if Internet voting reduced the cost of the election. In fact, there was so little oversight that the state never received a complete accounting of the final vote totals from election.com.
Before being allowed to vote, the voter had to provide her PIN, as well as correct answers to a number of personal questions. The vote transmission was protected by the same form of encryption used in electronic commerce. Of the more than 86,000 people who voted in the Democratic primary, almost 37,000 voted over the Internet. The contested nature of the 2000 primary, as compared to the uncontested 1996 primary, makes it essentially impossible to determine if Internet voting increased voter turnout.
As with the ICANN election, there were a number of problems with the Arizona primary. Three of the polling stations, all in minority communities, did not open. Many voters with outdated registration information did not receive their PINs in the mail. In addition, it was very difficult to reach the help desk, which had only twelve active phone lines.
An October 2000 article about the Arizona primary warned of denial-of-service attacks, such as those that had recently crippled Yahoo and eBay, as well as risks of attacks by foreign powers. The authors also cautioned: [3]
The fact that Internet voting is already possible doesn't make it advisable, given its vulnerability to security breaches -- unless the goal is to deliberately weaken the American electoral process .... No amount of technological tinkering can transform electrical impulses into a tangible paper trail.
[1] CBS News. Arizona to Try Internet Voting, March Presidential Primary will be Guinea Pig, December 1999. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1999/12/06/tech/main73235.shtml.
[2] Scott Thomsen. Arizona to Pioneer Internet Voting. The Associated Press, December 1999. http://www.mail-archive.com/election-methods-list@eskimo.com/msg02170.html.
[3] Kurt Hyde and Steve Bonta. Voting on the Web. New American, 16(21), October 2000. http://thenewamerican.com/node/1641.
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US pending home sales fell 2.2 percent in December
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in December with affordability pressures causing interest from would-be buyers to fall.
The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that its pending home sales index fell 2.2 percent last month to 99, its lowest reading since April 2014. The index based on contract signings has plunged 9.8 percent over the past 12 months.
Home sales declined in 2018 as the combination of higher mortgage rates, relatively low inventories and price gains consistently outpaced wage growth.
Average mortgage rates have dropped from recent highs of nearly 5 percent. It's unclear whether that will be enough to revitalize buyer demand because of a decrease in the sales listings of homes that median-income families can afford.
Existing-home sales in 2018 tumbled 3.1 percent from the previous year, to 5.34 million units, the worst showing since 2015. The outlook for homebuying was complicated in December by stock market self-offs and volatile changes in mortgage rates. Investors grappled with a slowdown in global economic growth.
The decline in sales has caused price gains in housing to weaken, yet it remains to be seen whether that will produce a rebound this year.
"Even though house price appreciation is still strong, it's been slowing," said Doug Duncan, chief economist at the mortgage loan company Fannie Mae. "You had volatility in markets and rates--and there is no question that there has been a response to that by homebuyers."
The pending sales index fell in the Northeast, Midwest and South in December. But contract signings increased in the West region, which is among the priciest in the country and has witnessed a severe decline in sales over the past year as a result.
Over the 12 months ended in December, the index declined in all four regions, including a 13.5 percent plunge in the South, which is generally the nation's fastest growing region for housing.
Pending sales are a barometer of home purchases that are completed a month or two later.
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Alabama governor quietly signs law allowing mega-church a private police force
Saturday 22 June, 2019
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has signed legislation allowing a mega-church to establish its own police force, despite threats of a legal challenge.
The law, which was approved quietly two weeks ago, allows Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham to set-up a private law enforcement department to make arrests when crimes are committed on its properties, according to the Associated Press.
Church officials say the measure is necessary to provide adequate security for the 2,000 students and faculty on its two private school campuses, the AP said.
According to AL.com, Briarwood Presbyterian Church averages 2,800 to 3,600 worshipers per week, making it one of the three biggest churches in Alabama. The church also has Briarwood Christian School, a private K-12 institution, with an enrollment of 1,875 students, and a theological seminary.
Per the website, the officers will have to complete state certified training by the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission and be trained on the proper use of a non-lethal weapon.
Briarwood Presbyterian Church told WBRC in Birmingham in a statement that they are grateful to the governor and our elected officials for approving their request to be added to existing Alabama law.
Existing law "allows certain educational institutions to appoint and employ one or more suitable persons to act as police officers to keep off intruders and prevent trespass upon the institution property," they wrote.
"The institutions currently provided the protection under this statute include a number that have less students than does Briarwood Christian School."
A similar measure, first proposed four years ago, was dropped in 2017 after opponents argued that it grants government power to a religious institution in violation of the Establishment Clause, according Birmingham Watch, an Alabama initiative for independent journalism.
Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/06/21/church-alabama-gov-police-force-law/1525124001/
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Newman Crows Landing Unified School District
Yosemite Community College District
Board Member, Area 4
Keyes Union School District
City of Newman
City of Oakdale
City of Patterson
Council Member, Council District B
Council Member, Council District D
City of Turlock
City of Waterford
City of Ceres
City of Riverbank
Oak Valley Hospital District
Measure Z
Salida Union School District
Modesto City Elementary School District
Riverbank Unified School District
Proposition 7 — Daylight Saving Time Legislatively Referred Statute - Majority Approval Required
To learn more about measures, follow the links for each tab in this section. For most screenreaders, you can hit Return or Enter to enter a tab and read the content within.
7,167,315 votes yes (59.7%)
4,828,564 votes no (40.3%)
100% of precincts reporting (24,312/24,312).
Confirms California Daylight Saving Time to Federal Law. Allows Legislature to Change Daylight Saving Time Period
WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?
Should California move toward year-round daylight saving time?
THE WAY IT IS NOW
Each year, daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday in March (when clocks are moved forward) and ends on the first Sunday in November (when clocks are moved back.) This practice was started by a voter initiative in 1949. Ballot initiatives cannot be repealed without the consent of voters.
WHAT IF IT PASSES?
Nothing, at least right away. Passage of Proposition 7 would give the Legislature authority to vote on changing daylight saving time. If legislators approved it with a two-thirds vote, and if the federal government allowed it, California could maintain daylight saving time year-round.
Changing clocks disrupts our sleep schedules and harms our health. Medical studies indicate heart attacks, stroke risks and accidents increase in the days following a time change.
Proposition 7 tries to fix something that is not broken. Permanent daylight saving time would mean dark winter mornings. Being on permanent daylight saving time would put California out of sync with its neighboring states (except for Arizona).
— KQED
Gives Legislature ability to change daylight saving time period by two-thirds vote, if changes are consistent with federal law. Fiscal Impact: This measure has no direct fiscal effect because changes to daylight saving time would depend on future actions by the Legislature and potentially the federal government.
What is this proposal?
Easy Voter Guide — Summary for new and busy voters
Information provided by The League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Federal law sets standard time zones for each area of the country. California and other western states are in the Pacific Standard time zone. Current law requires the time of each zone to move forward by one hour from early March to early November each year during a period called Daylight Saving Time. During this period, sunrises and sunsets happen one hour later. Federal law lets states choose to stay on standard time all year long, but prevents states from having year-round Daylight Saving Time.
Prop 7 would allow state lawmakers to vote on changing Daylight Saving Time. Lawmakers would be able to choose year-round Daylight Saving Time, if allowed by federal law. Any change would require support from two thirds of California’s Legislature. Until then, Prop 7 would keep California’s current Daylight Saving Time schedule.
Budget effect
Prop 7 would have no immediate effects. Impacts on state and local government would likely be very small.
People FOR say
Always being on Daylight Saving Time would have positive public health effects. When people don’t have to change their clocks, the risk of heart attacks and strokes goes down.
This change would also reduce energy costs and increase work production.
People AGAINST say
If the sun rises an hour later in the winter this will have negative effects on schools, traffic and public safety.
Having a different time than other western states would create confusion.
Pros & Cons — Unbiased explanation with arguments for and against
Information provided by League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Should the legislature be allowed to change Daylight Savings Time by a two-thirds vote if federal law authorizes it?
Part-year Daylight Savings Time was started during World War II in order to save energy. California voters approved it in 1949 and for that reason, the voters would have to vote to authorize the legislature to change it to year-round.
Federal law requires states to have Daylight Savings Time from early March to early November and standard time the rest of the year (about four months). However, states are permitted to have standard time all year, without federal approval. Hawaii and Arizona stay on standard time all year. In order for a state to switch to year-round Daylight Savings Time, Congress and the President must approve the proposal.
Prop. 7 is both an advisory measure and a change in law. It encourages the legislature to consider instituting year-round Daylight Savings Time. It would change current law by requiring a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to change the period of Daylight Savings Time, to make it year round, or to stay on standard time. However, even if two-thirds of the legislature passes such a bill, the change to year-round Daylight Savings Time would still have to approved by a vote of Congress and a Presidential signature.
Fiscal effect
The proposition has no direct fiscal impact on state and local government because the legislature and the federal government still must act on it. If the change is made, there could be a minor fiscal impact that is unknown at this time.
Supporters say
Medical studies show that the risk of heart attacks and strokes increases during the days following a time change.
Changing clocks twice a year increases our use of electricity by 4%, increases the amount of fuel used by cars and costs $434 million.
Opponents say
The United States tried year-round Daylight Savings Time in 1974 because of the energy crisis. People hated getting up in the dark in the morning.
There are no conclusive studies that having Daylight Savings Time year-round saves energy or money.
Measure Details — Official information about this measure
YES vote means
A YES vote on this measure means: The Legislature, with a two-thirds vote, could change daylight saving time if the change is allowed by the federal government. Absent any legislative change, California would maintain its current daylight saving time period (early March to early November).
NO vote means
A NO vote on this measure means: California would maintain its current daylight saving time period.
Establishes the time zone designated by federal law as “Pacific standard time” as the standard time within California.
Provides that California daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March and ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November, consistent with current federal law.
Permits the Legislature by twothirds vote to make future changes to California’s daylight saving time period, including for its yearround application, if changes are consistent with federal law.
SUMMARY OF LEGISLATIVE ANALYST’S ESTIMATE OF NET STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT FISCAL IMPACT:
This measure has no direct fiscal effect because changes to daylight saving time would depend on future actions by the Legislature and potentially the federal government.
Legislative Analyst's Office
Federal Law Establishes Daylight Saving Time for Part of the Year. Federal law establishes a standard time zone for each area of the U.S. For example, California and other western states are in the Pacific standard time zone. Federal law requires the standard time of each zone to advance by one hour from early March to early November—a period known as Daylight Saving Time (DST). During DST, sunrises and sunsets occur one hour later than they otherwise would. Currently, federal law does not allow states to adopt year-round DST. However, federal law allows states to opt out of DST and remain on standard time all year, as is currently the case in Arizona and Hawaii.
California Voted on DST About 70 Years Ago. In 1949, California voters approved an initiative measure which established DST in California. The Legislature can only make changes to that initiative measure by submitting those changes to the voters for their approval.
Impartial analysis / Proposal
Proposition 7 allows the Legislature with a two-thirds vote to change DST (such as by remaining on DST year-round), as long as the change is allowed under federal law. Until any such change, California would maintain the current DST period.
Financial effect
No Direct Fiscal Effects on State and Local Governments. The measure would have no direct effect on state and local government costs or revenues. This is because any impacts would depend on future actions by the Legislature—and potentially the federal government—to change DST.
Potential Impacts of Changes to DST. If the Legislature changed DST, there could be a variety of effects. For example, if the Legislature approved year-round DST, sunrises and sunsets would occur one hour later between November and March. Such a change could affect the net amount of energy used for lighting, heating, and cooling during those months. In addition, the current system of DST during part of the year likely affects the amount of sleep some people get when switching between standard time and DST twice a year. This potentially affects such things as worker productivity and the number of accidents. Year-round DST would eliminate these effects. The net effect of such changes on state and local government finances is unclear, but would likely be minor.
Published Arguments — Arguments for and against the ballot measure
Arguments FOR
Proposition 7 will end the biannual time changes that medical researchers and economists agree are hazardous to the health and productivity of schoolchildren, the workforce and seniors. Vote Yes on Proposition 7 to keep our children, workplaces and roadways safe
— Official Voter Information Guide
What does it cost us to change our clocks twice a year? Here are some facts to consider. University medical studies in 2012 found that the risk of heart attacks increases by 10% in the two days following a time change. In 2016, further research revealed that stroke risks increase 8% when we change our clocks. For cancer patients the stroke risk increases 25% and for people over age 65 stroke risk goes up 20%. All because we disrupt sleep patterns.
And every parent knows what it means when our children’s sleep patterns are disrupted twice a year.
Now consider money. Changing our clocks twice a year increases our use of electricity 4% in many parts of the world, increases the amount of fuel we use in our cars, and comes with a cost of $434 million. That’s money we can save.
Changing our clocks doesn’t change when the sun rises or sets. Nature does that. Summer days will always be longer. Winter days will stay shorter.
Since 2000, 14 countries have stopped changing their clocks. And now 68% of all the countries don’t do it. They allow nature to determine time, not their governments. Lowering health risk. Reducing energy consumption. Saving money.
A YES vote on Proposition 7 allows California to consider making Daylight Saving Time or Standard Time our year-round time—changing things that are more important than changing our clocks.
Proposition 7 will require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature before any final decision is made.
ASSEMBLYMEMBER KANSEN CHU
California Assembly District 25
ASSEMBLYWOMAN LORENA GONZALEZ
DR. SION ROY, M.D., Cardiologist
Arguments AGAINST
Proposition 7 allows for permanent Daylight Saving time, subject to federal approval. It would be light in the evening in the summer, as it is now, but winter mornings would be dark for an extra hour so children would be going to school in the dark
Please vote “No” on Proposition 7. Proposition 7 will result in California switching to permanent Daylight Saving Time. We’ve tried this before and it was a disaster. In 1974, an energy crisis led President Nixon to declare emergency full-time Daylight Saving Time. It was supposed to last 16 months but was stopped after 10 months because people hated the fact that in the morning, the sun rose too late.
Daylight Saving Time does not create more hours of daylight. It just changes when those daylight hours occur. If you live in Anaheim, the sun will rise at 6:55 a.m. on Christmas morning this year. With Daylight Saving Time, it would be 7:55 a.m.
We have Daylight Saving Time in the summer so it is light after we get home from work. And we switch to Standard Time in the winter so it’s light in the morning.
What will it mean to have permanent Daylight Saving Time? The sun will rise an hour later than if we were on Standard Time. If you live in Eureka or Susanville, it would still be dark at 8 a.m. on New Year’s Day. If you live in Los Angeles or Twentynine Palms, the sun won’t rise until 7:30 a.m. or later from November to February.
Those of you who like to wake up with the sun will wake up in the dark. You’ll be getting your family ready for the day in the dark; your kids will be walking to school or waiting for the school bus before the sun rises. For those of you who get your exercise or attend religious services before work, you’ll be doing it in darkness.
Some make the argument that Daylight Saving Time saves us energy or makes us safer. But there’s no scientific evidence of that. It’s just a question of convenience. We now have Daylight Saving Time in the summer so we can have extra light in the evening, when we can enjoy it, rather than having that daylight between 5 and 6 in the morning when we’d prefer it were dark. And then in the winter we switch back to Standard Time so it's not so dark in the morning.
Being on permanent Daylight Saving Time will put us out of sync with our neighbors. While we’ll always have the same time as Arizona, part of the year we’ll have the same time as the other Mountain Time states and the rest of the year we’ll be in line with Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Mexico.
Yes, it’s a minor inconvenience when we “Spring ahead” and we lose that hour (even though it’s great to get that extra hour when we “Fall back”). But avoiding these transitions is not worth the confusion with other states’ times, and the months of dark mornings we’ll have to endure if we have permanent Daylight Saving Time.
SENATOR HANNAH-BETH JACKSON
19th Senate District
PHILLIP CHEN, Assemblymember
Replies to Arguments FOR
The proponents of permanent Daylight Saving insist it will save us energy. It will not. Many studies have been conducted on this topic and there is no conclusive evidence that full-time daylight saving will save us a dime. Any brief potential increase in certain medical conditions needs to be weighed against the dangers of it being dark later in the morning in the winter.
Changing our clocks twice a year may be inconvenient. But requiring days to start in the dark during winter is more than inconvenient— it’s dangerous. It’s dangerous for children heading to school or waiting for the bus in the dark and for adults who have to start their commutes in darkness as well. The same failed experiment in 1974 to have Daylight Saving Time year-round confirmed this dangerous reality.
The advantages of maintaining the present system of Daylight Saving Time in the spring, summer, and fall with Standard Time in the winter are clear:
daylight into the evening in the summer
daylight in the morning in the winter
avoids putting us an hour ahead of neighboring western states and Mexico four months of the year
Increased danger for children and adults in winter, different time than the states around us. It’s not worth it. Vote No on Prop. 7.
Replies to Arguments AGAINST
Opponents of Proposition 7 can’t dispute the scientific and economic facts showing that the changing of clocks twice a year is hazardous to our health and our economy. Proposition 7 is about keeping our communities, workplaces, schools and roadways safe and productive. Whenever there’s a time change, studies show that heart attacks and strokes are more likely to occur.
Children are knocked off their usual sleep pattern and become more unfocused in the classroom.
Traffic accidents and workplace injuries increase significantly after we change our clocks.
Not to mention, our economy takes a $434 million hit in lost productivity when clocks are set an hour forward and back every year.
California can unwind the dangerous time switch by voting Yes on Proposition 7. Please join parents, medical professionals, and workplace safety advocates by voting Yes on Proposition 7.
www.YesProp7.info.
Read the proposed legislation
Read the proposed legislation (links outside of votersedge.org)
Who supports or opposes this measure?
Yes on Proposition 7
(see endorsement)
California Republican Party
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Green Party of California
Elected & Appointed Officials (0)
No on Proposition 7
Bakersfield Californian
Fresno Bee
Santa Rosa Press-Democrat
Proposition 7: California Considers Keeping Daylight Saving Time All Year — October 30, 2018 KTLA5
Spring Forward, Fall Back, Or Neither: Why Changing Our Clocks Might Fade Into History — October 25, 2018 KPBS
Voters to give daylight saving time a thumbs up or down, but Prop. 7 just a first step — October 15, 2018 Ventura County Star
No matter how Californians feel about daylight saving time, Proposition 7 promises to do precisely nothing — October 14, 2018 San Diego Union-Tribune
Opinions & Analysis (5)
Op-ed - Hey, California, time to see the light on permanent daylight saving time - Fresno Bee, MAREK WARSZAWSKI November 1, 2018
Op-ed - Proposition 7: Why eliminating time change benefits health, safety - San Diego Union-Tribune, Kansen Chu October 24, 2018
Editorial - Vote yes on Proposition 7 to force another look at daylight saving time - Los Angeles Times, The Times Editorial Board September 29, 2018
Op-ed - Proposition 7: Why permanent Daylight Saving Time puts children’s safety at risk - San Diego Union-Tribune, Mariah Baughn October 24, 2018
Editorial - Hate daylight saving time? Here’s why getting rid of it would cost California dearly - Sacramento Bee, Sacramento Bee Editorial Board September 20, 2018
Fast Facts on Prop 7
— October 19, 2018 Cal Channel and the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Learn what your yes or no vote means for Prop 7
League of Women Voters Non-Partisan Summary of the State Initiatives — LWV
This video was created by the League of Women Voters as a non-partisan summary of the state initiatives.
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Get the Easy Voter Guide for this measure in these languages
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Track and Field Reporting Results System
U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
Lawrence men grab third at St. Norbert Twilight
DE PERE, Wis. -- The Lawrence University men's track team collected a pair of runner-up finishes Thursday and went on to finish third at the St. Norbert College Twilight at Schneider Stadium.
Freshman Noah Shea took second in the triple jump with a leap of 43 feet, 8.75 inches, and he grabbed fourth place in the 200 meters in 23.21 seconds.
Joe Kortenhof led a trio of Lawrence runners that placed in the top five in the 1,500 meters. Kortenhof raced to second place in 4:22.96. Ben Schaefer was third in 4:25.99 and Teddy Kortenhof grabbed fifth in 4:43.30.
Dan Sandacz placed in both hurdles events as he took fifth in the 110 hurdles in 16.68 seconds and was fifth in the 400 hurdles in 59.32.
The Vikings had two runners place in the 5,000 as Alec Timpe took fourth in 16:55.40 and Aaron Arthur was eighth in 19:45.79.
Lawrence's 4x100 relay team was third in 46.34 seconds, and the 4x400 relay was fourth in 3:40.93.
Wes Hetcher placed in two field events as he took third in the javelin with a toss of 147-6 and grabbed fourth in the pole vault at 12-5.5. The Vikings took three of the top six spots in the javelin as Max Stahl took fourth with a throw of 146-5 and Jake Ryan was sixth at 127-3. Jackson Boeh placed sixth in the pole vault at 10-11.75.
Lawrence also had three throwers place in the hammer throw. Jackson Straughan grabbed third with a toss of 149-5, Jimmy Geraghty was fifth at 118-9 and Gabe Baker was eighth at 104-10. Baker also took eighth in discus at 113-4.
Rookie Tanner MacArthur made his Lawrence track debut and placed seventh in the high jump at 5-3.
Lawrence piled up 105 points to finish third, and St. Norbert took the title with 168.
On the women's side, Lawrence placed ninth with 25 points, and Michigan Tech was first with 254.
Christina Sedall led the Vikings by grabbing second place in the 5,000 with a time of 19:29.11. Courtney Fine took fourth for Lawrence in 20:40.28.
Kate Kilgus was Lawrence's other individual placewinner as she took sixth in the 800 in 2:25.61.
Lawrence's two relays also placed as the 4x400 squad was fifth in 4:20.92 and the 4x100 relay was sixth in 52.89 seconds.
UW-Platteville Invitational: Lawrence's Josh Janusiak and Hannah Kinzer competed at the UW-Platteville Invitational on Thursday and both ran the 5,000 meters. Janusiak took 43rd place in 15:12.30, and Kinzer was 51st in the women's race in 18:44.53.
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Cancer death rate dropped nearly 20 percent in 15 years
The death rate due to cancer has declined in the United States in recent years, largely due to better prevention and treatment. In fact, 650,000 lives were spared from cancer between 1990 to 2005, according to new statistics from the American Cancer Society.
During the 15-year period, the cancer death rate among men dropped by 19.2 percent, mainly due to decreases in lung, prostate, and colon cancer deaths. In women, the cancer death rate fell by 11.4 percent, largely due to a drop in breast and colorectal cancer deaths. “This is good news because cancer death rates have continued to decrease since the early 1990s because of prevention and improved treatment for many cancers,” said lead author Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, the strategic director of cancer surveillance at the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, Georgia. “We have to be optimistic based on the trends. We are on the right track.” The findings are published in the July/August issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Despite the optimism, however, there is still much work to be done to win the war on cancer, experts stress. There will be close to 1.5 million new cancer diagnoses in the U.S. in 2009, and 562,340 people are expected to die of the disease. This means that more than 1,500 people will die of cancer each day in 2009; the most common lethal cancers in men and women are lung, prostate, breast, and colon cancers. Health.com: How to avoid colorectal cancer
What diets and supplements fight prostate cancer
Older women with breast cancer benefit from chemo too
A drop in hormone replacement therapy leads to a decline in breast cancer cases The decrease in deaths from breast cancer accounted for 37 percent of the reduction in the death rate among women during the 15-year period. “Any life spared from cancer or serious illness is a victory, but success comes in little steps — one life at a time,” said Dr. Marisa Weiss, the president and founder of advocacy group Breastcancer.org and the author of several books, including Taking Care of Your Girls: A Breast Health Guide for Girls, Teens, and In-Betweens. Weiss is also the director of breast radiation oncology and breast health outreach at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. “It’s great news that a large chunk of the decreased death rates in women can be attributed to breast cancer,” she said. This is largely due to a decreased use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which has been shown to increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. HRT fell from grace after a large government-funded study known as the Women’s Health Initiative was stopped early because the risks of HRT, including an increased risk of breast cancer, greatly outnumbered the benefits of the therapy. Health.com: What breast cancer really feels like Another reason for the decline in breast cancer deaths, however, is delayed diagnosis due to the fact that many women are not getting their yearly X-ray or mammogram. “Fewer women are getting mammography and that’s why fewer women are getting diagnosed with breast cancer, so eventually that will come back and bite us in the rear end,” Weiss said. Black women continue to die of breast cancer at a greater rate than their white counterparts, she pointed out. What’s more, the current obesity epidemic may fuel a rise in the rates. “Fat makes extra hormones, which lead to extra cell activity and extra abnormal cell activity,” she said. “Fat is a storing facility for hormonally active pollutants, so if you are overweight, you’re more likely to hold on to some chemicals in the environment that enter your body from food and water.” Health.com: How to keep your food cravings at bay while you lose weight And that’s not all: “Fat brings on puberty earlier and early puberty is a risk factor for breast cancer,” Weiss said. “These areas of disappointment are areas of opportunity,” she added. But greater efforts are needed to encourage healthy eating and exercise to help combat obesity, especially in adolescents, she said. Health.com: Melt pounds with mix-and-match cardio routines Another encouraging sign is a drop in colorectal cancer deaths due to better and more widespread screening. “Colorectal cancer screening saves lives because it detects cancer at early stages when treatment is more effective, and it also removes precancerous lesions,” said Jemal. The current recommendation for people at average risk of colon cancer is to be screened every year, starting at age 50.
MayoClinic.com: Falling breast cancer rates- what’s behind the numbers
MayoClinic.com: Cancer causes — popular myths about the causes of cancer
MayoClinic.com: Cancer treatment myths — any truth to these common beliefs
Not all good news Death rates from breast and colon cancers are falling, but the death rates from pancreatic (women), liver (men and women), and esophageal cancer (men) are increasing — largely because of the obesity epidemic. Among men, death rates for the fatal form of skin cancer melanoma are also on the rise. Although there has been a decrease in lung cancer deaths among men (due to smoking-cessation efforts), the death rates for women with lung cancer are still on the rise. Lung cancer is expected to account for 26 percent of all cancer deaths in women in 2009, according to the new statistics. Health.com: My smoker’s cough turned out to be emphysema “We haven’t seen a decrease here yet, but cigarette smoking in women peaked about 20 years later than it did in men,” Jemal said. He predicts a decrease in lung cancer deaths in women in the next 15 to 20 years.
Where’s the cure for cancer?
Women’s cancer risk may increase with just a few drinks
Payout for women who got breast cancer after night shifts
Study: Poor more at risk of cervical cancer
ACLU sues over patents on breast cancer genes
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Home / World / Lava bomb’ from Hawaii volcano injures 23 on boat
Lava bomb’ from Hawaii volcano injures 23 on boat
Posted on July 17, 2018 by Afshan Zahra in World
LOS ANGELES: A projectile from the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii struck a boat carrying people watching lava from the two-month-old eruption, injuring 23, the fire department said.
Thirteen of them required hospitalization and the rest were treated at a harbor when the boat engaged in a “lava tour” returned to the Big Island, also known as Hawaii.
Lava flowing into the Pacific is a spectacular sight, producing a foggy haze known in Hawaii as “laze.”
One woman was in serious condition with a fractured femur.
The total number of people on the boat was not immediately known, the Hawaii County Fire Department said.
In the early morning incident a “lava bomb” punctured the roof of the boat and damaged a railing, the department said. It gave no further details.
“It was an explosion, basically,” said Janet Snyder, a spokeswoman for the county mayor, told the Tribune Herald newspaper. “It punctured a hole right through the roof of the boat.”
She described the boat as “covered with lava.”
The eruption has destroyed hundreds of homes since it began on May 3.
Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanos and one of five on the island.
One of the most active fissures, number 8, continues to erupt and its lava has formed a small “island” a few meters from the coast, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
It is very likely that it is part of the flow of fissure 8 that is entering the ocean, the USGS says.
Lava has engulfed an area of about eight square miles (20 square kilometers) since the volcano began erupting.
Scientists believe that volcanic activity can be a precursor to a major eruption, similar to a Kilauea eruption in the mid-1920s.—AFP
Lava bomb
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Preview: Lots of Choices for Classic Film Fans at Seattle International Film Festival 2015
Posted by KC on Apr 30, 2015
Labels: Film Festivals, SIFF 2015 0 comments
The Seattle International Film Festival announced its 2015 line-up today, and it is going to be a fantastic year for classic film fans. SIFF has long offered a bold and fascinating program of archival movies, but as I enter my third year of covering the festival, now in its 41st year, I have never been more giddy about the selections.
There will be a whopping 19 archival films at the festival. This will probably be more than I will be able to attend, but the selections are so amazing that it will be tough to miss anything. Among the highlights:
Celebrating 25 years: Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation
I was most excited to hear that SIFF will be celebrating Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation's quarter century by presenting eight movies at the festival. Four more films will be presented at Trader Joe's Silent Movie Mondays, which is a beloved Seattle tradition at the Paramount.
I'll have more details to share about when and where these films will be shown, but just look at this list, copied directly from SIFF press materials (note there's only seven titles in the SIFF section, I haven't determined yet if one is missing, or there are actually not eight films). It's an inspired mix of countries, time periods and genres (of course I'm thrilled to see a Mary Pickford movie in there):
Festival Selections--
Alyam, Alyam, d: Ahmed El Maanouni (Morocco 1978)
Black Girl, d: Ousmane Sembène (Senegal 1966)
Caught, d: Max Ophüls (USA 1949)
The Color of the Pomegranates, d: Sergei Parajanov (Armenia 1969)
The Dark Mirror, d: Robert Siodmak (USA 1946)
Rebel Without a Cause, d: Nicholas Ray (USA 1955)
The Red Shoes, d: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger (United Kingdom, 1948)
The Silents (Paramount)--
The Mark of Zorro, d: Fred Niblo (USA, 1920)
My Best Girl, d: Sam Taylor (USA, 1927);
The Unholy Three, d: Tod Browning (USA, 1925)
Snow White, d: J. Searle Dawley (USA, 1916).
I'm sure it will be particularly stunning to see the vibrant colors of The Red Shoes on the big screen.
The Apu Trilogy
I was very young when I first saw Indian director Satyajit Ray's famous trilogy, and I don't think I fully appreciated what it had to offer. It centers on Bengali villager Apu, following him from childhood to fatherhood. I'm looking forward to seeing Song of the Little Road/Pather Panchali (1955), The Unvanquished/Aparajito (1957) and The World of Apu (1959) in a theater, where I can become fully immersed in the story.
Son of the Sheik
The Alloy Orchestra, which specializes in accompanying films, will be performing live with this 1926 film. I've always thought this Valentino flick was underrated and much more entertaining than The Sheik (1921). Early TCM Classic Film Festival attendees may remember the group's performance for a screening of Metropolis (1927) at the 2010 fest.
Spider Woman Double Feature
This program is sure to offer some interesting contrasts. The celebrated pianist Donald Sosin (who I enjoyed hearing at two SIFF 2014 presentations) will accompany Cave of the Spider Woman (1927). Then the Shaw Brothers version of the story, The Cave of Silken Web (1967) will be screened. How often do you see a double feature with a time gap like that?
A Tribute to Stewart Stern: Rebel Without a Cause Live Screenplay Reading
Seattle screenwriter and educator Stewart Stern passed on in 2014. He was a well-respected and generous member of the arts community. Giving his most famous screenplay the spotlight is a fitting tribute. The presentation also includes a screening of the film.
Saved From the Flames - A Trip to the Moon and Other Trips Through Time and Space
I have been a fan of Serge Bromberg ever since his Lobster Films led the ten-year restoration effort to save George Melies' A Trip to the Moon (1902). Since then, I've learned how much more he has done to preserve early film and make it available to the masses. I'm thrilled to have to chance to see him present this program at the festival.
The Astrologer
For the past year, this supposedly insane 1975 film has always seemed to pop up in festivalgoer favorites lists. I'm going crazy with curiosity. Even the trailer is wild:
Now I finally get to see what all the fuss is about.
Warner Archive: Sleuthing and Intrigue in The Alphabet Murders (1966) and Where the Spies Are (1965)
Labels: Anita Ekberg, David Niven, Franciose Dorleac, Movie Reviews, Tony Randall, Warner Archive 0 comments
Anita Ekberg in The Alphabet Murders
I recently enjoyed a pair of new Warner Archive releases starring Tony Randall and David Niven, two actors who can bring lightness to the darkest subject matter. They do just that in the jaunty, but deadly The Alphabet Murders (1966) and Where the Spies Are (1965).
Tony Randall takes on Agatha Christie's famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in the amusingly twisted The Alphabet Murders. Directed by Frank Tashlin, the comic murder mystery bubbles with his trademark cartoonish gloss. Randall is delightfully campy as the fastidious sleuth, with a trim figure, shiny bald head and absolutely no sense of humor about himself.
Poirot finds himself on the case of a murderer who is killing victims with alliterative names in alphabetical order. The killer's calling card: a copy of the ABC guide to London discarded at the scene of the crime. When Amanda Beatrice Cross (initials ABC) nearly strangles him in a Turkish bath and claims she is a killer, he thinks the case is closed.
Randall as Poirot
The schizophrenic Amanda is not easily outwitted though and she enjoys playing games with the uptight Poirot. Followed by British Intelligence officer Robert Morley, who is under orders to keep an eye on the Belgian crime magnet, the detective backs the clever killer into a corner, but victory is hard to claim with this alphabet-fixated bombshell.
Though The Alphabet Murders could have been a lightly amusing romp, with Randall and Morley stomping straight-faced through whatever indignity faces them, it ends up being much more unhinged and marvelously messy thanks to Ekberg. As Amanda, she brings to mind Rod Taylor's comment that he had to end his turbulent affair with the star because being with her exhausted him.
Ekberg is just as wild as a dangerously attractive as a twisted killer who plunges recklessly into life, always with trouble in mind. It's one of her best roles, because she has found the perfect part to exploit the careless exuberance of her public persona. For all of Randall and Morley's comic skill, she dominates the movie, hovering over it all like a cobra ready to strike.
For Christie fans, there's an amusing Margaret Ruthford cameo in which she appears as the author's other famous sleuth Miss Marple.
Though Where the Spies Are is less vibrant than Alphabet, it is similarly energized by a charismatic female star. This time it is Francoise Dorleac, the French star whose name became synonymous with tragedy when she died at age 25 in a car accident.
While she is perhaps now more famous for being Catherine Deneuve's older sister, the Dorleac was a huge talent, as she demonstrated in Cul-De-Sac (1966) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967). She would likely have been one of the queens of world cinema had she lived.
This isn't to say that star David Niven doesn't hold his own in this slightly lethargic, but always intriguing spy drama. The British actor may not have set off fireworks on the screen, but if an elegant, smooth-tempered lead was required, he always delivered and was never less than pleasant to see. Pleasant is the best way to describe his performance as gentleman doctor Jason Love.
There's a bit of World War II intrigue in Love's past, and so an old associate who recalls his skill talks him out of his holiday and convinces him to instead stop the assassination of a Middle Eastern official. Though there's nothing the doctor would rather do less, he hates violence and danger, the car-obsessed doctor is offered a rare vintage automobile as payment. He can't resist, so he flies to Beirut to go undercover.
There Love meets the much younger agent Vikki (Francois Dorleac), who charms him immediately. Though she is full of her own secrets, she returns his affection. The pair have little time for romance though, as Love's mission becomes increasingly complicated and it is clear that he can't handle the challenges of the job.
The film never quite builds up enough momentum; there's a curious lack of energy to it, but it has plenty of details to recommend it. With a snappy spy soundtrack and gorgeous 1960s Beirut scenery, it has a great feel and Niven is comfortable, if not terribly exciting in his role.
On the other hand, Dorleac doesn't need to do anything to be exciting. She can charm simply, with a smile, or a lightly spoken phrase. Her appeal is effortless. It was a thrill to catch a rare glimpse of her in a starring role.
Many thanks to Warner Archive for providing copies of the films for review. These are Manufacture on Demand (MOD) DVDs. To order, visit The Warner Archive Collection.
Book Review: George Sanders Plays Detective in Crime on My Hands and Stranger At Home
Labels: Book Review, George Sanders 1 comments
Crime on My Hands
Craig Rice, George Sanders
Dean Street Press 2015 (Originally published 1944)
Stranger at Home
Leigh Brackett, George Sanders
Deant Street Press 2015 (Originally published 1946)
I just whipped through a pair of vintage George Sanders mysteries, and to my great sorrow, there are no more.
Crime on My Hands (1944) and Stranger at Home (1946) are two very different stories published under the actor's name, though primarily ghostwritten. The first is a comic whodunit, the other a bleaker noir tale. Each in their own way have the Sanders imprint though, and are enormously entertaining. Both are now available on eBook from Dean Street Press.
Craig Rice
Nearly twenty years before he wrote his autobiography, Memoirs of a Professional Cad (1960) (which I reviewed here), and before his defining screen role as Addison Dewitt in All About Eve (1950), George Sanders had built a reputation as a screen detective in The Saint and Falcon series. His success in these ventures was further exploited when he was paired with ghostwriters Craig Rice (aka Georgiana Ann Randolph Rice) and Leigh Brackett, to lend his name and image to Crime on My Hands and Stranger at Home respectively.
Leigh Brackett
There have been rumblings that Sanders also contributed to at least Crime on My Hands and perhaps Stranger at Home. Much like his memoirs, there is plenty of the Sanders persona in Crime, in which he appears as himself. It is easy to believe that he gave much of himself to the project, though whether he actually put pen to paper is debatable. It is less clear whether Sanders had any involvement in Stranger at Home, which features a character that is easy to envision the actor playing, but not quite as much of his more lightly suave public image.
The books are so different in tone, and adhere so closely to the particular style of each author, that it is almost certain that they are primarily written by Rice and Brackett. They are equally entertaining and both impressive examples of the skills these genre writers possessed.
Crime on My Hands is a comic mystery in which Sanders plays himself, a successful screen detective who is looking to break typecasting with a lead role in a cowboy picture. When an extra is shot in the head mid-scene, the actor, and amateur inventor, is forced to play detective for real in order to clear his name.
Sanders is surrounded by a huge cast of characters: extras, writers, producer, agents, director and stars. In the midst of this busy group, the primary characters rotate through the plot like players in an energetic farce. Though his life is often at stake, Sanders is perpetually amused, the peril is never greater than the laughs. The pace starts to slack a bit in the middle, where comic bits begin to stall the plot, but everything eventually gets back on track again for an enjoyably suspenseful finale.
Rice was known as "the Dorothy Parker of detective fiction," and so she was well matched with Sanders. Her backstage murder mystery is full of comic mishaps, sharply-worded one-liners and surprising descriptions, such as the hardboiled, but amusing line, "he went out the door and disappeared into the night like a drop of water disappearing down a drain." It's tough to write a comedy novel that's funny without being too aggressively jokey, but Rice gets the balance right. She especially gets Sanders' voice; you can almost hear him speaking.
While the sharpest of the witticisms seem to come from Rice, there are plenty of passages that read much like the dryly humorous style Sanders would adopt in his memoirs. There's also a great deal of the real actor in the character, including his interest in inventing and his skill in the kitchen, which he demonstrates by calmly preparing a mouthwatering steak and kidney pie in a moment of danger.
The much darker Stranger at Home plays as a bleak, straight-ahead noir. It was perhaps too racy and brutal to be filmed back in the day, but the tone and the characters are much like the crime films of that period. It features Sanders-type anti-hero Michael Vickers, a Hollywood luxury store owner who returns home after going missing for four years.
Though successful in business, Vickers is not a loveable sort, instead drawing friends who are in awe of his power and aloof confidence. He is welcomed warily by his estranged wife, her resentful assistant and companion, and the men with whom he was on vacation when he vanished.
Vickers suspects that one of these three men is responsible for his disappearance and attempted murder. He is partially distracted from his quest when one of them is murdered at a drunken party the night of his return and he falls under suspicion. He must then solve the murder, and the mystery of his lost years, while attempting to reconcile with his wife.
While Brackett was best known as a science fiction writer, she tackled many genres, in addition to working on the screenplays for The Big Sleep (1945) and The Long Goodbye (1973). She knew how to construct a grimy Raymond Chandler-style world.
Though filled with familiar shady characters and steamy Southern California settings, Brackett creates an original story. For every twist you anticipate, there's another one that comes as a surprise. The briskly-told tale is made all the more entertaining by the way Brackett has perfectly wed Sanders' screen persona with Vickers'. Just as with Crime on My Hands, you can almost hear his voice.
Both books are highly recommended for fans of George Sanders and vintage detective fiction.
Many thanks to Dean Street Press for providing copies of the books for review.
Labels: Classic Links 0 comments
I wonder what happened to the original versions of these paper caricatures made for film advertisements? They're gorgeous!
This is a fascinating article about how Elizabeth "Tippy" Walker, the actress who played one of the young girls in The World of Henry Orient (1964) with Peter Sellers, is doing today. She's had an unusual life: "She said the lines she had to speak in “Henry Orient” were inappropriate because they were for teenage girls and 'written by old men.'"(hat tip @jlunderberger, Going to TCM Film Festival Facebook Group)
I loved this post about automat restaurants. I've seen so many in old movies and wished I could have gotten a piece of pie from a little cubby hole and coffee from a spigot.
This is a wonderful write-up of the two appearances Sophia Loren made at TCM Classic Film Festival.
A dress worn by Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind (1939) was auctioned off for $137,000. I'm surprised there was still one of her dresses left from that film to be auctioned off.
The Imperial War Museum has finally completed the notorious, and for 70 years unavailable, documentary about the end of the Holocaust. Alfred Hitchcock advised on this film, which had been completed to the filmmaker's specifications and will now be screened for the public.
Warner Archive: A Remarkable Cast of Children In Our Mother's House
Labels: Dirk Bogarde, Movie Reviews, Warner Archive 2 comments
Though he is featured prominently in much of the advertising for Our Mother's House, Dirk Bogarde doesn't appear in the film until the half point. Up to then, it is the domain of a remarkable cast of seven children who play siblings coping with the sudden death of their sickly mother. Now this unusual, original film can be enjoyed in a new release from Warner Archive.
There is only a glimpse of the life the children lived alone with their mother offered in the opening scenes. Oldest sister Elsa (Margaret Laclere) returns to the house with groceries, and while there is also a maid, it is clear that she calls the shots where her parent is concerned. She has clearly set up a rhythm as caretaker and capable head of the house.
When the children's mother dies in a quiet gasp of breath, they grieve, but are so accustomed to taking care of the household that they carry on. They fire the housekeeper and claim mama has gone to sea on doctor's orders. They bury her body in the garden, and set up a shrine in the gardening shed where they commune with her spirit, carrying on the religious fanaticism she has instilled in them.
The children keep on for months, undisturbed and even managing to cash their mother's annuity checks. They struggle when the youngest sister Gerty (Phoebe Nicholls) becomes ill, but manage without a doctor. Then young, stuttering Jiminee (Mark Lester, Oliver! (1968)) brings home a school friend who wants to live with them, arousing the suspicion of the school teacher.
They are saved in the nick of time by the arrival of Charlie Hook (Dirk Bogarde), their supposed father. Summoned by older brother Hubert (Louis Sheldon Williams) during Gerty's illness, he appears at first to be their benefactor. He takes them on outings, and plays with them. In one quietly disturbing moment, he seems sexually fascinated by the pre-pubescent Diana (Pamela Franklin, The Innocents (1961)), though he declines to act on his interest. Like in that moment, the fun is overshadowed by a sense of dread, that he is too good to be true.
It turns out that he is. Charlie spends the money left to the children by their mother. He buys a car, throws parties, and brings home woman after woman. When he starts the process of selling the house, the children protest, and the full extent of his ugliness is made clear. It is also obvious that he has underestimated the will of the children to keep what is rightfully theirs.
The most astonishing thing about Our Mother's House is the cast of children. In his review of the film, Roger Ebert compared their sensitive, uncanny work to that of Hayley Mills in Tiger Bay (1959) and the cast of Lord of the Flies (1963). As in those films, director Jack Clayton captures a naturalness in his young performers that seems to be coupled with real craft. There's nothing precocious or forced about them; it's fine ensemble work by any standard, made all the more fascinating because of the age of the actors.
For the first half of the film, the siblings adjust to life on their own, quietly grieving and attending to the important details upon which their survival hinges. Their personalities emerge: the sweet and sensitive Gerty, the well-meaning Jiminee, who often lacks good sense, high-strung Diana and quietly nervous Hubert. They are cared for by Elsa, who has taken on the mother role ever since her own mother became ill.
The kids have their own society, where work, play and spirituality all have their place. It seems they could go on this way until adulthood if they were only left to live as they please. There are moments though, where you are reminded of their youth, and that they need guidance. In punishing Gerty for accepting a motorbike ride from a stranger, the children seem to be enforcing rules and religious beliefs in which they have received instruction, but do not yet fully understand. Clayton subtly pushes forward reminders of their youth, from a shot beneath the kitchen table of their dangling legs, to a close-up on a hand still pudgy with baby fat.
When Charlie shows up, it feels like an intrusion. While he secures the status quo for the immediate future, he upsets the balance the children have so carefully achieved. Though he has an adult understanding of the world, his behavior is more childish than that of his claimed offspring.
It's an unusual story, told with evenhanded melancholy, occasional playfulness and a great deal of tension. At moments, it seems like a horror film, but the young cast always gives the proceedings a feeling of poignancy that overwhelms any genre leanings.
Much as he did for Contempt (1963), Georges Delerue lends the film a bittersweet lushness with his mysteriously beautiful score.
Perhaps this deeply satisfying film will achieve the classic status it deserves now that it is available to a wider audience.
Many thanks to Warner Archive for providing a copy of the film for review. This is a Manufacture on Demand (MOD) DVD. To order, visit The Warner Archive Collection.
Screenshot of the Week: Anita Ekberg in Boccaccio '70
Labels: Anita Ekberg, Screenshots 0 comments
Anita Ekberg plays around in Boccaccio '70 (1962).
Quote of the Week: Katharine Hepburn on Spencer Tracy
Posted by KC
Labels: Classic Links, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy 0 comments
Spencer had eyes like an old wild animal....He had a soul that had no release; you were not looking into an empty room. He found acting easy and life difficult.
-Katharine Hepburn, about Spencer Tracy
Quote Source
At a recent event in Prague Kim Novak displayed her paintings and shared some interesting comments about her art, films and the memoir she wrote and lost.
Roar (1981) is being re-released by Alamo Drafthouse. Directed by Noel Marshall and featuring then wife Tippi Hedren , step daughter Melanie Griffith, and lots of lions, the film is notorious for the real life injuries (70 total among cast and crew) and dangers from working closely with the big cats. The trailer actually lists the injuries the family suffered to make the film:
These pics of Kylie Minogue made up as Marlene Dietrich make her look more like a high class drag queen than the legendary star, but that works for me.
It's fun to get a glimpse of director Preston Sturges working with cast and crew in this gallery of shots from the production of Sullivan's Travels (1941).
getTV will be celebrating Frank Capra's birthday in May with a two-day tribute featuring early works like It Happened One Night (1934), Forbidden (1932) and American Madness (1932).
I was touched by this post about Yul Brynner and his battle with lung cancer. I remember seeing his anti-smoking PSA as a kid and feeling so sad for him.
My mega TCMFF coverage post has grown a lot in the past week. Take a look at all the great new links! I've got new posts from bloggers and a few new articles as well.
Labels: Film Festivals, TCM, TCM Film Festival, TCMFF 2015 0 comments
I couldn't think of a better way to start day four of TCMFF than with the rousing opening number of Calamity Jane (1953). Doris Day standing on top of a speeding stagecoach singing at the top of her lungs was quite the eye-opener. Though I knew it was ridiculous, there was a part of me that hoped right up until the screening began that Day would make a surprise appearance. I don't think there's any way TCM would handle such a sought after, high profile guest in that way, but I can dream.
My original plan had been to see Psycho (1960) next, but that seemed too jarring a change in mood. I decided to go with the TBA screening of Reign of Terror aka The Black Book (1949), figuring that if it was so popular the first time, it had to be worth seeing.
The always nattily dressed Noir czar Eddie Mueller introduced the screening. Though I was a bit disappointed that Norman Lloyd would not be there to chat after the screening as with the first showing, Mueller provided interesting background on the film.
He said that it was made on a low budget, partly so the expensive sets from Joan of Arc could be used again. This tidbit helped me to appreciate the artistry of the film, because while you can see how the filmmakers cut corners, the production never feels cheap.
Set during the French Revolution, Robert Cummings, Richard Basehart and Arlene Dahl star as the most Hollywood French people you'll ever meet. I didn't know that any of them were in the film, nor Beulah Bondi or Charles McGraw. I felt a little jolt of excitement with each new revelation in the credits.
When I realized Anthony Mann was the director and John Alton cinematographer, I cheered! I also quickly understood why this was considered a noir film, as this pair knows a thing or two about shadowy doom.
I loved going into this movie knowing nothing and appreciating every surprise it held for me. The lower budget actually helped the film, because Mann would just shoot a little tighter, Alton would set the lights a little lower and the shadows longer, and between the two of them, they created a marvelous sense of dread.
While it seems to be only available in rather ragged prints, I highly recommend searching this one out.
While The Philadelphia Story (1940) has never been a particular favorite of mine, I've always found it to be aglow with the kind of magic that first drew me to classic films. The story doesn't appeal to me, but the cast is amazing: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Virginia Weidler, Roland Young and Ruth Hussey among them. It's not so shabby that George Cukor was at the helm as director as well.
This is a film so vibrant with its "classicness" that I'd watch it just to get my fix, especially as a teenage film fan. Apparently, that's what actress Madeline Stowe did when she was young too, so in my mind she was the perfect choice to introduce the film with Illeana Douglas. She was so clearly a classic film nerd, and so knowledgeable too, that I really hope TCM will work more with her in the future. (more about her intro. here.)
As I expected, I enjoyed the film more with an audience, but at the same time, I was starting to wonder how I was going to make it through another film.
As soon as the film ended, it was back in line again for Marriage, Italian Style (1964) with an introduction by Sophia Loren. I had been anticipating this moment the entire festival.
It was a wonderful experience walking by the already lengthy line queued up for the Chinese Theater. So many friends, old and new, waited to be a part of this marvelous moment too. As we took our spot at the end, many more passed by. It began to hit me that the end was near and I would soon be communicating with these people solely online again.
But what a great finale it was! Ben Mankiewicz began the event by reading a message from Robert Osborne, in which he praised the festival staff and said that he was on the mend. That was enormously comforting to hear.
Then Sophia Loren was announced, and just seeing her stride across the theater to her chair was a thrill. It was no mystery to anyone in the room why this woman was one of the biggest stars in the world. Mankiewicz was clearly in awe, as were we all.
Simply hearing Loren talk in that purring, Italian-accented voice was marvelous. She was funny, interesting, kind and quite glamorous in her white pant suit. It was a wonderful way to end the festival (more about her interview here.)
Though I tend to love movies that pair Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, this one was not one of my favorites. It was beautifully filmed and acted, but the story depressed me. Loren suffers so much as the longtime-mistress of a caddish bakery owner. I couldn't stand to see her that way after such a happy appearance from her in person! I will probably need to revisit this film another time.
Just like that, it was time for the Closing Night Party at Club TCM. As I walked with my friends down crowded Hollywood Boulevard, I savored the moment. I was tired, hungry, and glad I didn't have another film to see that day, but also a bit emotional.
It was great fun to see everyone gathered in Club TCM. I said goodbye to friends and was delighted to meet many more film fans, even during the last few hours of the festival.
I enjoyed a glass of Bogart gin courtesy of TCM, but realized that that single drink was making me tipsy because I'd mostly subsisted on a large bag of popcorn that day. Good thing my hotel was only a block away.
When the lights went up in Club TCM, a gentle reminder the party was over, I was reluctant to go. Every hug goodbye included a promise to return the next year. With TCMFF 2015 barely in our rearview, we were already planning for 2016.
Saturday was one of the most purely enjoyable days of the festival. All I did was watch movies and I think the simplicity of it all appealed to me. My energy started to flag a little, partly because I hadn't had a sit down meal for too long, and because I attempted another midnight movie, but I was still having a blast.
The first film of the day was Colleen Moore's last silent film, Why Be Good? (1929). Long thought to be lost, it was finally found and restored, and in 2014 Warner Archive released it on MOD disc (my review here). I found it to be the quintessential flapper film, with lots of fun parties and frocks, the frivolity leavened by a still relevant discussion of the double standards women, especially young women, face in romance.
I was curious to see how an audience would react to the film, and thrilled that a huge group of bloggers and #TCMParty regulars showed up for the screening. These photos really give you an idea of the camaraderie that develops between attendees of TCMFF (both photos courtesy of Laura. That's Karen and Kristina in the front, Lara, Angela and Jessica in the back):
And it isn't all about people who write blogs either. While I naturally gravitate towards people who write about the movies, I also enjoyed the company of many people who were there simply to check out the films.
I found watching Why Be Good? to be especially enjoyable with a audience. It's got a very crowd friendly mix of comedy, lively flirtations, glamour and wit. I hope that more Colleen Moore films will become available in the future, because she is an appealing actress: a mix of girl-next-door friendly and movie star charismatic.
After the film, I got right back in line again for 42nd Street (1933) in the same theater. Broadway star Christine Ebersole helped with the introduction, and while she didn't seem to know much about the movie, she had plenty to say about the actual 42nd Street. While I enjoyed the slightly tart and very amusing Ebersole, I was disappointed that the intro. didn't include more tidbits about the film.
I would have gone to see a Busby Berkeley-choreographed musical on the big screen whatever the condition of the print, but it was especially exciting to see it in a new restoration. This version of the film will be used for the upcoming Warner Archive Blu-ray release. I sat very close to the screen for this one, ready to soak up every gorgeous detail.
Though I've seen 42nd Street more times than I can count, I still laughed at all the jokes, and every number thrilled me. Something about that movie is eternally fresh and alive to me.
With only a bag full of snacks to sustain me, I got right back into line again to see Air Mail (1932), an early John Ford drama. Leonard Maltin introduced the film, and he warned us that we weren't about to view a classic. Nevertheless, he said that it was an enjoyable watch. With that framework, it was easier for me to enjoy the drama on its own terms.
It's the story of the pilots on an air mail outpost. In a rare hero role, Ralph Bellamy is sympathetic, but has a slightly stern effect. I could see why he never made it as a leading man. When he softens, he's more likable, but that wasn't the proper persona for a dramatic lead.
Pat O'Brien steals the film in a flashy part as a skilled, daring, but irresponsible pilot who has an affair with a pilot's wife and angers the rest of the men with his reckless flying. It was amusing to see him playing a cad. A shame he didn't do that more often.
Also in the cast: Gloria Stuart in a slight, sweet performance and the always intriguing Leslie Fention in a small role.
It was an entertaining film,with some great stunt flying. As one of the few new-to-me picks at the festival, I was happy I took a chance on it.
Though I probably should have taken the time to sit down for a decent meal, I wanted to make sure to get in line early to see Shirley MacLaine before The Apartment (1960). If I'd only known those two hot dogs and BBQ chips were going to end up being my dinner, I might have gone for something better.
I've written a bit about Maltin's conversation with Maclaine here. It was definitely one of the highlights of the festival, mostly because the actress doesn't hold back. She freely gives her opinion on everything, so you know who she didn't like and that gangsters were teaching her to cheat at cards. The woman has led a colorful life and she is unapologetic about the unconventional nature of it all.
While I enjoyed the film, I had my usual problem of losing patience with it. There are memorable moments scattered throughout and everything, from the performances and script to the music and cinematography are top notch. Still, it always starts to drive me crazy around the mid point, I think because so many of the characters are just horrid people!
I'd originally planned to check out The French Connection (1970) next. I've always wanted to see that movie on the big screen, but I couldn't resist the novelty of the Return of the Dream Machine: Hand-Cranked Projector Show. This program of one hundred year and older films, presented with a hand-cranked projector as they were upon original release, was unlike anything I'd ever seen.
Before the film, a tiny hand-cranked Edison phonograph played music via wax cylinders. It fascinated me that no electricity was used to operate it, though a microphone was needed to make the sound sufficient to fill the theater:
It took some time to start the program, as the projector was being set up and calibrated for only one show. It was amazing to be able to see this gorgeous apparatus up close:
Randy Haberkamp of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented the program, which included an introduction to each film. He gave a short history of how projectors like the 1909 Model 6 camegraph motion picture machine to be used that night were used in the early days of cinema. He explained that projectionist Joe Rinaudo would be steadily cranking the handle of the projector at the same rate of speed as the camera operators who filmed the movies.
The program included some of the most famous early films, including A Trip to the Moon (1902), A Corner in Wheat (1909), The Great Train Robbery (1903) and one of my favorite silent shorts, Lois Webers' aptly-named Suspense (1913).
There was something very reassuring about seeing the projectionist's arm moving in the shadows next to the screen. It was an unusually intimate way to see movies.
The whole thing felt like a special presentation at a museum, rather than a typical screening. It was an eye-opening experience, because it made me think about how much the way we see films has changed and what kind of an effect that has on viewer perspective.
I dashed out after the last film on the program to get in line for the next film, and missed a surprise entry, a hand-colored serpentine dance from over one-hundred years ago. I hear it was gorgeous. Next year I am definitely going to make a point of enjoying the film I'm watching to the end, instead of fretting about getting into the next line.
By then I was ready to collapse, but I couldn't bear to miss the rare opportunity to see Nothing Lasts Forever (1984). I knew I would probably fall asleep, but I was determined to see what I could of Tom Schiller's underseen nostalgic film, which hadn't even been broadcast on television until TCM aired it earlier this year.
I happened to miss that TCM showing, and when I finally settled down to watch it on Watch TCM, the last day it was available, I fell asleep because I'd had an unusually busy day.
The film's star Zach Galligan introduced the film, and he shared lots of entertaining stories about his early career, in addition to a good back history of the film. He was auditioning for Risky Business at the same time as Nothing Lasts Forever, and he thought that Tom Cruise's breakout hit was sure to be a flop.
There are many reasons that the film Galligan decided he wanted became the one to fade away. It was completed when there were several new executives at MGM who didn't understand how to market the film and didn't want to figure it out. There were also rights issues with some of the stock footage used. The final death knell was a failed screening in Seattle (which surprised me, I thought we were a pretty progressive film town by then).
Then Galligan announced that Tom Schiller was in the audience. The surprise appearance delighted the crowd. Though the director was shy and seemed quite happy for his lead actor to handle the introduction, he also looked pleased that his work was being recognized. I talk more about their appearance in my stars post.
The movie was perfect for the midnight slot: quirky, mysterious, funny and deeply cynical about the 1940s-style, but also strangely futuristic society it depicted.
I have to admit I never fully understood what was going on. I was running on fumes by then, and falling in and out of sleep for most of the film. But I was alert enough to enjoy the movie's unique beauty. I liked the way it moved between color and black and white, creating the dramatically opposing worlds of Earth and the planet our hero travels to by bus.
It also gave actors like Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Imogene Coca, the astonishly-named Apollonia van Ravenstein and others the opportunity to play out their own personas while also embodying these unusual characters.
Apparently TCM will be showing the film again in May, so I'll be sure to watch it when I've had some decent sleep. From what I did see, it's a treasure.
I don't remember how I got back to the hotel. I was a zombie, but so ready for day four!
I went light on the movies the second day of TCMFF. Only at a film festival can you say that seeing four flicks in a day is a "light" viewing schedule.
After the Christopher Plummer hand/foot print ceremony (which I wrote about here), I had planned to see The Proud Rebel (1958) with Alan Ladd and Olivia deHavilland. I was suddenly very hungry and tired though, and decided to have some lunch and take a quick break at the hotel instead. It's so hard to slow down once you get rolling at TCMFF, but you really have to take the occasional break.
Jeanine Basinger. Can you believe this woman is 80?
Since I'd never attended a Club TCM event, I thought I'd check out Jeanine Basinger's Films & Facts: Whose Responsibility? after my break. In retrospect, I can't believe I didn't plan to all along, because I adore Basinger.
My first year at the festival, I was warned that I'd be depressed when I first got home, so I figured I should have something movie-related to look forward to upon my return. Basinger's free online course about marriage in the movies, in support of her book I Do and I Don't: A History of Marriage in the Movies, and hosted by Wesleyan University seemed like a perfect idea. Though I barely had time to complete the course, it was immensely enjoyable, both because of the content and how soothing it was to watch Basinger's video lectures. There's something about her voice that always relaxes me.
Anyway, I was reminded of how amazing that experience was when Basinger came out on the stage. The woman just has a presence. You don't think academia when you see her. She's brilliant, but also relaxed and down-to-earth.
I loved Basinger's talk about truth and "truth" in the movies. She talked about the different ways history is approached in film, and how the importance of the truth depends upon several factors, including genre, the nature of the subject matter and the methods of the filmmaker. She said that on film, "history is a partly a matter of opinion." and by that she added, she meant interpretation.
For example, the version of Madame Curie's life starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon is highly romanticized, but not completely false. Basinger said that what is being sold affects how facts are important, and in that case, the audience expected a love story as much as a biopic.
It was wonderful to hear the thoughts of one of my heroines and I am definitely planning to attend more Club TCM events at future festivals.
After the presentation, I stepped out to the lobby to check out Ann-Margret's interview with Ben Mankiewicz. It was too noisy for me to hear a lot of what they said, but I was mostly just trying to get a glimpse of her. I can't believe she's in her seventies. She's as gorgeous as ever!
Then I hustled down Hollywood Boulevard to get in line at The Egyptian Theater for The Cincinnati Kid (1965), my first movie of the day. It was a hot day, and I really appreciated that TCM staff were handing out cold bottles of water.
Once I got inside, I connected with Angela of Hollywood Revue. Since we were in the dark for the next couple of hours, we didn't realize that we were wearing the same dress in different colors:
Great taste is contagious no?
Back to the theater. Ben Mankiewicz' interview with Ann-Margret was as much fun as I expected. The actress talked about her daredevil ways in the most demure, hushed voice. It was almost hard to believe that she was the same woman who had such a passion for speed--including a 2am motorcycle drive at 120 mph down Mulholland Drive--that she was actually forbidden by her studio to ride her bike. Costar Steve McQueen encouraged her to ignore that order, as he did. I wrote more about the interview in my Stars post.
I don't remember being impressed by The Cincinnati Kid the first time I saw it, and did find I lost my focus a bit during the long gambling scenes, but for the most part this is a really interesting film. Just the juxtaposition of different generations of actors fascinated me. There's Tuesday Weld, Steve McQueen and Ann-Margret representing one generation and Joan Blondell and Edward G. Robinson another. I guess Karl Malden falls somewhere in between.
What I liked about this set-up was how well the younger and older generations complemented each other. Watching Steve McQueen stare down Edward G. Robinson across the gambling table, I thought how remarkable it was to see this young actor holding his own with one of the greatest screen stars. And Robinson isn't diminished a bit, he is as nuanced and emotionally raw as ever.
Of course, Blondell steals the film. It doesn't matter that her role was small. She steals everything. It's just the way it is.
After the movie, it was great fun have a snack and spend some time in the Egyptian forecourt with blogging and Twitter friends:
Photo credit Aurora
We were all in line to see one of the most eagerly anticipated screenings of the festival, Buster Keaton's Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928) with a new score by silent film music maestro Carl Davis.
Leonard Maltin introduced the screening. I always enjoy his introductions, because he is a great storyteller and has often had in person interactions with the stars he talks about. He shared his memory of tracking down Keaton at a New York film shoot as a teenager. While their conversation was awkward, the actor was kind and even helped him to identify the film in a Keaton still the young Maltin brought with him.
Steamboat Bill Jr. is low on my list of Keaton favorites; I've tended to appreciate the amazing stunts in the final part of the film more than the movie as a whole. It was a much more satisfying experience with an audience, as I picked up on gags I hadn't noticed before.
The score was great, and played beautifully by an enormous ensemble. My only complaint was that the guitar used for one short scene had a hokey 60s-sitcom sound that seemed out of place for the time period. But overall I was impressed yet again by the genius of Carl Davis.
Then I ran down Hollywood Boulvard to see George Lazenby before On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). I was certain the screening would fill up and I wouldn't get in, but as it turned out, there were plenty of seats by the time I got there. And thank heaven I did get in, because watching Ben Mankiewicz interview the Devil-may-care Lazenby was one of the best experiences of the festival. (I posted about their chat here.)
The film itself was as entertaining as ever. It's been my favorite Bond since I first saw it, mostly because I love Diana Rigg, but it's also much better made than the other entries in the series. For once, Bond is portrayed as a human and his romantic interest has a personality beyond being his sex toy. It's also a great action flick, beautifully filmed and with Telly Savalas as an unforgettable villain.
It was a thrill to see Savalas' lair on the big screen, because I'd actually been there! The Swiss location is now a tourist attraction, made somewhat less sexy by the fact that they now serve lasagna to tourists in a restaurant on the top floor. Now that I think about it, that adventure is worthy of its own post.
I don't know why I thought I had to do this, but I rushed out of Her Majesty's Secret Service mid-car chase to get in line for the midnight movie Boom! (1968). Even though I got into everything that I wanted to last year, for some odd reason I was anxious about getting into several films this year.
The anxiety was unwarranted too.
Especially for a midnight movie. Most people aren't crazy enough to stay up that late. I've always been that crazy though. The fact that I was especially eager to see this film because John Waters loves it only proves that.
Boom! is a gorgeous mess. Based on the unsuccessful Tennessee Williams play The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore, it stars Elizabeth Taylor in a role meant for an old woman and Richard Burton in a part written for a young man. That alone sets everything off the rails. The fact that the stars also seem to be drunk and probably not heeding any directorial advice just adds to the insanity.
Taylor is a wealthy, ailing widow who is suffering through her last days in a gorgeous, isolated Mediterranean villa overlooking the sea. She receives an unwelcome visit from poet Burton, who is notorious for visiting wealthy ladies before their deaths and making off with their jewels. As annoyed as she is, the acidic widow is attracted to the trespasser and hopes to make him her last lover.
I didn't take much note of the plot though. I enjoyed the beautiful scenery, and Taylor throwing medical equipment and trays full of food, Noël Coward howling like a wolf and the way our heroine could turn the film's soundtrack on and off at will.
It's a spectacle, beautiful, campy, full of long speeches that will try the eyelids of any Midnight movie attendee.
While I'll admit that it doesn't work on a conventional level, there is some poignancy to Taylor's performance. The actress must have sensed the familiarity of this woman suffering from illness, the survivor of multiple marriages, pampered, spoiled and yet strangely restricted. Every time she threw a tray or made a fit, I thought of the shy MGM child star, being lauded, but also leading a stressful studio life from a young age. I was happy to see her cut loose.
It was a strange experience, and I ended up buying the film when I got home to be sure of what I had seen. While it is sort of an endurance test, I enjoyed it. Boom! was a highlight of the festival for me, if anything because it is that rare cinematic treasure that somehow works despite its many failings.
Labels: Book Review 0 comments
When I saw that a book had been written about the affair between Audrey Hepburn and William Holden, I wondered if there was enough to say about their brief romance to fill a book. It turns out, it doesn't even fill half a book, but this dual biography, while not essential, is an entertaining read.
Audrey and Bill canoodle in Sabrina (1954)
Audrey Hepburn and William Holden were both beautiful, insecure and blessed with natural talents that they developed into real acting chops. It's no surprise that these tender-hearted stars were so enchanted by each other. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two is that Holden possessed a streak of self-destruction, while Hepburn was already so damaged by the starvation she experienced during World War II that she spent the rest of her life trying to heal.
The pair met on the set of Sabrina (1954), which was directed by Billy Wilder and co-starred Humphrey Bogart. Hepburn was fresh off her Oscar-winning breakthrough in Roman Holiday (1953). Holden was much more seasoned as an actor. He'd had several successes, including the also Wilder-directed Sunset Blvd. (1950), and still had some of his best roles ahead of him. Audrey had just broken off her engagement with a British millionaire. Bill was married with children.
Audrey and Bill documents the instant attraction between the two actors and how their affair played out. The Sabrina shoot was notoriously difficult, with a very grumpy Bogart clashing with his costars and director. Holden comforted the sensitive Hepburn and things became electric between them quickly.
The Hepburn/Holden romance would likely have led to marriage, but Bill's inability to have children was reportedly too much for Audrey to bear, as she wanted a family of her own more than anything. They eventually parted, though Holden was still clearly pining for Hepburn when they co-starred again in Paris When it Sizzles (1964), ten years after Sabrina. The pair did not see much of each other after making the film, so the final half of the book falls into a dual biography of the pair, comparing their lives and loves.
Audrey and Bill goes down with a slurp, its action whipping by quickly and smoothly. While a lot of the stories and rumors here are familiar, they are endlessly entertaining and make for an addictive read.
I was disturbed by the lack of notes to directly support the claims made in book, especially when it came to the numerous quotes made by associates of Epstein. It is perhaps best taken as the memories of a well-connected man, amusingly told in the back booth of a dimly-lit restaurant. It's probably not all true, maybe mostly true, but it's definitely good storytelling.
The one thing I couldn't take was when Epstein got too creative, like when he writes dialogue for a private conversation between Holden and Wilder, or makes assumptions about what Holden's wife Ardis thought about his latest affair. I found these things to be distractions and not necessary to enhance an already fascinating story.
Overall, I relished reading about Audrey and Bill together. I know that their best times were private, and quite happy that those memories will stay that way, but I loved getting a glimpse of the connection they made. It's wonderful to imagine the story behind the photos of the pair in the book. They are clearly images of people who have forgotten film stardom, and all the worries and details of their lives, because they are lost in their own world together.
Many thanks to Running Press for providing a copy of the book for review.
Labels: Cary Grant, Quotes 2 comments
Hollywood is a simple fairy tale; if you understand that, you'll never get hurt.
-Cary Grant, to Sophia Loren
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Aretha Franklin tops list of Memphis music hall inductees
MEMPHIS (AP) — Soul songstress Aretha Franklin is headlining a diverse and influential class of performers and music industry personalities who are being inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.
The hall said Wednesday that Franklin, a Memphis native, will be honored at an induction ceremony Nov. 1.
Known as the "Queen of Soul," Franklin sang hits such as "Respect" and "Chain of Fools." She died in August at age 76.
Rock and soul group The Box Tops, who recorded "The Letter" in Memphis in the 1960s, are joining Franklin in the hall.
Others being inducted are gospel artist O'Landa Draper, R&B singer-songwriter Eddie Floyd, rockabilly pioneers The Rock and Roll Trio. Also included are Memphis rappers 8Ball & MJG and George Klein, a radio personality and close friend of Elvis Presley.
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« Two Minutes Hate
What Dr. Pierce did before he became radicalized racially »
Zionism I: Theory
From Attack! tabloid, No. 42, 1976
Exclusiveness, Belief in Superiority, Hostility
The Resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations on November 10, equating Zionism and racism, has provoked a torrent of response in the news media. Much of this response has been deliberately deceptive, and there consequently exists a state of confusion in the average citizen’s mind as to just what Zionism is and what its relationship is, if any, with racism.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Chaim Herzog, sneers at “goyim” in the UN General Assembly as he contemptuously tears up their resolution condemning Zionism. It is arrogant behavior like this which has earned the Jews the well-deserved hatred of all the other peoples of the world.
The Jewish response to the UN action, has been to deny that Zionism is racism and to charge to the contrary that anti-Zionism is merely a thinly veiled anti-Semitism. Jews maintain that Zionism, with its call for an exclusive Jewish homeland comprising Palestine and portions of other Arab countries, cannot be separated from Judaism and the Jewish people. In the words of Chaim Herzog, Israeli ambassador to the UN:
“Zionism… is the modern expression of the ancient Jewish heritage. The Zionist ideal, as set out in the Bible, has been and is an integral part of the Jewish religion.”
The Jews are essentially correct in asserting that one cannot be against Zionism without also being against Jews. Even though many Jews do not participate actively in any of the numerous Zionist political organizations, it is an undeniable fact that Jews, non-religious as well as religious ones, are nearly unanimous in their support for the government of Israel and for the political goals of Zionism.
Those who oppose Zionism or who are totally indifferent to it are an utterly insignificant minority. As Israel’s leaders are fond of boasting, “The Six Day War (of June 1967, in which the Jews seized Egypt’s Sinai, Jordan’s West Bank, and Syria’s Golan in a surprise assault on their Arab neighbors) Zionized world Jewry.”
Norman Podhoretz, editor of Commentary, the organ of the powerful American Jewish Committee, says essentially the same thing: “It has become clearer and clearer that something has happened to the Jews of America: they have all been converted to Zionism.”
But is Zionism equivalent to racism? Jews are the very image of wounded innocence as they hotly deny this. They correctly point out that Jews have been the instigators, the financiers, the propagandists, the generals, and, to a great extent, the soldiers in the war against racism, both in the United States and in other parts of the world.
As just one example, the most important organization in America seeking to bring about racial mixing between Blacks and Whites, the National Association far the Advancement of Colored People, has been an almost exclusively Jewish enterprise from its founding by Jews in 1910 until the death of its last Jewish president, Kivie Kaplan, last year. A Jewish lawyer, Jack Greenberg, still heads the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which has instigated most of the moves toward court-enforced racial mixing in the last 25 years, including the original school-integration decision by the Supreme Court in 1954, from which all of today’s forced-busing orders have stemmed.
And the record of votes by Jewish legislators in the Congress and statements by Jewish spokesmen in the media is clear: they overwhelmingly favor all moves, including the racial busing of school children, which bring about increased racial mixing.
In other countries it is the same story. In South Africa, for example, the crumbling of the government’s policy of apartheid and the decision to abandon Rhodesia are the direct result of Jewish pressure. Harry Oppenheimer, the Jewish multibillionaire who controls the De Beers diamond mines, practically all of South Africa’s gold mines, her uranium industry, and a dozen other South African industries as well, has used his enormous wealth to buy control of many of the English-language news media in South Africa and has made substantial inroads into Afrikaans newspapers and magazines. He uses his media control to propagandize for Black-White “equality” and eventual Black rule for South Africa while simultaneously applying more direct pressures to government officials. He is supported in his efforts by South Africa’s very substantial Jewish community.
So, if nearly all Jews are Zionists and if nearly all Jews believe in racial mixing, how can Zionism be a form of racism?
In trying to answer this question, it is helpful to consider what a few prominent Zionists have had to say about Zionism. Moses Hess (1812-1875) is regarded as the real father of the modern, political form of Zionism. In his book Rome and Jerusalem, published in 1862, he wrote:
“We Jews shall always remain strangers among the goyim (Gentiles)… It is a fact that the Jewish religion is above all Jewish nationalism… Each and every Jew, whether he wishes it or not, is automatically, by virtue of his birth, bound in solidarity with his entire nation… One must be a Jew first and a human being second.”
Hess was more a Jewish nationalist than a Jewish racist — although he clearly did consider Jewishness to be a matter of birth rather than conviction. Other Zionists were much more explicit on this point. Louis Brandeis, a former U.S. Supreme Court justice and a leading Zionist, stated it succinctly: “Jews are a distinct nationality of which every Jew, whatever his country, his station, or his shade of belief, is necessarily a member.”
The Zionist historian Simon Dubnow wrote in his book, The Foundation of National Judaism (published in 1906):
Assimilation is common treason against the banner and ideals of the Jewish people… But one can never ‘become’ a member of a natural group, such as a family, a tribe, or a nation. One may attain the rights or privileges of citizenship with a foreign nation, but cannot appropriate for himself its nationality too. To be sure, the emancipated Jew in France calls himself a Frenchman of Jewish faith. Would that mean, however, that he became a part of the French nation, confessing to the Jewish faith? Not at all. Because in order to be a member of the French nation one must be a Frenchman by birth, one must be able to trace his genealogy back to the Gauls, or to another race in close kinship with them, and finally one must also possess those characteristics which are the result of the historic evolution of the French nation. A Jew, on the other hand, even if he happened to be born in France and still lives there, in spite of all these, he remains a member of the Jewish nation, and whether he likes it or not, whether he is aware or unaware of it, he bears the seal of the historic evolution of the Jewish nation.
All three Zionists quoted above may be correctly regarded as racists, in that they reject the prevailing notion of the day that only the individual has any real significance and that it is wicked even to take into consideration the biological and cultural connections of the individual to a “natural group” (to use Dubnow ‘s term) of which he is a member.
It can be argued, nevertheless, that Jewish racism is at least a little different from the racism of most other peoples, in that it does place relatively less emphasis on purely biological connections and relatively more on other tribal connections: a shared culture, history, and attitude toward the non-Jewish world.
But this is to be expected in a people who exhibit as much biological diversity as the Jews do. They have absorbed physical traits from many of the other races among whom they have lived, until today, although most Jews still have many racial factors in common, they cannot be easily classified as a distinct race — and certainly not as a homogeneous race.
That which defines the Jews is only partly racial. They are also a partly national, partly religious, partly historical, partly cultural entity.
Indeed, because Jews are much more uniform psychically than physically, it is very difficult to decide whether they are more nearly a racial entity or a cultural entity. But that may be an irrelevant point. The fact is that Jews, now and always, have regarded themselves as a distinct, separate, and very special category of people — the “chosen people,” the “people of God,” and, as such, superior to all other peoples of the earth.
This idea that all Jews, whatever the country of their birth, are members of a single tribe, separate from and superior to all others, is the central theme of Zionism and of Judaism. Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Zionist Organization, touched on it when he said:
“Diaspora Jewry (all Jews outside Palestine) has to overcome the conscious or subconscious fear of so-called double loyalty. It has to be convinced that it is fully justified in tying up its destiny with Israel’s. It has to have the courage to reject the idea that Jewish communities owe loyalty only to the states where they live.”
Nahum Goldmann, top Zionist leader. He speaks openly of a “Jewish race” and urges Jews everywhere to be loyal only to Israel.
Dr. Goldmann expressed himself more clearly in addressing the Jews of Germany, before World War II, attempting to persuade them to emigrate to Palestine:
Judaism can have nothing in common with Germanism, if we go by the standards of race, history, and culture, and the Germans have the right to prevent the Jews from intruding into the affairs or their volk… The same demand I raise for the Jewish volk, as against the German… The Jews are divided into two categories, those who admit that they belong to a race distinguished by a history thousands of years old, and those who don’t. The latter are open to the charge of dishonesty.
If the racism expressed by Goldmann in the above statements were all there is to it, it would be hard to find fault with Zionism. Racism — the feeling of belonging to a “natural group,” of owing loyalty to that group, of wanting to preserve its identity and promote its welfare, of preferring to associate with members of that group rather than with aliens — is a universal, natural, and healthy condition of mankind. Indeed, it is a natural condition of all living things, in a sense, and they all owe their very existence to its universality.
But Zionism — whether one prefers to call it Jewish nationalism or Jewish racism — goes far beyond that. It is a distorted racism, a perverted and predominantly negative racism, expressing itself more in hostility toward other peoples than in positive aspirations for the Jewish people.
This has been true from the time of Moses, who instructed his fellow Jews to massacre without pity the Gentiles whose lands they wanted to seize, lest they later be inconvenienced by the survivors:
“But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come to pass that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.’” (Numbers 33:55)
The advice was generally followed in the old days, and it is still followed today. Joshua, after capturing the city of Jericho and looting it of all its “silver and gold and vessels of brass and iron”… “utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and ass, with the edge of the sword.”
And, more than 3,000 years later, the Haganah and the Irgun and the Stern Gang massacred the entire populations of Palestinian villages in order to terrify the other Arab inhabitants of Palestine into fleeing the country and leaving their homes and farms and businesses to be taken over by Jews.
This hostility toward other peoples, this extreme Jewish xenophobia and ethnocentricity, this contempt for everything not Jewish is revealed over and over again in the writings of Zionists, just as in their actions. It is a masochistic sort of racism, which glories and revels in the anti-Jewish hostility which it in turn provokes.
This clipping from the November 21, 1975, issue of the Jewish Press, which claims to have the largest circulation of any English-language weekly newspaper for Jews, complains that Gentiles are “infiltrating” into Israel posing as Jews, thus “desecrating” the Jewish state and religion. In the eyes of orthodox Jews, “goyim” (Gentiles) are mere cattle, not human beings.
Theodor Herzl, the Zionist leader whose efforts were most essential to the founding of the state of Israel, wrote in his book The Jewish State (published in 1896):
Every nation in whose midst Jews live is, either covertly or openly, anti-Semitic… Anti-Semitism increases day by day and hour by hour among the Gentiles… We are one people — our enemies have made us one in our despite… Distress binds us together, and, thus united, we suddenly discover our strength.
The Zionist Jakob Klatzkin (1882-1948) carried the idea further in his book Crisis and Decision, published in 1921, and addressed to the German people:
…We are not hyphenated Jews (i.e., German-Jews); we are Jews with no qualifications or reservations. We are simply aliens; we are a foreign people in your midst, and, we emphasize, we wish to stay that way. There is a wide gap between you and us, so wide that no bridge can be laid across. Your spirit is alien to us; your myths, legends, habits, customs, traditions and national heritage, your religious and national shrines, your Sundays and holidays… they are all alien to us. The history of your triumphs and defeats, your war songs and battle hymns, your heroes and their mighty deeds, your national ambitions and aspirations, they are all alien to us. The boundaries of your lands cannot restrict our movements, and your border clashes are not of our concern. Far over and above the frontiers and boundaries of your land stands our Jewish unity… Whosoever calls the foreign (Gentile) land a fatherland is a traitor to the Jewish people … A loyal Jew can never be other than a Jewish patriot… We recognize a national unity of diaspora Jews, no matter in which land they may reside. Therefore, no boundaries can restrain us in pursuing our own Jewish policy…
And the “American” Zionist, Samuel Untermyer, said in 1933: “Other races have come and gone. The Jew has survived. Persecution cannot crush him. The Jews are the aristocrats of the world.”
Such unbridled and reckless arrogance, stemming from the persistent Jewish notion that the children of Israel have been “chosen” to rule the world and must, therefore, remain aloof from the goyim, destined to be their slaves when the Messiah comes, has led to a great deal of friction between the Jews and their Gentile hosts throughout the ages. And yet even this negative and peculiarly Jewish form of racism could be tolerated, if that were all.
The Jews could all go off to the Middle East and finish butchering the Palestinians, or they could all settle on a large island by themselves somewhere, and they could then indulge their narcissist fantasies and their hatred of the rest of mankind to their hearts’ content, and we would not care.
But gathering the Jews of the world together in one place is not really part of the Zionist scheme. They want an exclusively Jewish homeland, all right, but they also want to maintain their death grip on the economies and the governments of the Gentile lands where they live as minorities. Zionism is built not only on the ideas of Jewish exclusiveness and Jewish superiority, but also on the idea of Jewish world dominion.
Not a world dominion achieved by force of Jewish arms or by any frontal assault on the hated goyische world, but a dominion brought about by infiltration and subversion, by the encouragement of weakness and decadence among the Gentiles, by the imperceptibly slow injection of a Jewish spiritual poison into the hearts and minds of the goyim, destroying their will to resist.
And therein we have the explanation of the seeming dilemma: Jews who have devoted all their talents and energies to combatting racism being themselves charged with racism by the world community. Yes, Jews are against racism — racism among the Gentiles, that is, because they want to destroy the unity of the Gentile nations. And, yes, Jews (or Zionists, if you prefer) are racists, because they, more than any other people, realize the necessity of maintaining their own unity.
The condemnation by the United Nations of Zionism is, on the whole, a welcome move, but it nevertheless fails to face the issue as squarely as it should. The UN has condemned the Jews for their behavior in Palestine, for practicing both physical and cultural genocide against the Palestinian people. But that is only a negative form of the same racism which is practiced by all healthy peoples. What the Jews are doing to the Palestinians is what the Turks did to the Armenians, what the Serbs did to the Croats, what the American pioneers did to the Indians, what the Germans did to the Jews (although hardly to the tune of 6,000,000 as the Jews claim). It is the way of the world, even if, in our Western squeamishness, we would like to see more positive and fewer negative expressions of this natural and universal racism.
And so, in this regard, the Jews are at least justified in their claim that the UN condemnation of Zionist racism is hypocritical, because most of the members of the UN practice their own forms of racism. But if the UN were really an honest organization, it could have issued a denunciation of Zionism against which the Jews would have no defense.
Theodor Herzl, one of the “founding fathers” of Israel. He dreamed of an all-Jewish state from which the Gentile world would be ruled, in fulfillment of Jewish “prophecies.
The UN could have pointed out that Jewish racism is a unique evil — a unique danger to the world — not because the Jews want Palestine all to themselves or even because they aspire to world rule, but because of the truly unique ways in which the Jews go about implementing their Zionist designs.
Recognizing more clearly than any other people the importance of racism as a natural defense — as Nature’s way of maintaining racial integrity — the Jews deliberately go about neutralizing the racism of their intended victims, thus destroying their unity, their cohesiveness, and their will to resist. It is a tactic which has proven extraordinarily effective in the past, a tactic to which the Western peoples in particular have proven susceptible.
It is for this reason that the Germans, the one nation in modern times which developed a defense against Jewish racism, named the Jews “der Weltfeind” — the world enemy.
Transcribed by Vanessa Neubauer from the book The Best of Attack! and National Vanguard, edited by Kevin Alfred Strom. Source: http://whitebiocentrism.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=1245&sid=b40b92cfbcd1ca411853eefc7d35a7e1
September 2nd, 2014 | Category: ATTACK!, Dr. William Pierce, Jewish supremacism, Zionism
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Who is Alysia Montaño
Alysia Montaño(née Johnson) was born in Queens, NY on April 23, 1986. Growing up with six boys Alysia learned to be tough to be considered an equal. This is where Alysia gained her competitive spirit. Alysia tucked a flower in her hair to show that a girl can hang with the boys just fine.
Settling in Santa Clarita, CA, Alysia attended Canyon High School where she became a multi sport standout in basketball, soccer, and athletics. Knowing she wanted to become an Olympian Alysia was unsure about how this dream would come true. Alysia's senior year she focused on soccer and athletics but when she claimed the 2004 CIF State Championship in the 800m.
Alysia solidified her path to the Olympics turning down collegiate interests for soccer. Under Tony Sandoval at the University of California Berkeley, is where Alysia will become the 800m specialist she is today. In 2007 as a junior, Alysia recorded the best season in Cal Berkeley history finishing undefeated and claiming both the indoor and outdoor NCAA titles as well as her first USA Championship title.
Heading into the 2008 season Alysia was ranked #1 in the USA and she was more focused then ever to make the Olympic team. Rounding out her senior year coupled with intense training, the pressure began to take a toll on Alysia and throughout the indoor and outdoor season a stress fracture formed in her navicular bone and finally gave in at the 2008 Olympic Trials.
Alysia rehabbed in San Diego at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista during 2009 where she was under the watchful eye of Juaquim Cruz, Brazil's 800m '84 gold medalist. At the end of the year Alysia realized Chula Vista was not the place for her so she made the move back to Berkeley to resume with Tony Sandoval. 2010 was Alysia's comeback year and she was back with a vengeance. Alysia started off the season by earning a bronze medal at the 2010 World Indoor Championships in Doha then went on to claim another outdoor USA title. Alysia finished the season with a PR and the worlds fastest time by winning Monaco's Hercules Diamond League with a time of 1:57.34.
For the next three years Alysia defends her title as USA Champion to go on and become a finalists in the 2011 World Championships(4th) 2012 Olympics(5th) and 2013 World Championships(4th). With disheartening finishes at every major event Alysia decides to take the 2014 season off year to start a family. During pregnancy Alysia maintained fitness by continuing to run and at 34 weeks pregnant Alysia decided to take advantage of her qualifying standard and enter into the 2014 Outdoor USA Championships just to have fun and advocate for fit pregnancies. Little did she know it would make headlines world wide and become a major topic of discussion on almost every news outlet.
With some calculations of web analytics. Alysia's pregnant run had 5 times as many hits as all of her championship wins combined.
In 2015 Alysia planed on slowly returning to form and use it as a building block for 2016, but Alysia surprised everyone including herself. Claiming her first indoor championship in the 600m 6 months after giving birth Alysia set the tone for 2015. in March at the 2015 World Relays Alysia anchored the USA 4x800m relay team to an American Record with the fastest split of competition with a time of 1:58.90
In June Alysia went into USA Outdoor Championships as an underdog because of a nagging injury. Alysia adjusted her game plan and changed her running style and advanced through each round running with the pack and against all odds Alysia claimed yet another USA title bringing her total to 7 and earning a spot on USA's 2015 world Championship team.
Click image for race video
Keeping her schedule light Alysia opted for the Pan Am Games and earned herself a gold in the 4x400m relay and a silver in the 800m.
In Beijing, China Alysia's 2015 World Championships were cut short. with about 200m to go in the first round Alysia was tripped by a runner trying to pass on the inside thus bringing her down to the track.
But Alysia got up...
My life philosophy has been to be bold and courageous.
— Alysia Montaño
2004 CIF State Champion
2006 NACAC U23 Champion
2007 NCAA Indoor Champion
2007 NCAA Outdoor Champion
2007 USA Outdoor Champion
2010 World Indoor Bronze
2010 World Leading time 1:57.34
2012 Olympic Trials Champion
2013 American Record holder indoor 600m
2015 USA Indoor Champion
2015 World Relays 4x800m Gold & American Record holder
2015 Pan Am Gold 4x400m relay
2015 Pan Am Silver 800m
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The day Swedes forget individualism
By Maddy Savage & Benoit Derrier 20 June 2019
Sweden is one of the world’s most individualistic countries. But Valborg, a historical collective ritual to mark the start of spring, brings people together for one joyous day.
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(Credit: Benoit Derrier)
Valborg: The start of spring
Each year on 30 April, the festival of Valborg (Walpurgis Eve) celebrates the arrival of spring in Sweden after the country’s long, dark winter. The name comes from St Walpurga, a missionary who travelled across Europe to promote Christianity during the 8th Century and later had a feast day dedicated to her on 1 May, the date she was canonised.
The event became fused with older spring traditions such as lighting bonfires to ward off evil spirits, drinking schnapps and singing, before preparing the land for grazing. Today, Sweden is one of the most secular countries in the world, but the Valborg celebrations retain an important role in the Swedish calendar. Many local councils and neighbourhoods organise bonfires, and choirs, bands and community groups such as the Scouts are always busy. The following day, 1 May, is a public holiday, giving Swedes the chance to rest or shake off their hangovers.
Unique Uppsala
The university city of Uppsala, around 70km north of the Swedish capital, Stockholm, hosts the biggest Valborg celebrations. Student clubs (known as ‘nations’), representing different parts of the country, start the day with Champagne breakfasts; host traditional Swedish lunches of pickled herring, meatballs and schnapps; and then party late into the night.
There is also a popular ceremony at 15:00 outside the University Library called the Donning of the Caps, when the university’s vice chancellor stands on a balcony and waves his or her white cap to signal the start of spring. The crowds below wave back and don their own white caps in a tradition that dates to the early 1900s.
The most modern and unique part of the celebrations in Uppsala is a raft race along the city’s Fyris river, which has been running since 1975. Students build and decorate rafts that they sail down the water, trying not to fall off when they encounter various rapids along the way. Thousands of residents gather to watch from the riverbanks.
“It’s a day when the students meet the locals,” said Sofie Mellberg, who lives 20km from Uppsala and regularly comes to watch the race with her two children. “It’s how we celebrate spring. You know, everybody is tired after the winter and then it is finally spring. So it’s an important tradition.”
Exciting expectations
Erik Österlund, 20, is a first-year student who grew up in Västerås, a small city about 110km west of Stockholm. He chose to study at Uppsala University because of its strong engineering department. However, he says that friends and family also told him about its reputation as the place to mark the shifting of the seasons, and he was excited about getting to experience it for himself.
“Valborg is a celebration in all of Sweden, but Uppsala is famous for the celebration here. It's like a festival. People party and celebrate for three days at least,” he said.
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Craving collectivism?
Sweden is one of the world’s most individualistic countries, according to global research project the World Values Survey (WVS). Over half of all households consist of a single person, according to Eurostat, and the country has been ranked one of the worst places on the planet for making new friends by InterNations.
Dr Annie Woube, an ethnologist and lecturer at Uppsala University, argues that this individualism is “a big part of Sweden’s welfare system,” which, in theory, ensures people have access to affordable healthcare, housing and education. As a result, she explained, there is less need for residents to turn to relatives, friends, or religious or community groups for help than there might be in other countries.
However, Woube believes that Swedish culture is oriented towards collectivism in more subtle ways. “It’s a very consensus-driven culture; everyone is supposed to get along. To follow the mainstream is very important – to not stand out or brag about your accomplishments and your achievements... to place a high focus on belonging to the collective.”
Plus, although Swedes have a reputation for being individualistic, this doesn’t mean that they always want to spend time alone, which is why collective rituals such as Valborg remain important, Woube added. “Of course, we like to meet up with people and our friends and to be part of our social communities too.”
Swedes know how to throw a good party. But Valborg is a massive change compared to celebrations during winter. Then, it's more inside events with candles. It's cosy, but it's not as euphoric and or outgoing as the spring and summer celebrations,” said Alexander Maxia, an international student at Uppsala University.
(Credit: Maddy Savage)
Singing for spring
Singing is an integral part of the Valborg celebrations, with most lyrics focusing on the joy of experiencing sunlight after the long, harsh winter. One of the most famous songs is Vintern Rasat Ut (Winter has fallen away). The first verse goes as follows:
Winter has fallen away among our mountains,
The snow packs melt down and die.
The sky smiles in the spring’s bright evenings,
The sun kisses life into the forest and lake.
(Reporting by Maddy Savage, video shot and edited by Benoit Derrier, additional research by Alexander Maxia)
Why We Celebrate is a BBC Travel series that revels in how a festival or event is intertwined with a place’s culture.
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Interview: Atari Teenage Riot Astpai Interview From the archives: Fall of Efrafa Institute for Anarchist Studies Daniel McGowan Interview Propagandhi interview Grassroots organising: Anti-racism and surviving Katrina Joey Cape interview Gina Young interview Nate Powell
Jim + Jonny
October 2nd, 2007 · post by anon · Make a comment
Home > Interviews > Jim + Jonny
Jonny and Jim are stalwarts of the British punk scene: the former heading up the Filaments and Suicide Bid, and the latter as the protagonist of the Freak Union. Since the untimely demise of Freaks Union and The Filaments Jonny has continued playing his own brand of soulful protest music on his acoustic, and Jimbo has taken up the banjo, now playing under the respective monikers of Jonny One-Lung and Jim Sorrow. This interview was conducted after the live recording of a forthcoming acoustic-punk release on Pink Rizla Records.
LH: To tell you the truth, I personally don’t know why either of your bands split up?
Jonny One-Lung: The Filaments split up because I moved to America. That was basically it.
LH: Was everyone else in the band happy about that, or did you have to run away to America to avoid facing their disappointment?
Jon: We were ready to keep going and didn’t really want to break up. We’ve done about six ‘last ever’ shows since I’ve been back! We weren’t quite ready to call it a day when we did, but [sings] ‘when a man, loves a woman…’
LH: So that’s why you ran off to the States?
Jon: Well, what other reason?
LH: What’s it like on the other side of the pond? How was the transition?
Jon: The transition was very smooth…it’s all a big novelty at first, isn’t it? You’re happy to be somewhere a bit different, and everyone thinks you’re exotic and its all fun and games, but the novelty has now worn off, and I do miss home quite a lot. You start noticing little things. I stopped following the football about twelve years ago, but now I’m craving to see a match. Bizarre stuff like that reminds you of home.
LH: How about you Jim, why did The Freaks Union split up?
Jim Sorrow: A lot of reasons, similar things really.
LH: What, you fell in love and moved to the US when everyone else wanted to keep at it?
Jim: Well it’s similar because Jim moved to America. He got offered a chance to go to a college he wanted to when he first joined the band, and he’d given us six years when he got offered the place and none of us wanted to say ‘don’t go to America and go to a shit-hot college!’. At the same time we’d all been getting frustrated, it just became really difficult for us. We’d give up everything for the band and seemed to hit this ‘brick wall’ where we were touring the same circuit and couldn’t seem to get any further. I think we were a bit disillusioned with the music industry at that time as well, because we didn’t seem to know what we wanted, we just knew that we couldn’t afford to carry on the way we were. You tend to think that when you’re in a band you’ve got freedom, and everything’s your own choice, and you’re living on the road, but you can’t do anything with your life – your whole social life, your personal life, any opportunities you get outside of your band, when you become a full-time band, goes out the window, and Stew started teaching, and got offered a really good job, and he couldn’t turn that down. I think it kicked us all up the arse to go ‘we love playing in the band, we don’t want to split up – we’re all best mates, even right to the end gig, which was quite an emotional one – but we just couldn’t do anymore, where we were. There was no money behind us. We were getting opportunities taken away from us because we didn’t have the right support. We have certain contacts, but there’s only limitations with the contacts you’ve got if you don’t work with certain management and certain labels, and I pretty much lost my own hope with it because of that, because I figured, if you’re a good band you should be able to get some work, and not because you know the right fucking people!
LH: I imagine there’s always a certain type of person who doesn’t find the idea of being in a full-time band appealing…how has finding that work/life balance been for you of late?
Jim: I feel a lot better now because I’ve been able to go back to college and start a degree this year, and I get to still tour and see friends. I think that’s why we wanted to do this tour, wasn’t it Jon? You were coming back and we just looked at the diary didn’t we? We were like ‘July looks good, let’s get this tour sorted out’ and it’s been great because me and Jonny did that much touring with The Filaments, and there was a famous ‘outside of Dominoes Pizza situation’ with me and Jonny, and that was it…for life innit?
LH: You can’t say something like that without elaborating!
Jim: It weren’t nothing sexual!
Jim: We became blood brothers that night. We got the knife out and gave each other a little cut didn’t we?
Jon: Over a cheese pizza!
LH: Was there any garlic and herb dip involved?
Jim: Yeah, we rubbed it in the wound to make it more manly, didn’t we? Get the butter in there! It was really cool because I wanted to hook-up with Jonny anyway, and we’re both obviously now solo MySpacers, and this is a way we could rip-off the nation. Initially it was going to be a bit of a ‘bigger’ idea, you were going to try and get a band and that.
Jon: Yeah, I was going to try and get some people to play, but laziness prevailed.
Jim: It’s been – probably – the least stressful tour that any of us have ever been on.
Jon: Anyone else wouldn’t have fitted in me Mum’s fiesta anyway!
Jim: No, but it’s been great – hasn’t it? – because it’s been a grown-ups tour. You aint got none of that childish excitement of touring and the little tantrums that come with it.
LH: You’ve just spoiled my next question! Given what you’ve both said this evening, it’s apparent you feel a lot older and wiser, but do you necessarily feel more grown-up?
Jim: Yeah, I do.
Jon: Yeah, I do. For the first time in my life I’ve got some responsibility. I left school and we started doing The Filaments as much as we could and then just did routine jobs between doing tours and that – absolutely no responsibility whatsoever. I had a couple of houses, lost them, and moved back to me Mum’s. Now I’ve got a decent flat, a responsible job – I’m doing nursing out in America and that. I can’t be stupid there; when you come home you do feel a lot more grown-up.
Jim: It’s like seeing life in a different way because you can be irresponsible when you’re younger. We’ve been trying to keep out of bad habits on this tour, as grown-ups but…
Jon: …You haven’t been doing so well!
Jim: I aint actually, I’ve got back to me old habits.
LH: When you’re sitting in the car do you like having a good moan?
Jim: We keep turning the radio off when we hear certain songs that piss us off, and we’ve both had our little rants haven’t we?
LH: What radio station is currently reflecting your grown-up status? Radio 2? Radio 4?
Jon: Radio 1, but mostly we’ve been going for regional stations where you get the oldies.
Jim: It’s was a real good experience when we were tired on the long drive to Newcastle, wasn’t it?
LH: It should be Century FM for Newcastle.
Jim: Well basically, Bob Marley came on and we both perked up straight away, we were chilled out. I think we both know the score with touring and it’s become really easy because you know the drill, nothing needs to be said, you’re just out there, it’s easy, you know?
LH: Who’s the scariest older-driver then?
Jon: Well I wish there was a choice to be made!
LH: Here it comes!
Jim: I sit drunk on the side entertaining Jon while he’s tiredly driving.
Jon: There’s nothing better when you’re knackered; driving down the motorway with an excitable Jimbo on your shoulder.
Jim: But even when it’s a morning and we’re driving, and we’re not our normal selves, a can of coke or something and I’m running away on myself!
Jon: It’s not easy.
Jim: You have actually been trying to keep me on the fruit, and on the straight and narrow aint ya? We’ve had a couple of lover’s tiffs on the way. Little tantrums in the morning; who’s going to do the washing up, who’s going to get the eggs? How we’re going to make the eggs, and that? Jon makes better eggs than me, and I do the drying while he does the washing-up, but we’re trying to get past those problems. We don’t want to fall out halfway through the tour. We’re doing alright, we aint had any major ‘divorce’ situations yet.
LH: What degree are you starting this year then Jimbo?
Jim: It’s going to be English in creative writing because I wanted to do a degree. It’s one thing I missed out on from being in a band, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do – and I thought ‘what do I like doing?’ – I like writing, and I like reading so I thought that’s an obvious choice because there’s no point doing a degree in something I’m not going to enjoy because my attention span is pretty low. If I’m focussed on something I’ll stick at it, so there’s no point in doing something geared at a major career because I just wouldn’t stick at it. There’s been a couple of times at my college course when I’ve had to stop myself drinking because I’ve just ended up in these little sulks, thinking I can’t do it. Then I got my head out of my arse and said ‘you’re a fucking adult, sort your head out and get your essays done!’
LH: Have you done any writing for zines or owt?
Jim: I don’t do any published writing, I just write for myself, but this year’s been a lot about confidence, because I did an access course and I lost a lot of confidence with various situations with my life. Even my music and everything, and I just didn’t want to do anything, and it’s been picking up for the last year and a half, just getting back to what I do best. It’s really difficult when things go wrong in your life because you end up in a situation where you’re lost in a problem and you forget what you actually can do and what you’re capable of. Certain people around can drag you down.
LH: So what else are you looking forward to in the future, now you’ve recovered a sense of what you want from the present?
Jim: I want to do a lot more travelling, I want to get out. I’ve been talking about it for a while, just moving out of Hull and somewhere else because I’ve got no ties there – that pretty much all fell apart a year and a half, two years ago – so I’ve got this itch to move somewhere now, which I’ve wanted to do for a long time, only Freaks Union kept me in Hull, my past relationship kept me in Hull. Both of them don’t exist no more so I’ve got no reason to stay in Hull. I don’t dislike the place, but I’ve lived there all my life and Freaks Union was always a chance for me to escape.
LH: Where would you go, if you could go anywhere?
Jim: I ain’t really thought that far. I’ll go see Jonny I think, but I’ve definitely gotta go south after. I just want to see where the wind takes me because I’m at this point in my life now – I’ve been so focussed on Freaks for ten years. I used to do all the organising and everything, that’s been my baby and my heart for so many years that when it all fell apart it brought a lot of issues out in my life, and it made me realise my own direction was upon four other people as well, and I had a little bit of bitterness toward it but it’s not their fault that they had a better option really, and it’s not my fault that I was so into the band. I had to let that go, before it turned me into a monster.
LH: And you’ve also got to realise there are certain agendas in the music industry that are never going to change.
Jim: We gave it our best shot, we couldn’t do nothing else, it was as simple as that. I think my bitterness mainly came from watching some bands that I didn’t always think deserved the chances that maybe we should have got, but then you can look at the other side of it and say we actually got more chances than a lot of bands do. You’ve got to try and look at the positive element of what you’ve achieved out of your music, or your art, rather than look at the negative, and that whole sort of fame structure – even someone like myself got sucked into that trap for a bit, you know, ‘I will make a living out of me music’ and you realistically don’t. Very rarely a band will make money out of music. Even on a major label you get fucked around, you just become a puppet, don’t ya?
LH: And we’ve got Cliff Richard complaining about his pension in the press at the minute, campaigning for an extension of the copyright term in sound recordings. The major labels would like to see copyright term in these recordings extended from the current position of 50 years, to 95 years to bring it in line with…
Jim: Their life expectancy!
LH: And the current term in American recordings, but this isn’t the artist’s copyright. The vast majority of copyrights in recordings are owned by their labels, and in the face of economic evidence to prove the royalties they’ll continue to receive from such an extension are minimal, they’re serving as puppets for the labels when they say they’re worried about their retirement fund.
Jim: It’s because the whole major label thing is having a panic at the moment. There’s a lot of collapsing going on because of the Internet and that, and I think we’re going to see a major change in the next few years because of that, I think it’s all going to fall apart. We’re in that generation now of the iPod, and band members don’t have faces no more because most kids can have 2,000 tracks on a little white box and they don’t even know what the bands look like, or are listening to, or read the lyrics. It’s a bit of a clichéd thing to say but anyone who likes to listen to music likes to have a record in their hand. I like to read everything inside a cover and study the band I’m listening to, I want to know everything about them. It’s like people only wearing t-shirts to look cool, when I only wear t-shirts of bands that are my friends, or bands that I respect for the right reasons. I won’t wear a t-shirt unless it means something to me. You question the politics of the patches or the t-shirts they’re wearing and they can’t answer your questions. They’re just doing it because it’s a statement that their mates are doing, and they’re all doing, and none of them are actually following any of these statements through the door. The punk scene’s quite a weird one for that because there are some fantastic people doing a lot of great things, and it seems like the people that are critical in the punk scene are the ones that actually do the least.
LH: Do you think that in the next ten years, with the next generation of Internet-savvy kids, we’ll see a shift towards bands that self-promote online – who make their own records and distribute them using the Internet – actually achieving the money and recognition they deserve independent of intermediaries in the music industry?
Jon: I don’t think so, because the majority of 15-year-old kids are still buying their ‘Kerrang!’s and all those other magazines and that’s where they find out about their music.
LH: But a lot of them don’t, when they can just go on the Internet, and MySpace and do it for themselves.
Jim: I think somehow the corporations will get control of it again.
LH: Oh, they already do have control of it. Rupert Murdoch has MySpace and advertising on the Internet generally is so pervasive.
Jon: What you were saying about kids going and finding bands on MySpace, I was having this conversation with Jim the other day. A lot of bands get popular because they’re sold as this whole product of what is cool and the moment and what is big. When you have big magazines that people read, like Kerrang!, that take these things and say this is a really cool band then that’s when you get the real numbers involved which make a band a big deal.
Jim: I think music’s definitely going to become more threatening again. I’ve certainly seen a lot more house gigs turning up again because you haven’t really got the squatter element anymore, and because of all this self-promotion. You can see what’s going to happen as venues get closed down and kids have got nowhere to go because when you’ve got the Carling Academies and the Barflies only promoting bands that have got money behind them and the local bands don’t get the chance to play, all it’s going to do is create a lot more angry music. If anything, it’s going to make any street music, of any style, a lot stronger when your music goes stale – like when punk went stale for a while because it became too easy to do it. Anybody can wear a mohican, you can see that on stage. I used to watch bands and you could just tell by looking at the band’s eyes if they mean it or not. You get a band looking all the part, they’re shit-hot, they’ve got the fucking bright hawks spot-on, and you’re just looking at them going ‘mate, you don’t give a fuck! You actually don’t care what you’re singing about’ and I think that’s going to tear with all the law changes and label shifts. I think it’s going to push things back underground and a lot more collectives should hopefully get together through it as well. It’s certainly happening because I see a lot of frustration from people who do, actually, care about music.
LH: A lot of people I know, particularly in the zine community, see the Internet as a larger-scale model for intra-movement communication than fanzines were back in the day. Now you can book your own tours through gig-swaps on MySpace, whereas once you would have had to either write to people through fanzines, or get a booking agency to do it for you.
Jon: But you’re bringing fads in on a larger scale too, and fads come and go. The reason that fads come and go is because you’ve got that whole media thing backing it up. If you’re talking about making bands big for a DIY scene, I just can’t see that happening, even if it’s totally accessible without that mass-media push behind it.
LH: The paradigmatic example the ‘industry’ like to hold up is the claim that the Arctic Monkeys got a no. 1 record by pushing it themselves on MySpace, but I have my own reservations as to whether they actually did?
Jim: I think that was a set-up by the music industry.
Jon: Didn’t Lily Allen do a similar thing?
Jim: I think that was the way the music industry was trying to get back on it; by sneaking that one in. I think, personally, that the Arctic Monkeys were a good year signed to a major label and it was all a big conspiracy. If you get a major label saying we found a band on MySpace, it’s getting every band on MySpace going ‘we need to get hits now, we need to get labels interested because the Arctic Monkeys got signed off their MySpace!’. I think it was a fucking load of shit, and a way of the major companies getting back control. I think they’re a bit lost at the moment. They’re experimenting with ways of getting the power back.
LH: And they’ve been experimenting with the DIY scene…
Jim: …But they haven’t been signing proper DIY bands. You look at the Arctic Monkeys. Yeah, the first album had a lot of interesting sounds to it, but why is it that the bands nowadays, that are the big bands, have no image, have no personality? You might be a bit of a cheeky Sheffield boy on the songs, but every time I see a picture of the Arctic Monkeys I think ‘that’s just like every chav indie kid I see in every club’. They don’t look like a band that are going to change the world. You don’t get bands with ten albums out anymore, or bands that are looking like a rock band, and maybe that’s just a change in the times maybe we’re past the time now where we look at someone like that person’s a god on stage? Bands seem to now be ‘eh, I’m one of you guys!’ I always enjoy seeing a band that looks like a band; it’s part of their show, it’s part of the whole thing, it’s like going to a circus or something like that, you want to see someone dressed up, and doing the thing, but that’s just my opinion on that. If you’re paying a lot of money to see a band, you want to see the real deal, not some chavy kids.
LH: Having seen a lot of bands before they’ve made it big, for a reasonable price, paying good money to see them now, £18, £20 a ticket just isn’t a prospect, unless you want to associate with all the posers with the expendable cash to do so?
Jim: There’s been two Kaiser Chiefs records on the radio today, and when I listen to them, you can’t help not tap your foot to them, but lyrically they’re terrible! If I read their lyrics, it’s not poetic, it’s not saying owt, it’s obvious anthems for the idiots. Let’s have a riot, let’s sing Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, let’s sing a song about love, let’s sing a song about drugs, and Arctic Monkeys do the same. Let’s sing a song about eh’up on the streets! It’s the same with that song at the minute about the big ladies that Jon and me absolutely hate! That’s going to be on at every fucking birthday party, christening, wedding, it’s going to be like the Mavericks ‘Dance the night away!’ I’ve been to plenty of them dos and seen that song that gets them all up. ‘Come on Eileen, let’s ave a little dance to this one, we’re big girls aren’t we, c’mon!’ It’s crazy and it’s the same, but it’s safe protest music in a way. Every larger lout in the fucking country is going to listen to Kaiser Chiefs because it involves drinking and being a lad. If I wrote lyrics like that I’d chop my hands off so I couldn’t write again, I really would, but I could only chop one off. Someone else would have to chop the other one off and I’ll just be stumping around going ‘I’m disappointed with me lyrics’.
Jim: Don’t quote me on that one.
LH: So how’s living in the states affected you musically Jonny? Started any new projects?
Jon: I really have not very much time on my hands out there with me school, it takes up the majority of my time, but I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of the Stockyard Stoics?
LH: Yep.
Jon: Me and Joe do an acoustic thing together. We play half my songs, half his songs and we duet them all. Because the Stoics have now split we’re talking about getting all the old guys from the Stoics, plus myself, together for a new band in September, so that’s the plan.
LH: Surely touring America would be a huge commitment though?
Jon. At first we’d probably just be getting together and trying to make a record and play Philadelphia and New York. In Nursing, if you do agency work, you can pick your days so I’d want to do six months on six months off, then we could perhaps tour for the rest of the time. It’s all possible, and I don’t consider myself about to quit music just because I’m trying to find myself a worthwhile job to do at the same time, I want to find that balance.
LH: Are there any Philadelphia label or bands we should check out the MySpace pages of?
Jon: Err, no.
Jon: Actually, you should check out my friend Justin, who is /ukebox on the old MySpace. He plays punk rock on a ukulele, and I think Paint It Black are from Philadelphia. Philadelphia is very big thrashy sort of punk scene and that’s not really my cup of tea so I’ve no idea of any of the names of the bands that I’ve actually been to see out there. Most of them are loud and fast. Some of them are good.
LH: Is there a different vibe at shows in America?
Jon: I think that punks are punks are punks wherever you are in the world, and the communities seem pretty similar over there as they are over here, and it’s the one part of the community over there you can translate straight across. You go over and say I’m a punk and you hang out at the punk house and suddenly you’ve made loads of friends. I’d say it’s a fairly similar vibe. There’s probably more DIY out there. Over there you find that the DIY scene, and the more commercial scene don’t mix at all. In England there are more DIY bands I think, playing with the bigger bands that don’t really do things on a DIY level. The Household Name bands for example, they’re sorta mid-level, not really doing things DIY. They have a label behind them, they have a booking agent behind them, playing mainly venues and commercial shows and then you have bands like…Inner Terrestrials spring to mind, they organise and play a lot of squat shows, but the two sorts of bands, you can find them on tour together at any one time. Out there you have the DIY bands, and they play all the basement shows and there’s a real sense of punk community, and then you have the other groups of bands who play the venue shows and the two don’t really seem to cross, even in the space of one city. Mentioning the Stockyard Stoics again; they play the DIY scene in New York, yet they say they don’t know any of the other punk bands who play the venue circuit. If you think of London, anyone in a band knows everyone else in a band in London, but it’s just not the case out there.
LH: What’s the one thing about America that’s an instant improvement on the UK?
Jon: I don’t want to be clichéd and say the cheap beer. There is…you might have stumped me there. My girlfriend’s there! The people are a lot friendlier and politer over there. Mind you, I’m talking about this from an Essex to London point of view. They’re a lot more friendly and outgoing than people down in that part of the world. Over in America people go out of their way to make conversation. People don’t like that ‘have a nice day’ ‘can I help you’ thing when you walk into a shop, people say that’s really fake, but I actually think it’s a genuine politeness that people in America have.
Jim: I think it’s Jon’s accent. Americans love a southerner. I think if I ever went over there they just wouldn’t understand me. I have a really big problem communicating with American bands that we’ve been touring with. They’re like ‘Jimbo, slow the fuck down man, we can’t understand your English’.
Jon: The other really interesting difference I’ve noticed growing up in England is, because of the big Irish population in America, growing up in England I remember not being exposed to the point of view that the IRA ever had a point. Growing up you’re taught to villainise the IRA, and everyone supports the IRA out there. Even my teachers talk about the occupied territories of Northern Ireland. That’s a very interesting difference, culturally. I never knew anyone who challenged that topic when it was brought up.
LH: What are you both going to do as soon as the tour’s over? To celebrate?
Jim: I’m going to stay with my missus for a week and have some dirty…
LH: …Whoa, and you Jonny?
Jon: I’m making a record. I started a new band a few months ago with one of the guys from The Filaments, and Babar Luck’s coming in to do some stuff, and a couple of other chaps we’ve booked into a studio to do an album, just for the hell of it, but we’ve only got about five rehearsals to write the album and go and record it, so it might be really shit!
Jim: We’re going to try and get a track together at the end of August.
Jon: We’re going to try and record a little split 7”
Jim: Yeah, a split 7” on ‘FUCK YOU!’ records, or something. Me and Jon on the back with a 77-sorta look! We want it to look genuine, we want the kids to appreciate our true punk rock rulebook standards. Me and Jon actually wrote the rulebook for punk rock out on the three-way-dance tour about three years ago didn’t we?
LH: Do you update it?
Jon: Well we were talking about adding a chapter – ‘The Aging Punk’ – weren’t we? With Jim being thirty this year. We did it in chapters; ‘Etiquette’, ‘At The Show’, so now we can add appendix one as you’re getting older.
Jim: We were actually going to put it into a fanzine weren’t we?
Jon: We were going to send it to Last Hours actually, but thought it was better when it was Rancid News!
LH: I think that would have been a good idea, but I also think you did the right thing by not submitting it to Last Hours. As soon as it went to print you’d be inundated with emails from people complaining and whinging about it!
Jim: That would have been beautiful! It was so funny if anyone whinged they would have missed the point. Buying your cider from the shop, if the shopkeeper tells you they don’t sell any you had to flip him the v’s, call him a fucking cunt and head-butt the fridge on exit!
LH: I don’t think you can actually have a rulebook for punk rock, because the last time I went to Morecambe with my mates we slept in a van parked-up outside a church, about 20 minutes down the road from all the chaos, went swimming every morning to use the showers, listened to a bit of Vic Ruggiero or Jonathan Ross while we downed a nice bottle of Rioja, before strolling into town to see The Freaks Union and partake in a bit of light carnage! I remember when we got Dan Five Knuckle to write a DIY guide to touring for us we got loads of emails say ‘what’s this, you get your booking agent to draw up contracts for you, you’re not a punk band, that’s not DIY!’
Jon: It’s not really though, is it? Let’s face it really, that isn’t strictly DIY at all?
Suicide Bid, and the Filaments in London? Fun!!
Crazy Arm & Bangers March UK tour
Neil Sutherland!
Comments OffThis entry belongs to the following categories: Interviews
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Peter Gresshoff, Professor, University of Queensland, Australia
Professor Peter Gresshoff obtained a BSc. in Biochemistry and Genetics from the University of Alberta (1970), his PhD from the Australian National University (1973), and then a DSc. also from the ANU (1989). He was at ANU from 1975-1987, leading a major genetics research program into soybean nodulation genetics, then endowed Chair of Excellence of Plant Molecular Genetics at the University of Tennessee from 1988, then (1999) Head of Botany, University of Queensland. Since 2003, he is Director of the ARC?s Centre of Excellence for Integrative Legume Research (CILR). Prof. Gresshoff is a plant developmental geneticist, using molecular and genetic tools to understand complexities of gene networks during the control of nodule formation in legumes, whilst also applying these mechanistic molecular facts to the sustainable production of biofuel from the legume tree Pongamia pinnata. He is a Fellow of the AAAS, the Indian NAAS, the Russian AAS, and has been nominated for the Australian Academy of Science. Professor Gresshoff has published over 350 refereed papers, edited 10 books, and holds 12 patents. His h-index is 42, with over 10,000 citations. For more information click here.
Thomas Wisniewski, MD, Professor, New York University, USA
Dr. Wisniewski is a Professor of Neurology, Pathology and Psychiatry at NYU. Dr. Wisniewski’s laboratory focuses on gaining a better understanding of conformational disorders such as AD and prion related disease. This work has led to over 180 peer-reviewed publications. Key contributions have included discovering the role of apolipoprotein E in driving amyloid ? accumulation in late-onset AD. Dr. Wisniewski has pioneered a potential novel approach to treat AD-related pathology by blocking the interaction of AD and apoE. In addition, Dr. Wisniewski has been developing strategies for the prevention of amyloid ? accumulation and its removal in AD using non-toxic, highly immunogenic AB homologous peptides as “vaccines”. This approach has been shown to be efficacious in a number of animal models of AD. The use of this “vaccination” approach for prion disease was pioneered by Dr. Wisniewski’s group. His laboratory has shown for the first time that both a passive and active vaccination approach is effective in animal and tissue culture models of prion disease. Significantly, Dr. Wisniewski’s laboratory developed an oral mucosal prion vaccination, which is the first vaccine that has been shown to prevent prion peripheral infection in wild-type animals. In addition, Dr. Wisniewski’s laboratory has been active in the development of diagnostic methods for the detection of amyloid deposits. These various studies by Dr. Wisniewski’s laboratory have helped direct our greater understanding of abnormal protein accumulation in the brain towards diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. For more information click here.
Alan Walters, Southern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA
Dr. Walters is a Professor of Vegetable Science and Breeding in the Department of Plant, Soil and Agricultural Systems at Southern Illinois University. He obtained his B.S.A. and M.P.P.P.M. from the University of Georgia in 1986 and 1988, and M.S. and PhD degrees in Horticultural Science from North Carolina State University in 1991 and 1996, respectively. He has been at SIUC since 1998 and is responsible for teaching several classes including Home Gardening, Commercial Vegetable Production, and Crop Physiology. His research has focused on many different applied cultural management issues in vegetable production, including pollination ecology of Cucurbitaceae crops (especially watermelon), reduced tillage practices for vegetable production; vegetable disease and weed management; local, sustainable vegetable production; vegetable cultivar evaluations; vegetable crop fertility management systems; and horseradish production and breeding. He has also spent considerable amounts of time internationally in recent years focusing on integrated water and irrigation management in vegetable crops. For more information click here.
David A. Lightfoot, PhD, Professor, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA
Dr. David Lightfoot received a BS degree in Genetics and Development from the University of East Anglia, UK in 1981 and a PhD in Genetics from University of Leeds, UK in 1985. In 1991, Dr. Lightfoot joined the Department of Plant, Soil and General Agriculture at Southern Illinois University where he works as a Professor of Biotechnology and Genomics. He was promoted in 1997 and 2000. Dr. Lightfoot is cross appointed in the Department of Plant Biology and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Lightfoot co-authored the RAMP request for the Center for Excellence in Soybean Research, Teaching and Outreach. He is a Chair of the Research Committee in the Center for Excellence in Soybean Research, Teaching and Outreach and director of the Genomic Science Facility at SIUC. Dr. Lightfoot works on GMO safety and gene discovery by genomics, particularly methods to read and use the DNA sequences of chromosomes. He targets commercially valuable disease resistances, phyto-pharmaceuticals and crop yield boosting elements. Dr. Lightfoot is Director of a University spin-off company ?Genome and Agricultural Biotechnology? LLC from 1999 to present. Dr. Lightfoot has been granted 5 patents and has 5 pending patents. He has published forty four peer reviewed articles in International journals of high impact factors, has >7,000 Batch Sequence Submissions Published in Electronic Databases (16), has twenty eight edited Publications, one Book, and five Chapters. Dr. Lightfoot is an associate editor for one journal and serves on the editorial boards of several others. For more information click here.
James A. Saunders, PhD, Professor, Advisor, IGC Company, Potomac, MD, USA (Retired from Towson University, Towson, MD, USA)
Dr. James A. Saunders received a BA degree from University of South Florida in 1971 and a PhD in Botany at Miami University, OH in 1975. After that, Dr. Saunders worked as Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Davis from 1975 to 1977. Dr. James joined then the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Beltsville, MD where he worked as a Research Biochemist from 1977 to 2003. In 2004, Dr. James joined the Department of Biology, Towson University, Towson, MD where he currently serves as a Professor and Director of Molecular Biology, Biochemistry and Bioinformatics (MB3). Professor Saunders published nearly 100 manuscripts in high quality peer-reviewed scientific journals all aspects of plant sciences and holds several patents. For more information click here.
George Perry, PhD, Professor and Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Texas at San Antonio, USA
Dr. George Perry received a BA degree in Zoology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1974 and a PhD degree in Marine Biology from the from the University of California, San Diego in 1979. Dr. Perry held a position of a Postdoctoral Fellow in Cell Biology at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas from 1979 to 1982. In 1982, Dr. Perry joined Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio where he served as an Assitant Professor (1982-1989), Associate Professor (1989-1994), and Professor (1994-2005). Dr. Perry also served as Interim Chair of the Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University from 2001 to 2005. In 2006, Dr. Perry was appointed as the Dean of the College of Sciences at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. Perry?s research projects are focused on the mechanism of formation and physiological consequences of the cytopathology of Alzheimer disease. Dr. Perry?s research group have shown that oxidative damage is the initial cytopathology in Alzheimer disease. The group is working to determine the sequence of events leading to neuronal oxidative damage and the source of the increased oxygen radicals. The studies focus on (i) the mechanism for RNA-based redox metal binding; (ii) the consequences of RNA oxidation on protein synthesis rate and fidelity; (iii) the role of redox active metals in mediating prooxidant and antioxidant properties; (iv) the signal transduction pathways altered in Alzheimer disease that allow neurons to evade apoptosis; and (v) mechanism of phosphorylation control of oxidative damage to neurofilament proteins. Dr. Perry published over 300 publications in high quality peer-reviewed international journals; is a standing member of several professional societies, received many grants and awards such as the ?NIH Research Career Development Award? (1987-1993), the ?American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowship? in 1998, a ?Honorary Doctorate? from Universidad Arturo Prat, Chile in 1998, and the Denham Harmon Research Award, American Aging Association in 2008 among many others. Dr. Perry also serves Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Alzheimer?s Disease (1998-Present), Senior Associate Editor (Biological Sciences) of Microscopy Research and Technique (2002-Present), Atlas Journal of Medical & Biological Sciences, Atlas Journal of Biology, Atlas Journal of Chemistry and Biochemistry as well as Advisory Board member of Atlas Scientific Publishing, LP. For more information click here.
John Groninger, PhD, Professor, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA
Dr. John Groninger is a Professor of Forestry at Southern Illinois University where his research and teaching focus on silviculture, agroforestry, urban forestry, and landscape rehabilitation. John works internationally on integrated natural resources management, most recently in Afghanistan through USAID and USDA projects including agriculture and technology transfer and pre-deployment training for U.S. civilian and military personnel in watershed management, rural affairs, and agricultural communications. John holds a Ph.D. in Forestry from Virginia Tech; he is widely published in forest restoration, stand dynamics, agroforestry, environmental and foreign affairs journals. For more information click here.
Khalid Meksem, PhD, Professor, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA
Dr. Khalid Meksem received a BS degree in Biology from University Hassan II, Morocco in 1989, an MS degree in Plant Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Paris XI, France, and a PhD in Genetics, Biochemistry, and Botany in 1995 at the University of Colon and Max Planck Institute, Germany. In 1996, Dr. Meksem joined the Department of Plant, Soil, and Agricultural Systems, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA as a Postdoctoral Fellow where he worked from 1996 to 2000. Dr. Meksem served as an Assistant Professor from 2000 to 2004 then as Associate Professor from 2004 to 2009, and was promoted to full Professor in 2009. Dr. Meksem?s research interest cover both, structural and functional genomics, and his long time area of interest is the molecular dissection of plant disease resistance mechanisms to nematodes and fungi. Dr. Meksem is serving as Editor-in-Chief of Plant Genome and Systems Biology, as Associate Editor of the International Journal of Plant genomics, and as reviewer for a number of international scientific journals as well as for several granting agencies. For more information click here.
Abdelmajid Kassem, PhD, Professor and Dept. Chair, Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC, USA
Dr. Abdelmajid Kassem received a BS degree in Plant Biology from Mohamed V University, Morocco in 1992, an MS degree in Enzymatic Engineering, Bioconversion, and Microbiology from the University of Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France in 1995. In 1999, Dr. Kassem joined the Center for Excellence in Soybean Research, Teaching, and Outreach, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA where he earned his Ph.D. in Plant Genetics, Genomics, and Physiology in December 2003. In 2004, Dr. Kassem joined Kean University, NJ as Assistant Professor and worked there from 2004 to 2006. In 6006, Dr. Kassem joined the Department of Natural Sciences, Fayetteville State University, NC as an Associate Professor of Botany and was promoted to Full Professor in 2009. Dr. Kassem serves as an Advisory Board member of Scientific Journals International (SJI), an Associate Editor of Journal of Forestry, Horticulture, and Soil Science, a member of the Editorial Board of Journal of Biotech Research, and a reviewer for several international journals and granting agencies. For more information click here.
Karen Stoelzle Midden, Professor, Southern Illinois University, USA
Dr. Karen Stoelzle Midden is a Professor in Plant, Soil and Agricultural Systems at SIU and a registered Landscape Architect in Illinois. Her research and teaching focus on designing outdoor spaces and land planning with an emphasis on ecological practices as green roofs, urban agriculture and vertical gardens as well as the method of instruction. Karen works closely with SIU Center of Teaching Excellence in the development of online and face to face classes and educational material which are used as model demonstrations. Recently she co-authored the second edition of a book focusing on gardens incorporated into young children?s curriculum. Her Master of Landscape Architecture is from the University of Georgia where she developed an educational gaming/simulation on landscape planning; she continues to research gaming/simulation as well as additional hands-on educational tools. For more information click here.
Melissa S. Kosinski-Collins, Brandeis University, Waltham MA, USA
Melissa Kosinski-Collins is an Associate Professor of Biology at Brandeis University. Melissa received her PhD from MIT in 2004 studying protein folding and aggregation in the laboratory of Jonathan King. Melissa completed an HHMI science education post doc in the laboratory of Graham Walker focused on 3D visualization in the classroom. At Brandeis, Melissa is currently designing an experiential, project-based program that bridges the organic chemistry and introductory biology laboratories. She is the academic coordinator of the Brandeis Science Posse program and the MRSEC director of Education and Outreach. Melissa’s current research addresses retention in the sciences of minority and underrepresented students and student learning gains in project-based laboratory curricula. For more information click here.
Ahmed M. Al-Hejin, PhD, Associate Professor, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
Dr. Ahmed Al-Hejin received a BS degree in Microbiology from the King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia in 1996, an MS degree in Molecular Medical Microbiology from the University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK in 2001, and a PhD in Molecular Medical Microbiology from King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia in 2007. In 2007, he joined the King Abdulaziz University as an Assistant Professor and in 2008 as the Vice-Dean of Library Affairs. Dr. Al-Hejin is a standing and active member of several international professional societies. Dr. Al-Hejin research interests are in the area of medical microbiology. He is particularly interested in epidemiological effects of Neisseria meningitidis in Western region of Saudi Arabia and the evaluation of the efficiency of local treatments and prophylaxis of N. meningitides. Dr. Al-Hejin investigates also the possibility of using local medicinal plant as alternatives to antibiotics. For more information click here.
Mohamed Dehbi, PhD, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Doha, Qatar
Dr. Mohammed Dehbi received a BS degree in Biology & Geology from Mohamed V University, Rabat, Morocco in 1985, an MS degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from Louis Pasteur University, Strasbourg, France in 1990, and a PhD in Biochemistry from University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada in 1995. After his graduation, Dr. Dehbi worked as Postdoctoral Fellow at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. In 1997, he started a Biotechnology company ‘Targanta Therapeutics formerly known as Phagetech Inc.’ in Montreal focusing in developing new classes of antibiotics based on phage genomics. Dr. Dehbi started as a Senior Molecular Biologist, then as Senior Scientist and Leader of the Proteomics group to run the Proteomics program where he played in key role in bacterial target identification and validation. Shortly after, he was promoted to Research Fellow in 2003. In December 2005, he joined King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center in Saudi Arabia to set-up and run the Cell Injury & Inflammation Research Unit. His interest was to understand the effect of heat injury on the inflammatory response, organ damage, and death using animal models. In 2009, he joined the ‘Dasman Center for Research & Treatment of Diabetes’ in Kuwait where he setup the Biochemistry & Molecular Biology program as a Senior Scientist and Head of the Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Unit. Dr. Dehbi was the Editor-In-chief of ‘Reviews in Biology & Biotechnology’ journal. Dr. Dehbi is a regular reviewer for J. Neuropharmnacology and the Annals of Saudi Medicine. He received several awards, studentships, and fellowships such as the prestigious National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC). For more information click here.
Abdelhafid Bendahmane, PhD, Research Director, URGV, INRA, France
Dr. Abdelhafid Bendahmane obtained his MS degree in Plant Sciences from the University of Paris XI, France and PhD from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. Currently, he is the Head of the Crop Functional Genomics team, INRA, URGV, Evry, France. The major goal of CFG team is to develop and apply modern genomics approaches to study crop plants. The most significant achievement of the last three years is the development of a HTP pea TILLING platform and the construction of a pea BAC library of more than 400,000 clones. These resources are being used to isolate genes of agronomic importance from pea. Dr. Bendahmane is also involved in GL-TTP through his commitment to the GLIP and the desire to make the results of the pea TILLING platform available for exploitation by the broad user community. As a member of GL-TTP Council, he strongly supports the development of the GL-TTP in forging strong links between research and industry. For more information click here.
Sherrice V. Allen, PhD, CEO, SVA1 Allen Consulting, LLC, Fayetteville, NC, USA
Dr. Sherrice V. Allen received a BS degree in Medical Technology from East Carolina University in 1988, an MS degree in Biology at Fayetteville State University in 1995, and a PhD degree in Microbiology from North Carolina State University in 1999 and joined FSU in 1999. In fall 2000, Dr. Allen was accepted into the SPIRE (Seeding Postdoctoral Innovators in Research and Education) Postdoctoral Research and Teaching Fellows program at UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Allen joined the faculty at FSU for a second time as an Assistant Professor in spring 2002. Over the last seven years, she has trained more than twenty high schools, undergraduate and graduate students in her research lab. Several of these students have presented their research at local, regional and national conferences. Her current research investigates if key enzymes involved in the de novo synthesis of folic acid in Pseudomonas aeruginosa could serve as targets for novel antimicrobial agents. She also investigates if arylsulfatase enzymes encoded by ceramide synthesis genes in Magnaporthe grisea play a role in pathogenicity and development. Dr. Allen is committed to train and mentor students to become the next generation of scientist. She works diligently to acquire funding to support STEM enrichment and research programs at FSU. She served as the Co-Principal Investigator for the NIH-funded Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (FSU-RISE) grant, serving as the Assistant Director and Director of the program. In addition, she is the Principal Investigator of a National Science Foundation Research Initiation Grant. Finally, she is the Director of the Center for Promoting STEM Education and Research, (CPSER); funded by Title III. Housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, CPSER promotes academic excellence, research, and public service in STEM disciplines and it serves as an umbrella program for STEM minority enrichment programs that have the mission of increasing the number of well-prepared minority students that excel in, and pursue advanced degrees in STEM fields. Dr. Allen is now the CEO and owner of SVA1 Consulting, LLC specialized in education consulting.
Nacer Bellaloui, PhD, Research Plant Physiologist, USDA-ARS, USA
Dr. Nacer Bellaloui received a Diploma of Higher Studies in Plant Biology from the Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Constantine, Algeria in 1984, and a PhD in Plant Nutrition from the Department of Pure and Applied Biology, University of Leeds, UK in 1989. In 1989, Dr. Bellaloui joined the University of Constantine, Institute of Biological Sciences, where he served as an assistant professor. In 1993, Dr. Bellaloui received a fellowship research award from the German research foundation, Deutsher Academischer Austauschdienst to join the Institute of Plant Nutrition in Stuttgart, Germany, to work on the effect of drought on corn. Then, Dr. Bellaloui joined the Department of Pomology, University of California, Davis in 1995 as visiting scientist. In UC Davis, Dr. Bellaloui investigated the mechanisms and genetics of boron nutrition in plants using classical and molecular techniques by investigating the relationship between boron mobility and sugar alcohols. Dr. Bellaloui was able, with his colleagues at UC Davis, to prove, using transgenic tobacco and rice, that boron is mobile in species containing sugar alcohols. Dr. Bellaloui served as lecturer at the College of Agriculture, Chico State University from 2000 to 2004. In 2004, Dr. Bellaloui joined the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Crop Genetics Research Unit, in Stoneville, Mississippi, where he works as a Research Plant Physiologist. Dr. Bellaloui is currently investigating the effects of drought, high heat, and diseases on seed protein, oil, fatty acids, and phenolics in soybean seed. Dr. Bellaloui authored and co-authored several peer-reviewed articles and invited book-chapters in well-respected international journals. Dr. Bellaloui is a reviewer of several international journals such as Crop Science, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Journal of Crop Improvement, and Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology. Dr. Bellaloui serves as an Editorial Board member of Agricultural Sciences, International Scholarly Research Network Agronomy, Atlas Journal of Biology, Atlas Journal of Plant Genome Sciences, and as well as Advisory Board member of Atlas Publishing, LP. For more information click here.
Zhiping Luo, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Fayetteville State University, USA
Dr. Zhiping Luo is an Associate Professor of physics and Materials Science, and Manager of Southeastern North Carolina Regional Microanalytical and Imaging Consortium, Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC, USA. He received Ph.D. degree from the Chinese Aeronautical Establishment in 1994, and subsequently he worked as a Principle Investigator at Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials, China. From 1996 to 1997, he stayed at Okayama University of Science, Japan, as a Postdoctoral Researcher to study transmission electron microscopy techniques with Professor Hatsujiro Hashimoto. In 1998, he moved to Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, as a Visiting Scholar and was then promoted Assistant Scientist. During 2001 to 2012, he worked at Texas A&M University as a Research Scientist at the Microscopy and Imaging Center and lately a Graduate Faculty Member of the Materials Science and Engineering Program. In August 2012, he jointed Fayetteville State University. His research interest is on the fabrication of novel nanostructured materials with enhanced properties for energy-related applications; material structures through electron microscopy; and material structure-property correlations. For more information click here.
Billo Diallo, PhD, Researcher, Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium
Dr. Billo Diallo received a Pharmacy Degree from Gamal Abdel Nasser University (Guinea) in 1974. He was then appointed by the Guinean ministry of industry as researcher where he was involved in research activities related to medicinal plants and traditional medicine. In 1980, he joined the [Laboratoire Central de Matoto] as head of research and quality control. In 1983, he received a research fellowship from the World Health Organization (WHO) to perform further researches on some plants in African traditional medicines in the Department of Pharmacognosy and Bromatology, Pharmaceutical Institute, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. In 1989, he earned a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Universite Libre de Bruxelles] In 1990, Dr. Diallo was appointed as Researcher in Universite Libre de Bruxelles and Laboratoires Debat, a French Company. Dr. Diallo was also appointed as a Pharmacist in the University hospital Saint-Pierre in Brussels (Belgium) in 1994. In 1996, He was involved in a research project on conotoxins from Conus sp. in the Department of Biochemical and Molecular Pharmacology of the [Vrije Universiteit Brussel] (VUB, Belgium)]. In 1998, he joined the Department of Plant Biotechnology (Universite Libre de Bruxelles) as researcher on medicinal plants and on plants-microbes interactions. In 2004, he was appointed as Team Leader at (BioVallee), a research center of ULB, where his researches focused on inhibitors of bacterial quorum sensing. Since 2007, Dr. Diallo serves as Scientific Collaborator in the Department of Plant Biotechnology of the [Universite Libre de Bruxelles]. For more information click here.
Abdelhamid El Mousadik, Professor and Vice-President for Research, Ibn Zohr University, Morocco
Dr. Abdelhamid EL MOUSADIK received a BS degree in General Biology from Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Morocco in 1987, a CEA degree in Environment Science from the University of Moulay Ismail, Morocco in 1988. In 1991, Dr. El Mousadik obtained a DES degree in plant-genetic resources from Mohamed V University, Morocco. Dr. El Mousadik joined the Ibn Zohr University of Morocco, as Assistant Professor in 1991, he had PhD in 1997 and he became Full Professor in 2001. Dr. El Mousadik is the head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Valorization of Natural Resources (LBVRN) since 2005, and a reviewer for several international journals related to biodiversity, genetic markers, phylogeny and phylogeography.
Manash Chatterjee, PhD, Founder and Director, BenchBio, Inc., India
Dr. Manash Chatterjee has 20 years of experience in the field of plant breeding, biotechnology and functional genomics and is inventor on two patents. He has been involved in collaborative research with academic institutes in India and abroad and has published several papers in plant biology. Dr. Chatterjee began his career as senior scientist at Biogemma UK Ltd., Cambridge unit (Group Limagrain, France, the largest seed company in Europe). He was project leader and led functional genomics and gene discovery research projects for 8 years at Biogemma. In 2005, he moved to National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) in Cambridge, UK as project leader were the idea of forming the BenchBio Company was conceived. He has served on the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Agri- Food committee and French plant genomics program (Genoplante) Bioinformatics committee. Dr. Chatterjee, was born in New Delhi. He studied at G.B. Pant University, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, Cambridge University (UK) and obtained his PhD from the John Innes Center, Norwich (UK). His PhD thesis was judged second for the Irene Manton Prize in 1995. He later pursued his post-doctoral training at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego (USA). Currently he also holds an adjunct faculty position in the Department of Botany and Plant science at the University of Galway (NUIG), Ireland. For more information click here.
Todd West, PhD, Associate Professor, North Dakota State University, WV, USA
Dr. Todd P. West is originally from Madison, WI. He received his BS degree in Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. He received his masters and doctoral degrees from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Todd is currently an Associate Professor at North Dakota State University and director of the NDSU Woody Plant Improvement Program. This program focuses on the development of new woody cultivars suited for USDA hardiness zone 3 and 4. Dr. West is a member in several international professional organizations such as American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB), International Society of Aboriculture (ISA),International Plant Propagator’s Society (IPPS) Eastern Region, International Association of Professional Landcare Network (PLANET), and Gamma Sigma Delta (National Honor Society of Agriculture and Forestry), American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS). Dr. West is a reviewer for several international journals in his field of expertise and granting agencies. For more information click here.
Eid Haddad, Assistant Professor, Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC, USA
Dr. Eid Haddad received his Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University (PSU), and worked as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at PSU, then as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at The University of Arkansas, USA. Dr. Haddad is an Assistant Professor of Physiology at Fayetteville State University, a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina. Prior to that, Dr. Haddad worked at ImmunoBio Inc. (IBI) as Senior Research Scientist and later became the Vice President of Research and Development. While at IBI, he was a visiting scientist at the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina State University. He conducted research on application of a novel vaccine technology toward the development of viral and bacterial vaccines for mammalian including human applications. Prior to that, he held several research and managerial positions at Embrex Inc. with the last position being Senior Manager of Global Product Development. He worked on the development of veterinary viral vaccines against several economically important veterinary diseases. His research led to the company gaining regulatory approval for two viral vaccines here in the USA, and for one of them in multiple countries. Dr. Haddad and his colleagues published many articles in Vaccinology, Immunology, and Endocrinology in high quality peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented his work at multiple national and international conferences.
Hortense Dodo, PhD, Professor and President, IngateyGen, LLC
Dr. Hortense Dodo is an Inventor, a Scientific Entrepreneur and the President of IngateyGen, LLC., (http://www.ingateygen.com) an AgBiotech company providing services and products. The services include: organic and private labels, testing for nutritional composition, soil and water quality. Detection of allergens, fertilizers and pesticides presence in food and the environment, and performing your plant tissue culture and transformation experiments. The products include (1) Pnut4LifeTM a hypoallergenic peanut devoid of the majors and most commons peanut allergens and (2) SuperPnutTM a new peanut variety biofortified with all the essential amino acids and proposed as high protein and energy bars. For 18 years, Dr Dodo was a tenured professor of Food Biotechnology and Molecular Biology at Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL. Dr Dodo has trained many American and international high school, undergraduate (BS) and graduate (MS and PhD) students. She continues to inspired and train many youths and girls in the US and around the world to embrace the STEM fields. Dr Dodo has been successful in acquiring several million dollars in funding for research, capacity building and student training. Her company was recently awarded an SBIR Phase I award from the National Science Foundation. Dr Dodo has travelled extensively as a scientific and Biotech consultant for the US Dept. of State and many international organizations. She is a Fulbright Scholar and has served as a keynote speaker for many National and International organizations and has presented hundreds of scientific conferences and abstracts. She has published numerous peer reviewed scientific articles and book chapters. Dr Dodo is an active member of many professional and scientific organizations. She speaks English and French fluently and can read and write in Spanish. Dr Dodo holds a Bachelor degree and two Master’s degrees: (1) Animal Science from the University of Abidjan, CI and (2) Food Science, from the University of Georgia in Athens GA, USA, and a PhD degree in Food Biotechnology & Molecular Biology from Penn State University PA, USA (1992). For more information click here.
Koffi Konan, PhD, Professor and Vice-President for Research & Development, IngateyGen, LLC
Dr. Koffi Konan is a senior scientist and VP R&D at IngateyGen LLC, (http://www.ingateygen.com) and an Adjunct Specialty Professor at Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC. He is leading the research activities in plant genomics, and plant tissue culture in this Start-Up AgBiotech company to develop innovative plant-derived food products which enhance the quality of Human lives. Dr. Konan was a former member of the graduate faculty and a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Food & Animal Sciences at Alabama A&M University (AAMU), Normal AL from 2000 to 2013. During his tenure at AAMU, he advised and graduated several PhD and Master students in plant biotechnology, trained several international students, undergraduate students and high school science teachers in plant biotechnology and molecular biology. He Co-authored the US patent entitled “Down -regulation and silencing of allergens in transgenic peanut seeds”, acquired extramural funds and taught several courses in plant and food biotechnology. He was an Associate Editor for Crop Science Journal. Dr Konan holds a PhD. in Plant Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering since 1993 from the University of Picardie Jules Verne, France. He was a Postdoctoral Researcher in two prestigious Research institutions; The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, CA) and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis, MO. He has co-authored over 25 refereed articles and book chapters, and made over 50 national and international scientific presentations. For more information click here.
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The Legends that surround Kumbhalgarh
History or Legend? Sometimes it is difficult to choose the right word. Here, I chose to use the word ‘Legend’, as I have not been able to verify the authenticity of the stories I heard from an old man living in the Kumbhalgarh Fort. He told us that he was a native of Kumbhalgarh, and had also worked for the Archaeological department in the fort, lending a touch of credibility to the story he told us. I must admit, that though we have fallen into the habit of taking in stories with a pinch of salt, there was an air of truth about this man.
A Miniature of Rana Kumbha from Chittorgarh
To begin with the origin of the fort, it is indeed a fact that the original fort here was ruled by the Jain king Samprati, who built around 300 Jain temples inside the fort. After him, the fort remained unused, and fell to ruins, except the temples, which survived to tell their story. Rana Kumbha came here to build a fort so that he could defend Mewar against the Mughals who were regularly attacking Chittorgarh. He decided to build the fort a little lower down the mountain, where there is a lake now, and started construction. The story goes that the men would build all day long, and retire late at night. When they woke the next day, whatever they had built would have crumbled. This continued for quite a few days until finally, the Maharana consulted his Guru, who came from the ‘Mér’ family of seers. The guru told him that it was a divine hand that was doing this, as he wasn’t fated to build a fort at that place. He further told him that he would show him the place where the fort was to be built, but the place demanded a voluntary sacrifice from a man who would agree to lay down his life for the king. When the king couldn’t find such a person, the guru volunteered his own life, under one condition- “the fort should bear his name.”
Needless to say, the king agreed. The Guru led the king up the mountain, where the fort now stands, and told him to cut off his head. The place where the head fell would be the main entrance of the fort, and where the body fell would be the palace. The king did as he was told. The guru’s head fell at a point where the Bhairon Pol stands today, and to the great surprise of everybody, the headless body walked a further kilometer up the mountain and finally fell right at the top, where the palace was later built. This is a wonderful story, which gains authenticity when I add that just past the Bhairon Pol , there is a small temple-like structure, which has a stone covered with sindoor ( a red powder), which we were told was done to mark the place where the great saint sacrificed his life for his king. The fort was named 'KumbhalMer', after the king, as well ashis guru. It was only later that the name 'Kumbhalgarh', or 'fort of Kumbha' became famous. However, this story finds no mention in a book that I bought about the history of Kumbhalgarh.
Maharana Kumbha not only built the fort, the palace and 60 Hindu temples, he apparently took great care of the Jain temples too. The main Hindu temple that he built was that of his chosen God, Neelkanth Mahadeo. It is said that Rana Kumbha was an extraordinarily tall man, who, when he sat, came up to the height of the Shivaling (5 feet), and could encircle the lingam with his hands. This seems a trifle exaggerated, but then, one never knows, besides, it is possible that with the headgear and the kind of clothes they wore, he could possibly have appeared as tall as 9 feet, which was the height we were told he was.
In any case, it is another fact that it was when he was worshipping this Lingam, that he was stabbed to death by his own son, Uda Singh, who was the father of Maharana Pratap.
Quite a sensational story, is it not?
Now here’s another story, which finds no mention in history books, but is interesting enough to be written down.
Maharana Kumbha had started a system of lighting a huge lamp, with 100meaures of oil, and a wick made with 50 measures of cotton (I am not mentioning the measures, as the ones told to us were in the local tongue, and didn’t make much sense to me). The light from this lamp was bright enough for the farmers of Marwar to work during the night, and was seen as far away as Jodhpur. The queen of Jodhpur, known as the Jhali Rani, saw the lamp and appreciated the king who cared so much about his subjects. The king didn’t like such praise of another king, and banished the queen telling her to go to the one she appreciated so much. Left with no choice, the queen started for Kumbhalgarh, and sent a message to Rana Kumbha explaining her situation. The Maharana welcomed her as a sister, and gave her a palace to live in, without any slur being made on her reputation. This is the palace where there is a Durga temple, and the palace is called ‘the palace of the Jhali Rani’, after her. When her husband came to know of this, he marched with an army towards the fort, intending to take her back by force. He approached the fort from the rear, passing through thick jungles which are today, part of the sanctuary. He found it extremely difficult to move through the forest. He had to cut down trees to make way for his armyKumbha advising him not to use force, and stealthy means, and that he would get what was d, and the trees seemed to grow faster than he could cut them. At last, a message arrived from Rana ue to him if he approached with humility. The Jodhpur king realized his folly, and asked permission to come to Kumbhalgarh. Rana Kumbha welcomed him with full honours from the Victory gate, and treated him as he would treat a son-in-law. (In India, a son-in-law is treated with even more respect than one would treat an equal). The king stayed at the fort for a few days, and took his queen back with him. When he returned, Rana Kumbha felt that, as he had considered him a son-in-law, he must give him ‘dahej’ or dowry when he returned, and gifted him the whole area of Marwar from Kumbhalgarh to Falna. Such was the large heartedness of this great man!
Another legend that surrounds Rana Kumbha is the story of Muchhal Mahavir.
The Muchhal Mahavir Temple
Muchhal Mahavir is a Jain temple dedicated to Lord Mahavir, at Ghanerao, which is on the route from Falna to Kumbhalgarh. This temple too has its origin long before Rana Kumbha came on the scene. The story goes that once, when the Rana was on a hunt, he came to the temple where he was offered refreshment by the priest. The priest offered him the Prasad of the Lord, and the Rana was amused to find a strand of white hair in the Prasad, which must have fallen from the priest’s head. As a joke, the Rana asked the priest “what! Does your Lord have a moustache?” the scared priest, without realizing what he was saying, replied in the affirmative. Carrying the joke further, the Rana refused to pay his respects to the Lord that day, and told the priest that he would return after 3 days, and wanted to see the moustache of the lord! The priest didn’t know what to do and spent the next two days in prayer. When he did not see any results, he decided to commit suicide rather than be killed by the king. When he picked up the dagger of Bhairon at the temple to kill himself, the Lord appeared before him and advised him to cover the face of the idol with a piece of cloth and ask the king to remove the cloth himself after offering prayers. When the king arrived the next day, the priest welcomed him warmly and asked the king to have a bath and offer prayers to the Lord himself. Seeing the cloth covering the face of the idol, the king got angry and demanded an explanation. The priest repeated to the king what he had been ordered to do by the Lord. The king agreed and offered his prayers to the Lord, and when he opened the cloth, Lo and Behold! The idol of Mahavir not only had moustaches, but also a beard!! The king repented for having made such a joke and asked forgiveness from the priest. He was, needless to say, forgiven, and the beard and moustache disappeared. But the name has stuck. The Lord has, since then, been called ‘Mucchal Mahavir’, or the Mahavir who had a moustache.
Club Mahindra Fort history Kumbhalgarh legends muchhal mahavir Rajasthan Temples
Dr Bharat September 27, 2013 at 7:20 PM
Nice log and stunning pics Anuradha shankar. Just One correction....Rana kumbha was stabbed by his son Udasingh I, while Rana pratap's father was Udaisingh II ( who founded udaipur city) Both were different. Infact Udasing I was a uncle of udaising II's father Rana sangramsingh.
Sanjiv Rao June 12, 2016 at 2:32 PM
Very well documented and maintained . Thank you for reviving the glory of the past .
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Follow @BAFTAGames
Home Games News Nominees Announced for the British Academy Games Awards in 2015
Nominees Announced for the British Academy Games Awards in 2015
BAFTA/Richard Hardcastle
The nominations for the British Academy Games Awards in 2015 have been announced. Alien: Isolation leads the way with six nominations.
This year's British Academy Games Awards will take place on 12 March, showcasing and rewarding the very best games of the past 12 months. A total of 51 games have been recognised across 17 categories, with Alien: Isolation gaining the most nominations.
Far Cry 4 and Monument Valley follow closely in the achievements list, each having gained five nominations, and 80 Days, Destiny, Mario Kart 8 and Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor all received four nominations. It's clearly going to be a close contest for the coveted title of Best Game for which Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Alien: Isolation, Monument Valley and Mario Kart 8 are all nominated.
Nominated in the Performer category are Adam Harrington (Bigby Wolf) in The Wolf Among Us,Ashley Johnson (Ellie) in The Last of Us: Left Behind, Kevin Spacey (Jonathan Irons) in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Logan Cunningham (Transistor) in Transistor, Melissa Hutchinson(Clementine) in The Walking Dead: Season 2 and Troy Baker (Pagan Min) in Far Cry 4.
Nominated in the Performer category are Adam Harrington for his role as Bigby Wolf in The Wolf Among Us, Ashley Johnson who plays Ellie in The Last of Us: Left Behind, Kevin Spacey for the part of Jonathan Irons in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Logan Cunningham who plays Transistor in Transistor, Melissa Hutchinson for her role as Clementine in The Walking Dead: Season 2 and finally Troy Baker who plays Pagan Min in Far Cry 4.
With Kevin Spacey's nomination, the actor makes BAFTA history as the first person to have been nominated across all three genres of film, television and games. In addition to this year's Games nomination, Spacey has three Film Awards nominations to his name (The Shipping News in 2002, American Beauty in 2000 and LA Confidential in 1998). He also received a nomination at the 2014 Television Awards when House of Cards (for which he was producer) was nominated in the International category. See the full list of BAFTA wins and nominations for Kevin Spacey >
Another BAFTA first for 2015 is the news that actor and comedian Rufus Hound will present this year's Games Awards ceremony. Hound takes over the presenting reins from previous host Dara O'Briain. The ceremony will take place on Thursday 12 March at Tobacco Dock, London following a day of games talks and activty at the EGX Rezzed festival. Tickets to both the festival and the ceremony itself are available via the EGX website: www.egx.net/rezzed/tickets
BAFTA/Stephen Butler
See the full list of Games Awards nominees in 2015 >
Attending the BAFTA Games Awards
Join us on Thursday 4 April 2019 at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank, London, for this year's British Academy Games Awards
@BAFTAGames#BAFTAGames
View the 2015 Winners List
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Monday 01.14.13 - Derek Reese 7:30pm - Hashem Assadullahi saxophonist and band leader 8-10pm - Sam Decker's jazz group all night!
Hashem Assadullahi saxophonist and band leader 8-10pm
Hashem Assadullahi is a saxophonist, bandleader and music educator in New York City. Hashem has performed music ranging from the big band repertoire of the swing era, to straight-ahead styles, to contemporary projects performing the works of Ornette Coleman, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, John Zorn, and Tim Berne. In 2008 Hashem formed his Quintet, featuring some of the best musicians in the Pacific North West, along with trumpet icon Ron Miles. The group has since expanded to a sextet and has recorded two albums: Strange Neighbor (8bells, 014) and Pieces (OA2 records, pending release). Hashem has lead groups featuring some the world’s greatest talents in Jazz, including Alan Ferber, Ben Monder, Mark Ferber, and Rich Perry. In addition to his own releases, he has had the opportunity to record with several ensembles, appearing on the albums Live at Jo Fed’s with the Poisonous Birds (June 2008), The Turning Point with the Douglas Detrick Quintet (8bells, 015), as well asWalking Across (8bells,016), Rivers Music (Origin Classical, OC33012), Awake, Awake (pending release), and The Bright and Rushing World (pending release) with the Anywhen Ensemble. In addition to performing, he has held positions teaching music courses and directing numerous ensembles at various institutions including Mahidol University in Salaya, Thailand, Lane Community College, and the University of Oregon. Hashem frequently serves as a clinician and adjudicator across the United States and abroad. Hashem received his Bachelors of Music Education from the University of Texas in Arlington and a Masters of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of Oregon.
Sam Decker's jazz group!
Sam Decker moved to Brooklyn, New York, in early 2012. He is proud to make music with some of New York’s most talented young jazz musicians. Sam is at home in the genres of straight-ahead jazz, contemporary jazz/improvised music, free improvisation, as well as rock and folk music. Drawing from sources such as Stravinsky, Mark Turner, Deerhoof, and Elliot Smith, his music is both familiar and unfamiliar.
Originally from the Chicago area, Sam attended New England Conservatory in Boston on merit scholarship, where he studied with George Garzone, Jerry Bergonzi, Bob Moses, Ken Radnofsky, John McNeil, Frank Carlberg, and Cecil McBee. He also studied contemporary classical composition and improvisation with Katarina Miljkovic. During this time Sam was selected to perform with John Hollenbeck, Dave Holland, Jason Moran, Lee Konitz, and under Christian Wolff during residencies, and was featured on New England Conservatory’s Jazz 40th Anniversary CD.
During his time in Boston, Sam performed at many of the city’s premier venues including The Lilypad, The Beehive, The Savant Project, Les Zygomates, and the Squealing Pig. Since moving to New York, Sam has played at venues such as Douglass St. Music Collective, Somethin’ Jazz Club, Sycamore, and the Brooklyn Lyceum.
Derek Reese was born into a family of musicians in Brooklyn, New York. Derek's father, Kevin Reese, was best known as the guitarist for The Magic Tramps, a pioneering glam-rock band. His uncle, Anthony "Ace" Pergamo, was a professional drummer and started Derek on drum lessons at the ripe age of three. With nature and nurture on his side, Derek's talents were obvious from the beginning. At 4 years old, Derek's mother had enrolled him in private lessons for both drums and classical piano. Derek has been performing music professionally since the age of 8, when he recorded his first single "Big Boy". See a young Derek on the drums in the video. Soon after Derek was playing NYC's most famous clubs including the Limelight, A7, The Palladium and CBGB's. Building on his early success and studio work, Derek next set out to compose and produce. The results of Derek's inspiration and perspiration is his first album. Derek played all the instruments and also recorded and engineered every track. This self titled CD, "Derek Reese", is a truly a labor of love. Derek's influences extend from Rock n' Roll legends like Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen to R&B vocalists such as Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. Derek also has an appreciation for Hip-Hop, and is endeared to local NYC giants RUN-DMC, Biz Markie and Big Daddy Kane. Derek is very thankful to his grandmother, who brought Derek down to her basement in his teens and introduced him to the euphonious sounds of Art Tatum, Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald. Derek is a member of The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). His debut album is published by Three Masked Men Publishing Co. http://www.derekreesemusic.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/derekreese
http://m.facebook.com/pages/Derek-Reese-FAN-PAGE/145581542161255?id=145581542161255&_rdr
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Victoria Lazar
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Ms. Lazar was appointed Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary effective July 2019. She joined Bristow after more than 11 years at General Electric, most recently as Executive Counsel, M&A. She was previously Associate General Counsel for GE Oil & Gas and led the formation of Baker Hughes, a GE company. She also served on the senior management board of the Drilling, Production & Surface division. Prior to joining GE, she served in several roles at Electronic Data Systems Corporation (now DXC Technology), including the Board Governance Committee, Counsel, Chief Legal Officer – ExcellerateHRO and Counsel – Corporate Acquisitions and Finance from 1996 to 2008. Lazar was also an associate in the Corporate/International law department at Baker Botts L.L.P. from 1990 to 1996. She received her Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) from the University of Chicago Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Cornell University.
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Biggs C. Porter
Biggs C. Porter joined Bristow’s Board in June 2016. Porter has served on Bristow’s audit committee since June 2016. Since August 2018, Porter serves as the executive vice president and chief financial officer of Maxar Technologies, a leading global provider of advanced space technology solutions for commercial and government markets. He previously served as the executive vice president and chief financial officer of Fluor Corporation from 2012 to 2017. Prior to joining Fluor in 2012, he was the chief financial officer of Tenet Healthcare Corporation from 2006 to 2012. Porter previously served in senior-level finance positions with Raytheon Company from 2003 to 2006 and with TXU Corporation from 2000 to 2003. He also previously held finance positions at Northrop Grumman Corporation, Vought Aircraft Company and LTV Corporation. A certified public accountant, Porter began his career with the accounting firm Arthur Young & Co. Porter currently serves as a director and chair of the audit committee of Perspecta Inc.
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On That Day I Left My Boyhood Behind by Norman Woodcock and Susan Burnett
by Fiona Gell · 14 October 2015
Our WW1 writing competition judge, author Susan Burnett, tells us about her grandfather, Leeds born Norman Woodcock and the book she came to write using his memoirs, On That Day I Left My Boyhood Behind.
My grandfather, Norman Woodcock, was born in 1897 and grew up in Leeds, living above his mother’s bakery in Little Woodhouse Street. He was a pupil at the Leeds Boys Modern, now Lawnswood High School. When he died aged 90, in 1987, he left three large files of handwritten memoirs which I have compiled into a book called On That Day I Left My Boyhood Behind. In the book I have interspersed Norman’s memoirs of the First World War with the history of the war in the regions he served. His stories are powerful, combining horror with humour and social commentary. The title comes from his description of taking part in the landings on Gallipoli in April 1915.
As a youngster he loved horses and, before the war, when he could afford to, he would borrow a horse from the stables of the Leeds Cab Company and ride around the parks. ‘Don’t gallop’ the cabmen would shout as he left. On his 17th birthday, in January 1914, he joined the Northern Signals Unit of the Royal Engineers, a mounted unit of the Territorial Army – the posters said he would be able to ride every weekend. He was mobilised on the day war broke out in August 1914 and was away for five years. In the days following call up he and his pals went to the surrounding areas of Leeds and Harrogate collecting horses for the war effort, visiting riding schools, livery stables, businesses and private homes. Soon he was given a horse called Timbuc, a black beauty that would be his best friend throughout the war.
Having never left Yorkshire before, he then went on quite a journey, sailing to Egypt then taking part in the landings on Gallipoli. After Gallipoli, in January 1916, he went to Greece, Libya, Mesopotamia (now Iraq), spent time with Lawrence of Arabia, took part in the capture of Jerusalem, and was on the Somme when the Armistice was declared.
He describes in his memoirs when they were told they were to take part in the landings on Gallipoli: “we conjured up some vivid images of what it would be like to land on a foreign shore and fight the Turks on the way to Constantinople – we had all read adventure stories and seen pictures of the Orient in books.” He praised Leeds City Council for the huge public library: “I liked reading, and went as often as I could. I had about five books a week.” From all this reading he knew the history of many of the countries he visited.
After they set sail for Egypt, in early 1915, his pals entered him in a swimming competition, betting that he would beat ‘the breast stroke champion of Yorkshire’ in a race across the next harbour. That was Alexandria. Norman was a strong swimmer. He describes how he was taught: “Leeds City Council employed two designated ‘Professors of Swimming’. Both were big, strong fellows; one had swum across the Channel.” He won the swimming competition which delighted his pals! Later in the war he was posted to the Suez Canal and used to swim across regularly.
Norman survived the war but came back to Yorkshire to find many of his pals were gone. He talks about how he should have visited their families but says the pain was too great and he duffed it. I would love to hear from the families of his pals, especially from the relatives of Norman ‘Wilkie’ Wilkinson, a pupil architect before the war but who was killed; and Albert Jones, an apprentice engineer who ended his days in a mental hospital in Wakefield. There are others too, but I only have surnames, for example Baxter and Dennison, all Signallers in the Royal Engineers.
If you can help Susan trace her grandfather’s pals, you can contact her on Twitter @Grandpa1914_18 or via her website.
You can buy copies of On That Day I Left My Boyhood Behind here.
Susan will be in speaking at several free events in Leeds in November if you would like to come along and hear more about Norman and Timbuc.
Friday 13th November, 1-2pm at Leeds Central Library, more details here; then 3-4pm at Leeds City Museum.
Saturday 14th November, 11-3pm at The Royal Armouries as part of the Big Bookend’s Children’s Festival Day, Earth, Fire and Ink. Susan will be available to chat to you there and she will be telling some of Norman’s stories as well (time TBC).
Win a copy of On That Day I Left My Boyhood Behind by entering our competition here. Closes 8th November.
Tags: GallipoliLeedsNorman WoodcockOn That Day I Left My Boyhood BehindSusan BurnettWW1
The Not-So Secret History Of Whitelock’s by Chris Nickson
Pulling the Wool Over Leeds, Part Two by Chris Nickson
A Q&A with Alex Preston, Author of As Kingfishers Catch Fire, for WildLines @ The Leeds Library
Next story Never Underestimate the Women by Chris Nickson
Previous story More Top Tips For Your Stories For Our WW1 Writing Competition From Judge, Susan Burnett
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Dateline: June 24, 2008
Production shift
The Lubrizol Corporation is halting some production at its Avon Lake, Ohio plant due to cost increases in energy and raw materials. The plant’s work will move to other North American emulsion production facilities in Pedricktown, New Jersey and Gastonia, North Carolina.
Monsanto Co. and BASF are partnering on a new fungicide seed treatment solution for soybeans in the U.S. that is expected to be commercialized in 2009. Monsanto will have exclusive rights to commercialize the new fungicide seed treatment in soybeans, which will be done in conjunction with the launch of its Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean seed offering. The treatment, which will contain BASF’s fungicide F500, will provide soybean farmers with early-season disease protection.
An explosion at a Goodyear chemical plant that makes synthetic rubber for tires killed one worker and injured six others. There was a blast in a heat exchange unit at the plant as well as a small release of ammonia, which is used to cool processed liquids. The cause of the explosion is under investigation.
New catalyst
University of California-Riverside scientists are using a newly discovered catalyst to aid in the production of amines at a low cost and with no waste products. They say the new technology can quickly, cleanly and inexpensively produce amines to be used in solvents, additives, detergents, dyes and bactericides.
Huntsman Corp. is filing suit against Apollo Management LLC and its partners as a result of them allegedly falsely representing their attempt to buy Huntsman.
Monsanto Co. plans to acquire Marmot S.A., which operates Semillas Cristiani Bukard. Terms of and timing for the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition will enable Monsanto to provide new higher-yielding corn seed offerings to farmers.
Relocation recommendation
The Egyptian parliament has recommended a relocation of Agrium Inc.’s $1.2 billion fertilize plant from Damietta. Residents have feared pollution, prompting the recommendation that it be moved to another suitable industrial zone.
Bayer AG plans to invest $156 million in its Brazilian operations through the end of next year. The company plans to invest $62 million in its Belford Roxo plant for modernization and technical upgrading of the production facilities for plastics precursors and crop protection products as well as overall infrastructure. The additional $93 million will be used at other company sites in the country.
Shell announced the first start-up using its new Shell OMEGA (Only Mono-Ethylene Glycol Advanced) process technology. The process uses catalytic conversion of ethylene oxide to monethylene glycol (MEG) as opposed to the traditional thermal conversion approach. The start-up was at Lotte Daesan’s chemical manufacturing facility in Daesan, Korea.
Capability boost
LyondellBasell Industries plans to expand its global polypropylene (PP) compounding capacity to 1.2 million tons/year by the end of 2009, a growth rate of more than 30%. The capacity boost will occur as a result of opening a new plant in Guangzhou, China and Damman, Saudi Arabia as well as further expansion at existing sites in Suzhou, China; Rayong, Thailand; and Ensenada, Argentina. They are also considering additional plant investment options for Russia and India.
Ashland Inc. is joining Sud-Chemie AG in a metal-casting joint venture that will include three of the companies’ business units. Each will hold a 50% share in the venture that will be headquartered in Venlo, the Netherlands. The joint venture will combine Ashland’s Casting Solutions business group, Sud-Chemie’s foundry-related businesses and Ashland-Sudchemie-Kernfest GmbH, a joint venture formed by the two companies in 1970. The deal is expected to close early next year.
Restructuring and expense reduction initiatives
Ferro Corporation is taking additional actions to rationalize manufacturing and reduce expenses worldwide. It will discontinue manufacturing tile frits and tile color products at its facilities in Americana, Brazil by the end of June 2008. It will continue to product porcelain enamel frit and glass color at glaze products at that plant. Color products required by Brazilian customers after June will be provided by the company’s facilities in Mexico and Spain. The company will also take additional actions in its Inorganic Specialties business, primarily in Europe and Asia.
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Ribbon Cutting Set for December 12 to Celebrate Progress on Grant Wood Trail
Post Date:12/11/2018 11:24 AM
The City of Marion will host a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, Dec. 12 to celebrate the completion of two new segments of Grant Wood Trail stretching from 31st Street east to Highway 13. The ribbon cutting will take place at 12:30 p.m. on the trail near the intersection of 35th Street and 4th Avenue, north of the Centex station in Marion.
The Grant Wood Trail is a collaborative effort between the Federal Highway Administration, City of Marion, Linn County Conservation Department and Linn County Trails Association for the construction of more than 1-mile of hard surface trail leading east into rural Linn County.
The City completed a section of the Grant Wood Trail from 31st to 35th Street, and with other partners, built the trail from 35th Street to Highway 13. Concurrently, the Linn County Conservation Department is completing a paved section of the Grant Wood Trail to Waldo’s Rock Park as well as a granular surface to Oxley Road.
Long term plans include extending the Grant Wood Trail east to the Linn-Jones county line, and west into Cedar Rapids to connect to the Cedar Valley Nature Trail.
The Marion Parks and Recreation Department maintains the city’s trail system year-round. This newest segment will officially open following the ribbon cutting.
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Home animals This Woman Shows What It’s Like To Raise 2 Toddlers And 4 Samoyeds And It’s Perfect
This Woman Shows What It’s Like To Raise 2 Toddlers And 4 Samoyeds And It’s Perfect
There’s nothing better in this world than dogs. And even though many of us would love to own one, sometimes all we can do is just stare at someone else’s pet in the street or on their Instagram account. So, if you’re one of the many desperate dog lovers, prepare to feel a huge wave of jealousy coming right at you, because this Instagram account screams only one thing, ‘#DogGoals’.
Sarah Hegarty is a groomer who owns not one, not two, but four Samoyeds and her Instagram account ‘The Samoyed Siblings‘ is dedicated to their heavenly beauty. “Ever since I was a little kid I’ve dreamt of owning a Samoyed, it was once I had my own home I was finally able to get one. I did a lot of research before I contacted a breeder, the more research I did, the more I fell in love with them”, Sarah told
She is not only a dog mom but has two toddlers under the age of two, so her life can get pretty hectic. Even with all the craziness she still finds time to foster unwanted Samoyeds in her local town and is the creator of the “Samoyeds of Perth”, a club that unites local Samoyed owners and their dogs. According to Hegarty, her daughters get along with the dogs really well, “My daughter Layla is so smart & loves to participate in everything I do with the dogs, from Grooming them, to preparing their meals & just giving them cuddle.” While Hegarty’s life may sound like doggy heaven, it takes a lot of time and effort to take care of two children and fours dogs. According to her, it can take up to 8 hours to properly wash and groom all of her four pets.
Scroll down to see this lovely family yourself!
Meet Sarah Hegarty who is a groomer and a proud owner of not one but four beautiful Samoyed dogs
On top of that, she has two toddlers under the age of two
So it’s safe to say her life can get pretty hectic
But despite this mom’s busy schedule, her 73k Instagram followers can’t get enough of the cuteness on her page
Sarah is also a creator of the “Samoyeds of Perth” club and fosters neglected and unwanted Samoyeds
Sarah says that her older daughter even learned how to walk by holding onto one of their dog’s fur
And even though some people may be jealous of these dog owners, the time it takes to groom and wash them can be up to 8 hours
This Woman Shows What It’s Like To Raise 2 Toddlers And 4 Samoyeds And It’s Perfect Reviewed by creepyworld on December 08, 2018 Rating: 5
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עבריתالعربية
About I-CORE
Expected contribution
Research Goals
Scientific Team
Research Fellows 2018-2019
All Research Fellows
Dr. Assaf Shelleg
Modern Jewish art music; Israeli art music; musicological historiography; twentieth- and twenty-first century music; Theological tropes in Israeli culture.
shelleg@outlook.com
Assaf Shelleg (Hebrew: אסף שלג), an Israeli musicologist and pianist, a senior lecturer of musicology at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was previously the Schusterman Visiting Assistant Professor of Musicology and Jewish Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia (2011–14), and had taught prior to that as the visiting Efroymson Scholar in the Jewish, Islamic & Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Department at Washington University in St. Louis (2009–11).
Shelleg specializes in twentieth-century Jewish and Israeli art musics and has published in some of the leading journals in both musicology and Israel Studies on topics ranging from the historiography of modern Jewish art music to the theological networks of Israeli art music. Shelleg’s book, Jewish Contiguities and the Soundtrack of Israeli History, appeared in November 2014 with Oxford University Press. The book studies the emergence of modern Jewish art music in central and Western Europe (1910s-1930s) and its translocation to Palestine/Israel (1930s-1970s), exposing the legacies of European antisemitism and religious Judaism in the making of Israeli art music. Moving to consider the dislocation of modern Jewish art music the book examines the paradoxes embedded in a Zionist national culture whose rhetoric negated its pasts, only to mask process of hybridizations enchained by older legacies. Jewish Contiguities has recently won the 2015 Engle Prize for the study of Hebrew Music. Shelleg is also a regular musical contributor to Haaretz newspaper.
2014 Jewish Contiguities and the Soundtrack of Israeli History. New York: Oxford University Press
In preparation – Theological Stains: Art Music in Israel
2013 “The Dilution of National Onomatopoeias in Post-Statehood Israeli Art Music: Precursors, Contiguities, Shifts”, Journal of Musicological Research, 32.4: 314-45
2012 “Israeli Art Music: A Reintroduction,” Israel Studies, 17.3: 119-49
2014 “Behind the Politics of Exoticism in Israeli Music: A Review of ‘Music in Israel,’ eds. Tuvia Friling, Gideon Katz, and Michael Wolpe (Sede Boker: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press, 2014),” Ha’aretz (November 21, 2014)
2012 Mediterranean Israeli Music and the Politics of the Aesthetic by Amy Horowitz, Studies in Contemporary Jewry, 26: 313-17.
2010 The Organ and Its Music in German-Jewish Culture by Tina Frühauf, Musica Judaica, 19: 293-99.
Supported by the I-CORE Program of the Planning and Budgeting Committee and The Israel Science Foundation.
All rights reserved to Daat Hamakom | I-CORE. concept & design - Frisbee | website developed by: intigo
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President Maithripala Sirisena said today everyone connected to the Easter Sunday attack was arrested and that they should be given death sentence as there was clear evidence against them.
’Aaryawa-Baryawa’ stories no threat to Sajith’s popularity: Harin
Minister Harin Fernando said yesterday that despite social media attempts to destroy Sajith Premadasa’s name and fame fabricating a ‘lady and wife’ story, it would not pose a problem to him because the villagers are with him.
16 Jul 2019 - 10 - 4579
SLPP will move to get P’ment dissolved: GL
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) said yesterday that it would work to get two-thirds approval for a resolution to dissolve Parliament once it secured victory for its candidate at the presidential election.
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Busch Wins Second Texas NASCAR Race
by Austin Kilgore Sat, Nov 7, 2009, 03:02 PM
Kyle Busch continued his streak of NASCAR Nationwide Series wins at Texas Motor Speedway, earning his track record-tying fourth consecutive series win, but an impending potential points penalty could hurt his shot at clinching the Nationwide Series title next weekend at Phoenix.
Busch lead 179 of 200 laps. The last caution came out on lap 180, which came out for a wreck involving rookie Michael Annett and Steve Wallace, Busch said he wanted two tires, while crew chief Jason Ratcliff wanted to put four on the car. The two couldn’t come to a consensus, so Busch stayed out and maintained his lead. When the race restarted on lap 186, Busch flew away from the field and cruised to the victory.
“At this place, it’s just so hard to figure out if you can come back through traffic and you just don’t have enough time that late in the race,” Busch said. “It proved to work out our way and benefit us because we had some many cars who stayed out behind us. If there would have only been one, two or three cars that stayed out with us, it wouldn’t have been as beneficial as it looked.”
However, after the race, NASCAR officials said the No. 18 team will likely incur a points penalty after inspectors discovered improperly secured weights on opening day inspection. He currently holds a 272-point lead over Carl Edwards.
Busch also won Friday’s Truck Series race, and if he wins Sunday’s Sprint Cup race, he’ll be the first driver in NASCAR history to win at the same track in all three NASCAR national touring series.
It’s his eighth Nationwide Series victory in 2009 and with a 272 point lead in the championship standings over Carl Edwards. Previous points penalties for the type of infraction Busch’s team had have been small, but it could keep Busch from clinching the Nationwide title next week at Phoenix.
Casey Mears, subbing for Jeff Burton (who sat out of the race as a precautionary measure after hitting the wall with his Sprint Cup car during practice) finished second. It was his first Nationwide start since 2007 and he said he’d like to run more races in the future.
“The biggest reason why I haven’t gotten more involved in it in the past couple years is just because of how much is going on. I’ve gone through about five or six crew chiefs in the last few years and trying to figure out where you’re going to go and what you’re going to do,” Mears said. “If it was more stable on the Cup side, I think I would pursue more Nationwide races, but there’s always so much work to do to figure out what’s going on the next year.”
Full time Nationwide driver Jason Leffler finished third and Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five. There were 19 cars out of the race before the checkered flag waved, a series high for the season.
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Welcome to Common Gunsense
I hope this blog will provoke some thoughtful reflection about the issue of guns and gun violence. I am passionate about the issue and would love to change some misperceptions and the culture of gun violence in America by sharing with readers words, photos, videos and clips from articles to promote common sense about gun issues. Many of you will agree with me- some will not. I am only one person but one among many who think it's time to do something about this national problem. The views expressed by me in this blog do not represent any group with which I am associated but are rather my own personal opinions and thoughts.
Alcohol and gun play
Of course, the line coming from the NRA about having guns where alcohol is served is a non sequiter. The gun lobby loves to tell you that permit holders know they are not supposed to drink while carrying and that it is illegal in the first place. No worries then, for the rest of us who choose not to carry. No one who carries a gun into a bar or restaurant that serves alcohol will order a drink or a beer. I feel safer already. The obvious counter argument is that it's too late once the permit holder has actually had too much to drink and shoots someone. Are bar tenders now supposed to ask to see a permit or ask if someone has a gun on them before serving them a beer? How else can we stop people who decide to drink while carrying from drinking while carrying? Will law abiding citizens obey the laws concerning alcohol and guns? As more states pass laws allowing people to carry guns in places that serve alcohol, we will see how the laws work. Will the argument now be that guns are needed in bars to protect yourself from people carrying guns in bars?
The University of California Davis has released a 15 year old survey about people who drink and own or carry guns. The author of the survey decided to look again at the older data because no one has done a survey like this since his own was completed. It appears from the questions asked of respondents (15,000 in 8 states) that " According to a new analysis of data by Garen J. Wintemute, director of the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program, people who drink heavily and engage in risky behavior like drinking while driving are also more likely to own guns and carry a concealed weapon." At the time of the survey (1996/97) only 4 states had permit to carry guns laws. Now all states but one ( Illinois) allow carrying of loaded guns in public. But not all are uniform in allowing guns in places where alcohol is served. It is legal in Minnesota to do so. Now that we have decided as a country that the carrying of guns in public places is a good idea, we have created a potential for more gun incidents in public places. If Wintemute's information is correct, it is also likely that we will see an increase in gun incidents in bars and restaurants. I'm all about prevention. Why pass laws that will make it easier for people to shoot someone?
So let's look at a few examples of gun owners and permit holders not abiding by the laws already on the books. First, this one. A card game gone wrong after too much to drink. This could have ended with the fist fight during the drunken card game. But because one of the guys had a gun at home and too much to drink, it led to a potentially dangerous situation which ended in the arrest of the gun owner. Here's another shooting at a tavern in Philadelphia. Does anyone else think it's ironic that people can't smoke in bars, restaurants and public places but they can bring a gun in? Smoking, and second hand smoke, have been proven to be dangerous to our health. Because it costs the health care industry so much money to treat people with smoking related diseases, and because too many people die as a result, we have taken many steps to prevent illness and deaths from smoking. We don't allow people to smoke in public places. Why do we allow loaded guns in public places? They are potentially as much of a risk to health and public safety as are cigarettes. The difference? Smoking is not protected by a constitutional amendment. Another difference? Alcohol is known to alter one's judgement which is never a good idea around a loaded gun.
North Carolina is considering a law to allow guns in places where alcohol is served. This blog post is written in opposition. Dr. Art Kamm, the author of the piece gives the obvious reasons why drinking alcohol while carrying a gun is a terrible idea:" Ethanol, the type of alcohol we drink, is a psychoactive substance and a legally permitted recreational drug. It interacts with multiple neurotransmitter systems and is behavior modifying. The substance can produce impaired judgment as well as emotional liability, i.e., excessive mood swings ranging from rage to euphoria. Law enforcement officials are all too familiar with alcohol-related violent behavior." I hope you will read the rest of this article. The arguments are made in such a reasoned way that it becomes a stretch to believe the arguments coming from the gun lobby.
The Ohio legislature passed a law (not yet signed by the Governor) allowing permit holders to carry in bars and restaurants. Here is an article about why this is not a good idea. This article, written by an Ohio Mayor who chairs the Ohio Mayors Against Illegal Guns makes a lot of sense. You wouldn't know it by the comments made on the article, however. Common sense tells us all that guns and alcohol just do not mix. They make for a lethal cocktail no matter how you look at it. This should be an area of agreement between the gun lobby and the gun control advocates. But instead, it seems that if a few people lose their lives in shooting incidents in bars in states where people can drink and carry, so what? As long as the rights of the gun guys are protected, some collateral damage is acceptable.
How did we get to this place in our national discourse when we have determined that drinking and driving is dangerous and results in penalties? How did we get to this point in our national discourse that, because of proof that smoking in public is dangerous to the health of our citizens, we ban it in public places? How did we get to the point in our national discourse that allowing loaded guns in public places is not considered to be dangerous to the health and safety of our citizens? From the linked piece ( Dr. Kamm) "It has additionally been argued that concealed weapons have been permitted in restaurants and bars in several other states without problems. Such an argument is invalid regarding safety because the issue is not the history; it is the potential. In fact it is this very mind set that often prevents common sense regulation from being put into place that later results in loss of life or damage to our public. As examples, should we conclude after several years without incident that a blocked exit does not pose a safety risk?"
Sometimes decision making just does not make common sense. Safety features in products and unsafe public places are there for a reason. At some time, someone was injured or killed because safety measures were not in place. Perhaps a law suit was filed that called attention to unsafe products or public places and someone had to pay a large fine or a settlement for not taking care of the danger. Features such as fencing, warning signs, guard rails, caps on medicine bottles, safety latches for cupboards to keep young children away from ingesting dangerous cleaning liquids, etc., railings on stairways, car seat belts and air bags, warnings on products, child safety seats, no smoking in public places, food labels, etc. keep us safer.
Action was taken when, in the incident above, a man lit up a cigarette. We have learned about the dangers of second hand smoke, so we acted. Instead of doing the same with guns, which we know to be dangerous, we allow them in more places where alcohol is served. The answer is not to expand gun carrying to more public places but to have fewer guns in public places. Because we now allow guns in public places, people think they need guns to protect themselves from people with guns in public places. Such flawed logic should not stop the states and our country from making sensible gun laws for the sake of public health and safety.
Posted by japete at 8:56 PM
vention, Open Carry, conceal and carry permit holders, guns and alcohol, NRA's extreme influence on Congress, Ohio gun laws
"Are bar tenders now supposed to ask to see a permit or ask if someone has a gun on them before serving them a beer? How else can we stop people who decide to drink while carrying from drinking while carrying? "
...How are we stopping them now? There's nothing stopping someone from illegally carrying a concealed weapon in a bar. Other than it's illegal.
"The University of California Davis has released a 15 year old survey about people who drink and own or carry guns."
Since by his own admission there were only 4 states that allowed concealed carry (and we don't know that those 4 were included in the 8 states that the data covers) it is pretty obvious that he is talking about at least some people who carried illegally. We have maintained all along that there is a difference between people who carry legally and those who carry illegally.
Since we also know that there are more traffic accidents when people drink maybe we should ban cars from being parked within so many yards of where alcohol is served. Want to eat at a nice restaurant where they serve wine with dinner? Have to take a cab or go to jail. Makes more sense.
Really, have you had a bunch of shootem ups in Minnesota since you started allowing people to carry in restaurants where alcohol is served?
japete June 30, 2011 at 7:14 AM
As I said, I'm into prevention. The statement made by Dr. Kamm says it all. Just because a blocked exit hasn't caused a safety problem yet, doesn't mean it won't. How do you tell the difference between someone carrying legally or someone carrying illegally? As a citizen, should I ask to see their permit card? I have written on this blog about a number of law abiding citizens carrying in bars and restaurants and guns accidentally discharging. Most of the cases of shootings in bars that I have blogged about have been altercations between people ( law abiding) who know the people they shot or someone who has had too much to drink and goes to their car or home and comes back with a gun to shoot in anger, such as the case I provided above.
Robin June 30, 2011 at 10:12 AM
"How do you tell the difference between someone carrying legally or someone carrying illegally? As a citizen, should I ask to see their permit card?"
As usual you have either totally missed my point or are obfuscating so as to not acknowledge it. The point is not whether you can tell whether someone is carrying legally or not. The point is that a person who is willing to risk carrying illegally is not going to be concerned about drinking and carrying or drinking, driving and carrying. By the fact that he is willing to carry illegally he has shown he is into risky behavior. He is also willing to partake in illegal behavior as evidenced by the fact that in at least 4 states he was carrying illegally. Which is what we have been saying all along. Criminals don't obey the law because they are criminals. To equate the behavior of a criminal with someone who goes to the trouble and expense of getting a permit is ridiculous. Wintermute's study is worthless.
" How do you tell the difference between someone carrying legally or someone carrying illegally? As a citizen, should I ask to see their permit card?"
If it's concealed, you'd never know to ask in the first place.
japete June 30, 2011 at 11:09 AM
No Robin. I have not missed your point. It is the opposite, actually. The examples I provided were from law abiding citizens. That is my point. Law abiding citizens with guns and drinking too much can cause accidents and maybe even serious injury or death. This does not mean that all law abiding citizens will do this. I am not saying that. I am saying that allowing guns in more places where alcohol is served is asking for trouble. What makes you think that all people who carry legally will always do the right thing? Judgement is impaired under the influence of alcohol, even for law abiding people. That is my point.
"I am saying that allowing guns in more places where alcohol is served is asking for trouble"
"Judgement is impaired under the influence of alcohol, even for law abiding people."
Since drunk driving and traffic accidents are a bigger problem than guns in bars we should also force all restaurants that serve alcohol with meals to do away with their parking lots. Lets stop traffic accidents that involve alcohol. Sure the majority of people are responsible but lets not take any chances.
Robin, I understand where you are going with your comment. I certainly agree that driving while drunk is a more serious problem than drinking while carrying. Certainly, though, we have been working hard as a country to penalize those who get caught by issuing tickets and fines. We can't stop all of the accidents. But we are trying with educating people about the risks, getting people to use the buddy system so the one who is driving is not drinking. Should we be doing the same with drinking while carrying? What do the carry classes teach about this? As with cars and drinking, it's too late once the accident has occurred and someone is killed. I am merely pointing out that we could potentially save more lives if we didn't allow guns in bars and places that serve alcohol. Since guns are weapons whose purpose is to injure or kill someone, and we know that having a gun while drinking is not a good idea, it makes sense to me to just not have guns in bars. I don't see the need for a gun everywhere I go and you do. This is a very philosophical difference between the gun rights activists and the gun control advocates. We are in 2 different worlds here and we will not agree about this one. So I suggest we move on.
18Echo June 30, 2011 at 12:44 PM
"What do the carry classes teach about this" In Ohio, we teach that alcohol and guns NEVER mix. That won't change. I just received word that the Governor is going to sign the restaurant / bar carry bill today (will take effect in 90 days) so we will adjust the training to make sure people understand that they are like designated drivers in that they must NOT drink if they choose to carry anywhere alcohol is served.
No one I associate with drinks and carries/handles firearms afterwards. period. That's how we get to be OLD gunnies..
It will be nice to not have to disarm just because I want to eat at red lobster though.
"This is a very philosophical difference between the gun rights activists and the gun control advocates. We are in 2 different worlds..."
I just ran across a very interesting book called "A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles" by Sowell. It's medium heavy lifting, but I have found it to be really quite enlightening in my quest to understand how we end up in such different worlds. Sowell is a hard core conservative, but this book is more of a scholarly work that keeps his views largely out of it and presents the underpinnings of how we end up on either side of "the fence". Owning a kindle has made it way too easy to buy such books..
japete June 30, 2011 at 12:55 PM
I like the attempt at some humor to lighten things up, 18Echo. I'm happy to hear that you and your friends are so responsible. Would that all others would do the same but such is not the case. Yes, I, too, have a Kindle. That book sounds interesting. I think there are many reasons and it's always amazing to me that people can think so differently about the same thing.
In the examples (links) you provided, in both instances the shooter first left the premises, THEN returned with a handgun. Apparently, even the permit holder was not carrying at the time of the original confrontation. Given that, these examples only prove that guns and alcohol consumption don't mix. That's a given. Wheteher the gunmen went to their homes or their cars to retrieve the gun does not matter. At that point they both had plenty of time to decide their next actions. In both cases, they decided to return and fire shots. No law would have stopped them, and didn't. It's already against the law to shoot someone when it's not self defense.
Further, had someone with a lawfully carried gun been in the bar, they very well may have been able to stop this madman before he killed and injured so many. Last point: Apparently smoking DOES kill.
japete June 30, 2011 at 1:30 PM
I was just waiting for someone to say that surely someone with a gun could and certainly would have stopped one of these incidents. Of course, you can't say that for sure. Yes, they both had time to think about it but what if they didn't have a gun available? Maybe a fist fight?
"Yes, they both had time to think about it but what if they didn't have a gun available? Maybe a fist fight?"
Or a knifing, or arson, or... You get the point. If a person decides he/she wants to harm others, they'll find a way. The only way to make sure there isn't a gun available would be to have a total gun ban (but then you've said that is not your goal), and even then, exactly how are you going to get EVERYONE to turn theirs in? Without a magic genie, I find that to be very unlikely.
Guns account for more injury deaths than any other method of homicide. That is because they are easy to use and more lethal. You can shoot from a distance and shoot more than once.
FatWhiteMan July 1, 2011 at 10:50 AM
Ohio Governor John Kasich did sign SB17 yesterday to close the restaurant loophole.
Joan, what would it take to convince you that the gun rights advocates are correct?
Play pretend for a minute, and list what it would take to convince you that gun laws are adequate as they currently exist.
Going even further, what would it take to convince you that a particular gun law should be reformed or even repealed?
I'm speaking purely in generalities because I don't want to get bogged down in debating a specific sub section of the debate over guns.
kthanxbai
japete July 1, 2011 at 11:34 AM
Yes. I saw that. I'd just hate to have one place where you guys can't carry your guns.
japete July 1, 2011 at 2:46 PM
Back at you, kthanxbai.
Cargosquid July 1, 2011 at 7:21 PM
In Virginia, it was mandatory for all firearms to be carried openly in any place that served alcohol. Now, it is legal to carry concealed.
The difference? Previously, there was no law preventing those carrying from drinking. Now there is.
And nothing has changed. There were and are no shoot outs in the bars and restaurants.
Dr. Art Kamm July 2, 2011 at 10:25 AM
This is Dr. Kamm. My article was referenced in paragraph 4 above. I am not a member of any advocacy group, pro or con. I have a background in product safety/regulation and was a corporate officer in a regulated industry within the healthcare sector. Legislation that would increase public exposure to loaded weapons in establishments that serve alcohol raised concerns for me, and let me address of couple of points from the discussion on this blog.
First, regarding product safety, it is not history that counts, it is potential. For example, drug products were marketed for several decades without any requirement to evaluate safety until one finally claimed the lives of over 100 people through poisoning in the 20th century. Today we take for granted that the behavior of a drug product is understood before we or members of our family take it. The arguments that prevented safety evaluation for these products were much the same as we hear today for gun products in eating and drinking establishments; i.e., there have been no problems so why address an issue that does not exist.
Second, in product safety one needs to take into consideration the intended use of the product. For example, the intended use of an automobile is transportation - getting from point A to point B. Although we do have people make the decision to use that product when impaired, the intent is not to take a life. When the decision is made to use a handgun, the intent is to inflict serious bodily injury, including killing, another person - and that decision must be made without impairment.
When one examines the effects of ethanol, the well-documented history of alcohol-related violent behavior, the many documented instances of individuals with gun permits who have carried weapons while intoxicated and even discharged them (including law enforcement officers who are sworn to uphold the law), and the risk behavior study (the UC Davis study) that showed a greater likelihood of heavy alcohol use in gun owners than non-gun owners, there is little doubt that the day-to-day presence of loaded guns in establishments that serve alcohol increases the opportunity for unnecessary firearm discharge in a public setting. Can an individual drink at home and then carry the weapon into public? Of course, but would not mixing guns and alcohol consumption in a public setting just increase the likelihood for problems?
This country permits firearm ownership and I have no problem with that. But that right should not trump common sense regulation just as we do with other products.
If you guys suddenly cooperated with the common sense gun control laws that we propose and we saw a tremendous decrease in gun violence, we would naturally want stricter laws in order to lower even more the remaining gun violence. Eventually, I and most of the others would conclude that no guns at all in civilian hands is the best way to go.
That quote is from one of your frequenter commenters and supporters -- Mikeb302000.
You keep saying that no one wants to take away our firearms but isn't that exactly what Mikeb302000 is trying to do?
So.....why shouldn't we resist your efforts and his to restrict any level of our rights when it appears it is just a ploy for eventual disarmament?
While in college I belonged to a group that was centered around marksmanship and competitive shooting.
This was in a state that allows concealed carry in establishments that serve alcohol.
Among our group of ten-fifteen individuals, those who were picked to be the designated drivers for the evening were also assigned the responsibility of being the designated defensive personnel (it was rather amazing that the group consisted of people who had both drivers licenses and concealed weapons permits.)
Now, if a bunch of twenty-something college students were able to work out a process whereby those who carried abstained from drinking, I fail to see why such a common sense notion wouldn't apply to members of the public at large.
I believe this is a failure to understand irony.
Now I have to say that having a designated defenisve personnel is one of the most ridiculous things I have heard of. What in God's name were you all so afraid of that you had to designate someone to defend you all? Where in the heck do you live anyway? We are not at war.
What I believe it to be is a failure of your ability to admit the truth.
People like Mikeb302000 want to disarm everyone but the military.
You yourself stated that you would keep pushing for ever restrictive laws until Zero firearm related murders.
That leads to total civilian disarmament.
There are people who call for repeal of the 2nd Amendment and banning handguns/assault weapons/shotguns they don't like/ hunting rifles they don't like.
You keep accusing us of being extremist without admitting that gun control advocates have their extremists also. And more people on your side are willing to push for gun bans.
I provided one example and you blow it off.
You've said you won't give up any existing gun control laws, Baldr has said the same thing, MikeB302000 has said the same thing.
So why should we even sit down and talk about 'reasonable' gun control laws when your side won't give up anything ?
Bryan Strawser July 2, 2011 at 6:42 PM
"The gun lobby loves to tell you that permit holders know they are not supposed to drink while carrying and that it is illegal in the first place."
Under Minnesota statute, a permit holder legally carrying a firearm, must have a BAC under 0.04%. There is not a prohibition otherwise on carrying in a restaurant or bar.
Most instructors, including myself, would highly advise not drinking when carrying a firearm.
"The answer is not to expand gun carrying to more public places but to have fewer guns in public places. Because we now allow guns in public places, people think they need guns to protect themselves from people with guns in public places. Such flawed logic should not stop the states and our country from making sensible gun laws for the sake of public health and safety. "
There's absolutely zero data that indicates that carrying a firearm in a bar or restaurant that serves alcohol has created any sort of statistically significant problem in any state where this is legal.
This has been legal in Minnesota since the MPPA was passed in 2003 - in eight years, there's been no upward trend in crimes committed in these restaurants or bars - or connected crimes committed by intoxicated permit holders within such a bar or restaurant - that would indicate that there is some sort of a problem.
If there's no data to support that there's an issue, why should this be illegal?
"Now I have to say that having a designated defenisve personnel is one of the most ridiculous things I have heard of. What in God's name were you all so afraid of that you had to designate someone to defend you all? Where in the heck do you live anyway? We are not at war."
Why is this ridiculous? I'd like to see more individuals take responsibility for their personal safety - whether they're carrying a firearm or not.
"Back at you, kthanxbai."
What would it take for me to advocate for the liberalization or outright repeal of certain gun laws?
Why, simply applying a strict scrutiny standard to them in the same way that legal violations of the first amendment must pass a strict scrutiny standard in order to hold up in court.
If said gun laws cannot meet with such a standard, they are clearly unconstitutional and therefore illegal.
Also, for further reference, kthanxbai is internet shorthand for "Ok, thanks for your time, buh-bye now."
Good, then we can agree that background checks on all gun sales would meet your standards. They are not unconstitutional and have not been found so. In both Heller and McDonald it was found that gun laws that restrict who can have guns, where they can have them and what kind of guns are within the second amendment which only found that it is constitutiuonal to have a gun for self defense.
Neither Heller or McDonald say anything about applying a strict scrutiny test to the second amendment.
Durrrrrrr.
Stew July 6, 2011 at 9:40 AM
Noah Webster said "Before a standing army can rule the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States."
We can draw from that the necessity of military quality arms, many of which are currently used for hunting deer.
Also worthy of consideration is the original text of the 2nd Amendment:
The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person.
Stew- I need a source for your Noah Webster quote. I have found that very often founding fathers and the like are misquoted. Also, as to your last, we go by what the 2nd Amendment actually says, not what the original one or any other version. The one that is in our Constitution is the one with which we abide.
Mike W. July 6, 2011 at 3:57 PM
Here in DE we can carry in places that serve alcohol. What's more, it's legal to drink while carrying.
Despite this there haven't been a rash of CCW holders getting plastered, whipping out their guns and shooting people. In fact, I've yet to read of an instance in which a DE CCW holder got drunk at a bar/restaurant and pulled a gun.
It's simply not a problem that needs to be addressed by the legislature. Hell. I've open carried into a bar and yet somehow I wasn't overcome with the sudden urge to start downing shots, start fights and wave my gun around.
There's no law against carrying in places that serve AND no law against drinking while carrying. Despite this we still don't have problems. If there's no evidence of an actual problem then there's no need for more gun control laws, right Joan?
I'm into prevention Mike. I'd rather not have someone get shot in case of drink and shoot. It's pretty simple. Everyone knows that alcohol does funny and not so funny things to people. Why take a chance?
If allowing concealed carry is demonstrably not a problem in those states that allow it, what, exactly, is it you are preventing by disallowing similar laws being passed in other states?
Dr. Art Kamm July 8, 2011 at 6:41 AM
I have published a follow-up article to the one referenced in paragraph 4 of this blog (link provided below). I am not a member of any advocacy group, pro or con, on gun rights. The issue I have is not one of gun ownership; mine is a public safety concern regarding the presence of loaded weaponry in an environment where alcohol is being consumed. My belief is that there is something that both sides of this gun debate can agree, however, and that is individuals should have the right to be fully informed regarding their decision to purchase any goods or service. With the level of out-of-state traffic, including from abroad, that enters eating and drinking establishment who should not be expected to know the differences between individual states on laws, I believe an Opt-In requirement, i.e., signage stating that law permits those with concealed carry permits to bring their handguns into an establishment would allow all to make an informed decision about whether they wish to enter an establishment - these laws are typically only Opt-Out requiring no signage at establishments that permit gun carry. I don't see any down side to either side of the debate by making these laws Opt-In and this could provide some common ground. The arguments are made in this article: http://www.artonissues.com/2011/07/guns-alcohol-and-legislation-part-2-commerce-and-opt-in/
japete July 8, 2011 at 7:09 AM
Thank you Dr. Kamm for your follow-up article about guns in bars and restaurants. I think your idea about an "opt-in" is an interesting and good one. If business establishments really understand what this is about, they might think twice if they have to opt in rather than opt-out. Your linked article after the Tucson shooting was also very complete about the current environment that makes gun talk and gun carrying the norm rather than the outlier in our country.
Memorial Bell Garden for Minnesota victims of gun violence
The bell tolls for lost lives
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New Trajectory
Music Video: "Bang Bang Bang" sung by Tracy Chapman
Ohh Shoot
Woman laying in bed shot in head when bullet comes through row house wall
A Lott of Lies about guns in the New York Times
Mikeb302000
Blog Status
Walmart Shootings
Walmart halts sale of assault rifles and sniper rifles!
Kid Shootings
3 year old Missouri girl killed in accidental shooting
Can guns "go off" without someone pulling the trigger?
In my blog post that has stirred up the "gun guy" blogosphere, "Where there is an open mind...." , one of the questions ...
Gun laws in Greece
I will be away from my blog for a few weeks because of a trip to Greece. My husband and I and another couple are traveling to mostly the...
Gun laws in Italy
So we are traveling to Venice and then on to Slovenia and Croatia. It makes a nice triangle of travel. Two other couples are joining us fo...
Gun laws in Croatia
Our next stop is the country of Croatia. This "new" country was formed after the break-up of the former Yugoslavia and has becom...
Keeping us dumb about guns
We need the facts, ma'am. That's all. If we had some facts, perhaps we would better regulate who can have guns, where they have them...
Gun laws in Slovenia
Now we are in Slovenia, just hours away from Venice. Venice, Slovenia and Croatia form a triangle near the Adriatic Sea coast. Slovenia wa...
Other sites of interest
A Law Abiding Citizen
Armed Road Rage
Brady Campaign to prevent gun violence
Campaign to Close the Gunshow Loophole
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
Common sense for kids and guns
IANSA Women's Network
Kids and Guns ( brochure about safety in the home)
Legal Community Against Violence
Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Media Matters (gun facts)
Meet the NRA
My Inner Chick
NRA's safe gun use and storage information
Ohio Cease Fire
Protect Minnesota
States United to prevent gun violence
Students for gun free schools
Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort
Women in Crime Ink
KEEP YOUR COMMENTS CIVIL PLEASE
Comments are allowed but are moderated for civility and decency. My blog is intended to change public opinion about the gun debate and all readers will not agree with me. No comments that demean, debase, attack, call names, or are generally impolite, rude and offensive will be published. In general, comments that are "snarky", mean, overly aggressive or harassing will not be published. Keep the language clean and respectful. Anonymous commenters are not allowed on this blog. Thanks to my readers for participating.
Common Gunsense
Check out the Protect Minnesota Facebook Page
Protect Minnesota- preventing gun violence
Favorite books and movies about gun violence prevention and policy
"A Well Regulated Militia" by Saul Cornell
"America's Great Gun Game" by Earl E. McDowell
"American Gun"- movie about a shooting and how the gun was traced
"Balance of Power" by Richard North Patterson
"Beyond the Bullet" by Heidi Yewman
"Lethal Logic; Exploding the Myths That Parlalyze American Gun Policy" by Dennis Henigan
"Looking for a Few Good Moms" by Donna Dees-Thomases
"Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult
"Unintended Consequences" collected articles by the Violence Policy Center
Videos about gun shows and gun violence prevention
" The Good News", song by Sara Thomsen about a church shooting
Desription of a gun show from Ladd Everitt of Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
Do you need a background check to buy a gun? Ladd Everitt of Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
Gunshows- No Questions Asked
Jimmy Kimmel parodies Starbucks/Open Carry
Kids and Guns
NY City hidden camera video of gun shows
Rachel Maddow talks about April 19th gun rallies
The Young Turks talk about lawsuit against state of Texas by 18 year old
Video of Open Carry protesters in Wisconsin
Video of Seattle Starbucks press conference about Open Carry of guns
Video of Tracy Ullman at a gun show- satire
Virginia Tech shooting victim, Colin Goddard, tells his story and exposes gun show no background check sales
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A review of Max Sollitt’s The Correspondence Course
How do we define good writing? Are there clear boundaries between writing genres, fact and fiction, history and theory, writing and criticism? These are some of the questions raised by Max Sollitt’s first novel The Correspondence Course, which defies its own definition of ‘novel’.
How do we define good writing? Are there clear boundaries between writing genres, fact and fiction, history and theory, writing and criticism? These are some of the questions raised by Max Sollitt’s first novel The Correspondence Course, which defies its own definition of “novel” by presenting its story simultaneously as a historical manuscript found in the year 2025, a series of creative writing exercises sent through the post to a correspondence school, and as letters of critique and justification based around the stories. The many layers of reality in this novel make for an interesting read, as it looks at some critical moments in the life of its protagonist Oswald Brown the writer, alongside his creative character, Osbert Johnson, whose life mirrors that of the writer’s. The stories move across three decades, two wars, love, birth, death and divorce. The overall story, building as it does between the short stories, brief assignments and a novella, is a compelling one, leading us piecemeal towards an understanding of the character of Oswald and Osbert, following their parallels, their thought processes and their methods of dealing with both the creative process and the experiences which confront them. The structure is clever and raises questions about both the writing and the critiquing process which could be fascinating, however, the unevenness of the structure is partly to blame for this book not realising its potential. To a certain extent the criticisms levied at Oswald’s final novella are the criticisms that could be levied on this book as a whole, and perhaps that is part of the irony: “The characterization is poor – the overall structure is also clumsy” (224). However it is hard to see exactly how to take this irony or how it should be applied to a reading of the book. The final novella takes up nearly half of the book, which is a fairly short one in any case (224 pages), and the lack of balance in size and depth between the first stories and the final novella making the interplay between story and criticism seem clumsy and strained, undermining the philosophical questions. One can imagine that the final novella is meant to be the culmination of the initial stories, the writer’s craft building along with his understanding of the world and the impact of the written work and its relationship to the truth of the story, but this message is too oblique, the final story too similar in structure and context to a traditional novel to work well in the context of the overall story, and yet too short and involved in the overall structure to work as a novel itself.
It is difficult to criticise a novel which has as its subject, and indeed to a certain extent parodies, the critical process. One is aware of sounding like the creative writing instructors, whose values on what makes for a work of literature are brought into question. However there must be some objective criteria for what makes a novel work or not work, and questions of structure, characterisation, theme and the overall linguistic power are all relevant, regardless of the nature of the work. Despite the interesting story, the characters in The Correspondent Course are underdeveloped, with Oswald’s premature submission of his novella A Day at the Beach to the Ingerman Literary Agency, his irritation at the criticism levelled at him, and his confidence in his own ability, coupled with Osbert’s attempts to blame his woes on others, the death of his daughter on his wife, his failures on his father, his mother, his school and ultimately God, leaving the reader unsympathetic to his plight, and perhaps less interested than they would otherwise be in his story, which occurs during one of our most interesting periods in history. The initial e-mail from the Sydney University History department claiming to unearth the manuscript in a box of old books in a Glebe second hand shop provides an opportunity to add another layer of truth and other interesting characters to the story, but since the characters of Sian and Huong only appear in the beginning and are not referred to again in the story, that whole theme seems superfluous, as if an afterthought. Perhaps this thread could have been picked up again and developed further, thereby pulling together some of the more interesting themes of time passing, technological and moral change; the permanence of words, the way in which words create reality, etc, but again this little introduction is left hanging and seems to be simply another clever device, without power or relevance in the overall story.
Despite its clumsiness of structure and paucity of character, as a first novel, the work shows promise, taking innovative risks in its difficult structure, and leaving the reader with a feeling that the book might have been an excellent one, if the story and structure were worked out more clearly and the characters developed with more depth, along with a clearer narrative voice. Certainly the concept is compelling and shows promise. Once again, Sollitt himself comes up with the most appropriate criticism, when the literary appraisal of Osbert’s novella states that his attempt is “a very creditable effort”. (224) Perhaps future works by Max Sollitt will realise this potential.
Tags: fiction literature
← Interview with Max Sollitt
A review of Sue Gough’s The Nether Regions →
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Whitney Dailey
Sky’s Ocean Rescue Campaign Educates on Ocean Trash
Ocean trash has become a serious environmental issue – especially plastic trash like single-use bags and straws. In fact, there are an estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean today, according to National Geographic – and that number continues to grow. But, it can oftentimes be hard for people to grasp the severity of the situation unless they live in areas where trash continually washes up on their beaches. Now, one U.K. broadcasting company is aiming to educate consumers by making the issue urgent and personal.
Sky recently launched its Ocean Rescue campaign to first educate and then change the behavior of consumers around the issue of plastic ocean trash. The effort launched with a 45-minute documentary screened across all of its channels. To make the issue hit home, Sky featured data specific to the U.K., such as "that the number of plastic bottles washing up on U.K. beaches rose 43 percent between 2014 and 2015 and only half of plastic bottles are currently collected for recycling, despite 35 million being sold in the U.K. every day." But the campaign also goes one step further, showing how ocean trash can have a very direct impact on all of us. In fact, a short video associated with the campaign demonstrates how ocean microplastics can end up in the seafood we eat every day. The film even shows a scientist digging in to a plate of mussels, only to reveal that it contains about 90 particles of plastic – and as many as 4,000 fragments may end up in our bodies yearly by the end of the century. Beyond touching on the very real health implications of the plastics in our oceans, Ocean Rescue has also recruited a host of well-known U.K. figureheads to spread the word, including Sir Richard Branson, Prince Charles and astronaut Tom Peake.
Plastics in our ocean are probably the last thing on consumers' minds when they bag up their groceries at the store, but Sky hopes to change that by showing how the issue actually hits very close to home. In fact, 89 percent of global citizens think companies need to do a better job of showing how a company's social and environmental efforts are relevant to them, and Ocean Rescue does just that. Now, the next time U.K. consumers are asked if they'd like a plastic bag with their purchase, their minds just might turn to the fish they're having for dinner that evening.
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WHAT'S ON WATCH CHANNELS UPDATES PEOPLE LOG-IN
Channels Channel 4 HD The Great British Bake Off Forum
When is The Great British Bake Off on?
The Great British Bake Off Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith set three tough challenges for the remaining 10 bakers in bread week, including an ambitious sculpture showstopper. (S1 Ep3/10) [AD,S] Wed, Jul 17, 10:45 AM More 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off For the very first time on the show, it's caramel week, with three sticky challenges for the bakers, including a super sweet signature and a double Dutch technical. (S1 Ep4/10) [AD,S] Thu, Jul 18, 10:45 AM More 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's pudding week, and Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood are seeking perfection, with a staggering technical challenge and a multi-layered showstopper that's not to be trifled with. (S1 Ep5/10) [AD,S] Fri, Jul 19, 10:45 AM More 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's pastry week and the bakers face a tough triple challenge with a savoury signature, a multi-layered technical, and an ambitious traditional pie that pushes them to the edge. (S1 Ep6/10) [AD,S] Mon, Jul 22, 10:45 AM More 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's Italian week, and the bakers face a Sicilian signature, a deceptively tricky technical, and a fiddly showstopper in the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the tent. (S1 Ep7/10) [AD,S] Tue, Jul 23, 10:45 AM More 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off Our five bakers are stepping back in time and using unfamiliar recipes for forgotten bakes week. There's a sweet and savoury signature challenge and Prue sets a boozy technical. (S1 Ep8/10) [AD,S] Wed, Jul 24, 10:45 AM More 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's the semi-final. The remaining bakers are just three patisserie challenges away from the biggest day in their baking lives. But the heat is really on now. (S2 Ep9/10) [AD,S] Sun, Oct 28, 3:35 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's the semi-final. The remaining bakers are just three patisserie challenges away from the biggest day in their baking lives. But the heat is really on now. (S2 Ep9/10) [AD,S] Tue, Oct 23, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off Velkommen to Danish Week with a bread Signature requiring style and substance; a spherical Technical; and an elaborate pastry Showstopper fit for a Danish birthday party. (S2 Ep8/10) [AD,S] Sun, Oct 21, 3:10 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off Velkommen to Danish Week with a bread Signature requiring style and substance; a spherical Technical; and an elaborate pastry Showstopper fit for a Danish birthday party. (S2 Ep8/10) [AD,S] Tue, Oct 16, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's a Bake Off first with Vegan week, including a savoury pastry Signature without butter, a cracking Technical, and a risky but spectacular Showstopper. (S2 Ep7/10) [AD,S] Sun, Oct 14, 3:10 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's a Bake Off first with Vegan week, including a savoury pastry Signature without butter, a cracking Technical, and a risky but spectacular Showstopper. (S2 Ep7/10) Tue, Oct 9, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's Pastry Week, and Paul and Prue are looking for perfection - with savoury and sweet samosas, a classic French Technical, and a daunting majestic pie fit for a banquet. (S2 Ep6/10) [AD,S] Sun, Oct 7, 3:15 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's Pastry Week, and Paul and Prue are looking for perfection - with savoury and sweet samosas, a classic French Technical, and a daunting majestic pie fit for a banquet. (S2 Ep6/10) Tue, Oct 2, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's Spice Week and Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith set the bakers a classic teatime Signature. There's also an Arabian Technical and a fiddly Showstopper. (S2 Ep5/10) Sun, Sep 30, 3:10 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's Spice Week and Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith set the bakers a classic teatime Signature. There's also an Arabian Technical and a fiddly Showstopper. (S2 Ep5/10) [AD,S] Tue, Sep 25, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's Dessert Week and the bakers must create a cracking meringue Signature, a wobbly Technical, and a complex chocolate Showstopper that promises to reveal all. (S2 Ep4/10) [AD,S] Sun, Sep 23, 3:20 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's Dessert Week and the bakers must create a cracking meringue Signature, a wobbly Technical, and a complex chocolate Showstopper that promises to reveal all. (S2 Ep4/10) Tue, Sep 18, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's Bread Week, with the 10 bakers having much to prove with a fruity teatime Signature, a rather international-flavoured Technical, and an ambitious Showstopper. (S2 Ep3/10) [AD,S] Sun, Sep 16, 5:15 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's Bread Week, with the 10 bakers having much to prove with a fruity teatime Signature, a rather international-flavoured Technical, and an ambitious Showstopper. (S2 Ep3/10) [AD,S] Tue, Sep 11, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off The 11 remaining bakers face a tough test in Cake Week, including a crowd-pleasing signature challenge, Prue's first technical challenge and a chocolate collared showstopper. (S2 Ep2/10) [AD,S] Sun, Sep 9, 5:20 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off The 11 remaining bakers face a tough test in Cake Week, including a crowd-pleasing signature challenge, Prue's first technical challenge and a chocolate collared showstopper. (S2 Ep2/10) [AD,S] Tue, Sep 4, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off Bake Off is back. The tent awaits 12 of the nation's best amateur bakers who're out to impress judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, joined by Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig. (S2 Ep1/10) [AD,S] Sun, Sep 2, 4:40 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off Bake Off is back. The tent awaits 12 of the nation's best amateur bakers who're out to impress judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, joined by Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig. (S2 Ep1/10) Tue, Aug 28, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's the semi-final and the last four bakers are three patisserie challenges away from the biggest day in their baking lives. But first up, there's no business like choux business. (Ep9/10) [AD,S] Thu, Aug 16, 12:50 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off Our five bakers are stepping back in time and using unfamiliar recipes for Forgotten Bakes week. There's a sweet and savoury signature challenge and Prue sets a boozy technical. (S1 Ep8/10) [AD,S] Wed, Aug 15, 12:50 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's Italian week, and the bakers face a Sicilian signature, a deceptively tricky technical, and a fiddly showstopper in the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the tent. (S1 Ep7/10) [AD,S] Tue, Aug 14, 12:50 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's pastry week and the bakers face a tough triple challenge with a savoury signature, a multi-layered technical, and an ambitious traditional pie that pushes them to the edge. (S1 Ep6/10) [AD,S] Mon, Aug 13, 12:50 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's pudding week, and Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood are seeking perfection, with a staggering technical challenge and a multi-layered showstopper that's not to be trifled with. (S1 Ep5/10) [AD,S] Fri, Aug 10, 12:50 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off For the very first time on the show, it's caramel week, with three sticky challenges for the bakers, including a super sweet signature and a double Dutch technical. (S1 Ep4/10) [AD,S] Thu, Aug 9, 12:50 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith set three tough challenges for the remaining 10 bakers in bread week, including an ambitious sculpture showstopper. (S1 Ep3/10) [AD,S] Wed, Aug 8, 12:50 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's biscuit week. Paul and Prue set the remaining 11 bakers three new challenges, including a tricky filling and a final showstopper that is literally game-changing. (S1 Ep2/10) [AD,S] Tue, Aug 7, 12:50 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off Over 10 weeks, 12 contestants knead, bake and ice to impress judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, hosted by Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig. First up: cake week. (S1 Ep1/10) [AD,S] Mon, Aug 6, 12:50 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's the semi-final and the last four bakers are three patisserie challenges away from the biggest day in their baking lives. But first up, there's no business like choux business. (Ep9/10) [AD,S] Sun, Oct 29, 5:15 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's the semi-final and the last four bakers are three patisserie challenges away from the biggest day in their baking lives. But first up, there's no business like choux business. (Ep9/10) [AD,S] Tue, Oct 24, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off Our five bakers are stepping back in time and using unfamiliar recipes for Forgotten Bakes week. There's a sweet and savoury signature challenge and Prue sets a boozy technical. (Ep8/10) [AD,S] Sun, Oct 22, 5:15 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's Italian week, and the bakers face a Sicilian signature, a deceptively tricky technical, and a fiddly showstopper in the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the tent. (Ep 7/10) Tue, Oct 10, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's pastry week and the bakers face a tough triple challenge with a savoury signature, a multi-layered technical, and an ambitious traditional pie that pushes them to the edge. (Ep6/10) [AD,S] Sun, Oct 8, 5:15 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's pastry week and the bakers face a tough triple challenge with a savoury signature, a multi-layered technical, and an ambitious traditional pie that pushes them to the edge. (Ep 6/10) Tue, Oct 3, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's pudding week, and Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood are seeking perfection, with a staggering technical challenge and a multi-layered showstopper that's not to be trifled with. (Ep5/10) [AD,S] Sun, Oct 1, 5:15 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's pudding week, and Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood are seeking perfection, with a staggering technical challenge and a multi-layered showstopper that's not to be trifled with. (Ep 5/10) [AD,S] Tue, Sep 26, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off For the very first time on the show, it's caramel week, with three sticky challenges for the bakers, including a super sweet signature and a double Dutch technical. (Ep 4/10) [AD,S] Sun, Sep 24, 5:10 PM Channel 4 80 mins
The Great British Bake Off For the very first time on the show, it's caramel week, with three sticky challenges for the bakers, including a super sweet signature and a double Dutch technical. (Ep 4/10) Tue, Sep 19, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith set three tough challenges for the remaining 10 bakers in bread week, including an ambitious sculpture showstopper. (Ep3/10) [AD,S] Sun, Sep 17, 5:15 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith set three tough challenges for the remaining 10 bakers in bread week, including an ambitious sculpture showstopper. (Ep 3/10) Tue, Sep 12, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's week two, biscuit week, and Paul and Prue set the remaining 11 bakers three new challenges, including a tricky filling and a final showstopper that is literally game-changing. (Ep2/10) [AD,S] Sun, Sep 10, 5:25 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off It's week two, biscuit week, and Paul and Prue set the remaining 11 bakers three new challenges, including a tricky filling and a final showstopper that is literally game-changing. (Ep2/10) [AD,S] Tue, Sep 5, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off Bake Off is back! Over 10 weeks, 12 contestants knead, bake and ice to impress judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, hosted by Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig. First up: cake week. (Ep1/10) Sun, Sep 3, 4:10 PM Channel 4 75 mins
The Great British Bake Off Bake Off is back! Over 10 weeks, 12 contestants knead, bake and ice to impress judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, hosted by Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig. First up: cake week. (Ep1/10) Tue, Aug 29, 8:00 PM Channel 4 75 mins
Dvber 2019
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Alex Segura: The BLACKOUT Interview
By Steve Weddle
The lovely and talented Alex Segura did a stint as a regular blogger here at Do Some Damage. He's written a number of comic books, as well as the Pete Fernandez Miami Mystery series. Pete is back in BLACKOUT, the fourth in the series.
In BLACKOUT, startling new evidence in a cold case that's haunted Pete drags the exiled PI back to his hometown of Miami. But as Pete and his partner Kathy Bentley delve deeper into the unsolved murder, they become entangled in Miami’s obsession with a charismatic and dangerous cult leader and his even more menacing followers. At the same time, the detectives find themselves at odds with a Florida politician’s fixation on wealth, fame and power. It all converges in the heart of the Magic City and Pete is left scrambling to pick up the pieces—or die trying.
I recently fired up the email machine to chat with Alex about his new book.
Steve Weddle: The relationship between Pete Fernandez and Kathy Bentley has evolved over the books, and it’s been compared to the pairing of Dennis Lehane's McKenzie / Gennaro. Is that a fair comparison? How do you see the dynamic between your pair?
Alex Segura: I think it's fair, and I'll never dodge a Lehane comparison. Those books were hugely influential for me - the way Lehane shows that relationships, romantic and friendly, can be sloppy and wallow in the gray areas. I didn't know Kathy was going to be such a key player until near the end of SILENT CITY, when Pete finds her and she just jumps off the page. But even back then, you know there's a connection between them. So I put that in my back pocket and let the next two books unfurl, and they developed this really strong bond as partners and friends that I found myself enjoying as a reader and writer, which is rare. But I knew I had to shake things up in BLACKOUT, because while DANGEROUS ENDS, the third and most recent novel, finds them settling into a bit of a happy ending, they were still on the run - there was stuff bubbling under the surface. So, without giving too much away, I pivoted the relationship in a direction I think people wanted, but yanked it back in kind of a cruel way. It made it more interesting to me, and at the end of the day, that's my gauge for whether to write something one way or another - would I get a kick out of it as a reader? I get bored easily when things are happy and linear. I like gray areas and messy situations. I see them as eternal partners - whether that's professional, friendly or romantic depends on the circumstances, but in the same way Miami will always be a part of the series, so will Kathy. She's Pete's co-conspirator and as much of a star to the series as he is.
Image swiped from writersdigest.com
SW: One of the characteristics of the Pete Fernandez novels has been music as setting. Have you built scenes around songs or do you match the soundtrack up after you know what you want to happen?
AS: I think about music a lot when writing or when thinking about the novels. It's like creating a soundtrack to a movie in my head. Sometimes these references pop up in the actual book - whatever Pete is listening to in the car or at home, a nod to an artist - or in the playlists I put together as I write. Sometimes both. Like Bosch or Spenser or other iconic detectives, I wanted Pete to be a music fan - to unwind and think a case over while playing a favorite record. I've imbued him with similar tastes to mine because a) it was easier, not gonna lie and b) I felt like a lot of other books I was reading defaulted to jazz or older music - which is fine - but I wanted Pete to feel a little different, more vibrant - in the same vein as Nick Stefanos or his contemporaries.
SW: You've had organized crime and gangs and more in the previous books, and you've got a cult in this one. How much fun was it to write about a cult and did you find yourself tempted to go over the top?
AS: That's a great question. Yeah, I had to really keep it in check, because so many cults are known for their insane methods or some other, secondary fact and the cult I was creating for BLACKOUT needed to be more disturbing than that. So that's why it evolved into a faded, "defunct" cult that ends up being not so dormant by the time Pete crosses paths with them. I wanted it to seem like they were running a skeleton crew as opposed to being this robust, well-funded operation. In my research, I found that a lot of these cults, at least the ones that had long stretches, started out actually doing some good - helping the poor and undocumented, feeding the homeless, that sort of thing. Then there was a major wrong turn at some point, and a lot of the members felt trapped, tied to the rocket, basically. I used that as a template - this was a group that included some good people that were corrupted and morphed into something much more menacing, then went away and sprung back once they discover Pete meddling in something that could hurt them.
SW: How has Miami changed since you started writing about it?
AS: It's very different. The landscape has changed. Neighborhoods that were not great are now gentrified and hip. Wynwood didn't exist, really, when I lived there. The Miami I write is as true to the city as I can be, but is also "my" version of Miami. Places that maybe have closed still exist in my version. I get down there often because my parents live there and I have friends there, so I use that time as research along with socializing - I need to keep up with the changing skyline, honestly, and it's not easy. But as long as I do my research and stick to the things I'm familiar with, along with some great beta readers, I end up okay.
SW: We've see Pete change over the course of these past few novels, but how have you changed as a writer? Would Pete be a different character if you started writing him now?
AS: I think so. While you see hints of what the series is going to become in Silent City, it's still very much a linear PI novel, and while I think it's different, it also honors the genre and its tropes clearly. I don't think I'd write it the same way now, as you can probably see from the books that follow SC, which isn't a diss on PI novels, I'm just saying I don't really approach the Pete books that way. I'm aware it's a series and he's a private investigator, so there are some things that have to be there - a crime, a mystery, etc. But I also just want to write about whatever is interesting to me in the moment, and I'll find a way to make that work within the framework of Pete I've created, so I'm engaged in the writing, whereas with the first book I was very much thinking "how do I add to this pantheon of private investigators? What does this series need and how can I make it different?" And, of course, I'd also like to think I'm better. I don't know what other authors do, but I don't reread my older books. I'll flip through them to reference something or make sure my info is correct, but I don't have the desire to sit back and crack open one of my books - they're done. I'm on to the next thing and that's what I'm interested in: how can I make the next book something else, something more than the ones that came before.
SW: Whether a book or movie or TV show, a series can be tricky because people are reluctant to drop in after the story has started and, if you're already halfway through a season, who wants to go back and start all over? With that in mind. how easy is it to jump right into this series with this new book? Would you recommend a new reader start with four and go back? Or start with the first book and work forward?
AS: I always read series from the beginning. That's just me. I like to start at ground zero, or the author's desired ground zero, to learn about the characters and their world. That said, I've started series in the middle sometimes, picking up he "most acclaimed" book. But I always end up going back to the start. But I write each Pete book as a standalone, with the idea that it's going to be someone's first, because, if I'm doing my job, you're going to get new readers with each new book. I try my best to recap clearly and concisely, without bogging down the current book's narrative, because that, to me trumps all - the new book wins all. That's what matters most - making it good. But I do want readers of the series to feel like they're getting something special for being around since the first one, and on the flipside, I don't want new readers to feel lost or, even worse, bogged down by exposition. It's a tightrope, I won't lie. I've had beta readers say "Whoa, you just spoiled the whole series here!" And I get that, but I also think readers are savvy enough to figure out that they're coming into things late and hopefully they'll enjoy it enough to go back and read 'em all, even if they know where Pete will end up.
SW: I've seen authors spend a month high on a good review and wallow in the mire after a bad one. How do you deal with reviews? Do you even look?
AS: Yeah, I look. I have a publicity background, which is a huge help to me when promoting the books because I'm a total ham when it comes to interviews or what-have-you, but that also means I'm vigilant about coverage, including reviews. I see them pretty fast, and I don't have the self-control to not read them. Unfortunately, I feel like most authors are wired to dwell on bad reviews much longer than they should, whereas with the good ones it's like empty calories - like potato chips. You want another one because you're still hungry. I have gotten better, though. If I do get a bad review I get over it faster, and I try to appreciate the fact that the person took time out of their lives to read the book. Few things are for everyone, mystery novels included. Same with good reviews - I give myself a day to enjoy it then I move on, because people/fans forget about the good ones as fast as the bad ones, I think. The one lesson I've learned, over time, is that the best solution to any kind of review/promotional or perceptional book problem is to take a step back and talk about someone else's work. I try to plug authors all the time because it's a tough racket. There's value in recognizing good work, and I try to spread the love as much as possible. It also helps me, selfishly, because it gets my mind off whatever minor thing is stressing me out in relation to publishing - whether it's a review or potential review or whatever.
SW: I've heard that the key to marketing your product is to have other people break your news, so that you're not guilty of blatant self-promotion. What is something helpful to your author career that you've learned from your marketing/publicity career? What is something authors misunderstand here?
AS: Well, first off - there's no magic bullet, no single review or outlet that will "make or break" you. There's a handful of spots - New York Times, NPR, etc. - that will definitely move copies, but at the end of the day, it's about word of mouth, which is this vague hard to quantify thing. You need to get your books in the hands of the right people - tastemakers that will give the promotional cycle a life of its own. As a publicist, you're always happy when a PR hit you worked on happens. You're even happier when people you didn't even pitch start reviewing the book or asking for copies. It means the work resonated, and it all goes back to the book. Write a good book first and foremost, then worry about the window dressing.
Another thing that I think about a lot, especially when I'm careening toward release date and stressing about every little thing - plug other writers. Spread the love. It's the best tonic to the inside baseball publishing hamster wheel.
SW: Now that you've got a stack of books under your belt, what do you wish you'd known with your debut?
AS: I guess I'd tell myself to enjoy it more - events, panels, the writing. We can get so caught up in "what's next?" that we don't think about what's happening. It's something I've gotten better at, for sure, but I remember a lot of early events or things where I wasn't in the moment, and that's not ideal.
I'd also just tell myself to write the book I want to read, because no one else is, and that makes it unique - which is what you want your work to be: compelling and different.
Buy BLACKOUT
Posted by Steve Weddle at 6:54 AM
Labels: Alex Segura
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The Beauty of Blind Reading
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DPRP.net • CD & DVD Reviews • 2019 • 047
Published: Sunday 7 July 2019
Reviews in this issue:
The Akku Quintet - Depart
Iamthemorning - The Bell
Inventions - Logica
Jouis - Mind Bahn
Last Flight To Pluto - A Drop In The Ocean
Parallel Minds - Every Hour Wounds... The Last One Kills
Seven Steps To The Green Door - The?Lie
akkuquintet.com, Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter
Largo (14:35), Made In China (7:16), Breeze (3:44), Depart (10:52), Cyan (7:06)
The Akku Quintet is an eclectic jazz-prog group founded and led by composer and drummer Manuel Pasquinelli, whose other job is as the drummer for the minimalist post-rockers Sonar. With this quintet, he further explores minimalist grooves but in an atmospheric, prog-jazz setting.
The Akku Quintet’s Depart is their fourth release and was recorded live in the studio over a four-day period. The quintet is a quietly formidable unit and the music on Depart has the authority of a whispered order. They know, instinctively, that there is no need to shout.
The music on Depart relies on the subtle interplay of instrumentation over repeating phrases and rhythms, and the melodies are insistent in their jazzy intimacy. Imagine Soft Machine collaborating with Michael Nyman.
There is nothing on Depart that isn’t controlled; from the sonorous harmonies, to the intertwining and handing on of melodic and rhythmic lines between the players. On Largo you can follow the two competing rhythms that are established by Pasquinelli’s drumming and Maja Nydegger’s keys, that then melt together as Markus Ischer’s snaky, sustained guitar lines take the melody forward, before passing the baton on to Michael Gilsenan’s sax. The tempo builds along the way, as it explores a cracking jazz take on post-rock.
The rest of the album explores their singular musical world in a similar way. Made in China features a tuned percussion loop, a short bass solo from Andi Schnellmann and a guitar solo that threatens breakout of the controlled atmosphere and to go stratospheric. The title track has the sax taking the lead, as it moves away from a Soft Machine-like opening melody into some intense repetition.
On Depart The Akku Quintet have set out their stall as minimalist and eclectic jazz-proggers to great success. Showing themselves to be a group with exquisitely controlled chops. But just once or twice I wish they would just let fly. Hopefully that’s what they do in the live arena.
Martin Burns: 7
kscopemusic.com, Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter
Bandcamp, Soundcloud
Freak Show (7:09), Sleeping Beauty (3:42), Blue Sea (3:08), Black And Blue (3:58), Six Feet (3:56), Ghost Of A Story (3:58), Song Of Psyche (3:20), Lilies (4:28), Salute (7:27), The Bell (5:03)
Formed in 2010, Russian duo Iamthemorning have certainly struck a chord with the DPRP, with their first four albums (three studio and one live) receiving an average rating of 9 out of 10. The Bell is the fourth studio creation from the extraordinary talents of singer Marjana Semkina and pianist, keyboardist Gleb Kolyadin.
Recorded in Russia, the UK and Canada, with the exception of guitarist and recording engineer Vlad Avy, they are supported by a fresh team of musicians. Musically however, it will hold few surprises for those familiar with the previous albums.
In the words of Marjana: “Cruelty is the central theme of the album, together with all the different ways we respond to it and cope with it”. The beautiful cover artwork by regular collaborator Constantine Nagishkin, featuring a bell suspended above a grave, harks back to the Victorians who had an irrational fear of being buried alive. Musically, it’s described as a modern blend of rock, classical and folk, which I wouldn’t dispute although I would add 'progressive' to the list. Everyone’s favourite online encyclopedia also describes their music as ‘Chamber Prog’, but I think that’s a tad misleading.
From the first bars of the opening song, Freak Show, the listener is struck by the purity and grace of Marjana’s heavenly singing. In his review of the last album Lighthouse, DPRP colleague Andy Read likened her voice to that of Julianne Regan of All About Eve and there is certainly a similarity. Heather Findlay is probably an even closer comparison. I’m also reminded of Christina Booth of Magenta; not so much the sound of her voice but the phrasing and intonation. Given the lilt in her voice and the absence of an obvious accent, if you didn’t know she was Russian, you would swear she was of British or Irish descent.
Freak Show is a bit of an oddity in the context of this album, being by far the most mainstream rock-oriented, with a driving rhythm, distorted guitar solo and improvised saxophone. It’s probably the weakest tune on the album and as such a curious opener, although I rather like Avy’s classical guitar parts. In comparison, Sleeping Beauty, Blue Sea and Black And Blue are more stripped-back, with an acoustic vibe that allows the haunting melodies and Gleb’s exceptional, classically-trained piano playing to shine through. In that respect, the appropriately titled Sleeping Beauty is probably the album’s quintessential song with a gorgeous melody and a sumptuous piano solo.
Six Feet (which relates to the cover artwork) benefits from surging strings, courtesy of the St. Petersburg Orchestra "1703", whilst Song Of Psyche with its rippling acoustic guitar and plaintive theme is almost heartbreaking. The vocal and piano combination during Lilies put me in mind of Renaissance, especially Gleb’s strident solo around the three minute mark.
The album’s proggiest offering however is Salute, with an instrumental sequence that adds a touch of Mike Oldfield with trumpet, a soaring guitar solo and a tasteful synth and harp coda. The sparsely arranged title track, with just voice and piano, brings things to a serene close.
With its often gentle, thought-provoking songs, The Bell is a fine addition to the Iamthemorning catalogue. Although they occasionally spice-up the songs with a variety of instrumentation, including bass and drums, for me they are at their best with voice, piano and occasional acoustic guitar and strings. Judging by the venues on their tour later this year, they are popular in Germany, although music of this calibre has the potential to appeal on a universal scale and deserves the widest possible audience. Oh, and by the way Andy, you’ll be pleased to know that on several tracks Marjana sings right up to the very end.
Geoff Feakes: 8
inventions-music.com, Bandcamp, Facebook
Platonics (2:30), Logica (15:25), Mind Of God (5:04), Beholder's Eye (7:01), Three Worlds, Three Mysteries (5:43), Citadels (5:12), The Sum Of All Things (13:19)
This is the third album from Dutch multi-instrumentalist Christiaan Bruin in his Inventions series. It follows in the footsteps of Meta (2017) and Curiosity (2018). He has also released several albums under the pseudonyms Chris and The Black Codex, as well as being a member of Sky Architect, Mayra Orchestra and Nine Stones Close. A fine pedigree and an impressive work ethic, I think you’ll agree.
He composed, produced and plays (almost) all the instruments on this album, aided by the inimitable Theo Travis (soprano sax, tenor sax, flute), the DOT Quartet (strings) and Andy Rowe (narration). In the words of Bruin himself it’s a “concept album about the deep links between mathematics, logic, language, perception, art and physics”. Musically it borrows heavily from early Mike Oldfield and King Crimson and Bruin’s husky and reverb-drenched singing adds Peter Gabriel to the equation.
The two longest tracks, Logica and The Sum Of All Things, give Bruin ample space to layer the instruments and build to a grandiose peak in true Oldfield fashion. If you can imagine Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge or Icantations incorporating Gabriel’s voice, then you’ll have a fair idea of what to expect. There is even a lyrical reference to Music Of The Spheres, the title of Oldfield’s 2008 album.
Three Worlds, Three Mysteries does it more concisely and without the singing, rising to a majestic climax. As a result, it’s probably the best and most self-contained track on the album. The compelling orchestral repetition evident on several tracks owes a good deal to Phillip Glass.
Bruin proves himself to be a very capable musician on drums, bass, keys and guitar. Mind Of God captures the spirit of early Crimson complete with Robert Fripp-style guitar noodling and Mellotron samples. For his part, Travis adds playful flute and melancholic sax to the title song and an extended solo during Citadels. The DOT Quartet are also a major asset, from the rhythmic Platonics that opens the album, to the heavenly strings during the concluding The Sum Of All Things.
It’s not all good news however. The drawn out, distorted guitar solo during the title track is so excruciating, one has to wonder what possessed Bruin to play it.
My main issue with this album however is the narration. It’s a distraction during tracks like Three Worlds, Three Mysteries and Citadels but at least it’s contained at the beginning, whereas during The Sum Of All Things the narration is a recurrent and in my opinion unwelcome interruption throughout the track. It’s not helped by the fact that Rowe’s voice has been compressed, so that he sounds like an announcer on an old 1960s transistor radio.
Criticism aside, this album has a good deal to recommend it, especially if you can’t get enough of Mike Oldfield or early King Crimson and have a penchant for the more orchestral side of prog. Whilst Bruin’s voice is an acquired taste, he creates rich musical textures, with recurring themes and timbres that give the tracks a unifying quality. The detailed and colourful cover artwork by Marcus Springer also deserves a special mention.
jouis.co.uk, Bandcamp, Facebook
Collapse Rewind (2:54), Sinking Statues (3:34), Wiltons Green (3:00), Turtle (6:55), Cat (3:28), Cloud Plough (5:06), Medievil (6:22), Beachcomber (2:07), Effloresce (4:16), Sinking Statues (Flying Mojito Bros Refrito) (digital only) (7:14)
A few days ago, I visited the allotment of old Uncle Joe. His goose-white snowdrop hair, avalanched and drifting, sported an unruly cap. The tattered cloth of the cap was worn crookedly, in a late night party style. It balanced precariously upon his mushroom-grey scalp. He raised his garden-vintage flowerpot hands. As he then greeted me with a clasping embrace, I noticed that his palms were large, pitted and gravel; dressed by the toiling of the hoe.
We chatted for a while about the merits of using nature alone, to create the stunning colours, plants and flavours associated with his plot. He was disdainful of Cousin Pete’s vegetables. In the adjacent plot, with the aid of industrial-sized supports, Pete’s crowded, over-sized beans stood ungainly, gangly and tall. He scoffed that chemical enhancers enlarged them and tasting them would reveal a bitter, cloying, unnatural aftertaste.
Our discussions soon turned to music. Joe will only listen to vinyl. Experiencing his weathered collection, full of hearty crackles, clicks and clacks is in many ways the antithesis of hearing music housed within a pristine digital wrapper. Joe likens the way in which sound can nowadays be manipulated and squashed to suit digital listening, to the way in which Pete’s vegetable plot is overgrown and artificially sustained.
His argument is a simple one. Joe asserts that: "A natural, organic sound is always going to be superior to anything that is altered and tweaked for a certain type of market, or anything that might be superficially enhanced."
Listening to Jouis' Mind Bahn is occasionally a frustrating experience, and there were times when its disappointing sonic qualities appear to bear Joe's argument out. Mind Bahn contains some wonderful tunes and the trio’s overall performance is excellent. Unfortunately, on occasions, much that is positive about this release, is disguised and lost in a dense mulch of sound that makes it seem as if much of the recording of the album occurred in a cluttered auditory space. Consequently, Mind Bahn is often sonically unpalatable.
In many ways, the choice of production values, mirror Syd Arthur’s Apricity. Like Apricity, Mind Bahn seems as if it was recorded with the intention of listening to it on a phone, or some other lo-fi device.
It sounds condensed and compressed and there is often a muddy quality to the mix. This is particularly in evidence when a larger range of instruments and vocal harmonies are involved such as during parts of Effloresce and during the Caravan and early Pink Floyd-esque meanderings of the otherwise excellent Wiltons Green.
One of the pieces that suffers the most from sporadic bouts of misplaced loudness, distortion and sonic disfigurement is undoubtedly Turtle. It is a well-crafted tune with some genuinely beautiful aspects and exciting instrumental parts, but the recording's inability to allow its individual components adequate room to breathe, frequently creates a narrow-based spectrum of sound, that at times is neither pleasing on the ears, nor soothing to the mind.
As if to emphasise this point, a well spun, more open, live version of this tune is available on Youtube. The live performance emphasises the beautiful melodies of the piece, but discards the condensed and narrow sound of the studio version. Compare it with the studio version and you will probably understand what I am trying to express. Nevertheless, Turtle is still in many ways probably the most satisfying composition on the album.
Not-withstanding my less than enthusiastic feelings about the album's overall sound, Mind Bahn contains many fantastic moments and offers many memorable melodies and fine instrumental passages. Trapped within the constraints of its sonic cage, yowling, scraping, biting and clawing to escape, a great album lies in wait. Tunes such as Sinking Stones, Turtle, Cloud Plough and Medievil have much to offer.
The release also contains some delightful acoustic tunes, where the mix is perfect and not an issue. Indeed, whenever the instrumentation and vocals are sparse, the album comes into its own. The acoustic tunes act as stripped-back, spacious interludes and offer a pleasing contrast to the squashed sound and busier style that is predominant in many of the other pieces.
Cat is a contemplative piano piece that hits all the right spots. Beachcomber is a lovely acoustic guitar and vocal piece that evokes memories of the pungent aroma of seaweed and the sparkling twinkle of wave-washed seashells, in strolls in and amongst the driftwood.
If a listener manages to persevere and look beyond Mind Bahn’s production values, there are many things to enjoy and admire. Not least of which, is Jouis' excellent and admirable knack of channelling a style that signposts a palatable mix of West-Coast-meets-Canterbury.
In this respect, Mind Bahn is a worthy successor to the band's clear-sounding and excellent debut album Dojo. Mind Bahn capably expands and develops the pleasingly melodic, laid-back style that was so fresh and captivating in that album.
Exquisite vocal harmonies reminding me of CSNY, Wishbone Ash and early Yes still lie at the heart of many of the tunes. A distinctive laid-back vibe pervades the album and this is skilfully juxtaposed with some heavier rhythms and strident instrumental passages. In this respect, the instrumental piece Medievil is a fine example of the band's prowess in creating a bone-shaking, head-nodding sound when the need arises.
In Mind Bahn, Jouis have once again succeeded in creating an album where jazz rhythms, psychedelic musings and lush vocal harmonies play a part. The album contains a set of ear-friendly and sometimes complex tunes that possess an ability to uplift the spirit.
It is such a shame about the overall sound quality. At the time of writing, Mind Bahn is available in two versions, as a digital download and as a vinyl. This review was constructed, using WAV files as the source material, so it is unlikely that any other formats will sound significantly different.
As I left the allotment, I found myself unable to resist the temptation to glance back and compare Uncle Joe and Cousin Pete’s vegetable plots and consider their approach to cultivation.
Pete's crop sported a canopy of unnatural leaves, defended by a phalanx of slug pellets. Consequently, the plants had little room to develop, or breathe. In comparison, Joe's patch was verdant, but sparser. It was obvious however, that Joe's plants were able to reach upwards, without the aid of supports and with ample space to express their beautiful foliage. His careful nurturing and conviction about 'what tastes best', had given his crop lots of room and many opportunities to develop naturally.
With this in mind, I could not help to reflect upon about how better Mind Bahn might have sounded, if the recording engineer, producer and band had cultivated the music in a different, more natural and organic manner.
Owen Davies: 7
lastflight2pluto.com, Facebook, Twitter
Masheena (8:52), Time And Love (7:00), The Kings Are Dead (8:09), Coverland (8:22), Morning Glow (7:45), Supergirl (9:43)
Wales is famous for many things: Saint David, Mount Snowden, rugby, Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, the location for the re-launch of Dr Who, and a few dragons to name but a few. But who would have imagined that Wales is slowly becoming the centre of the progressive rock universe? Could this be due to the involvement of The Doctor? Perhaps Torchwood should investigate? If the second release by Last Flight To Pluto, A Drop In The Ocean, is anything to go by, then this certainly adds a strong argument to confirm this theory.
Last Flight To Pluto are a relatively new band, who have quickly created positive waves within the progressive press. This was evidenced by the band being featured in the Limelight section, in the June 2016 issue of Prog Magazine.
The band's first release, See You At The End, was reviewed by DPRP in 2015, and received favourable comments from reviewer James R Turner.
A familiar name jumped out at me when I looked at the list of band members; namely Daz Joseph. After doing some research, I was able to confirm this was the same Daz who I had the privilege to meet and see play for Ezra, who were supporting Threshold at Rotherham in 1998.
Ezra were a band (surprise, surprise) originating from Wales, and who released three great prog rock albums between 1994 and 2006. They received a degree of notoriety by appearing on a BBC Radio One show, after a fan contacted the show to report that "Ezra were better than Better Than Ezra." Ezra were occasionally helped by Rob Reed, who added keyboards to their sound. Rob is the multi-talented mastermind behind Cyan, Magenta, and many more bands. He has recently released a newly recorded version of the Doctor Who theme, and is also, unsurprisingly, a Welshman. The connections continue to grow as Rob, after hearing a demo track by Last Flight To Pluto titled Masheena, not only asked to add keyboards to the track, but also signed them to his co-owned label, White Knight Records.
What Last Flight To Pluto have released with A Drop In The Ocean, is a diverse CD; delivering songs which are immediately memorable, and could easily be played on popular commercial radio stations. The band mix catchy choruses, with strong instrumental passages. I can hear influences from bands such as Marillion, Rush and Pink Floyd to name but a few.
What helps elevate this release to something unique, is the mesmorising voice of Alice Freya. Imagine putting Paloma Faith, Cyndi Lauper and the aforementioned Dane Shirley Bassey into a blender. Mix them together, then add a pinch of Janis Joplin, and this will give you an idea of what to expect from Alice's vocals.
The album consists of six songs, all between seven and ten minutes long, but they seem much shorter when played. There are so many things packed into most of the songs, but this does not feel overwhelming. The instrumental sections never drag, but draw you into a stunning aural extravaganza. During the quieter moments, Alice's voice takes you on its own wondrous journey.
Highlights are the previously mentioned Masheena, which starts with a driving guitar riff, that pulls you in, before the tempo slows prior to your first experience of Alice's voice. The harmonies on this track, and throughout the album, are exquisite, and towards the end of the song, there is a section which reminds me of an exert from Marillion's Grendel. Masheena is a great album opener with intelligent lyrics, and provides just the right introduction to the band, making you want to listen to the rest of disc.
The second track, Time And Love, begins with the driving duel guitars of Jack Parry and Ryan Barnard, who provide some stunning duel guitar interplay throughout the album. It sounds as though considerable time has been spent during the writing process, to maximise the duel guitars. Consequently, it will require repeated listens to fully appreciate the intricacies in some of the musical passages.
Coverland begins slowly, before the band kicks in, with an intro which reminds me of early Rush. This is due to the guitars interplaying with the bass of Lewis Kreft, before Alice lets rip, turning the song into something reminiscent of early PJ Harvey.
I could continue describing the high quality of the songs, but I hope from the comparisons with the eclectic range of artists I have mentioned, that you have at the very least, a feel of what this band sounds like. Ultimately, Last Flight to Pluto have a lot to offer anyone who decides to give them a listen.
Before finishing, I want to come back to Daz Joseph. He provides some truly inspiring, and exceptional drumming throughout the album. He is also jointly responsible for the high quality production, co writing all songs with Alice, and contributing keyboards. He truly deserves the MVP award, for his contribution to this release.
To summarise; I am sure if you give Last Flight To Pluto a listen you will be rewarded with something out of the ordinary. This, I feel, is due to the youth and enthusiasm, along with the eclectic sound of the band. Hopefully, they will continue to produce the same high quality music for a long time to come. After repeated listens, this release could well be in my top ten at the end of the year. I highly recommend you give this a listen.
So, what is it that's in the Welsh water that helps to produce such high quality, multi talented artists? If anyone knows, then bottle it, because you could make a fortune. Could it be due to the interference of a rogue Time Lord? Who knows, but if it is, we can all be thankful for choosing to add his magic to the wonderful world of prog.
Stefan Hennig: 8.5
parallelmindsofficial.com, Bandcamp, Facebook
Every Hour Wounds... (1:38), The Last One Kills (4:56), Amerinds (3:49), On Your Own (4:40), I Am C (4:54), Syria (7:48), How (5:34), The 52Hz Whale (8:34), Kolyma (3:17); bonus tracks: Tonight He Grins Again (3:40), Syria (edit version) (5:46)
Parallel Minds have taken some serious progressive steps since their debut album Headlong Disaster was released in 2015. The groove-metal influences, reminiscent of Sepultura and Korn sound vibrantly playful, whereas the trashy riffs sound superior, more intense, angry, and tight, often reminding me of Symphony X. Bonded by a new drummer and a recently added bass player, a concrete foundation has also been cemented for a more concise progressive speed/power-metal tour de force.
On full force, the powerful metal tracks display a quantum variety of riffs, hooks and technical bravery. In the title track(s) Grégory Giraudo (guitars) forges strong melodies and catchy riffs surrounded by impressive technically skilful shredding. Amongst this tastiness, vocalist Stéphane Fradet utters raging screams or heartfelt, sharp and angry in-your-face vocals (which in I Am C might take some getting used to). His overall melodic vocal skills are arguably less eloquent, sounding like a scruffy, harsh Jon Oliva (Savatage), falling short within a James Hatfield (Metallica) timbre.
The Savatage influence is apparent in just about every song, be it melodic, metallic or atmospheric, where regular sirens of pre-Gutter Ballet come to mind with a Taunting Cobras finesse. Frankly this aspect is what slowly lures me in. Tonight He Grins Again, a cover from the iconic Streets by Savatage is a solid, sound and decent version, though it lacks the dark, dramatic atmosphere of the original, especially from a vocal point of view.
Both of the epics, Syria and The 52Hz Whale, radiate Iron Maiden and foremost Queensrÿche making them the most progressive and bombastic tracks on the album. The full album version of Syria, featuring guest vocals by Kobi Farhi (Orphaned Land) and Yossi Sassi (ex-Orphaned Land), is a far superior version to the edited bonus-track, making that an unnecessary addition. The inserted touches of melodic hard-rock / metal territories on Amerinds, On Your Own and How, to the death metal cages within Kolyma, all feel natural in this powerfully raging album.
With Every Hour Wounds... The Last One Kills Parallel Minds have upped their game, where the strong Savatage bond and the slowly revealing differences on multiple listens pull it out of the obvious trashy heavy metal. In comparison to their debut, this is a more cohesive and a much better balanced effort. Despite its welcomed modern production it may lack the subtlety and refinement usually applied within progressive rock, but it’s food for thought to power metal fans with a taste for progressive savouries.
Jan Buddenberg: 7
ssttgd.band, Facebook
ssttgd.band, Bandcamp
AΩ - I (2:56), Salvation (3:18), A Price To Pray - I (2:51), A Dream That Strayed - I (4:35), A Price To Pray - II (5:10), A Dream That Strayed - II (3:00), AΩ - II (2:53), Heaven (1:30), The Word Made Flesh (7:05), Hear My Voice Tonight (9:57), Come To Your Father (10:07)
When this release arrived in the post, I was surprised to find that in addition to the CD digipak (and press release) it also included a 48 page, A5-size booklet. Inside the digipak there is a note saying: “Please read full story The?Book / The?Lie before listening!” Needless to say, I gave the booklet (The?Book part 2) a courtesy thumb-through before playing the CD. It reads like a script for a play (or in this case, a rock opera) and whilst I still hadn’t fully grasped the story, it did not affect my enjoyment of the music in the slightest.
For the record, the concept is religious fanaticism and its effect on a family caught up in the actions of their zealous church leaders. It’s the second part of a proposed trilogy with the band’s third album The?Book (2011) being the first part. The Book in question is depicted on the cover of both albums, only on this latest, it's showing signs of wear and tear. Unusually, the band’s name doesn’t appear on the album cover and the title is very faint. If you're intrigued by the concept, both parts of the story can be downloaded from the band’s website. Given the time span between the two albums, it could be several years before the third part is released. (Some confusion is raised with the title being styled and spelled differently in documentation, Bandcamp titles, and artwork: The?Lie, The? Lie, and The ? Lie.)
The masterminds behind Seven Steps To The Green Door are the multi-talented Marek Arnold and drummer Ulf Reinhardt who both composed the music. The core lineup is Arnold (piano, organ, keyboards, soprano and alto saxophones, clarinet, seaboard, venova), Reinhardt (drums), Jana Pöche (vocals) as ‘Mother’, Lars Köhler (vocals) as ‘Samuel’, Anne Trautmann (vocals) as ‘Lover / Samuel's girlfriend’ and Stephan Pankow (electric guitars). They are joined by a host of guest musicians including Luke Machin (main electric guitars) and singers including Peter Jones. The narrative and lyrics are by George Andrade and the original story by Thoralf Koss.
The music veers from tuneful, melodic prog, to high speed prog-metal with some truly epic moments along the way, particularly in Heaven and the 10-minute closer Come To Your Father.
The singing is singularly excellent throughout. Köhler as ‘Samuel’ carries a good deal of the story (and singing) and is superb, whilst Jones as the ‘Father’ is a revelation, giving a histrionic performance far removed from his day job in Tiger Moth Tales. Both Pöche and Trautmann have beautiful voices, and the latter has an engaging duet with Köhler during A Dream That Strayed - II. To accommodate several characters in one song, there is also some impressive counterpoint singing, particularly in The Word Made Flesh and the 10-minute Hear My Voice Tonight. The latter also features an exquisite piano melody.
Arnold’s keys and sax playing is tasteful throughout, adding melodic fills where necessary to move the songs along and the occasional (and never indulgent) solo. Although the characters (and therefore singers) are listed for each song, the musicians aren’t, so it's not always obvious who’s playing on each song. With four electric guitarists credited, (Machin, Pankow, Andreas Gemeinhardt, and Jason Melidonie), staccato riffs and the occasional shredding solo are offset with some soaring flights of virtuosity. A fine example of the latter, appears during Come To Your Father which to my ears has Machin’s imprint. Along with Arnold and Reinhardt, he is also responsible for the arrangements.
There's no mistaking the violin playing of Steve Unruh, who provides a blistering solo during the metal-edged A Price To Pray - II. Michael Schetter as the main bass player does a sterling job throughout, and Reinhardt’s articulate drumming keeps things moving at a brisk pace.
With seven vocalists and eleven musicians involved, I realise I haven’t name-checked everyone but needless to say it's an ensemble work with stellar performances all round. My only gripe, and it's a minor one, is the spoken sections, especially the opening track AΩ - I (where Jones affects an American accent). Whilst I accept that they have a part to play in driving the narrative, personally I find them a distraction as far as the music is concerned.
Whilst I’m unfamiliar with the previous releases, given the reviews I’ve read and the quality of the music here, I’ll wager that this fifth album from SSTTGD is their best yet. It’s an ambitious and superbly executed project, with everyone involved rising to the occasion. It should appeal to prog fans in general and especially those who have a penchant for symphonic metal, the musicals of Clive Nolan or the concept albums of Arjen Lucassen and Ayreon.
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A robotic bartender mixes cocktails for guests. New technologies promise higher productivity and greater efficiency, but they also stoke fears about their effects on jobs, skills, and wages. Photo: Reuters
Home Real Insight Project Syndicate
Laura Tyson and Susan Lund - Dec 8, 2017 9:28am
Rage against the machine?
Intelligent machines are transforming the way we produce, work, learn, and live throughout the world. Almost every aspect of our economies will be radically altered.
Major logistics companies and individual drivers are using new technologies to optimize their route planning. Companies like BMW and Tesla have already released self-driving features in their automobiles, which are produced with the help of sophisticated robots.
The Associated Press is using artificial intelligence to help write news stories. 3D printers are being used to produce replacement parts – for both machines and humans. AT&T, in collaboration with Udacity, is offering online “nanodegrees” in data analytics. Drones are delivering health supplies to remote locations in poor countries.
These marvelous new technologies promise higher productivity, greater efficiency, and more safety, flexibility, and convenience. But they are also stoking fears about their effects on jobs, skills, and wages.
Feeding these fears is a recent study by the University of Oxford’s Carl Frey and Michael Osborne, and another by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), which find that large shares of employment in both developing and developed countries could technically be automated.
History and economic theory, however, suggest that anxieties about technological unemployment, a term coined by John Maynard Keynes nearly a century ago, are misplaced.
In the future, as in the past, technological change is likely to fuel productivity gains and income growth, boosting demand for labor. Add to that lower prices and rising quality, and demand for goods and services will also increase.
Many of the jobs created cannot even be imagined today, just as few people a century ago could have anticipated that automobiles would give rise to drive-through restaurants and roadside motels.
A new MGI report finds that under a moderate scenario for the speed and breadth of automation, about 15 percent of the global workforce, or 400 million workers, could be displaced between now and 2030. A faster pace of automation would trigger greater displacement.
The good news is that as a result of projected increases in demand for goods and services – driven primarily by rising incomes, the growing health-care needs of aging populations, and investment in infrastructure, energy efficiency, and renewables – enough new jobs are likely to be created to offset job losses.
But the new jobs will differ mightily from the jobs displaced by automation, imposing painful transition costs on workers, businesses, and communities.
Depending on the pace of automation, 75-375 million workers, or 3-14 percent of the global workforce, will need to change occupational categories by 2030. In the United States and other developed economies where automation is likely to occur more rapidly, 9-32 percent of the workforce may need to change occupational categories and the skills associated with them.
In these countries, jobs in major occupational categories like production and office support, and jobs requiring a high school education or less, are likely to decline, while jobs in occupational categories like health and care provision, education, construction, and management, and jobs requiring a college or advanced degree, will increase.
According to one recent survey, the majority of Americans are concerned that automation will increase income inequality. Their concern appears warranted. As many middle-wage occupations succumb to automation, income polarization in the US and other developed countries is likely to continue. If workers displaced by automation are unable to find new jobs quickly, frictional unemployment will rise, putting downward pressure on wages.
So, what can be done to speed and ease the occupational transitions that automation will compel? For starters, fiscal and monetary policies to sustain full-employment levels of aggregate demand are critical. Policies to promote investment in infrastructure, housing, alternative energy, and care for the young and the aging can boost economic competitiveness and inclusive growth, while creating millions of jobs in occupations likely to be augmented, rather than displaced, by automation.
A second response must be a dramatic expansion and redesign of workforce training programs. Over the past two decades, government outlays for skills training and labor-market adjustment have fallen in most OECD countries. That has been compounded in the US by a sizeable decline in business spending on training as well.
These trends must be reversed. Lifelong learning needs to become a reality. Jobs will change as machines take over some tasks, and human activities will require different skills. MGI’s analysis shows that higher-level cognitive abilities – such as logical reasoning, stronger communication skills, and enhanced social and emotional skills – will become more important, while machines take over routine capabilities common in the workplace today, including in cognitive tasks like data collection and processing.
For mid-career workers with children, mortgages, and other financial responsibilities, training that is measured in weeks and months, not in years, will be necessary, as will financial support to undertake such training. Sending people for two-year degrees at their own expense is not the answer.
Instead, nanodegrees and stackable credentials are likely to gain in importance. German-style apprenticeships combining classroom work and practical work, and enabling participants to earn a salary while learning, could be important solutions even for middle-aged displaced workers. Collaboration between companies and educational institutions, as AT&T (on whose board one of the authors serves), Starbucks, and other firms are showing, can provide workers with the new or enhanced skills that are increasingly needed.
Tax and other incentives to encourage more business investment in workforce training, especially by small and medium-size companies, may be necessary. Governments will also need to offer universal and portable social benefits like health care, child care, and retirement security, as well as transition support, to workers who are forced to change jobs, occupations, and employers frequently.
Sweden’s job-security councils, run by the private sector and funded by a payroll tax on companies, provide displaced workers with a comprehensive suite of income support, training, coaching, and assessment with caseworkers.
Like previous technologies, automation today promises major productivity gains, benefiting individuals, communities, and societies. But, for millions of workers, the path to an increasingly automated future could be long and difficult.
It is up to us to make the policy and investment choices that can ease the transition, reduce its costs, and ensure that the income gains are equitably shared.
Copyright: Project Syndicate
Laura Tyson and Susan Lund
Laura Tyson, a former chair of the US President's Council of Economic Advisers, is a professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and a senior adviser at the Rock Creek Group. Susan Lund is a partner of McKinsey
Despite the potentially debilitating impact of the US embargo on its operations, Huawei Technologies has continued to develop new products as part of efforts to maintain its growth momentum globally. The Chinese telecoms equipment...
There is a good reason why every civilized country in the world tightly regulates its financial system. The 2008 global financial crisis, after all, was largely the result of rolling back financial regulation. Crooks,...
Budweiser APAC scrapped its plan to raise up to HK$76 billion in a Hong Kong listing, a deal that could have marked the world’s biggest IPO this year. Last month, Hutchison Chi-Med, a biopharmaceutical...
Facebook shouldn’t be trusted with Libra plan: US senators
Facebook’s track record should stand in the way of it launching a digital currency, US lawmakers said on Tuesday, labeling the firm’s plan for the Libra crypto unit “delusional” and “crazy”. “Facebook has demonstrated...
Tesla drops cheapest Model X, S variants, adjusts prices
Tesla Inc. has dropped the standard-range variants of its Model X and Model S from its product lineup and adjusted prices across its range, Reuters reports. To simplify its offerings, the automaker limited variants...
US lawmakers take jabs at Amazon, Big Tech in antitrust hearing
The US House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel pressed an executive from Amazon on Tuesday about allegations that it competed against its own sellers and pushed them to buy advertising and fulfillment services, Reuters reports....
Why Apple is boosting iPhone production in India
As the US-China trade war drags on, Apple is tweaking its iPhone manufacturing strategy, aiming to reduce the firm’s over-reliance on production at Chinese factories. To cut the potential risks, the firm has begun...
Symantec ends talks to sell to Broadcom over price: report
Cybersecurity firm Symantec Corp has walked away from negotiations to sell itself to chipmaker Broadcom over price disagreements, Reuters reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Broadcom was last week willing to offer as...
Facebook vows Libra currency will wait for approval
Facebook Inc. said it will not proceed with the launch of its Libra cryptocurrency until regulatory concerns are addressed, as the US Treasury secretary said he has serious concerns it could be used for...
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Jolie Erlacher ’19 Finds Purpose Counseling Those in Need
As early as her second year at Emmanuel College, Jolie Erlacher ’19 discovered the power of networking.
She began to see firsthand how the connections she has made at Emmanuel—and then beyond—have affected the course of her academic and career trajectory, each opportunity opening a door to the next.
A psychology major with a concentration in counseling & health, Erlacher began her academic career with the impression that her work opportunities might be confined to a certain type of job. But after a volunteering opportunity at one of Emmanuel's neighboring medical institutions, Erlacher began to think otherwise, the scope of her possibilities expanding before her.
During her sophomore year at Emmanuel, Erlacher volunteered in the oncology unit at Boston Children's Hospital. There, she met a specialist who introduced her to the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Erlacher's native Connecticut. Erlacher learned that the Camp was looking for another counselor for the summer, and with the deadline for applications fast approaching, she didn't want to risk missing the opportunity. Erlacher applied and got the job, and even after securing a role for the summer, she didn't quite know what to expect with an eight-week assignment at the sleepaway camp. Certainly, she didn't expect the experience would inspire the course of her career.
Founded by Paul Newman in 1988, The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp is an organization that ensures that children with serious medical conditions have the opportunity to experience summer camp and discover "a different kind of healing." Counselors at the Camp are selected for their experience, enthusiasm and empathy, and receive training in safety, the medical issues affecting campers, child development, behavior techniques and cultural awareness. While the Camp empowered Erlacher to work for a cause that inspires her, she also gained some very useful counseling skills along the way. Propelling her even further, Erlacher established yet another connection at the Camp that lead her back to Boston Children's Hospital the following summer, just before her senior year. It was this connection that helped Erlacher secure an internship in the Pediatric Transplant Center—a position she maintained into the fall semester.
I knew it was going to be an amazing experience," Erlacher said. "It's a job that people dream of having."
In the Pediatric Transplant Center, Erlacher supports the team's lead psychologist in counseling transplant patients while also managing research data, and most importantly, making a positive impact on patients' well-being during their often-extended stays. Erlacher also assists in surveying patients and their families to gauge their well-being pre and post operation, fielding comments and concerns regarding patient comfort, hospital experience, and overall wellness.
"My favorite aspect about the work that I do is the affect that I have on people," Erlacher said. "I love knowing that I'm helping people and doing anything I can to help them feel better or happier."
Additionally, Erlacher assists in ensuring that patients understand certain risks in behaviors like drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco post-transplant. The research that supports these risk factors has inspired Erlacher to continue researching post-transplant risks for adolescents, which she plans to explore in her senior thesis.
Erlacher attributes her success in her field thus far as being Emmanuel-exclusive; in addition to having access to renowned neighboring medical institutions, the College's size and tight-knit community has enabled Erlacher to receive both instruction and mentorship from her professors.
"If I had chosen another school, I would not have had the same opportunities that I have today," Erlacher said.
After graduation, Erlacher hopes to continue counseling children in a hospital setting.
Erlacher stands outside of her internship location at Boston Children's Hospital.
With a Local Lens, Documentary Filmmaking Course Unites Theory and Practice
Leveraging the people and places of Boston for inspiration, students in the English Department's "Ethics in Documentary Film" course grapple with the challenges and questions raised by creative work.
Emmanuel Nursing Program Ranked Among Top in New England
With the release of its 2018 rankings of the top U.S. nursing schools, Nursing Schools Almanac placed Emmanuel College among the top nursing schools in New England. Of the 3,000 institutions assessed by Nursing Schools Almanac's research team, only 15% made the list of top schools in each geographic region.
"Innovation in Action" at Emmanuel College
In an ever-changing world, Emmanuel College provides an innovative academic environment that sustains the pace.
Barile '90 G'93 Taps "The Walking Dead" for Student-Centered Learning
Longtime Revere High School English teacher Nancy Barile '90 G'93 is using the popular AMC show "The Walking Dead" to bring student-centered learning to her classroom.
Atka Bol ’16 Inspired Serving Overseas
Since graduating from Emmanuel College in 2016, Atka Bol has not only flourished in her commitment to service, she has let it take her across the world.
Knowles '20 Develops New Love for Education Major While Abroad
Elementary education major Amie Knowles '20 traveled more than 4,000 miles to Rome, where she volunteered to teach English at a local primary school—and learned to connect with her major in a new way.
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I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007)
Reign Over Me (2007)
The Longest Yard (2005)
Spanglish (2004)
50 First Dates (2004)
Anger Management (2003)
Mr. Deeds (2002)
You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)
The Waterboy (1998)
Just Go with It (2011)
Blended (2014)
Top Five (2014)
Pixels (2015)
Music and Lyrics (2007)
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
Going the Distance (2010)
Big Miracle (2012)
License to Wed (2007)
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
Frank Coraci
Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
The tone set by director Frank Coraci tends to the cartoonishly broad while making jokes at the expense of grotesques.
101 min. New Line Cinema. Director: Frank Coraci. Cast: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Christine Taylor, Allen Covert, Matthew Glave.
The low-to-middlebrow romantic comedy The Wedding Singer may not be very good, but it struck a chord with audiences. Was it the sunny Drew Barrymore feeling her oats in the genre? Was it Adam Sandler smoothing out the edges of his shtick (sweetness emerging from the resentment of yelling jags and angry "Whoopie-dee-do!"s)? Most likely it was the chic '80s nostalgia tripping set against the backdrop of weddings. We've all been there, right? Ahhhh, good times, good times.
It's 1985, and the Ridgefield Banquet Hall is flush with wedding business. The proceeds don't much trickle down to the the hall's waitress Julia Sullivan (Drew Barrymore) or its most popular wedding singer, Robbie Hart (Adam Sandler), whose sixty-bucks-a-gig salary keeps him living in his sister's basement. Both, as it turns out, have weddings of their own pending, but Robbie's world comes crashing down when his fiancé Linda (Angela Featherstone) leaves him at the altar. Depressed and frequently drunken, Robbie seems determined to stay in a tailspin, but the sweet friendship of Julia slowly lifts him out of the doldrums. Problem is he's in love again, with Julia, who seems determined to marry her fiance Glenn (Matthew Glave), whose douchiness is signaled not only by his cheating but his dress-up enthusiasm for Miami Vice.
The plot somehow manages to come off as both ridiculous and clichéd, and the tone set by director Frank Coraci tends to the cartoonishly broad while making jokes at the expense of grotesques. Selectively, this serves the picture (Steve Buscemi delivering a horrifying drunken wedding toast or the irresistably stupid grandma-rapping of Ellen Albertini Dow), but more often it's just tasteless or damaging to the film's attempts at emotional investment. The odd collection of supporting players includes Christine Taylor, Allen Covert, Alexis Arquette (as a Boy George-obsessed singer), Frank Sivero (Goodfellas), Jon Lovitz, Kevin Nealon, Robert Smigel, and Billy Idol. Lovers of kitsch and suckers for romantic comedy can have this one.
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1
Distributor: Warner Home Video
Warner's Blu-ray transfer of The Wedding Singer is slightly wobbly, and suffers from softness attacked by conspicuous digital noise reduction, weak black level, and edge enhancement. Still, it offers a noticeable improvement over the DVD, so fans will have to judge their own level of desire to make a coaster of the earlier disc. Sound is considerably better, particularly rocking the house in the music department with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 options.
Extras are slim, but include the genuinely interesting featurette promo "A Backstage Look at The Wedding Singer on Broadway" (10:30). At ten minutes, it's only a tease, but does its job by being intriguing enough to make viewers wonder if the show is worth seeing. Interviewees include screenwriter/stage co-writer Tim Herlihy, producer Margo Lion, lyricist/co-writer Chad Beguelin, composer Matthew Sklar, producer Michael Rego, director John Rando, Stephen Lynch, Laura Benanti, musical director/conductor James Sampliner, choreographer Rob Ashford, costume designer Gregory Gale, set designer Scott Pask, and lighting designer Brian MacDevitt.
Lastly, we get the film's "Theatrical Trailer" (2:23, SD).
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Cruz Wins Values Voter Straw Poll, But Can His Plan Get Him Elected?
The Horse Sense Blog compares the nonsense in today's news with good ol' fashioned horse sense.
Here's the Nonsense: Ted Cruz has the most appeal to people of faith and that will win for him in his 2016 presidential campaign.
Here's the Horse Sense: Ted's an amazing guy, but does his plan have a flaw that could hold him back from success?
This weekend was the Values Voter Summit. It attracts voters who put their values high on their list of priorities for the candidates they support. They had a straw poll taken of about 1000 people and Ted Cruz won with a whopping 35% of the vote. His nearest competitor was Ben Carson at 18%. But does this win really say anything for Cruz and his chance of winning his 2016 election bid? Probably not.
For the 3rd year in a row Ted Cruz won the Values Voter Summit straw poll. While that's a nice record and a good group for him to have on his side, the win doesn't really say much for his 2016 bid for the presidency. Values Voters would be people of conviction and values, many claiming they are people of faith. And one of the key planks of Cruz's plan to try to win the GOP nomination is to court these people. But it may be a mistaken concept.
In 2012 millions of voters stayed home and didn't vote. They were fed up. And for the most part, the pundits and media believed (and still do) that they were mostly evangelical Christians who didn't vote because they refused to vote for a candidate who was a Mormon.
Let's take a minute here to clearly understand what that claim entails. Mormons claim to be Christian, and in the sense that most Americans claim to be Christian they would be part of that cultural Christianity that includes most Americans. Americans on the whole are cultural Christians, not theological Christians.
By evangelical definition, most Americans aren't truly Christian because they don't hold to and live by orthodox Christian theology. To evangelicals, if your theology doesn't fit the orthodox definition of Christianity, then you are not a Christian.
Mormon doctrine is not considered orthodox Christian doctrine. Because of that belief by evangelicals, some were not willing to vote for Mitt Romney, although those who fall into that category seem to have been far fewer in number than the media led people to believe. Most evangelicals, like any other group in America, were looking to elect a president, not a pastor, and to them voting for a Mormon was no different than voting for anyone else who wasn't an evangelical Christian. They were not making religion a litmus test to determine who they would vote for.
What was far less focused on in 2012, and yet seems to have been a much bigger portion of those who didn't vote, was a high number of Ron Paul supporters. They were upset that he didn't get the nomination and chose not to vote as a protest. Many of those same people support Ron Paul's son, Rand, in the 2016 race. And my guess is that in 2016 there's a fair chance that they won't vote again if Rand Paul doesn't get the nomination (something that appears to have less and less chance of happening as Rand implodes in his own campaign).
But the few million people who stayed home, whether evangelicals or Ron Paul supporters, or some of both, are not the key to winning in 2016. Obama and the Democrats are working at a feverish pace to get the illegals in America to legal status so they can vote. That will increase the size of the Democrat voting base far more than the votes lost by Republicans in 2012 when some evangelicals and Ron Paul supporters didn't vote.
So, the key to winning for Republicans has got to be to get enough voters out to offset the actions of both the Democrats and the Rand Paul supporters who will throw a tantrum again and not vote.
Now, all that said, Ted Cruz is a favorite candidate of the conservative base. He certainly is the most solidly conservative candidate running. And Ted has set himself up so that he's attractive to supporters of candidates like Rand Paul and Donald Trump. When and if either of those candidates drop out of the race, Cruz hopes to be the candidate their supporters move to.
But at the core of Cruz's plan is the idea that he, as an evangelical Christian himself, will have the most appeal to evangelicals. He takes a strong stand for religious liberty, which he believes is at the cornerstone of rights for Americans (and he's right about that). He believes he can rally people to support him over that issue.
It is believed that he has so much appeal that it will attract two types of voters that he believes will give him the edge to win. Those two types are the evangelicals who stayed home in 2012 and many of 20+ million evangelicals who never vote and aren't even registered to vote.
Cruz is hoping to enlighten and inspire the evangelicals who don't vote to change their ways, register, and head to the polls to save religious freedom. He knows that if the majority of those 20+ million evangelicals register they would mostly register as Republicans and the sheer number of them would offset anything the Democrats are doing trying to get illegals to a legal status where they could vote.
It sounds like a pretty good plan... if he can do it.
But that's where the question comes in. Are enough Americans concerned about the threat to religious freedom to actually get out and do something about it? Do they understand the impact that losing religious freedom really is to their lives, their future, and the future of their families?
Ted Cruz is a brilliant guy who can mop the floor with anyone in a legitimate debate. (Please don't call the nonsense we've seen on Fox and CNN legitimate debates. While CNN's was certainly much better than Fox's, both were not really debates and, as a result, the voting public is the one who lost.) I think very highly of Ted Cruz and think he has a lot to offer our nation as a public servant.
But getting people who've never voted to go out and register and then follow through to vote is a major task. The Democrats are somewhat successful at it because they offer freebies that attract people. After all, people love Santa Claus.
That's not what conservative Republicans do, so people who aren't politically involved need other motivation to get involved.
Evangelicals that don't vote, unlike other voters, don't get involved because they don't see the things of this world as important compared to their future in heaven. They don't "waste" their time getting involved now because it doesn't matter to them. Their focus is not on today or even this life. Their focus is on where they're going to spend forever.
Now, some of you may think that's crazy, but whether you think that or not doesn't change their views. And getting someone to change from that mindset to one that also sees the importance of being involved in the political process is, at best, extremely difficult.
Yet without their involvement the chances of Cruz, or any other candidate who thinks they can rely on the evangelicals to turn out to vote for them, is questionable.
Could this be the mountain that Ted Cruz can't successfully climb?
While Cruz is somewhat known as a fighter and principled person, that doesn't mean he can inspire the evangelicals to action. Those who aren't registered to vote are not angry about the threat to religious liberty like politically active Christians are (evangelical and otherwise).
The thing that gets people motivated to take action more than anything else is anger. Anger is an amazing motivator. When someone is angry they are like a freight train that can't be stopped.
Cruz to a minor extent and Donald Trump and Ben Carson to a much greater extent have tapped into the anger of the American electorate. Trump certainly more than all of the others combined. And part of the reason that Cruz hasn't tapped into it is that the uninvolved, unregistered evangelicals he's after are not, in many cases, angry. They are content to wait upon the teachings in the Bible that promise them that one day Jesus will return and deal with the mess this world is in.
So, the question for Cruz is how do you get those people angry enough to take action?
Stop and think about it. Values aren't going to drive people to the polls in anywhere near the numbers that anger is. The evangelicals certainly have the values that support religious freedom. But if these people haven't been involved up to now, why would they suddenly feel their values are driving them to vote now?
On the other hand, people who are really angry will take action when they usually wouldn't. People who know me know that I don't get angry very easily. I used to, but not any more. It takes a lot for me to get angry, but when I do you better get out of my way.
I think most people are that way. When they get angry they are like a freight train racing down the tracks and nothing will stop them. Their emotions are running high and they aren't stopping for anything.
Those are the people who are more likely to get involved and vote.
And that's the difference between the unregistered evangelicals that Ted Cruz is trying to rally to get involved and the people who are actually getting involved.
That's where candidates like Donald Trump and to some degree Ben Carson have had more success than Ted Cruz. Trump and Carson have tapped into the anger of the people. The majority of angry people see Donald Trump as the catalyst for change. And so that's who they line up behind.
No other candidate is drawing the huge numbers from unlikely groups. 25% of blacks surveyed support Trump because they're tired of being deceived by the Democrat Party. 20% of Democrats have said they support Trump because they don't like where their party has gone. Citizens who have never voted are registering to vote for Trump.
I remember reading of one 92 year old woman in Tennessee who has never registered or voted in her life is now registered because she is supporting Trump because she doesn't like what America has become. 92 years old! After all those years you'd think it would be impossible to get her involved, but Trump has done it.
In another story young people just old enough to vote are paying money to hear Trump speak and standing in long waiting lines when they'd usually be spending their summer doing other things. But they see in Trump something that is resonating with their anger. They are angry that their future is questionable at best, but Trump gives them hope that America can be great again and give them opportunity. Anger drives people more than anything else.
What is happening with Trump is not happening with any other candidate on similar levels. He's attracting people from across the aisle, from groups that traditionally are controlled by Democrats, and people who aren't even registered to vote BECAUSE THEY ARE ANGRY!
It's the anger candidates must tap into if they are to succeed and America is to be saved from the collapse that is befalling us. And if Cruz is going to tap into those unregistered evangelicals, which is critical for him to succeed, then he has to find a way to inspire them to anger about what is happening. If they don't listen to him and just want to sit back and wait for God, he will have no chance at the nomination.
At this point I'm sure some people are saying, "But Trump didn't do well in the Values Voter Summit straw poll!" Don't think that people of faith won't support Trump. Sure, he may not have done well in the Values Voters Summit straw poll, but on the other hand, well-known Christian Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson just backed Trump at the Oklahoma State Fair (you can read about it here), so people of faith are not disregarding candidates based on their faith.
Trump may not attract many of the people from the Values Voter Summit, but the majority of Americans aren't those people. Trump referred to Marco Rubio as a clown at the Summit and it's reported he received boos from the crowd. Maybe he deserved it, but Trump fights like a Democrat and that's why they can't handle him.
And I'm not so sure that the 13% of the people at the Summit who voted for Rubio in their straw poll have any clue anyway. Trump is right that Rubio is a kid. He's a young, immature establishment Republican and if those who voted for him at that Summit can't see that, then they need to do more homework before they should be voting in November 2016. (Larry Klayman of Judicial Watch has just written a very good piece you can read here about Rubio.) Rubio's no conservative and has been dishonest with voters so I don't know why someone who's been deceptive is even being considered at a summit named the Values Voter Summit.
Cruz is an excellent person to serve our nation, but he is no longer my first choice for 2016. I am not convinced he is electable for a host of reasons. But this isn't about my reasons why I think that. It's about the underlying motive that will drive people to the polls. And I don't think appealing to the values of a nation whose majority populace are narcissistic and immoral is a winning plan.
The candidate who taps best into the anger that Americans have is the one who will drive them to the polls. When people are angry they take more action than any other time. Happiness, duty, or anything else won't drive a person like anger does. The real question for Ted Cruz is whether he can inspire that kind of anger within the unregistered evangelicals. Without it can he really win?
Labels: 2016 election, Ted Cruz, Values Voter Summit Straw Poll
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The Poetess
Saturday, November 17, 2018 | 7:15 PM
River Park Church Auditorium
"My poetry destroys and destroys seriously," says the burka-clad Saudi Arabian poetess Hissa Hilal on Abu Dhabi TV’s immensely popular Million’s Poet, the Arabic-language equivalent of Idols. With her daring and confrontational poems, she became the first female finalist of a show that attracts 70 million viewers per episode. With her critical poem about fatwas, she managed to break the taboo of discussing religious rules —and she made world headlines in the process. Supported by archive footage, she explains the history of her country, and how the liberalization of the 1960s disappeared after the 1979 seizure of the Grand Mosque by insurgents. We also learn that the veiling of one’s face had socio-cultural origins before it was appropriated and enforced by political Islam—which is now losing terrain because of women like Hilal.
NGO: Metro Alliance
UN Goals
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. ... Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
Director: Stefanie Brockhaus, Andy Wolff
GHADA ALATRASH
Ghada Alatrash is a Syrian-Canadian doctoral candidate, sessional instructor and research assistant in Educational Research at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. Her current research speaks to the lived experience of the Syrian diaspora in Canada. She is the author of Stripped to the Bone: Portraits of Syrian Women and she has recently been invited to speak on her book as a TEDx speaker. Alatrash has an MA in English Literature from the University of Oklahoma. She has also been profiled in several media including CBC, PBS, BBC, Aljazeera,and Gulf News, among others.
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KAREL ŠTĚDRÝ
Architecture I. 2005, acrylic on canvas, 140 x 140 cm
Architecture III. 2005, acrylic on canvas, 140 x 135 cm
Architecture IV. 2006, acrylic on canvas, 125 x 160 cm
Architecture IX. 2006, acrylic on canvas, 125 x 115 cm
Architecture V. 2005, acrylic on canvas, 155 X 115 cm
Architecture VI. 2005, acrylic on canvas, 160 x 130 cm
Architecture VII. 2005, acrylic, spray on canvas, 115 x 155 cm
Architecture VIII. 2006, acrylic on canvas, 120 x 160 cm
Architecture X. 2006, acrylic, spray on canvas, 110 x 150 cm
Architecture XI. 2006, acrylic, spray on canvas, 110 x 150 cm
Architecture XIII. 2006, acrylic, spray on canvas, 120 x 170 cm
Architecture XVI. 2006, acrylic, spray on canvas, 100 x 115 cm
Architecture XVIII. 2006, acrylic on canvas, 120 x 170 cm
Theatre, 2006, acrylic, spray on canvas, 120 x 170 cm
Exterior, 2006, acrylic on canvas, 180 x 150 cm
Ship I. 2006, acrylic, spray on canvas, 120 x 170 cm
Ship II. 2006, acrylic, spray on canvas, 170 x 120 cm
Ship III. 2006, acrylic, spray on canvas, 120 x 170 cm
Ship IV. 2006, acrylic, spray on canvas, 120 x 170 cm
Ship Ship, 2006, acrylic, spray on canvas, 120 x 170 cm
Ship V. 2006, acrylic, spray on canvas, 120 x 170 cm
Ship VI. 2006, acrylic, spray on canvas, 120 x 170 cm
Road, 2006, acrylic, spray on canvas, 130 x 160 cm
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This film is currently on backorder, please allow 3-5 weeks for delivery
Wellstone!
DIRECTED BY - Lu Lippold, Dan Luke, Laurie Stern
The Filmmakers Hardworking Pictures, based in St. Paul, Minnesota comment: WELLSTONE! is a feature length documentary about a remarkable man who defied tradition and returned politics to the people. Like Paul Wellstone, the film is smart, funny, and full of surprises. The young man who was to become Senator Wellstone was the son of immigrant parents who grew up in a suburb of Washington, DC, married his high school sweetheart and found meaning in his favorite saying: The future will not belong to those who sit on the sidelines! After graduating with a PhD in political science from the University of North Carolina, the Wellstone family moved to Minnesota where the new doctor had an appointment at Carleton College. The film provides insight into Wellstone's political style and deep concerns by presenting these early years with care and humour, including old news footage of some of the student rallies that Wellstone led while at Carleton. The emergence of his own interpretation of a populist political philosophy is well documented.
Picking up the Democratic Farm Labor Movement's support propelled Wellstone's career into national politics, where he served two terms as Minnesota's Senator. His wife of 39 years was his close collaborator, helping draft the Violence Against Women Act and working on other legislation to protect women and children from domestic violence. She served on many state, national and international commissions and was actively involved in raising awareness of international human rights abuses, including the issue of sex trafficking of young women and girls.
Senator Wellstone, his wife, Sheila, and his daughter, Marcia, died in late October, 2002, while en route to a campaign stop in their bid for a third term in the Senate. The film celebrates his life, his family and his accomplishments and the work of his many admirers to continue to address the issues that had been important to them.
GENRES - biography, documentary
FORMAT - DVD Region 1
COUNTRY - United States
ATTRIBUTES - Color, Full-Frame
Laurie Stern
Lu Lippold
Dan Luke
Pamela Colby
Bob Durland
Ed Matney
Shayna Berkowitz
Chicago International Documentary Festival 2005 (Chicago, United States)
Key West IndieFest 2005 (Key West, United States)
Central Standard Film Festival 2004 (Minneapolis, United States)
Heavy Pettin...
Collegestock...
Brooklyn Ind...
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Home > Articles > Business & Management > Global Business
Death by China: It's Not China Bashing If It's True
By Peter W. Navarro and Greg Autry
Arming Itself to the Teeth
It's Big Brother Meets Silent Spring
The Big Sellout, the Bigger Copout
The Roadmap Ahead: All Roads Careen Toward Beijing
In this introduction to their book, Peter W. Navarro and Greg Autry explain how they will work their way through each of the major categories of Death by China—from China's appalling product safety record and the destruction of the American economy to the rise of Chinese colonialism, China's rapid military buildup, and its bold and blatant espionage adventures.
Death by China: Confronting the Dragon - A Global Call to Action
Death by China. This is the very real risk we all now face as the world's most populous nation and soon-to-be largest economy is rapidly turning into the planet's most efficient assassin.
On the consumer safety front, unscrupulous Chinese entrepreneurs are flooding world markets with a range of bone-crushing, cancer-causing, flammable, poisonous, and otherwise lethal products, foods, and drugs.
In the kids' collection, these dangerous products range from lead-lined bracelets, necklaces, and toys to flaming pajamas and toxic toddler overalls.
At your local drug store or online pharmacy, you can find all manner of "cures" that instead kill—from tainted aspirin, counterfeit Lipitor, and fake Viagra laced with strychnine to kidney-busting heparin and arsenic-laden vitamins.
If you fancy death by explosion, fire, or electric shock, you can choose from a wide selection of booby-trapped extension cords, fans, lamps, overheating remote controls, exploding cell phones, and self-immolating boom boxes.
Of course, if you're both hungry and suicidal, you can always feast on imported Chinese fish, fruit, meat, or vegetables delectably infused with all manner of banned antibiotics, putrefying bacteria, heavy metals, or illegal pesticides.
Even as thousands literally die from this onslaught of Chinese junk and poison, the American economy and its workers are suffering a no-less-painful "death to the American manufacturing base."
On this economic front, China's perverse brand of Communist-style "State Capitalism" has totally shredded the principles of both free markets and free trade. In their stead, China's state-backed "national champions" have deployed a potent mix of mercantilist and protectionist weapons to pick off America's industries job by job and one by one.
China's "weapons of job destruction" include massive illegal export subsidies, the rampant counterfeiting of U.S. intellectual property, pitifully lax environmental protections, and the pervasive use of slave labor. The centerpiece of Chinese mercantilism is, however, a shamelessly manipulated currency that heavily taxes U.S. manufacturers, extravagantly stimulates Chinese exports, and has led to a ticking time bomb U.S.–China trade deficit close to a billion dollars a day.
Meanwhile, the "entry fee" for any American company wishing to scale China's "Great Walls of protectionism" and sell into local markets is not just to surrender its technology to Chinese partners. American companies must also move research and development facilities to China, thereby exporting the "mother's milk" of future U.S. job creation to a hostile competitor.
Lost so far in China's mockery of free trade have been millions of U.S. manufacturing jobs even as the American blue-collar worker has become an endangered species. Consider the following:
Since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001 and falsely promised to end its mercantilist and protectionist practices, America's apparel, textile, and wood furniture industries have shrunk to half their size—with textile jobs alone beaten down by 70%.
Other critical industries like chemicals, paper, steel, and tires are under similar siege, while employment in our high-tech computer and electronics manufacturing industries has plummeted by more than 40%.
As we have lost job after job across a wide swath of industries, many Americans continue to mistakenly associate Chinese manufacturing only with cheap, low-end products like sneakers and toys. In truth, however, China is steadily marching up the "value chain" to successfully grab market share in many of America's best-paying remaining industries—from automobiles and aerospace to advanced medical devices.
On the wings of massive government support, Chinese companies are busily cornering the market in so-called "green" industries like electric cars, solar power, and wind energy. Of course, it is precisely these industries that American politicians have been so fond of touting as America's best new sources of job creation.
For example, on the wind energy front, China now leads the world in both wind turbine production and protectionist irony. For even as China's state-subsidized companies flood world markets with their own turbines, foreign manufacturers like the U.S.-based General Electric, Spain's Gamesa, and India's Suzlon are prohibited from bidding on projects in China as part of a "Buy Chinese" policy.
One of the most lethal consequences of China's emergence as the world's undisputed "factory floor" has been its increasingly voracious appetites for the Earth's energy and raw materials. To feed its manufacturing machine, China must consume half of the world's cement, nearly half of its steel, one-third of its copper, and a third of its aluminum. Moreover, by the year 2035, China's oil demand alone will exceed that of total oil production today for the entire world.
These are indeed lethal appetites. That's because, to support these appetites, Chinese government officials have climbed into a blood-drenched colonial bed with murderous dictators and rogue regimes around the world. In doing so, Chinese government officials and diplomats are engaging in the most scurrilous abuse of United Nations diplomacy the world has ever seen.
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China can veto any UN sanctions it chooses to. For almost a decade now, top Chinese diplomats have been using China's UN veto power to broker a wide range of "blood for oil" and "rape for raw materials" deals. Consider these facts:
In exchange for Sudanese oil, China's veto merchants stopped the UN from intervening in the Darfur genocide—even as a relentlessly brutal Janjaweed militia used Chinese weapons to forcibly rape thousands of women and kill 300,000 innocent Sudanese.
China's veto merchants also blocked UN sanctions against Iran and its anti-Semitic, sham-election president to gain access to the world's largest natural gas fields. This act has blown open the door to nuclear proliferation in the Middle East. It has also dramatically raised the probability of a nuclear strike on Israel and significantly increased the risk of an atomic weapon falling into the hands of anti-American jihadists.
China's abuses of the peacekeeping mission of the United Nations are hardly isolated incidents. Instead, they are part of a broader "going abroad" strategy that has transformed China from a once isolationist nation into arguably the world's biggest budding colonial empire. This is no small irony for a country originally founded on anti-colonial, Marxist principles and once heavily victimized by the British Empire and its opium wars on China.
Throughout Africa, Asia, and America's backyard of Latin America, China's own twenty-first century brand of colonialism always begins with this Mephistophelean bargain: lavish, low-interest loans to build up the country's infrastructure in exchange for raw materials and access to local markets.
Of course, once a country takes this colonial bait, rather than use local labor, China brings in its huge army of engineers and workers to build new highways and railroads and ports and telecommunications systems. This infrastructure then both literally and digitally paves the way for the extraction and transport of raw materials. So it's back to China's factory floors in cities like Chongqing, Dongguan, and Shenzhen for Cameroon's timber, the Congo's magnesium, Djibouti's gypsum, Gabon's manganese, Malawi's uranium, Mozambique's titanium, Niger's molybdenum, Rwanda's tin, and Zambia's silver. As the final colonial coup de grâce, China then dumps its finished goods back onto local markets—thereby driving out local industries, driving up the unemployment rate, and driving its new colonies deeper into poverty.
Even as China has boomed at the expense of much of the rest of the world, it has used its rapid economic growth to fund one of the most rapid and comprehensive military buildups the world has ever witnessed. In this way, and in the spirit of Vladimir Lenin's dictum that a capitalist will sell the rope that will be used to hang him, every "Walmart dollar" we Americans now spend on artificially cheap Chinese imports represents both a down payment on our own unemployment as well as additional financing for a rapidly arming China. Here's what just some of that vaunted war machine is shaping up to look like:
China's newly modernized Navy and Air Force feature everything from virtually undetectable nuclear submarines and the latest Russian-designed fighter jets to ballistic missiles that can precisely target America's aircraft carriers on the high seas.
China's own "Pentagon" is confidently developing advanced weapons systems—many of which have been stolen from us by Chinese hackers and spies!—to shoot down our satellite and GPS systems and send nuclear warheads deep into the American heartland.
Unlike a fatigued U.S. army now thinly stretched by the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the People's Liberation Army—the largest in the world—has both the overwhelming force and troop readiness to roll over the forces of India, South Korea, Taiwan, or Vietnam and still have more than enough foot soldiers to crush the Taliban and keep the peace in Baghdad if it cared to.
The "war hawk" wing of China's military is even readying the ability to drop virtually untrackable nuclear bombs from space. These cosmic nukes simply arrive on target in a few short minutes and far too quickly and quietly for countermeasures.
Of course, America isn't the only country that should fear the emergence of a new and powerful Asian aggressor. China's increasingly nervous neighbors now face a rapidly increasing risk from a rising Asian hegemon amidst China's brinkmanship and bullying over everything from access to shipping lanes to long-simmering territorial disputes.
Head Start: Build a resilient mindset so you can achieve your goals
By Ian Price
The Beermat Entrepreneur: Turn Your good idea into a great business, 3rd Edition
By Mike Southon, Chris West
Leader iD: Here's your personalised plan to discover your leadership profile - and how to improve
By David Pilbeam, Glenn Wallis
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Sean Mc Manus and Nancy Pelosi in 2008.
Peter Robinson under fire for backing Pastor James McConnell’s Islamic remarks
Posted By: May 30, 2014
BBC NI. May 28, 2014
Northern Ireland’s first minister Peter Robinson has come under fire for defending a pastor who made controversial comments about Muslims.
James McConnell of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in north Belfast, described Islam as “heathen” and “satanic”, and said he did not trust Muslims.
Mr Robinson said he would not trust Muslims involved in violence or those devoted to Sharia law.
But he said he would “trust them to go to the shops” for him.
Speaking on the Nolan Show on Wednesday night, Mr McConnell said he was surprised by Mr Robinson’s comments.
“He didn’t really need to do that, because when a man talks like that his career is at stake,” he said.
“I didn’t want him to get into trouble over me.”
Police said they were investigating “a hate crime motive” after complaints about Mr McConnell’s initial remarks, made on 18 May.Mr McConnell told his congregation “a new evil had arisen” and “there are cells of Muslims right throughout Britain”.
“Islam is heathen, Islam is satanic, Islam is a doctrine spawned in hell,” he said.
He said he agreed with the late MP Enoch Powell, whose 1968 “Rivers of Blood” speech criticised immigration.
“Enoch Powell was a prophet, he called it that blood would flow on the streets and it has happened,” he said.
Peter Robinson, Democratic Unionist Party first minister, who made the comments in an interview with the Irish News newspaper, has attended the evangelical church in the past.
‘False prophesy’
Mr Robinson said that Mr McConnell had been demonised because of his remarks, and that there “isn’t an ounce of hatred in his (the pastor’s) bones”.
Mr Robinson said that it was a duty of any preacher to denounce what he described as “false prophesy”.
He went on to say that he would not trust Muslims either, particularly with regard to those who had been involved in violence, or those who are “fully devoted to Sharia law, I wouldn’t trust them for spiritual guidance”.
However, Mr Robinson said he would trust Muslims to “go down to the shops” for him or to deal with a number of other “day to day issues”.
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin called on Mr Robinson to show leadership in promoting equality, tolerance and mutual respect for all.
In response, Mr Robinson said on Twitter that he would not “take lectures from a self-confessed leader of a bloody terrorist organisation”.
The two men have been meeting the Turkish ambassador on Wednesday.
Stormont Justice Minister David Ford said: “Frankly, it sounds like the kind of language that would have gone down well in South Africa a few years ago or the southern parts of the United States half a century ago.”
Mr Ford, who is the Alliance Party leader, added: “Whatever the precise words, it conveys the impression that people are somehow less than others because of their religious beliefs or the colour of their skin, and that must be resisted.”
The Equality Commission’s chief commissioner Dr Michael Wardlow said he was dismayed by Mr Robinson’s comments.
“It is incumbent on all leaders in public life to demonstrate in what they say, and what they do not say, a real and true respect for all human beings,” he said.
Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said: “I haven’t seen Peter’s comments in detail, but I feel that what Pastor McConnell said was wrong.
She added: “It’s a matter for the first minister how he responds to these remarks – people obviously have different perspectives. For myself, I do condemn the remarks made by Pastor McConnell and don’t believe they are justified – Islam is a peaceful religion.”
A senior Belfast Muslim said Mr Robinson’s remarks about members of his faith were “degrading and insulting”.
Raied Al-Wazzan of the Belfast Islamic Centre said Mr Robinson’s remarks about trusting Muslims to go the shops for him were “hurtful”.
‘Utterly disgraceful’
Khalid Anis from the Islamic Society of Britain told BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show that he was shocked that a prominent politician in a position of leadership could speak “with such a double tongue”.
Mr Anis said that for a person in authority, like Mr Robinson, to make such remarks was “utterly disgraceful”.
The Muslim Association of Britain said: “The pastor’s comments not only hurt thousands of Muslims living peacefully in Northern Ireland, but also promote hatred and bigotry against all Muslims in the UK.
“The words of Mr Robinson demonstrate his lack of leadership, when as a representative he should be sensitive to the constituents he represents.”
Respect MP George Galloway said Peter Robinson’s comments “render him unfit to be the first minister”.
“It’s simply incredible… that someone with a duty to try and represent and protect the interests of all the people living in the place he is presiding over should endorse these kind of words,” he said.
‘Demeaning’
Ulster Unionist assembly member Danny Kinahan said Mr Robinson’s comments had “caused a great deal of hurt and offence to many people”.
“I do not believe that sweeping generalisations can be applied to an entire religion encompassing many hundreds of millions of people worldwide, and I seriously doubt that such sentiments will play well in a number of countries from which Invest NI are seeking to attract much-needed jobs and investment,” he said.
Stewart Dickson of the Alliance Party said: “As first minister, Peter Robinson has a duty to represent the country and I am dismayed by his comments that he would only trust a Muslim to get him something from a shop.
“That is extremely demeaning and disrespectful to an entire religion.”
Green Party leader Steven Agnew said: “Our first minister has sent out a message to the rest of the world that Northern Ireland is a closed and unwelcoming society.”
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The Battle of Heligoland Bight
Eric W. Osborne
Series: Twentieth-Century Battles
Format: Hardback 4 figures
The battle of Heligoland Bight was the first major action between the British and German fleets during World War I. The British orchestrated the battle as a warning to the German high command that any attempt to operate their naval forces in the North Sea would be met by strong British resistance. Heligoland Island guarded the entrance to the main German naval anchorage at Kiel. Fought on August 28, 1914, the engagement was complicated by dense fog, the piecemeal engagement of German forces, and the unexpected appearance in the area of additional British ships, which were hard to distinguish from foe. Initial British damage was significant; however, fearing that the protracted battle would allow the bulk of the German fleet to join the battle, the British brought in their battle cruiser reinforcements and won the day, inflicting heavy losses on the Germans.
The battle was significant for its political and strategic ramifications for the two sides. The Germans became reluctant to engage large forces in an attempt to gain a decisive maritime victory. After this defeat, any plans for large-scale fleet operations had to be approved by the Kaiser, which hampered the German fleet’s effectiveness. This left the North Sea to Great Britain for much of the war.
Eric W. Osborne is Adjunct Professor of History at Virginia Military Institute and is author of three books that deal with diplomacy and sea power. He lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“In this riveting story of the first naval batten in World War I between Germany and Britain, Eric Osborne explains why the battle had significant political and strategic ramifications for both sides.”
<FMO>Contents<\>
1. The Context of the Battle of Heligoland Bight: The Naval Arms Race and the Resulting Pre-War Strategies of Great Britain and Germany
2. Naval Operations upon the Outbreak of World War I and the Genesis of the Plan for a Raid into Heligoland Bight
3. The Commencement of the Battle of Heligoland Bight
4. The Battle of the Bight Becomes a Decisive Victory
5. The Aftermath of the Battle and Its Ramifications on the War at Sea
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HOME > Past issues > 2019 April 17 - 23 > 23-year-old agreement to return US Futenma base to Japan should be fulfilled without conditions attached
23-year-old agreement to return US Futenma base to Japan should be fulfilled without conditions attached
Akahata editorial (excerpts)
The Japanese and U.S. governments in April 1996 agreed on the full return to Japan of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa’s Ginowan City. Twenty-three years have passed since then, but the base, which is considered to be the “most dangerous base in the world” as described by the then U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld in 2003, has yet to be returned. It is because the agreement requires the base to be relocated within Okinawa. For nearly a quarter of century, Okinawans have protested against this requirement. Nevertheless, the Abe government, in a high-handed manner, pushes forward with the planned construction of a new U.S. base in Nago’s Henoko district as an alternative to the Futenma base. Meanwhile, it has become obvious that the Henoko base project has reached an impasse.
Okinawan opposition to new US base is evident
On April 12, 1996, Japanese Prime Minister Hashimoto Ryutaro and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Walter Mondale at a press conference announced that they concluded an agreement that the U.S. Futenma base should be “returned within five to seven years”.
Three days after the joint conference, the Special Action Committee on Okinawa (SACO), which was set up by the Japanese and U.S. governments, released an interim report. The report states, “Return Futenma Air Station within the next five to seven years, after adequate replacement facilities are completed.” Regarding this matter, the report stressed the need for the “construction of a heliport on other US facilities and areas in Okinawa”.
The SACO interim report cited a heliport as a replacement facility. However, what Okinawa is being subjected to with the reclamation work in the waters off Henoko is the construction of a huge military facility which will be equipped with two V-shaped runways, ammunition storage spaces, and deepwater port facilities.
The Abe government has been arrogantly pressing forward with the new base construction. This has only stirred up more anger among local residents. In the gubernatorial election in September last year, anti-base “All Okinawa” candidate Tamaki Denny, by pledging to oppose the Henoko base project, won in a landslide victory. In the prefectural referendum over the Henoko reclamation work in February, more than 70% of voters expressed their opposition to the project. Okinawans’ critical attitude toward the U.S. base construction is unshakable.
The Abe government on April 5 by misusing the Administrative Complaint Review Act, which was originally designed to protect the rights and interests of private individuals, unjustly revoked the Okinawa prefectural government’s cancellation of its approval to the Henoko reclamation work.
The prefecture claims that the nullification of the landfill approval was a matter of course because the existence of a very soft seafloor in the planned reclamation site was recently confirmed and thus the relocation of the Futenma base to Henoko cannot be realized without substantial delay. The Abe government insists that it is possible to carry out the landfill work by making improvements on the seafloor in question. However, it has yet to draw up a new schedule in response to argument that the ground improvement work will take long years to complete.
In addition, an approval from Governor Tamaki is necessary to begin the seafloor improvement work. The governor, who is determined to block the Henoko reclamation in accordance with residents’ opposition, will not give the nod to the additional work.
The Japan-U.S. agreement on the return of the Futenma base was made in 1996 amid Okinawans’ indignation against a gang rape of an elementary school girl by U.S. military personnel a year earlier. The U.S. military-related crimes and incidents keep occurring as shown by the murder of a woman in Chatan Town on April 13.
In the first place, the Futenma base was built on land which the U.S. military seized during WWII in violation of international law. It is imperative that the base site be returned to Okinawa without any conditions attached.
> Land Minister rules Okinawa’s revocation of Henoko landfill approval to be illegal [April 6, 2019]
> Okinawa confronts PM Abe with overwhelming ‘No’ in Henoko referendum [February 25, 2019]
> Mayonnaise sea bottom will lead Henoko base project to dead end [January 22,, 2019]
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Japan Folklore: Botan Dōrō
Thursday December 7th, 2017
|In News, Japanese Folklore
Botan Dōrō
The Peony Lantern
Photo credits: allabout-japan.com
There are many stories where unlucky lovers are separated by destiny that sometimes leads them to death together (Romeo and Juliet and Tristan and Isolde are the most famous). But none is like the story Botan Dōrō or The Peony lantern (牡丹 燈籠). Two lovers, divided by the world of the living and the world of the dead, are inextricably bounded by their oath of eternal love.
This legend sees the light in the book Jiandeng Xinhua written by Qu You during the first part of the Ming dynasty. Subsequently, it was revived during the Edo period by the Buddhist writer and priest Asai Ryōi on the wave of the Kaidan phenomenon (怪 談). This Japanese term refers to all those stories that tell of mystery and ghosts, written with two kanji: Kai (怪) that means “strange, mysterious, enchanted appearance” and Dan (談) “recited narration”.
This legend is recognized as one of the first Japanese stories about ghosts to become a movie in 1910. With numerous re-editions over the years, it is perhaps the most productive one among cinema, television adaptations and Pink Movie, Japanese Soft Porno genre.
The beautiful Otsuyu
Photo credits: pinterest.com
The legend says that during the first night of the Obon (the commemoration of the dead according to the Japanese Buddhist tradition) the samurai Ogiwara Shinnojo meets a beautiful woman and her child servant. The two hold in their hands the traditional lanterns of peonies and the samurai asks the child the name of the beautiful woman. Otsuyu was her name and the samurai is not able to do anything but fall madly in love and swear his eternal love for her that same night. From then on, the two meet every night burning with passion for each other. However, the beautiful woman and the child would always disappear before dawn. Because of this strange behavior, and also because of a sudden illness of the man, an old neighbor gets suspicious. Entering his house, he discovers that the samurai was not laying in bed with a beautiful woman but with a skeleton! The old neighbor then speaks with a priest who in turn warns Ogiwara that discovers that his beloved is actually a ghost. Ogiwara also understands that his illness is due to the fact that sleeping with a spirit consumes the vital energy of a person. The priest blesses the house of the samurai leaving protective spells and good luck charms so that the woman and the child cannot enter it anymore. The same evening the woman tries in vain to reach her beloved but, failing, desperately screams her love for Ogiwara, that eventually yields letting her enter the house. The next morning, the neighbor and the priest find Ogiwara dead clutching the skeleton of Otsuyu.
From the horror style of the Edo period to the romanticism of the Meiji period.
Photo credits: tumblr.com
The Kabuki version of this story is very famous, but there is a substantial difference between the two. In the theatrical versions, in fact, the protagonists know each other before the death of Otsuyu. Their families have been close for a long time and this had encouraged the birth of love between them. This version is the perhaps the most renowned one as it is pregnant with romance from beginning to end. Their love, the youthful passion, and then the frustration for a forced separation cause by the boy’s illness. During this period of separation Otsuyu dies believing that Saburo had not survived. But Saburo recovers and, desperate for the death of the girl prays to her spirit during the Obon festival. That same evening, he meets on his way home a woman and her servant holding a lantern of peonies. To his great joy, the young man realizes that the woman is his Otsuyu who, from that night on, will go visit him every night. But their joy will not last long. In fact, a servant, spying from a crack in the wall of Saburo’s room, realizes that in reality he lies every night with a skeleton. A Buddhist priest is immediately called and talismans are attached to the door of the house to prevent the spirit from entering. Yet, every night the girl returns to cry out her love for Saburo, who, desperate for the new separation, falls ill again. But the awareness of loving her anyway and despite everything means only one thing. Death! The talismans are removed to allow the spirit to enter once again. For the last time. However, the young protagonist dies happily in the arms of the one he loves.
This difference of themes can be attributed to the different periods in which the two versions were written. The original one dates back to the Edo period with the macabre vein that characterizes the Japanese folklore of the time. The theatrical one is more recent and sees the light in the Meiji period, the period in which Japan approaches the West thanks to the opening of Emperor Mutsuhito. Opening that did not occur only on a political level, but also on a cultural level thus influencing tastes and customs, and this legend is an example.
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This Makes Me Smile…
Okay, this will take a bit of setup, so bear with me for a moment, please.
As part of its all-out exploitation, um, that is, expansion of the Star Wars brand, Disney has recently begun producing animated shorts set in the SW universe and released through the Disney YouTube channel. These shorts, collectively known as Star Wars Forces of Destiny, are each two to three minutes long and focus on the female characters of Star Wars (there is, however, at least one centered on Luke Skywalker). I’ve seen a few of them and they’re… nice. They’re obviously aimed at a very young audience, and they’re too short for any deep storytelling — mostly they’re little vignettes that fill in plot details you never knew you were curious about — but they’re cute, upbeat, well drawn and animated, and — I especially like this — they include familiar voice talents from both the SW feature films (Daisy Ridley, Felicity Jones, John Boyega, Lupita Nyong’o, and even Mark Hamill) and other animated SW series (Ashley Eckstein from Clone Wars and Rebels, Vanessa Marshall and Tiya Sircar from Rebels).
As if all that weren’t gratifying enough, though, I just spotted something in one of the latest ones, “Bounty Hunted,” that really made me smile. See if you can catch it, too, about 14 seconds in:
Did you see it? Did you? Eh, probably not. The moment passes quickly, and you’d have to be an old super-nerd like me to even know what you’re looking at.
At 0:14, there are a couple shadowy figures in the foreground who, on closer inspection, appear to be Jaxxon, the six-foot-tall green humanoid rabbit from the original Marvel Comics series of the late 1970s, and Skorr, a cyborg bounty hunter seen in the Star Wars newspaper comics of the same period, which were drawn by the legendary Al Williamson. (Skorr was meant to be “that bounty hunter [they] ran into on Ord Mantell.”)
It’s funny that this would cross my radar this morning, as I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the early days of the Star Wars phenomenon, in particular that short-lived period between the release of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back when there really weren’t any rules or conventions yet. Today, the franchise labors to breathe under decades of backstory, questions of what is or is not “canon,” and, most significantly, the weight of expectations, both from the property owners and the fans themselves. But back in the day, 1977-1980, well… it seemed like anything was possible then, and the only thing anyone really cared about was that there should be more. My friend Kelly recently called that period “the gonzo years,” and it’s an entirely appropriate title. The stories being published by Marvel and in the very earliest tie-in novels by Brian Daley and Alan Dead Foster were colorful, freewheeling, frequently weird, sometimes awe-inspiring, and most of all, they were fun. (I think part of the reason I responded so positively to the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie is because I saw in it the same pleasingly anarchic sensibilities as the early era of Star Wars.)
It makes me happy that somebody at Disney remembers “the gonzo years” and was able to honor them even in a small way.
And it makes me even happier that Jaxxon is now officially canon…
However, on a slightly grumpier note, I thought the last line of this short, the one about telling Han that Leia is a keeper, was a real heartbreaker considering what we learn about them in The Force Awakens. Han and Leia not being together, or at least not getting back together, was one of the many reasons I didn’t like that movie, and one of the many fundamental decisions underpinning the sequel trilogy that I disagree with. But that’s another entry…
Posted in: Star Wars
← Happy Birthday, Mr. Shatner!
Friday Evening Videos: “Glory Days” →
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Home > Sports > In-form S. Korean striker ends scoring drought vs. Uruguay
In-form S. Korean striker ends scoring drought vs. Uruguay
SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) — In-form South Korean striker Hwang Ui-jo on Friday ended his scoring drought with the senior national team, scoring a goal against Uruguay in a friendly match.
Hwang scored the game’s opening goal in the 66th minute at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, where the national team collected a 2-1 win.
Hwang’s goal came off a missed penalty kick by Son Heung-min. After a save by Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, Hwang pounced on the rebound with a follow-up that found the back of the net.
It was Hwang’s first goal for the senior national team since October 2015. It was also his second goal for South Korea in 14 caps.
“My first thought was that Son would make the penalty,” Hwang said after the match. “I think I had some luck, but I was able to score the goal because I didn’t stop concentrating on the ball.”
South Korean fans had big expectations for Hwang after the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia, where he scored nine goals and led South Korea’s under-23 team to win a gold medal. He was one of the three overage players for South Korea at the Asian Games.
South Korea’s Hwang Ui-jo celebrates after scoring a goal against Uruguay in a friendly match at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul on Oct. 12, 2018. (Yonhap)
But some critics had doubts whether he could also show his attacking prowess against senior-level teams from outside Asia.
Hwang failed to score in South Korea’s first two matches under head coach Paulo Bento last month, against Costa Rica and then Chile.
But against world No. 5 Uruguay, Hwang was finally able to break his scoreless streak on the senior side and proved that he is now one of the hottest South Korean strikers.
Hwang got into his attacking rhythm in the second half. He got South Korea’s second shot on target in the 49th after receiving a pass from Hwang Hee-chan.
Hwang then delivered a breakthrough for the hosts in the 65th after he earned a penalty kick. The Gamba Osaka striker was brought down by Uruguay center back Sebastian Coates in the box when trying to receive a pass from Nam Tae-hee.
“Uruguay have strong defense and their defenders like (Diego) Godin are powerful and physical,” he said. “But I tried to take advantage of their physical play.”
South Korean captain Son Heung-min stepped up to take the spot kick, but was denied by Muslera. Hwang then corralled the rebound and made it 1-0 for South Korea.
After scoring, Hwang was immediately replaced by Suk Hyun-jun as South Korea had already requested a substitution before Hwang scored.
“Our victory is the result of a team effort,” he said. “I should have made more chances for my teammates and taken shots when I had chances.”
Even though he didn’t play full time, Hwang is likely to get a leg up on his competition for the starting striker spot. Bento has also tested FC Augsburg forward Ji Dong-won and Suk as strikers, but so far, Hwang is the only forward to have scored.
“These days, I just play with a lot of confidence,” he said. “But for a starting striker spot, competition is inevitable and it’s not strange to see other forwards making a start ahead of me. That’s why I have to work harder and show better performance.”
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Last July Day Thread
Make it whatever you want it to be.
Posted by KeyRose at 11:18 AM No comments:
Just A Tease
I was expecting a downpour late last night, but my hopes were shot down as Tropical Storm Don became a tropical depression.
Here I thought I wasn't going to have to water for the next couple of days and.....
Posted by KeyRose at 6:30 AM No comments:
Oh. My. Gawd!
Labels: Mami Chulas
Fracking And Stuff
The EPA is looking into issues of pollution at drilling sites.
In March, pollution from natural gas drilling in the Upper Green River Basin in western Wyoming triggered levels of ground-level ozone, the main ingredient in smog, worse than those recorded in Los Angeles, one of the smoggiest cities in the U.S.
In Dish, a rural town northwest of Dallas, the state’s environmental regulators detected levels of cancer-causing benzene, sometimes at levels dangerous to human health, likely coming from the industry’s 60 drilling wells, gas production pads and rigs, a treating facility and compressor station.
This could be present in northern Webb County. It could be affecting people who live near drilling sites already.
It's good that the EPA is concerned with the effects of drilling, but for some it may too late. Yeah, some might've made out really well from this, but others are probably dealing with things like benzene.
Jailers Arrested
What changes will this incident bring about?
No Dumping, Laredo
Sign or no sign, people are going to dump stuff anywhere they want. No es bueno.
Posted by KeyRose at 12:47 PM No comments:
Xoticas Quince
Xoticas, a local gentleman's club, is celebrating its 15th anniversary. I've never been to this place but I know that not everyone was excited about it setting up shop in north Laredo. And today it sits in a different location, somewhere off of Mines Rd. But it has proved that it has staying power.
The ad pictured above was found in the LMT. I included the Kaplan ad right next to it because I thought the juxtaposition makes for a great caption contest.
Mexican Soldiers Cross Into U.S.
Apparently Mexican soldiers have a little problem with the subject of jurisdiction. A valley news outlet reports that 33 soldiers crossed into the U.S. at the Donna bridge. But Henry Cuellar is not buying the military's excuse about losing track of the boundary. And he thinks that's they've taken advantage of our courteousness.
If we did that to them, they would be crying bloody murder right now.
First of all, we wouldn't do that because all our troops are tied up in the Middle East. And Secondly, I would give our soldiers a little more credit as far as not knowing to cross into another country.
Mexican soldiers crossing onto U.S. territory has become something of a regular occurrence. It's starting to look like much more than a coincidence.
The NFL Lockout was finally resolved this week, and now there is a frenzy of football-related activity. Training camps are underway, players are being traded, and free agents are being snatched up. Yes, we were all ready for some football!
Right out of the gate there was a rumor of Brett Favre returning. C'mon! There has been zero NFL news for months, and reporters have to throw this story in right away to begin debates? I'm hoping Favre isn't foolish enough to do this anyway, and I believe his agent who said "he's retired, period!"
My favorite team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, have had a flurry of off-the-field happenings which have caused me some concern as a devoted fan. QB Ben Roethlisberger has been forever tainted by two sexual assault allegations (both cases were dropped). He got married this past Saturday to Ashley Harlan, and Steeler Nation is hoping his settling down will settle him down.
The never subtle linebacker, James Harrison, who made headlines last year for his hard hits and subsequent fines, went off on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a recent interview. He said he hated him and called him a "devil" and a "crook"!?@! He went on to criticize other players, including some of his own teammates. Oh boy!
Former SuperBowl MVP and winner of last season's "Dancing with the Stars," Hines Ward, was also in the news for being arrested on DUI charges. Players in the news for all the wrong reasons is not what Steelers fans are used to. "The Pittsburgh Steelers are a proud franchise that has been built on stability, excellence, and respect." We need that again now that football is back in session. What I want to know is when did the Steelers turn into the Dallas Cowboys???
Spill Of Some Sort
On the southbound lane of Hwy 83, near the Santa Fe entrance, I noticed a section of the road covered with some sort of sludge. The picture doesn't exactly capture the scene adequately, but if you notice in the middle, the roadway looks darker. As I neared this area to take a snapshot, I immediately was hit with an odor. I can't exactly pinpoint it. However, the shape of the spill look irregular; and I've seen another one like this just down the road.
Que Fregados recently posted on an unknown spill near downtown. And I included a screen shot of a story that appeared in this month's LareDOS where a dumping ground for sludge was discovered on Hwy 16.
Like I said before, I've noticed these kinds of spills on Zapata Highway before. And it doesn't look like anyone is paying them no mind.
Changes At County
Last week the court let go of two department heads. Today we learn that two individuals were chosen to fill those spots. But the positions' job descriptions ask for more than these new directors have to offer. Commissioners, nevertheless, bumped them up in status and pay.
Commissioners did approve pay raises for Cabello and Gonzalez to the salaries of their former directors. The court improved a salary increase for Cabello or more than $40,300 to the $112,000 annual salary Sanchez made. Gonzalez got a bump in pay of more than $20,300 to the $73,690 salary made by outgoing building maintenance director Raul Elizondo.
Both of these men have been working for Webb County for some time, but Mr. Mike Cabello is not certified as an engineer as the job description requires. And Mr. Fernando Gonzalez does not have any college training.
These men might be qualified, but is this the right time to be giving out hefty pay raises when the county is struggling to meet its fuel demands? And if I remember correctly, Patricia Barrera was denied an employee's hike in pay because money has been tight.
The commissioners court is going to try to make changes to try to accommodate these two men. Again, these two individuals might be qualified to do the job, but shouldn't they be placed on a probationary period and their salaries adjusted accordingly?
I realize you want to reward people for their efforts but I also expect some belt-tightening during these troubled times.
This Drought Laredo
This is not good. People are being warned to be careful when out at Lake Casa Blanca because of the low water levels. You might get stuck out there if you're on a boat or jet ski.
In the picture above, I highlighted a part of the lake where I think the water's edge should be at. Again, not good.
Poor Tree Care
The picture above is that of an ash tree in the parking lot of a retail center in north Laredo. In the background you can see Lane Bryant and Old Navy. The reason I took this picture is because of the poor care and attention that Laredo trees get. Seriously, who prunes a tree like this? These trees are not meant for topiary projects.
You would think that these trees would be allowed to flourish since no obstructions are in the way -- There are no power lines overhead, or buildings nearby that would hinder a tree's growth. The only reason I can come up with is that they were hacked this way so drivers could have a better line of vision. If shoppers can better see the stores here, chances are they'll stop in to buy.
Here's another pic.
Proper pruning can stimulate a tree's growth. But what's been done here can be detrimental to them, not to mention making eyesores out of each and every tree.
When I visit this retail center, I like to park near a tree that offers good shade; that's usually in the area near the Payless Shoe Store. Nevermind that I have to walk clear across the parking lot to get to another store, my car will be nice and cool when I get back. These trees, unfortunately, don't look like they might be of any use to me. And that's unfortunate, especially when we have to live with the unrelenting heat every Summer.
Labels: Trees
Take A Ride
Transit officials in Nuevo Laredo estimate that more than half of public buses are ready for the scrap heap. El Manana reports that bus inspections are due the first week of August. Officials will review numerous areas of concern on each bus, including cleanliness, intact windows, and adequate seating. If a bus doesn't pass inspection, it'll be put out of commission.
I've never ridden on a bus in Nuevo Laredo but I've heard that it's a trip. Apart from the ambiance, drivers are really eager with their gas pedals. Perhaps this is something I should put on my bucket list.
More Bad News For Webb County
Conflict of interest has never crossed these people's minds.
The court will try to make things right. But when they take one step forward, another thing emerges that makes them take two steps back.
Debt Ceiling Confusion
Maximiliano over at LaredoTejas noticed how Mayor Raul Salinas couldn't exactly answer a question about the debt ceiling on national TV. And Odie Arambula also couldn't find anyone locally to give an opinion on what Congress and the president are tackling right now.
Tom at WakeUpLaredo thinks John Boehner is doing a fantastic job. But what if nothing happens before the supposed August 2 deadline? Will Social Security checks, and Medicaid payments be withheld so as to force the elderly out of nursing homes? It's all posturing on the part of everyone in Washington. Our fearless leader even has some thoughts on the whole hullabaloo.
Whatever happens, it's shameful that nobody can articulate his/her thoughts on the subject when confronted with questions, even the mayor.
I apologize for not updating this site more over the last couple of days. Reason I didn't do so is because I took a trip out to the beach. Once I checked into the hotel, the WiFi service was not what I expected. Needless to say they're getting a poor customer review from this writer. When I got home yesterday I was too tired to do anything.
Anyway, I managed to take a picture of somebody advertising a yard sale with some DIY magic. It's good to know that duct tape holds at 55 mph.
Saturday Morning Thread
It's too early, really.
Natural Gas Operations
It's great to hear about all the benefits that the Eagle Ford Shale has granted the area: energy company CEOs swoosh in by helicopter to hand the community college a big check; the college offers training for would-be shale play employees; land owners make a killing leasing their land; communities are flush with new revenue that comes from taxes; people sell water to the drilling companies at a premium price; motels, stores, and eateries are hopping with customers; new businesses open up; jobs are available; and everybody is happy.
But if something sounds too good to be true, then it must be.
It's easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of good fortune. But there has to be a downside, especially when so much money is involved.
Time will tell if all this activity is a boom or bust for us and our environment.
Who Would've Thought
It's always the one you least expect.
This Is Stage 3
Driving to work every day this week I've noticed a sprinkler head that's on the fritz at a local fast food restaurant. As you can see, water is making sure the parking lot is nice and moist in the mornings. There must be some simple explanation for this, like they're waiting for the sprinkler part to come in from Australia or something.
So much for Stage 3 water restrictions.
Old School Stuff
The better half found an old report card sleeve while going through some old stuff. This is from the '81-'82 school year. Sadly, the Laredo National Bank is no longer with us.
She was really good about turning in her books at the end of the year.
New Laredo Baseball Team Name
Just a minor setback.
Water Transactions In Laredo
At Monday's city council meeting the issue of water dispensing came up, partly at the behest of the Safe Fracking Coalition. Councilman Alex Perez placed the item on the agenda because it's come to people's attention that those who purchase water from the city in large volumes are going out and selling it for a higher price. Whether it's being sold to drilling companies was not confirmed, but it was suggested.
City staff will look into curbing this activity.
"It's not going to be to the point that people can go get a tanker of water and then be able to resell it. If there's going to be any activity it's going to be a direct activity that's going to be monitored and we're going to be able to look after the interests of the City of Laredo."
The city also doesn't want any middle man involved. If drilling companies need water, they will have to buy it direct from the city.
LaredoTejas takes issue with the city's response to big tankers taking advantage of this service at one pumping station: shut down the operation. This will make it difficult for private citizens that depend on that water dispensing system. The LMT (Andrew Kreighbaum) reported today on this very thing.
The dispenser, which is located at Las Penitas and Las Tiendas roads, was set to be closed in mid-August. Instead, the city will move the dispenser to the Fred and Anita Bruni Community Center on West Racho Penitas Road.
So now it will be in the county's hands. I don't know if that's a good idea, seeing as how they've had some bad luck with keeping track of their water.
The city wants to monitor any activity where somebody might be making out like a bandit selling the city's water. If water is going to be sold to the oil and gas companies, they suggest using effluent water. Currently the country club and the existing golf course use this type of water for irrigation, according to the city manager. I hope better stewardship of our water is accomplished, but I'm not keeping my hopes up since the city can barely monitor the activity at Mami Chulas.
Balance The Federal Budget
Henry Cuellar has a wonderful idea.
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Henry Cuellar’s (TX-28) balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been endorsed by the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition. It would require the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress every fiscal year, along with other measures to enhance fiscal responsibility. The Blue Dog Coalition has endorsed Congressman Cuellar’s amendment as the right measure to reduce the national deficit, while protecting vital programs.
(Full text of the press release can be found after the jump)
What Cuellar is proposing sounds a lot like what Texas republicans want.
"It fits into his overall philosophy about government and fiscal responsibility," Perry spokesman Mark Miner said. "In Texas, at the end of the day, the budget will be balanced. It's the Texas way versus the federal way, which is to continue spending without being accountable."
I don't know if the Texas way is a model we should be emulating. The state does a great job of balancing its budget but now schools are having to make severe cutbacks. Their idea of balancing the budget comes at the expense of many.
A balanced federal budget sounds nice, but if such an amendment were passed, I would think that the congressman's earmarks would be in jeopardy, not to mention our military involvement in the Middle East. Cuellar's whole reason for being, and our eternal adoration for him, has to do with him bringing home the (pork) bacon. If he's serious about tightening Washington's belt, as many constituents are already doing, then I suspect that we won't be seeing him in any more photo ops holding giant plastic checks with our local politicos flanking him.
This amendment requires Congress to produce a balanced budget every fiscal year and requires the President to submit a balanced budget in his or her annual transmission to Congress. It also protects Social Security, ensuring that our most vulnerable do not face a reduction in benefits when they need them most.
“I am pleased by the support from the Blue Dog Coalition for my bill that creates a path to fiscal sovereignty. The balanced budget amendment was the first bill I introduced in an effort to set the tone of sound fiscal policy this Congress,” Congressman Cuellar said. “Reducing the national deficit is not only critical for our country’s economic recovery – it’s critical for future generations of Americans and this bill accomplishes that.”
“This bill is common sense to the American people. Forty-nine states currently require an annual balanced budget, and an amendment to the Constitution will finally hold the federal government to the same, common-sense standards,” Congressman Cuellar said. “I am eager to continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and the Blue Dog Coalition in an effort to tackle our budget problems with real-time solutions by my balanced budget amendment.”
Press release courtesy of Cuellar's camp.
A Lesson In Debt Ceiling
Our trustee Blue Dog spender checks in to give us a little background on the federal debt ceiling. I'm including parts of his write up. You can read the entire piece here. Enjoy.
The debt limit is a statutory cap on the amount of debt the federal government borrows. It applies to federal debt such as U.S. bonds and Treasury Bills. This debt is owned by creditors such as taxpayers, pension funds and foreign governments. In essence, it is money the country has borrowed to operate and must eventually pay.
Raising our nation’s debt limit is not a new issue. In 1917, as the United States entered into World War I, Congress authorized the Department of Treasury to finance the war, but placed a limit on the amount of debt that could be taken. Since 1980, the debt ceiling has been raised 39 times. Our debt limit has been increased in increments and has never been politicized or held hostage to accomplish ideological goals.
Recent Years
Raising the debt ceiling has been a non-partisan issue. President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, raised the debt ceiling 17 times, the most of any president.
In the 1990s, the debt limit was raised four times under President Bill Clinton and since 2001, the debt limit has been increased 10 times, including seven times under President George W. Bush and three times under President Barack Obama. Not only have presidents of both parties raised the debt limit, but members of Congress from both parties have voted with them. Republican leadership including Speaker John Boehner and Majority Whip Eric Cantor have voted twice to raise the debt limit.
Debunking Debt Ceiling Myths
Not raising the debt ceiling is a way to control future government spending.
This is not true. We’ve heard some say that refusing to raise the debt ceiling is like ‘cutting up America’s credit card’, but a more appropriate analogy would be cutting up our credit card bill. Failing to raise the debt ceiling amounts to a refusal to pay the bills our country has already incurred – which not only sets a terrible example for our children – it also would lead to a credit rating downgrade, leading to higher interest rates and actually increasing our deficit.
Americans will be unaffected if the U.S. defaults – it won’t have a significant impact on me.
False. If the United States does not pay its owed debt by Aug. 2, the Treasury Department will be forced to prioritize payments and pick ‘winners and losers’. On Aug. 3, Social Security checks that are supposed to be sent out to beneficiaries are at risk if the debt ceiling is not raised. As the school year begins in August, many incoming college students will be relying on their Pell Grants to pay for their education expenses – this may not get funded. Even funding Military Active Duty Pay, the FBI and prison systems would be at risk for payment. Every month, the Department of Treasury makes 80 million payments and every one – from veterans to the Federal Highway Administration – will be affected, including me and you.
I believe our situation is best summed up by President Ronald Reagan, who wrote to then-Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker:
“The full consequences of a default, or even the serious prospect of default by the United States are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate.”
Not raising the debt ceiling would amount to playing ‘chicken’ with our 401Ks, mortgages, pension funds, unemployment benefits, social security payments and tax refunds to small businesses. It would not only be irresponsible, it would cause self-inflicted global financial wreckage that neither the U.S. nor the world can afford.
The part that worries me is where it says that "Social Security checks .... are at risk." What does that mean for my mother? I really hope something happens before the end of the month, because I don't like all this talk about people not being payed and veterans being short-changed. What's interesting is that I haven't heard anyone say, 'if we default, congress and all its staffers won't get paid.' Not that it would matter; most politicians are pretty well off. What would they have to worry about?
Not The Worst Headline, But Really Close
Watch Over Your Things
We here at LaSanbe, as well as another blogger (who shall remain nameless), have talked about theft of personal property. If things are not bolted down, they will disappear. And even when things are secured, thieves will find a way to get their hands on other people's possessions.
One tries to guard his/her belongings by installing alarm systems, burglar bars, and fencing with locks. For those who have the patience and wherewithal to deal with the care of an animal, a guard dog might be employed. But as you can see by the video above, not even a chain and a camera system can stop ne'erdowells from taking somebody's little cash cow of a hot dog cart. Hopefully somebody will recognize the two punks in the video and bring them to justice.
La Canicula
Mexican officials are predicting a mild canicula, or Dog Days of Summer, this year.
It's said that this phenomenon is characterized by increased temperature readings and less rainfall. If that's the case, then our canicula goes way beyond than that of mid-July to mid-August.
Oh Gawd!
I thought I was the only one who thought this book was a tedious read. Thankfully I'm not alone.
Muestra de Musica Martes
I hadn't posted anything on new music releases because I was distracted there for a little while. But that hasn't stopped artists from releasing great new stuff. Case in point: one of my favorite bands, Wilco, released a couple of songs in anticipation of their upcoming album that's going to be released in the Fall.
If only I had a radio program, I could showcase music that many Laredoans haven't heard before.
Don't Get On Their Bad Side
This is my favorite part of the article:
Elizondo protested that he tried repeatedly to reach the commissioner to discuss his responsibilities and any concerns the court had. But Canales said he was waiting to see if Elizondo would take any corrective actions of his own accord.
I think Mr. Elizondo was trying to take corrective actions, Commissioner Canales. The problem is: you never returned his calls (I'm inferring here)
I've never met Mr. Elizondo, but I get the impression that he's a truculent individual. Again, I'm only going by what was written in the LMT story. For not being a team player, he got the ax. But for him to be let go when everybody is expecting a yearly evaluation is harsh. The court, especially Canales, was determined to clean house. No compromise was to be had on this day.
Canales said he met with several staffers from building maintenance at his home after taking office and heard multiple complaints about management.
OK, he was probably difficult, but no probation? No written reprimand? No reassignment? Perhaps the LMT writer left out some details, like Elizondo's file being full of written complaints, or him being asked to take part in anger management classes. Whatever the case, it seems like the lines of communication have totally broken down at county. If you take anything from this, it's that you don't want to diss the court, because they can make life very difficult for you.
Can't Have One Without The Other
Last night I enjoyed the season 4 opener of AMC's "Breaking Bad." For brevity's sake, all I will say is that the episode had a really intense, drawn-out moment -- one that rivals the firecracker scene in "Boogie Nights" coupled with the brutality of the "Reservoir Dogs" ear scene. Dare I say it was an hour well-spent even though it left me shaken psychologically.
For those unfamiliar with the show, the main character, Walt, is diagnosed with cancer and must undergo treatment for it. Faced with the medical costs of doing so, and wanting to provide for his family in the event of his untimely death, he decides to use his skills as a chemist (teacher) to make meth. His need for survival, however, has taken on a more determined and brutal quality over the last three seasons. Walt has gone from deviant entrepreneur to cold-blooded killer. And this is what brings me to our neck of the woods.
In watching the "Box Cutter" episode last night, I wasn't thrown by the fact that violence had befallen those entangled in the drug trade. If I'm going to watch a movie where drugs are involved, I have to expect some violence. Remember "Up In Smoke"? A dog died in that movie. Need I say more?
But seriously, people don't bat an eye when they see violence scripted alongside drug-pushing in film, but if we hear about violence perpetrated on the local citizenry, or upon law enforcement officials, suddenly it's termed 'spillover violence' and it becomes a national security issue. Violence is going to occur, especially in our case where major drug routes exist. What's unique to us is that we have a river that separates two nations; Crooks can easily escape to Mexico, and gang members can seek refuge in Texas. Things can get complicated; just ask those looking for Victor Palomo, the young man who didn't return after a lunch break in his murder trial.
Point is: drugs and violence go hand in hand. However, we haven't seen the carnage and mayhem that our Sister City has seen. Mayor Salinas can boast about lower crime statistics, yet ask for more funding from the federal government for increased security. How can he justify needing more when things are getting better? The mayor's duplicity aside, we have to put our circumstance in perpestive. We have to be cautious, but we can't run around as if our hair was on fire.
Is She?
Our eternal state senator, Judith Zaffirini, is having a dilemma with her campaign messaging.
Veteran Democratic Sen. Judith Zaffirini is known by her friends, loved ones and constituents simply as "Z."
But authorities told her sister recently that the symbol, which translates in Spanish to "zeta," could cause the truck to be mistaken for vehicles belonging to the deadly "Zeta" cartel, based on the Texas-Mexico border.
What constituents refer to her as "Z"? She's been in office since 1986 and I've never known her to have some sort of brand attached to her persona. I mean, seriously, the Zaffirinis look like the most uptight people in Laredo; the senator is virtually nowhere to be seen when it's time to really connect with her constituents; and I really can't point to one piece of legislation that's made her famous (that may be my fault). But now we're all supposed to think that she's some sort of marketable icon.
I really don't see the need for a brand since this lady is permanently embedded in the same chair she's held for more than twenty years. Frankly I don't know why she even campaigns because we're all just going to vote for her anyway; We don't know why, but we'll do it.
Of all letters she designates for herself, it has to be the one associated with a neighboring drug cartel. Brilliant. This, however, amazes her that people would even make the connection.
Let's look at one of her previous campaign commercials to note the blandness of it.
Z? I don't think so.
Novacaine And Flowers
This is exactly the kind of headline I want to see when I decide to cross over into Nuevo Laredo. But seriously, I had to go over to see a dentist because one of my wisdom teeth had a big cavity in it and it had been bothering me for a couple of weeks. It was mostly a dull pain that was present at bedtime. The dentist told me that the discomfort was due to lying in bed -- there was more blood flow to the head and that increased the pressure to the affected tooth.
Luckily the whole tooth extraction experience went on without a hitch. And I can safely say that I'm looking forward to a restful night tonight, sans molar. The dentist was really cool, so I'll probably visit him again for further dental care.
Anyway, when I was crossing bridge 1, I noticed that the river's water level looked depleted. I was able to take a picture through the bridge's fencing. Check it out.
(The railroad bridge is off in the distance)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember the half-circle piece of land (middle of pic) being so visible. The banks of the river, on the American side, used to be very brushy; the foliage would probably cover up the area I'm speaking of. But in crossing the bridge before, I can't recall that little peninsula looking so clearly outlined.
Laredo gets its water from the Rio Grande. I wonder if the newly-imposed water restrictions were instituted because of the river's status. Personally, I don't think we should ever have water restrictions lifted.
Mr. Rodriguez, the utilities director, suggested the watering schedule be put back into place because other municipalities were telling their citizens to conserve water. Is that the real reason, or could it be that they are aware of our water scarcity?
Whatever the case, watch your water usage, people.
Back on the U.S. side, I got a chance to visit with my friends at the Farmers Market. It's held every third Saturday of the month at Jarvis Plaza. Here's a picture.
This is a shot of a vendor offering up some nice plants. It looked like they made out pretty well, what with all the people that were browsing and asking questions.
I would've visited my friends from Caffe Dolce, but by having a cotton ball control the bleeding on my gums, I decided to forgo the baked goods.
All in all I'd say it was a very productive Saturday.
Nuevo Laredo Is Not Laredo, TX
I haven't been to Nuevo Laredo in a while and this news release doesn't encourage me to go across.
I love it how people rubberneck even while riding their bikes. Move it along, sir.
Getting Word Out
Since I have practically no marketing budget at all, I have to come up with my own advertising. The problem now is figuring out on what corner to post this puppy.
Drones For South Texas
If there's one thing all politicians can agree on it's security measures. Public safety seems to be a campaign staple, especially along the border where communities have to deal with drug, and human smuggling, among other things. But operations have been beefed up recently as authorities are now using National Guard troops, and unmanned aeriel vehicles to patrol the border.
South Texas can now boast that it will have two UAVs in operation, all thanks to some sort of magical funding that is commonly referred to as 'emergency supplemental appropriations.' As their name implies, emergency supplementals should be utilized when any unforseen event arises, such as a natural disaster. If money was needed to respond to a big flood, that funding would be tacked on to the usual yearly budget. Critics, however, have noted that little oversight is applied to these spending bills.
In this age of budget deficits, it's astounding how the purse strings haven't been pulled in more forcibly by Congress. Here's a comment from our very own Blue Dog Democrat, Henry Cuellar.
“As Congress meets these urgent needs, we must also realize that America cannot afford to continue running trillion-dollar deficits forever. After years of irresponsible and wasteful spending, we have been left with an enormous debt and a severe lack of fiscal discipline. We must follow up on today’s emergency appropriations by passing strong, enforceable laws to limit deficit spending and put our nation’s budget back on track.”
(Emphasis mine)
I have no problem with politicians wanting to add more Border Patrol agents along the border, or more cops to patrol cities, but how can their positions be funded with "emergency" funding when the problems associated with the drug trade have existed for years? Add to that the extras (I don't want to say luxuries) of Guard troops and expensive aerial monitoring systems.
I'm all for border protection but I would like for it all to be a part of the yearly budget process. And I would really love it for our representatives to explain it to me why they're for fiscal responsibility but spend like the Rapture is upon us.
Labels: Henry Cuellar
Something Minor
It's amazing that Mayor Salinas "did not return calls for comment." He's ready to offer a comment to everybody and their mother, no matter how trivial it may be. On this occasion, however, he's decided to clam up.
Remember, kids: the mayor's first concern is public safety and gets peeved when he gets the runaround.
Why can't this happen to the many tacuaches around Laredo?
You know, for somebody who has supposedly disappointed his base and seemingly bowed to republicans' every wish, he's doing quite well for himself. People might throw around the one-term-president jab, but at the fundraising rate he's going at, it looks like people will once again go to the polls to send him back to the White House.
Mensos, Not Mensa
Add another statistic to the crime column.
Luckily when I've been out jogging, the only thing that somebody's done to me is shout out of a car window enough to startle me. Be sure to stretch before working out, and watch out for douchbags.
There must be a reason why rural land owners want to keep their roads private. I just need it explained to me why that is. Meanwhile, students who live out in the colonias have to deal with the lack of (road) infrastructure.
Trouble In Quartzsite
A reader sent this in for our consideration: it's the story of the mayor of Quartzsite, AZ who's been bullied by the city council.
He said since being in office, he has discovered that every pay period, eight to 10 paychecks go to unnamed people and that he has been denied access to financial records to find out where the money goes at every turn.
Mayor Ed Foster was removed from office by the council. Apparently his ouster stems from what happened earlier this month during a council meeting. Check out the video below and see how a resident tries to address city hall and the suspicion of corruption within. The mayor attempts to take control of the meeting but councilmembers overrule him and the speaker.
The issue of local corruption came up during one of our meet-ups some years ago. A local reporter countered that he never found evidence of wrongdoing on the part of city officials. I'd like to believe that, but then I think of all the Laredoans who have been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. I'm not saying all politicians are corrupt. I'm just saying that we don't know exactly what is going on.
Laredo may not be Quartzsite, but it has the potential.
Market This
Often I've thought about opening up my own business: a dive bar catering to Pittsburgh Steelers fans; alternative music record store; taxi for wheelchair-bound people, etc. But all those would take some serious planning and resources. No, what I need is something that requires little capital with big returns.
I need something with a hook (deLaredo).
I need something that's going to sell itself. (Critters and Crayons)
Something that people will want to own (Spicy Mustache).
????????????? (Wake Up Laredo).
The crime rate may be down in Laredo as Mayor Salinas noted in his recent "State of the City Address," but that doesn't keep us from hearing about acts of violence perpetrated on our city streets. Take, for instance, the two "Blood In, Blood Out" rejects pictured above: they were booked for assaulting somebody with a knife and rocks. They were just minding their own business at a local Stripes convenience store when something set them off. Because they had to improvise (use rocks), I'm going to say that they were taken by surprise, and thus, defending themselves.
But then there's the case of the man who used a crowbar in an argument. And the brouhaha that occurred at Taco Palenque last week. (I'm not going to go into details about the T.P. incident for fear that it may cost them customers)
With all these reports about thefts and assaults, it makes me wonder if crime is indeed down. Let's look at some numbers posted on the new police website, http://www.laredopd.com/.
Law enforcement officials have been lauded for the decrease in auto thefts, but as you can see by the chart, rape cases, and burglaries have seen an uptick. And aggravated assaults have remained steady.
I don't mind looking on the bright side of things. If Judith Zaffirini wants to tout her voting record while public schools are in disarray due to republican policies, who am I to say anything? And if Mayor Salinas wants to earnestly present crime figures that make him look good, then so be it.
The last thing I want to do is to instill fear in people. I think Laredo is a safe place to live in. I never feel like I have to be looking over my shoulder constantly when I'm out and about. But with so many stories of assault, and robberies, I stop to think why I never witness any of this firsthand. I'm better off, sure, not being witness to what Laredo's ne'erdowells have to offer, but how can I call myself 'Laredo's Most Imposing Blogger' if I'm constantly kept out of the loop, so to speak.
Be safe out there. And oh yeah, stop it with the tattoos.
Border Violence Talk Goes On
Letter appeared in today's LMT (which I did not get delivered to my home, thank you)
Normally I wouldn't see the point in law enforcement officials warning Americans not to travel to Mexico since most people have stayed away for some time now. But for the graduating class of San Agustin High School, somebody saw it fit for them to travel to a popular beach destination south of the border at the end of the 2011 school year. So no matter how much we may know not to spend too much time over there, some will go anyway; and this is why the warnings have to be released.
I know young people use the bus to get to school, or college. But I wonder if they use it for other things, like going to the mall or visit friends. I've used the bus at times throughout my life. The experience has a somewhat liberating feel to it.
Keeping The Garden Going
It's tough keeping things lush with the triple-digit temperatures, and lack of rain, we have had on a daily basis.
The Wilsons choose drought-tolerant plants such as rosemary, purple fountaingrass, old roses and redbuds to complement the mesquites and oaks in front of their house. They water judiciously, giving everything a weekly drink. "We're keeping our plants right above brown," Karen Wilson says. "They are wilted, but when the next rain hits - and there will be more rain - everything will look better."
I'm not one to water every day. If the plants start looking pale and dry, I'll let them go. One thing I've started doing recently is recycling my dish water. That water I'll pour on the smaller, newer plants.
County CAA Program
This whole thing has wound up like an episode of "The Apprentice": the project manager takes the heat while his/her crew lives another day.
Issues With Luis Uranga
El Reportero Urbano and I recorded a podcast yesterday, but due to technical issues and other obligations, I was just able to post it right now. Enjoy our little talk.
If you're bored this weekend, skip on over to the other side now that there is no longer a threat to kill/kidnap Laredoans, and check out Sabrina, star of a number of Mexican shows, including "La Escuelita" and "La Hora Pico," at the Penthouse Men's Club. Info above found in the LMT.
El Fua
In Laredo we need more people with the power of the "Fua." So many problems could be solved with this force.
Comentario de El Reportero Urbano: "siempre se ha dicho que los ninos y los borrachos siempre dicen la verdad."
Sweep Away with Water
Some folks at El Manana are up in arms about some Greyhound employees sweeping the sidewalk with water. While inclined to give them a break, the picture does show Laredo Pride, baby.
Visit Laredo
What makes Laredo?
The countless strip malls with their vast concrete parking lots sprawling for miles have about as much character as our local governments. This is what we're supposed to be Laredo Proud about?
When a friend visited a couple of months ago, I suggested we go kayaking on the Rio Grande. The last time I was on a small boat was during (Cub Scout) summer camp. Nevertheless, I thought it would be a cinch paddling down the river. The only problem would be tracking down the people who actually run the kayak tours locally.
Apart from that, I would probably suggest taking my friends to El Meson de San Agustin in historic* downtown Laredo. We could enjoy good food and casually take in some of old Laredo.
There could be something else that I could plan for family and friends that visit, but I don't know if it is much of a draw for tourists. The Planetarium is nice to experience but I don't think it would have visitors begging for more.
Killing in the Name Of...
The Casey Anthony trial has come to a close. The only thing left is sentencing for the defendant Thursday morning. Who knows what will happen to her? Who cares now? You can't re-try her for anything in regards to the death of her daughter Caylee.
Another "Not Guilty" verdict in a high profile case; another crime without any resolution; another jury that leaves many of us dumbstruck! People will forget about this case soon enough, and then there will be another crime and victim that captures our attention...unfortunately.
Alonzo Ramos And Abe Martinez
Sentencing date moved to Aug. 1
By DENISE BLAZ
Laredo Morning Times
Published: Wednesday, July 6, 2011 2:29 AM CDT
A sentencing date for recently convicted local attorney Alonzo Ramos has been rescheduled for August 1, according to court records.
The 40-year-old attorney faces up to five years in federal prison along with a $250,000 fine.
He was originally scheduled to receive his sentence Tuesday.
In February, Ramos pled out in Dallas courtroom after admitting he helped facilitate the distribution of nearly $50,000 in drug trafficking proceeds.
What's up with delaying sentencings till August? Alonzo Ramos and Abe Martinez have had their cases delayed until next month. One thing that could quell my nervous anticipation is to have a Nancy Grace type rail against these delays.
Water-Taking
If things are just there for the taking, of course somebody is going to help themselves to them.
UPDATE: At tonight's city council meeting, mention was made of the activity outlined in the letter to the editor (video link below).
The video clip I'm including in this post is of the Utilities Director, Mr. Tomas Rodriguez, suggesting to city council that the water conservation plan be put back into effect. As soon as he does that, the city manager emphasizes that it would only be on a temporary basis.
I really don't know why city council would do away with water restrictions at all (watering on designated days depending on your address number), especially when we've gotten such little rain. But apparently we haven't had any restrictions since last year. For the city manager to suggest that a re-implementation of water conservation be temporary is mind boggling.
People who are scraping by make it a point to watch their water use. We may see people watering the street, but the ones who use the most water are the ones who have large, lush lawns. The ones who use the most water have monthly water bills in the triple digits. In suggesting temporary water conservations efforts, it seems that council, and the city manager, don't want to upset those with private sprinkler systems and luxurious yards.
In the video, Mr. Rodriguez notes that people are not aware that water restrictions had been lifted some time ago.
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Good Intentions Backfire, Literally
I now know that rules apply only to those who can't throw their influence around. For those that have connections or financial means, laws can be sidestepped. Thankfully karma steps in sometimes to remind us that things can't be ignored. Let's rewind several days.
"You know we have that fireworks ban so we were lucky enough to get that permit and we're excited about it and we'll of course have the fireworks at the end of the evening so everybody can come out and enjoy and we've got some really special things in store for folks, some fireworks I'm sure they've never seen."
While the state is experiencing drought, wildfires, extreme heat and budget shortfalls, some locals decided it would be a good idea to shoot off some fireworks for old times' sake. And then somebody thought, 'yeah, that's great; here's a permit!'
What happens next would be comical if it wasn't for two people being hauled off to the hospital.
Message to Big Buck Country (98.1 FM): stay away from fireworks for a while.
Our leaders are constantly trying to protect us from that which will do us harm: beer run dancing girls; car thieves; transparency; etc. We, however, ignore their warnings and take things into our own hands. What's unfortunate is when ordinances are put in place, but not enforced; And worse yet is when those who are in charge of public safety end up being enablers to our undoing.
I don't know if anybody is going to pay for a fire being started, or for two people being hurt, but today I can appreciate the power of cliches. Don't play with fire.
It's the 4th of July! Time to enjoy flags, apple pie, and baseball this day of indepence. It made me think of Laredo's new baseball park which is not open and the new mascot which will come.
To the north, the Amarillo Sox team had their own issue with its mascot, a giant yellow and brown sock.
According to the Amarillo Globe News, the Sock mascot had a certain little problem as it walked around the ballpark. The problem? Oh, it had a rather large thing sticking out. According to the Globe News, this was a problem:
The Sox mascot was supposed to look like a sock but looked nothing like General Manager Bob Lee had requested. Instead of a soft looking sock-type mascot from nearly head-to-toe, the foot portion of the sock stuck straight out about 2 feet at the waist.
According to the general manager that's not the way they wanted to go.
"It was not the way I wanted it," Lee said. "I'm very disappointed in the lady who did it, and I've told her so. She is going to fix it to the changes we want. I want to say on the record, if we offended anybody, I apologize."
Allrighty then. Apologies all around for the obscene mascot with the woody. Back to the drawing board!
Holiday Round-Up
I try to get in as much activity as I can on a daily basis. At work I'll get up and walk around the facility to log in as many steps as I can. Then at home I'll go out for a jog or a bike ride. But I've noticed that as I've gotten older, the energy level just isn't there, and joints start to act up when I overdo things. Still I have to make an effort if I plan to run this year's Guajolote 10K Race.
LaredoTejas discusses local language usage: the 'forf' of July. I used to get a kick when friends would say 'libary' instead of library. Why just yesterday I heard a newscaster say 'Roriguez' instead of Rodriguez. That happens quite a bit. I'm not going to say who it was but it isn't hard to find out for yourself.
Critters and Crayons put up the blue bag schedule. I'll do my part to recycle.
Of course with this being a holiday, we have to have parade coverage. QF.
Wake Up Laredo is gearing up for something new.
Tex[t]-Mex keeps up with local happenings from afar.
Spicy Mustache keeps the music humming along. Big ups to Outkast!
And Jobsanger never disappoints when it comes to political issues. And I agree -- if we think we're a Christian nation, we should act like one.
Sunday Afternoon Thread
I know there are a lot of things in the news but I just don't feel like writing or commenting. What about you?
Winner of best-dressed councilman is . . .
On the topic of ballparks, we caught a glimpse of Councilman extraordinaire, Esteban Rangel at a recent photo op, kissing babies and lifting shovels. More importantly, we caught him voguing for the camera.
He stopped for a photo and we noticed that his attire would fit right in as a kept man in an episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County.
We loved the slightly frayed designer jeans and the sports jacket over the designer button down. But, the cherry on top were his new sunglasses. If you recall from a recent post, he was fond of the white, designer shades.
So, to Esteban "Anti Thong" Rangel, we salute you! You'd fit right in on Bravo.
Let's start off the 4th of July weekend with a patriotic gesture. Please stand and click here for the selection.
OK, back to business. Apparently La Sanbe(r) is teeming once again with street walkers. The girls at Mami Chulas have been wearing their thongs and dancing suggestively (city ordinance be damned), and now I know why -- police priorities have shifted. And that's fine because we can't expect Laredo's Finest to be everywhere at all times. We'll leave that to someone more capable, like Mayor Salinas.
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Home > About us > Contributors > Margaret Abbs >
Margaret Abbs
Margaret Abbs in her ATS uniform.
Recollections of evacuation, air raids and service in the ATS.
On 3rd September 1939, aged thirteen, Margaret Abbs was evacuated. She cannot recall the journey, other than travelling to the railway station with a neighbour as her mother was too emotional to accompany her. When she arrived at the village hall, Margaret was not chosen by any of the locals. She and three other remaining children were accompanied to Beaver Road by a billeting officer – eventually local residents Mr and Mrs Tyrell agreed to accept Margaret.
Margaret has many memories of the time which she spent evacuated. She accompanied the milkman on his horse-drawn cart and milked a cow at a local farm. She attended the local school during mornings or afternoons. On one occasion she recalls putting curlers in Mr Tyrell’s hair! Whilst the couple were kind they had no parental experience – Margaret regularly wrote letters to her mother and recalls one which read ‘these teardrops on my letter are because we had suet pudding last night, I didn’t eat it so I was given it for breakfast.’ Margaret returned home to Lee Green in October 1939. When she was collected by her mother Mrs Tyrell was very upset to see her leave.
Air raids
Margaret recalls the first year of the war in London as fairly uneventful. During raids the family sheltered in the semi-basement or ground floor, rather than the air raid shelter. Her father was a special constable and she recalls him helping those who lived in the house opposite when it was damaged during a raid. Her neighbour was injured when he returned to the house to rescue his false teeth. Margaret’s own home was damaged when an incendiary bomb fell through the ceiling and a Lloyd Loom chair caught fire – she remembers her father rushing outside into the garden carrying it to prevent the fire from spreading. Margaret recalls hearing the shrapnel falling and was able to differentiate between German and British aircraft, due to the sound which they made whilst in flight.
The school which Margaret attended was bombed. Subsequently she attended another at Hither Green, where she had lessons alternate mornings and afternoons. War undoubtedly disrupted her education and she left school aged thirteen.
The ATS
Margaret joined the ATS as a tele-printer operator, which involved using Morse code. She undertook six weeks of training in Scotland, before being billeted to work underground in Mount Street, situated behind Buckingham Palace. When flying bombs targeted the area the staff took turns to keep watch from the roof. On one occasion Margaret attempted to blow the whistle and alert her colleagues, but it would not work. She had to run downstairs and take cover. During this time Margaret was eighteen. She served for two years, before leaving to care for her mother who had been injured in an accident. Whilst she was working at a hairdressing salon in Rushey Green, Margaret vividly remembers hearing about the day time raid which happened, injuring and killing school children in Catford.
Recollections of evacuation to Exeter and relocating to Liverpool.
Recollections of life on the Home Front and a birthday to remember.
Wartime memories of life as a teenage girl.
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Video trailer of “Great Expectations” starring a trio of “Harry Potter” actors now available
by Keith Hawk · Published August 21, 2012 · Updated January 19, 2017
The international trailer for the soon-to-be-released film Great Expectations has been spotted online, which stars a trio of Harry Potter actors including Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), and Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid). Additionally, the film is directed by Mike Newell, who directed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
The film is a classic tale that details the story of a humble orphan who winds up as a gentleman following the assistance of an unknown benefactor.
The film is slated for a showing at the Toronto International Film Festival this Fall and will have a domestic release date announced soon.
All Aboard the Orient Express as Sir Kenneth Branagh Takes the Lead
by Sophie Reid · Published May 4, 2017 · Last modified May 4, 2018
The Hogwarts Express at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Details revealed!
by Kat Miller · Published March 14, 2014
J.K. Rowling to Honor Peter Kay in BBC One Special
by MuggleNet · Published November 30, 2015 · Last modified July 12, 2016
Next story NEW Video: Wizard’s Collection focuses on creation of Hagrid
Previous story Hogwarts Houses: Elements Behind the Colours
“She has eyes just like a salamander.”
May 26, 2009 – The running time for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is revealed to be 153 minutes.
Harry Potter’s birthday is July 31, 1980. J.K. Rowling’s birthday is also July 31 but in 1966.
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Hands-On History for Teens
Penny Gomez Spring 2002, Volume 11, No. 3
“History? Ho-hum.” A spoken or body language response that is every history educator’s nightmare, whether his student is of elementary school, junior high, or college age. How does a decent make the past come alive and resonate relevance to people living now? A group of dedicated and determined docents of the Museum of New Mexico Palace of the Governors, the state history museum located on Santa Fe’s historic plaza, wrestled with this challenge and found a successful solution that can be adapted to other museums and institutions of learning.
In the mid-90’s a handful of Palace docents met with the museum’s educator to discuss their concerns about school children’s limited knowledge and lack of interest in their multicultural, historical heritage. Even high school-aged visitors, on the brink of adulthood, were unaware of the significance of the interaction among the Indian, Spanish, and Anglo/African-American people of New Mexico in shaping the development of what is now the southwestern United States. Names such as Coronado, Esteban, Ofiate, Pope, and Vargas which had been repeatedly drilled by seventh-grade social studies teachers a few years earlier, produced only blank faces denoting unfamiliarity. Nor did most of our charges know that the Palace of the Governors, or Casas Reales (Royal Houses), the construction of which began in 1610, is the oldest continuously used public building in the United States.
As a result of the docents’ observations, SIGLO, a not-exactly-accurate acronym for “Seventh Grade Guided Learning Opportunity, sprang into being. The word sig/o, Spanish for “century,” seemed an appropriate title for the educational program that evolved.
Seventh-grade classes were targeted for several reasons. First, our State Department of Education curriculum guidelines at the time specified that all public school seventh-grade students would take one semester each of the history and geography of New Mexico. We hoped to amplify their curriculum and help teachers meet state competency requirements. Second, most of our field trip visitors were of the elementary school category; seventh-graders appeared to be under-served. Third, we decided that hooking and maintaining the interest of hormone-heavy teenagers during a tour of a historical museum would be the ultimate test of docents’ skill and patience.
Dreamed, Designed, and Delivered
The original version of SIGLO was designed to accompany and supplement the exhibitions “Another Mexico: Spanish Life on the Upper Rio Grande” and “Society Defined: The Hispanic Resident of New Mexico, 1790.” The central theme of each was that Nuevo Mexico, which the conquistadores and first settlers hoped would yield gold and silver like Mexico to the south, was “remote beyond compare.” Day-to-day survival was hard, amenities were few, and faith was an imperative companion.
Ten SIGLO docents, three of whom were retired schoolteachers, met with the educator and/or curatorial staff for several months during the planning phase. The resultant primary goal was for participating students to gain an awareness of how their lives compared to eighteenth-century New Mexican counterparts. How were transportation, formal education (or lack thereof), clothing, work, leisure time, and food then different from or the same as today?
The seed idea for SIGLO originated with Rhoda Barkan — docent and local tourism writer. Rhoda created a fictitious letter, written by Felipe, the 15-year-old literate son of a recently widowed carpenter living on the outskirts of Mexico City in the year 1790. The letter was addressed to a New Mexican teenage cousin who lived in a village near Santa Fe, the Spanish colonial capital of Nuevo Mexico. Felipe, who together with his bereaved father and younger sister Josefina would be migrating north to Santa Fe to make a new life, proffered many questions in his letter. He wanted to know about problems and dangers of travel along the Camino Real (royal road and primary route for the 1600-mile journey), as well as the climate, food, social customs, and type of housing in New Mexico. Our planning team hoped that following their SIGLO experience, students would be able to write an informed letter back to Felipe.
School-Museum Partnership
The effectiveness of SIGLO depended upon communication and cooperation between museum staff, docents, and teachers. After a mass mailing to all seventh-grade social studies teachers throughout New Mexico, those who were interested contacted the museum to schedule SIGLO for their classes. The SIGLO program consisted of four components: Introduction of Letter. Prior to docents visiting the classroom, teachers introduced the letter from Felipe (provided in both English and Spanish) to their students to familiarize them with topics concerning life in eighteenth-century New Mexico. Pre-Museum Visit. Two to four docents made a classroom presentation comprised of a slide show depicting Spanish colonial life and a hands-on activity. The activity is called “Curators’ Quest for Colonial Cues.” Assuming the role of museum curators, groups of 3 or 4 students worked in teams to answer questions about several historical artifacts assigned to them. (Both de-accessioned artifacts from the museum’s collection and reproductions were used.) An antique iron door lock and key, chispa (curved piece of iron used for fire-starting, which produced sparks when struck against a piece of flint) and a drop spindle with sheep wool kept students actively involved. After they identified their objects, determined how they were used, and decided why the objects were important to people of the 1700’s, the participants passed along their artifacts to the other teams. A reporter from each team then informed the entire class as to her group’s findings about the artifacts, demonstrating how to operate them. Additional ideas about the artifacts were solicited from the other class members. At the end of class, the teacher received a SIGLO packet that included a map of the Camino Real in 1800, a portion of an inventory from a will written in 1784, and an artist’s conception of how the Santa Fe plaza looked in the late 1700’s.
Museum Visit. Students visited the Palace of the Governors for a 100-minute SIGLO docent-guided museum experience. Classes were divided into groups of ten students or less. Each group, accompanied by at least one teacher or parent, followed a docent to four locations within the building. Walking along the creaky wooden floors of the 400-year-old structure with its six-foot-thick walls of adobe (mud brick) seemed to help students time-transport back to when the Palace served as ^ presidio (fort). The smell and sound of soldiers’ horses in the courtyard, the hustling activity of government officials attending to colonial business, and even the boisterous play of the governor’s children in residence could be retrieved with a switch of the imagination.
After the decent explained historical concepts represented within a particular room (engaging students with hands-on-artifacts and open-ended questions) pairs of students worked on exhibit-based tasks. By recording notes in their SIGLO journals, they compiled data they would need to complete their post-visit assignment. Below are examples of exhibit tasks: Juana Lujan was a woman of the 1700’s who owned ranches near Santa Fe. List 5 items noted in the inventory of her will. Locate and list 8 items that Felipe’s father would use to build a chest. How/where would he get these things in 1790? Where would he get each of them today? About 100 governors had lived and worked in the Casus Reales by 1912, when New Mexico became the 47th state in the Union. Find and write the name of the person who was governor in 1790. Write down names of two governors whose last names are the same as people you know today. Beside each governor’s name write the first and last name of the person you know with that governor’s last name.
The museum visit finale was sensory. Students sampled bread freshly baked in outdoor adobe ovens by contemporary Pueblo Indian women from villages near Santa Fe. They discovered that at least in the category of edible experiences. New Mexico isn’t so different now that it was centuries ago! Post-Visit Assignment. Back in the classroom, students reconvened in the same groups within which they toured the Palace. Student pairs who worked together in the museum shared the information with the rest of their group so that all students recorded answers to all journal questions. Then, students individually wrote letters to Felipe to describe what their lives were like as Spanish colonial teens in Nuevo Mexico. The teacher sent an evaluation of SIGLO along with copies of students’ letters to the Palace educator in the stamped envelope provided.
SIGLO Revised
The original version of SIGLO continued as an educational program until 1998, when the exhibitions, “Another Mexico” and “Society Defined” were removed. Today a revised SIGLO has been implemented to complement the current exhibition, “Jewish Pioneers of New Mexico.” Palace docents now teach students about nineteenth-century Jewish New Mexicans with surnames such as “Ilfeld” and “Spiegelberg,” in place of the eighteenth-century Spanish names like “Anza” or “Miera y Pacheco.” Visitors learn about the importance of the Old Santa Fe Trail, which opened up trade from the eastern half of the United States to isolated New Mexico.
From the extension of well-established north-to-south commerce along the Camino Real, Jewish merchants capitalized on both American and Mexican business. Eastern manufactured goods as well as the English language and social traditions of the Midwest combined to add a new layer to the rich Hispanic and Native American flavors of New Mexico’s essence. History continues to weave its spell on youth of New Mexico. Docents of the Palace of the Governors, through both the SIGLO program and general tours for families, reach out to grab the attention and curiosity of children in order to plant seeds of interest in history. As Southwestern folklorist J. Frank Dobie once wrote, “I want not only to know about my home land, I want to live intelligently on it. I want certain data that will help me accommodate myself to it. Knowledge helps sympathy to achieve harmony.” Harmony with history beats “Ho-hum” any day.
Penny Gomez, an independent museum education advisor, specializes in docent training and children’s interactive, hands-on programs. Since 1988 museum education has taken her from the University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio to the Museum of International Folk Art, the Palace of the Governors, and the School of American Research in Santa Fe.
Gomez, Penny. “Hands-On History for Teens,” The Docent Educator 11.3 (Spring 2002): 10-13.
Audiences Vol. 11 No. 3
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Local levels would be made empowered: Province no 3 CM Poudel
बिहिबार, फाल्गुन २४, २०७४
Nagarikaawaj/Mar 08,2018-
Chief Minister of Province no 3, Dormani Poudel, has said that laws would be formulated within a few days to empower people’s representatives of local-level in order to make their role effective.
Receiving a memorandum submitted by Chairperson of Makawanpur District Coordination Committee on the behalf of Federation of District Coordination Committee of province no 3, Raghunath Khulal, at the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers today, the Chief Minister said that homework was on to expand the working area along with budget for Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of District Coordination Committees, Mayor and Deputy-Mayor of municipalities and Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of rural municipalities.
The memo demands arrangement of responsibilities, duties and rights of district assembly by promoting collaboration and cooperation between province and local-level and facilities to office-bearers of District Coordination Committee.
The Federation also submitted the memo to Speaker of the Province no 3, Sanu Kumar Shrestha. RSS
स्थानीय समाचार बाट अन्य समाचार
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Middle-school matters
March 30, 2018 Middle Division, News
Notre Dame teacher works to connect with middle schoolers through academics, faith and a relatable sense of belonging.
Now in her fourth year at Notre Dame, Nadine Loria teaches religion and science in the middle school. Here she is with her son, David, daughter, Claire, and husband, Matt, at Claire’s 2017 ND Prep graduation.
When Nadine Loria talks about her job as a teacher in Notre Dame's middle school, it's easy to see why she does what she does.
"I really don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t able to be a teacher," said Loria, who teaches religion to Notre Dame 6th and 7th graders, and science to 8th graders. "I've had a plethora of other jobs in my life and nothing has been as satisfying or meaningful."
She also said that her motivation to pursue a career in academics in the first place came from her own 8th-grade teacher.
"My inspiration for becoming a teacher came from Mrs. Schwark at St. Mary Catholic School in Mount Clemens," she said. "She held us to very high standards, but it also was exciting and fun in her classroom. She always had a way of grabbing our attention. She had a passion for teaching and was full of energy. She also was a very religious woman and lived out Christian values in her everyday life. I guess Mrs. Schwark is the reason I became not only a teacher, but a Catholic school teacher."
Now in her fourth year of teaching at Notre Dame, Loria's career in academics actually began at St. Lawrence in Utica where she also taught middle schoolers. A graduate of Bishop Gallagher High School in Harper Woods, Mich., she did her undergrad at Wayne State University, earning a B.S. degree in elementary education – science.
Loria says family time is important to her when she’s not at work.
Obviously well-versed in the middle-school environment, Loria knows that while it can be at times a bit tricky with 6th-, 7th- and 8th-grade students, she's focused on making sure she relates well to her students on both professional and personal levels.
"I think the most important part of my job here at Notre Dame is making that 'connection' with my students," she said. "Especially in middle school, children need to feel a sense of belonging. They need to know they matter. I can be an outstanding teacher and produce amazing lessons, but if I don’t know how to connect with and reach my students, it's all worthless."
For Alaina Orow, currently an 8th grader at Notre Dame, it appears that connection has been made. “Mrs. Loria does a wonderful job teaching and helping me understand the material," she said. "The way she teaches is unique, which makes the class stand out. I do very well in her class, which makes it even more enjoyable.”
Loria also appreciates the fact that she is working at a Catholic school.
"I really feel lucky to be able to work somewhere where I can practice my faith," she said. "I especially enjoy going to mass and being able to share a faith relationship with coworkers — where we can pray together, pray for each other, and have open discussions about God and our beliefs."
And she felt right at home at Notre Dame from the very beginning.
"My first impression of this school was how very friendly and welcoming everyone was when I started here," she said. "Also, I was very impressed with the amount of independence the middle-school students are given and how well they handle it."
A native of Mount Clemens, Loria currently lives in Rochester with her husband, Matt, and son, David. Her daughter, Claire, a 2017 alum of Notre Dame Prep, attends Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich. Loria says that her family is super important to her.
"I love to spend time together with Matt and our kids, whether we're skiing, going to Jimmy Buffett concerts, enjoying the sun at the beach, or just hanging out together at home. And being the youngest of eight, the four of us regularly spend a lot of time with my extended family as well."
Loria, at right, says she enjoys skiing with her family when time allows.
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.
Notre Dame third graders help produce Stations of the Cross plaques
Notre Dame college fair continues to grow
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You are here: Home / Articles And Reports / As Linux stalks Windows poor countries will benefit
As Linux stalks Windows poor countries will benefit
Monday, 29 July 2013 By Admin
(Corrected version: in para 4 line 1 – some 22 years ago instead of some 14 years ago)
Nadeem M Qureshi
What do the International Space Station, the Czech Post Office, the French Parliament and the Turkish Government have in common? All have switched from using a proprietary Operating System (OS) on their computers to an ‘open source’ or free OS; or putting it simply: They have switched from Windows to a free OS called Linux. And they are not alone. A growing number of businesses, educational and scientific institutions, schools and governments are doing likewise. Why are they doing it? And what has all this got to do with Pakistan?
First some definitions: An OS is the software that manages the computer and its resources such as processors, storage, drives and the like. It plays host to the many programs called applications that people need for computers to be useful. Popular programs used for typing and editing documents, preparing spreadsheets and office presentations, and surfing the web would be useless without an OS. The OS provides the ‘operating environment’ for these programs to function so that you – the user – can do what you want to.
The most popular OS by far is Microsoft’s Windows. More than 90% of the world’s PCs run Windows. About 7% run Apple’s OS X. And just under 2% run Linux. But this is changing rapidly as people are beginning to discover the advantages of Linux. First, Linux is absolutely free. No need for a license. No need for a pirated copy. Second, it is just as easy to use. Third, in contrast to proprietary systems whose innards are known only to the companies that sell them, Linux is literally an open book. Anyone can see its innards – the programming or ‘source’ code which makes it tick – the reason it’s called ‘open source’. This means that it can’t do anything behind your back like send information about you to its makers without your knowing it. Useful in these post-Snowden days. And fourth, it is practically immune to viruses so no need for expensive and intrusive antivirus software.
Linux was developed by Linus Torvalds a computer engineer from Finland some 22 years ago. Since then an army of software programmers has worked to improve it and make it available for general use. As a result today there are several versions – or distributions as they are called – of Linux which can be downloaded readily and installed on personal computers. They have colourful names such as Debian, Fedora, Red Hat, Ubuntu and many more.
The last of these – Ubuntu – is perhaps the most popular. In fact, I am writing this article on a PC running Ubuntu which I downloaded and installed myself. People with relatively little computer savvy can download a distribution such as Ubuntu and install and run it on their computer in an hour or so. What’s more, it comes preinstalled with open source versions of the most popular applications: Microsoft’s Office is replaced by Open Office, and Internet Explorer by Firefox. So it is usable out of the box. It makes no sense anymore for anyone to pay for proprietary software when just as good, and arguably better free software is available.
Many countries and governments – rich and poor – have realized this and have already initiated serious programs to switch all their computers to Linux based systems. Here are just a few examples of many: The US Army is the single largest user of ‘Red Hat’. Malaysia in 2010 switched 703 of its 724 government agencies to Linux. The Chief Secretary of the Malaysian Government justified the switch as follows: “the general acceptance of its promise of better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility and lower cost”. The Turkish Government has created its own Linux distribution called ‘Pardus’, as has Cuba, whose distribution is named “Nova”. Iceland announced in 2012 that it will switch to open source software in public institutions. All schools in Iceland have already switched to Ubuntu from Windows. Brazil has 35 million students in over 50,000 schools using over half a million PC’s all running on Linux. Russia announced in 2007 that all its school computers will run on Linux. The list goes on, and on.
As a poor country Pakistan cannot afford proprietary software. In Linux we now have a powerful, globally accepted, and free alternative. We also have a large pool of talented young software engineers and programmers. Our government needs to put them to work in making Linux the preferred OS in every PC in every classroom and office in the country. The savings to Pakistan on licensing fees will be several hundred million dollars per year. Why should we, the poor, continue to enrich the Microsofts and Apples of the world when there is absolutely no need to do so?
Nadeem M Qureshi is Chairman of Mustaqbil Pakistan. He can be reached on Twitter at: @nmq
http://mustaqbilpakistan.pk
https://vimeo.com/channels/mustaqbilpakistan
https://www.facebook.com/Mustaqbil.Pakistan
Filed Under: Articles And Reports Tagged With: Linux, Nadeem Qureshi, Windows
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I WAS ABDUCTED : PIKI
Saturday, December 08, 2018 NewsdzeZimbabwe 0
Retired army colonel, Elliot Piki has blamed Commission of Enquiry chairperson Kgalema Motlanthe for his abduction, suggesting that he should help the Zimbabwe Republic Police with information that can lead to the arrest of his abductors.
Piki was allegedly abducted at his home on November 25 a day before he was supposed to appear before the Commission of Inquiry giving his testimony on the August 1 killings.
His lawyers Mbidzo Muchadehama and Makoni wrote a letter to Motlanthe suggesting that he is key to finding his abductors as he leaked a confidential document containing Piki’s testimony.
The document reportedly contained information on how the army was responsible for the post-election violence that led to the murder of six civilians.
"Our client disclosed intimate details outlining how the Zimbabwe National Army was being used as a weapon of violence against any opposing forces to the ruling Zanu PF party and government, as well as the role played by the army in the 1st of August shootings, because of his trust in you he thought you were going to treat the document with the confidentiality that it deserves. Our client advises that you are responsible for his abduction, inhuman and degrading treatment and attempted assassination by his abductors. He reserves his right to take legal action against yourself," the lawyers said.
Muchadehama and Makoni said during his horrific experience Piki discovered that his documented testimony was the reason behind the kidnapping.
“Our client advises that you gave him a slot to testify as a witness on the 26th of November 2018. He in turn gave you the documentary evidence upon which his testimony would be based. The documentary evidence was accompanied with a summary of his testimony.
“Our client advises that the abductors were continuously referring to the contents of the document which he had submitted to you and which was known by yourself and no one else. “He further advises that from this horrific experience, he learnt that the sole reason behind his abduction and attempted assassination was that document which he intended to use during his testimony before the commission,” the letter said.
Despite confirmation that the letter had been submitted, Commission of Inquiry spokesperson John Masuku said he was yet to verify if the secretariat was in possession of such a memo.
Piki’s lawyers have advised Motlanthe to reveal the identity of the people whom he shared the document with.
They also requested that Motlanthe helps the ZRP with information that could lead to the arrest of his abductors and guarantee his safety before they would hold him responsible for the kidnapping.
“Meanwhile, our client requests you to assist the police with investigations as he believes you are key to finding his abductors and bring them to justice.
“You impress it upon the authorities that the safety of our client was compromised and that they should give an undertaking to guarantee his safety, otherwise we would not hesitate to hold you responsible,” Muchadehama and Makoni added.
However, Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) has dismissed Piki’s kidnap story alleging the senior officer was discharged from the army for having an affair with his subordinate’s wife.
ZDF spokesperson Colonel Overson Mugwisi said Piki was working with unscrupulous political opposition voices to denigrate the forces.
“We are disturbed by false allegations peddled in some sections of the private media insinuating that… Piki, a former member of the Zimbabwe National Army, was abducted by masked armed men suspected to be State security agents using a vehicle similar to those allocated for use by senior Zimbabwe National Army officers,” said Col Mugwisi.
“While it is true that Piki once served in the Zimbabwe National Army as a senior officer, he is not a retired colonel.
“He became an ordinary citizen after losing his commission when he was tried, convicted and cashiered by a General Court Martial for scandalous conduct of an officer on August 8, 2013.
“Piki had involved himself in an illicit love affair with his subordinate’s wife who was also his junior serving member of the Zimbabwe National Army. Sadly, Piki was aware of the drastic consequences of such an illicit affair for serving members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.”
This comes as the Commission of Inquiry last week concluded investigations into the August 1 killings after gathering testimonies from different individuals and organizations in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru and Mutare.
The public hearings which were characterized by interesting and dramatic testimonies began in October.
The Commission has since submitted it Executive Summary to the presidents and is expected to give him the full report before end of the month. Daily News
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IN A GLASS DARKLY VOLUME II
IN A GLASS DARKLY VOLUME II (originally published in 1872) is a three volume collection of five short stories in the horror and mystery genres, presented as the posthumous papers of the occult detective Dr Hesselius: In this Volume II, are the first (and therefore most of the work) chapters of "The Room in the Dragon Volant", not a ghost story but a notable mystery story that includes the theme of premature burial which is finished in VOL III (Which also offers the famous lesbian vampire story Carmilla). Le Fanu had enormous influence on one of the 20th century's most important ghost story writers, M. R. James, and although his work fell out of favour in the early part of the 20th century, towards the end of the century interest in his work increased and remains comparatively strong. Today’s reader will be able to explore one’s own vision of the details through Le Fanu’s style and technique. SORCERESS CAGLIASTRO and NORTH SEA TALES INC. have created the RESCUING KNOWLEDGE PROJECT to offer lost books to modern readers www.northseatales.com
www.amazon.com/dp/1541192605/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482867168&sr=8-1&keywords=in+a+glass+darkly+cagliastro
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SenatorsCommitteesLegislationAbout
OverviewBioNewsContact
Bob Peterson
Peterson Applauds New $55 Million to Target Addiction Treatment for Ohioans
COLUMBUS—State Senator Bob Peterson (R-Washington Court House) applauds the announcement of an additional $55 million dollar investment to fight Ohio's opioid addiction problem.
Officially called the State Opioid Response, or SOR Grant Opportunity, the federal grant money will be invested in six areas, detailed on the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (MHAS) website here. The money was appropriated today to MHAS by the Controlling Board.
The largest investment of $22 million will help empower local communities by providing support for family interventions, recovery housing and support for pregnant and parenting women.
Another $9 million investment will provide funding for life-saving Naloxone training and distribution.
"I was proud of our work during the last biennium budget to invest $180 million in drug addiction treatment programs," said Peterson. "This new money expands on our previous efforts as a state, and will ultimately help those who are fighting addiction have more opportunities to receive treatment, and have a positive impact on our families."
The $55 million grant is the first of a two-year installment and includes funding to cover programs administered by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Ohio Department of Medicaid and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, among others.
In related news, Senate Bill 1, which strengthens Ohio's drug trafficking laws, becomes effective this week. The bill, which Peterson co-sponsored, is aimed at curbing the trafficking of fentanyl, a leading cause of overdose deaths. For more on Senate Bill 1, click here.
What is session? What is a caucus? Find out about these and other commonly used terms related to the Ohio Senate.
Senators | Committees | Legislation | About
Republicans :
Democrats :
Copyright 2019 The Ohio Senate
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Buhari wades into Tinubu, Ambode’s rift
September 13, 2018 no comments 165 Entertainment, Politics, Top Stories
APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
Uncomfortable with the leadership crisis in Lagos, President Muhammadu Buhari is reportedly to have invited the leader of APC, Bola Tinubu, to Abuja.
Although they have publicly denied, Tinubu is reported to have a rift with Lagos State governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
The APC Governors’ Forum is reported to have urged Buhari to appeal to Tinubu not to disgrace one of their own.
The Guardian said the closed-door meeting between both men; the Oba of Lagos, Rilwanu Akiolu; national vice chairman of APC, South West, Chief Pius Akinyelure; and others were said to have expressed concern over the conflict and the effects the quarrel would have on the party’s chances of winning the forthcoming governorship election.
The media aid to the national leader, Mr. Tunde Rahman, said he was not aware his principal was summoned to Abuja on the matter.
“You can’t trample on people’s right; you can’t stop anybody from expressing intention to contest as stipulated in the constitution.
“It is left for the party members to decide their candidate through direct primary.
“All the three governorship aspirants are going to participate in the primary. If three people have taken forms, it means the party will decide whom it wants. APC is a disciplined party,” he said
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Select a World Heritage Site -- Select -- Blaenavon Industrial Landscape Blenheim Palace Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd City of Bath Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape Derwent Valley Mills Dorset and East Devon Coast Durham Castle and Cathedral Frontiers of the Roman Empire Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast Gough and Inaccessible Islands Heart of Neolithic Orkney Henderson Island Historic Town of St George and Related Fortifications, Bermuda Ironbridge Gorge Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City Maritime Greenwich New Lanark Old and New Towns of Edinburgh Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Saltaire St Kilda Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey Tower of London Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Church
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland / Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites
Stonehenge and Avebury, in Wiltshire, are among the most famous groups of megaliths in the world. The two sanctuaries consist of circles of menhirs arranged in a pattern whose astronomical significance is still being explored. These holy places and the nearby Neolithic sites are an incomparable test...show more.
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The Patriot Files Forums > Other Conflicts > Ancient
Traces of crawling in Italian cave give clues to ancient humans' social behavior
By: Science Daily & eLife - 5-16-19
RE: https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0514104054.htm
Using multiple methods of analysis, researchers have identified the movements of a group of humans as they explored an Italian cave system during the late Stone Age.
Evidence of crawling in an Italian cave system sheds new light on how late Stone Age humans behaved as a group, especially when exploring new grounds, says a study published today in eLife.
The cave of Bàsura at Toirano and its human and animal fossil traces have been known since the 1950s, with the first studies conducted by Italian archaeologist Virginia Chiappella. In the current study, promoted by the Archaeological Heritage Office of Liguria, researchers from Italy, Argentina and South Africa used multiple approaches to analyse the human traces and identified for the first time crawling behaviours from around 14,000 years ago.
"In our study, we wanted to see how ancient humans explored this fascinating cave system," says first author Marco Romano, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. "Specifically, we set out to discover how many people entered the cave, whether they explored as individuals or as a group, their age, gender and what kind of route they took once inside the cave."
To answer these questions, the multidisciplinary team studied 180 tracks from within the cave, including foot and handprints on the clay-rich floor. They applied various modern dating methods, software that analyses the structure of the tracks, and different types of 3D modelling. "Together, these approaches allowed us to construct a narrative of how the humans entered and exited the cave, and their activities once they were inside," Romano explains.
The team determined that five individuals, including two adults, an adolescent of about 11 years old, and two children of three and six years old, entered the cave barefoot and illuminated the way using wooden sticks. This suggests that young children were active group members during the late Stone Age, even when carrying out apparently dangerous activities.
The researchers reported the first evidence of crawling in footprints from a low tunnel -- a route that was taken to access the inner part of the cave. Anatomical details in the footprints suggest that the explorers went bare-legged as they navigated this pathway.
When analysing the various handprints, the team found that some of them appear 'unintentional' and relate to exploring the cave only, while others are more 'intentional' and suggest that social or symbolic activities took place within the inner chambers. "Hunter-gatherers may therefore have been driven by fun activities during exploration, as well as simply the need to find food," Romano adds.
"Together, our results show how a varied approach to studying our ancestors' tracks can provide detailed insights on their behaviour," concludes senior author Marco Avanzini, head of the geology department at MUSE -- Trento Museum of Science, Italy. "We hope our approach will be useful for painting similar pictures of how humans behaved in other parts of the world and during different periods of time."
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Armenian Power Leader Sentenced To 32 Years In Prison For Racketeering, Extortion and Fraud
The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:
A leader of the Armenian Power gang, who was convicted at trial of 57 counts for his role in a racketeering conspiracy that included extortion, bank fraud, and a sophisticated credit and debit card skimming scheme, was sentenced today to 32 years in prison.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie Yonekura of the Central District of California made the announcement.
Mher Darbinyan, aka “Hollywood Mike” and “Capone,” 39, of Valencia, California, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner of the Central District of California.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Darbinyan was a leader of Armenian Power, a gang responsible for extortion, firearms offenses, fraud, and identity theft throughout the Los Angeles-area. Among other activities, Darbinyan operated a sophisticated bank fraud scheme that used middlemen and runners to deposit and cash hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent checks drawn on the accounts of elderly bank customers and businesses. Separately, Darbinyan also organized and operated a sophisticated debit card skimming operation targeting customers of 99 Cents Only Stores across Southern California. This expansive scheme involved the installation and use of skimmers to steal thousands of customers’ debit card numbers and PIN codes.
Evidence at trial also showed that Darbinyan conspired to extort money from a member of the Armenian community by threatening violence against the victim and his family members. On two separate occasions, Darbinyan also possessed firearms and ammunition after having previously been convicted of felony grand theft for his role in a 2004 debit card fraud scheme.
Darbinyan was among 90 individuals charged in 2011 in two indictments targeting Armenian Power. To date, 87 individuals have been convicted. Two defendants are fugitives, and prosecutors dismissed charges against one defendant.
According to evidence presented during the Armenian Power trials, the Armenian Power street gang formed in the East Hollywood district of Los Angeles in the 1980s. The gang’s membership consisted primarily of individuals of Armenian descent, as well as of other countries within the former Soviet bloc. Armenian Power has been designated under California state law as a criminal street gang and is believed to have more than 250 documented members, as well as hundreds of associates. According to evidence presented during the Armenian Power trials, Armenian Power members and associates regularly carry out violent criminal acts, including murders, attempted murders, kidnappings, robberies, extortions, and witness intimidation to enrich its members and associates and preserve and enhance the power of the criminal enterprise.
The trial evidence also showed that Armenian Power leaders worked closely with powerful organized crime figures in Russia and Armenia, known as “thieves-in-law,” and members of the Mexican Mafia prison gang to commit criminal activities in the Los Angeles area and elsewhere.
These cases were investigated by the Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force, which is comprised of the FBI, Glendale Police Department, Los Angeles Police Department, Burbank Police Department, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Secret Service. The Huntington Beach Police Department and Beverly Hills Police Department provided assistance.
The cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Andrew Creighton of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Yang of the Central District of California.
Labels: Armenian Power Gang, crime, Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force, extortion, FBI, fraud, identity theft, Los Angeles, racketeering, thieves in law, U.S. Justice Department
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Sixers Sign Brezec
By Matt Schetter at 12:14 am on Friday August 21, 2009
By now, you might be sick and tired of hearing how Michael Vick signed with the Eagles. Allow me to swoop in (pardon the pun) for a minute and update you with the Sixers signing of free agent Primoz Brezec.
Brezec, from Solvenia, is a seven year veteran who was originally the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 2000 NBA Draft by Indiana. In 321 games with Indiana, Charlotte, Detroit and Toronto combined, he averaged 7.6 points, 4.1 rebounds in 19.0 minutes per game, shooting 50% from the floor and a little over 70% from the line. He spent last year playing over seas for Lottomatica Virtus Roma of the Italian League. At 7’1”, 255 pounds, he will definitely provide an inside presence that the mediocre-sized Sixers squad so desperately needs.
“We feel that Primoz will provide us with additional size and depth in the front court, but just as beneficial is the wealth of experience he brings to the team not only on the NBA level, but internationally as well,” GM Ed Stefanski said. And more importantly, it throws up a pretty obvious warning sign to Sammy D. One can only hope that Brezec out performs Sammy both on and off the court so we can finally kick Sammy to the curb.
Again, this isn’t “BREAKING NEWS” and isn’t the greatest signing known to man, but for all those Sammy D haters out there, this pickup may come to you as a breath of fresh air and will produce nothing but good things for the Sixers down in the paint. And lets face it, ANYTHING is better than what we are getting from Sammy D. My only concern is how he will adapt to the run-and-gun style offense that the Sixers are more than likely going to run this year.
Of course, the Sixers track record with 7 footers has not been very good…
To wit:
Manute Bol – Thanks for the 6 three pointer against the Suns, that was amazing.
Shawn Bradley – I’m not even going there. Total waste of time, energy and money.
Dikembe Mutombo – Too little too late bro.
We can only hope Berzec doesn’t follow in their disappointing footsteps.
Primoz Brezec
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Free Book: Goodreads Giveaway of Was the Cat in the Hat Black?
Greetings, people who read books! Thanks to Oxford University Press, there is — this month — a Goodreads giveaway of my new book, Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature and the Need for Diverse Books. 10 copies will be given away.
Important restriction: the books can only be sent to addresses in the US and Canada. (Sorry! The distribution isn’t something I have control over!)
Giveaway details via the link below (and via the links in this sentence).
Was the Cat in the Hat Black?
by Philip Nel
Giveaway ends October 01, 2017.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
If you’d like to learn more, here is Oxford University Press’ 90-second video (featuring me) on racism in children’s literature:
Related posts on this blog, including glimpses of the work in progress:
Racism & Seuss: It’s not a bug. It’s a feature. (A Twitter Essay) (12 Aug. 2017)
Was the Cat in the Hat Black? — cover reveal (19 Dec. 2016).
Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and Why We Need Diverse Books (4 Dec. 2015). The announcement of the book’s publication. It inspired a response from Debbie Reese, which in turn prompted me to change the title. Upon learning that “We Need Diverse Books” is trademarked (by the excellent We Need Diverse Books organization), I changed “Why We Need Diverse Books” to “the Need for Diverse Books.”
The Archive of Childhood, Part 2: The Golliwog (13 Jan. 2015). A revised version of this blog post appears as part of the book’s introduction (“Race, Racism, and the Cultures of Childhood”).
Was the Cat in the Hat Black? (22 June 2014). An earlier version of the title chapter (“The Strange Career of the Cat in the Hat; or, Dr. Seuss’s Racial Imagination”) appeared as an article, in Children’s Literature 42 (2014).
On Reading the Expurgated Huck Finn; or, Why We Should Teach Offensive Novels (17 Oct. 2014). I wrote this blog post so that I could write about Alan Gribben’s expurgated edition of Twain. Pieces of this appear (in revised form) in Chapter 2, “How to Read Uncomfortably: Racism, Affect, and Classic Children’s Books.”
Can Censoring a Children’s Book Remove Its Prejudices? (19 Sept. 2010). My earliest thinking on what became Chapter 2 (“How to Read Uncomfortably”), and one of the most frequently cited posts from this blog. I hope that — in future — people cite the book chapter… because it’s better!
“The Boundaries of Imagination”; or, the All-White World of Children’s Books, 2014 (17 March 2014). On the occasion of the New York Times pieces by Christopher Myers and Walter Dean Myers, a collection of information and essays about the fight for diversity in children’s literature.
Disagreement, Difference, Diversity: A Talk by Christopher Myers (24 Oct. 2015). A few thoughts and notes on an excellent talk by Christopher Myers. I quote from his talk in the book.
Regarding the Pain of Racism (4 Apr. 2015). Reflections on an observation by Naomi Murakawa, and on my challenges as a White male scholar writing about oppressions I have not experienced. A few slivers of this appear in the Conclusion, “A Manifesto for Anti-Racist Children’s Literature.”
Ferguson: Response & Resources (24 Aug. 2014). I began this book before the Black Lives Matter movement began, but it and its leaders have informed my work.
#BlackLivesMatter — A Twitter Essay (3 Dec. 2014). Daniel Pantaleo is on video choking Eric Garner to death. When a grand jury said there was no need for a trial, I wrote this.
Again. And Again. And… ENOUGH! (7 July 2016). The murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile inspired this. #BlackLivesMatter
Charleston, Family History, and White Responsibility (22 June 2016). A response to the terrorism in Charleston, South Carolina. Following sustained critique from family members, I removed this from the blog — the first time that I’ve altered a post for reasons other than finding an error or a typo. However, the Wayback Machine preserved the post. Ideas expressed in it emerge in the book (notably, the end of Chapter 3), but (unlike the original post) do so without identifying specific individuals.
September 1, 2017 · Filed under Children's Literature, Race, Racism
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Everything listed under: Esop Advisory
ComGraphics, Inc.
ComGraphics, Inc. is a leading Chicago-based provider of transactional print and mail services, data and print management, document production, digital archival, disaster recovery and marketing support services. Founded in 1980, the Company delivers a broad portfolio of integrated services across the entire document life cycle and provides effective document outsource solutions to a wide variety of industries.
ComGraphics, Inc. has sold common stock to the ComGraphics, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
Mon, February 4, 2019 (No comments)
Narragansett Jewelry Company (d/b/a C&J Jewelry Co.)
C&J Jewelry Co. is a fine jewelry manufacturing company with complete in-house process capability.
Narragansett Jewelry Company (d/b/a C&J Jewelry Co.) has sold common stock to the Narragansett Jewelry Co., Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Trust
Wed, January 23, 2019 (No comments)
Barry Company Inc.
For more than 80 years, Barry Company has offered customers the highest quality and widest selection of plumbing and piping products.
Barry Company Inc. has sold common stock to the Barry Company Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
Brian Tooley Racing, Inc.
Brian Tooley Racing, Inc. is an online auto parts retailer providing top quality performance parts.
Brian Tooley Racing has sold common stock to the Brian Tooley Racing, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Wed, September 19, 2018 (No comments)
MeLink
Melink Corporation
Melink Corporation, founded in 1987, is a global provider of energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions for commercial buildings.
Melink Corporation has sold common stock to the Melink Corporation Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Mon, May 14, 2018 (No comments)
International Decorators Inc.
International Decorators is one of Northern Illinois’ largest commercial, industrial, and residential wall, ceiling and painting contractors.
International Decorators has sold common stock to the International Decorators Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Trust.
Fri, February 16, 2018 (No comments)
JBK Manufacturing & Development Co.
Founded in 1981, JBK Manufacturing & Development Co. is a supplier of precision tubular assemblies, machined parts and fabrications for aerospace, military, and other commercial applications.
JBK Manufacturing & Development Co. has sold common stock to the JBK Holding Company Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Tue, January 23, 2018 (No comments)
Haver Analytics, Inc.
Haver Analytics, Inc., located in New York, New York, provides time series data for the global strategy and research community via proprietary database software.
Haver Analytics has sold common stock to the Haver Analytics Employee Stock Ownership 401(k) Trust.
Tue, November 21, 2017 (No comments)
Forsythe
Forsythe Technology, Inc.
Forsythe Technology, Inc., founded in 1971, is a leading enterprise IT Solutions provider for Fortune 1000 organizations.
Forsythe Technology has been acquired by Sirius Computer Solutions, Inc.
Wed, November 15, 2017 (No comments)
Southern Imperial, Inc
Southern Imperial, Inc.
Southern Imperial, Inc. is one of the industry’s leading designers and manufacturers of store fixture hardware and retail display solutions. Located in Rockford, Illinois, the company has factories in Centerville, Georgia and Xiamen, China.
Southern Imperial was acquired by FFR Merchandising.
Fri, September 22, 2017 (No comments)
Packard, Inc.
For over 50 years, Packard, Inc. is a master distributor in the HVACR industry. Headquartered in Kennesaw, Georgia, they have regional offices and independent manufacturers’ representatives from coast to coast.
Packard, Inc. has sold 100% of the common stock to the Packard, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Trust.
Tue, August 29, 2017 (No comments)
Novaspect Holdings, Inc.
Novaspect Holdings, Inc. (“Novaspect”), a leading provider of process management solutions, improves their customer’s performance through the innovative application of technology. Since 1936, they have been engineering, selling and servicing industrial process controls. Novaspect is an Emerson Automation Solutions Business Partner.
Novaspect Holdings, Inc. established the Novaspect Holdings, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Trust.
McKinney Communications Corp.
McKinney Communications Corp., located in Birmingham, Alabama, is the holding company of several entities including Satellites Unlimited, Digital Electronic Supply and Pixsys Technologies.
McKinney Communications Corp. has established the McKinney Communications Corp. Employee Stock Ownership Trust.
Mon, November 7, 2016 (No comments)
Cornerstone Treatment Facilities Network
Cornerstone Treatment Facilities Network is a respected leader and innovator in the drug and alcohol treatment field, providing medical services for more than 40 years in New York. Cornerstone has been helping people change their lives by providing them with the tools for a healthy, happy and drug-free life.
Cornerstone Treatment Facilities Network established the Cornerstone Treatment Facilities Network Employee Stock Ownership Trust.
Sun, November 6, 2016 (No comments)
Van Horn Automotive Group Inc.
Since 1966, Van Horn Automotive Group has been a continuously family owned and operated dealer group serving the Wisconsin area. They are is driven to provide quality transportation and service at the best possible value to customers in their communities and around the country.
Van Horn Automotive Group established the Van Horn Automotive Group Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Thu, November 3, 2016 (No comments)
BoDeans Holding Company
Headquartered in Le Mars, Iowa, BoDeans is the leading manufacturer of novelty ice cream cones, wafers and inclusions for the dairy pack channel. The BoDeans Baking Group includes Altesa, the largest ice cream cone producer in Mexico.
BoDeans Holding Company has been acquired by Joy Cone Company, Inc.
Tue, October 25, 2016 (No comments)
Headquartered in Seattle, Synapse is a product development and consultancy firm that works with some of the best companies in the world, such as Nike, Disney and Microsoft, to solve complex engineering challenges that transforms brands and accelerates advances in technology. Founded in 2002, Synapse has grown to be a pioneer in the field of product development.
Synapse was acquired by Cambridge Consultants, a division of the Altran Group.
Fri, August 26, 2016 (No comments)
Plastic Products Company, Inc.
Plastic Products Company, Inc. (“PPC” or the “Company”) is the 62nd largest plastic injection molding company in the U.S. providing outsourcing services for plastic, metal and ceramic injection molding throughout its 8 locations. It offers design, component sourcing, manufacturing, automation, decoration, packaging, fulfillment and distribution services. The Company serves the appliance, automotive, building products, consumer and other markets. PPC was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Lindstrom, Minnesota.
In October 2013, the Company completed an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”) transaction for 100% of the Company’s stock.
Harlow-HRK Sales & Marketing
For nearly 30 years, Harlow-HRK Sales & Marketing has provided comprehensive sales, marketing, analytical, distribution and retail support to manufacturers in the natural, organic and specialty food industry. Over 600 brands the company represents benefit from the strategic advantage such highly focused expertise affords.
Harlow-HRK Sales & Marketing has sold common stock to the Harlow-HRK Sales & Marketing, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Trust.
Oconomowoc Residential Programs
Oconomowoc Residential Programs, Inc. (ORP) is an employee-owned family of companies making a difference in the lives of people with disabilities. With service locations throughout Wisconsin and Indiana, their dedicated staff of more than 2,000 people provides quality services and professional care to more than 1,500 children, adolescents, and adults with significant needs.
Oconomowoc Residential Programs, Inc. has sold common stock to the Oconomowoc Residential Programs, Inc. Employee Stock Program.
Wed, August 24, 2016 (No comments)
D&S Manufacturing
D&S Manufacturing
D&S Manufacturing was established in 1965 when James Dougherty purchased a local welding and repair shop. D&S Manufacturing provides metal fabrications to original equipment manufacturers of construction, agricultural and railroad equipment, commercial air conditioning systems, military vehicles, wastewater treatment equipment and more.
D&S Manufacturing established the D&S Manufacturing Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Mon, July 25, 2016 (No comments)
Rockwood Asset Management
Rockwood was founded in 2004 and is led by Scott Zajac, a veteran in the venture capital and private equity industry. Over the last 30 years, Mr. Zajac has executed on numerous transactions providing extensive and innovative funding solutions to companies in the Midwest and throughout the United States.
Rockwood Asset Management has established the Rockwood Asset Management Employee Stock Ownership Trust.
J&R Schugel Trucking, Inc
J&R Schugel Trucking, Inc
J&R Schugel Trucking, Inc. (J&R) was founded by Gerald (Jerry) and Richard (Rich) Schugel in 1974 and provided truckload carrier services in the upper Midwest region of the U.S. Today, J&R provides quality truckload carrier services nationwide.
J&R Schugel Trucking, Inc. has established the J&R Schugel Trucking, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Trust.
Steve Silver Company is a global low-cost leader in casual dining and occasional furniture. The company operates from a 500,000 square foot, state-of-the-art warehouse and distribution facility. The company is headquartered in Forney, TX, just outside Dallas, with extensive overseas sourcing and quality control expertise and more than 60 people on the ground in five different Asian offices.
Steve Silver Co. has established the Steve Silver Co. Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
DecisionPoint Systems, Inc.
DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. improves productivity and delivers operational advantages to its clients by helping them move their business decision points closer to their customers. They accomplish this by making enterprise software applications accessible to the front-line worker anytime, anywhere. DecisionPoint utilizes all the latest wireless, mobility, and software development technologies.
Decisionpoint Systems has merged with Comamtech Inc.
State Bank of Cross Plains
Since 1908, the State Bank of Cross Plains has been dedicated to providing financial advice and dedicated service to the residents, businesses and communities of Dane County, Wisconsin.
State Bank of Cross Plains has established the State Bank of Cross Plains Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Sta-Home Health & Hospice
Sta-Home Health & Hospice
Sta-Home Health & Hospice is a Mississippi home health & hospice provider and serves 46 counties within Mississippi, including Newton, Scott & Lauderdale Counties. Their mission is to provide home health and hospice services that optimize patients’ independence, comfort, and dignity in the privacy of their homes.
Sta-Home Health & Hospice has established the Sta-Home Health & Hospice Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Shift Communications
Shift Communications - SHIFT Communications is an award-winning, privately held national public relations firm that represents some of the best-known enterprise and consumer technology brands, including T-Mobile, PG&E, H&R Block and the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau as well as numerous groundbreaking startups. SHIFT Communications' 100+ employees are located in the Boston, San Francisco, New York and Austin metros.
Shift Communications has sold common stock to the SHIFT Communications Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Shiel Sexton Company
In 1962, Shiel Sexton was founded on the principle that the value of a contractor should be based on more than the orchestration of manpower, materials and equipment. Shiel Sexton specializes in construction management, general contracting and design-build services.
Shiel Sexton Company, Inc. has established the Shiel Sexton Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Payzone Directional Services, Inc.
Payzone Directional Services is a full services directional company offering expertise in Vertical Control applications to Multi-Laterals, and everything in between. They have been delivering industry-leading service quality to energy partners since 2006. The company launched initial operations in the Rocky Mountain region, and has since branched out to service all major basins across the lower 48 states.
Payzone Directional Services, Inc. has established the Payzone Directional Services, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Paschall Truck Lines, Inc.
Paschall Truck Lines has developed an enviable reputation in the trucking industry with over 70 years of performance on America’s roads. Since the beginning, they have provided reliable, efficient and professional transport solutions throughout the United States.
Paschall Truck Lines, Inc. has established the Paschall Truck Lines, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Ned Davis Research
Ned Davis Research helps investment management firms make better decisions with unbiased, insightful and risk appropriate market and global economic data and analysis. In 1980, Ned Davis founded a new investment research group based on his fundamental belief that making money was more important than being right.
Ned Davis Research was acquired by Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. Prairie served as the exclusive financial advisor to the seller.
Matt Construction
MATT Construction is a family- owned general contractor that has built some of the most memorable buildings in the western states.
MATT Construction has established the MATT Construction Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Mathematica Policy Research
Mathematica Policy Research is a pioneering nonpartisan research organization dedicated to improving public well-being. Their 1,200+ experts conduct policy research, data collection and data analytics that meet the highest standards of quality and objectivity, working with decision makers across the public and private sectors.
Mathematica Policy Research has established the Mathematica Policy Research Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Long Haul Trucking
Situated just outside of Minneapolis, in Albertville, Minnesota, Long Haul Trucking proves dependability is the shortest route to customer satisfaction with on-time delivery, thoughtful service, competitive pricing, careful cargo handling and financial stability.
Long Haul Trucking has established the Long Haul Trucking Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Iowa Insulation
Iowa Insulation, Inc. is an award-winning mechanical insulation contractor located in central Iowa. They specialize in commercial/industrial/process mechanical insulation systems that save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Iowa Insulation has established the Iowa Insulation Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Forsythe is a leading enterprise IT company, providing advisory services, security, hosting and technology solutions for Fortune 1000 organizations. Founded in 1971, Forsythe is privately held and 100-percent employee-owned, with nearly 1,000 employees in 40 locations and more than $1 billion in annual revenues.
Forsythe Technology, Inc. has sold common stock to the Forsythe Technology, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Sleep Train
Founded in 1985 by Dale Carlsen, Sleep Train is the West Coast’s number one mattress retailer and number four nationwide.
Sleep Train has terminated the Sleep Train Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Country Curtains
Country Curtains is a family and employee owned multi-channel company started in 1956 by Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick. They offer high quality ready-made curtains, accessories and accent pieces for the home.
Country Curtains has sold common stock to the Country Curtains Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Dynetics, Inc.
Dynetics, Inc. provides responsive, cost-effective engineering, scientific and IT solutions to the national security, cybersecurity, satellite, launch, automotive and critical infrastructure sectors. Their portfolio features highly specialized technical services and a range of software and hardware products, including components, subsystems and complex end-to-end systems. The company of 1,500 employee/owners is based in Huntsville, Ala., and has offices throughout the U.S.
Dynetics has sold common stock to the Dynetics, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Atlas Energy
Atlas Energy, Inc.
Atlas Energy, Inc. operates as an independent developer and producer of natural gas and oil in the Appalachian, Michigan, and Illinois Basins.
Atlas Energy Inc. has been acquired by Chevron.
Telligen
For more than 40 years, Telligen population health management solutions have improved the quality and cost-effectiveness of healthcare for consumers and providers. Telligen serves commercial clients and government programs at the federal, state and local level, improving health outcomes for millions of people nationwide.
Telligen, Inc. established the Telligen, Inc Employee Stock Ownership Plan
KeHE Distributors, LLC
KeHE Distributors is one of the oldest and most respected natural foods distributors in the industry. They were founded in 1953 and converted into an employee-owned company in 2001, are a state-of-the-art organization of 4,500 employee-owners and a vast 17 distribution center network across the U.S. and Canada.
KeHE Distributors has acquired Tree of Life.
Old Fort Banking
The Old Fort Banking Company is a locally owned and operated financial institution. Founded in 1916, by citizens of the village of Old Fort. Old Fort is an independent bank that operates through a community banking model that is the foundation for local decision making and provides the basis for client service that is reliable, responsive, competent and empathetic.
Old Fort Banking Company has established the Old Fort Banking Company Employee Stock Ownership Trust.
Dienen, Inc.
Dienen, Inc. is the parent company of SureStep, LLC and Midwest Orthotic Services, LLC. SureStep is a leading manufacturer of custom-made orthotic devices and devices to assist children with a wide range of mobility challenges. Midwest Orthotic Services operates eleven clinics providing orthotic and prosthetic services primarily to the pediatric market in Indiana, Kentucky, Texas, Missouri, and Illinois. The Company was founded in 2000 and is based in South Bend, Indiana.
Dienen, Inc. has established the Dienen, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
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Porn At Root Of Rapidly Spreading Child-On-Child Sexual Assaults
By Jonathon Van Maren/Bridgehead.ca June 26, 2019
In the days after I arrived in Ireland last May with several of my colleagues prior to the abortion referendum, the headlines were buzzing with the details of a stomach-turning story: A 14-year-old schoolgirl had gone missing. Days later, Ana Kriegel was found dead in an abandoned farmhouse in Lucan, roughly 12 kilometers west of Dublin.
She was naked, and had suffered brutal injuries to her head and body. A ligature was still wound around her neck. Ana Kriegel, who had been adopted from Russia as a baby, is now believed to have been dead within 45 minutes of leaving her home.
She was lured to the farmhouse by one of two 13-year-old boys, known as Boy A and Boy B due to their age. Boy B told her that Boy A wanted to see her. Once they had her alone and out of earshot, they sexually assaulted her and killed her.
Her corpse was found lying with her head tilted back amid broken beer bottles and a club with nails pounded through it. Her adoptive parents, who had adored her with all their hearts, were utterly crushed. The two boys, now 14-years-old, have become the two youngest boys in Irish history to be convicted of murder.
What the jury did not get to hear--Mr. Justice Paul McDermott ruled that the "prejudicial value" of the information outweighed the probative value--is that the boys were obsessed with pornography, and that the porn they consumed likely informed and perhaps even inspired their savage killing. Two phones in Boy A's bedroom, for example, contained over 12,000 images, most of them pornographic.
These photos included men sexually assaulting young women, some of them dressed in school uniforms. Other images were of scenes too horrific to describe. Some searches were specifically for Russian girls, and others were for child pornography. The prosecuting counsel Brendan Grehan asked that this evidence be admitted because they highlighted the boy's attitude towards consent, but this was denied.
The reaction to this news--the vast and evil porn collection of the boys has been widely discussed in the press--indicates that most adults are still unaware of the fact that violent pornography is regularly consumed by young teens, and this material is creating a violent new ideology of sexuality that the upcoming generation has been raised on.
In the age of Fifty Shades of Grey and a diet of hardcore pornography that begins long before any actual relationships with real people do, the simple reality is that millions of young men and boys are growing up with sexual violence at the core of their fantasies--and they often have no way of distinguishing between their fantasies and reality.
This wasn't the only court case that featured the insidious impacts of pornography. Several weeks ago, a teenager from Northern Ireland was convicted of raping a seven-year-old boy in 2015, when he was 13-years-old.
This, unfortunately, is becoming increasingly common, as pornography use at increasingly young ages has led to an enormous spike in child-on-child sexual assaults--the judge told the teen that he would have received a seven year jail sentence if he had been older when the assaults occurred.
Children see pornography, and often attempt to act out what they see, just as they do for many, many other activities. In the case of porn, of course, this has devastating consequences.
It is not just me drawing the connection between the young teenage boy's rape of a younger boy and pornography, either. Judge Patrick Lynch told the boy that, "The use of pornography may have had an impact on your offending," and in all likelihood, it did.
Dr. Mary Anne Layden, who has done some of the most ground-breaking research on the links between pornography and sexual violence, is a psychotherapist and the Director of the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania.
During one interview, she told me that she began to research these links when she realized, after decades of counseling both the perpetrators and victims of sexual violence, that pornography had been involved in every single situation.
The story of Ana Kriegel is bone-chilling. Her troubled life came to a horrifying end at the hands of two young monsters who had their minds deformed by the pornography they had ready access to, just as a little boy had his life irrevocably changed by a young teen who was also inspired to sexual assault by the porn he could find on any cell phone with an Internet connection.
These rapists deserve the sentences they received and more, but surely our culture bears some responsibility for these horrors. Surely the parents who gave them access to handheld porn theatres and neglected to monitor what their children were up to online share some part of the blame.
These children did not choose to be born and grow up in a culture like this one. It was created by adults. It is facilitated by adults. And it continues with the permission of adults who will see many more Ana Kriegels raped and murdered before this horrifying experiment finally comes to an end.
For those struggling with the issue of Pornography we highly recommend the Conquer Series - learn more here.
Originally published at The Bridgehead - reposted with permission.
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The Richard III and Yorkist History Trust
richardiiiandyht.org.uk
Research Monograph Series
The Trust augments its editions of texts and documents with a series of Research Monographs. This series is specifically designed to provide an opportunity for the publication of recently completed doctoral theses on topics in the same period. Though intended primarily for theses that would not otherwise be published, other substantial research monographs are not excluded. Each volume would be approximately 80,000 words, including footnotes, the conventional length of a doctoral thesis. The focus will be on the history of Britain and the English realm in the Yorkist Age. All aspects of that history will be eligible.
The judges will be the Publications Committee of the Trust. All manuscripts may be sent to specialist readers.
Proposals should include the abstract of a thesis or other equivalent synopsis, a list of chapters with short indicative summaries of content, and a clear statement of the work’s significance. If the proposal is accepted, one of the Trustees will be nominated to liaise with the author and take the publication forward through to publication.
The series, like the existing series, will be published by Shaun Tyas.
Proposals on the appropriate form (click here for a download link) should be sent electronically to the Secretary of the Trust, Mrs Gretel Jones, secretary@richardiiiandyht.org.uk:
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Evicted Under The World Bank’s Watch
by Right To The City | Jul 1, 2016 | Features
This is the story of 91 families from St. Sebastian South Canal in Colombo 12, Sri Lanka. In late 2013, they found out that they were going to lose their homes due to the rehabilitation of the St. Sebastian canal under the World Bank funded Metro Colombo Urban Development Project. The families had not wanted to move away to the new housing being given to them. Their new homes were in newly built high-rise apartments in the outskirts of Colombo and the families had instead asked for housing closer to their original homes so that their livelihoods and children’s schooling would not be disrupted. They had made clear their opposition to the proposed location at awareness sessions held in January 2014 by the then Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, the authority handling all development work in Sri Lanka after the Urban Development Authority was brought under the Ministry of Defence in 2010. The community had continued their opposition to relocation and even voiced their concerns at the site office located in the community, which was also functioning as a grievance redress mechanism. However, they suffered the same fate as thousands of other people who were forcibly evicted from their homes by the Urban Development Authority since 2010. In September 2014, the 91 families shifted to Methsara Uyana, an 11 storey apartment complex with 718 apartments, officially declared open on October 27 2014 by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. read...
From Shanty To Home
by Right To The City | Jun 28, 2016 | Features
The Centre for Policy Alternatives continues to document and support communities in Colombo who were forcibly evicted or relocated under the previous Government’s Urban Regeneration Project, which was carried out by the Urban Development Authority and the then Ministry of Defence and Urban Development. Thousands of families living in the UDA built high rises continue to live in hope that the new Government and UDA leadership will provide them with better solutions and justice for what took place under the previous regime, while their living conditions and quality of life continue to deteriorate. This photo essay by Abdul Halik Azeez commissioned by CPA looks at the lives of residents in two complexes – Methsara Uyana and Sirisara Uyana. Located in Wanathamulla, these two complexes have around 1100 apartments in total and had families from all over Colombo relocated there in 2014. The size of an apartment is 400 square feet and families have to pay one million rupees over thirty years in order to get a deed. This is irrespective of whether families had deeds to their original location or not, and those who did have deeds were not compensated for their acquired land. Visits to the two complexes for this photo essay took place in late May 2016, a week following the floods. Read...
The Making of a World Class City: Displacement and Land Acquisition in Colombo
Living it down: Life after relocation in Colombo’s high rises
Evicted And Homeless
Designed by Pyxle
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404 Error: How to Prevent Tech Project Failures
by Neil Hodge | September 4, 2018 at 6:06 am
Technology improvements are vital for meeting evolving business needs, but poor project management can lead
to unmet expectations and significant excess costs.
Adopting new technology products, overhauling existing IT systems, or pursuing new internet services are not easy. In fact, if there is one way an organization can lose a bundle of money quickly, it is in the failed implementation of a technology project. There are many embarrassing examples of such failures. For instance, Cover Oregon, the online health insurance marketplace set up for the state in 2011, was meant to encourage citizens and small businesses to take advantage of federally-subsidized health insurance rates as laid out under the Affordable Care Act.
While the intent was to facilitate online registration and selection of coverage, the reality proved out to be much more 19th-century. From the start, the site was plagued with problems and it was only possible to purchase insurance via paper registration (which the state was forced to hire or reassign nearly 500 people to process), and the project fast became an expensive “white elephant.” Three years and $200 million in, Cover Oregon’s board of directors decided to discontinue the exchange. The FBI began an investigation in March 2014 and the state officially ended the project a year later, permanently folding its functions into an existing state agency and the federal HealthCare.gov website.
In 2017, Pennsylvania filed a suit against IBM over a $110 million technology project to upgrade its unemployment compensation system that the state says was never completed. The lawsuit, which IBM is contesting, alleges that state residents ultimately paid $170 million—$60 million over budget—“for what was supposed to be a comprehensive, integrated, and modern system that it never got,” Governor Tom Wolf said. The project was shut down in 2013, some 45 months behind schedule. Since then, the state has continued to rely on its legacy systems.
Consultants say that major technology projects can often fail, and the more ambitious they are, the more damage they can cause to the company’s coffers. Last year, the U.S.-based Project Management Institute, an association for project management professionals, found that organizations wasted an average of $97 million for every $1 billion invested in tech projects and programs worldwide in 2016. And that was cause for celebration—the previous annual waste amount had been $122 million. The failure rate stands at 14%, meaning that one in seven projects fell flat. Other experts have found similarly dire results: McKinsey has long said that it is hit-or-miss if a large-scale technology project actually delivers, and researchers at The Standish Group found that only 29% of IT project implementations are successful, with one in five (19%) being considered utter failures.
Project Management Problems
Companies need to up-to-date technology and systems in order to survive, but that survival is not necessarily dependent on investing in cutting-edge solutions. Even if the technology platform or software performs relatively simple tasks, that does not mean it is easy to integrate these new systems and procedures across an organization’s entire operations (including cross-border). As with any initiative, problems frequently occur. Companies must consider the risks inherent in these projects, how they should be managed, and who should manage them.
Gavin Stead, head of program services at IT professional services firm Gibbs Hybrid, said that technology projects tend to fail because of a lack of leadership, particularly at senior management and board level. “The IT department tends to get left in charge of IT projects and management takes a back seat. But while IT departments understand the technology and the risks, they don’t necessarily have the right project management experience to pull major projects off,” he said. “Also, technology is not just an IT issue, it is a business issue, and major technology projects need executive input and leadership from the start.”
Kirit Patel, regional managing director (Europe) at EOH International, a global consulting company that specializes in IT implementation, said that in his experience, project success—or failure—is often impacted by the level of executive sponsorship and that IT project failure is rarely caused by technology.
“Change can be hard. Even the best-planned and best-run projects will hit roadblocks where tough decisions may need to be made,” he said. “Unless a project has the right level of executive involvement—not just a signature on some paperwork, but full visibility and input into the process—lack of executive sponsorship can at best introduce delays and allow scope creep, or at worst become a point of failure.”
Appointing the right people to implement the plan is not as easy as it sounds, however, and can be another source of potential failure. It is a common mistake to nominate people internally to lead the project in addition to letting them continue with their day job. Instead, organizations need to set up a dedicated full-time project management team that reports directly to the executive. “Too many organizations try to form internal project teams with people who already have very full roles,” Patel said. “Project teams are made up of professionals who, due to existing commitments, are very stretched.” Without adequate support, deadlines are often missed, and the implementation is not done properly.
Bringing in other people from within the business to help manage the project or contracting parts of the project out to different suppliers on short-term contracts can also lead to disaster. Even engaging a lead partner to take control can have its downside, especially if key project managers are rotated on and off the implementation.
In 2013, Pennsylvania released a study conducted by Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute into its failed IBM-led project. Among a number of problems, the study cited high workforce turnover as a key factor in efficient project planning and execution. Since the start of the project, the report noted that 638 different contractor staff members had worked on it, with the majority of the workforce having less than a year of involvement and 75% less than two years.
The relationship between technology contractors and the client can also be a source of tension and failure. Val Jonas, CEO of risk management consultancy Risk Decisions, said that one of the most common problems she has seen with large-scale technology projects is that customers and contractors have different views of what is meant by an “agile” plan. While boards understand that “agile” projects involve flexibility and addressing changing needs to deliver the desired outcomes, they often think that the project’s scope is at risk as contractors change priorities to achieve the objectives in a different way.
“IT contractors have a more sophisticated and mature understanding of what ‘agile’ entails because they have worked on a lot more projects,” she said. “Boards and management teams, however, do not always fully appreciate what ‘agile’ actually looks like as the project develops, which can lead to a lot of disruption, confusion and mistrust, especially if they think that any changes will lead to delays, cost overspends and failure to meet the stated goals.”
Milestones and Expectations
Project planning and establishing expectations up front are also important. “Set clear goals and realistic expectations,” said Paul Whitelam, senior vice president of marketing at ClickSoftware. “Talk through worst-case scenarios, likely and unlikely obstacles, and potential risks in order to develop a plan that can accommodate any disruptions and help prevent a disaster before one occurs.”
Organizations should set meaningful milestones to ensure that the project is properly scoped out and that those in charge of managing and implementing it properly know their roles and responsibilities. “By proactively communicating at every stage of the process, you will allow your team time to get used to the idea and feel comfortable providing input, making the transformation process inclusive and open,” he said. The plan should also be flexible enough to allow for changes to priorities if necessary without having to restart the process.
To iron out any initial kinks, organizations should run a pilot program as early as possible. “Any problems found will be more manageable early on than when encountered at a later stage,” Whitelam said. “By ensuring every member of your team knows what is happening and is working alongside one another during the pilot, you can generate a more efficient and comprehensive plan, which will provide a better offering and higher chance of success.”
Lukasz Lacniak, business solutions architect at IT integration specialist Comarch, advises organizations to plan for a degree of flexibility, whether in time, budget or scope. They should also revisit plans frequently to make sure they are still on track and that they can make adjustments as necessary before it is too late.
“Statistically, any big IT change project has a worryingly high probability of failure,” Lacniak said. “Technology projects are particularly risky because of the number of variables, and there is often pressure to push them through quickly, even when resources like budget, staff and time are scarce.”
He added that it is important to make someone accountable for monitoring the plan in order to identify risks sooner so that there is a better chance of mitigating them before they spiral out of control. Risk managers should expect the unexpected, and mitigate the risk of delays by involving all relevant teams in this process.
Project managers also need to be honest about the project’s progress. “State what has gone well and what hasn’t,” said Drew Markham, a change management specialist at IT integrator Fordway. “Bad news up front is much better than when people are surprised by it. There may be a simple solution or a way around the problem that the team hasn’t considered.”
Markham also cautioned risk managers that finding errors is normal, and that they should be suspicious of 100% perfection rates. He said that if a company is planning to migrate multiple sites, it should plan to focus on one large site a week, with small ones around it, and avoid major migrations on Fridays when—if problems do occur—it will be more difficult to pull the necessary people in to fix them (see sidebar).
Lisa Heneghan, global head of technology, management consulting at professional services firm KPMG, said that a key factor to identifying problems early is ensuring at the outset that there is an effective governance mechanism in place. This allows issues to be escalated and decisions to be made quickly (such as using accepted methods like the Scaled Agile Framework or “agile at scale”), while also ensuring that the project stays on track and that risk information is reported to management in real-time.
“The majority of major IT projects today are digital transformation programs and getting them right is harder than it sounds,” Heneghan said. “Our latest Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO survey found that fewer than a third of organizations have an enterprise-wide digital strategy and less than a quarter of IT leaders believe digital is being used effectively to support business strategy. Spotting the early signs that things are not working is therefore critical so that interventions and improvements can be made.”
Choosing the right product is often a bone of contention as well. Companies sometimes abdicate the responsibility for choosing the technology products that are most appropriate for their needs to “experts” that are more familiar with the technology and the associated benefits and risks. This causes two key problems, Patel said. First, if the project scope or delivery expectations are lost in translation between the implementation team and the business, the risk of failure will likely increase. Second, experience shows that bespoke solutions are often more suited to meeting the needs of the business rather than off-the-shelf solutions, which means that companies risk making a huge investment in a product that will not deliver the expected benefits.
“There is no cookie-cutter method of selecting the right solution,” he said. “In fact, there is an increased chance of failure if the selection process ignores new developments or risks over engineering a solution. For example, we sometimes see businesses being advised against cloud solutions as those advising them are unfamiliar with this option.”
End-User Understanding
Besides the technology-related risks, ignoring “soft” issues can also derail such projects. Stead said that organizations need to realize that technology projects “don’t just concern the IT department and management—other stakeholders in the company need to be informed and have a say in what is happening as the changes are going to affect them and the way they work.”
Organizations should design the solution around how people actually work to get the most out of the investment. This means involving users at every stage, from choosing equipment to testing training guides. “Users know how things actually work, what applications are crucial to daily operations, and which issues are likely to create roadblocks,” Markham said. “Without this, potential problems may not be identified until much later where they will have a greater impact.”
Employee training—ideally before the systems go live—is also a must, as is ongoing instruction and support. Whitelam said that organizations should plan for periodic post-launch training to make sure everyone is using the system in the manner intended, as new processes or policies are added, and as new employees or contractors join the company.
“Even with all the time and resources invested in training,” he said, “employees are still likely to fall back into old habits and will need ongoing support to change how they operate.”
More articles by Neil Hodge »
Neil Hodge is a U.K.-based freelance journalist and photographer.
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Netball: Sports scholar Nia appointed First VII captain
Tuesday 19 Feb 2019
A talented netballer at Rydal Penrhos has been awarded a significant role of responsibility in recognition of her exceptional overall influence on the squad.
Nia Humphreys, a Year 12 pupil at the school, is the new First VII Netball captain, and this appointment comes just a few short months after she arrived at Rydal Penrhos on a sports scholarship.
The 17-year-old has enjoyed a glittering young career to date as part of the Llandudno and Pwllheli set-ups, and she has also represented North West Wales County over a four-year period.
This includes two Player of the Year Awards, an LA League Championship at U16 level and a Shooter of the Year title.
She was selected to the Welsh Netball Performance Pathway that aims to produce future players who progress into the World Class performance programme and was one of the youngest players to join the North West Wales Development Training Centre in 2014.
The scholar has wasted no time in making an impact during her time at Rydal Penrhos, fully integrating herself within the Sixth Form community with her fantastic attitude and willingness to support her fellow pupils.
This saw Nia appointed as Chair of the Sixth Form Management Committee earlier this year, which is further reflection on just how valued she has become in a relatively short space of time.
Director of Sport Allen Boyd, said: “Nia possesses all the attributes to be a successful captain for our First VII Netball side, and her talent is matched by her ability to motivate and inspire those around her.
“She has proved extremely worthy of her sports scholarship during the initial stages of her time here at Rydal Penrhos, I am confident this extra responsibility is going to take her game to new heights.”
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Home >> March 2009 Edition >> INSIGHT: Euroconsult Executive Briefing
INSIGHT: Euroconsult Executive Briefing
Broadcast Through The Crisis
by Pacome Revillon Managing Director, Euroconsult
As Euroconsult and many others in the industry have regularly underlined, TV broadcasting is the leading revenue driver for FSS satellite operators, with over two thirds of operators involved in distribution of TV channels.
In recent years, demand for satellite capacity for TV broadcasting has grown by up to 10 percent per year, with broadcasters signing long-term contracts sometimes for the lifetime of the satellite. As such, they provide satellite operators important visibility and stability over time. Large decreases in capacity usage generally only occur when there is a failure or a merger of satellite pay-TV platforms, both of which have proved to be very limited. Even mergers usually result in stronger market players which tend to result in new channel additions and capacity requirements over time.
Crisis = Mixed Impact On Satellite Pay-TV Platforms
As a business to consumer (BtoC) industry, satellite pay-TV platforms have heavy exposure to the current economic crisis. Overall expectations are for a slowdown in subscriptions to pay-TV services, while nearly every country will be impacted by this recession of historical proportions.
Still, a major decrease in the number of subscribers remains unlikely in most markets. This is due to a number of different factors, including yearly subscription commitments and the addition of a number of services such as digital video recording, which have succeeded in reducing churn levels in recent years. Simultaneously, satellite pay-TV platforms derive most of their revenue from subscriptions rather than advertising. This may lighten the impact of the crisis on them, as compared to free-to-air (FTA) TV channels.
However, the crisis may still result in the failure of platforms that have recently launched as they may not be able to reach critical size. GTV in Africa recently declared bankruptcy, and other cases may follow in the coming months. In markets where satellite pay-TV only recently took off, and where several platforms are in head-to-head competition to sign subscribers, consolidation similar to what followed the telecom and media crisis of the early 2000s could be expected.
Competition To Still Drive Growth
While certain market players may suffer deeply during this crisis, several factors may still point to continued growth in capacity demand for TV broadcasting in the next two years.
First, a number of new platforms that were recently launched and are still striving to reach critical mass may still need to add channels to their initial packages. This may be especially relevant in markets where several platforms are in competition.
Second, a number of the newer platforms are backed by telecom operators eager to provide TV services on a national scale as part of their triple play strategies. Such platforms are expected to enlarge their offerings significantly over time in order to compete with established platforms. This, in turn, should result in demand for satellite capacity.
Third, while satellite is considered by many a complementary network for optimizing distribution, the economic crisis is expected to result in a decrease in investments in fiber optic and other terrestrial broadband networks. Satellites very high level of cost effectiveness for TV distribution could increase its importance telecom operators strategies in the medium to long term.
Fourth, beyond Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite reception, competition between terrestrial networks is expected to result in increased demand for content, which could result in more satellite capacity used. Thematic TV channels, eager to recover losses in certain markets, may also seek additional distribution rights on new platforms and countries, which could benefit satellite operators.
HDTV A Growth Driver
Channel additions may still slow down in 2009 as TV broadcasters become more cautious regarding investments. However, there is one area where growth is expected high definition television (HDTV).
HDTV, already largely developed in the U.S., is on the cusp of strong growth phase, at least in Europe. As a just-released Euroconsult report on prospects for HDTV in Europe points out, the number of networks offering HD tripled in the last two years. As HD is about to become a standard feature of TV sets in Europe, the addressable market for HD services is growing strongly and could reach a penetration rate of 51 percent of TV households by 2010.
Households actually receiving HD services, which stood at around 4 million last year, are expected to reach 39 million households by 2012. Consequently, increasing demand for satellite capacity for HD is expected in the region over the next three years as broadcasters expand offerings to address increasing demand.
In other regions, while HDTV offerings are expected to remain more limited, a large number of satellite pay-TV broadcasters in Africa and Asia indicated last year they expected to launch at least limited HDTV offerings of up to three channels in number. While the crisis may force some to postpone certain services, HD is expected to represent a support for satellite demand through the crisis.
Mobile Digital Broadcasting Facing A Market Redefinition
In recent years the mobile audio and radio broadcasting market has appeared to face a real challenge to its business model. For this segment, the crisis may lead to a restructuring and redefinition of the market.
In the US., the recently merged Sirius XM, provider of mobile digital audio broadcasting (DAB) services, appeared to be on the brink of Chapter 11 before a saving lifeline was tossed to them by Liberty Media. While the drop in car sales in the US has undoubtedly been a blow to operations and growth prospects for the DAB service provider, difficulty reaching break even after eight years of operations underscores the challenges of the related business model and of the critical market size required to survive. Worldspace filed for bankruptcy in late 2008, jeopardizing initial plans for a DAB service that was launched in Italy in 2009.
Mobile video services are still in definition phase. However, it appears that ultimately, satellite would likely play a gap filler role for terrestrial coverage in most markets, with services to be packaged by cellular operators. However, the market still faces major uncertainties that are only exacerbated by the current crisis.
Market players in many countries are still struggling to define revenue distribution in function of the value each brings including terminal manufacturers, cellular operators, other network operators (towers, satellites), pay-TV packagers, TV channels, and content producers. Negotiations may become quite tense, due to potential limited revenue prospects in terms of subscribers, ARPU, and advertising revenues at least in the short term.
For operators the challenge remains establishing a role as a key node in the distribution network, from the start of service. While the ICO-G1 satellite completed testing in early January, agreements for national service distribution have yet to be announced (beyond short-term, geographically limited service tests).
In Europe, allocation of spectrum by the European Commission is still an ongoing process. While a choice among the four confirmed bidders is expected this year, a delay in the decision process could complicate satellite operators ability to negotiate with terrestrial market players, potentially limiting their ability to take advantage of future market growth.
For FSS operators, strong orbital positions for TV broadcasting will be key assets through the crisis Continued strength of satellite TV broadcasting should limit the impact of the crisis for FSS operators.
While some market players are exposed to the risk of failure of certain TV broadcasters, the crisis will once again stress the importance of having strong and attractive orbital positions. Those assets may represent the primary element of value of operators and their best protection through the crisis.
Pacome Revillon is Managing Director of Euroconsult since 2003, a leading international research and consulting company specialized in satellite communications and broadcasting with over 560 clients in 51 countries. Pacome contributes to numerous consulting assignments in the satellite broadcasting and communications markets for international companies including satellite operators, satellite TV platforms, TV channels, media groups, manufacturers, investment banks, private equity funds and public institutions. Pacome is the editor of several Euroconsult research reports, the Satellite Communications and Broadcasting Markets Survey, ten-year World Markets Forecasts; the Satellite TV Platforms, ten-year World Survey and Prospects; the HDTV in Europe, key Economics and ten-year Prospects and the World Mobile Satellite Communications Market Survey, ten-year Prospects. For more info: www.euroconsult-ec.com.
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by Brian Belko on 01/29/2013 at 8:00 am
Throughout his life, Steve Gleason has been known as many things. Special teams stalwart for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL, symbol of renewal for a storm-ravaged city, generous philanthropist, and fearless adventurer. He is now taking on his biggest challenge yet; being the beacon of hope for anyone who is affected by the neuro-muscular disease commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Steve was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS, in January of 2011. However, his remarkable story begins well before that.
The date was September 26, 2005 and Monday Night Football was in New Orleans for the game between the hometown Saints and the visiting Atlanta Falcons. It would be the first game played in New Orleans, and more specifically, in the Superdome since the devastation following the landfall of Hurricane Katrina.
Twenty-one months had passed since the last Saints home game and the people of New Orleans needed something to provide them with hope that the future still held great things for their beloved city. Steve provided that source of hope with what has been called ‘The greatest play in New Orleans Saints’ history.’
With the Atlanta Falcons set to punt the ball in the first quarter, Steve rocketed through the center of the Falcon’s line and launched himself towards the kicker. With a shot that echoed throughout the stadium, Steve’s outstretched hands collided with the ball as he managed to block the punt. One of his teammates picked the deflected ball off the surface of the turf and ran it into the end zone for the first home touchdown of the post-Katrina Saints.
Steve’s play resulted in the crowd absolutely erupting in sound as they cheered not only for the touchdown, but also for the new hope they had just received for the future. That play became so symbolic to the city that it was forever preserved in the form of a bronze statue in front of the stadium.
Just as that statue will never be tarnished or destroyed, so is the same for Steve’s spirit and his eagerness to live life to the fullest despite the challenges that are thrown his way.
The same year of that brilliant play, Steve was honored as the “Special Teams Player of the Year” in the NFL. He played all seven years of his professional career for the Saints and the city came to mean a lot to him in that time. It provided him with a place to play professional football, amazing friendships, and it was even the city in which he met his wife.
Combining his love for the city of New Orleans and his desire to help others, Steve made sure to do all that he could to give back.
In 2003, Steve created the One Sweet World Foundation, a charity focused on literacy and environmental issues. Following Hurricane Katrina, he helped to launch a program called “Backpacks for Hope” which aimed to provide young hurricane victims with relief in the form of school supplies. That program ended up donating over 7,000 backpacks full of supplies to local children.
In addition to those programs, Steve also made sure to visit children at New Orleans Children’s Hospital as often as he could. He also frequently donated his trademark long hair to “Locks of Love”, an organization which provides wigs to children who lost their hair due to cancer treatments and other illnesses resulting in hair loss.
His sheer amount of charity work and willingness to give back says a lot about Gleason as a person.
“He has a glow about him, a way of touching those around him, and a way of maximizing every single minute of each day. It’s contagious.”
Those are the words of Scott Fujita, one of Steve’s former teammates from the Saints and one of his closest friends, when asked what makes Steve so different and special.
Scott and Steve became friends during the same year as the now legendary blocked punt. They have since grown extremely close. Besides his own family, Scott was one of the first people that Steve told about his diagnosis of ALS. That close bond has only gotten stronger as time has passed and Scott is willing to do whatever it takes to help Steve as he fights the ruthless disease.
One of Steve’s biggest personality traits is his sense of adventure. He is always up for trying new things and getting the most out of life that he possibly can. Some of his pastimes have included surfing, fishing, snowboarding, and playing guitar. He also traveled extensively all over the globe during every offseason while in the NFL. Notable destinations have included Greece, the Galapagos Islands, Easter Island, Australia, and Nepal.
Many people who are faced with a diagnosis such as Steve’s will allow it to tell them what they can or cannot do in life. Steve is not one of those people. Despite how dramatically his outlook on life had changed on that fateful day in January, Steve refused to allow it to dictate his future.
The same year of his diagnosis, Steve and his wife planned an extensive road trip that would take them from New Orleans on a winding route along the West Coast and eventually into Alaska. That is the type of trip that many people desire to take, but few ever follow through on. Steve completed the trip in the same year as learning that he had ALS which speaks volumes about his character and his drive in life. They called it The Shunpike Experiment and they took it in what they called the “Ironhorse”, a retro-fitted utility van designed for off-road camping.
Courtesy of TeamGleasonExperience.org
The couple also decided to have a child together despite Steve’s diagnosis and welcomed their son Rivers into the world in October 2011. You can also add finishing his MBA from Tulane University to the list of his accomplishments he made following his diagnosis. Those are a lifetime of achievements for most people and Steve did them all while battling a disease that doctors told him would eventually take his life.
Steve has taken that philanthropic spirit, love of life, and dedication to helping others and put it all into his ALS-focused foundation known as Team Gleason. Once the symbol of renewal to an entire city, Steve now finds himself as the main beacon of hope for the thousands of people around the world who also have ALS.
Check back tomorrow for the second installment of the four part series ‘No White Flags’ and learn more about ALS and the challenges it creates for the people it affects.
Full story at: http://www.bonfireimpact.com/2013/01/29/no-white-flags-how-nfls-scott-fujita-and-steve-gleason-are-teaming-up-to-change-the-perceptions-of-als-part-1/
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Red Jacket Media
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Houghton High School Drama Club: The Canterville Ghost (Blu-Ray)
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This is the Houghton High School Drama Club's performance of Oscar Wilde's "The Canterville Ghost" recorded at the Houghton High School auditorium on April 28, 2019.
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We Are Not Small
“We have received so much love and support from you amid our numerous crises, and now we wanted to return the favour and express our friendship also through raising funds,” - said Bishop István Szabó. During the service, the RCH Presiding Bishop handed over the donation raised for the support of the survivors of the May boat tragedy, as well as of the bereaved families and orphaned children.
In Hungary, 1.15 million people claimed a Reformed affiliation in the 2011 Census, including 600,000 active in Reformed congregations.
Our Call
Following the call of Christ, the RCH aims to be a witness in the world, fulfilling a faithful mission and strives to live as an ever-reforming church.
For many centuries, our Reformed church has played a significant role in the historical and cultural development of Hungary.
Congregations are considered the most fundamental unit of our church, based on the principle: "the church exists in its congregations."
Hungarian Reformed Community
The Hungarian Reformed Church is composed of the Hungarian-speaking Reformed churches in the Carpathian Basin.
The Hungarian Reformed Church (HRC) is the "mother" of many Hungarian Reformed churches and communities all over the world.
Ecumenical Relations
The RCH works with different ecumenical organizations across Hungary to demonstrate its dedication to “Communion as unity in diversity."
Roma Ministry
In Peace for God, each other, ourselves
In light of International Romani Day, Reformed Roma communities in the Carpathian Basin gathered to worship and pray for one another. This year, reconciliation is the focus of the event.
Building a House of Reconciliation
From February 20-23, a seminar on reconciliation took place in the beautiful mountains of Mátraháza, Hungary. The aim of the workshop was to facilitate reconciliation within the Hungarian context. - Personal reflection from Stephanie Chunoo.
Church and Society
Mission to the People
Mission is a priority task in the life of the RCH. Through active mission, our church reaches out to every needy group in Hungarian society.
Diaconia
The diaconal service aims to reach people in need and motivate Reformed congregations to "Carry each other's burdens." (Gal. 6:2)
The RCH fulfills its mission through maintaining certain institutions that serve not only their local communities, but people nationwide.
International Ecumenical Relations
Partnership and Co-operation
The partnership and cooperation with churches and organisations around the world, has always played a major role in the life of the RCH.
Coordination of Ecumenical Relations
The International and Ecumenical Committee, assisted by the Ecumenical Advisory Board, is responsible for the RCH’s ecumenical strategy.
Mission Coworkers
The RCH believes it is important to deepen the relationships with partner churches by inviting and welcoming mission coworkers.
Congregational Partnerships - Twinning
If you are interested in establishing a partnership with a Hungarian Reformed congregation, please contact us!
“We can also experience at Starpoint that the Christian faith is not outdated, but God’s Kingdom is present and all around us,” emphasized Péter Bedekovics. At this year’s Reformed Youth Festival, we encourage young people to think about how they can shape the world to resemble God’s Kingdom more and more.
Károli University of RCH is offering a new Master of Theology program in English.
The choir of the Women’s Association of the PCK started their mission tour at the Reformed congregation in Slovakia, continued through Hungary, and concluded in Croatia.
The Development Team of Learning Materials for Reformed Schools is not simply producing traditional textbooks, they are developing modern, customisable digital teaching materials, as well as amplifying forward-thinking initiatives. We asked Zoltán Pompor, who is in charge of the team, what he considers to be the strengths of Reformed education.
Dare to Have Questions!
“I wish that our young people think about ways to shape our world so that it may look more like God’s Kingdom,” says Rev. Márton Járay, the keynote speaker at this year’s Starpoint Festival.
The Reformed Congregation in Szentendre has begun building relations with a congregation in Syria. They would like to send financial aid, and perhaps, even travel to the war-torn country. We asked Rev. András Harmathy about the details.
Life Returning to Syria
In late March, a sizeable delegation visited the Evangelical churches of Lebanon and Syria, signing memoranda of commitment. We have asked the delegates about their experiences in the Middles East, including the situation of local Christians as well as the significance and further possibilities of cooperation.
Going Against Traffic on the Damascus Road
We have visited the 2000-year-old Christian memorials of Syria’s capital, as well as its Armenian and Arab-speaking Evangelical communities. Our brothers and sisters experienced the spiritual journey of Paul during the years of war: they gained a new kind of sight amid their suffering that sets an example for us as well.
Migrants in Hungary
“Church and Migration is a topic that deals with people in church and society worldwide. Depending on the context, the challenges are different, but as a church, we are all confronted with the issue of migration,” reads the letter of invitation from the EkvW to its International Ecumenical Conference.
"We encourage the people to stay"
Click for the Archive
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Romania’s Referendum: A Bid to Combat Corruption
Slovenia Report
SGI experts on Slovenia
Slovenia SGI 2018
Miro Haček
Professor, Dept. of Political Science, University of Ljubljana
Miro Haček is professor at the Department of Political Science in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Centre for the Analysis of Administrative-Politicial Processes and Institutions (CAAPPI) in Ljubljana (Slovenia), where he runs undergraduate courses on political systems, public administration, comparative civil servants systems and comparative politics, as well as postgraduate courses on political and administrative management. In addition to having been a visiting lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University (2005, 2007), South Dakota State University (2009, 2010) and at Hughes Hall in Cambridge (2001), he has published widely in Slovenian and English.
Susanne Pickel
Professor, University of Duisburg-Essen
Susanne Pickel is professor for political science and comparative politics at the University of Duisburg-Essen. She studied political science, sociology, and empirical social research at the University of Bamberg (PhD in 1996). She holds a Habilitation (2010) from the University of Greifswald. Her research interests are transformation policy, democratic studies, political culture studies in Eastern and Southeastern Europe in particular. She has been a visiting scholar of the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation at the University of Ljubljana.
Frank Bönker (Coordinator)
Prof. Dr., University of Cooperative Education
Frank Bönker is professor in economics and public management at Saxonian University of Cooperative Education Riesa. After studying economics and political science at the Freie Universität Berlin, he worked at the Center for European Law and Policy (ZERP) at the University of Bremen and at European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (O). He has also taught at the Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Leipzig and Babeș-Bolyai-University Cluj-Napoca. His main fields of research have included welfare state reform, local social policy, post-communist economic reform and the Europeanization of East-Central Europe. His book publications on East-Central Europe include The Political Economy of Fiscal Reform in East-Central Europe (Cheltenham: Elgar, 2006) and Postsozialistische Transformation und europäische (Des-)Integration (co-editor, Marburg: Metropolis, 2008).
Despite robust growth, Slovenia receives a relatively low overall ranking (rank 30) with regard to economic policies. Its score on this measure has improved by 1.2 points relative to 2014.
Economic growth accelerated in 2017, driven by exports and private consumption boosted by an improving labor market, rising consumer confidence and low energy prices. EU-funded infrastructure investment has helped pave the way for the return of private investment. The privatization program outlined in 2015 has progressed slowly.
Unemployment rates are falling steadily, but remain moderately high. Long-term unemployment still represents more than 50% of total unemployment, and employment rates among older and low-skilled workers remain below the EU average. A modest recent tax reform included lower personal-income taxes and increased corporate-income tax rates.
Deficits have fallen below 1% of GDP, with small surpluses envisaged for coming years. However, fiscal adjustment has relied on one-off measures, as well as ongoing growth. The public debt remains at worrisome levels, and the country faces a serious long-term sustainability gap. The R&I sector is underdeveloped, but spending is increasing.
Showing a mixed record, Slovenia falls into the upper-middle ranks (rank 16) with regard to social policies. Its score on this measure has gained 0.2 points relative to 2014.
Education-system outcomes are generally good, though the tertiary sector is underfunded. Spending on education has been increased, and a new high-education act will ease bureaucratic burdens and seek to close the gender gap. Income-inequality rates are low. Most crisis-era social-benefit cuts have now been reversed, and additional anti-poverty measures have been implemented.
A compulsory public health care system, supplemented by private insurance providers, offers generally good care but is financially troubled. An ongoing health-system reform campaign has been slowed by controversy and political conflict. Child care and parental-leave provisions are strong, and the employment rate for women is high.
A pension reform is underway that will raise the actual retirement age and index pension growth, while increasing minimum pension levels. The annual number of work permits issued has gone up following a crisis-era decline. Amendments to the law addressing refugees have been criticized internationally as denying rights guaranteed under international and EU law.
With a rich natural landscape, Slovenia receives a high overall ranking (rank 12) in terms of environmental policies. Its score on this measure has gained 0.2 points relative to its 2014 level.
The country has established a comprehensive environmental legislative framework in the last decade, introducing risk-based inspections and improving compliance monitoring. Emissions-reduction, disaster-assessment, drinking-water and waste-management, biodiversity and waste-management plans are under development.
Financial support is given to individuals for energy efficiency and renewable-energy use. Well-managed forests cover more than 60% of the country’s area. Fires at several waste-processing plants in 2017 resulted in serious environmental damage, and underscored substantial deficiencies in environmental administration.
Slovenia works closely with its immediate neighbors on water management and biodiversity issues, and maintains informal professional contacts with countries of the western Balkans. Environmental NGOs play an important domestic watchdog role.
With fair and inclusive electoral procedures, Slovenia falls into the upper-middle ranks (rank 15) with respect to democracy quality. Its score on this measure is unchanged relative to its 2014 level.
Political parties receive public and private funding, but recently passed campaign-financing laws prohibit donations from private companies or organizations. Donations from individuals are allowed, and their volume is rising. Monitoring provisions are robust. Journalists are occasionally subject to government or other pressures when covering political sensitive issues.
Online tools have greatly improved access to official information. Civil rights are largely respected, though problems with judicial integrity have emerged. Court backlogs have been reduced. While anti-discrimination measures are wide-ranging, foreign workers and women earn lower average wages than Slovenian men, and same-sex couples and Roma individuals face discrimination.
Legal certainty suffers as a result of contradictory provisions and the use of fast-track legislative procedures. However, the government and the administration generally act in accordance with the law. Courts are largely independent despite politicians’ attempts at influence. Corruption remains a serious issue.
With a number of a significant gaps, Slovenia’s executive capacity score falls into the bottom ranks (rank 37). Its score on this measure has improved by 0.3 points since 2014.
Institutional strategic-planning capacities are generally weak. The government office (GO) reviews bills from a legal and technical perspective but lacks sectoral expertise. Legislative projects depend largely on coalition-party negotiations, and are drafted by line ministries or interministerial teams with little GO participation. All concerned ministries must be consulted before bills reach the cabinet.
RIA quality is uneven but improving, and much legislation is exempt. Consultation with external groups is frequent, reaching occasionally significant breakthroughs. However, some outside groups say their positions are not taken seriously. Coalition partners sometimes publicly oppose the government line. Numerous core reform goals have been repeatedly postponed.
Financing for municipal governments has led to considerable conflict. Creation of a new ministry has helped increase the EU-fund absorption rate. Self-monitoring is not well developed. Changes in institutional arrangements have improved strategic capacity.
With a public increasingly distrustful of the government and politicians, Slovenia falls into the middle ranks internationally (rank 23) with regard to executive accountability. Its score on this measure has declined by 0.3 points since 2014.
Parliamentarians have adequate resources and ample executive-oversight powers. The Court of Audit is independent and well-regarded, but underfunded. The independent ombudswoman is well regarded, but often has limited impact, and has been criticized by the opposition for a lack of action in several prominent cases.
Citizens’ knowledge about government policymaking is limited, with trust in parties and government extraordinarily low. The private media offers largely superficial content, but the public broadcast media provide high-quality policy information.
While parties are heterogeneous, decision-making tends to be centralized. Economic-interest organizations cooperate with academics, and have good analytical capacities. Other interest groups also tend to have considerable policy knowledge, despite a decline in public funding.
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Medieval Italy •
History of Italy by period •
Ancient history by country •
Ancient Europe
Ancient Italy
The Italian peninsula shows evidence of habitation by anatomically modern humans beginning about 43,000 years ago. It is reached by the Neolithic as early as 6000 BC (Cardium Pottery in Coppa Nevigata...
Ancient Italy - Wikipedia
Ancient peoples of Italy •
Etruscan civilization •
Magna Graecia •
Ancient Rome •
History of Italy during Roman times •
Italy (Roman Empire) •
Ostrogoths •
Ostrogothic Italy •
Ancient art of Italy •
Etruscan art •
South Italian ancient Greek pottery •
Roman art •
Languages of ancient Italy
SANTUARIO DEL TINDARI
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This is a list of ancient peoples living in Italy before the Roman conquest. Nearly all the names are either scholarly inventions or endonyms assigned by the writers of works in ancient Greek and Lati...
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Etruscan civilization (/ɨˈtrʌskən/) is the modern name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany, western Umbria, and northern Lazio. The ancient Romans cal...
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Magna Graecia (Latin meaning "Great Greece", Greek: Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, Megálē Hellás) is the name of the coastal areas of Southern Italy on the Tarentine Gulf that were extensively populated by Greek settl...
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Roman Italy was created officially by the Roman Emperor Augustus with the Latin name Italia. It was the first time in history that the Italian peninsula (from the Alps to the Ionian Sea) was united un...
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The Ostrogoths (Latin: Ostrogothi or Austrogothi) were a branch of the later Goths (the other major branch being the Visigoths). The Ostrogoths, under Theodoric the Great, established a kingdom in...
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Ostrogothic Italy
The Ostrogothic Kingdom was established by the Ostrogoths in Italy and neighbouring areas from 493 to 553.In Italy the Ostrogoths, led by Theoderic the Great, killed and replaced Odoacer, a G...
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Etruscan art was the form of figurative art produced by the Etruscan civilization in central Italy between the 9th and 2nd centuries BC. Particularly strong in this tradition were figurative sculptur...
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South Italian is a designation for ancient Greek pottery fabricated in Magna Graecia largely during the 4th century BC. The fact that Greek Southern Italy produced its own red figure pottery as early...
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Historic District for Southwest?
Housing Complex wrote a piece last week about historic districts in DC and pondered whether Southwest would be next on the list of neighborhoods to seek designation. Contrary to the HC piece, there are rumblings from within the neighborhood to create a historic district. Typically, buildings need to be at least 50 years old to be considered and there are already a few older properties in Southwest that are on the National Register of Historical Places. Those located south of the Southwest Freeway include Friendship Baptist Church, Thomas Law House, National War College, Randall Jr. High School, Syphax School, James C. Dent House, and the Titanic Memorial. However, the majority of buildings in Southwest are just now turning 50.
Wheat Row was built in the 18th century.
The Thomas Law House was built in 1784.
Capitol Park Apartments at 800 4th Street (now Potomac Place Tower), designed by Chloethiel Woodard Smith and built in 1959, was the first residential tower built as a result of urban renewal and was designated by the DC Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) as historic in 2003 in an attempt by residents to block development of its parking lots and garden into apartments (eventually condos). The HUD headquarters at 7th & E Street just north of the freeway was more recently designated by the HPRB as well as the James C. Dent House (built in 1906). ANC 6D supported the designation of Tiber Island Coops and Condos on the south side of 4th & M Streets as historic at their July meeting (the Thomas Law House, which is a part of Tiber Island, has already been deemed historic). Besides the collection of mid-century modern architecture that dominates Southwest, there are other pockets of buildings pre-dating urban renewal that haven’t been designated, such as the row houses along the 1200-block of Half Street and Carrollsburg Place.
River Park features a high-rise apartment building and barrel vaulted townhomes made with aluminum.
A historic district designation would bring more scrutiny to building additions or new construction within the proposed district. New buildings would most likely need to conform to the standards of structures within the district and it would be more difficult to demolish existing buildings. However, it may spur the restoration of buildings in the neighborhood that are starting to show their age and increase property values. Design adaptation is already happening, to an extent, with newer projects in the neighborhood. For example, the office buildings at Waterfront Station, designed by Shalom Baranes, use terra cotta on their façades, a material that has been used for the shade screens at Capitol Park apartments. In addition, the design of the new St. Matthew’s apartment building on M Street & Delaware Avenue, also designed by Baranes, uses building and landscape design elements from nearby residential buildings. These two building designs borrow from mid-century mod, but have been brought closer to the street and incorporates a mix of uses (in the case of Waterfront Station).
Should the Southwest Waterfront join the ranks of other DC neighborhoods, such as Capitol Hill, Dupont Circle, Shaw, and Georgetown and be designated as a historic district? Vote in the poll at the upper left corner of the page and/or leave a comment. Also, are there specific buildings in Southwest that deserve historic designation (#1 on my list would be Jefferson Middle School)?
Note: For those who are interested in learning more about modern architecture in Southwest, the DC Preservation League will be holding a neighborhood tour on October 22, starting at 10am. Register here.
Posted by SWill at 10:32 PM
Labels: Delaware Avenue, M Street, Randall School, Shalom Baranes, St. Matthew's, Waterfront Station
Will said...
Would preservation mean the usual changeover to the hideous brick sidewalks found elsewhere in the city or would the neighborhood keep the distinctive "deck plank" style concrete sidewalks which are currently out? And would this mean the Tiber Island/Carrollsburg pedestrian traps (in the form of 'sidewalks' made from uneven ballast stones) would also stick around?
I'm kind of torn on this. As the first urban renewal project in the country, it's historically important. But does the entire neighborhood need to be kept in it's current form forever? Do we need both Tiber Island and Carrollsburg (since they both look the same)? We've also learned things over the past 50 years, like that large concrete plazas (a la Tiber Island) don't work. We've learned that engagement with the street and mixed uses are a good thing (which is something that none of the modern buildings do).
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[[phil_collins]]
Trace: » phil_collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is best known as the lead singer and drummer of English progressive rock group Genesis and as a Grammy and Academy Award-winning solo artist. He has also starred in numerous films.
A life-long Tarvuist, Collins recorded an album of Tarvuist songs with former Beatle and fellow Tarvuist, George Harrison in 1993 ('Tarvinu Vinu') reaching no. 11 in the Billboard charts. However, Collins caused an outcry in 2002 when he denounced the religion and converted to Barvuism. Forced to act swiftly, The Givil formally declared Collins, 'person hen henjamib' (i.e persona non grata).
phil_collins.txt · Last modified: 22/09/2008 00:44 by amzamiviram
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Incidence and Prevalence Database (IPD)
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ICD Code: 493. Asthma
ICD Code: 493. Article Review
Title: de Marco R et al; "Incidence and Remission of Asthma: A Retrospective Study on the Natural History of Asthma in Italy." Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology; V.110; No.2; 8/02; p228
STUDY DESIGN: This article describes the pattern of the incidence, persistence, and remission of asthma, from birth to age 44 years, during the period between 1953 and 2000, in a large, nationally representative sample of young Italian adults who took part in the multicenter Italian Study on Asthma in Young Adults. The survey was carried out between 1998 and 2000 in 9 Italian centers belonging to 2 different climatic regions: subcontinental (Northern Italy) and Mediterranean (Central/Southern Italy). The presence of lifetime asthma and age at onset were identified on the basis of the answers the subjects gave to the following questions: (1) "Have you ever had asthma?", and (2) "How old were you when you had your first attack of asthma?" Of the 25,969 eligible subjects in 9 centers, 18,873 filled in the questionnaire, with an overall response rate of 72.7%.
INCIDENCE (ITALY): The estimated adjusted incidence rates (per 1000 persons per year) of asthma for men versus women were reported by age at onset as follows: 0 to 5 years, 5.3 vs 3.8; 5 to 10 years, 4 vs 2.3; 10 to 15 years, 2.3 vs 1.8; 15 to 20 years, 1.5 vs 1.7; 20 to 25 years, 1.4 vs 1.5; 25 to 30 years, 1.3 vs 1.8; 30 to 35 years, 1.8 vs 3.0; 35 to 40 years, 2 vs 3.2; 40 years and older, 2 vs 5.3.
The crude incidence of asthma (per 1000 persons per year) was reported as follows. Whole sample: 2.59. Gender: males, 2.76; females, 2.42. Age at onset: 0 to 5 years, 5.17; 5 to 10 years, 3.56; 10 to 15 years, 2.32; 15 to 20 years, 1.67; 20 to 25 years, 1.40; 25 to 30 years, 1.48; 30 to 35 years, 1.96; 35 to 40 years, 1.87; 40 to 45 years, 2.27. Birth cohort: 1953 to 1958, 1.59; 1959 to 1963, 2.09; 1964 to 1968, 2.56; 1969 to 1973, 3.57; 1974 to 1979, 4.73. Climatic region: subcontinental, 2.48; Mediterranean, 2.86. The overall crude incidence was 2.59 per 1000 persons per year (2.76 per 1000 persons per year in men and 2.42 per 1000 persons per year in women), which peaked in the less than 10 years age group and increased in successive generations.
REMISSION: 663 (45.8%) of 1449 asthmatic subjects remitted, and the percentage of remission was significantly higher in men (49.5%) than in women (41.6%). Subjects in remission were characterized by an earlier mean age at onset (7.4 versus 15.9 years) and a shorter duration (5.6 versus 16.1 years) of the disease than subjects with current asthma. The probability of remission was strongly influenced by the age at onset, being particularly high in children (patients under 10 years of age). The cumulative remission rates were 62.8%, 40.3%, and 15.0%, respectively, in the groups with ages at onset of less than 10 years, 10 to 20 years, and 20 years and older. If the remission of asthma does not occur in the first years after the onset, the disease tends to become chronic.
DISCUSSION: The authors believe the present study to be one of the largest population-based studies on asthma, allowing the natural history of the disease to be studied retrospectively. It relies on the recall of past events of persons interviewed at one point in time. Its strength is that it gives information on incidence and remission in a wide age range from birth to adult life that would hardly have been possible to obtain by means of a longitudinal study. Its weakness is that recall bias could have influenced the recall of events experienced in the past. The main result of the present retrospective analysis is the evidence that, with respect to its natural history, asthma presents 2 different forms, which the authors call early- and late-onset asthma. The former occurs early in childhood, affects mainly boys, and has a good prognosis; the latter generally occurs during or after puberty, affects mainly women, and has a poor prognosis. A minority of subjects with early-onset asthma, representing about 35% of subjects with current asthma in the young adult population, have long-term persistent asthma. When using prevalence cases in risk-factor assessment, it is necessary to distinguish between subjects with early- and late-onset asthma to avoid confusion between determinants of persistence and determinants of occurrence of asthma.
Search Criteria: Text - Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology; V.110; No.2; 8/02; p228
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Hepatitis C to be ‘eradicated by 2026’
The announcement comes on the seventh World Hepatitis Day.
Staff Writers — July 28, 2016
HEPATITIS C could be eradicated from Australia by 2026, doctors have predicted.
More than 20,000 people have accessed cheaper hepatitis C medication since it was added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) in March, making treatment much more affordable.
Hepatitis C is an infectious blood borne virus that attacks the liver, causing inflammation, and may lead to cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), end-stage liver disease, liver cancer and, in some cases, death. It has six different genotypes.
Around a quarter of a million Australians live with hepatitis C, with about 2500 dying annually from it but that mortality figure should reduce dramatically after Federal Health Minister Sussan Ley announced today about 22,500 patients have accessed the revolutionary drugs and 5,000 people have already been cured of the virus.
“The Turnbull Government made the world-first decision to invest over $1 billion subsidising these cures for Hepatitis C on the PBS, no matter the severity of a person’s condition or how they contracted it,” she said.
“And while it’s still early days, it’s already starting to pay off, with better than expected take up rates and some people even now Hep C free just a few months after starting treatment.
“This $1 billion investment… will not only help improve the lives of Australians currently living with Hepatitis C, but will also help improve the health system by reducing rates of preventable liver disease, cirrhosis, failure and cancer that come with this debilitating disease.
“It’s also ensuring Australians have equitable and affordable access to treatments that would otherwise be unattainable for many at upwards of $100,000 on the private market in some cases.”
Hepatitis Australia CEO, Helen Tyrrell said the wave of people who had been treated was “frankly phenomenal” but that Australia must keep up the momentum in order to make the elimination of hepatitis C a reality within a decade in Australia.
“Governments, along with the health and community sector, should be applauded for the record number of people with hepatitis C coming forward for treatment so far, but of course these efforts must be sustained over many years to reach everyone who would benefit,” she said.
“The message for the 230,000 Australians living with hepatitis C is: Ask your doctor about new hepatitis C cures. Don’t miss out. You can be cured in as little as 12 weeks and with far fewer side-effects than previous treatments.
The Department of Health estimated that 62,000 people would be treated with the new antivirals in five years, however if high treatment rates continue, experts believe this goal could be reached by the end of 2017.
© Star Observer 2019 | For the latest in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) news in Australia, be sure to visit starobserver.com.au daily. You can also read our latest magazines or Join us on our Facebook page and Twitter feed.
Tags: healthHepatitis Australiahepatitis CMedicationMedicinePBSPharmaceutical Benefits schemeSussan LeyWorld Hepatitis Day
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Parkland Fuel Corporation to Acquire 75% of SOL, the Largest Independent Fuel Marketer in the Caribbean
Transformational Business Combination Establishes Strong International Growth Platform; SOL’s Simpson Group to Own 9.9% of Parkland
CaribPR Wire, CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 10, 2018: Parkland Fuel Corporation (“Parkland”, “We”, “Our” or “Us”), (TSX:PKI) Canada’s largest and one of North America’s fastest growing independent marketers of fuel and petroleum products and a leading convenience store operator, and SOL Limited have entered into an agreement to complete a business combination (the “Business Combination” or “Transaction”) between Parkland and SOL Investments Limited (“SIL”) and its subsidiaries (collectively, “SOL”). A privately-held company owned by the Simpson Group, SOL is the largest independent fuel marketer in the Caribbean and a wholly-owned subsidiary of SOL Limited.
SOL supplies and markets a total of 4.8 billion liters of fuel volume annually across 23 countries in the Caribbean and generated US$215 million (approximately C$280 millioni) in adjusted earnings before taxes, depreciation and amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”) in the 12-month period ending June 2018.
The Transaction will result in Parkland acquiring 75% of the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of SIL (the “SIL Shares”) for total consideration of US$1.21 billion (approximately C$1.57 billion) plus customary post-closing adjustments on a cash-free and debt-free basis (the “Purchase Price”), and SOL Limited acquiring 12.16 million common shares in the capital of Parkland (the “Parkland Shares”). This equates to a purchase price multiple on the 75% equity interest in SOL of approximately 7.5x Adjusted EBITDA, excluding working capital. Upon closing the Simpson Group, through its ownership in SOL Limited, will own approximately 9.9% of the issued and outstanding shares in Parkland and its intention is to remain a long-term investor in Parkland. The Transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Parkland’s distributable cash flow per share by approximately 17% (pre-synergies).
The remaining 25% of the shares outstanding in SIL are subject to the Minority Purchase/Sale Right (as defined below) pursuant to which Parkland may elect to acquire or SOL Limited may elect to sell the remaining shares in the capital of SIL. Based on SOL’s Adjusted EBITDA for the 12-month period ending June 2018, the Adjusted EBITDA attributable to Parkland from the 75% ownership stake in SOL would have been US$161 million (approximately C$210 million), representing 75% of SOL’s Adjusted EBITDA for the period.
Parkland President and CEO Bob Espey said, “The addition of SOL will extend our global supply reach and enable us to continue to build our supply advantage to benefit our entire business. With its integrated supply chain backed by an extensive distribution network, fortress assets, a premier brand portfolio and an exceptional team, SOL has built a strong market position with unparalleled regional scale. Together, Parkland and SOL create a significant North American and Caribbean growth platform. We are delighted to partner with the Simpson Group and welcome the opportunity to work with SOL’s strong management team to optimize and grow SOL’s industry leading retail and supply network through our combined scale and expertise.”
Sir Kyffin Simpson, CBE, Founder of SOL Limited said, “I am exceptionally pleased to announce the coming together (Business Combination) of Parkland and SOL, which will ensure an exciting and dynamic future for everyone. With a desire to continue to develop and grow the business through expansion in new areas, I am extremely blessed to bring in our good friends Parkland of Canada to the Caribbean. I have long admired Parkland as a company with their futuristic vision and energy, and I have been tremendously impressed with Bob Espey’s strong leadership along with his exceptional management team.”
“I am truly confident that this coming together with the fantastic team at SOL will be a complementary blend of cultures, ideas, technology and innovation. I am convinced that Parkland and SOL are perfectly matched to develop new and exciting opportunities, with renewed energy that will provide excellent avenues for the development of our people that will in turn enhance our customer experience and open new doors for great synergies and improved logistics. With forty-three million people and a GDP of more than US$200 billion, this is the perfect time to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities that abound in the Caribbean.”
“This coming together will also provide a big boost of confidence for regional investment opportunities and we are happy to do our part in this regard. Please therefore join with me in welcoming this wonderful team and organization to the region. I pray God’s richest blessings on this coming together and I look forward to what the future has in store for us all.”
Chief Financial Officer Mike McMillan said, “The scale of the pro-forma business combined with the strong cash flow from operations and operational synergies expected from SOL will further strengthen Parkland’s balance sheet and capital structure. The financing for the Transaction will enable Parkland’s pro forma total leverage ratio to remain below 3.5x. In addition, Parkland will be in a strong position from a balance sheet and capital structure perspective to continue to execute on our growth strategies.”
The addition of stable earnings from 526 retail stations (266 company-owned or company-leased sites and 260 dealer owned and operated sites);
Provides an opportunity to roll out Parkland’s private label, loyalty and enhanced food offer;
Positions Parkland to access supply at scale in the US Gulf Coast, creating future growth opportunities and supply advantage in the US Gulf and Atlantic coasts for Parkland USA (in addition to our continued focus on the US Northern Tier and Rocky Mountain regions);
Total identified annual run-rate synergies of approximately 20% of SOL’s Adjusted EBITDA over the next three years;
Pro forma net debt to Parkland Adjusted EBITDA of approximately 3.2x on a consolidated basis with a strong deleveraging profile; and
The SOL operating brands will remain in place, and the SOL business will retain key management and continue to be managed from the Caribbean.
Parkland and SOL Limited, the sole shareholder of SIL, will enter into a shareholders agreement that grants a call right for Parkland and put right for SOL Limited (collectively, the “Minority Purchase/Sale Right”), pursuant to which Parkland may elect to acquire or SOL Limited may elect to sell the remaining 25% portion of the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of SOL (the “Remaining Shares”) at a value of 8.5x the Adjusted EBITDA of SOL based on the then current audited financial statements. The Minority Purchase/Sale Right will be exercisable by either party for a period of 90 days following the release by Parkland of its audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 (or December 31, 2021 in the event that closing does not occur on or before December 31, 2018). The Minority Purchase/Sale Right will be exercisable annually thereafter by either party for a period of 90 days following the release by Parkland of its audited annual financial statements.
The Transaction is subject to the receipt of customary third-party consents and regulatory approvals, including approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange. Closing of the Transaction is expected to occur in late Q4 2018.
Strategic Rationale
Through strategic acquisitions and organic growth, SOL has built ‘fortress assets’ in stable markets across the region;
SOL is the largest independent fuel marketer and convenience store operator in the Caribbean region, with more than 4.8 billion liters of annual volume and approximately US$215 million (approximately C$280 million) in estimated Adjusted EBITDA (excluding expected synergies);
Provides comprehensive and key infrastructure in the Caribbean region to extend and enhance Parkland’s supply advantage and expertise;
Adds significant scale to Parkland’s retail and supply businesses;
Provides increased exposure to stable earnings across multiple lines of business;
Provides diversification from the North American market;
Significantly contributes to Parkland’s US dollar cash flows;
Positions Parkland to access supply at scale in the US Gulf Coast, creating future growth opportunities and supply advantage in the US Gulf and Atlantic coasts for Parkland USA;
Supports acquisition and expansion opportunities in the Caribbean region and broader Americas; and
Opens Parkland’s business to global supply advantages to benefit existing and future business opportunities.
SOL Retail Business
Represents approximately 2.0 billion liters of annual volume with operations in 20 countries;
Includes 526 retail stations (266 company owned or company leased sites and 260 dealer owned and operated sites); and
Operates 197 Shell-branded retail stations and 163 ESSO-branded retail stations and enjoys a long-standing relationship with both premier retail brands in the Caribbean. SIL also operates 93 SOL-branded stations, which enjoy excellent recognition in the Caribbean.
SOL Supply and Distribution Business
SOL’s infrastructure assets include 32 import terminals, 7 pipelines, 3 marine berths and 10 charter ships;
Enables SOL to achieve superior supply economics in the Caribbean region as it is the largest fuels marketer with an integrated supply chain;
Primary objective is to supply the SOL marketing business and any spare capacity is sold to third parties;
Chartered vessel fleet provides SOL with inter-island transportation and distribution capabilities;
Owned and leased terminals enable intermediate storage for large fuel cargoes across the region;
Geographically close to US Gulf Coast supply, one of the longest refined product markets in the world;
Ownership of 29% non-operating financial stake in the entity that owns and operates the SARA Refinery located in Fort-de-France, Martinique (the “SARA Refinery”). The capacity of the SARA Refinery is 16,000 thousand barrels per day; and
SARA Refinery owns and operates all the pipelines, ships and terminals required to supply refined products to Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Martinique.
SOL Commercial and Industrial Business
Supplies gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, LPG (propane) and other petroleum products to commercial and industrial customers in the mining, power generation, manufacturing, construction, transport and hospitality industries;
Lubricants segment represents 21 million liters of annual volume and operations in 18 countries;
Distributes Shell and Pennzoil-branded lubricants and is the largest licensed distributor of Shell-branded lubricants in the Caribbean;
LPG (propane) segment represents 47 million liters of annual volume and operations in 10 countries;
Distributes LPG (propane) direct to customers under the highly recognizable SOL Energy brand; and
Distributes LPG (propane) to other distributors and governments under various supply agreements.
SOL Aviation Business
Represents approximately 600 million liters of annual volume with operations in 13 countries;
Operates in most countries through joint ventures with various third parties. Joint ventures are structured to enable maximum utilization of high cost fixed assets; and
Jointly owns airport terminals and infrastructure in several markets.
Parkland Financing
The Transaction and related fees and expenses will be financed by Parkland with a fully underwritten financing package:
Debt financing of approximately C$1.1B underwritten by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada as Co-Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners consisting of:
• C$470 million of senior secured bank debt, a US$250 million (approximately C$325M million) term loan and a term facility of C$300 million.
SOL Limited will provide approximately C$518 million of equity financing through its investment in Parkland:
• Parkland will issue 12.16 million Parkland shares to SOL Limited from treasury as partial consideration for the Business Combination at a price of approximately C$42.62 per share, representing the 5-day volume-weighted average price of Parkland’s common shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange as of market close on October 9, 2018. After closing, SOL Limited will own approximately 9.9% of the issued and outstanding common shares in Parkland.
Parkland expects to replace the term facility with alternative longer-term debt prior to the closing of the Transaction.
Investor Event and Conference Call Information
Parkland will host a webcast and conference call at 6:30 AM MT (8:30 AM ET) on October 10, 2018 to discuss the Transaction. Parkland’s Senior Leadership Team will be available to take questions from securities analysts and investors following their formal comments.
Please log into the webcast slide presentation 10 minutes prior to start time at:
Webcast: https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/gxyt5yny
To access the conference call by telephone, dial toll-free (844) 889-7784. International callers should use (661) 378-9928, Conference ID: 1558797. Please connect approximately 10 minutes before the beginning of the call. The webcast will be available for replay one hour after the conference call ends. It will remain available at the link above for one year and will be posted to www.parkland.ca.
A link to the live webcast and investor presentation will be available on the Investors section of Parkland’s website at http://www.parkland.ca/investors/.
If you are unable to participate in the call, a replay will be available by dialing (855) 859-2056, Conference ID: 1558797 (Canada and USA toll-free). For international callers, please dial (404) 537-3406, Conference ID: 1558797. A transcript of the broadcast will be posted on the website once it becomes available.
Parkland is Canada’s largest and one of North America’s fastest growing independent suppliers and marketers of fuel and petroleum products and a leading convenience store operator. Parkland services customers through three channels: Retail, Commercial and Wholesale. Parkland optimizes its fuel supply across these three channels by operating the Parkland Burnaby Refinery, and leveraging a growing portfolio of supply relationships and storage infrastructure. Parkland provides trusted and locally relevant fuel brands and convenience store offerings, including its On the Run/Marché Express banners, in the communities it serves.
Parkland creates value for shareholders by focusing on its proven strategy of growing organically, realizing a supply advantage and acquiring prudently and integrating successfully. At the core of our strategy are our people, as well as our values of safety, integrity, community and respect, which are embraced across our organization.
About SOL
By providing fuels, lubricants, LPG products and an extensive network of service stations, SOL enables the energy that keeps the heart of our region beating. SOL is the largest independent petroleum marketing company in the Caribbean region and is committed to supporting and empowering the communities in which it operates.
With operations spanning across twenty-three territories, SOL’s highly qualified team reflects the talent, spirit and diversity of the region. SOL serves a wide range of commercial customers who are involved in shipping, luxury boating, aviation, mining, trucking and fleet operations, as well as families and individuals – hard working men and women who need a reliable partner to fuel their vehicles, homes and lives.
Deloitte provided transaction services in respect of the Business Combination.
National Bank Financial Inc. served as financial advisor to Parkland.
Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information and statements (”collectively, “forward-looking statements”). Many of these forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “believe”, “expects”, “expected”, “will”, “intends”, “projects”, “projected”, “anticipates”, “estimates”, “continues”, “objective” or similar expressions and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Parkland’s expectation of its future financial position, business and growth strategies and objectives, sources of growth, capital expenditures, financial results, future financing and the terms thereof, future transactions and the efficiencies to be derived therefrom, the successful completion of the Transaction and the timing thereof, the accretive impact of the Transaction (including the expected impact to Parkland’s distributable cash flow per share), the expected benefits resulting from the Transaction including Parkland’s leverage pro forma following the Transaction, Adjusted EBITDA of the business acquired in the Transaction, the Simpson Group’s intentions with respect to its ownership of Parkland, future projections of Adjusted EBITDA, the contribution to EBITDA and/or Adjusted EBITDA from the Transaction, volumes and gross margins expected to be derived from the Transaction, expected synergies and growth opportunities (including geographic areas of potential growth) resulting from the Transaction, the number of Parkland Shares to be issued as partial consideration for the Transaction, expected exercise of the Minority Purchase/Sale Right and the terms thereof, sources of financing for the Transaction, the ability of Parkland to refinance indebtedness under its term facility, Parkland’s expected pro forma total leverage, strength of Parkland’s balance sheet and capital structure pro forma the Transaction and Parkland’s continued ability to execute on its growth strategies. Parkland believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon. The forward-looking statements contained herein are based upon certain assumptions and factors including, without limitation: historical trends, current and future economic and financial conditions, and expected future developments. Parkland believes such assumptions and factors are reasonably accurate at the time of preparing this press release. However, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties some of which are described in Parkland’s Annual Information Form dated March 9, 2018 (”AIF”) and other continuous disclosure documents. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause Parkland’s actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, risks associated with: the failure to achieve the anticipated benefits of the Transaction, the aggregate amount of any adjustments to the Purchase Price, the ability to secure funding to finance the consideration payable upon the exercise of the Minority Purchase/Sale Right, expansion of Parkland’s business into the Caribbean, the ability of suppliers to meet commitments, failure to retain key management, failure to execute on plans to deleverage the combined Parkland business, failure to obtain necessary regulatory or other third party consents and approvals required to complete the Transaction, failure to complete the Transaction, failure to secure alternative sources of funding to the term facility on terms acceptable to Parkland, failure to meet financial, operational and strategic objectives and plans, general economic, market and business conditions, industry capacity, failure to realize anticipated synergies from the Transaction, the operations of Parkland’s assets, competitive action by other companies, actions by governmental authorities and other regulators including increases in taxes, changes and developments in environmental and other regulations, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Parkland. There is a specific risk that Parkland may be unable to complete the Transaction in the manner described in this press release or at all. If Parkland is unable to complete the Transaction, there could be a material adverse impact on Parkland and on the value of its securities. Any forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and Parkland does not undertake any obligation, except as required under applicable law, to publicly update or revise such statements to reflect new information, subsequent or otherwise. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Readers are directed to, and are encouraged to read the risks and uncertainties described in “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” included in Parkland’s AIF and in “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” included in Parkland’s management discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2017 (the “MD&A”) and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 (the “Q2 2018 MD&A”), as such information is incorporated by reference herein, each as filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and available on the Parkland website at www.parkland.ca.
This press release refers to certain financial measures that are not determined in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). Net debt to Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow per share are not measures recognized under IFRS and do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS. Other issuers may calculate these non-GAAP measures differently. Parkland considers these to be important supplemental measures of Parkland’s performance and believes these measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in its industries.
In reference to Parkland’s Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA is a measure of segment profit and is considered to be forward-looking information in this document. See Section 12 of the Q2 2018 MD&A and Note 14 of the Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for a reconciliation of this measure of segment profit.
In reference to SOL’s Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA refers to the agreed-upon normalized earnings before income taxes, depreciation and amortization of SOL for the purposes of this Transaction, is considered to be forward-looking information in this document, and does not represent Parkland’s definition of Adjusted EBITDA.
Investors are encouraged to evaluate each adjustment and the reasons Parkland considers it appropriate for supplemental analysis. Readers are cautioned, however, that these measures should not be construed as an alternative to net income determined in accordance with IFRS as an indication of performance. The financial measures that are not determined in accordance with IFRS in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Parkland believes these financial measures based are on such information that is reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such figures should not be unduly relied upon.
To sign up for Parkland news alerts, please go to https://goo.gl/mNY2zj or visit www.parkland.ca.
i All figures converted between USD and CAD using an exchange rate of US$1.0 = C$1.3
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A popular alternative to advantage scoring is "no-advantage" (or "no-ad") scoring, created by James Van Alen in order to shorten match playing time.[12] No-advantage scoring is a scoring method in which the first player to reach four points wins the game. No-ad scoring eliminates the requirement that a player must win by two points. Therefore, if the game is tied at deuce, the next player to win a point wins the game. This method of scoring is used in most World TeamTennis matches.[13][14] When this style of play is implemented, at deuce, the receiver then chooses from which side of the court he or she desires to return the serve. However, in no-ad mixed doubles play gender always serves to the same gender at game point and during the final point of tiebreaks.[15]
"Tennis Court" received generally positive reviews from contemporary critics. Siân Rowe from NME complimented Lorde's "strong pop vocals".[31] Emily Yoshida from Grantland labelled it a "murkily winsome, ever-so-slightly chopped ballad",[48] while Kyle Jaeger writing for The Hollywood Reporter commended the track's lyrical content and its "catchy" melody.[49] Billboard's Jason Lipshutz was favourable towards the song's "detached attitude" and minimalist production that evoked "something intoxicating" in the music scene.[29] Sharing the same sentiment, Adam Offitzer from independent music blog Pretty Much Amazing regarded "Tennis Court" as a "[burst] of originality" in the mainstream music scene of "mindless hooks and dubstep anthems" for its minimalism and "clever" lyrics.[23]
Currently, the Grand Slam tournaments are the only tour events that have mixed doubles contests. Grand Slam tournaments are held in conjunction with wheelchair tennis tournaments and junior tennis competitions. These tournaments also contain their own idiosyncrasies. For example, players at Wimbledon are required to wear predominantly white. Andre Agassi chose to skip Wimbledon from 1988 through 1990 citing the event's traditionalism, particularly its "predominantly white" dress code.[85] Wimbledon has its own particular methods for disseminating tickets, often leading tennis fans to follow complex procedures to obtain tickets.[86]
For sure you can never go wrong purchasing any of the models we did tennis racquet reviews on in this article. They feature such things as excellent racquet grip size, large sweet spots and they also have many advanced technologies used in their construction. If you don’t like any of those models, then you should refer to the handy buying guide to help you in your new tennis racquet selection process.
The lines that delineate the width of the court are called the baseline (farthest back) and the service line (middle of the court). The short mark in the center of each baseline is referred to as either the hash mark or the center mark. The outermost lines that make up the length are called the doubles sidelines. These are the boundaries used when doubles is being played. The lines to the inside of the doubles sidelines are the singles sidelines and are used as boundaries in singles play. The area between a doubles sideline and the nearest singles sideline is called the doubles alley, which is considered playable in doubles play. The line that runs across the center of a player's side of the court is called the service line because the serve must be delivered into the area between the service line and the net on the receiving side. Despite its name, this is not where a player legally stands when making a serve.[52]
Ego/fear=childISH and constrictive. Playful is ChildLIKE allows freedom from ego which results in ease and natural power. The adult self can choose when to let go. When and where it is safe. A tennis court is a safe universe with lines and rules. Those rules allow play without anxiety. Embrace the parameters and have fun. You’ve already won the hardest part and it works! (OK..I still swear my arse off, in a garbled language somewhere between a Glasgow dockyard and Babylon when I miss, but that’s fun too).
Sportswriter John Wertheim of Sports Illustrated stated in an article in July 2010 that Serena Williams is the greatest female tennis player ever with the argument that "Head-to-head, on a neutral surface (i.e. hard courts), everyone at their best, I can't help feeling that she crushes the other legends.".[120] In a reaction to this article Yahoo sports blog Busted Racket published a list of the top-10 women's tennis players of all time placing Martina Navratilova in first spot.[121] This top-10 list was similar to the one published in June 2008 by the Bleacher Report who also ranked Martina Navratilova as the top female player of all time.[122]
You’ll need a racquet with its own case. For a beginner, all you really need to do is check to make sure your hand fits comfortably around the handle. The racquet shouldn't feel like it's too heavy to move, but it also shouldn't feel like it weighs nothing. There are also men's and women's racquets, but you should prioritize fit over gender in most cases.
During the 19th century the Royal Tennis Court played a variety of different roles. It served as a theatre storeroom, a workshop and storage space, and a studio for the painters Antoine-Jean Gros and then Horace Vernet. It was listed as a national monument in 1848, then became a games room again under the Second Empire. Approaching the centenary of the oath, under the Third Republic, architect Edmond Guillaume was invited to restore it and convert it into a museum of the French Revolution. The architect used original engravings to reconstitute the spirit of the room, which had been modified and had deteriorated over the course of the century. The museum housed the statue of Bailly, busts of the most important signatories of the oath, and a monumental canvas by Luc-Olivier Merson, based on Jacques-Louis David's preparatory drawing. The museum was inaugurated on 20 June 1883 in the presence of Jules Ferry.
Many players around the world struggle to get their body weight going into the serve and don’t use their back leg to help them generate extra power on the serve but also balance the body once they land. By kicking back your right leg (left leg if left handed) when you land onto your front foot, you are helping the body to balance and that extra push from the ground during the upward phase on the swing will help you generate extra power on the tennis serve.
Standard squash rackets are governed by the rules of the game. Traditionally they were made of laminated timber (typically Ash), with a small strung area using natural gut strings.[8] After a rule change in the mid-1980s, they are now almost always made of composite materials such as carbon fiber or metals (graphite, Kevlar, titanium, and/or boron) with synthetic strings.[8] Modern rackets are 70 cm long, with a maximum strung area of 500 square centimetres (approximately 75 square inches) and a mass between 90 and 200 grams (4–7 ounces).
If you learn to play tennis, it can be your first step toward a lifetime of fitness and pleasure. And now that we’ve discussed how to learn to play tennis with the basics, you’re ready to get out on the court. There’s no better way to learn to play tennis than with practice; with practice, you’ll not only learn to play tennis, you’ll learn to play tennis well.
Developed in collaboration with the master Roger Federer, this black snowshoe with its sleek design offers new tactile sensations thanks to 9 layers of paints alternating gloss and matt finish for an unprecedented result. The shiny, soft black in the center of the frame highlights the Pro Staff’s ability to quickly penetrate the air to attack each ball. The rougher black base, on the other hand, emphasizes the ability to enter more difficult phases of play.
In 1968, commercial pressures and rumors of some amateurs taking money under the table led to the abandonment of this distinction, inaugurating the Open Era, in which all players could compete in all tournaments, and top players were able to make their living from tennis. With the beginning of the Open Era, the establishment of an international professional tennis circuit, and revenues from the sale of television rights, tennis's popularity has spread worldwide, and the sport has shed its middle-class English-speaking image[39] (although it is acknowledged that this stereotype still exists).[39][40]
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Home / Featured / Gov’t Seeks Solutions to Landfill
The Central Abaco Landfill may soon receive much needed attention after years of being allowed to deteriorate into poorly managed dump site. Above is the Crossing Rocks Dump showing similar problems of organization.
Gov’t Seeks Solutions to Landfill
Timothy Roberts April 25, 2018 Featured, Local Leave a comment 802 Views
The Central Abaco Landfill may soon receive much needed attention after years of being allowed to deteriorate into a poorly managed dump site.
In what has become an embarrassing situation over the past several years since Central Government took the authority of providing maintenance away from the Central Abaco District Council, Minister of the Environment Romauld Ferreira said that the Government plans to “replicate” the New Providence landfill solution across the Bahamas, with one Cabinet Minister urging: “We must stop this ‘dumping in the bush’ culture.”
Mr. Ferreira said that four bids were submitted for a New Providence landfill contract that he described as the first step in “revolutionising” solid waste management practices and developing a management plan for the entire country.
Speaking after returning from an assessment of Abaco’s landfill in April, he said that facility needed to go through “a similar exercise” to New Providence’s facility in terms of deconstruction and remediation.
He confirmed that the four bidders to submit complete proposals are Bahamas WTP Ltd; Bahamas Waste; Providence Advisors and the Waste Resources Development Group (WRDG); and APAPA International (Nassau).
The bidders have submitted a variety of solutions for New Providence’s waste management crisis. APAPA International’s offer was said to have included a $400 million waste-to-energy gasification plant, with Bahamas Waste understood to have provided its own waste-to-energy proposal valued at around $150 million. The Providence Advisors/WRDG was said to be priced at between $60-$120 million, with waste-to-energy “optional” and at the higher end of that price scale.
It is unclear at this time which solution is favoured and how exactly it will be implemented in relation to Abaco’s situation; whether a waste-to-energy plant is even feasible with the volume of waste in Abaco.
“We fully expected some heterogeneous-type solutions that included a mixture of revenue streams, and reasonable businessmen want to take advantage of every potential revenue stream,” he said.
While New Providence’s landfill required urgent attention due to the health and environmental risks it poses to thousands of Bahamians, Mr. Ferreira said its remediation was part of a much bigger strategy to overhaul similar facilities in the Family Islands and transform the country’s waste management culture.
“Going through this process for the New Providence Sanitary Landfill essentially makes a generational change in the way the landfill is run, and is part of the Minnis administration’s greater mandate to revolutionise solid waste management in the entire Bahamas,” Mr. Ferreira said.
“It’s so important for us to get this [RFP] process right. I know people want a quick fix, but it couldn’t be a quick fix. We intend, once we go through this process, to replicate it in other islands.”
He expressed hope that landfill upgrades, and improved education, would help to change a culture involving the indiscriminate dumping of wrecked vehicles, heavy-duty consumer appliances and other waste materials that has blighted many parts of the Bahamas.
“One of the issues we want to deal with is change this culture of dumping in the bush,” Mr. Ferreira told Tribune Business. “There’s this dumping in the bush culture that comes from somewhere, and we need to change that.
“We need these waste management solutions to be a part of that, and show people they have a reasonable, reliable and affordable alternative to that. This is part of a broader strategy; we can’t just fix New Providence and ignore the Family Islands. They are all ticking timebombs.
“The reason I say that is a lot of these things are a function of population size, and these islands are going to continue to grow. It may not be in your or my lifetime, but there will come a day when the population of this country is a million people.”
Mr. Ferreira said “dynamic” waste management solutions, which were “sustainable and a fit for the island communities and settlements involved”, are required for each Bahamian island. They also needed to be part of development strategies for each island.
“We’ve turned our sights to Abaco,” he reiterated. “New Providence has been quite a challenge; those intermittent fires were the biggest environmental challenge the country was facing, followed a close second by Clifton Pier.”
About Timothy Roberts
Timothy had his first venture into Journalism just months after graduating from Queen’s College in Nassau taking his first job with The Tribune in 1991 leaving in 1992 for other pursuits.
During his time in Nassau he diversified his experiences working as a warehouse manager, locksmith and computer technician before returning to Abaco, a place he has always considered home, in 1999.
He joined the staff of The Abaconian in 2001 doing graphic design and writing an opinion article called Generally Speaking and after a brief time away, returned to The Abaconian in 2010 as a reporter, graphic designer and computer technician.
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Public Meeting Held Concerning $580 Million South Abaco Development
Residents of Abaco were given their first official information concerning a major development being considered …
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Goa chief minister Manohar Gopalakrishna Prabhu Parrikar died on Sunday in the midst of his fourth term in office. The 63-year-old widower, also former defence minister of India, is survived by two sons and a grandchild. His death leaves India’s smallest state with a coalition government under considerable strain.
Parrikar had quit as Union defence minister in March 2017 to return as chief minister of India’s smallest state to hold together the ruling coalition after its constituents refused to accept anyone else as its leader. That he stayed on in the job despite his deteriorating health, reflected his indispensability to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In the past two decades, as far as Goa was concerned, Parrikar was the BJP and vice versa. But while the state saw a degree of political stability when he was at the helm, Parrikar was destined never to complete a full term as chief minister. His first term, which began in October 2000, lasted 16 months and the second, from June 2002, was for two years and eight months. He began his third in 2012, having led the BJP to its biggest ever victory, giving it a majority on its own for the first time.
Parrikar even declared that it would be his last term as chief minister and as an elected representative.
In another two years, he would however be drafted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to become the country’s defence minister, forcing Parrikar to leave his beloved Goa.
Born to a Goud Saraswat Brahmin family in Mapusa, Parrikar was introduced to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh at an early age. After graduating with a degree in metallurgy from the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, he set up a pneumatic pump making unit in Goa.
It was in the 1980s that the BJP got serious about establishing itself in Goa, which had mostly been governed since liberation from the Portuguese in 1961 by the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, which represented the interests of the majority Bahujan community. The BJP asked the RSS to lend it the services of some of its cadres. Among them were Parrikar and Laxmikant Parsekar, the latter defying his MGP-loyal family.
When the BJP decided to contest assembly elections in 1989, Parrikar was still splitting his time between business and party work. The BJP got 0.8% of the vote. Parrikar’s political acumen and organisational skills are credited with taking the party to power in about a decade.
He began his first term as chief minister in 2000 just months after losing his wife to leukaemia, making him a single parent as well. He sought to bring about a change in Goa’s governance. His reputation as an honest politician and the rigour with which he applied himself to issues, encouraged greater accountability from the administration. His short-sleeved, untucked shirt and sandals — eschewing the sartorial style of most Indian politicians — was noted, as was his no-fuss style of work.
Meanwhile, roads got built, water and power supply improved and some of his pet social welfare schemes were launched during these early years.
In opposition, he brought the same zeal to campaigns against the Digambar Kamath-led Congress government for allowing casinos on the Mandovi river, for extending government grants to English-medium schools, on illegal mining that wrought heavy environmental damage, leading to the 2012 victory. The illegal mining controversy that he’d fanned as opposition leader would soon lead to a court-imposed ban.
Parrikar would fume against the Congress-led coalition government at the Centre and the Supreme Court for “interfering,” chafing at the limitations of his position.
Parrikar considered himself a nerd at finding solutions to problems, particularly economic and accounting ones. While he’d listen to people, his word would be final.
Meanwhile, the casinos stayed afloat, the government continued to fund convent schools, and nothing much happened to Kamat, who he’d vowed to send to jail. This would prompt one-time friend and mentor in the RSS, Subhash Vellingkar, to accuse him of appeasing the church, of being a “U-Turn” chief minister. There were other criticisms too — applicable to most politicians — that he didn’t delegate and didn’t foster a second rung of leadership, leading to a vacuum. His colleagues, however, point out that expansive infrastructure projects got the green light during this period.
In 2013, as host of a party conclave, Parrikar would step up and force an indecisive national executive to name Modi, then Gujarat chief minister, as campaign chief, helping pave his way eventually to the Prime Minister’s post.
Midway through his third term, in November 2014, Parrikar would be summoned and entrusted with the defence ministry. There was a desperate need for a credible face, quick and transparent decision making in this ministry straight jacketed by long unresolved issues. Parrikar, a fierce nationalist, fit the bill. It was the first time that a son of Goa had occupied such a high office. But as Parrikar headed to Delhi it wasn’t without doubts, complaining about the “Roman culture” that meant having to watch one’s back.
As defence minister, he sought to free defence procurement from being sabotaged by rival manufacturers, pursue realistic ambitions and prioritise operational readiness of the armed forces. The armed forces also conducted surgical strikes across both frontiers during his tenure.
But he missed his fish curry and rice, and whenever he got the chance he would head back to Goa. This would cast a shadow on Parsekar, who had replaced him as chief minister, and end up costing the BJP. The mandate against the Parrikar-Parsekar government would reduce the BJP to 13 seats in the 2017 assembly polls. Without Parrikar, the BJP just couldn’t drum up enough public support.
Parrikar would return, “taking moral responsibility,” leading an odd coalition of divergent interests to form the government. The only thing holding them together, since March last year, was Parrikar.
Ever since February, when he had to be rushed to hospital, the government, the party and Goans in general had been wondering who could fill his shoes. While he was alive, it was clear that no one could.
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Home News Hotel in Crisis?
Hotel in Crisis?
Paul Foor
Some controversy has recently emerged over a potential conflict-of-interest between President Trump and his businesses. This is especially true of his hotel, which can be seen from the White House. There are concerns over whether or not one can rent rooms at hotel, in order to buy political favors. Paying over five hundred dollars a room is similar to donating money directly to a campaign. Some are calling for the President to sell off his businesses, as previous business-owning presidents have done in the past.
When one rents a room at Trump’s hotel, Donald Trump, as a private business owner, profits. Individuals or groups from any foreign country could potentially, in this way, be giving money to Trump in exchange for favors. In an attempt to avoid any conflict-of-interest, the President has stated that any profits made from foreign government spending at his hotel will be donated.
There are also concerns over Trump’s ability to use the presidency as a means of garnering future wealth through policy, although there is no evidence thus far to suggest that this is the case. There is a law in place and some conflict-of-interest statutes which encourage public officials of high office to sell off their businesses, but it is unclear if the regulations can be used to force Trump to sell his companies entirely. If the laws could force him to, then the rule of law should have ensured this already.
Information from The Associated Press and The Atlantic
Photo Credit: Chicago Tribune
A Political Science Set Back
Press Release: “UC Merced student newspaper to lose only source of funding”
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Vintage Leaf Memories - Michael Langlois
Vintage Stories of Maple Leaf Memories and NHL Hockey
About Michael Langlois
Vintage Audio
Ian Turnbull: Aggravating, enigmatic - and talented
After a very poor 1972-’73 season, the Leafs had one thing to look forward to: they held three draft choices in the first round of the 1973 ...
Do the Maple Leafs understand player development?
Let me first make an obvious statement: I’m simply a long-time hockey observer, not an analyst. I don’t pretend to be able to break down t...
What’s the next Leaf shoe to drop? I think something is brewing and here are some (likely?) possibilities….
It’s funny. Because things appear to be quiet in Leafville, we probably tend to make the assumption that not a whole lot is going on. Oh, ...
The Leaf Legacy in my lifetime: Part IV, the (ouch) 1980s
As the 1970s were drawing to a close, sometimes (almost always?) bombastic and occasionally controversial Leaf owner Harold Ballard decided ...
Michael's New eBook
Canadian Residents
Where were you when Frank Mahovlich was traded in 1968?
It seems everyone who was alive back then remembers where they were when they heard that President Kennedy was shot in November of 1963. Now that was a serious, world-shaping human tragedy that impacted people throughout the United States and beyond.
For the sports enthusiast, “remembering where you were” brings back less globally significant, but still very vivid memories.
For me, as Leaf fan, a case in point is when “the big M”, Frank Mahovlich (pictured in action with the Leafs), was traded out of Toronto.
Here is how I remember it.
In the late winter of 1968, the Leafs were going nowhere. The 1967-’68 season was the first year of expansion. Though they had won the Cup in an upset of the Canadiens the previous season, that they did so was a shock to most observers. While the Leafs still had a core group of strong players, they were old—really old.
We have to keep in mind that this was an era when guys were not in the type of physical condition they are in nowadays. Guys drank and smoked—a lot—in many cases. Players were usually considered old by the age of 32 or 33. Gordie Howe was an exception, still a superstar in his late 30’s.
In Toronto, the guts of the ’67 Cup team was as old, or older, than Howe, it seemed. Leaf Coach Punch Imlach had used defensemen Allan Stanley, Tim Horton and Marcel Pronovost a lot the year before. Bower and Sawchuk were the able but aging goalies. Red Kelly, Bob Pulford and George Armstrong were still important pieces up front. All of the above were in their late 30’s, except Pulford who was in his mid-30’s. These were all guys on their last legs, or close to it. The 1967 Cup was their successful “last gasp”. Imlach got everything he could out of that group.
It is worth noting that they had looked their age a year before during the 1966 playoffs, when they bowed out meekly in 4 straight games to the Canadiens. And during the 1966-’67 season, they went through a 10-game period when they didn’t win a game, and Imlach ended up in hospital, suffering from apparent exhaustion.
All that being the case, the Leafs nonetheless received big contributions from their veterans down the stretch and in the playoffs, as well as from unexpected sources like Brian Conacher and Pete Stemkowski. With often remarkable goaltending, they prevailed—just barely.
Fast forward to a new season, 1967-‘68. The Leafs had much the same group still in tow. Of the above names I just mentioned, only Red Kelly had retired. Eddie Shack was traded to Boston. Bobby Baun went to Oakland. Sawchuk also went in the expansion draft, to Los Angeles, and while there was definitely some young blood on the way up (Mike Walton, among others), the team was caught in a difficult transition period.
The club struggled that 1967-’68 season from the get go. Dave Keon was in the midst of his worst offensive season, goal-scoring wise. Bruce Gamble and Johnny Bower shared time in goal, but the Leafs fell back enough that when the Rangers and Bruins kept improving throughout the season there was no room for them in the playoff picture as the season began to wind down.
So with that as a backdrop, I think back to the February night that my dad brought me, my friend Dennis and his dad to watch the Canadiens and the Red Wings on a Sunday night at the old Olympia in Detroit. The Red Wings were also destined to miss the playoffs, but on this night the game was classic Original Six hockey, two old rivals playing in front of a jam-packed house.
I remember that Montreal’s John Ferguson, the toughest guy in the league, went almost the length of the ice at one point to cross check Gordie Howe from behind. There was a stare down but no fisticuffs.
Ferguson, a renowned fighter, was involved in three fights that night, as I recall.
One was triggered by a high stick from Red Wing tough-guy Howie Young, who opened up a big cut on Ferguson’s forehead. Ferguson and Young went at it. Most surprising of Fergie’s battles that night was when he and Paul Henderson came together. Ferguson flew into Henderson with a flurry of punches, but Henderson, a non-fighter, held his own. (Henderson tells the story that Imlach was at the Olympia that night, and decided then and there Henderson had to be in the big trade, because he was so impressed that Henderson would stand up to Ferguson.)
It was an exciting hockey game. I can’t describe clearly enough how the old Olympia was laid out, but I was in the standing room area between the blue lines, along with my buddy. There was what I remember as a huge pillar of some kind around center ice, so to follow the action, we spent a good part of the night, it seems, running back and forth—usually to catch a fight.
Norm Ullman (we’ve included a photo showing Ullman scoring against the Hawks) notched a hat trick that evening, and I believe the last goal he scored was his 324th NHL career goal, which tied him at the time on the all-time NHL goals list with Hall-of-Famer Nels Stewart.
If memory serves, the Wings won 6-4.
I was in grade 9 that year, and I remember being at Assumption (my high school in Windsor, Ontario) the next day, a Monday, when I heard about a big NHL trade. The details came out that the Leafs had traded their superstar winger, Frank Mahovlich, to the Wings. Also included were Pete Stemkowski (a solid performer in the previous year’s playoffs) Garry Unger, a young junior star who had played a few games with the Leafs, and the rights to former All-Star (then retired from the NHL but playing in Europe) Carl Brewer.
In return, the Leafs received an entire line from Detroit—the aforementioned Ullman, one of the finest all-around forwards in the league, a veteran winger in Floyd Smith, and young Henderson, maybe the fastest guy in the Red Wing line-up.
It was a huge trade, an absolute shocker, one of the biggest in Leafs history. Imlach almost called off the deal because details of the trade had been leaked to the media before both clubs could make the official announcement. But it was too late for both teams to turn back. They went ahead.
I’ll write more about the actual impact of the deal another time. But what I remember most prominently right now as I write this, is that, the night before, I was watching a fierce hockey game between Detroit and Montreal, with three guys playing their guts out in what turned out to be their last game in a Red Wing uniform.
Little did I—or anyone else in the old building as fans that night- know that each of them would be Maple Leafs in less than 24 hours.
Labels: Frank Mahovlich, Major Leaf trades, Memories from the 1960s, Norm Ullman, Paul Henderson, Punch Imlach
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Vintage Leaf Memories has evolved since its launch in September of 2009. VLM began as a site almost exclusively about my memories as a Maple Leaf fan growing up in Ontario in the 1950s and into the ‘60s and ‘70s. I was born in 1953, and it was a golden era to grow up a Leaf fan, given their tremendous success under Punch Imlach in the 1960s.
I hope that the site will continue to grow! Thanks to everyone for their feedback.
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