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crannogs.com
Mark Holley's Crannogs of the Central Inner Hebrides
About Mark Holley
Abstract of Thesis
Crannogs Information
Crannogs Locations
Loch Awe Crannogs
BSAC Award
Crannog Loch na Gile
Loch na Gile Crannog
Surveyed May 19, 1995
NGR: NM 0260 4816
This site, identified by RCAHMS (1980, no. 250) as a “possible crannog” is located near the centre of the N end of Loch na Gile, 24 m from the W shore. It is surrounded by water less than 0.5 m in depth and is easily accessed from shore. No trace was found of a causeway noted by Beveridge even though the loch bed was probed.
The site is an oval shaped bedrock islet, which measures 18 m by 25 m at its base, that has been slightly enlarged by small stones. The islet is crowned by a level grassy platform which resembles a light bulb in shape and is 0.5 m above water level and 1.1 m above the surrounding lochbed. Only one corner of the sub-rectangular building previously identified by the RCAHMS is clearly visible, the remainder of the structure has been broken up and is indistinct. A 5.5 m long section of walling was identified on the NE edge of the platform. This walling consisted of a single course of well rounded, medium sized boulders. Underwater investigation revealed that the islet was natural and only slightly enlarged with small stones. No timbers were found.
© 2016 crannogs.com
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Karyn Repinski
Coronavirus, Living with Arthritis, Managing Arthritis and COVID-19 Symptoms
Learn more about our FREE COVID-19 Patient Support Program for chronic illness patients and their loved ones.
Like most coronaviruses, COVID-19 is a disease of the respiratory system. Most patients infected with the coronavirus are asymptomatic or develop mild to moderate symptoms and recover in a week or two. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 include shortness of breath, low-grade fever, and a cough.
But as researchers and health care providers are still learning, COVID-19 is also a cardiac condition. “Although the effects on the respiratory system are the most obvious, there is good evidence that the virus affects the cardiovascular system as well,” says Sarah Samaan, MD, a cardiologist at Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospital in Plano, Texas and author of Best Practices for a Healthy Heart.
The cardiac-COVID connection became apparent in the early days of the pandemic. In March, researchers in China documented heart damage in nearly 20 percent of patients (out of 416) hospitalized for COVID-19. In another Chinese study published in April, 16 of 36 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) had arrhythmias, a problem with the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat.
In addition to irregular heartbeats, an article in the journal Nature Medicine published in July identified a host of other potential heart-related problems from COVID-19 infection:
Inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis)
Reduced blood flow to the heart
The virus does damage, in part, by triggering an overactive immune response that sets up “hyperinflammation.” When this inflammation affects the lining of the blood vessels, COVID-19 can raise the risk for blood clots that can affect the lungs, heart, and other vital organs. It’s important to note that the body’s reaction to the coronavirus is similar to when you get the flu or other viral infections, but in some cases, it’s a lot stronger.
This is especially sobering news for people with underlying heart disease, who may not be able to survive the additional stress that COVID-19 puts on the heart, and potentially for those who are already at higher risk of developing it.
Inflammatory Conditions and Heart Disease Risk
People with diseases that share common underpinnings with heart disease involving inflammation have an increased risk of heart disease. These include:
Inflammatory arthritis like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), gout, or ankylosing spondylitis. Research shows that just having RA means your heart attack risk is as much as 68 percent higher than it is for someone without RA; your risk of stroke might be up to 40 percent higher. The risk of heart disease may be nearly doubled in people with PsA.
Lupus can cause inflammation of the myocardium (myocarditis), the muscle tissue of the heart. The disease is so associated with cardiovascular issues that heart disease, not lupus itself, is the number one cause of death in people with lupus.
Psoriasis, which has been found to increase the risk of major cardiac events, including heart attack (by 21 percent) and stroke (by 54 percent).
Other underlying conditions linked to a higher risk of heart disease include:
Crohn’s disease can cause iron deficiency anemia that can lead to heart problems, such as a fast or irregular heartbeat. Over time, an enlarged heart or heart failure may develop.
Diabetes can damage blood vessels and the nerves that control your heart. People with diabetes are also likely to have other conditions, such as high blood pressure, that raise the risk for heart disease.
While having cardiovascular disease doesn’t make people more likely to get the coronavirus, it is potentially more likely to worsen the course of the disease.
Data released in June by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows COVID-19 patients with underlying conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, are six times more likely to be hospitalized and 12 times more likely to die than patients without any chronic health problems. About one in three people with COVID-19 has cardiovascular disease, making it the most common underlying health condition.
How COVID-19 Damages the Heart
There are several ways COVID-19 may impact the heart, and the blood vessels seem to be an especially hard-hit target.
“COVID seems to really be a disease of the vasculature, where it’s affecting the blood vessels in many parts of the body, whether it’s the skin — hence, ‘COVID toes,’ an itchy, red-purple rash on the toes of people with the disease — brain, lung, or heart,” explains cardiologist Jennifer Haythe, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the Center for Advanced Cardiac Care at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.
The virus seems to attack the endothelium, a single layer of cells that lines the inside of blood vessels throughout the body. These cells play many important roles. They release substances that prevent clotting, control blood pressure, and protect the body from invading pathogens. While the endothelium normally helps maintain health, when it goes into overdrive, it can seriously worsen matters. According to a recent article, the inflammation caused by COVID-19 may activate platelets and trigger uncontrolled clotting throughout the body, which blocks blood supply to vital organs.
As a result, COVID-19 is most prone to negatively affect people who already have underlying vascular problems — for instance, people with diabetes, people who are obese, and people who have hypertension (high blood pressure). These comorbid conditions tend to be common in people who have inflammatory arthritis and rheumatic conditions.
“When vascular systems are already abnormal, it may be that it’s easier for the virus to affect those systems,” says Dr. Haythe, who works in the ICU with critically ill COVID-19 patients. CDC data on hospitalized patients in 14 U.S. states found that about one-third had chronic lung disease, nearly as many had diabetes, and fully half had pre-existing high blood pressure.
The consequences of this are being seen in multiple organ systems, whether it’s the lungs or the heart, in the form of small or even large blood clots that can potentially travel to the brain and lead to stroke or to the heart attack, she says.
A study in the journal Thrombosis Research found that nearly 40 percent of COVID-19 patients in the ICU had abnormal blood clotting and one-third already had blood clots.
Other heart complications of COVID-19 include:
This inflammation of the cells of the heart appears to result from the direct infection of the virus attacking the heart, or possibly as a consequence of the inflammation triggered by the body’s overly aggressive immune response to mediating damage caused by COVID-19. Myocarditis can impair the heart’s ability to pump blood and send electrical signals, leading to chest pain and irregular heartbeats, some of which can be lethal.
Inflammation of the lining of the blood vessels from COVID-19 infection can be fatal in and of itself, but it can also cause less oxygen to reach the bloodstream. The extra strain this puts on the heart muscle to pump blood through the body can contribute to heart failure, which occurs when the heart muscle doesn’t pump blood as well as it should, says Dr. Samaan. In people with pre-existing heart disease, the heart can fail from overwork, or insufficient oxygen can cause cell tissue and tissue damage in the heart and other organs.
Most serious of all outcomes is the possibility of the immune system — via chemical signaling molecules called cytokines that help fight the virus — launching an attack that’s so beyond what’s needed that it destroys healthy tissue. Known as a cytokine storm, this response causes inflammation that overwhelms the body and damages organs like the heart so severely that it’s difficult for someone to survive.
Strain on the cardiovascular system
In the short term, even in cases where COVID-19 doesn’t directly injure the heart, it can put tremendous strain on the cardiovascular system — lowering blood oxygen levels and causing the heart to work harder to try and pump oxygenated blood through the body. For someone with pre-existing cardiovascular disease, who is already at especially high risk of complications of COVID-19, this is a serious concern, says Dr. Samaan. “Even if the virus doesn’t attack the heart, the stress and strain of such a severe illness may overtax an already weakened heart, leading to heart failure and serious heart rhythm disturbances.”
Heart Problems Linger After Recovering from COVID-19
Research that points to the heart damage wrought by COVID-19 continues to mount. One particularly alarming study published in July in JAMA Cardiology showed signs of ongoing heart involvement in patients who’d recovered from COVID-19 — even weeks or months after feeling better.
In the study, researchers examined the cardiac MRIs of 100 relatively young, healthy people (average age 49) who had recovered (mostly at home) from mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. More than two months later, 78 percent of recovered patients had lingering heart abnormalities, while 60 percent had ongoing myocarditis. Seventy-six people had evidence of the blood enzyme troponin, a biomarker that signals cardiac injury typically found after a heart attack.
The concern is that even with a mild case of COVID-19, there’s a possibility that there could be lasting inflammation and damage to your heart.
In another study published in JAMA Cardiology, an analysis of autopsies done on 39 older adults with COVID-19, found that these patients experienced unrecognized cardiac injury. It identified infections in the hearts of patients who hadn’t been diagnosed with cardiovascular issues while they were ill.
What Doctors Still Don’t Know About COVID-19 and the Heart
As worrisome as all this seems, experts aren’t exactly sure how to interpret findings like these or their long-term consequences.
“There are a couple of interesting studies, but we don’t know quite what they mean,” says Laurie Jacobs, MD, Chairperson of the Department of Internal Medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, New Jersey, and Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. “We don’t know if this is just that COVID-19 takes a long time to resolve and that there’s extra inflammation that’s asymptomatic and it goes away. Or does this affect a certain percentage of people and will it persist and maybe cause scarring and lead to chronic heart problems? We haven’t done longitudinal studies on these people, so we just don’t know.”
Making matters more confusing, a new literature review of 227 autopsies found that myocarditis is rare, occurring in less than 2 percent of cases. “A lot of us are left thinking that this might not be as prevalent as is thought or that maybe it goes away,” says Dr. Jacobs, who set up one of the first dedicated programs to provide medical assistance to recovering COVID-19 patients.
“The effects of COVID-19 on the heart are only beginning to be understood,” Dr. Samaan agrees. “The majority of people will survive COVID-19, but we are starting to see people coming in with chronic shortness of breath and fatigue months after they have cleared the virus,” she says. “We simply don’t know whether they will fully recover. Many may be left with lingering effects of the virus, especially those who suffer serious respiratory illness.”
How to Protect Your Heart
These concerns underscore the importance of preventing people — especially those at greater risk of developing more severe COVID-19 disease — from contracting or re-contracting (a phenomenon that’s reportedly increasing) the coronavirus.
Some steps to take include:
Avoid getting the virus
Vaccines are starting to roll out, but that doesn’t mean we can start taking fewer precautions. It’s still critical to follow the “3 Ws”:
Watch your distance
“I’m shocked by the number of my heart patients who still believe that the risk [of contracting the virus] is ‘overblown,’” says Dr. Samaan. “The people who most need to be careful are sometimes those who are tempting fate, at a potentially terrible cost.”
Keep taking your heart medication
There was some early speculation that drugs commonly prescribed for people with high blood pressure or heart failure, such as ACE inhibitors (angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors) and ARBs (angiotensin receptor blockers), could make people more susceptible to severe COVID-19. The theory was that the coronavirus could be binding to certain receptors in the lower respiratory tract, a common place for the virus to spread, and that these drugs may increase the number of these receptors.
At the time, experts stressed that there was no clinical data showing that the drugs had any effect — good or bad — on COVID-19 in people with or without heart disease, and they recommended continuing to take these medications, which have clear and well-established benefits.
What’s more, there is now newer research that shows the drugs aren’t harmful. In a study presented at a medical conference in September, researchers reported that suspending ACE inhibitors and ARBs for 30 days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 did not impact the number of days alive and out of the hospital, which was the primary outcome researchers used to determine the drug’s safety.
The principal researcher, Renato Lopes, MD, PhD, of Duke Clinical Research Institute in Durham, North Carolina, concluded: “Because these data indicate that there is no clinical benefit from routinely interrupting these medications in hospitalized patients with mild to moderate COVID-19, they should generally be continued for those with an indication.”
Keep taking your medication for inflammatory and rheumatic conditions
If you have inflammatory arthritis or related conditions, it’s important to stay on your disease-modifying medications, which lower inflammation and keep disease activity in check. This, in turn, may help reduce your risk of underlying cardiovascular disease. It may also prevent disease flares that can increase pain and fatigue, which could prevent you from staying physically active — another way to reduce your heart disease risk.
The general consensus is that patients should not stop taking these medications unless you actually contract COVID-19, and even then you should talk to your health care provider before making any change in your treatment plan.
Get the flu vaccine
If you haven’t already gotten vaccinated, it’s not too late — the peak spread of the flu virus occurs in January and February, and people can continue to get sick into mid-May.
It’s especially important for people with underlying conditions like heart disease (as well as inflammatory and autoimmune conditions) to get a flu shot. They are at higher risk for developing serious complications from the flu (like the coronavirus, the flu virus can cause a lot of inflammation that can lead to blockages that can trigger a heart attack or stroke).
If you take immunosuppressant medication (such as disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or biologics), have heart disease, or are 65 years or older, the nasal spray flu vaccine (FluMist) — which contains a live virus — isn’t recommended. According to the CDC, flu shots have a long, established safety record in people with heart disease. You can read more here about getting the flu vaccine when you have inflammatory arthritis.
Adopt or maintain healthy lifestyle habits
“A healthy lifestyle, including maintaining a healthy body weight, is particularly important in the age of COVID, since obesity is a major risk factor for complications of the disease,” says Dr. Samaan. Controlling diabetes is also important, since diabetes itself is another risk factor for COVID-19.
Be alert for red-flag heart symptoms
“Anyone who has underlying illnesses should pay close attention to their cardiac symptoms — fatigue, chest pain, or shortness of breath — and bring them to the attention of their doctor,” says Dr. Haythe. These same symptoms can also be symptoms of COVID-19 and need to be checked out, cardiologist Erin Michos, MD, associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, explained on John Hopkins Health.
If you think you’re having a heart attack or some other cardiovascular issue, seek prompt medical care. Untreated heart attacks can lead to long-term complications, so don’t ride it out at home because you’re worried about COVID. Hospitals are set up to protect people from contracting the disease.
Research shows that people are afraid to go to the hospital during the pandemic and, as a result, are needlessly dying — often at home. One study published in September found that there were over 2,000 excess deaths — an average of 17 a day for four months — due to heart disease and stroke during the peak of the pandemic.
Get Free Coronavirus Support for Chronic Illness Patients
Join the Global Healthy Living Foundation’s free COVID-19 Support Program for chronic illness patients and their families. We will be providing updated information, community support, and other resources tailored specifically to your health and safety. Join now.
Arterial wall cells offer insight into coronavirus’ rampage from head to toe. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. October 22, 2020. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2020/arterial-wall-cells-offer-insight-coronavirus-rampage-head-toe.
Can Coronavirus Cause Heart Damage? Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/can-coronavirus-cause-heart-damage.
First randomised trial backs safety of common heart drugs in COVID-19 patients. European Society of Cardiology. September 1, 2020. https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/LOPES.
Flu & People with Heart Disease or History of Stroke. Influenza (Flu). U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/heartdisease.htm.
Gupta A, et al. Extrapulmonary manifestations of COVID-19. Nature Medicine. July 2020. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-0968-3.
Halushka MK, et al. Myocarditis is rare in COVID-19 autopsies: cardiovascular findings across 277 postmortem examinations. Cardiovascular Pathology. January-February 2021. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carpath.2020.107300.
Interview with Jennifer Haythe, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the Center for Advanced Cardiac Care at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City
Interview with Laurie Jacobs, MD, Chairperson of the Department of Internal Medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, New Jersey, and Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Interview with Sarah Samaan, MD, a cardiologist at Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospital in Plano, Texas
Klok FA, et al. Incidence of thrombotic complications in critically ill ICU patients with COVID-19. Thrombosis Research. July 2020. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.thromres.2020.04.013.
Merschel M. What do heart patients need to know about COVID-19 now? American Heart Association News. August 10, 2020. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2020/08/10/what-do-heart-patients-need-to-know-about-covid-19-now.
Shi S, et al. Association of Cardiac Injury With Mortality in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. JAMA Cardiology. March 25, 2020. doi: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2020.0950.
Stokes EK, et al. Coronavirus Disease 2019 Case Surveillance — United States, January 22–May 30, 2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). June 19, 2020. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6924e2.
Wang D, et al. Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, China. JAMA. February 7, 2020. doi: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.1585.
Williamson L. What COVID-19 is doing to the heart, even after recovery. American Heart Association News. September 3, 2020. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2020/09/03/what-covid-19-is-doing-to-the-heart-even-after-recovery.
Wu J, et al. Place and causes of acute cardiovascular mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Heart. January 2021. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/heartjnl-2020-317912.
Topics Coronavirus
Researchers Are Starting to Study the COVID-19 Vaccine in Autoimmune and Immunocompromised Patients
Webinar: Understanding Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain: What Patients Need to Know
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In Garage Rock, Psych-Rock
A1: The Kingsmen LOUIE LOUIE (2:48); A2: The Standells DIRTY WATER (2:48); A3: The Sonics STRYCHNINE (2:13); A4: The Strangeloves NIGHT TIME (2:33); A5: The Groupies PRIMITIVE (3:51); A6: The Squires GOING ALL THE WAY (2:23); A7: The Shadows Of Knight I’M GONNA MAKE YOU MINE (2:34); A8: Gonn BLACKOUT OF GRETELY (4:36).
B1: Question Mark & The Mysterians 96 TEARS (2:57); B2: The Electric Prunes I HAD TOO MUCH TO DREAM LAST NIGHT (3:00); B3: The 13th Floor Elevators YOU’RE GONNA MISS ME (2:30); B4: Count Five PSYCHOTIC REACTION (3:08); B5: Kit & The Outlaws DON’T TREAD ON ME (2:51); B6: The Other Half MR. PHARMACIST (2:25); B7: Swamp Rats HEY FREAK (2:17); B8: Davie Allan & The Arrows BLUE’S THEME (2.10).
C1: The Bees VOICES GREEN AND PURPLE (1:36); C2: The Outcasts I’M IN PITTSBURGH (AND IT’S RAINING) (2:04); C3: The Haunted 1-2-5 (2:31); C4: The Monks I HATE YOU (3:34); C5: The Magic Mushrooms IT’S-A-HAPPENING (2:48); C6: Blues Magoos TOBACCO ROAD (4:43); C7: The Third Bardo I’M FIVE YEARS AHEAD OF MY TIME (2:17); C8: The Litter ACTION WOMAN (2:34).
D1: The Sparkles NO FRIEND OF MINE (2:27); D2: The Calico Wall I’M A LIVING SICKNESS (2:41); D3: The Amboy Dukes BABY PLEASE DON’T GO (5:40); D4: Steppenwolf BORN TO BE WILD (3:31); D5: Nazz OPEN MY EYES (2:46); D6: The Lollipop Shoppe YOU MUST BE A WITCH (2:50); D7: Strawberry Alarm Clock INCENSE AND PEPPERMINTS (2:50); D8: Iron Butterfly IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA (2:52).
CATEGORY: GARAGE ROCK | DURATION: 86 MINUTES
An updated 2-CD, 32-track version of Nuggets, the double album originally compiled in 1972 by future Patti Smith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye and released by Elektra. Nuggets is a crucial anthology which documents many of the countless garage-rock bands which exploded in America (and Canada) alongside and subsequent to the mid-60s “British Invasion” of beat groups spearheaded by the Rolling Stones and The Who. This wave was originally set in motion by The Kingsmen, whose 1963 single “Louie Louie” stands as garage-rock’s monolithic progenitor. Ranging from fuzz-guitar punk to bubblegum and quasi-psychedelic mania, the tracks on Nuggets illustrate a core rock and roll artform which influenced a new generation of rising rockers upon the album’s 70s release.
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Glossary of Cricket
Cricket FAQ
Install the Vegashero Plugin for adding games
ICC Test Championship Point Table format changed
Latest News November 23, 2020 by admin
The International Cricket Council has reported a change to the icc world test format of the ICC Test Championship because of the Covid pandemic.
The 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship is the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship of Test cricket. It started from 1 August 2019 with the first Test of the 2019 Ashes series and will finish with a final at Lord’s in England in June 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the Championship with rounds of matches postponed. In November 2020, the ICC announced that the finalists decided by the percentage of points earned.
Accordingly, The Indian team would be playing against West Indies, South Africa, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Australia and England. India will play away series against West Indies, New Zealand and Australia
ICC Test Championship Format
Each team will play six other opponents, three at home and three away. Each series will consist of between two and five Test matches. Therefore, all participants will not play the same number of Tests but will play the same number of series.
Around 15% of matches in the competition are expected to be incomplete by the scheduled time.
Beforehand, they would have been announced drawn and the points split.
Notwithstanding, positions in the nine-group table will presently be determined by the level of points earned in finished matches.
For instance, England stays third in the table on 0.608 on the grounds that they have earned 292 points.
Australia ventures out in front of India to top the table, yet the remainder of the standings are unaltered.
The last is set to be played in England. Contingent upon its planning and whether the hosts qualify. England and Wales Cricket Board is investigating the chance of adding a two-Test series against an anonymous rival to a mid year that as of now incorporates five Tests with India.
The ICC has additionally reported that the following Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa, booked for the end of 2022, has been pushed back to 2023.
This facilitates a congested 2022 in ladies’ cricket, which incorporates the deferred 50-over World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.
The top two teams on the points table at the end of the league phase will play the final which is scheduled in 2021. However, if the final ends in a tie or a draw, the two teams will be joint champions
Tags: ICC Test Championship
Categories Select Category Asia Cup, 2018 AUS vs IND, 2018 AUS vs IND, 2020 BBL 2018-19 CPL 2018 ENG vs IND, 2018 Entertainment ICC CWC19 ICC News IND vs AUS, 2019 IND vs WI, 2018 IPL 2019 IPL, 2020 Latest News NZ vs IND, 2019 NZ vs IND, 2020 WI vs INDIA, 2019
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Bill Bonner Posted
The Daily Reckoning Presents: A Guest Essay by James Grant, editor of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer (www.grantspub.com).
The second of a two-part essay, in which the author explores Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan’s culpability in accommodating, celebrating and defending the most excessive investment bubble in the history of mankind.
The Fed chairman did not get to where he is in life by forgetting to hedge. Yesterday, you’ll recall, we posited that Greenspan contributed to the current bubble by heedlessly ignoring the risks of the technology bom.
“[L]arge voids of information still persist,” Greenspan told the Boston College Conference on the New Economy on March 6, 2000, “and forecasts of future events on which all business decisions ultimately depend will always be prone to error.”
Unfortunately, he neglected to point out that high-tech revolutions inflame the right portion of the brain even as they enable the left-hand side. They stir up the speculative juices, thereby introducing a new source of potential business error. It is an especially potent source as when, late in the 1990s, the chairman of the world’s leading central bank lends his imprimatur to a supposed new age.
Many are the blessings of information technology, Greenspan proceeded. He mentioned the mapping of the human genome, the refinement of financial derivatives and the explosion of big-company mergers: “Without highly sophisticated information technology, it would be nearly impossible to manage firms on the scale of some that have been proposed or actually created of late.”
Yet, he noted, “At the end of the day, the benefits of new technologies can be realized only if they are embodied in capital investment, defined to include any outlay that increases the value of the firm. For these investments to be made, the prospective rate of return must exceed the cost of capital.
“Technological synergies have enlarged the set of productive capital investments, while lofty equity values and declining prices of high-tech equipment have reduced the cost of capital. The result has been a veritable explosion of spending on high-tech equipment and software, which has raised the growth of the capital stock dramatically over the past five years.”
Having climbed so far into a logical trap, the chairman pulled the door shut behind him. “The fact that the capital spending boom is still going strong indicates that businesses continue to find a wide array of potential high-rate-of-return, productivity-enhancing investments. And I see nothing to suggest that these opportunities will peter out any time soon.” At least, not for the next 96 hours (the Nasdaq peaked on March 10).
Here was a remarkable set of ideas. What drives a capital spending boom, said the central banker, was not – even in part – an excess of bank credit or an artificially low money-market interest rate. It was the cold and detached analysis of cost and benefit. Here the chairman was being unwontedly modest.
Fearful of a Y2K calamity, the Fed stuffed tens of billions of dollars of credit into the banking system late in 1999. Not for the first time in monetary history, excess credit raised speculative spirits, inducing a sense of optimism bordering on invincibility.
Greenspan spoke only 18 months ago, but it was an eternity in speculative time. In March 2000, B2B promotions commanded preposterous valuations, which the chairman proceeded to validate. “Indeed,” he said, “many argue that the pace of innovation will continue to quicken in the next few years, as companies exploit the still largely untapped potential for e-commerce, especially in the business-to-business arena, where most observers expect the fastest growth…Already, major efforts have been announced in the auto industry to move purchasing operations to the Internet. Similar developments are planned or are in operation in many other industries as well. It appears to be only a matter of time before the Internet becomes the prime venue for the trillions of dollars of business-to-business commerce conducted every year.”
The Gartner Group had forecast that business-to-business commerce would generate $7 trillion of volume by 2004. Greenspan, a more experienced forecaster, gave no date and said only “trillions,” but even that was wide of the mark. B2B stock prices crashed, and hundreds of Web sites went dark. He was, however, prophetic on one important detail: The potential for e-commerce remains “largely untapped.”
The Fed was slow to raise the funds rate in 1999 and early 2000. It was slow to reduce the rate when, in the second half of 2000, boom turned to bust. The Austrian School economists who originated the theory of the investment cycle prescribed aggressive monetary ease in the bust phase, lest a depression feed on itself to become a “secondary depression.”
Greenspan, having failed to call a bubble a bubble, was slow to recognize a bust as a bust. In his New Economy talk, he did acknowledge a connection between interest rates and technology investment. However, because information technology was an absolute and unqualified good thing, it followed that it could not be held responsible for a bad thing – for instance, the bottom falling out of capital investment and, therefore, out of the GDP growth rate. Blame for the downturn must lie elsewhere – with inventories or even the weather, as he proposed to the Senate Banking Committee on February 13, 2001. “[A] round of inventory rebalancing appears to be in progress,” he told the senators.
“Accordingly, the slowdown in the economy that began in the middle of 2000 intensified, perhaps even to the point of stalling out around the turn of the year. As the economy slowed, equity prices fell, especially in the high-tech sector, where previous high valuations and optimistic forecasts were being reevaluated, resulting in significant losses for some investors…the exceptional weakness so evident in a number of economic indicators toward the end of last year (perhaps in part the consequence of adverse weather) apparently did not continue in January.” However, he added, the FOMC “retained its sense that the risks are weighted toward conditions that may generate economic weakness in the foreseeable future.” What portion of the future was “foreseeable” the chairman did not specify.
He refused to waver from his previously established line, the transforming significance of new technologies. Productivity growth and the availability of real-time information would cut short this inventory and profits slump, he said.
Besides, Wall Street wasn’t worried: “[A]lthough recent short-term business profits have softened considerably, most corporate managers appear not to have altered to any appreciable extent their longstanding optimism about the future returns from using new technology… Corporate managers more generally, rightly or wrongly, appear to remain remarkably sanguine about the potential for innovations to continue to enhance productivity and profits. At least this is what is gleaned from the projections of equity analysts, who, one must presume, obtain most of their insights from corporate managers. According to one prominent survey, the three- to five- year average earnings projections of more than a thousand analysts, though exhibiting some signs of diminishing in recent months, have generally held firm at a very high level. Such expectations, should they persist, bode well for continued strength in capital accumulation and sustained elevated growth of structural productivity over the long term.”
Such expectations, needless to say, have not persisted, and the Wall Street analysts who held them have been scorned and mocked. Not only have earnings plunged, but sales have weakened, undercut by the unforeseen disappearance of demand. “Business sales,” observes Moody’s Lonski, “are down minus 0.7% in the second quarter of 2001 from the second quarter of 2000. This is the sum of retail sales, manufacturing and wholesale sales. Manufacturing got clobbered – it is down 4.5%. The last time business sales were down year-over-year was the three quarters from the first quarter of 1991 to the third quarter of 1991.
“Before that was the five quarters from the first quarter of 1982 to the first quarter of 1983. And before that, it was in the 1970s, when inflation made the numbers do funny things, but it was in the first quarter of 1970. All the previous declines occurred in and around recessions.”
Alan Greenspan never understood the problem. This defect does not mean he will never hit on the solution. What it does suggest, however, is that he will come to it belatedly, and likely for the wrong reasons.
James Grant,
James Grant is the founder of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer (www.grantspub.com) and author of several books including Money of the Mind: Borrowing and Lending in America from the Civil War to Michael Milken, and The Trouble with Prosperity. Mr. Grant recently hosted “Time Machine: The Crash” on The History Channel and is a regular commentator on CNN and a panelist on “Wall
Street Week with Louis Rukeyser,” as well as a frequent columnist with the Financial Times and Forbes.
*** “ohayougozaimasu” – the saga continues…yesterday we noticed Japan’s economic minister announced a “surprise” drop of interest rates in the hopes that they can stave off recession until the U.S. economy gets back in gear this fall. Economic minister Heizo Tekenaka has labeled the new quantitative ease “super-zero rates”…
*** Meanwhile, on the front lines of the global economic “resurrection” effort…things are looking bleak. “Forget the Fed,” urges a Financial Post headline, “save yourself.”
*** “Investor confidence in Mr. Greenspan rests on a string of Federal Reserve successes,” the article suggests. “Rate cuts brought us safe landings after the 1987 crash, and again during the Asian crisis in 1998. But it’s Mr. Greenspan’s very success that is to blame for today’s difficulties. Believing in the omnipotence of the Fed, consumers and businesses have imprudently racked up unsustainable levels of debt.”
*** But why, we ask with tedious regularity, won’t the Fed’s elixir nurse the U.S. economy back to health this time?
*** Here’s a clue: Since January 3rd of this year the Fed has chopped rates 6 times… a feat they’re likely to repeat on Tuesday. The Fed funds rate has fallen from 6.5% to 3.75%… But interest rates on credit card debt – at over 15% – have barely budged. Consumers – with U.S. $650-billion of debt – are not getting any relief from Fed inducements to pile on more debt.
Furthermore, banks have taken the Fed’s cue and slashed the interest they pay on cash accounts. Those who rely on short-term interest income are likely to be hit with a 30% decline in “interest income”. Mortgage rates are heading down, but the refinancing binge is simply paying down personal debt.
*** “Students of economic history will know we’ve been here before,” the FP reminds us. “In Japan, stock prices are down 65% from their 1989 peak – even though interest rates have been cut to nearly [super]-zero. In the Dirty Thirties, interest rates fell from 6% to 1.5% [oh, so similar to our current pace], but it was not enough to prevent stocks from delivering their worst performance in history.
“Both crises had this in common: They happened in the aftermath of heavy speculative bingeing, massive buildup of public and private debt and steep declines in personal savings.”
*** Modest prediction: when the glow of summer evenings fade, so will “investor confidence” in the Fed and its chairman. Then what? Look out below.
*** So it goes…what’s up on Wall Street, Mr. Fry?
Eric Fry reporting from New York:
– During the nuttiest phase of the bubble, Charles Schwab Inc. just had to have a Wall Street address. And so…last year, the discount brokerage firm opened a gleaming new office just down the block from me on Wall Street. Across the front of the office, a very large sign continuously flashed price updates for the Dow, the Nasdaq and, of course, the Schwab Index.
– During the bubble, it became a pleasant daily diversion for the local office workers passing by to gaze up at the sign, watch the stock market go up for a while and mentally recalculate their soaring wealth. Now the sign is dark. In fact, it has been dark for weeks. It is not missed.
– Yesterday was a good day for new lows. The Nasdaq slumped to a four-month low; the dollar dropped to a three-month low; and capacity utilization, at 77%, hit an 18-year low.
– The Nasdaq tumbled 45 points to 1,919, its lowest close since April 16. The big stocks in the Nasdaq seemed to suffer the brunt of selling, as the Nasdaq-100 dropped 3.6%. The Dow fell 66 to 10345.
– Lately, the commodities markets are playing host to the hottest trading action. Yesterday, natural gas grabbed the excitement with its largest one-day gain in eight months. Kicking off the rally was a report from the American Gas Association indicating that natural gas supplies are well below expectations. Gas for September delivery rose 37.4 cents, or 12.1%, to $3.47 per million British thermal unit.
– Natural gas stocks soared as well. The rally was probably overdue, as these stocks have suffered mightily during the past couple of months. You’d think the natural gas companies were struggling to make money. They aren’t. At current gas prices, most companies in the sector are minting money.
– Moody’s points out, “In contrast to the 6% revenue growth rate and the 20% decline in profits of all U.S. companies, oil and gas concerns posted aggregate revenue growth rates of around 86% year-to-year and aggregate profits growth of nearly 57% year-to-year.” Keep a close eye on this group, folks.
– Elsewhere in the commodity sector, U.S. gasoline inventories fell for a fifth consecutive week. Come what may, we Americans still drive our cars. Amazingly, even in a slowing economy, gasoline demand since June 1st is 3.8% higher than during the same period last year.
– Finally, as noted in the Daily Reckoning earlier this week, coal prices remain very strong. “Although natural gas prices have dropped about 70% this year,” reports Bloomberg News, “market prices for coal had remained strong. In July, prices for low-sulfur coal…reached their highest levels since 1989.”
– And while commodities climb, so do most foreign currencies against the greenback. The euro shot up to more than 91 cents yesterday. The dollar is looking a little worn (pun intended).
– Are you sitting down? Last year, a Senate study found that 77% of all day traders lose money (It’s hard to believe, I know). Ironically, one Harvey Houtkin testified before Congress to refute these claims.
– As (bad) luck would have it, Mr. Houtkin, the self- proclaimed father of day trading and also chief executive of All-Tech Direct Inc., a Montvale, N.J.- based brokerage for active investors, has had more than a few bad trading days. He lost $392,000 in 1998 trading a company account.
– The news of the loss became public in an arbitration that four former clients of All-Tech brought against the firm, claiming they were misled by the company’s aggressive advertising. Do you think they have a case?
– The high-end home construction industry is living off of last year’s harvest. Friends of mine who build $2 million to $5 million homes tell me that business is slowing… future business that is. Says one, “everyone’s living off projects commissioned one or two years ago. I’m not seeing anybody getting new jobs for next year and beyond.”
– Says the other, “The spec market for $2 million homes is dead, but my bread-and-butter custom home construction business is booked for the next twelve months. After that, who knows. I just hope things pick up by then.”
– So do I, my friend. So do I.
Back to Addison Wiggin, in Paris…
*** What else? How about this e-mail I recently received from friends “in the business” in New York. The CEO of a firm that hosts conferences for venture capital professionals and tech start-up entrepreneurs seeking funds wrote to his troops recently:
“Although our customers are startups and those who provide them with capital, we have been relatively unaffected by their troubles – until recently. Now, however, we are suffering, too, and we must adapt.
“The process of creating new companies, of which we are a small part, seems to be returning to its historic patterns. This year, I look for fewer than two dozen technology IPOs; that’s down from 300 last year. Going forward, I expect four or five years to pass before the typical start-up is ready to sell shares to the public…as opposed to the 18-month pace of last year and the year before.”
*** The e-mail goes on to announce the closure of the San Francisco office, layoff of the staff there, and the early retirement of its biggest cheese.
*** Apart from the usual “negative drivel” we normally publish at the Daily Reckoning…it might be worth noting that the author of this e-mail is a CNN correspondent, a columnist for Fortune Magazine and the Wall Street Journal and a personal adviser to Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Steve Jobs.
Bill Bonner By Bill Bonner Posted May 29, 2017
Manic phases in political history and stock history are compared and contrasted in this Memorial Day edition where we praise the people who fought in our wars. Here’s Bill Bonner for more…
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Dr Daniel M Moore
Atlantic Transit
Deepsea Atlantic
Marine Biology Life
Societies and Associations
Tag: evolution
September 19, 2018 September 19, 2018 Daniel M Moore
Ligers, Zorses and Bottlenose Dolphins
Most people do not realise that there are numerous species of Bottlenose Dolphins; the exact number is a subject of strong debate and depending on the background of whom you ask will strongly influence the number they give. For example, a conservationist, a geneticist and a taxonomist are unlikely to agree on such matters. However, there are at least three species formally recognised by everybody, each with their own behavioural and physical characteristics. Of the three recognised species Tursiops truncatus, known as the Common Bottlenose Dolphin, is the species that most people are familiar with. This is owing to it’s near global distribution (it is found in every sea except those in the polar regions), its prevalence in popular culture – be it films or TV and of course its popularity in aquariums during the latter half of the 20th century. The second of the three species, Tursiops aduncus, is more often referred to as the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin and as its name suggests is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans only. Whereas T. truncatus is found in both coastal and offshore environments T. aduncus is principally only found in coastal waters. The third species, Tursiops australis, known as the Burrunan Dolphin is found only in coastal waters of parts of Australia.
One of the most controversial topics in in the field of biology is the subject of what defines a species. Certainly in most high schools, pupils are taught that animals belong to the same species if they can reproduce and form fertile offspring. This is undoubtedly complete fallacy and a recent topic of research that I have been involved in significantly proves this. This research, led by Dr. Tess Gridley of the University of Cape Town, has just been published and I provided the genetics elements included in the paper. The research focuses on the production of fertile hybrids by two species of Bottlenose Dolphin when kept together in captivity. Hybrids are the offspring of two different species – famous examples include the Liger (the offspring of a Lion and Tiger) and Zorse (yes you guessed it, the offspring of a Zebra and a Horse).
Hybrid animals are remarkably common. Here we see a Liger (Lion and Tiger hybrid) on the left and a Zorse (Zebra and Horse hybrid) on the right.
First of all, let’s deal with the elephant in the room. Yes, this research is based on dolphins kept in captivity. Let me be absolutely clear that I am in no way an advocate for keeping any species of cetacean in captivity. When the individual dolphins on which this research focusses were taken into captivity it was the 1970s, at which time our understanding of cetacean biology, in particular their emotional intelligence, was significantly inferior to our understanding today. Like all areas of knowledge, our understanding progresses through time and moral humans adapt their behaviour and actions to take account of this improved understanding. Flipping this on its head, we should be reticent to judge people who made decisions in the past with which we would normally condemn when judging by todays understanding, morality and societal will. Times and understanding were different then and as long as we are willing to, pragmatically and sensibly, adapt our actions today to take account of our improved understanding then we should look forward and not back. No, we should not be taking new cetaceans into captivity but those that currently are kept in aquaria, like those in this study, provide an opportunity to expand our knowledge of cetaceans such that we can continue to improve our decision making in the future; thus, having greater benefit for the conservation of wild cetaceans.
Our research focussed on two dolphins and their offspring. The first, a male Tursiops truncatus by the name of Gambit, and the second a female Tursiops aduncus by the name of Frodo. As well as physical characteristics (Frodo has speckling on her underside, a feature common in older Tursiops aduncus), we confirmed their species identity genetically. This is done using DNA extracted from blood taken from routine veterinary check-ups. The principal finding of this study revealed that hybrid and backcross offspring were fertile – proven by a second generation in both cases.
One of the apparently fertile backcross offspring featured in this research.
The underside of Frodo, showing her belly speckling that is a common feature in mature Tursiops aduncus individuals.
This finding is important for two reasons. Firstly, it adds further weight to current scientific thoughts on evolution as a process. We like to think that evolution is a linear process and that once a new species is formed it is permanent until such time that it may go extinct due to some natural disaster or change in environment. We know, however, that this is not the case at all. There are a number of emerging examples that show species emerged in the past, likely as a result of physical separation, but then disappeared again when the physical barrier was removed because they simply merged and interbred with their parent species. A great example of this comes in the form of the Common Raven. We also know that reticulation, or the interbreeding of species during speciation is common and demonstrating the production of fertile hybrid offspring in this study provides a mechanism for this to happen.
Perhaps more importantly, however, this study demonstrates the potential resilience of Bottlenose Dolphins to adapt to changing environments. By producing fertile offspring, the success of gene flow events between different species of Bottlenose Dolphin may allow them to adapt to a more coastal or more pelagic way of life more readily should the need arise. We should take encouragement in this new understanding; although life in our oceans is currently under a great many threats it is likely that, thanks to the plasticity of evolution, the famous smile of a Bottlenose Dolphin will continue to greet us for many generations to come.
This research is published in PLoS ONE, Sepember 2018. You can download a copy of the paper here.
Full paper citation:
Gridley, T., Elwen, S.H., Harris, G., Moore, D.M., Hoelzel, A.R. and Lampen, F., 2018. Hybridization in bottlenose dolphins—A case study of Tursiops aduncus× T. truncatus hybrids and successful backcross hybridization events. PloS one, 13(9), p.e0201722.
April 22, 2015 May 6, 2015 Daniel M Moore
The origins of great whites
There is great debate within the scientific community with regards to the true ancestral origins of the modern White Shark Carcharodon carcharias. There currently exist two main hypotheses on the correct phylogenetic placement of C. carcharias. Both hypotheses talk in terms of sharing a more recent common ancestor with an extinct species (Smith 1994). The older of the two hypotheses suggests that C. carcharias is descendant from the ancestral lineage of megatoothed sharks such as Carcharodon megalodon and that the megatoothed sharks should be placed within the family Lamnidae. The more recent hypothesis suggests that C. carcharias is descendant from the ancestral lineage of the extinct Mako shark Isurus hastalis and that the megatoothed sharks should be separately placed within the family Otodontidae. It is important to be clear that neither theory suggests an absolute direct descendancy from the afore-mentioned species as the scarcity of fossil evidence could not support such a claim.
4cm tall Fossil Carcharodon carcharias tooth from Miocene (~20 million year old) sediments in the Atacama Desert of Chile. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Proponents of the megatoothed descendancy hypothesis (Applegate and Espinosa-Arrubarrena, 1996; Gottfried et al., 1996; Martin, 1996; Gottfried and Fordyce 2001; Purdy et al., 2001) base their conclusions upon aspects of shared tooth morphology between the modern C. carcharias and principally the extinct C. megalodon. These similarities include: similar tooth morphologies between juvenile C. megalodon and adult C. carcharias; fine tooth serration in both adult C. carcharias and C. megalodon; shared chevron-shaped neck area on the lingual surface of the upper anterior teeth, a mesially inclined large intermediate tooth and second anterior teeth symmetry (Gottfried et al., 1996; Gottfried and Fordyce, 2001; Purdy et al., 2001). Under this phylogenetic regime the megatoothed sharks are placed within the family Lamnidae and retain their genus Carcharodon.
The evolutionary history of Carcharodon megalodon is well understood from a large quantity of fossil evidence including many transitional specimens. The direct ancestry of C. megalodon can be traced at least as far back as the late Pliocene in the form of the large mackerel shark Otodus obliqus although if Cretolamna appendiculata is considered a chronospecies then this ancestry can be extended into the Lower Cretaceous. O. obliqus had large non serrated teeth with distinctive side cusps. During the middle Eocene the side cusps of O. obliqus reduced in size and the edges developed slight serration. This Eocene species is classified as Carcharocles auriculatus. A massive increase in shark body size accompanied by further reduction in teeth cusps and increased development in serrated edges marks the introduction of Carcharocles angustidens during the late Oligocene. Carcharodon megalodon finally evolved from C. angustidens during the early Miocene and is characterized by a further increase in body size, further development in serrated tooth cutting edges as well as a complete loss of teeth side cusps. The megatoothed descendancy hypothesis suggests that the origin of Carcharodon carcharias is derived in a form of dwarfism of Carcharodon megalodon (Ehret et al 2009).
The Isurus hastalis descendancy hypothesis argues that owing to a shared overall tooth shape and labio-lingual flattening in tooth morphology in both the later ‘broad-form’ I. hastalis (specifically the suggested transitional fossil Isurus xiphodon as described by Purdy et al. 2001) and Carcharodon carcharias, the megatoothed sharks should be viewed as a distinct and non related taxon (Casier 1960). This phylogenetic regime would see the megatoothed sharks placed in the separate family Otodontidae, containing other extinct genera such as Otodus and Parotodus, with Carcharodon megalodon being renamed as Carcharocles megalodon (Casier, 1960; Glickman, 1964; Capetta, 1987). Proponents of the Isurus hastalis descendancy hypothesis also argue that not only are tooth serrations in the megatoothed sharks much finer than those found in C. carcharias but that megatoothed sharks teeth lack enameloid in the neck area whereas C. carcharias does not (Nyberg et al. 2006).
The evolution of Isurus hastalis itself is reasonably well documented in the fossil record. All Mako sharks can find their ancestry in the Eocene epoch (approximately 50mya) with the arrival of Isurus praecursor. During the Oligocene epoch a new Mako shark, Isurus desori, appears in the fossil record. Fossils of Isurus desori are found to be almost cosmopolitan in their distribution and it is from this species that Isurus hastalis is likely to have evolved during the early Miocene. Initial forms of Isurus hastalis are relatively small and considerably longer than their width, thus these initial forms are often referred to as ‘narrow-form’ with later examples being referred to as ‘broad-form’ as their width increases in the mid to late Miocene (Alter 2013).
Casier (1960) makes suggestion of a possible transitional fossil in Isurus escheri where teeth were found to show slight fine marginal serration. Isurus escheri inhabited the waters of the Atlantic Ocean around the mid Miocene (approximately 10mya) and likely derived from the ‘narrow-form’ Isurus hastalis. Unfortunately it would appear that Isurus escheri would be an evolutionary dead-end as fossil evidence of their existence disappears within just a few million years.
True Carcharodon carcharias fossils with all modern characteristics represented have been dated back to the late Miocene with specimens being recovered from California, Maryland and Japan showing that by this time C. carcharias was already thriving across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans (Gottfried and Fordyce, 2001; Stewart, 1999, 2000, 2002; Hatai et al., 1974; Tanaka and Mori, 1996; Yabe, 2000). A fossil recovered from Peru and described by Muizon and DeVries (1985) was suggested as another transitional fossil in favour of the Isurus hastalis descendancy hypothesis on account of weak tooth serrations but this evidence is countered by Purdy (1996) and Purdy et al. (2001) who observe that this fossil (known internationally as the Sacaco sp. on account of its discovery in the Pisco formation of the Sacaco basin, Peru) is predated by the aforementioned C. carcharias discoveries.
Based upon the simplified evidence presented it would seem that the decision is of only two possible phylogenies. It seems this view is now over-simplified as new fossil and genetic evidence (Martin 1996; Martin et al 2002) shows that the Carcharodon lineage may have split from that of the Mako sharks much earlier than suggested here and that Isurus was not in fact a true Mako but truly of the Carcharodon lineage and should therefore be placed in the genus Cosmopolitodus to indicate as such (Glikman 1964).
For now there remains great scope for research into the ancestry of Carcharodon carcharias and it is likely that debate over the matter will continue for decades to come.
In addition to the literature cited below I would refer the reader to an excellent online article by Steven A. Alter based on his many years as a collector/dealer:
http://megalodonteeth.com/origin-of-the-modern-great-white-shark
In addition to the many excellent articles published online by Jim Bourdon at:
http://www.elasmo.com/
Cappetta, H. 1987. Chondrichthyes II. Mesozoic and Cenozoic Elasmobranchii; in H.-P. Schultze (ed.), Handbook of Paleoichthyology. Volume 3B. New York, NYVerlag Dr. Gustav Fischer193 pp.
Casier, E. 1960. Note sur la collection des poisons Pale´oce`nes et E ´ oce`nes de l’Enclave de Cabinda (Congo). Annales du Muse´e Royal du Congo Belge (A.3) 1, 2:1–48.
Ehret, D. J., G. Hubbell, and B. J. Macfadden. 2009. Exceptional preservation of the white shark Carcharodon (lamniformes, lamnidae) from the early pliocene of peru. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29:1 1-13.
Glickman, L. S. 1964. [Sharks of the Paleogene and their Stratigraphic Significance] . Nauka Press, Moscow: , 229 pp. [Russian].
Gottfried, M. D., and R. E. Fordyce. 2001. An associated specimen of Carcharodon angustidens (Chondrichthyes, Lamnidae) from the late Oligocene of New Zealand, with comments on Carcharodon interrelationships. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21:730–739.
Gottfried, M. D., L. J. V. Compagno, and S. C. Bowman. 1996. Size and skeletal anatomy of the giant “megatooth” shark Carcharodon megalodon; pp. 55–89 in A. Kimley, and D. Ainley (eds.), Great White Sharks: the Biology of Carcharodon carcharias. San Diego, California: Academic Press.
Martin, A. F. 1996. Systematics of the Lamnidae and origination time of Carcharodon carcharias inferred from the comparative analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences; pp. 49–53 in A. Kimley and D. Ainley (eds.), Great White Sharks: the Biology of Carcharodon carcharias. San Diego, California: Academic Press.
Martin, A. F., A. T. Pardini, L. F. Noble, and C. S. Jones. 2002. Conservation of a dinucleotide simple sequence repeat locus in sharks. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 23:205–213.
Nyberg, K. G., Ciampaglio, C. N., and G. A. Wray. 2006. Tracing the ancestry of the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, using morphometric analyses of fossil teeth. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26:806–814.
Purdy, R. 1996. Paleoecology of fossil white sharks; pp. 67–78 in A. Kimley, and D. Ainley (eds.), Great White Sharks: the Biology of Carcharodon carcharias. San Diego, California: Academic Press.
Purdy, R., Schneider, V. P., Applegate, S. P., McLellan, J. H., Meyer, R. L., and B. H. Slaughter. 2001. The Neogene sharks, rays, and bony fishes from Lee Creek Mine, Aurora, North Carolina; pp. 71–202 in C. E. Ray, and D. J. Bohaska (eds.), Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina, III. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology no. 90.
Smith, A. B. 1994. Systematics and the fossil record: documenting evolutionary patterns. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, England.
Stewart, J. D. 1999. Correlation of stratigraphic position with Isurus-Carcharodon tooth serration size in the Capistrano Formation, and its implications for the ancestry of Carcharodon carcharias. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 19(3, Supplement):78A.
Stewart, J. D. 2000. Late Miocene ontogenetic series of true Carcharodon teeth. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 20(3, Supplement): 71A.
Stewart, J. D. 2002. The first paleomagnetic framework for the Isurus hastalis-Carcharodon transition in the Pacific Basin: The Purisama Formation, Central California. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22(3, Supplement):111A.
Outer Hebrides Shark Search Expedition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OA3JQ7hvHc&t=4s
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Daniel M Moore
Daniel is a marine biologist with a passion for adventure. As a professional scientist he has worked in many remote locations around the world from isolated tropical volcanic islands to sub-arctic shorelines. When not pursuing his scientific interests he can usually be found seeking adventure in the mountains or on the ocean waves.
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Tag: Brad Wall
Episode 5: #MeToo rocks Canadian politics, Kara Levis and the PST, goodbye Brad Wall, and more.
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http://media.blubrry.com/daveberta/p/daveberta.ca/wp-content/uploads/podcast/Daveberta-Pod-5.mp3
A look at how allegations of sexual misconduct have rocked Canadian politics, Alberta Party leadership candidate Kara Levis‘ sales tax idea, how a change in leadership could change Alberta-Saskatchewan relations, what’s weird with the 2017 fundraising returns (Dave goes deep into the weeds), and some hot gossip from Alberta politics are just some of the topics covered in the latest episode of The Daveberta Podcast with Dave Cournoyer and Ryan Hastman (recorded in the Harry Strom Memorial Studios on Saturday, Jan 27, 2018).
Kara Levis
And we introduce a new regular segment – So you want to be a candidate – where Ryan and Dave share some helpful tips and advice for aspiring politicians looking to run for public office in 2019.
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and wherever you find podcasts online.
We’d love to hear what you think of the podcast, so feel free to leave a review where you download it and share the podcast with a friend. Also feel free to leave a comment on this blog, Facebook or Twitter or send us an email at podcast@daveberta.ca.
We’d also like to send a huge thanks to our producer, Adam Rozenhart, for his help in making this podcast a reality.
Tags #MeToo, Adam Rozenhart, Alberta Party Leadership Race 2018, Alberta Podcast, Alberta Politics Podcast, Alberta Provincial Sales Tax, Brad Wall, Dave Cournoyer, Daveberta Podcast, Jim Baillie, Kara Levis, Kent Hehr, Patrick Brown, Ryan Hastman
Alberta NDP win the Fake Trade War on the Prairies
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Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall
In one of his final acts as Premier of Saskatchewan, Brad Wall ended the brief and bizarre fake trade war his government launched against Alberta.
Deron Bilous
The ban on vehicles with Alberta license plates on Saskatchewan road worksites was initially framed as a retaliation for similar actions by the Alberta government. But when no evidence could be found that this was actually happening in Alberta, the ban was soon framed as a retaliation for the Alberta Government’s support of the province’s booming craft beer industry.
Anyone who pays attention to Alberta politics will know the New Democratic Party has been enthusiastic supporters of the province’s craft beer industry. Out-of-province brewers claim changes that have helped distilleries in Alberta triple from 18 in 2014 to 54 in 2017 are unconstitutional. The government does not appear to have any intention of stepping back, and Finance Minister Joe Ceci, in particular, has spent a considerable amount of time showing his support for Alberta craft beer.
While Economic Development and Trade Minister Deron Bilous tried to make sense of the Saskatchewan government’s insistence on meeting in Medicine Hat rather than Lloydminster, at lot of Albertans couldn’t help but think we might be getting punk’d. Bilous was about to inform the New West Partnership trade secretariat of the dispute when the Saskatchewan Government blinked, or backed down.
The fake trade war was seen by some political watchers as a strategic failure or a distraction from scandals and unpopular decisions that plagued Wall’s Government in its final year. But it was also consistent with Wall’s ongoing adversarial relationship with Premier Rachel Notley, and the NDP in general.
A decade ago, Wall was the fresh face for conservatism on the prairies after he led his party to unseat a 16-year old NDP government. But after ten years in office, Wall has assumed the role as the leading voice of grumpy conservatism in Western Canada.
Wall, who continues to enjoy incredible popularity in his province and among Conservative partisans in Alberta, raised the white flag days before he is set to retire as Premier.
While New Democrats in the Alberta Legislature will be pleased to see Wall ride into the political sunset, it remains unclear whether his successor will be open to a more cordial relationship with their provincial neighbours.
Alberta’s NDP should enjoy their quick victory in the fake trade war on the prairies, but they should not lose focus as the real political battle continues to brew to the west – and that fight is about oil pipelines, not licence plates or beer.
The Saskatchewan Party will choose its next leader on Jan. 27, 2018. Candidates include former cabinet ministers Tina Beaudry-Mellor, Ken Cheveldayoff, Scott Moe, Gordon Wyant and former senior public servant Alanna Koch.
Tags Alana Koch, Alberta Craft Breweries, Alberta NDP, Alberta-Saskatchewan Relations, Brad Wall, Deron Bilous, Gordon Wyant, Joe Ceci, Ken Cheveldayoff, Kinder Morgan Trans-Mountain Pipeline, Licence Plates, Rachel Notley, Saskatchewan Party, Scott Moe, Tina Beaudry-Mellor, Trade War
The Energy East Blame Game. Who blames who?
6 Comments on The Energy East Blame Game. Who blames who?
Today’s announcement by the TransCanada Corporation that it would no longer pursue the construction of the Energy East Pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta to Saint John, New Brunswick triggered a storm of statements, accusations and criticisms from politicians trying to drive their political narratives.
While the reasons for the TransCanada Corporation withdrawing its plans are likely influenced more by economics than by politics, there will certainly be political implications for the politicians – like Premier Rachel Notley – who have tethered their governing agenda to the approval of pipeline projects.
So, politics being politics, here is a quick look at who is blaming who for the demise of the Energy East Pipeline:
The TransCanada Corporation blames existing and likely future delays caused by the National Energy Board regulatory process, associated costs and challenging “issues and obstacles” facing the project.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley blames “a broad range of factors that any responsible business must consider.”
New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant doesn’t blame the TransCanada Corporation, but recognizes “recent changes to world market conditions and the price of oil have negatively impacted the viability of the project.”
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall blames Justin Trudeau, the federal government, and Montreal mayor Denis Coderre.
Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr blames the decision to cancel the pipeline project as a business decision.
Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer blames Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Alberta Liberal MPs Randy Boissonnault, Amarjeet Sohi and Kent Hehr blame “current market challenges related to world market conditions and lower commodity prices.
Calgary Conservative MP Michelle Rempel blames “Liberal ideological opposition to the wealth and prosperity of western Canada, to the detriment of the nation as a whole.”
United Conservative Party interim leader Nathan Cooper blames the Alberta NDP.
UCP leadership candidate Brian Jean blames Rachel Notley, Justin Trudeau and Denis Coderre.
UCP leadership candidate Jason Kenney blames the Alberta NDP carbon-tax and social license, and the Trudeau Liberals. He later also blames Denis Coderre.
UCP leadership candidate Doug Schweitzer blames Justin Trudeau and Rachel Notley.
Alberta Party leader Greg Clark blames the Alberta NDP.
Alberta Liberal leader David Khan blames economic factors, describing the decision as “a business decision by TransCanada based on current economic and political realities.”
UCP MLA Drew Barnes blames Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.
UCP MLA Prasad Panda blames the Alberta NDP’s carbon tax.
Tags Alberta Oil, Amarjeet Sohi, Andrew Scheer, Blame Game, Brad Wall, Brian Gallant, Brian Jean, Carbon Tax, David Khan, Denis Coderre, Doug Schweitzer, Drew Barnes, Greg Clark, Jason Kenney, Jim Carr, Justin Trudeau, Kent Hehr, Michelle Rempel, Nathan Cooper, Oil Pipelines, Prasad Panda, Rachel Notley, Randy Boissonnault, TransCanada Energy East Pipeline
Nothing new under the Prairie Sun: Alberta’s Social Credit Invasion of Saskatchewan
10 Comments on Nothing new under the Prairie Sun: Alberta’s Social Credit Invasion of Saskatchewan
The recent news that Premier Brad Wall’s Saskatchewan Party is flush with cash from Calgary-based corporations is both noteworthy and concerning. Due to that province’s lax political finance laws, the Saskatchewan Party is reported to have received at least $2 million in donations from Alberta-based energy companies since 2006. This is notable considering the Premier’s fierce opposition to the federal government’s plans to fight climate change and his frequent criticisms of Premier Rachel Notley’s NDP government (a government that has banned corporate donations to political parties).
William Aberhart
Mr. Wall is not the first Saskatchewan politician to get his financial backing from Calgary. There was a time when the people of Saskatchewan faced another, more literal, political invasion from Alberta.
Seventy-eight years ago, Alberta Premier William Aberhart staged an invasion of Saskatchewan politics.
Mr. Aberhart’s Social Credit Party had swept the 1935 Alberta election, going from zero to 56 seats and forming a majority government during the height of the Great Depression. Upon learning of the election victory, the Social Credit Greenshirts in London were reported to have marched around the Bank of England Building holding torches and blowing their trumpets (no doubt inspired by the Battle of Jericho).
During its first decade in government, Mr. Aberhart’s radical administration tried to print its own currency, legislate control over the media, nationalize the banking system and ban alcohol sales.
Major C.H. Douglas
Eager to spread the gospel of Major C.H. Douglas and Social Credit theory, Mr. Aberhart’s party propped up a Socred Party in Saskatchewan to contest the June 8, 1938 provincial election. The Alberta Premier viewed Saskatchewan as a beachhead for his party’s expansion across Canada and, eventually, to Ottawa.
While The Battlefords Member of Parliament Joseph Needham was party leader by default, the Saskatchewan Social Credit Party organization in that election was manufactured by Albertans. It was run by Alberta MLA and Provincial Secretary Ernest Manning, who would succeed Mr. Aberhart as Premier in 1943 and serve until his retirement 1968.
Ernest Manning
Nearly all of Alberta’s Social Credit MLAs and cabinet ministers hit the hustings in Saskatchewan, spending weeks campaigning for local candidates. Mr. Aberhart spent two weeks on the campaign trail, speaking to rallies across Saskatchewan along with a band of experts in Social Credit theory.
“The outlook in Saskatchewan is very encouraging,” Mr. Aberhart was reported to have said upon a brief return to Alberta in May 1938. “It would appear from the definite interest manifested by the people who gathered in such large numbers that they realize a change is absolutely necessary,” Mr. Aberhart said.
The “troupe from Alberta invading Saskatchewan,” as one Saskatchewan newspaper described them, did not go unnoticed and faced fierce opposition from local political establishment and opponents on both sides of the provincial border.
A political cartoon in The Leader-Post in May 1938.
The intentions of Social Credit candidates on the ballot were called into question by The Leader-Post, whose editors asked in a June 6 editorial who they would be loyal to if elected. “Will their loyalty be given to the Alberta Premier or to the people of Saskatchewan?,” the editorial asked.
Saskatchewan’s Liberal Minister of Natural Resources, William Franklin Kerr, called Social Credit a disease and claimed that if its candidates were elected those MLAs would represent the Premier of Alberta in the Saskatchewan Legislature.
John Hugill, a former Social Credit Attorney General who had become an outspoken critic of Mr. Aberhart, said in May 1938 that the Alberta Premier “visualizes being the dominant force in the political life of Western Canada as a stepping stone to becoming the Hitler of Canada.”
On the eve of the election, Mr. Aberhart is reported to have spoken to a rally of 5,000 people in the Town of Melville. The rally was policed by party activists, wearing official Social Credit armbands, who tossed out protesters from the event. It is unclear if the armbands were accompanied by official party uniforms. This was 1938 after all.
“Mr. Aberhart and his government are a peril to the people of Alberta. Not only is he a threat to Alberta, but his actions coming into Saskatchewan and disrupting the affairs of neighbouring province has been a menace to Canadian unity,” J.T. Shaw told The Leader-Post in June 1938. Mr. Shaw was a Knight of Columbus who traveled from Calgary to campaign against the spread of the Social Credit menace in Saskatchewan.
On June 6, the Kerrobert League for Democracy, based in the town of Kerrobert, sent a telegram to the chairman of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation asking him to stop Mr. Aberhart’s radio broadcasts into Saskatchewan. “The law prohibits radio broadcasting of political propaganda for certain periods before election days,” the League wrote. “…Premier Aberhart of Alberta took unsportsmanlike advantage of situation by broadcasting his propaganda against Saskatchewan opponents from Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute Sunday…”
Mr. Aberhart earned his nickname, “Bible Bill” from his weekly Christian radio sermons broadcast from the Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute in downtown Calgary.
Despite his best efforts, Mr. Aberhart’s Social Credit invasion of Saskatchewan was repelled. The Liberal Party led by Premier William Patterson was re-elected with a reduced majority of 38 seats and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation formed official opposition with 10 seats. The Social Credit Party earned only 15.9 percent of the vote and elected two MLAs.
“The Alberta-run Social Credit election effort in Saskatchewan provided only two Social Credit seats in a fifty-five-seat house… The Social Credit revolution had been stopped at the Alberta-Saskatchewan border,” wrote historian Alvin Finkel in his 1989 book The Social Credit Phenomenon.
The Leader-Post editorial on the day following the election read: “The result is also satisfactory because it means the repulse of an outside government that threw itself into the domestic affairs of a neighboring province and attempted to lure Saskatchewan into adopting a plan of government and economics that has failed signally in Alberta. Mr. Aberhart and his men can now go home and attend to the business of running the province of Alberta, where they will find plenty of work to do. Mr. Aberhart may now cease from his extravagant claims that the people of the west are clamouring for Social Credit.”
Tags 1938 Saskatchewan Election, Alberta History, Alvin Finkel, Battle of Jericho, Brad Wall, Ernest Manning, Greenshirts, J.T. Shaw, John Hugill, Joseph Needham, Kerrobert League for Democracy, Major C.H. Douglas, Rachel Notley, Social Credit Invasion of Saskatchewan, Social Credit Theory, The Social Credit Phenomenon, William Aberhart, William Franklin Kerr, William Patterson
Notley searches for her Lougheed moment by demanding pipelines for Trudeau’s carbon tax
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Former Premier Peter Lougheed and former Minister Pierre Trudeau, sometime political adversaries in the disputes over Canada's oil development in the 1980s.
Demanding the federal government help “break the landlock” and support the construction of oil pipelines from Alberta, Premier Rachel Notley and Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips drew a line for Alberta’s support of the Justin Trudeau government’s proposed national carbon pricing plan. In a statement released today, Ms. Notley stated that the Alberta government would not support the federal carbon pricing plan without federal support for increased “energy infrastructure” (a.k.a. oil pipelines).
There is nothing more Albertan than a good old fashioned political battle between the provincial government and Ottawa over energy issues. Premier Notley may be hoping this standoff could be reminiscent of the heated political disputes that took place between the governments of Premier Peter Lougheed and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the 1970s and 1980s. In the case of Mr. Lougheed, an iconic figure in Alberta politics, political fights with Ottawa can help boost a politician’s popularity at home.
When Progressive Conservative leader Jim Prentice began casting the New Democratic Party as “extremists” during the 2015 election, Ms. Notley frequently turned to quotes by Mr. Lougheed to support her party’s positions on issues like raising corporate taxes.
Ms. Notley’s NDP have been vocal supporters of the expansion of the Kinder Morgan Trans-Mountain Pipeline and the TransCanada Energy East Pipeline since she became party leader in 2014. Now, as government, the Alberta NDP’s support for oil pipeline expansion has contributed to an increasingly deep divide between the national and provincial NDP in this province. The national NDP, with strong support in anti-pipeline constituencies in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, has played a much less supportive role in advocating for Alberta’s oil industry.
Brad Wall
The Alberta government’s criticism of the federal government puts Ms. Notley in the company of conservative Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, a constant critic of Ottawa. But unlike Mr. Wall’s government, which has dragged its feet on tackling climate change, Ms. Notley’s government cannot be accused of doing nothing to address climate change. Alberta’s NDP government has led the charge with its flagship ‘Climate Leadership Plan‘ which includes its own carbon tax and an aggressive phasing out of dirty coal-fired power plants.
The Alberta NDP plan enjoys the support of environmental groups and oil and gas industry heavyweights like Cenovus, Suncor, CNRL and Shell.
Meanwhile, opposition groups like the Wildrose Party are literally hoping to rehash the political battles of the 1980s. The official opposition Wildrose Party circulated a meme online today comparing the national carbon tax announcement to the unpopular National Energy Program of the 1980s. The Wildrose Party continues to be fierce critics of the federal Liberals and NDP but party leader Brian Jean has yet to offer any alternative solutions to reduce carbon emissions.
Ironically, the Wildrose Party’s 2015 election platform proposes to “Ensure Alberta’s standards for CO2 emissions and pollutants are in line with national and international standards.” This statement was written during a time when Stephen Harper was Prime Minister and a national climate change plan was nowhere on the agenda. It is amazing how quickly politics can change in a short seventeen months.
‘Breaking the landlock,’ which I predict will become the latest political buzzword, is analogous to the “bitumen bubble” that former premier Alison Redford warned Albertans of in a televised address in 2014. Both buzzwords are part of a public campaign to build pipelines that would presumably allow for easier export of Alberta’s oil, and allow the private companies exporting the oil to sell Western Canadian Select at a lower discount rate than in previous years. This probably would not make a significant difference to Alberta until the international price of oil rebounds.
Over the past year, Ms. Notley has shown her willingness to work with Mr. Trudeau on a wide-range of issues. This may have led the Prime Minister to expect he would find an ally in Ms. Notley in his bid to implement a national carbon pricing plan. But by attaching strings to Alberta’s support for a national carbon pricing plan, Ms. Notley is playing a political game that could pay out political dividends at home. In a fight between the Alberta government and Ottawa, as Mr. Lougheed discovered, you can bet that nine times out of ten, Albertans will side with Edmonton.
Here is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s speech in the House of Commons today announcing the national carbon pricing plan:
Tags Alberta NDP, Alison Redford, Bitumen Bubble, Brad Wall, Break the Landlock, Brian Jean, Carbon Tax, Climate Change P, Climate Leadership Plan, Jim Prentice, Peter Lougheed, Rachel Notley, Shannon Phillips, Stephen Harper, Wildrose Party
A Timeline of Derek Fildebrandt’s bizarre “suspension” from Wildrose
7 Comments on A Timeline of Derek Fildebrandt’s bizarre “suspension” from Wildrose
The Wildrose Party was not one big happy family this week. Albertans might be confused about what exactly happened between Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean and Finance critic Derek Fildebrandt.
It might be one of the most bizarre political stories of 2016.
Mr. Fildebrandt’s “suspension” and quick return to the Official Opposition Wildrose Caucus is being spun by party strategists as a reaction to a social media faux-pas but it is widely interpreted by political watchers as an internal power play to neutralize a potential challenger to Mr. Jean’s leadership of the party.
An outspoken critic and a fierce partisan, Mr. Fildebrandt has been a opponent of nearly everything the New Democratic Party government has proposed since it formed government in 2015. But the second highest profile MLA in the opposition benches has also attracted his share of controversy.
Here’s the timeline of what has become a fascinating internal struggle for power inside Alberta’s Wildrose Party:
As Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne was a guest at Alberta’s Legislative Assembly, Official Opposition Finance critic Mr. Fildebrandt attacked her record as premier as she sat in the Speaker’s Gallery. In reference to Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, Mr. Fildebrandt shouted “Invite Premier Wall here! Invite Premier Wall“ at Premier Rachel Notley as she tried to answer a question during Question Period. Ms. Wynne was in Edmonton to meet with Ms. Notley to discuss climate change and her potential support for the TransCanada Corporation’s Energy East Pipeline from Alberta to New Brunswick.
Wildrose Caucus House leader Nathan Cooper held a press conference defending his party’s decision to criticize Ms. Wynne and suggested the Wildrose MLAs might not have known she was actually in the Assembly gallery at the time. The move was almost universally seen as being in bad taste and led Postmedia columnist Graham Thomson to refer to the Wildrose as “Team Petulant.”
A screen shot of a Facebook message began circulating on social media early Friday evening showing a comment from a supporter on Mr. Fildebrandt’s Facebook page referring to Ms. Wynne as “Mr. Wynne or whatever the hell she identifies as” – an apparent reference to the fact Ms. Wynne is openly gay. The author of the comment added that he was “proud to have you as my MLA,” and Mr. Fildebrandt initially responded, “Proud to have constituents like you!” Mr. Fildebrandt quickly apologized online, responding that he did not fully read the comment and that it was totally inappropriate.
Mr. Jean issued a public statement around 11:30 p.m. announcing the suspension of Mr. Fildebrandt from the Wildrose Caucus because of the comments he made on social media: ‘This evening, Mr. Fildebrandt made an unacceptable comment on social media that does not represent the values of the Wildrose Caucus.’ This was seen a very serious and unexpected move by Mr. Jean, who was in Vancouver attending the Conservative Party of Canada national convention at the time.
Mr. Jean faced criticism from a massive mob of party supporters online who were opposed to the suspension.
Ms. Wynne accepted Mr. Fildebrandt’s apology for the Facebook comment. “But, you know, I think it was an interesting confluence of things. There’s a woman premier in Alberta, I’m there as a woman, we’re talking about climate change. And I think the attack, the viciousness of the attack, had a particular quality to it. So, I will just say we need to pay attention to that,” Ms. Wynne told the Canadian Press.
Ronda Klemmensen, President of Mr.Fildebrandt’s Strathmore-Brooks Wildrose constituency association spoke out against the suspension. Ms. Klemmensen was backed by the Drumheller-Stettler Wildrose constituency association and at least five other associations that wrote letters in support of Mr. Fildebrandt. Lakeland Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs posts a comment on Facebook in support of Mr. Fildebrandt.
Calgary-Shepard Conservative MP Tom Kmeic tweeted his support for Mr. Fildebrandt.
You cannot make friends out of your enemies by making enemies out of your friends. @Dfildebrandt should be reinstated into #wrp caucus.
— Tom Kmiec (@tomkmiec) May 30, 2016
CBC journalist Kim Trynacity reported that Legislative Assembly Speaker Bob Wanner‘s office had never received official notice informing them that Mr. Fildebrandt was suspended, meaning he had remained a Wildrose MLA even though Mr. Jean’s statement claimed he was suspended.
As of this afternoon, the Speaker's office in the #ableg had not received notice that @Dfildebrandt was suspended from the #WRP .
— Kim Trynacity (@LedgeWatcher) May 30, 2016
Mr. Jean held a press conference announcing that Mr. Fildebrandt could return to the Wildrose Caucus if he took actions to behave himself on social media and met a list of secret conditions.
The five secret conditions were not secret for long. They were first reported on daveberta.ca and soon after by Postmedia. The conditions were: 1) He is suspended from the Wildrose Official Opposition Caucus until the end of the current Legislative Session. 2) He will be on probation until September 1, 2016. 3) He has to commit to personal improvement and personal development. 4) He would be prohibited from doing any media interviews except with local media in his Strathmore-Brooks constituency. 5) He will not be reappointed as Finance critic when he returns to the Wildrose Caucus.
The Wildrose Caucus released a statement announcing Mr. Fildebrandt had been fully reinstated in the Official Opposition and had retained his post as Finance critic. The five secret conditions given to Mr. Fildebrandt on May 30 appeared to had been dropped and the only condition of his return was that he hire a staffer to manage his social media accounts. The Wildrose statement claimed five secret conditions reported in media were “not accurate” but sources close to Mr. Fildebrandt confirm the five secret conditions did indeed exist.
Speaking in Calgary, Ms. Notley said “with respect to the waffling back and forth in terms of whether Mr. Fildebrandt is in or out, or on side, or whatever it is today, I think we see a party that’s in a bit of disarray.”
AlbertaPolitics.ca blogger David Climenhaga suggested that Mr. Jean may have violated the Wildrose Party constitution by how Mr. Fildebrandt was suspended.
A close advisor of Mr. Fildebrandt’s, Jordan Katz, confirmed to Postmedia columnist Rick Bell that the secret conditions did exist and he questioned whether a quote endorsing Mr. Jean’s leadership in the Wildrose statement issued on May 31 was actually approved by Mr. Fildebrandt.
Mr. Fildebrandt returns to the Legislative Assembly for the first time since his “suspension” on Friday, May 27. “There’s always going to be hurt feelings. I’m sitting down with people, talking one on one, face to face. And I think at the end of the day, we’re all going to come out of this stronger as a caucus and ready to go forward,” Mr. Fildebrandt told the CBC.
Tags Alberta NDP, Bob Wanner, Brad Wall, Brian Jean, Climate Change, Conservative Party of Canada, David Climenhaga, Derek Fildebrandt, Drumheller-Stettler, Graham Thomson, Jordan Katz, Kathleen Wynne, Kim Trynacity, Nathan Cooper, Postmedia, Rachel Notley, Rick Bell, Ronda Klemmensen, Shannon Stubbs, Strathmore-Brooks, Suspended MLA, Team Petulant, Tom Kmeic, TransCanada Energy East Pipeline, Wildrose Civil War, Wildrose Party
Keystone XL is dead. New government means climate change back on the agenda.
5 Comments on Keystone XL is dead. New government means climate change back on the agenda.
A sunny day on the campus of University of California, Berkeley.
Having enjoyed the last week in the sunny Berkeley, California, it felt odd to turn on the car radio to hear the local disc jockeys discussing the tarsands and the merits of a pipeline that would pump unrefined bitumen from Canada to Texas. Being one of the most liberal areas in the U.S. – there were more than a few cars sporting “Bernie Sanders 2016″ bumper stickers – the discussion revolved around climate change and the environmental impact of the tarsands.
So, to the shock of no one who was paying attention, American President Barack Obama rejected the TransCanada corporation’s application for the cross-border permit needed to link the Keystone XL pipeline across the Canada-United States border.
It had become clear over the past few years that the project was unlikely to be approved by the American President. While counter-messages from the oil industry and environmental groups set the tone internationally, opposition to the pipeline by a handful of rural landowners in Nebraska is what ended up tying the pipeline project in the courts.
While the rejection of Keystone XL represents a victory for the projects opponents, it also represents a failure of Canadian foreign policy. For the past decade, the federal and provincial governments have been subsidizing TransCanada by spending significant amount of time and resources providing public funding for the pipeline through lobbying activities.
Elected officials like former Premier Alison Redford and her cabinet ministers were essentially publicly-funded lobbyists as they travelled to the U.S. dozens of times to advocate for Keystone XL and other oil industry projects. The decision by Jim Prentice to appoint well-connected Member of Parliament Rob Merrifield to the post of Alberta’s representative in Washington D.C. was supposed to give a boost to the government’s pipeline lobbying goals (he was later dismissed by Premier Rachel Notley). And the government led by Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall was reported to have paid at least $3 million to lobbyists in Washington D.C.
The Conservative government of Stephen Harper, which was rejected by Canadians on Oct. 19, had arguably been the most pro-oil industry administration we have seen in decades. But instead of trying to build a national consensus in favour of projects like Keystone XL, the Conservative government demonized opposition to the pipelines in Canada. Opponents of Bill C-51 claimed that new spy laws passed by the former Conservative government with support from the Liberals could target Canadian citizens who oppose the expansion of oil pipelines.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared his support for TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline in a speech to the Calgary Petroleum Club in October 2013 while also criticizing the Conservative government’s approach to lobbying for the pipeline in Washington D.C. “They have poked and prodded, annoyed and irritated the Obama administration at every turn. Largely, I suspect, because they don’t know how to work with people who don’t share their ideology,” Mr. Trudeau told Calgary’s oil elite.
While Mr. Trudeau has not publicly supported TransCanada’s other major pipeline project, the Energy East pipeline, new Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr faces a challenging task of managing the interprovincial politics of pipelines. An Energy East pipeline that would would pump oil from Alberta to port terminals in New Brunswick or Quebec, keeping jobs in Canada, was endorsed by Ms. Notley and New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant last month.
The appointment of Ottawa MP Catherine McKenna as Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and former environment minister Stephane Dion as Minister of Foreign Affairs signals that the new federal government may not be as singularly focused on pipelines as the previous government. Mr. Dion is well versed in environmental policy after serving as environment minister from 2004 to 2006 and spearheading the Green Shift policy while leading the Liberal opposition in the 2008 election.
Catherine McKenna
One of the new federal government’s first major tasks will be to bring its ideas to address climate change to COP21, the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, being held Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 in Paris, France. Ms. McKenna will be advised by a strong Alberta voice in these matters, with former Pembina Institute executive director Marlo Reynolds, a Canmore, Alberta resident, as her chief of staff.
Ms. Notley and Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips will also be attending the conference in Paris.
The Pembina Institute may have spotted one of the biggest changes that the rejection of TransCanada’s Keystone XL signifies for Canada’s new foreign relations and energy strategies. In a statement released yesterday, Alberta director Simon Dyer said the “decision by President Obama reiterates that climate change is a key consideration for all energy infrastructure projects going forward.”
Tags Alison Redford, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, Brad Wall, Brian Gallant, Calgary Petroleum Club, Catherine McKenna, COP21 Climate Change Conference, Jim Prentice, Justin Trudeau, Marlo Raynolds, Nebraska, Oil Sands Alberta, Pembina Institute, Rachel Notley, Rob Merrifield, Shannon Phillips, Stephane Dion, Stephen Harper, Tar Sands Alberta, TransCanada Energy East Pipeline, TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline, University of California Berkeley
Notley should avoid getting dragged into oilsands election trap
15 Comments on Notley should avoid getting dragged into oilsands election trap
When Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper claimed on the campaign trail last week that Alberta’s new government was “a disaster,” Premier Rachel Notley and Finance Minister Joe Ceci calmly and cautiously responded.
But when Mr. Harper again criticized Alberta’s new government during a brief stop in Edmonton this week, Mr. Ceci delivered a sharply worded response criticizing the federal Conservatives eight consecutive years of budget deficits.
The decision to stay out of the personal fight was typical of Ms. Notley, who already demonstrated her ability to fly above the political fray when Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall attempted to goad her into a political war of words last month.
Mr. Harper’s bluster is a sign of larger problems for the Ottawa Conservatives across Canada. Nationally, they are in a three-way race with the NDP and Liberals. Provincially, the political environment in Alberta has undergone a seismic shift and the Conservatives no longer have natural allies sitting in government in Edmonton.
Should Notley respond to McQuaig?
Acting as if the topic of natural resource policy should be taboo in election campaigns, Conservative politicians and columnists have wasted no time pilling on Toronto Centre NDP candidate Linda McQuaig and other NDP and Liberal candidates for comments made about Canada’s oil sands .
Ms. McQuaig is known for her strong opinions about Canada’s natural resources, she should not be demonized for staking a position in the public debate (well-known public deviants such as former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney and former Premier Peter Lougheed also questioned the speed of growth and environmental impact of oil development).
While support for the oilsands and pipeline construction is high in Alberta and Saskatchewan, there is significant public opposition in other parts of Canada.
A lax approach to environmental concerns has cost Alberta in political currency and a visceral reaction to these criticisms will not help build a successful public case for oilsands expansion and pipeline construction across Canada.
Having already described the oilsands as a “tremendous public asset,” Ms. Notley should not get caught in the trap of rebutting every political candidate or commenter who criticizes the province’s natural resource track record. The appointment of an expert panel to recommend a new approach to climate change has the potential to have a more positive impact on public opinion.
But what Ms. McQuaig’s comments do suggest is that a future divide between elements of the federal NDP and Ms. Notley’s provincial NDP over the future of natural resource development is almost inevitable. And when it comes to national debates about energy, Albertans will rally behind their Premier, regardless of who sits in office in Ottawa.
Tags Brad Wall, Canada Federal Election 2015, Disaster, Joe Ceci, Linda McQuaig, Mark Carney, Oilsands, Peter Lougheed, Pipelines, Rachel Notley, Stephen Harper
Notley strikes a collaborative tone in Canada’s pipeline debate
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Pick a pipeline. It is sure to be controversial
This week’s Council of the Federation meeting in St. John’s, Newfoundland marked Alberta Premier Rachel Notley’s first appearance on the national stage since the NDP won a stunning victory in the May 5, 2015 provincial election. The new premier used the meeting to strike a more collaborative tone than her Conservative predecessors, who sometimes appeared more interested in chest-thumping than negotiating with their counterparts from other provinces.
Taking a different approach raised the ire of one of Ms. Notley’s staunchest conservative critics, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall. Mr. Wall lashed out against Ms. Notley for her willingness to negotiate with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard over the TransCanada corporation’s Energy East pipeline.
Three weeks ago, Mr. Couillard told reporters that he saw little economic value for his province from the Energy East pipeline. He was not alone in this opinion. Two-thirds of Quebecois are opposed to that pipeline, according to one poll released in late 2014. This opposition is likely the reason why Mr. Couillard laid out some potential conditions related to climate change and environmental issues in exchange for his support of the pipeline going through his province.
Mr. Couillard may have opposed the pipeline without a compromise and may still oppose it, but Ms. Notley has succeeded in keeping the dialogue open.
Like every other premier sitting around the table at this week’s meeting, Ms. Notley, Mr. Couillard and Mr. Wall have their own political agendas in mind.
While conservatives have fallen over themselves praising Mr. Wall as a voice for Canada’s oil industry, we should not believe for a moment that he has Alberta’s best interests in mind. In the days after Albertans elected Ms. Notley’s government on May 5, Mr. Wall and his ministers were inviting the oil industry to abandon Alberta and move east to Saskatchewan.
If you believe Mr. Wall that compromise on national issues is not acceptable, remember that he has asked the rest of Canada for concessions in the past, most recently when Saskatchewan agreed to sign on to the National Securities Regulator in 2014.
Shannon Phillips
The premiers signed on to a Canadian Energy Strategy, which could be an important first step in national cooperation but does not approve pipelines or targets to reduce carbon emissions. As long as Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the federal Conservative government refuse to participate in these meetings, there is only so much that can be achieved.
What is clear is that previous strategies used by Alberta premiers to promote expansion of pipelines from Alberta’s oilsands has fallen flat. And with this week’s major oil pipeline leak in northern Alberta, critics and opponents of pipeline expansion to change their minds without assurances of stricter environmental regulations.
Compromise and negotiation should be part of politics in any democratic country. On any controversial projects, like cross-Canada pipeline expansion, it should be expected that local political realities in provinces and First Nations will slow, or block, attempts to force through industrial projects.
Alberta’s poor environmental record has helped fuel opposition to the oilsands and the proposed pipelines that would carry our natural resources to ports in all directions. Our province’s status as a national laggard on environmental issues is a big reason Ms. Notley and Environment Minister Shannon Phillips announced last month that University of Alberta economist Andrew Leach would lead a panel to recommend a new climate change plan for Alberta.
With a new government, Alberta has an opportunity to show our critics, through collaboration, negotiation and action, that strong leadership on economic and environmental issues are not mutually exclusive. That would be a refreshing change.
Tags Andrew Leach, Brad Wall, Canadian Energy Strategy, National Securities Regulator, Philippe Couillard, Rachel Notley, Shannon Phillips, Stephen Harper, TransCanada Energy East Pipeline
Notley NDP waste no time implementing popular progressive agenda in former conservative heartland
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Premier Rachel Notley (centre) and Infrastructure Minister Brian Mason (right) announce that former Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge (left) will advise the new government. (Photo Credit to premierofalberta on Flickr)
Banning corporate and union donations: Check.
Restoring funding to health, education and human services: Check.
Increasing corporate taxes: Check.
Introducing a new climate change strategy: Coming soon.
Phasing in a $15 per hour minimum wage: Coming soon.
Reviewing Alberta’s natural resource royalty framework: Coming soon.
Progress is the order of business in Canada’s so-called Conservative heartland as Premier Rachel Notley’s newly elected Alberta NDP government begins implementing the main promises from their winning election platform. Leaders of the previous PC regime, Alison Redford and Jim Prentice, styled themselves as Progressive Conservatives, their actions rarely matched their words. The NDP proposed a fairly moderate progressive agenda and it is refreshing to see it take action so quickly after the election.
Marg McCuaig Boyd
Revenue and tax reform was a big issue before and during the recent election, with Mr. Prentice and the opposition argued over how best to remove Alberta from the oil revenue roller coaster. It remains clear that Alberta cannot continue to rely on revenues generated from oil and gas royalties to fund the provincial operating budget. Both the PCs and NDP proposed tax increases in the recent election, but Mr. Prentice’s refusal to increase corporate taxes, even symbolically, was a huge miscalculation.
While conservatives preach doom and gloom, our province still has corporate and personal tax rates lower than when Ralph Klein was premier, no provincial sales tax, and huge reserves of oil and gas. Alberta will now have the same corporate tax rate as Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
But there is still plenty more for the new government to do. Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier should extend protections to farmworkers injured on the job. Municipal Affairs Minister Deron Bilous should follow calls from Calgary’s Naheed Nenshi and Edmonton’s Don Iveson and Michael Janz to reform municipal election finance laws. And the province can do much more to clean up provincial election laws, something that a new all-party committee will be tasked to do soon (and they should consider adopting some of the amendments made by Wildrose MLAs during recent debates in the Legislature).
Kathleen Ganley
Apologizing for previous governments lack of action to stop residential schools and calling for a national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women was absolutely the right step to take but action needs to follow. Justice and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kathleen Ganley needs to show through government policy that this apology is more than just political posturing.
The government also announced it will soon take action to improve Alberta’s record of poor environmental management and lack of action of climate change, which has helped fuel international opposition to pipeline expansion and the oil sands. On climate change, the PCs lost the public relations battle years ago. Now the challenge will fall to Ms. Notley, Environment Minister Shannon Phillips and Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd to win the policy war on climate change.
I do not have enough room in this post to even begun to discuss the challenges facing Health Minister Sarah Hoffman and Education Minister David Eggen (which will be included in a series of future posts).
As the new government moves forward with what in most other provinces would be considered a moderate progressive agenda, Canada’s conservative outrage industry is gearing up its attacks on the Alberta’s new government.
Talking heads like Ezra Levant are fuelling the paranoia of right-wing fringe conservatives afraid we are witnessing a Red Dawn-style communistic coup (federal Conservative candidate Kerry Diotte and Wildrose MLAs Drew Barnes and Rick Strankman were among the registered spectators at one of Mr. Levant’s travelling circus shows). And recent opinion editorials by critics like conservative economist Jack Mintz, who suggested Alberta could be the next Greece, have verged on the bizarre.
Drew Barnes
Ms. Notley and Infrastructure Minister Brian Mason moved quickly to quell criticism of their fiscal plan by announcing last week that former Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge will be advising the Premier on infrastructure investment issues. Hiring Mr. Dodge is a smart move and shows a willingness to bring in talent from outside traditional NDP circles.
Aside from the angry conservatives, the new government appears to still enjoy popular support from Albertans, who tossed out the scandal-ridden and tone deaf Tories on May 5. Recent polling shows Ms. Notley, still in her honeymoon period, enjoying the approval of 53% of Albertans, making her the second most popular premier in Canada next to Saskatchewan’s Brad Wall.
The NDP need to be careful not to cut short their honeymoon by making small mistakes. They have already faced criticism for hiring too many provincial outsiders and the media is poking around the perceived influence of Ms. Notley’s husband. These are minor issues that I am sure most Albertans will look past today but the small mistakes can pile up quickly if the new government is not careful.
If the NDP can continue to limit their missteps, focus on implementing their popular platform, and remember why Albertans endorsed Ms. Notley’s charismatic leadership, they will enjoy a warm welcome on the summer political barbecue and parade circuit.
Tags Alison Redford, Brad Wall, Brian Mason, David Dodge, David Eggen, Don Iveson, Drew Barnes, Ezra Levant, Jack Mintz, Jim Prentice, Kathleen Ganley, Kerry Diotte, Marg McCuaig Boyd, Michael Janz, Naheed Nenshi, Oneil Carlier, Rachel Notley, Ralph Klein, Rick Strankman, Sarah Hoffman, Shannon Phillips
Alberta Politics Canadian Politics
Five ways to save the Senate of Canada
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Is the Senate of Canada broken? And if so, is it worth saving? Here are the positions held by Canada’s federal political parties:
1) Abolish the Senate
The New Democratic Party of Canada, the official opposition since 2011, are staunchly in favour of entirely abolishing the Senate of Canada. “Unelected party hacks have no place writing or rewriting the laws of this country. It’s as simple as that,” NDP leader Thomas Mulcair told reporters in August 2013. Saskatchewan’s conservative premier Brad Wall is also in favour of abolishing the Senate.
It is unclear how the NDP would actually implement the abolition of the Senate if the party ever formed government in Ottawa.
2) Elect the Senate
Elected, equal and effective was the Triple-E proposal supported by the now-defunct Reform Party of Canada. Alberta is the only province to have ever held Senate nominee elections (in 1989, 1998, 2004 and 2012). Typically coinciding with provincial or municipal elections, the Senate elections are a sideshow that have received little attention from the media or the general public. The Senate nominee candidates have run as provincial party candidates. Five elected nominees have been appointed to the Senate by prime ministers since 1990.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper‘s Conservative Party of Canada proposed legislation that could shorten terms in office and move towards provincially elected senators in 2006. The legislation was stalled and the Conservative have since asked the Supreme Court of Canada for its opinion on the Senate reform proposals.
3) Panel-appointed independent Senate
Liberal Party of Canada leader Justin Trudeau announced this week that he had removed all 32 Liberal senators from the party’s national caucus. The justification for doing so was to make the Senate less partisan and to eliminate patronage. Mr. Trudeau suggested that a non-partisan panel select new appointees to the Senate.
4) Proportional representation Senate
The Green Party of Canada passed a motion at their 2010 convention which supports the election of senators through a system that ensures proportional representation. While the policy is not specific, it could be referring to the electoral system used to elected members to the Australian Senate.
5) The status-quo Senate
In practice, the Governor General makes appointments to the Senate at the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Senators must be citizens of Canada and at least thirty years of age to be eligible for appointment to the Senate. They must maintain residency in the provinces or territories for which they are appointed and can only serve until the age of seventy-five.
While prominent Canadians have been appointed to the Senate, they overshadowed by the long-list of party loyalists who have been rewarded with appointments by various Conservative and Liberal prime ministers. Mr. Harper has appointed 51 of the 96 current senators since the Conservatives formed government in 2006 (there are currently 9 vacancies in the Senate).
Tags Abolishment, Australian Senate, Brad Wall, Justin Trudeau, Reform Party, Senate of Canada, Senate reform, Stephen Harper, Thomas Mulcair, Triple-E
The ghosts of senate reform haunt the Harper Conservatives
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Howling “RREEEEFFFOOOORRRRMMMM,” the ghosts of the Reform Party stumble towards the Conservative Party Convention in Calgary (Yes, this is a photo of zombies, but ghosts don’t stumble).
The ghosts of Senate reform will haunt Prime Minister Stephen Harper as his party establishment gathers in Calgary on Halloween to discuss and debate party policy. After more than seven years in office, Mr. Harper’s Conservatives have accomplished little on the issue of reforming the Canadian Senate.
Who would have thought that a Senate scandal involving Conservative appointees could potentially be one of the defining stories of Mr. Harper’s third-term as Prime Minister? Was Mr. Harper not the Prime Minister who vowed to reform Canada’s archaic upper house of Parliament?
While the federal Conservatives had hoped to end this particular Senate scandal with the announcement of a new free trade agreement with the European Union and a consumer-first agenda, the wrath of Conservative Senators scorned has dominated the headlines.
After being ejected from Conservative Party ranks, Senators Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin, and Patrick Brazeau, all appointed by Mr. Harper, have proven to be incredibly dangerous liabilities. Accused of improper spending and expenses, the three former Conservatives have turned on their former party and are drawing national attention to alleged improper activities of Mr. Harper’s former chief of staff, Nigel Wright.
Senate reform was a defining policy for the now defunct Reform Party of Canada and a historical grievance that many western Conservatives hoped would finally be resolved when the Canadian Alliance (the Reform Party’s rebranded name) merged with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. While the crusade for a Triple-E Senate (equal, elected and effective) helped propel the Reform Party onto the national stage in the early 1990s, there does not appear to be much political appetite for this type of reform among Canada’s political leaders.
Since becoming Prime Minister in 2006, Mr. Harper has appointed at least 52 of the Senate’s 106 members, including many failed Conservative party candidates or close associates of the Prime Minister. Despite his claims that he would approach the Senate differently, Mr. Harper has proven by his actions that he is not much different than Prime Ministers Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney, Jean Chretien, or Paul Martin.
In Alberta, the only province to have held elections for Senate nominees, the votes have attracted low levels of attention and there is no indication that the upper chamber is more effective with the three current elected nominees that have been appointed.
Popular Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, seen by many as a potential successor to Mr. Harper, announced today that his government will revoke its support for Senate nominee election in favour of supporting abolishment of the Senate. This positions Mr. Wall alongside Official Opposition NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, who has embraced NDP’s long-standing position that the Senate should be abolished.
The Reform Party’s first leader, Preston Manning, in his role as the godfather of Canada’s conservatives, will today be hosting an all-day Manning Foundation symposium on the future of the Senate. Speakers will include Member of Parliament Pierre Poilievre, former Alberta MLA Ted Morton, retired Liberal Senator Dan Hays, Calgary School chieftains Tom Flanagan and Rainer Knopff, and former Senator-nominee turned Wildrose Party candidate Link Byfield. This and other Manning Foundation events will coincide with official Conservative Party events in Calgary this weekend.
Provincial NDP take Lethbridge
Meanwhile, in southern Alberta, provincial New Democrats will gather this weekend for their annual convention in Lethbridge. Delegates will hear from NDP strategist Anne McGrath and Robyn Benson, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
At the annual meeting, NDP leader Brian Mason will not face a leadership review, but his party activists will debate some changes to party operations. One topic of debate will be whether the party holds annual conventions or moves to biennial conventions. Party members are also expected to debate whether the Labour movement should have two vice-presidents represented on the party’s executive council.
Most of the province outside of Edmonton is bleak for the social democratic party, but Lethbridge has provided a glimmer of hope that the NDP plan to build on. In the 2011 federal election, the NDP saw their support double to 27% and in the 2012 provincial election, Lethbridge-West candidate Shannon Phillips placed a strong second in a three-way race won by PC MLA Greg Weadick.
Tags Anne McGrath, Brad Wall, Brian Mason, Brian Mulroney, Dan Hays, Greg Weadick, Jean Chretien, Link Byfield, Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin, Patrick Brazeau, Paul Martin, Pierre Poilievre, Pierre Trudeau, Preston Manning, Ranier Knopff, Robyn Benson, Shannon Phillips, Stephen Harper, Ted Morton, Thomas Mulcair, Tom Flanagan
Wildrose can grow from Tory seeds of doubt
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Do you drain a Lake of Fire or do you dam it?
Whatever it takes, Wildrose Party activists are expected to moderate the tone of their policies at their weekend policy convention in the booming central Alberta city of Red Deer. A delicate and sometimes shaky coalition of libertarians and social conservatives (among other groups), Alberta’s official opposition party will learn from the mistakes they made in the 2012 election. On the cusp of victory, offensive remarks made by social conservative candidates in Calgary and Edmonton scared many moderate Albertans to support the long-governing Progressive Conservatives at the ballot box.
Since forming the official opposition with 17 MLAs, Ms. Smith has led a disciplined front-bench that has in many cases driven the government’s agenda, or at the least frustrated government ministers unaccustomed to their aggressive style. Implementing tactics used by the Ottawa Conservatives, the Wildrose have been relentless in their opposition to the forty-two year old governing PC Party.
Fighting back against the Wildrose, or at least trying to, Tory environment minister Diana McQueen emerged from her legislature office yesterday to attack Wildrose leader Danielle Smith’s position on climate change. While Ms. Smith’s party is undoubtably weak on environmental issues, especially on the important climate change file, the Tory government’s environmental record is not much better. While the Alberta government is doing more on this file than it has in a decade, its plan appears to be propped up by snippets of truth and focus group tested sound bites.
The Wildrose are looking for second chances and there is opportunity for them. With drastic cuts to education and post-secondary education, constant political meddling in the health care system and fears that public sector pension changes may negatively impact the retirement prospects of hundreds of thousands of Albertans, Alison Redford’s Tories threaten to alienate the electoral coalition of moderate voters (including many former Liberal voters) who helped them narrowly win re-election. Shooting from their hips (and frequently missing their targets), cabinet ministers Thomas Lukaszuk, Jeff Johnson, Fred Horne, and Doug Griffiths often confuse their own confidence with arrogance. The Tories do not give any impression that they were humbled by their near-defeat in last year’s election.
Some Tories may point to the electoral success of Premier Ralph Klein following his drastic budget cuts in the early 1990s, but this is a very different political environment, and I am sure that most Albertans would agree that Ms. Redford is no Mr. Klein.
A recent poll from Leger Marketing, for what it’s worth three years before the next election, shows Ms. Redford’s and Ms. Smith’s parties competing with mid-30 percent range support. The poll also shows that more than half of Albertans disagree with the government’s performance, but the Wildrose’s support in the polls suggests voters have not settled on an alternative.
This weekend and over the next three years, the Wildrose Party could look to Saskatchewan for inspiration. Stalled for years in the opposition benches, the conservative Saskatchewan Party undertook a move to modernize its image and policies when Brad Wall became the party leader in 2004. The unruly coalition of Tories and Liberals led by a former Reform Party MP had been unable to defeat the institutionalized New Democrats, who dominated in that province’s major cities. Under the smart and savvy Mr. Wall, the Sask Party modernized, and slowly began to encroach into NDP held urban constituencies.
After his party finally defeated in NDP in 2007, the conservative Mr. Wall has become one of Canada’s most popular provincial leaders. Like the NDP did to the Sask Party, and the Tories did to the Wildrose in 2012, Albertans can expect to be berated by rounds of “ooga booga, the Wildrose is scary” ads in the next election. The part that will be missing from those ads is that many, if not most, current Wildrose supporters were sitting comfortably in the Tory camp until about three years ago.
Wildrose success is not entirely about policy. Planting the seeds of doubt in Ms. Redford’s ability to run an honest government will also be key to the Wildrose Party’s success in the next election. Ms. Redford’s tendency to avoid controversy by hiding the truth or bending the facts is something that many political watchers have noted. Her office’s decision to block requests to release details of more than $2 million in severance packages given to former premier’s office staffers planted one seed of doubt. Her actions, her words, and people she surrounds herself have planted others. Two bad seeds that might not go away, controversial former PC MLAs Mike Allen and Peter Sandhu, are expected to apply for re-entry into the Government Caucus.
And the Wildrose do not just need Tory voters to vote for them, they also need former New Democrat and Liberal voters to return to their prior allegiances (a key reason behind Ms. Smith’s province-wide debate tour with NDP leader Brian Mason).
So, it’s clear the Wildrose needs to moderate the tone of their policies to attract new voters, but they can also benefit greatly from the seeds of doubt that the Redford Tories appear to be planting each week.
Tags Alison Redford, Brad Wall, Brian Mason, Danielle Smith, Diana McQueen, Doug Griffiths, Fred Horne, Jeff Johnson, Mike Allen, Peter Sandhu, Ralph Klein, Thomas Lukaszuk
J’accuse! Thomas Mulcair’s treason and the Keystone XL Pipeline.
8 Comments on J’accuse! Thomas Mulcair’s treason and the Keystone XL Pipeline.
“Treason” was one of the accusations used against NDP leader Thomas Mulcair after be voiced his opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline in Washington D.C.
The rhetoric is running high this week with President Barack Obama expected to soon decide the fate of the controversial TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline.
In Washington D.C. last week, federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair criticized the pipeline that would ship bitumen from Alberta’s oilsands to refineries in Texas. Mr. Mulcair also took the opportunity to criticize the deconstruction of Canada’s environmental regulations by Prime Minister Stephen Harper‘s Conservative government and told the media that the pipeline would export jobs from Cnaada and would pose a threat to our country’s energy security. Mr. Muclair’s treasonous words were printed in the National Post:
“According to object studies, Keystone represents the export of 40,000 jobs and we think that is a bad thing for Canada,” Mulcair said in an interview. “We have never taken care of our energy security. We tend to forget that a 10-year supply to the U.S. is a 100-year supply to Canada. We are still going to need the energy supply to heat our homes and run our factories, whether it comes from the oilsands or it comes in the from natural gas. Fossil fuels are always going to be part of the mix.”
NDP leader Thomas Mulcair
If you do not find these words abhorrent and treasonous, you may be surprised by the whiplash reaction from Mr. Mulcair’s political opponents.
In Alberta, where a political consensus is tilting towards approval of the pipeline, Premier Alison Redford took to the floor of the Legislative Assembly to attack Mr. Mulcair and NDP leader Brian Mason for their opposition to the pipeline.
“Treason” was the word Mark Cooper, the Intergovernmental Affairs Minister’s Press Secretary, used on twitter this week to describe the NDP position on the pipeline. While his tweet should be taken somewhat in jest, that word set the tone for the pipeline debate this week.
On the floor of the Assembly, Energy Minister Ken Hughes criticized the NDP by boasting about having created a “coalition of the willing” in support of the Keystone XL pipeline. Minister Hughes’ comment was an unfortunate reference to the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, which marked its ten year anniversary this week.
Mr. Mason was more than happy to pull quotes from recently deceased former Premier Peter Lougheed, who voiced his opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline in favour of refining bitumen in Alberta. This happens to be close to the NDP position.
This is not a clear left/right issue. Prominent labour unions, including the AFL-CIO in the United States, have voiced their support for the pipeline for the jobs it would create in the bitumen refineries in Texas. Pipeline critics, like Alberta Federation of Labour‘s Gil McGowan, argue that refining oilsands bitumen in Alberta would create more jobs in-province.
Also joining the debate is former Premier Ed Stelmach, who spoke in favour of local refining today telling the Edmonton Journal “…it is in our interest to promote as much pipeline capacity as possible to move products to existing markets, and of course, new markets. But to close that differential in price, we need to sell a higher-value product.”
Premier Alison Redford
To the east in Saskatchewan, the partisan divide over the Keystone XL Pipeline in not so sharp. Premier Brad Wall, the province’s most popular leader since Tommy Douglas, has trumpeted the benefits the Keystone XL Pipeline could bring to Canadian and American economies. His main opponent, newly selected Saskatchewan NDP leader Cam Broten, has broken from his NDP colleagues and given his timid support for the pipeline’s construction.
The Alberta government purchased a $30,000 advertisement in the Sunday edition of the New York Times. While widely read, the ad was meant to respond to an anti-Keystone XL editorial widely circulated on the internet. The factual arguments made by the Alberta Government in the ad will likely fall flat in this highly emotional debate. While the ad generated significant earned media in Alberta, this one-time ad-buy will likely have little impact on the large debate happening in the United States.
Recognizing that Conservative Parties are seen by many Canadians as ‘weak’ on the environmental issues related to pipeline construction, the Conservative movement is putting significant energy toward finding the key messaging needed to convince Canadians otherwise.
At last week’s Preston Manning Networking Conference in Ottawa, speakers presented their analysis of the Oilsands Pipeline debate. As blogger David Climenhaga wrote, “the most creative minds in Canadian conservatism are applying their brainpower to moving forward pipeline projects – extending from Alberta, the centre of their political and economic universe, to all points of the compass.”
Tags Alison Redford, Barack Obama, Brad Wall, Brian Mason, Cam Broten, David Climenhaga, Gil McGowan, Ken Hughes, Mark Cooper, Peter Lougheed, Preston Manning, Stephen Harper, Thomas Mulcair, Tommy Douglas
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Tag: Tom Olsen
War Room’s Twitter tirade against New York Times sends embarrassment shivers across Alberta.
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Canadian Energy Centre CEO Tom Olsen and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney. (Source: Facebook)
Time to shut down the controversy-plagued Canadian Energy Centre.
“Shoot, shovel, and shut up,” was how former Alberta premier Ralph Klein suggested some of the province’s self-respecting ranchers could deal with the mad cow disease crisis of the mid-2000s. And it is time that Premier Jason Kenney heeded Klein’s words and applied the same advice to the controversy-plagued Canadian Energy Centre.
Ralph Klein
The Energy War Room, as Kenney called it during and after the 2019 election campaign, has been fraught with embarrassing missteps and blunders since it was created in October 2019, but today marked peak embarrassment for the CEC.
The Calgary-based publicly-funded private public relations company and blog was caught under fire today for posting a series of tweets attacking the New York Times and sharing links claiming the 169-year old newspaper of record held anti-Trump and anti-Semitic biases and a “very dodgy” record.
The CEC’s childish tirade of tweets appear to have been posted in response to a Times article about the decision by some of the world’s largest financial institutions to stop investing in oil production in Alberta.
A series of tweets from the @CDNEnergyCentre attacking the @nytimes for the Jayson Blair plagiarism scandal, complaints about anti-Trump bias and alleged anti-Semitism appear to have been removed #abpoli #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/5K0eROM9yN
— James Keller (@ByJamesKeller) February 12, 2020
Some international banks, pension plans and financial institutions appear to have included the impact of climate change into their long-term investments plans and have decided to move away from investing in some carbon-intensive resource extraction industries like Canada’s oilsands.
According to the Times, “BlackRock, the worlds largest asset manager, said that one of its fast-growing green-oriented funds would stop investing in companies that get revenue from the Alberta oil sands.”
Sonya Savage
The Times article noted that “Alberta officials didn’t immediately respond to questions about BlackRock’s announcement on Wednesday,” which is a shocking departure from Kenney’s pledge he would use “the persuasive power of the premier’s bully pulpit to tell the truth of our energy industry across the country.”
CEC Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Tom Olsen publicly apologized on Twitter for the unprofessional tweet storm against the Times, a statement that is now being widely reported.
Olsen, a former United Conservative Party candidate and lobbyist, was appointed to the role when the CEC was launched in October 2019. The CEC is a private corporation created by the Alberta government and receives $30-million annually from the Alberta government to ostensibly correct misinformation about the oil and gas industry, but in reality appears to be doing a poor job conducting public relations for the oil and gas industry.
Doug Schweitzer
Another member of the CEC’s staff is Mark Milke, a former director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, former senior fellow of the Fraser Institute and lead author of the UCP’s 2019 election platform. Milke is the Executive Director in charge of Research, according to the CEC’s website.
Existing as a private corporation with a board of directors that includes Energy Minister Sonya Savage, Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer, and Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon, the CEC is not subject to the freedom of information rules that make other government institutions and agencies more transparent to the public and the media. Despite receiving $30-million annually from the government, the CEC appears to have no accountability mechanisms and its internal operations are kept secret.
While Kenney was recently lauded for changing his message about an eventual transition away from of oil (I suspect he is coopting language rather than changing his mind), some of the good for Alberta that his trip to Washington DC last week may have done has at least been partially damaged by the latest PR disaster exploding through the War Room in downtown Calgary.
What started a few months ago as a $30-million annual public relations subsidy to the oil and gas industry is starting to become a running joke that might hurt Alberta, and its oil and gas industry, more than it helps it.
As Finance Minister Travis Toews asks Albertans to accept deep cuts to public health care and education and for public employees to take salary rollbacks in his Feb. 27 provincial budget, it will become increasingly difficult to convince Albertans that the CEC’s $30-million annual budget is not a giant waste of money.
In this case, Kenney should take his own conservative free-market advice and let private sector industry groups like the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and the legions of public relations professionals working for Canada’s oil and gas companies handle their own public relations.
As Ralph Klein might suggest, it’s time for Kenney to take the Canadian Energy Centre behind the proverbial barn and stop this embarrassing initiative from doing any more damage to Alberta’s reputation at home and abroad.
Tags Alberta Oil, Alberta Oil Sands, Alberta PC Party, Canadian Energy Centre, Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Doug Schweitzer, Energy War Room, Fraser Institute, Jason Kenney, Jason Nixon, New York Times, Pipeline Politics, Sonya Savage, Tom Olsen, Travis Toews, United Conservative Party, War Room
Alberta politics talk with Ryan Jespersen on 630 CHED
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I was thrilled to spend an hour with Ryan Jespersen on 630CHED today to talk about American and Alberta politics.
We covered a lot of ground, including the political theatre between United States President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the State of the Union address, the federal Conservative Party leadership race and whether a Draft Kenney campaign will start anytime soon, political party fundraising returns from 2019, Rachel Notley’s decision to lead the NDP into Alberta’s 2023 election, and whether the Canadian Energy Centre is worth it’s $30 million annual budget (spoiler: it’s not).
Thanks again to Ryan for having me on the show!
Tags 630CHED, Alberta Election 2023, Alberta NDP, Canadian Energy Centre, Conservative Party of Canada Leadership Race 2020, Donald Trump, Jason Kenney, Justin Trudeau, Nancy Pelosi, Rachel Notley, Ryan Jespersen, Sarah Hoffman, Shannon Phillips, Tom Olsen, United Conservative Party, War Room
Kenney declares victory but the pipeline fight is nowhere close to over
3 Comments on Kenney declares victory but the pipeline fight is nowhere close to over
The 1358th chapter of the ongoing saga of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project ended today as the Federal Court of Appeal unanimously ruled to dismiss four challenges by First Nations in British Columbia.
Speaking in Montreal today, Premier Jason Kenney lauded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, telling reporters that “I have my disagreements with Prime Minister Trudeau on a number of issues … but I think they did realize there has to be at least one project that gets Canadian energy to global markets so we can get a fair price.”
3000 kilometres away from Alberta is probably a safe distance for Kenney to effuse some praise for Trudeau, something he likely wouldn’t be caught dead doing back home. But praising Trudeau for a pipeline that is deeply unpopular in Quebec while he is in that province’s largest city is a shrewd piece of political theatre on Kenney’s part.
Since he jumped into provincial politics in 2017, Kenney has used the pipeline as a cudgel against his political opponents, tarring Trudeau and former premier Rachel Notley as opponents of a project they spent incredible amounts of political capital to see completed.
Nationwide support for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion dropped by 11 per cent since 2018, according to a poll released by Angus-Reid last month. Urgency about climate change has become a more front and centre issue since then, most effectively demonstrated by tens of thousands of Canadians participating in climate strike marches across Canada, including more than 10,000 people in Edmonton. And since Kenney’s United Conservative Party formed government in April 2019, his government has taken a hyper-aggressive approach to responding to opponents to oil industry expansion, which may have had an impact on national opinion.
The creation of the publicly funded Canadian Energy Centre (aka The Energy War Room), a government-sponsored public relations company run by failed UCP candidate Tom Olsen and boasting a $30-million annual budget, has been front and centre in the government’s new approach.
The CEC largely duplicates public relations work typically done by industry associations like the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, and had a rough first few months as it was forced to replace a plagiarized logo and tell its staff not to identify themselves as reporters when writing content for the War Room’s blog.
The Canadian Energy Centre, the Public Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns (which has been dogged by an alleged conflict of interest scandal), the pledge to open Alberta government offices in provincial capitals across Canada, and Kenney’s steady schedule of international travel, are part of what the UCP government calls it’s “Fight Back” plan.
The court ruled that First Nations have no veto and cannot refuse to compromise or insist a project be cancelled, and found that the federal government made genuine effort to consult and accommodated concerns raised by First Nations communities.
While this decision is expected to be appealed by First Nations groups at the Supreme Court, and will likely have political implications if UNDRIP is implemented in Canada, it is likely that the next round of opposition to the pipeline project will come in the form of civil disobedience and direct action.
This isn’t over yet.
UCP releases radical health care report, and look! Jason Kenney is leaving the country, again!
Tyler Shandro, Dr. Verna Yiu, and John Bethel (Source: YouTube)
Perhaps it is just a coincidence, but it seems pretty darn convenient that Premier Kenney was on a plane to Quebec when Health Minister Tyler Shandro shared a stage with Alberta Health Services CEO Dr. Verna Yiu and Ernst & Young spokesperson John Bethel (who attentive readers will remember as the 2004 federal Liberal candidate in Edmonton-East) in announcing the release of the international management corporation’s $2-million report on Alberta Health Services.
The report is big and bristling with the kind of ideological and predictable recommendations that you would expect from the right-wing Fraser Institute, which was cited a few times in the report. Privatization of services ranging from long-term care to security, gutting of collective agreements and salary rollbacks, and closure of rural hospitals were among the many recommendations included in the report.
While Shandro was clear that he would not risk further alienating his party’s rural base by closing rural hospitals, despite the report’s recommendations, the report did deliver the UCP with a powerful talking point – $1.9 billion in potential savings.
The report suggests that if all its recommendations were implemented, the government could potentially save $1.9 billion in costs to the health care system (of course, many of those costs could be transferred to patients). It might be unlikely that all of the recommendations will be implemented, but expect to hear Shandro repeat that $1.9 billion number, a lot.
Meanwhile, Kenney will soon leave Quebec for meetings in Washington D.C.
Kenney’s office stops releasing public travel itineraries
The Premier’s Office under Kenney appears to have stopped publicly releasing the Premier’s itinerary ahead of inter provincial or international trips. Previous premiers commonly released a brief daily itinerary that listed who or which organizations the Premier and their staff were scheduled to meet with.
A lack of publicly released itinerary meant that Albertans discovered on Twitter that Kenney’s trip to New York City in September 2019 included a speech at a reception hosted by the right-wing Manhattan Institute. It was also revealed by the Alberta Today newsletter through Freedom of Information requests that Kenney also held court at a historic speakeasy in midtown Manhattan, an event that was not listed in the standard government press release announcing his trip.
Kenney’s office also did not release an itinerary for his December 2019 trip to London, UK, citing concerns that individuals he was meeting with could be targeted by climate change advocacy groups.
With no journalists from Alberta accompanying Kenney on his international trips, the release of public itineraries is an important way to ensure some basic accountability and transparency when the Premier is travelling out of province on the public dime.
Note: Past requests for public itineraries of Premier Kenney’s international trips have gone unanswered by the Premier’s Office.
Tags Alberta Today, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Canadian Energy Centre, Edmonton-East, Energy War Room, Ernst & Young, Fraser Institute, Jason Kenney, John Bethel, Justin Trudeau, Manhattan Institute, Pipeline Politics, Premier Kenney International Travel Itinerary, Public inquiry into anti-Alberta energy campaigns, Rachel Notley, Tom Olsen, Trans Mountain Pipeline Project, Tyler Shandro, UNDRIP, United Conservative Party, Verna Yiu, War Room
Episode 44: LIVE from the Parkland Institute Conference: Truth, the First Casualty? War Rooms and Rumours of War Rooms
3 Comments on Episode 44: LIVE from the Parkland Institute Conference: Truth, the First Casualty? War Rooms and Rumours of War Rooms
http://media.blubrry.com/daveberta/p/daveberta.ca/wp-content/uploads/podcast/Daveberta-Pod-44.mp3
Daveberta Podcast host Dave Cournoyer teamed up with AlbertaPolitics.ca writer David Climenhaga at the annual Parkland Institute Conference at the University of Alberta last weekend to share what we know and what we speculate might happen with the Canadian Energy Centre Ltd. (a.k.a. the War Room) and the Public Inquiry into anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns.
Find out more about the Parkland Institute and their research and reports, and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
Thank you to our producer Adam Rozenhart for doing a great job improving the audio quality of this episode (it was recorded on Dave’s iPhone).
The Daveberta Podcast is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB. The Alberta Podcast Network includes more than 30 great made-in-Alberta podcasts.
You can listen and subscribe to the Daveberta Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you find podcasts online. We always love to feedback from our listeners, so let us know what you think of this episode and leave a review where you download.
Send us your feedback, or ask us any questions you have for our next episode. You contact us on Twitter, Instagram, the Daveberta Facebook page, or you can email us at podcast@daveberta.ca.
(Photo: David Climenhaga and Dave Cournoyer, source: Dave Cournoyer)
Tags Adam Rozenhart, Alberta Podcast, Alberta Podcast Network, Alberta Politics Podcast, ATB Financial, Canadian Energy Centre, Claudia Cattaneo, Dave Cournoyer, Daveberta Podcast, David Climenhaga, David Suzuki, Doug Schweitzer, Energy War Room, Jason Kenney, Jason Nixon, Parkland Institute, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Sonya Savage, Steve Allen, Tom Olsen, Tzeporah Berman, University of Alberta, War Room
Albertans might need a public inquiry into the Public Inquiry into anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns
5 Comments on Albertans might need a public inquiry into the Public Inquiry into anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns
It was not a banner week for Alberta’s public inquiry into anti-Alberta energy campaigns.
It was supposed to look into the alleged foreign funding of “anti-Alberta energy campaigns,” but the $2.5 million public inquiry created by Premier Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party government found itself in a credibility crisis this week after it was revealed that inquiry commissioner Steve Allan awarded the Calgary law firm Dentons a $905,000 sole-source contract for legal advice.
Allan’s son is a partner at Dentons’ Calgary office and Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer was a lawyer at that firm before he was elected to the Legislative Assembly. Schweitzer said he severed his connections to the firm earlier this year, but Allan’s son’s employment status at the firm raises some serious questions about conflict of interest.
New Democratic Party MLA Heather Sweet wrote to the Ethics Commissioner this week asking for an investigation into the sole-source contract. The Ethics Commissioner responded that she has no jurisdiction to investigate the inquiry’s contract with Dentons.
The inquiry’s business is shrouded in secrecy and it was designed by the government to be exempt from Freedom of Information requests that would allow a certain degree of transparency. For example, the inquiry website states that Allan intended to travel to Vancouver and Washington, DC in September 2019, and the North Coast of BC and Toronto in October 2019, but because the inquiry is exempt from FOIP requests, it is unclear who he met with during his travels.
But that has not stopped the media from digging, and the leaks from leaking.
Allen is being paid $291,000 for his one-year contract, according to information gathered by Alberta Today’s Allison Smith, and will be paid up to $800 per day to provide testimony following the completion of the inquiry’s investigation. The Edmonton Journal reported that the inquiry is hiring a part-time executive director for $108,123.
CBC also reported that Allan donated $1,000 Schweitzer’s campaign for the UCP leadership in 2017, which raises questions about the nature of his appointment as the inquiry’s commissioner.
Much of the basis of the inquiry’s investigation, that foreign-funded organizations like the Rockefeller Brothers Fund are responsible for secretly financing anti-pipeline and anti-oil groups in Canada, appears to have been discredited by investigative research done by the National Observer’s Sandy Garossino.
Garossino analyzed data on international charitable granting and found that international foundations, mostly American, have granted around $2 billion to Canadian groups over the last decade, but only 2 per cent of those funds (around $40 million) has gone towards pipeline opposition.
Of that $2 billion total in international funds, about 33 per cent came from the United States government. The second largest funder is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, contributed $537 million. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund environmental grants, which have been demonized in Alberta’s political and media circles, amounted to “just two dollars per thousand in Canadian foreign grants.”
The Muttart Foundation, a non-profit foundation with a storied history in Edmonton, released a stinging criticism of the inquiry in its 174-page submission to the inquiry.
The Foundation’s submission included a report showing that funding from outside Canada represented 0.85% of total funding received by Canadian charities, and 0.26% of total funding received by charities based in Alberta.
The Foundation harshly criticized the rhetoric, fear-mongering, and false statements used to justify the inquiry and the government orders authorizing its creation.
“To even imply that support of the energy industry or even agreement with government could become a criterion for determining whether an organization receives funding comes, we suggest, dangerously close to government direction of speech and thought. Leaving aside the legality of such an action, one could suggest that such a course of action would be contrary to the very principles of democracy.”
The inquiry is due to submit a final report to the Alberta government no later than July 2, 2020. In terms of the public inquiry’s credibility crisis and the damage it and the secrecy surrounding it could cause for our province’s reputation, Albertans might eventually need a public inquiry into the Public Inquiry into anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns.
International banks continue to divest from fossil fuels
While Steve Allan’s public inquiry is focused on anti-Alberta energy campaigns, the biggest threat to the oil and gas industry in Alberta might be the free market.
Sweden’s central bank announced this week that it no longer hold bonds issued by local authorities in Canada and Australia with high carbon-dioxide emissions. Bloomberg reported that the Riksbank said it had sold its holdings of securities from Alberta, where greenhouse gas emissions per capita are three times higher than in Ontario and Quebec.
The European Investment Bank, the EU’s financing department, also announced it will bar funding for most fossil fuel projects.
Premier Kenney’s principal secretary, David Knight-Legg, faced criticism this week after it was revealed that the senior political staffer stayed in upscale five-star hotels while travelling to London on Alberta government business. According to financial disclosures, Knight-Legg spent more than $45,000 on travel, including four trips to the British capital since the UCP formed government in April 2019.
The nature of Knight-Legg’s trips to London are not entirely clear, with the Premier’s office saying that he was there to fight defamation of Alberta’s oil and gas sector. The NDP is asking the Auditor General to investigate.
Meanwhile, the private corporation created by the Alberta government to fight defamation of the oil and gas sector has been running on silent. Not a peep has been heard from the $30 million War Room, now renamed the Canadian Energy Centre, since former reporter and defeated UCP candidate Tom Olsen was appointed as its managing director last month.
The War Room is also exempt from Freedom of Information requests.
(Photo source: Government of Alberta)
Tags Alberta NDP, Alberta Oil, Alberta Today, Allison Smith, Canadian Energy Centre, David Knight-Legg, Doug Schweitzer, European Investment Bank, Heather Sweet, Jason Kenney, Muttart Foundation, Public inquiry into anti-Alberta energy campaigns, Riksbank, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Sandy Garossino, Steve Allen, Tom Olsen, United Conservative Party, War Room
Kenney’s Alberta Autonomy Panel given questions answered 15 years ago by Klein’s Strengthening Alberta’s Role in Confederation Committee
12 Comments on Kenney’s Alberta Autonomy Panel given questions answered 15 years ago by Klein’s Strengthening Alberta’s Role in Confederation Committee
Things are getting pretty weird in Alberta.
Deep cuts to the provincial budget are resulting in the cancellation of public services and job layoffs across the province, and the fallout from the federal election continues to dominate the political discussion. And crisis – organized crisis – reigns, as Premier Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party government dramatically shifts the political narrative on an almost daily basis.
Preston Manning
But things got really weird last week when elected councillors of the County of Wheatland, a 8,700 person rural municipality east of Calgary, voted for a resolution calling for a possible Alberta independence vote. The councillor who introduced the motion is Jason Wilson, who according to his online biography also sits on the board of the local UCP association.
Yesterday, Kenney stood at the podium at the now one-day Manning Networking Conference in Red Deer to announce the creation of a “Fair Deal” panel that will look at ways to give the province more autonomy.
Kenney’s panel is both a continuation of his personal political campaign against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who’s Liberal Party was re-elected with a large minority government, and a reaction to the frustration felt by many of the 70 per cent of Albertans who voted for Andrew Scheer’s Conservative Party.
While some of the frustration felt by Albertans is legitimate, regional and partisan grievances are deeply intertwined in this province. With the UCP essentially operating as a provincial-wing of the federal Conservative Party, it is hard to believe that this panel would exist if Scheer had not snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on October 21.
Panel members include former Reform Party leader Preston Manning (who has openly warned about separatism), former one-term Progressive Conservative MLA Donna Kennedy-Glans (who recently wrote a blog post asking if Trudeau has committed treason), current UCP MLAs Drew Barnes, Miranda Rosin, and Tany Yao, Fraser Institute senior fellow and University of Alberta academic Moin Yahya, Canada West Foundation board chair Oryssia Lennie, former Alberta Regional Chief for the Assembly of First Nations Jason Goodstriker, and Peter Lougheed’s son Stephen Lougheed.
The panel will be given a $650,000 budget to hold seven town hall meetings to consult with Albertans on a prescribed series of issues that have been bees in Conservative partisans’ bonnets for decades, including:
withdrawing from the Canada Pension Plan and creating an Alberta Pension Plan (something that was hinted last week and could have a big impact on the migration of interprovincial labour to Alberta),
replacing the Canada Revenue Agency by establishing a provincial revenue agency,
ending contracts with the RCMP and creating a provincial police force (the RCMP are currently investigating allegations of fraud in the UCP’s 2017 leadership contest),
opting out of federal programs like pharmacare,
forming an office of a Chief Firearms Officer (a Wildrose Party policy), and
creating an Alberta Constitution.
The panel’s mandate letter talks a lot about emulating Quebec, including implementing a rule that municipalities and school boards require the approval of the provincial government before they can enter into agreements with the federal government. This could be used by the Kenney government to cut off potential cooperation between municipalities and the federal government on projects like affordable housing, public infrastructure and climate change initiatives.
The panel and its town hall meetings are both a relief valve and a steering wheel meant to allow Albertans to vent their frustrations while allowing Kenney to attempt to keep ahead of the crowd. Or at least that’s probably the plan.
Kenney frequently boasts about the size of his electoral mandate, so it is notable that none of the autonomy polices to be considered by the panel were included in the UCP’s incredibly thorough election platform just six months ago.
The panel’s mandate and the questions it is being tasked with asking are remarkably similar to the questions asked by the MLA Committee on Strengthening Alberta’s Role in Confederation created by premier Ralph Klein in November 2003.
Chaired by Edmonton-Rutherford MLA Ian McClelland (a former Reform Party Member of Parliament) and co-chaired by Red Deer-North MLA Mary Anne Jablonski, members of the committee included Calgary-Fort MLA Wayne Cao, Lac La Biche-St. Paul MLA Ray Danyluk, Wainwright MLA Doug Griffiths, Calgary-Currie MLA Jon Lord, Calgary-North Hill MLA Richard Magnus, St. Albert MLA Mary O’Neill, and Banff-Cochrane MLA Janis Tarchuk.
The MLA committee was created in the wake of the infamous 2001 Firewall Letter, signed by right-wing luminaries Ted Morton, Tom Flanagan, Rainer Knopff, Andy Crooks, Ken Boessenkool, and future prime minster Stephen Harper, and in response to small but loud fringe groups like the Alberta Independence Party and the Separation Party of Alberta.
And, like many of the initiatives started in the final few years of Klein’s tenure as premier, it was a meant to create a distraction from what had largely become a rudderless government.
The mandate letter of the MLA committee was filled with much more flowery and hopeful language than the doom-and-gloom fear of separatism included in the mandate letter of Kenney’s panel. But the real mandate of the MLA committee was to travel the province to gauge support for the Firewall manifesto – a similar mandate of Kenney’s panel.
The MLA Committee on Strengthening Alberta’s Role in Confederation held 12 public hearings between January and March 2004 and here is what they recommended:
Pension Plan: “The Committee believes that withdrawing from the CPP and creating a separate Alberta pension plan is not in the best interests of Albertans. That is not to say that the CPP should not be improved for Albertans and all Canadians. The Committee further recommends that Alberta develop and advocate further CPP reforms that will end the intergenerational inequity, and move the CPP to a fully-funded foundation.” (Page 19)
Tax Collection: “Collecting our own personal income taxes would be a costly venture. One analysis suggests that set-up costs would be $30-40 million and that annual administrative costs could be between $70 and $160 million (including the costs of an additional 1,000-2,000 full time positions that might be required). By comparison, the administrative fee paid by Alberta under the TCA is less than $5 million annually. The Committee is also concerned that individual Albertans and businesses in the province would incur higher out-of-pocket costs in complying with two separate tax systems. This consideration alone makes the idea impractical. The Committee recommends that the Government of Alberta reach a new Tax Collection Agreement with the federal government that addresses Alberta’s concerns and provides increased tax policy flexibility.” (Page 21)
Mary Anne Jablonski
Police Force: “The Committee recommends that the Government of Alberta commission a detailed study of policing alternatives to the RCMP in advance of the 2007 cost review. This analysis should include a careful examination of costs, efficiencies, and levels of service. … The Committee further recommends that appropriate municipal stakeholders be consulted in the cost review negotiations in 2007, and that consideration be given to inclusion of such stakeholders on the Alberta negotiating team.” (Page 25)
Senate: “The Committee recommends that the Government of Alberta, through the Council of the Federation, encourage the Premiers to consider a process that would see the Prime Minister fill Senate vacancies from lists of provincial nominees. In Alberta’s case, the list should be generated by a Senatorial election.” (Page 29)
Intergovernmental Relations: “The Committee further recommends that the Government of Alberta re-establish an office in Ottawa. Close proximity to, and face-to-face contact with, federal decision-makers would improve relations between our governments and would help ensure Alberta interests are accurately and efficiently conveyed and addressed.” (Page 58)
Our Future: “The Committee also recommends that the Government of Alberta work towards fixing the underlying structural problems of our Canadian institutions that feed the flames of western alienation. The Committee further recommends that the Government of Alberta establish a fund for use in pursuing those legal challenges deemed to be necessary and desirable for safeguarding Alberta’s Constitutional jurisdiction.” (Page 59)
The MLA committee and its final report rejected the Firewall manifesto and was quickly forgotten after Paul Martin’s Liberals lost their majority in June 2004 and Klein’s PCs had their knuckles rapped in November 2004. But unlike Klein’s committee, which resulted in some fairly moderate and milquetoast recommendations, many of the panel members appointed by Kenney yesterday and the political environment they exist in are much more ideologically driven and politically divided.
This weird ride doesn’t look like it’s going to end anytime soon. There’s more crisis ahead.
Alberta to reopen office in Ottawa, again
In his speech to the Manning Centre, Kenney announced that the Alberta government will open offices in Ottawa, Quebec, and British Columbia. It is unusual and unclear why the Alberta government would need offices in other provincial capitals or in Ottawa, where Albertans just elected 34 Members of Parliament to represent their interests. But an office in the federal capital is not unprecedented.
The Alberta government opened an office in Ottawa in 1939. The Ottawa office was closed in 1996 and its last executive director, Gordon Olsen (brother of War Room CEO Tom Olsen), relocated to Calgary. A government review conducted in 2000 concluded that technology allows people to research information just as easily without a full-time office in Ottawa.
In 2004, Klein publicly mused about opening an Alberta government-funded office in Ottawa for the province’s elected Senate nominees, but the unpopular idea died quickly.
Premier Alison Redford reopened the office in 2013 and Calgary energy lawyer Alan Ross was hired as Alberta’s representative. Premier Jim Prentice closed the office again in 2015.
(Photo source: Facebook)
Tags Alberta Autonomy, Alberta Independence, Alberta Office in Ottawa, Alberta Pension Plan, Alberta Police Force, Alberta Separatism, Alison Redford, Andrew Scheer, Andy Crooks, Banff-Cochrane, Calgary-Currie, Calgary-Fort, Calgary-North Hill, Canada Pension Plan, Canadian Energy Centre, Conservative Party of Canada, Donna Kennedy-Glans, Doug Griffiths, Edmonton-Rutherford, Energy War Room, Fair Deal Panel, Firewall Letter, Firewall Manifesto, Gordon Olsen, Ian McClellan, Janis Tarchuk, Jason Goodstriker, Jason Kenney, Jason Wilson, Jim Prentice, Jon Lord, Justin Trudeau, Ken Boessenkool, Lac La Biche-St. Paul, Liberal Party of Canada, Mary Anne Jablonski, Mary O'Neill, MLA Committee on Strengthening Alberta’s Role in Confederation, Moin Yahya, Oryssia Lennie, Peter Lougheed, Preston Manning, Rainer Knopff, Ralph Klein, Ray Danyluk, Red Deer-North, Reform Party of Canada, Richard Magnus, St. Albert, Stephen Harper, Stephen Lougheed, Ted Morton, Tom Flanagan, Tom Olsen, United Conservative Party, Wainwright, Wayne Cao, Western Alientation, Wheatland County
WAR ROOM ENGAGE! Kenney hires former UCP candidate Tom Olsen to run the Canadian Energy Centre
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The Alberta government’s much talked about energy war room now has its General. Energy Minister Sonya Savage announced yesterday that Tom Olsen has been hired as the managing director of the newly incorporated Canadian Energy Centre. The $30-million publicly funded private corporation is part of the UCP’s “fight back strategy” to counter claims made by critics of the oil and gas industry that Premier Jason Kenney said will target politicians, media and other opinion leaders, and could include satellite offices overseas.
Olsen was most recently the United Conservative Party candidate in the downtown Calgary-Buffalo riding in the 2019 provincial election, where he finished 9 per cent short of unseating former New Democratic Party finance minister Joe Ceci. But despite his recent electoral loss, Olsen has been a fixture of Conservative politics in Alberta for more than a decade.
After years as a columnist and reporter for the large daily newspapers in Calgary and Edmonton, Olsen jumped into politics when he was hired as Premier Ed Stelmach’s spokesperson in 2007. (Olsen’s brother, Gordon Olsen, worked in senior roles in the Premier’s Office while Ralph Klein occupied the office).
While some Albertans will remember Olsen for his role in the Northumberland beach photos fiasco, he also oversaw the launch of the first version of the war room.
In 2008, the Alberta government launched a website called “For the Record” that was dedicated to correcting what the government determined was incomplete or incorrect information in the media. “It’s not a forum to argue philosophy and spin. . . it’s not debating the rightness or wrongness of a particular issue. It’s about factual information,”Olsen told the Calgary Herald in December 2008. “I don’t see it as government policing journalists.”
The Alberta Government’s short-lived “For the Record” webpage.
It was the government policing journalists, and it did not last very long. The government website posted six corrections to news stories from various media outlets between November 2008 and December 2010. The website briefly became a source of controversy when Olsen insisted the Globe & Mail be referred to as the Toronto Globe & Mail. The website was later edited to drop Toronto from the newspaper’s name.
Following a wholesale purge of Stelmach’s senior communications staff, Olsen was whisked off to Vancouver to handle the Alberta government’s public relations during the 2010 Winter Olympics, which included the renting of the luxury Rocky Mountaineer train and the distribution of free iPads to journalists and VIPs.
Olsen later worked as a lobbyist for groups including the Calgary Residential Rental Association, Greyhound and the national group representing Pay Day Loan companies. He found himself back in the Progressive Conservative Party fold when he became Vice-President of Communications during Jim Prentice‘s brief time as party leader.
Savage, a former pipeline lobbyist and now a member of the war room board of directors along with Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer and Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon, said this week that the war room will include a rapid response centre, an energy literacy unit and a data research unit. Former Postmedia columnist Claudia Cattaneo was hired in August 2019 by the government to write the Energy War Room Strategic plan.
Earlier this year, Postmedia hired Kenney’s former chief of staff, Nick Koolsbergen, to lobby the UCP government on ways the Toronto-headquartered newspaper company could be involved with the war room.
In an interview with the Postmedia-owned Financial Post, Postmedia President and CEO Andrew MacLeod said that the lobby effort was part the company’s effort to find new revenue streams and that it had no relationship to editorial decision-making (meanwhile, the front cover of the Postmedia-owned National Post today featured a paid political advertisement attacking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau).
Andrew MacLeod
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, a lobby group that represents many of Canada’s oil and gas companies, is also registered to lobby Alberta MLAs, the Minister of Energy and the Premier’s Office to share and advise on best practices for the war room to counter misinformation.
Postmedia’s past relationship with CAPP is no secret, but these group’s business relationships with the war room could be.
As CBC’s Michelle Bellefontaine reported today, as a private corporation the Canadian Energy Centre will be exempt from freedom of information requests, meaning that Albertans might not ever know how much of the $30 million is paid to Postmedia, CAPP or whichever UCP-connected PR firms are hired to work for the publicly-funded private war room.
Regardless of which PR companies or Toronto-based newspaper company gets hired, Olsen will have his job cut out for him. The first order of business for the new Canadian Energy Centre might be playing defence for the Alberta government’s $2.5 million public inquiry into anti-oil campaigns – an effort that has been criticized as a witch-hunt by groups like EcoJustice and the venerable Amnesty International.
While it may be easy for Kenney to dismiss NGOs and suggest that the 4,000 Albertans participating in the climate strike protest outside the Legislature were communist sympathizers, Olsen’s war room will have a harder time dismissing its greatest opponent – the free market.
Many major international oil and gas corporations have withdrawn their investments in Canada’s oilsands over the past five years, and the UCP’s decision to scale back the Alberta government’s climate change commitments certainly will not help how our province is perceived internationally.
Conservatives howled loudly this week as a major Norwegian pension fund withdrew investments in four Alberta-based oilsands companies. The move was described by UCP supporters online as hypocritical, as Norway continues to make investments in its own off-shore oil and gas platforms. The move may have been hypocritical, but those are the types of decisions that countries like Norway can make when they have $1.1 trillion saved in the bank (something for Albertans to think about when they consider how much past governments have squandered our wealth).
Olsen’s biggest challenge might be to prove that the war room is more than a $30-million public relations subsidy to Alberta’s oil and gas companies.
Public attitudes toward fossil fuels and climate change are shifting dramatically, and Alberta risks becoming increasingly isolated on energy and climate issues on the national and international stage. Judging from the Alberta government’s numerous high-profile efforts over the past two decades to correct what it saw as misinformation about the oilsands and fight environmental advocates outside the province, the war room might be an example of the UCP preparing to fight the last war.
A short history of Alberta government advertising campaigns and initiatives aimed at critics of oil and gas companies (I am sure I have missed a few):
2002: the Alberta government announced and later scrapped plans for an anti-Kyoto Accord advertising campaign in Ontario after focus group testing proved the messaging was unpopular among Torontonians.
2008: the Alberta government launched a public relations campaign targeting critics of the oilsands outside of Alberta, which included a 20-page glossy brochure entitled Alberta’s Oil Sands: Balance. Opportunity. This campaign included a North America and European speaking tour by the Premier.
2010: the Alberta government rolled out a slick $25-million “Tell It Like It Is” oilsands promotional campaign that included advertisements in London’s Piccadilly Circus and New York City’s Times Square. The multimedia blitz includes CDs and DVDs about “Alberta’s Clean Energy Future” and “A conversation on oilsands and the environment” – which features commentary from provincial experts.
2012: the Alberta government announced it was spending $77,000 on a pro-Keystone XL Pipeline advertising campaign during the Premier’s visit to Washington DC and hired lobbyists to directly lobby US officials.
2012: the federal Conservative government assigned Canadian diplomats to lobby Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. in order to counter campaigns launched by an environmental advocacy groups targeting the oilsands.
2013: the federal Conservative government launched a advertising campaign directed at American politicians ahead of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s trip to the United States. The ad campaign described Canada as a “world environmental leader” on oil and gas development.
2018: the Alberta government spent more than $23 million promoting its KeepCanadaWorking advertising campaign in support of the expansion of the Trans Mountain PIpeline from Alberta to British Columbia.
Tags Alberta NDP, Alberta PC Party, Amnesty International, Andrew MacLeod, Calgary-Buffalo, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Canadian Energy Centre, Climate Change, Doug Schweitzer, EcoJustice, Ed Stelmach, Energy War Room, For the Record, Gordon Olsen, Jason Kenney, Jason Nixon, Joe Ceci, Justin Trudeau, Michelle Bellefontaine, Nick Koolsbergen, Norway, Postmedia, Ralph Klein, Sonya Savage, Tom Olsen, United Conservative Party, Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010, War Room
Tom Olsen beats Megan McCaffrey in Calgary-Buffalo UCP nomination, Liberal David Khan to run in Mountain View
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Photo: Tom Olsen and Ric McIver (source: Facebook)
Lobbyist Tom Olsen surprised many political watchers last weekend when he defeated Megan McCaffery in the United Conservative Party nomination contest in Calgary-Buffalo. McCaffery, who has strong ties with the Manning Centre and had the endorsement of 9 UCP MLAs, was believed to be the favourite to win the contest in Calgary’s downtown district.
Attentive readers of this blog will remember Olsen as the former spokesperson for Premier Ed Stelmach and later as Vice-President of Communications for the Progressive Conservative Party during Jim Prentice‘s brief reign. Olsen currently works as a lobbyist and his clients include the Calgary Residential Rental Association and Greyhound. Until recently, his client list included the Canadian Consumer Finance Association, the national group representing Pay Day Loan companies.
Tom Olsen crossing the picket-line during the strike by unionized staff, including reporters, at the Calgary Herald. The strike lasted from November 1999 to July 2000.
Before taking a job in the Premier’s Office, Olsen worked as a reporter and politics columnist for the Calgary Herald. He crossed the picket-line and continued to work at the Herald while many of his colleagues and co-workers went on strike from November 1999 to July 2000.
Olsen will face New Democratic Party candidate and provincial Finance Minister Joe Ceci in the next election. This district has not been fertile ground for conservative parties in the past, as it elected NDP or Liberal candidates in 8 of the past 10 elections.
Khan to run in Mountain View
Liberal Party leader David Khan will run in the Calgary-Mountain View district in the next election. Khan will run to succeed his party’s only current MLA, David Swann, who is planning to retire from politics after serving four-terms in the Legislature.
Khan will face NDP Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley, who currently represents Calgary-Buffalo but is seeking re-election in Mountain View, and Green candidate Thana Boonlert. Caylan Ford and Jeremy Wong are seeking the UCP nomination.
This will be Khan’s fourth attempt to win a seat in the Legislative Assembly. He previously ran in the 2014 by-election in Calgary-West, the 2015 general election in Calgary-Buffalo, and the 2017 by-election in Calgary-Lougheed.
Here are some of the other recent updates to the list of candidates running for party nominations ahead of the 2019 Alberta provincial general election:
Calgary-Currie – Dan Morrison is the sixth candidate to join the UCP nomination contest in this district. Morrison was previously a candidate for the federal Conservative nomination in Calgary-Signal HIll, where he cried foul after being disqualified by the party.
Calgary-Varsity – Jason Copping is seeking the UCP nomination. Copping is co-chair of the UCP policy committee. He is a labour relations consultant, teaches at the University of Calgary, and is a member of the Alberta Labour Relations Board.
Camrose – Jackie Lovely is seeking the UCP nomination. Lovely now lives in Camrose, but she previously was the Wildrose Party candidate in Edmonton-Ellerslie in the 2012 and 2015 elections. She is a former Wildrose Caucus staffer and past president of the Summerside Community League.
Edmonton-Castle Downs – UCP members in this north Edmonton district will select their candidate on July 26, 2018. The three candidates contesting this nomination are Ed Ammar, Gennadi Boitchenko, and Arthur Hagen. Ammar is a former Liberal candidate who played a large role in the formation of the UCP as the chair of the new party’s interim board. He is being endorsed by such conservative luminaries as Craig Chandler.
Edmonton-Glenora – David Salopek is seeking the UCP nomination.
Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood – George Lam is seeking the UCP nomination. Many Edmontonians may remember Lam as a frequent municipal election candidate who played a role as spokesperson for the mysterious Henry Mak during the 2017 mayoral election. Lam earned 760 votes in his 2017 bid for Edmonton Public School Board trustee in Ward A.
Edmonton-Riverview – NDP MLA Lori Sigurdson will seek her party’s candidacy for re-election at a nomination meeting scheduled for August 14, 2018. Sigurdson is Minister of Seniors and Housing.
Lethbridge-West – Real Estate Agent Karri Flatla is seeking the UCP nomination.
Livingstone-Macleod – Dylin Hauser is seeking the Liberal Party nomination. A nomination meeting has been scheduled for August 23, 2018.
Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright – Chris Carnell is seeking the UCP nomination. Carnell is a trustee with the Lloydminster Catholic School Division and was first elected in 2012. He previously served as a councillor in the Village of Frontier, Saskatchewan, and was nominated as the Green Party candidate in Cypress Hills-Grasslands ahead of the 2011 federal election but did contest the election.
West Yellowhead – Ray Hilts is seeking the UCP nomination. Hilts has served on Whitecourt Town Council since October 2017. He is a director with the Alberta Forest Alliance.
Tags Alberta Election 2019, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta Liberal Party, Alberta NDP, Arthur Hagen, Calgary Herald Strike, Calgary Signal Hill, Calgary-Currie, Calgary-Mountain View, Calgary-Varsity, Camrose, Caylan Ford, Chris Carnell, Craig Chandler, Cypress Hills-Grasslands, Dan Morrison, David Khan, David Salopek, David Swann, Dylin Hauser, Ed Ammar, Ed Stelmach, Edmonton-Castle Downs, Edmonton-Ellerslie, Edmonton-Glenora, Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, Edmonton-Riverview, Gennadi Boitchenko, George Lam, Green Party of Alberta, Henry Mak, Jackie Lovely, Jason Copping, Jeremy Wong, Jim Prentice, Joe Ceci, Kathleen Ganley, Lethbridge-West, Livingstone-Macleod, Lori Sigurdson, Megan McCaffrey, Ray Hilts, Thana Boonlert, Tom Olsen, United Conservative Party, Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright, West Yellowhead, Wildrose Party
Friday Night Candidate Nomination Update
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Karen Principe Janis Irwin Michaela Glasgo Deepak Sharma Alberta Election 2019
Photo: Karen Principe, Janis Irwin, Michaela Glasgo, and Deepak Sharma.
Brooks-Medicine Hat – Michaela Glasgo defeated Dinah Hiebert to win the United Conservative Party nomination following the disqualification of S. Todd Beasley the day before the nomination vote began.
Glasgo is a Constituency Assistant for Cypress-Medicine Hat UCP MLA Drew Barnes and is a contributor to the Story of a Tory blog. Her nomination campaign featured two events with Donna Trimble, executive director of Parents for Choice in Education, a group that campaigned against the NDP government’s Gay-Straight Alliance legislation.
Calgary-Buffalo – UCP members in this downtown Calgary district will select their candidate for the next election on July 21, 2018. The two candidates vying for the nomination are Megan McCaffrey and Tom Olsen.
McCaffrey is the former executive director of Common Sense Calgary, a conservative municipal political group with strong ties to Preston Manning’s Manning Centre. She ran as the Wildrose Party candidate in Calgary-Elbow in the 2015 election. McCaffery has been endorsed by 9 UCP MLAs,MP Stephanie Kusie, former PC cabinet minister Ted Morton, and Quebecois libertarian icon Maxime Bernier.
Olsen is a former Calgary Herald reporter and columnist, a former Press Secretary for premier Ed Stelmach, and lead singer of Tom Olsen and the Wreckage.
Calgary-Falconridge – Deepak Sharma has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate in this northeast Calgary district, becoming his party’s second candidate nominated to run in the next election.
Calgary-Foothills – Jennifer Wyness is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. She placed second in the Ward 2 contest in Calgary’s 2017 municipal election, finishing with 36 percent to incumbent councillor Joe Magliocca‘s 49 percent.
Calgary-Mountain View – Dean Brawn has withdrawn from the UCP nomination contest. Brawn was a candidate for Calgary City Council in Ward 7 in the 2017 municipal election.
Calgary-North – Melanie Wen is seeking the Alberta Party nomination.
Calgary-Shaw – Bronson Ha has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate.
Edmonton-Castle Downs – Mohamad Rahall has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate.
Edmonton-City Centre – Taras Zakordonski is seeking the UCP nomination.
Edmonton-Decore – Karen Principe is seeking the UCP nomination. Principe placed a very close third in Ward 3 in Edmonton’s 2017 municipal election.
Edmonton-Glenora – Carla Stolte has withdrawn her nomination as the Alberta Party candidate in this district. She had been nominated as the party’s candidate on June 25, 2018.
Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood – Janis Irwin is seeking the New Democratic Party nomination in this long-time NDP-held district. Irwin was the federal NDP candidate in Edmonton-Griesbach in the 2015 election, where she placed a strong-second behind Conservative candidate Kerry Diotte.
Another frequently named potential candidate, Bill Moore-Kilgannon, announced in a note on Facebook that he will not be seeking the nomination. He will continue his role as president of the local NDP association instead.
NDP MLA Brian Mason, who has represented the area since he was first elected in a 2000 by-election, announced earlier this month that he would retire from politics when the next election is called.
Edmonton-North West – Ali Eltayeb was acclaimed as the UCP candidate in this new northwest Edmonton district. He is the owner and manager of Liberty Tax franchises in Edmonton.
Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland – Don McCargar is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. McCargar made headlines in 2016 when he put his $7.5 million Parkland County mansion for sale. The palatial home included a sauna, wet bar, six-vehicle garage, and a car wash, as well as herringbone marble tiles covering the floors and hand-painted dome murals adorning the ceilings.
Leduc-Beaumont – MLA Shaye Anderson was acclaimed as the NDP candidate in his district. Anderson was first elected in 2015 and currently serves as Minister of Municipal Affairs. Taurus Pawluk is seeking the Alberta Party nomination in this district.
Lethbridge-East – Angela Zuba is seeking the UCP nomination. Zuba is a development manager with Lethbridge College and the former CEO of the Canadian Home Builders Association in the Lethbridge region.
Lesser Slave Lake -Judy Kim-Meneen has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate.
Tags Alberta Election 2019, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta Liberal Party, Alberta NDP, Alberta Party, Ali Eltayeb, Angela Zuba, Bill Moore-Kilgannon, Bronson Ha, Brooks-Medicine Hat, Calgary-Buffalo, Calgary-Falconridge, Calgary-Foothills, Calgary-Mountian View, Calgary-North, Calgary-Shaw, Carla Stolte, Dean Brawn, Deepak Sharma, Dinah Hiebert, Don McCargar, Donna Timble, Drew Barnes, Ed Stelmach, Edmonton-Castle Downs, Edmonton-City Centre, Edmonton-Decore, Edmonton-Glenora, Edmonton-Griesbach, Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, Edmonton-North West, Gay-Straight Alliances, Janis Irwin, Jennifer Wyness, Joe Magliocca, Judy Kim-Meneen, Karen Principe, Kerry Diotte, Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland, Leduc-Beaumont, Lesser Slave Lake, Lethbridge-East, Maxime Bernier, Megan McCaffrey, Melanie Wen, Michaela Glasgo, Mohamad Rahall, Parents for Choice, S. Todd Beasley, Shaye Anderson, Stephanie Kusie, Taras Zakordonski, Ted Morton, Tom Olsen, United Conservative Party, Wildrose Party
Candidate Nomination Update: Innisfail-Sylvan Lake by-election and more
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Photo: Tom Olsen, Michaela Glasgo, Thana Boonlert, and Nathan Cooper
With just over one year left until the next provincial election is expected to be called, I am continuing to track potential candidates as they step up to run for party nominations. While some New Democratic Party MLAs have announced their intentions to seek re-election, most activity on the nomination front has come from prospective United Conservative Party nominees.
In Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, where a by-election will be held in the next six months to replace former UCP MLA Don MacIntyre, four candidates have stepped up to run for the UCP nomination. MacIntyre resigned in February after being charged with sexual assault and sexual interference.
The two newest candidates to join the UCP nomination in Innisfail-Sylvan Lake are lawyer Gayle Langford and former Sylvan Lake town councillor Joan Barnes.
More candidates have stepped up to run for party nominations in other districts across the province:
Brooks-Medicine Hat – Michaela Glasgo is seeking the UCP nomination in this newly redrawn southeastern Alberta district. Glasgo is a Constituency Assistant for Cypress-Medicine Hat UCP MLA Drew Barnes and is a contributor to the Story of a Tory blog.
Calgary-Bow – Demetrios Nicolaides is seeking the UCP nomination. Nicolaides is an Associate with the Humphrey Group and is the former vice president of communications for the Progressive Conservative Party and the former president of the PC association in this district. According to his online bio, he holds a PhD in Political Science and Conflict Resolution from the University of Cyprus.
Calgary-Buffalo – Lobbyist Tom Olsen is seeking the UCP nomination in this downtown Calgary district. Olsen is a former Calgary Herald reporter and columnist, and a former Press Secretary for premier Ed Stelmach. He is also the lead singer of Tom Olsen and the Wreckage, who headlined the 2014 PC leadership vote results party.
Calgary-Foothills – Connor Staus is seeking this UCP nomination in this northwest Calgary district. Staus works as a Constituency Assistant for Calgary-Shepard Conservative Member of Parliament Tom Kmiec. This district is currently represented by UCP MLA Prasad Panda, who was elected as a Wildrose Party MLA in a 2015 by-election.
Calgary-Glenmore – Christopher Grabill is seeking the UCP nomination.
Calgary-Mountain View – Thana Boonlert has been nominated as the Green Party candidate in this district. Boonlert was his party’s candidate in the 2016 Calgary-Greenway by-election.
Edmonton-Riverview – Shawn McLeod is seeking the UCP nomination in this district which includes the University of Alberta.
Morinville-St. Albert – Former Sturgeon County mayor Don Rigney is seeking the UCP nomination. Rigney served as mayor from 2007 to 2013. He mounted an unsuccessful campaign for the Wildrose nomination in the Athabasca-Redwater district ahead of the 2012 election and was reported as being an applicant in a legal challenge launched in 2015 to prevent then-premier Jim Prentice from calling an early election.
Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills – Nathan Cooper is seeking the UCP nomination. Cooper has served as the MLA for this district since 2015 and was previously elected to Carstairs town council. He served as the interim leader of the UCP in 2017.
Red Deer-South – Matt Chapin is seeking the UCP nomination. He ran for the PC nomination in Red Deer-North in 2015 and has run for Red Deer City Council numerous times over the past decade.
Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre – Jason Nixon is seeking the UCP nomination. He has served as the MLA for his district since 2015 and served as the UCP leader in the Legislature in late 2017.
Sherwood Park – Wildrose and UCP caucus researcher Maureen Gough is seeking the UCP nomination in this suburban district east of Edmonton.
Spruce Grove-Stony Plain – Spruce Grove City Councillor Searle Turton is the third candidate to join the UCP nomination race in this district west of Edmonton.
If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list.
Tags Brooks-Medicine Hat, Calgary-Bow, Calgary-Buffalo, Calgary-Foothills, Calgary-Glenmore, Calgary-Mountain View, Candidate nominations, Christopher Grabill, Connor Staus, Demetrios Nicolaides, Don MacIntyre, Don Rigney, Edmonton-Riverview, Green Party of Alberta, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake by-election, Jason Nixon, Matt Chapin, Maureen Gough, Michaela Glasgo, Morinville-St. Albert, Nathan Cooper, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, Red Deer-South, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, Searle Turton, Shawn McLeod, Sherwood Park, Spruce Grove-Stony Plain, Thana Boonlert, Tom Kmiec, Tom Olsen, Tom Olsen and the Wreckage, United Conservative Party
Danielle Smith Dave Taylor David Sands Ed Stelmach Edwin Erickson Gene Zwozdesky Jerry Toews Jim Gurnett Joe Anglin Ralph Klein Ron Liepert Tom Olsen
upside-down week.
32 Comments on upside-down week.
Shuffling the deck.
Long-time Government spokesperson Jerry Bellikka replaces Tom Olsen as spokesman for Premier Ed Stelmach (Olsen now becomes Alberta’s Olympic Spokesperson in Vancouver). Former MLA Jim Gurnett replaces Jerry Toews as Chief of Staff at the NDP caucus. Instead of laughing at satire, PAB blogger David Sands leaves Twitter altogether. Taking a more open approach to the media than his predecessor, Health & Wellness Minister Gene Zwozdesky‘s cell phone number is now showing up on Government media releases.
Not your father’s NEP
With new Energy Minister Ron Liepert‘s mandate to reclaim PC dominance over energy sector support from Danielle Smith‘s Wildrose Alliance, the Liberals do not want to be left out. Calgary-Currie MLA Dave Taylor is leading his party’s 180-degree policy change from their previous position that resource royalties are too low. On the policy change, Mount Royal University Professor Bruce Foster told FFWD:
“It seems as if the Liberals didn’t take the lead on this or didn’t distinguish themselves and now they’re playing catch-up,” he says.
Calgary Grit has more.
Alberta Party of Alberta
Former deputy leader of the now-defunct Alberta Green Party Edwin Erickson is now leader of the Alberta Party. In the last election, Erickson placed second with 19% of the vote against Tory Diana McQueen in Drayton Valley-Calmar. Erickson and Joe Anglin led the fight against Bill 50 and Erickson had publicly mused about creating the Progress Party of Alberta. The Alberta Party has existed in a number of forms since 1986, but has never been competitive (highest support: leader Mark Waters earned 1,200 votes in Calgary-Currie in 1993).
Ralph University
Olds College has re-named their Community Learning Centre after former Premier Ralph Klein and not everyone in Olds is enamoured with the decision.
Tags Danielle Smith, Dave Taylor, David Sands, Ed Stelmach, Edwin Erickson, Gene Zwozdesky, Jerry Toews, Jim Gurnett, Joe Anglin, Ralph Klein, Ron Liepert, Tom Olsen
#AskEd Don Iveson Ed Stelmach Edmonton LRT Jane Batty Karen Leibovici Linda Sloan Tom Olsen Tony Caterina
#yegcc #lrt & #asked
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Kudos to Edmonton City Council for voting for the Stony Plain Road and Mill Woods LRT By-Law today, setting the stage for public transit expansion that has been 20 years in the making. Four Councillors voted against the motion, Jane Batty, Karen Leibovici, Linda Sloan, and Tony Caterina. Defending his decision to oppose LRT expansion, Caterina accused his fellow Councillors of:
…imposing their ideology on the city. Caterina also raised concerns that online bloggers had too much influence on the decision. “A number of bloggers — who knows where they come from — are treated as gospel,” he said.
Putting aside that functionally, writing a blog is not much different than writing a letter to the editor or telephoning a City Councillor’s office, I have heard suggestions that Councillor Caterina was taking a shot at Councillor Don Iveson (who writes a blog). Iveson has been a strong advocate for public transit since being elected to City Council in 2007. There are are a number of Edmontonians who publish blogs that focus on urban issues in our City and they should take Councillor Caterina’s complaint as a compliment.
I am told that Councillor Caterina is still a little miffed that his fellow Councillors voted for the phased closure of the Edmonton City Centre Airport earlier this year. During that debate a strong online campaign was launched by a group of passionate Edmontonians (which included notmyairport.ca). I have met Councillor Caterina a number of times and found him to be a fairly nice person, but a string of bizarre comments like this one has left me questioning his critical thinking abilities.
#AskEd
Three “AskEd” YouTube videos have been released with Premier Ed Stelmach responding to questions submitted to his office via email and Twitter. When it was announced I really like the idea, as it has the potential to allow for Albertans to have some real interaction with Premier Stelmach, and it also allows the Premier to answer questions in an environment that he is comfortable in. Affording Premier Stelmach the ability to avoid the awkwardness of having to answer questions in front of the media or a public audience, the videos appear closer to ‘father figure’ Stelmach responding to questions of his choice than an authentic conversation.
Stelmach spokesperson Tom Olsen said the video responses are a lot like having a conversation with Stelmach in a coffee shop.
The videos are exactly like having a conversation in a coffee shop, especially if the coffee shop is an exact replica of the Premier’s Office and includes a large wooden desk, gavel, and Premier Stelmach reading off a laptop while talking straight into a video camera. Sounds like a typical small-town main street coffee shop to me!
Mastermaq has some good observations on the AskEd videos and DJ Kelly has offered some suggestions on how to fix the Premier’s communications problems.
Tags Don Iveson, Jane Batty, Karen Leibovici, Linda Sloan, Tom Olsen, Tony Caterina
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The Fast And The Furious (Europe)
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Game Description - The Fast And The Furious (Europe):
The Fast And The Furious (Europe) is a popular PlayStation PSP Video Game and now you can play this game on android using PPSSPP android emulator. The Fast and the Furious (ファスト・アンド・フュリアス) is a 2006 racing game for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. The game is based on the film series of the same name, particularly, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. It was later ported to the Wii as Cruis’n. The game is also considered a spiritual successor to 2004’s Street Racing Syndicate. It was originally going to be published by Universal Interactive, but the company closed it doors before the game was completed.
Players race on the Shuto Expressway (Wangan) or mountain roads (Touge). On the expressway, players can compete in point-to-point races or contests to achieve the highest speed between the start and finish. The mountain roads also have point-to-point races but also have competitions for the most drift. Hotspots are positioned along the roads to access race starts and car dealerships. These garages were featured in the film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. There are eight different dealerships where vehicles can be purchased: Nissan dealership, Mitsubishi dealership, Mazda dealership, Honda dealership, Toyota dealership, Subaru dealership, Lexus dealership, and a U.S. Naval Base – where according to the instruction booklet included with the game, cars are brought over by stationed soldiers who end up selling them or are just imported. The tune shops are spread over the map and offer performance upgrades, visual upgrades, and paint jobs which are free and fully customizable by the player. The game includes many Japanese cars such as the Mazda RX-7, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Subaru Impreza WRX STI, Toyota Supra, Honda NSX and the Nissan Skyline but However, Honda and Acura vehicles are not featured in PAL Version so Player starts his career with Toyota Supra(Counterpart to NSX in NTSC). There are also some American cars such as the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and the Shelby GT500.
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A Conversation on the Bleaching of Techno: How Appropriation is Normalized and Preserved
This Conversation between Axmed Maxamed and Mathys Rennela took place in November 2019
Pictured above: Radio Noet Noet
As friends who have known each other for years and bonded through electronic music, We have had many conversations about our experiences with racism in Amsterdam’s dance music scene, and decided recently to write down some of our most regular grievances. The following conversation took place before the on-going wave of protests, and in spite of the recent reckoning with anti-Black racism of a lot of white actors in the scene, the challenges and issues mentioned are still very relevant. Although the Dutch scene is the primary focus of this discussion, similar dynamics can be observed all across the world.
Axmed: Cultural appropriation, artists using ‘Black names’ and appropriating Black cultures, stories of outright and endemic racism within the dance music scenes, … those are topics that we’ve discussed a lot in the past few years.
Mathys: When it comes to music circles, it goes much further than cultural appropriation. Especially when there is so much musical production which comes from the continent of Africa and also from the diaspora and people of colour in general. So many traditions and musical work are just completely taken over and whitewashed by the industry. For some white artists, it is really about adopting a Black artistic identity, which I find really really interesting. I was at Dekmantel last year and I think it was Friday or Saturday…
Axmed: I remember you mentioning it.
Mathys: Yes! I remember how excited I was to see some of the artists from the African continent on the line-up, such as Ugandan Methods and there was also a duo named after an island in the Pacific.
Axmed: Nu Guinea
Mathys: That’s the name. So I was excited to see them, but then when I turned up I saw that both duos were white guys. Then when I shared my surprise on Twitter a lot of PoC were especially surprised about Ugandan Methods. I checked more of the artists and I was really surprised when I realised that Kamaal Williams is not Black. If you hear the name Kamaal Williams, you automatically make the connection with Black America, especially in combination with his music.
Axmed: And in addition to that, he has a label called Black Focus Records and when I saw that, I thought ‘what is going on here?’. I know that he chose the name Kamaal when he converted to Islam, not sure where Williams came from and he then started using Arabic letters in artworks, for example for his label.
Mathys: I really wonder what is the real motivation behind adopting a Black identity. As a dj you already have access to records by Black artists and you can make a career, like a lot of people have done, just by playing music from the African continent or Carribean music. So I wonder what the incentive is to adapt a Black identity. To me, it’s really similar to the ‘sex sells’ trend in EDM, where attractive and barely-clothed women are used to advertise for parties and festivals, as it is culturally accepted that the two are related. The episode of the Code Switch podcast ‘Give it up for dj blackface’ discusses the fact that House & Techno originated from Black artists and that adopting a Black identity creates legitimacy. However, the whitewashing process of House and Techno has been fully completed. As they also mentioned in the podcast, if you ask the average white European about the history of House or Techno they are more likely to say Daft Punk than Jeff Mills.
Axmed: Yes the ‘bleaching’ of House & Techno has definitely been completed and not only white people think it is music that has always been white, but even Black people believe it. The history has been deeply erased even though it is relatively recent. I remember the reaction of a lot of people who are not involved within dance music when Black Queer & Trans Resistance NL shared the Code Switch episode you mentioned.
Mathys: Although, adopting Black identities to gain some legitimacy is far from a recent phenomenon. A good example is Italo Disco. To gain more legitimacy bands like Change consisted of entirely Black vocalists and dancers, in spite of having white producers. You can argue that it was important for marketing purposes to feature predominantly Black faces. Even Luther Vandross was part of this band for a short period. And it is not a surprise that the beginning of Italo Disco coincided with disco being ‘outlawed’ in the US, with anti-disco events such as the Disco Demolition Night on July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago. This anti-disco movement was a real whitelash, led by cishet white people against the growth of music genres pioneered by queer communities of color.
Axmed: Yes and this was part of the rise of Eurodisco and what was also called ‘post disco’ and bands such as Boney M came out of, which is also a project of a white producer while all the band members were Black. It’s a whole different discussion but it’s worth pointing out how disposable a lot of the Black band members were. Fundamentally, it was a white person calling all the shots.
Mathys: For a long time rap, especially gangsta rap, was music that could only be made by Black artists, then it was marketed to a larger (predominantly white) audience, with the rise of white rappers such as Eminem and now the genre is partially disconnected from the socio-ethnic background it originated in. I feel like in dance music, we reached a point where it has been so white washed that it shouldn’t be necessary anymore for white artists to adopt a Black identity. So I feel that it is not just about marketing and credibility anymore, it is also about making a statement.
Axmed: Interesting that you say that, because then the question is, what is the statement exactly? I honestly think that you are giving some of the artists too much credit in thinking that they put a lot of thought in their use of Black identities. I’d argue that it is more about white artists seeing the world as their playing field and not caring about the consequences and the impact of their choices on Black and brown artists and partygoers. When it comes down to it, it is about the scene not caring about Black people, which is of course a product of the society we live in.
In addition to that, there are still ways that adopting Black identity is a selling point. A good example of that in the Netherlands is Beesmunt Soundsystem, who used the name Tanzania Soundsystem for one of their releases, along with Swahili words and phrases for the track titles:
Msichana = Girl
Mdomo = Mouth or lips
Ngono Kijiji = Sex in the village
Upotofu = Immoral or shameful
One of the tracks uses Maasai singing and the others are ‘remixes’ of classics by Tanzanian rumba bands such as Juwata Jazz Band, whose members are still alive as far as I know… Were they paid? In the press release, Highlife [label] doesn’t link the release to Beesmunt Soundsystem, but instead refer to ‘the mysterious Tanzania Sound System’. The cover picture is two unrecognizable Black figures in traditional clothing and the Tanzanian flag.
This is also related to ‘the diggers scene’ where mostly white djs and label owners want to be the first one to ‘discover’ music from ‘far lands’, taking away people’s cultures without understanding the meaning behind the music, and marketing it to mostly white audiences. And of course they benefit from it as well. We were for example talking recently about Awesome Tapes From Africa.
Mathys: It’s in a way a reflection of neocolonialism. When people think about music from the African continent which is actually interesting in the context of dance music, they do not think about all the new up-and-coming South African musicians, all the innovations in the Nigerian scene, etc… They have a certain idea of what “African music” is supposed to sound like, and this goes through the white gaze: it has to sound authentic, low-tech, and if there’s any tech involved, it has to be salvaged. It has to convey the idea that someone made the music out of nowhere, in their village or in the bushes, with little resources, and their music was lost and found by a white European.
Awesome Tapes From Africa isn’t just a guy who went to a record store and found some African music. He has an academic background which gives him some legitimacy. This isn’t just about the music but also about the story, and this is what a neocolonial approach looks and sounds like. A label locally run would be much more ethical, without as much focus on this neocolonial narrative of “discovering” gems, whose value was underestimated before they were “re-discovered” by a white man. There’s nothing that people love more than a good story of a lost record being found. But in practice there aren’t many of such stories.
Axmed: I think it also has to with entitlement, because why is there focus on that one artist who can not be found or ones who want nothing to do with the music industry, for personal reasons. Instead of respecting that, a lot of energy is spent into convincing and coercing them. So in some cases it is not about the artist but the white label owner or white music journalist demanding a product that has a ‘great story’ attached to it. And let’s not forget about the colonial history which white artists knowingly or unknowingly benefit from, which makes it problematic on a whole nother level.
Mathys: Some of the appeal for African and Caribbean music comes from its exoticism, and it tends to be taken out of context and seen through a white gaze. Musicians from the African continent or the Caribbean Islands often feel restrained in the expression of their art. Their music is really defined by the way it is consumed in the Western world, which is mostly without any context.
“Selectors” rarely engage with the culture. I see this with French Caribbean music, which becomes increasingly popular in its instrumental form (without lyrics). I remember hearing a song in French Creole about Caribbean pride at a festival. It was a weird experience to hear a song about self-determination, with lyrics explicitly inviting to “free oneself from the white man”, being played by a white DJ to a very predominantly white crowd. I remember being confused to hear this song so full of rage and sadness being played in such a “joyful” way. Some DJs actually take the time to learn about the context of the music they play and really reflect about their praxis, especially when they accept to be held accountable for their mistakes. But it is certainly not the norm.
Unfortunately, a lot of DJs refuse to take constructive criticism from their peers or from their public, and instead really engage in performative allyship: appearing at protests for selfies, making statements on social media in support of some communities without committing to help out its members within the scene, taking up space in activist circles without acknowledging people who actually put in the hard work, etc. There are ethical ways to engage with the music, and it is up to DJs to go through the process of finding their own work ethics. It’s about being self-conscious about what you’re playing.
Axmed: The most common reaction to the type of criticism that you’re mentioning is often “So I’m not allowed to play music anymore?” It sometimes triggers aggressive and even violent reactions, when it’s really not what the criticism is about. It’s not unreasonable for people to expect you to be Black or from the African continent, if you’re using a name which suggests that it is the case. Taking again the example of Awesome Tapes from Africa: he’s been aware of the criticism for years; criticised on social media for having this name while not being African, his snarky answer was “I’m not a tape either”. He’s someone who understands the dynamics and the criticism, but still chooses to not answer for it.
When artists reach a certain level, they are sort of untouchable, or at least they feel like they don’t have to explain themselves anymore. This happens for example with Cairo Liberation Front. It was highly problematic for two white guys to use that name but they reached a point where their parties were sold out. Nowadays, they do book artists of Arab descent but they started in a very problematic way: defending the name, having belly dancers on stage and exploiting stereotypes about the Arab world, initially calling themselves “Nobody beats the Dürüm”. They never publicly addressed this past behaviour, and by not acknowledging the fact that it was wrong, they opened the door to other collectives to adopt similar problematic approaches.
Mathys: I feel that when you have a certain project, on which you’ve worked for years, even if it starts a problematic way, even if the criticism only arises as a byproduct of commercial success, it is important to reflect on your project’s past and think about the message that you’re trying to convey. And it has to be a very personal answer.
Axmed: Some of those projects started very small, but before you know it, end up at big festivals. Radio Noet Noet for example, an all-white DJ collective which focused on music from the African continent and engaged in cultural appropriation, was never held accountable by Dutch music journalists, nor by the Black people around them. It’s a project which did not need to be well thought through for it to be successful.
Mathys: And because those projects are not well thought through, they are prone to biases. They ultimately gain some legitimacy through some association with people of color. Which makes it harder to criticise them, because there are so few spaces which actively welcome people of color as music creators within the dance music scene. It’s a perverse tactic that shields them from accountability, by pitting the people of color who criticise them with the people of color they “help”. One pernicious consequence of this is that the white people who pursue these projects end up being idolised and in leadership positions in communities of color that they are not part of. From that point, there is no space to unlearn problematic behaviours.
One of the issues is that the desire to change has to come from a place of actually caring without being forced to. Take for example the producer Thug Entrancer who is probably the only example I know of a DJ with a problematic name who decided to drop it on his own, after reading a VICE article about white producers co-opting Black culture. Later, in an interview, he mentioned that no one actively asked him to change his name, but he noticed that some people were uncomfortable with it, and that was enough to push him to change.
Situations where there is no accountability open the door for more problematic behaviours, and this is when “calling out” becomes crucial and inevitable, as a way to move the scene in a direction which suits everyone. Unfortunately, such call outs are often taken too personally: it becomes about egos being bruised, rather than growing as a community.
Axmed: Spaces, resources and communities are limited. There’s a lot of energy being put into creating new platforms, especially by queer POC, who continue to be very marginalised within the scene, and end up in unsafe spaces for lack of better options.
In absence of proper accountability, this process, which has been going on for a while, will continue to go on. The people in charge still lack the competences to address this and rely on unpaid labour from marginalised groups. When a controversy pops up within an institution, it is often ignored unless it’s too big not to be addressed. Diversifying one’s team and engaging with local communities are important ways to cover blind spots but it is also important to recognise the existence of such blind spots. I am at a point where there is no space that I would recommend to POC within the city of Amsterdam, and it is really a shame.
—- We thank Zoë Beery for feedback on an earlier version of this transcript.
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6 thoughts on “A Conversation on the Bleaching of Techno: How Appropriation is Normalized and Preserved”
FriendlyArab says:
Adopting a muslim name after converting to Islam is very common for newcomers to the faith (though not obligatory) and many do so as a sign of respect and as a token of submission to Allah. Saying “if you hear the name Kamaal Williams, you automatically make the connection with Black America” highlights an issue with your thinking, not with Williams himself. It can be very easy to take offence from something that should not be cause for it and devalues your wider thoughts.
musiclov says:
Totally, and “Black Focus” (name of his first album) is because of the ford focus car (you can see it trough the letters in the art cover), also, that was a Yussef Kamaal album, a collaboration with yussef dayes, a black drummer. This “cultural appropriation” has some truth to it, but as always its exaggerated and misunderstood.
Stan Zeff says:
Thanks guys for the great article. As a Black man living in America who is a curator of a brand called Tambor, which is based around African dance music. I see the stealing of our music and culture on a daily basis. And you are so right, that the black people that signs off on the whites using the music for their own benefit legitimize what they do and give them approval to continue what they do. People are afraid to call it out as it may label them as an instigator. Its all very frustrating as I have been working hard on my brand for many years and you see white people take your ideas and leap forward without any acknowledgement of what I have provided to the scene.
hey guys, really enjoyed reading this. sick website! i look forward to reading more
The Uncreated says:
As a Gen-Xer that started listening to techno and House since the early days, this SJW buzzword-laden article gives me cancer and is probably written by a couple kids that weren’t even alive when the second wave of techno started out.
This is a very important conversation. As a white DJ I have definitely been guilty of some of the problematic forms of appropriation mentioned here. I recognise the need to both learn from past mistakes and to call out other forms of appropriation rather than let POC doing all the work.
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Database Zone
DZone > Database Zone > How to Securely Deploy Neo4J Into Amazon Web Services
How to Securely Deploy Neo4J Into Amazon Web Services
To start, we need to ask the question: Why is cloud security important? Over the last several years, there has been an increase in security incidents.
Jun. 17, 16 · Database Zone · Tutorial
Today we’re going to talk about securely deploying Neo4j into Amazon Web Services (AWS):
To start, we need to ask the question: Why is cloud security important? Over the last several years, there has been an increase in security incidents in which millions of records have been stolen. It has been calculated that each leak costs a company $154 per record, which adds up to a huge loss for businesses.
And as the ones developing and building these solutions, it's our responsibility to provide a high level of security to our customers. This isn't just a technical aspect — security begins with personnel. A culture of security is the first place to start.
Each cloud technology provides a set of frameworks, tools, and APIs that you can combine with different security components. Certain cloud providers, such as AWS, have a very robust security infrastructure that enables you to work with default security components, which saves time.
Whether you're using a virtual private cloud (VPC) or private network, you want to have everything in SSL. In Neo4j, run all interactions between your graph and application over SSL, which can be configured on 7473 with HDPS.
AWS and Neo4j Deployment
Now we're going to explore a few different ways to deploy AWS if you'd like to roll out your own cloud development. However, none of the above come with security by default. So, even though Neo4j is now deployed in AWS, you have to determine what steps you need to take to secure your data. And this is where a lot of the learning starts.
The Language of Security: Part 1
Before figuring out how all the different components work together to secure your environment and Neo4j while being able to access the external world, while simultaneously preventing people from seeing that you're running Neo4j on 7474 on your server, you need to learn a few acronyms:
Identity and Access Management (IAM): Provides user- and group-level permissions for authentication and authorization controls to AWS resources. This is where your operations team users and groups are managed for who has access to Neo4j within the organization when authenticated.
Multi-factor Authentication (MFA): This is an added layer of security that requires a token for access in addition to a username and password. This prevents those who have access to Neo4j information from accessing privileged accounts
Virtual Private Cloud (VPC): This allows AWS resources to be launched into a private network without being publicly accessible. It also requires a VPN client. This restricts access to authorized personnel with the correct VPN access.
How to Access Secure Information
Once all your information is secure, you need to ensure that the appropriate people can access the secured information. There are a few options:
openVPN can be used to authenticate a user for VPC access. This has a very low cost of entry — $9.60 per connection per year. This is very affordable, which provides access even for startups.
Direct Connect establishes a dedicated network connection from your premises — such as an office or data center — to your VPC in AWS. This is a great option for an enterprise with existing infrastructure to migrate data to the cloud because it allows the company to use AWS as an extension of the existing network.
The next set of acronyms relates to security groups, which control inbound and outbound traffic and operate at an instance level with support for "only allows" rules. These include:
Network Access Control List (ACLs): These control inbound and outbound traffic for one or more subnets, and they are where broad sweeping port decisions are made for public vs. private. These are the broader, sweeping configurations for entire subnets. Something to keep in mind: If you have outbound traffic that requires a response from the server, you need to make sure the response can get back in. If you're expecting a response from the server, you need to configure your ACL in such a way that you can ensure a response can get back in.
S3 ACLs: These define the accounts and groups with access and the type of access to a bucket or an object. This provides more granular control and the option to segment groups or individuals.
In Neo4j, by default, the network ACLs with the subnets are used to block all incoming traffic. S3 is required when you're storing references in the graph where you're going to query, where you need to use connectedness and load a document from S3. You can combine all of that to ensure that only the correct application or server is requesting that document and sending it back out.
A Neo4j Example
Below is an inbound security group for Neo4j on the elastic load balancer. You use the two defaults, HTTP and HTTPS:
All the IP addresses are 172.128, which is an internal range of IP addresses in the networking schema and the first 16 for the CIDR block.
7473 is HTTPS and 7474 is HTTP. This provides access from your internal servers to Neo4j, but not from the external world. Because it's limited to traffic only from the IP range of servers within your network, this prevents any access from external sources.
In this type of infrastructure configuration, a network address translation (NAT) instance controls all inbound and outbound traffic through an Internet gateway. This allows you to control inbound traffic via expected protocols — which generally you'd want 80 and 443, through some API layer, that then proxies to Neo4j and any other application servers you may have behind your VPC. This provides granular control while still providing a way to run your full internal infrastructure and have really good communication, without exposing it to the outside world.
Security at GraphGrid
We've set up all the infrastructure so that everything we deploy is inside a VPC, even if it's across regions and availability zones. There is some fairly complex networking involved with tunneling regions, keeping the resources internal, and ensuring that all the pieces are simultaneously isolated but can also communicate.
Consider the following example in which we have three different Neo4j instances in different availability zones that need to communicate with one another:
We have to set up the private DNS and the EBS for the data volume, which can be encrypted if necessary. And then, along with the S3 storage and the elastic load balancer endpoints for master/slave are available. These manage the subnet access with the security groups so that you can have them communicate and route the traffic correctly.
GraphGrid provides the basic security architecture that I just reviewed so that you don't have to build it from scratch.
Inspired by Benjamin’s talk? Download your copy of this white paper, The Top 5 Use Cases of Graph Databases, and tap into the power of connected data at your enterprise.
amazon web services, elastic load balancer, cloud, security, balancer, neo4j, web, infrastructure, elastic, amazon
Published at DZone with permission of Benjamin Nussbaum. See the original article here.
Database Partner Resources
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Associate Professor Begoña Domínguez
b.dominguez@uq.edu.au
Room 507, Level 5, Colin Clark Building (#39)
View researcher profile
Conesa, Juan Carlos and Domínguez, Begoña (2020). Capital taxes and redistribution: the role of management time and tax deductible investment. Review of Economic Dynamics, 37, 156-172. doi: 10.1016/j.red.2019.11.006
Domínguez, Begoña (2020). Review: Reform of the International Monetary System. Why and How? , by John B.Taylor (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 152. Economic Record, 96 (312) 1475-4932.12528, 110-112. doi: 10.1111/1475-4932.12528
Domínguez, Begoña and Gomis‐Porqueras, Pedro (2019). On the time inconsistency of optimal monetary and fiscal policies with many consumer goods. The Scandinavian Journal of Economics sjoe.12399. doi: 10.1111/sjoe.12399
Domínguez, Begoña (2019). Sustaining Ramsey plans with one-period bonds. Economic Theory, 70 (2), 387-410. doi: 10.1007/s00199-019-01212-9
Conesa, Juan Carlos and Domínguez, Begoña (2019). The timing of optimal capital income tax reforms: the role of intangible capital investment. SERIEs, 10 (3-4), 419-438. doi: 10.1007/s13209-019-0199-3
Domínguez, Begoña and Gomis-Porqueras, Pedro (2018). The effects of secondary markets for government bonds on inflation dynamics. Review of Economic Dynamics, 32, 249-273. doi: 10.1016/j.red.2018.10.004
Dominguez, Begona and Feng, Zhigang (2017). An evaluation of constitutional constraints on capital taxation. Macroeconomic Dynamics, 21 (7), 1519-1544. doi: 10.1017/S1365100515000978
Begona Dominguez and Zhigang Feng (2016). The time-inconsistency problem of labor taxes and constitutional constraints. Dynamic Games and Applications, 6 (2), 225-242. doi: 10.1007/s13235-015-0149-z
Conesa, Juan C. and Domínguez, Begoña (2013). Intangible investment and Ramsey capital taxation. Journal of Monetary Economics, 6 (8), 983-995. doi: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2013.09.004
Dominguez, Begona (2007). Public debt and optimal taxes without commitment. Journal of Economic Theory, 135 (1), 159-170. doi: 10.1016/j.jet.2006.02.011
Dominguez, Begona (2007). On the time-consistency of optimal capital taxes. Journal of Monetary Economics, 54 (3), 686-705. doi: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2005.11.005
Domínguez, Begoña (2006). Book review: Recursive Macroeconomic Theory, by Lars Ljungqvist and Thomas J. Sargent. New Zealand Economic Papers, 40 (2), 225-228. doi: 10.1080/00779954.2006.9558562
Dominguez, Begona (2005). Reputation in a model with a limited debt structure. Review of Economic Dynamics, 8 (3), 600-622. doi: 10.1016/j.red.2005.01.007
Domínguez, Begoña and Pita, Cristina (1998). Los Accidentes Laborales en España: la Importancia de la Temporalidad. Documentación Laboral, 55, 37-59.
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PHOTOS: Alberta Winter Games 2020 Opening Ceremonies
Larry Wong • Edmonton Journal
Feb 15, 2020 • Last Updated February 15, 2020 • < 1 minute read
The opening ceremonies for the 2020 Alberta Winter Games were held outside city hall in Airdrie, Alberta on Friday February 14, 2020. Two thousand six hundred Alberta athletes, aged 11 to 17 years, will compete at the games for three days. (PHOTO BY LARRY WONG/POSTMEDIA)
The 2020 Alberta Winter Games was officially opened in Airdrie, Alberta on Friday February 14, 2020. Two thousand six hundred Alberta athletes, aged 11 to 17 years, will compete at the games for three days. (PHOTO BY LARRY WONG/POSTMEDIA)
The torch was lit to officially open the 2020 Alberta Winter Games in Airdrie, Alberta on Friday February 14, 2020. Two thousand six hundred Alberta athletes, aged 11 to 17 years, will compete at the games for three days. (PHOTO BY LARRY WONG/POSTMEDIA)
Athletes from Edmonton attend the opening ceremonies of the 2020 Alberta Winter Games in Airdrie, Alberta on Friday February 14, 2020. Two thousand six hundred Alberta athletes, aged 11 to 17 years, will compete at the games for three days. (PHOTO BY LARRY WONG/POSTMEDIA)
Leela Aheer (left, Alberta Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women) and Lois Mitchell (Lieutenant Governor of Alberta) helped officially open the 2020 Alberta Winter Games in Airdrie, Alberta on Friday February 14, 2020. Two thousand six hundred Alberta athletes, aged 11 to 17 years, will compete at the games for three days. (PHOTO BY LARRY WONG/POSTMEDIA)
The opening ceremonies of the 2020 Alberta Winter Games was held in Airdrie, Alberta on Friday February 14, 2020. Two thousand six hundred Alberta athletes, aged 11 to 17 years, will compete at the games for three days. (PHOTO BY LARRY WONG/POSTMEDIA)
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Catriona Le May Doan helped officilaly open the 2020 Alberta Winter Games in Airdrie, Alberta on Friday February 14, 2020. Two thousand six hundred Alberta athletes, aged 11 to 17 years, will compete at the games for three days. (PHOTO BY LARRY WONG/POSTMEDIA)
Athletes and spectators attended the opening ceremonies at the 2020 Alberta Winter Games in Airdrie, Alberta on Friday February 14, 2020. Two thousand six hundred Alberta athletes, aged 11 to 17 years, will compete at the games for three days. (PHOTO BY LARRY WONG/POSTMEDIA)
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Articles (78) Apply Articles filter
Dissertation: Fetal Risk, Federal Response: How Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Influenced the Adoption of Alcohol Health Warning Labels
In the fifteen years between the discovery of fetal alcohol syndrome, or FAS, in 1973 and the passage of alcohol beverage warning labels in 1988, FAS transformed from a medical diagnosis between practitioner and pregnant women to a broader societal risk imbued with political and cultural meaning. In this dissertation, I examine how scientific, social, moral, and political narratives dynamically interacted to construct the risk of drinking during pregnancy and the public health response of health warning labels on alcohol.
Format: Essays and Theses
Subject: Disorders, Reproduction, Legal
Moore v. Regents of the University of California (1990)
On 9 July 1990, in Moore v. Regents of the University of California, the Supreme Court of California ruled in a four-to-three decision that individuals do not have rights to a share in profits earned from research performed on their bodily materials. In its decision, the Supreme Court of California ruled that cancer patient John L. Moore did not have personal property rights to samples or fluids that his physicians took from his body for research purposes.
Gonzales v. Carhart (2007)
In Gonzales v. Carhart (2007), the US Supreme Court held in a five-to-four decision that the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act passed by the US Congress was constitutional. Although the Court previously ruled in Stenberg v. Carhart (2000) that a Nebraska law that prohibited partial-birth abortions was unconstitutional, Gonzales reversed this decision. Gonzales created the precedent that anyone who delivers and kills a living fetus could be subject to legal consequences, unless he or she performed the procedure to save the life of the mother.
Evans v. People of the State of New York [Brief] (1872)
Attempts by the New York legislature to make abortion a crime regardless of the stage of gestation were permanently frustrated because the court decided that manslaughter cannot occur until the law recognizes a living being in gestation and that only happens after quickening.
Bowen v. American Hospital Association (1986)
The 1986 US Supreme Court decision Bowen v. American Hospital Association rejected the federal government's use of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to intervene in a hospital's treatment for neonates born with severe congenital defects. This case set a precedent for the role of government involvement in cases where parents refused consent for care of disabled newborns.
The Baby Doe Rules (1984)
The Baby Doe Rules represent the first attempt by the US government to directly intervene in treatment options for neonates born with congenital defects. The name of the rule comes from the controversial 1982 case of a Bloomington, Indiana infant Baby Doe, a name coined by the media. The Baby Doe Rules mandate that, as a requirement for federal funding, hospitals and physicians must provide maximal care to any impaired infant, unless select exceptions are met. If a physician or parent chooses to withhold full treatment when the exceptions are not met, they are liable for medical neglect.
Bonbrest v. Kotz [Brief] (1946)
This influential opinion was copied throughout the United States allowing civil actions and wrongful death claims on behalf of children who suffered injuries while a viable fetus. The case essentially overruled the opinion by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in Dietrich v. Inhabitants of Northampton (1884). However, the ability to sue was usually limited in two ways: the fetus had to be viable, and a child had to be born alive to have a claim. These two restrictions have recently been removed in many jurisdictions.
Park v. Chessin (1977)
The New York Appellate Court ruled on 11 December 1977 in favor of Steven and Hetty Park and against Herbert Chessin for the wrongful life of the Parks' child. In a wrongful life case, a disabled or sometimes deceased child brings suit against a physician for failing to inform its parents of possible genetic defects, thereby causing harm to the child when born. Park v. Chessin was the first case to rule that medical personnel could be legally responsible for wrongful life. Further cases such as the 1979 case Berman v. Allan and the 1982 case Turpin v.
Doe v. Bolton (1973)
In the 1973 court case Doe v. Bolton, the US Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., ruled that a Georgia law regulating abortion was unconstitutional. The Georgia abortion law required women seeking abortions to get approval for the procedure from their personal physician, two consulting physicians, and from a committee at the admitting hospital. Furthermore, under the statutes, only women who had been raped, whose lives were in danger from the pregnancy, or who were carrying fetuses likely to be seriously, permanently malformed were permitted to receive abortions.
Berman v. Allan (1979)
The Supreme Court of New Jersey decided the case of Berman v. Allan on 26 June 1979, brought by Shirley Berman and Paul Berman and their daughter Sharon Esther Berman against Ronald Allan and Michael Vincent Attardi, Shirley's physicians. The court dismissed the Bermans' claims for what they termed wrongful life of their daughter, but allowed them to claim compensation as a result of what was termed wrongful birth.
Sterilization Act of 1924
The passage of the Virginia Sterilization Act of 1924 demonstrates how science has been used to drive policy throughout history. In the case of the Virginia sterilization law, the science used to draft the law was based on the principles of eugenics. With the help of Harry Laughlin's Model Sterilization Law, the state of Virginia was able to pass its own law allowing sterilization of the feebleminded, expressing sterilization as a health issue that needed to be protected from the public.
United States v. University Hospital (1984)
The US 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals' 1984 decision United States v. University Hospital, State University Hospital of New York at Stony Brook set a significant precedent for affirming parental privilege to make medical decisions for handicapped newborns, while limiting the ability of the federal government to intervene. The ruling stemmed from the 1983 case involving an infant born with severe physical and mental congenital defects; the infant was only identified as Baby Jane Doe.
Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt (2016)
In the 2016 case Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, the US Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the Texas requirements that abortion providers have admitting privileges at local hospitals and that abortion facilities meet ambulatory surgical center standards. Whole Woman’s Health represented abortion care providers in Texas and brought the case against the commissioner for the Texas Department of State Health Services, John Hellerstedt.
Title X Family Planning Program (1970–1977)
The Family Planning Services and Public Research Act of 1970, often called Title X Family Planning Program, is a US federal law that provides federal funding for family planning services to low income or uninsured families. The US federal government passed the law, Public Law 91-572, in 1970 as an amendment to the Public Health Services Act of 1944. The Act created the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) under the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (here called the Secretary).
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (2014)
In the 2014 case Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, the US Supreme Court ruled that the contraceptive mandate promulgated under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act violated privately held, for-profit corporations’ right to religious freedom. The contraception mandate, issued in 2012 by the US Department of Health and Human Services, required that employer-provided health insurance plans offer their beneficiaries certain contraceptive methods free of charge.
Commonwealth v. Luceba Parker [Brief] (1845)
The Court settled the question left open from the case of Commonwealth v. Bangs that it must be proved a woman was "quick with child" in order for abortion prohibitions to have any effect in Massachusetts.
Davis v. Davis [Brief] (1992)
This case was the first of its kind to address questions of personhood in the context of in vitro fertilization of a human embryo. It laid a foundation for future cases to work from: specifically, this case established the importance of prior written agreements for disposition of frozen embryos. This was also the first court decision to borrow the word "pre-embryo" from bioethics to describe the in vitro embryo. This terminology has been copied by many states.
Paretta v. Medical Offices for Human Reproduction [Brief] (2003)
The court decided a child of in vitro fertilization born with cystic fibrosis does not have the right to sue for wrongful life even in the presence of demonstrable acts of medical negligence because to allow such a case would grant the IVF child rights not possessed by naturally born children. The decision in Paretta has not been publicly tested in other jurisdictions.
Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)
Almost ten years after the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade (1973) the battle over abortion was still being waged. The reproductive rights of women in the United States were being challenged yet again by the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act of 1982. The act was comprised of four provisions that restricted the fundamental right a woman had to obtaining an abortion, as established in Roe v. Wade. The four provisions included spousal notification, information disclosure, a twenty-four hour waiting period, and parental consent for minors.
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Reproduction (6) Apply Reproduction filter
Jeter v. Mayo (2005)
In Jeter v. Mayo, the Court of Appeals of Arizona in 2005 held that a cryopreserved, three-day-old pre-embryo is not a person for purposes of Arizona's wrongful death statutes, and that the Arizona Legislature was best suited to decide whether to expand the law to include cryopreserved pre-embryos. The Court of Appeals affirmed a decision by the Maricopa County Superior Court to dismiss a couple's wrongful death claim after the Mayo Clinic (Mayo) allegedly lost or destroyed several of their cryopreserved pre-embryos.
Planned Parenthood Center of Tucson, Inc., v. Marks (1972)
In the 1972 case Planned Parenthood Center of Tucson, Inc., v. Marks, the Arizona Court of Appeals required the Arizona Superior Court to rehear the case Planned Parenthood Association v. Nelson (1971) and issue a decision on the constitutionality of Arizona's abortion laws. In 1971, the Planned Parenthood Center of Tucson filed the case Planned Parenthood Association v. Nelson asking for the US District Court to rule on the constitutionality of the Arizona Revised Statutes 13-211, 13-212, and 13-213, which made it illegal for anyone to advertise, provide, or receive an abortion.
Margaret Higgins Sanger (1879-1966)
Margaret Higgins Sanger advocated for birth control in the United States and Europe during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although people used contraceptives prior to the twentieth century, in the US the 1873 Comstock Act made the distribution of information relating to the use of contraceptives illegal, and similar state-level Comstock laws also classified discussion and dissemination of contraceptives as illegal.
Subject: People, Reproductive Health Arizona, Reproduction, Outreach
Tucson Woman's Clinic v. Eden (2004)
The case Tucson Woman's Clinic v. Eden (2004) established that some of Arizona's abortion clinic laws violated physicians' and patients' rights to privacy, and it required those laws to be rewritten. The laws required most abortion providers to be licensed with the Arizona Department of Health Services and to submit to all the regulations the Department established for abortion clinics. The regulations allowed the state to search abortion clinics without warrants and to access patient records and ultrasound prints, among other provisions.
Isaacson v. Horne (2013)
In the 2013 case Isaacson v. Horne, the US Court of Appeals in the Ninth Circuit ruled that Arizona House Bill (HB) 2036, which prohibited abortions after twenty weeks of gestation, was unconstitutional. The Arizona State Legislature passed the law in 2012, which was then challenged by three physicians who filed a lawsuit against the state, arguing that the law violated women's constitutionally protected rights to abortions, rights that may only be infringed once fetuses are viable outside of the womb.
Simat Corp v. Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (2002)
In the 2002 case Simat Corp v. Arizona Health Care Containment System, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the Arizona Health Care Containment System must pay for abortions when they are necessary to preserve the health of pregnant women in the system. In the case, the Court ruled that the Arizona Revised Statutes 35-196.02 and the Arizona Health Care Containment System (AHCCCS) policies, which banned public funds from being used for abortions, were unconstitutional. AHCCCS is Arizona's Medicaid insurance system, which enables low-income residents to receive medical care.
Margaret (Peggy) Goldwater (1909–1985)
Margaret Goldwater advocated for birth control and reproductive rights in the United States during the twentieth century. Goldwater was a socialite and philanthropist and was married to Barry Goldwater, US Senator from Arizona. She spent much of her life working to further the women's reproductive rights movement, which sought to expand women's legal, social, and physical access to reproductive healthcare, including contraception and abortions.
Subject: People, Reproduction, Outreach
Nelson v. Planned Parenthood Center of Tucson (1973)
The 1973 case Nelson v. Planned Parenthood Center of Tucson established the legality of abortion in Arizona. The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that the Arizona Revised Statutes 13-211, 13-212, and 13-213, collectively called the Arizona abortion statutes, were unconstitutional. The statutes had made illegal receiving, providing, or advertising abortions. After the Arizona Appeals Court heard the case, it decided that the Arizona abortion statutes were constitutional. However, two weeks later the US Supreme Court decided in Roe v.
Barry Morris Goldwater (1909–1998)
Barry Morris Goldwater was a Republican Arizona Senator and US presidential candidate in the twentieth-century whose policies supported the women's reproductive rights movement. Goldwater, a businessman and Air Force reservist, transitioned into politics in the 1950s. He helped align popular support for a conservative Republican Party in the 1960s. Throughout his life, he worked to maintain personal liberty and to limit governmental intrusion into citizens' private lives. Goldwater, influenced by his wife Margaret (Peggy) Goldwater, supported women's rights to abortions.
Subject: People, Reproduction, Legal, Religion
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Revision as of 13:02, 26 October 2017 by Z5018962 (talk | contribs) (→Secondary Heart Field)
The heart is the muscular organs that pumps blood around the body via the circulatory system. It is located within the thoracic cavity, in a compartment called the mediastinum. The heart is divided into four chambers including: left and right atria and ventricles which are compartmentalised by semilunar and atrioventricular valves. Blood moves via the systemic circuit to the organs of the body and back to the heart. The pulmonary circuit is responsible for the flow of blood between the lungs and the heart. Deoxygenated blood enters the right side of the heart, while oxygenated blood returning from the lungs exits the left side. The heart’s electrical system uses electrical signals to cause the muscular walls to contract. The mechanical pumping of the heart is essential for movement of blood which exchanges gases and essential nutrients between organs of the bod [3].
Figure 4: Schematic diagram of heart tube looping
Figure 7: Outflow tract anatomy
Figure 10: Wnt signalling pathways
Transforming growth factor-β superfamily involves a large number of growth factors that are structurally related. These growth factors, including Nodal or its mimic Activin, bone morphogenic protein (BMP) and growth and differentiation factors, signal through SMAD-dependent and SMAD-independent pathways [29]. Nodal and its mimic Activin act through SMAD-2 and -3 to activate transcription. During embryo development, epiblast cells produce high levels of Nodal growth factors leading to a gradient of nodal in these cells. This gradient is important for mesoderm patterning (left-right asymmetric heart development) and lineage specification. For this reason, this gradient is maintained by Nodal antagonist secreted from the anterior visceral endoderm or by BMP-4 and Wnt-3 feedback loop in the extraembryonic tissues (Fig.11) [30]. Nodal/Activin’s important role in heart formation is demonstrated by animal models. Presence of Activin in amphibian embryo lead to activation of heart formation whereas the absence of Nodal co-receptor ,called Cripto, in mouse embryo resulted in failure of ES cells differentiation into cardiomyocytes [31]. Also, knocking out copies of SMAD-2 alone or both SMAD-2 ND -3 result in inappropriate specification of axial mesoderm [32].
Figure 12: Retinoic Acid activation pathway
Retinoic acid (RA), a derivative of vitamin A, has been shown to play an important role in vertebrate embryogenesis especially heart formation. RA mediates its action by binding to two families of nuclear receptors, that is the RA and the retinoid receptors (RARs and RXRs). This binding allows RA to directly regulate gene transcription. The expression of at least one of the receptor types by almost all embryonic tissues gives these tissues responsiveness to RA. Signaling of RA is regulated by enzyme that either produce or inactivate retinoids (Fig. 12) [36].
Sydney’s Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute is the centre point of research to prevent recurrent miscarriages and multiple types of birth defects of the heart, spinel, kidney and cleft palate in newborn babies.
Initial stages of cardiac looping involve the formation of a c-shaped tube that is curved towards the right side of the embryo. This c-shaped tube is formed as a result of ventral bending and rightward rotation. The genetic and molecular pathways involved in this process of cardiac looping have been well understand but the role mechanical forces play in this process remains poorly understood. This study on chick embryos [52] show that bending and rotation are mediated by different sets of forces. While bending is controlled by intrinsic forces to the heart, rotation into a c-shaped tube is driven by external forces exerted mainly by a membrane pushing against the heart tube called splanchnopleure (SPL). Also, some of these forces come from omphalomesenteric veins (OVs) which plays a role in the directionality of left-right looping. These results were obtained from analysis of tissue stress and strain using dissection and fluorescent labelling respectively after subjecting the embryos to mechanical perturbations.
Other research into chick models reveals that cardiac progenitors of the splanchnic mesoderm, cardiac neural crest and the proepicardium are the major embryonic contributors to the development of the chick heart. The contribution of these components to cardiac development occurs with precise timing and regulation during such processes as primary heart tube fusion, cardiac looping and accretion, cardiac septation and the development of the coronary vasculature. In addition to these findings, chick models revealed that one role of the anterior endoderm is to create a “cardiac field” in the overlying anterior mesoderm, and that other events will restrict this cardiac field to the region of the embryo that will become the heart later in development.[53]
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My Healthy Blog
My name is Gil Barzilay and I am a certified practitioner in Chinese and Japanese Medicine.
I graduated cum laude from a 4-year program in Chinese Medicine (acupuncture, herbs, nutrition) at Broshim Campus, Tel Aviv. In addition, I specialize in Chinese & Macrobiotic nutrition and completed a 2-year program in Japanese Acupuncture according to Kiiko Matusumoto. The world of Oriental medicine is broad and contains diverse treatment methods, so I am still studying and gaining further knowledge at congresses and seminars in Israel and abroad. I am a member of the Israeli Association for Traditional Chinese Medicine (IATCM).
Over the years, I have chosen to focus on treating people who are in the middle of their lives and older. I specialize in metabolic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, obesity), menopausal syndromes, insomnia, acute and chronic pain, headaches and migraines. I chose this practice because I connect well with people in these age groups, whose life experiences I value and with the understanding that maintaining good health becomes more challenging as we grow older.
Why & How I practice Chinese Medicine:
"The modern world has accustomed us to disproportionate amount of working hours, poor sleep, stress, and eating habits that are unhealthy and do not allow most of us to maintain balance and good health over time. Although we feel that we manage to overcome much of the daily chaos pretty well, our body remembers everything and expresses its frustration as a disease later in life.
I know the world of Western medicine and pharmaceutical drugs very intimately, but in too many cases the treatment is symptomatic and is often accompanied by side effects. In contrast, Chinese and Japanese medicines enable us to maintain health and restore balance because the diagnosis is holistic and considers body & mind, past & present, cause & symptom and the treatment is tailor-made, without risks or side effects.
In my treatments, I combine the ancient knowledge of these medicines and results accumulated from research and clinical studies conducted in hospitals all over the world. It is important for me not only to give my patients the best care, but to make sure that the changes are assimilated by guiding them closely so that that the benefits will be maintained over time”.
I am part of the teaching staff at Broshim Campus where I teach various courses related to the theory and practice of Chinese medicine. In addition, I teach "Chinese medicine research" and "Chinese medicine nutrition" in Israel and abroad. I am part of the ICCM - International Community for Chinese Medicine, which organizes the annual international congress of Chinese medicine, and the EBA - Evidence Based Acupuncture organization, which promotes research-based knowledge and understanding of Chinese medicine.
Before arriving at Chinese medicine, I studied molecular biology, and I have a B.Sc Honors from Imperial College, University of London, and a PhD from Oxford University, where I majored in cancer research. I also did a postdoctoral fellowship with a scholarship from the European Union (EMBO), at the Weizmann Institute, Israel. Over the years, I have published 11 peer-reviewed publications in leading medical journals. After completing my studies and post-graduate work, I worked for Teva Pharmaceuticals for 13 years, where I managed the field of Multiple Sclerosis.
I invite you to contact me today to see how Chinese & Japanese medicine can help you
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Clinic: 03-7440888
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Dr. Gil Barzilay PhD Dipl CM
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Jack Puccini
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(1999-07-16) 16 July 1999 (age 21)
Search Jack Puccini on Amazon.
Jack Puccini is an Australian born chess player and Fide Master.
He was born on 16 July 1999, and received the CM (Candidate Master) title after scoring 4/9 in the 2013 Oceania Open Zonal with a performance rating of 1629. He later received the FM (Fide Master) title in 2015.
2 Chess career
3 Notable Games
4 Retirement
Jack was born in Melbourne, and attended Spensley Street Primary School where he first learnt to play chess at the age of eight, taught by his first chess coach FM Nick Speck - Nick teaching Jack his special 'Three Finger move' technique to move pieces, Jack utilises this technique to this very day . He later attended Northcote High School where he graduated in 2017. Jack currently studies at Monash University, where he is doing a 'History and Philosophy of The Smith-Morra Gambit' degree, with an extended major in the 'Into the Deep' variation.
Chess career[edit]
Jack first played for Australia in the 2012 World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad held in Istanbul, Turkey, as a part of the C team. He also played in the 2013 World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad held in Chongqian, China, as a part of the B team. Finally he played in the 2014 World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad held in Györ, Hungary, where he received a brilliancy prize for his game against Luka Radovic of Serbia. He also competed in the 2013 World Junior Chess Championship held in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Other international tournaments he has played include the London Chess Classic (2013) and the Thailand Open Chess Championship in 2013,2014 and 2015.
Jack is currently ranked 30th in Australia in the Open Division and 4th in Australia in the U18 Division.
Notable Games[edit]
Although criticised for his opening choice of the Morra Gambit, most notably by Australian Grand Master Ian Rogers, (who has repeatedly declined Puccini's offer to play a bullet death match in the gambit) Puccini employed the Morra gambit in his 19 move win over GM John Paul Gomez, using the ideas of Esserman.
Retirement[edit]
Jack is said to have retired in June 2016 after his loss to Regan Crowley in a chess allegro held at Melbourne Chess Club.
https://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?event=3213307
http://wyco2014.chess.hu/news/australia-s-jack-puccini-takes-one-of-the-fourth-round-brilliancy-prizes/?cikk=49
This article "Jack Puccini" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Jack Puccini. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
Retrieved from "https://en.everybodywiki.com/index.php?title=Jack_Puccini&oldid=909519"
Australian chess players
Use Australian English from February 2014
All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
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The Danish Girl (film)
The Danish Girl is a 2015 biographical romantic drama film directed by Tom Hooper, based on the 2000 novel of the same name by David Ebershoff, and loosely inspired by the lives of Danish painters Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener.[4] The film stars Eddie Redmayne as Elbe, one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery, Alicia Vikander as Wegener, and Sebastian Koch as Kurt Warnekros, with Ben Whishaw, Amber Heard, and Matthias Schoenaerts in supporting roles.
Theatrical release poster
Tim Bevan
Anne Harrison
Gail Mutrux
Lucinda Coxon
by David Ebershoff
Danny Cohen
Melanie Ann Oliver
Artemis Productions
Amber Entertainment
Revision Pictures
Senator Global Productions
Focus Features (United States)
Universal Pictures (International)
5 September 2015 (2015-09-05) (Venice)
27 November 2015 (2015-11-27) (United States)
1 January 2016 (2016-01-01) (United Kingdom)
120 minutes[1]
$15 million[2]
$64.2 million[3]
The film participated in the main competition of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival,[5][6] and it was shown in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.[7] The film was released in a limited release on 27 November 2015 by Focus Features in the United States.[8] The film was released on 1 January 2016, in the United Kingdom, with Universal Pictures International handling international distribution.[9]
In spite of criticism for its inaccurate portrayal of historical events, Redmayne and Vikander's performances received widespread acclaim and nominations for all of the major acting awards. For their performances, Vikander won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and Redmayne was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, while the film received additional Academy Award nominations for Best Production Design and Best Costume Design. It was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Film.
3.2 Casting
3.3 Filming
3.4 Post-production
4.1 Home media
4.2 Marketing
5.1 Box office
5.2 Critical response
6 Controversy
6.1 Oscar category controversy
6.2 Historical accuracy
6.3 Ban
7 Accolades
PlotEdit
In mid-1920s Copenhagen, portrait artist Gerda Wegener asks her husband, popular landscape artist Einar Wegener, to stand in for a female model who is late coming to their flat to pose for a painting she's working on.
The act of posing as a female figure unmasks Einar's life-long gender identity as a woman, who names herself Lili Elbe. This sets off a progression, first tentative and then irreversible, of leaving behind the identity as Einar, which she has struggled to maintain all her life. This takes place as both Lili and Gerda relocate to Paris; Gerda's portraits of Lili in her feminine state attract serious attention from art dealers in a way that her previous portraiture had not. It is there that Gerda tracks down art dealer Hans Axgil, a childhood friend of Lili (whom Lili had kissed when they were young). Hans and Gerda's mutual attraction is a challenge, as Gerda is navigating her changing relationship to Lili; but Hans' long-time friendship with and affection for Lili cause him to be supportive of both Lili and Gerda.
As Lili's continued existence presenting as male becomes too much to bear, she starts to seek help from psychologists, but none yields any result, and, in one instance, almost leads her to being committed to an asylum. Eventually, at Hans's recommendation, Lili and Gerda meet Dr. Kurt Warnekros. Dr. Warnekros explains that he has met several people like her, who are physically male but identify as female, and proposes a new, innovative, and controversial solution: male-to-female sex reassignment surgery. This would entail a two-part procedure that involves first removing Lili's external genitalia and then, after a period of recovery, fashioning a vagina. He warns Lili and Gerda that it is a very dangerous operation that has never been attempted before, and Lili would be one of the first to undergo it. Lili immediately agrees and, soon after, travels to Germany to begin the surgery.
Lili eventually dies of complications from the surgery. The film ends with Gerda and Hans on a hilltop back in Denmark, in front of the five trees Lili had painted. The scarf that Lili had originally given Gerda, and that had subsequently been given back and forth several times, is carried away on the wind, dancing.
CastEdit
Eddie Redmayne as Einar Wegener / Lili Elbe (Lili Elvenes)
Alicia Vikander as Gerda Wegener (née Gottlieb)
Matthias Schoenaerts as Hans Axgil (Fernando Porta)
Ben Whishaw as Henrik Sandahl (Claude Lejeune)
Amber Heard as Ulla Paulson
Sebastian Koch as Dr. Kurt Warnekros
Pip Torrens as Dr. Jens Hexler
Nicholas Woodeson as Dr. Buson
Emerald Fennell as Elsa
Adrian Schiller as Rasmussen
Henry Pettigrew as Niels
Pixie as Hvappe, the Jack Russell dog[10][11]
ProductionEdit
DevelopmentEdit
Screenwriter Lucinda Coxon worked on the screenplay for a decade before it was produced. She told Creative Screenwriting:
I started in 2004 and within a couple of years we had a script we were happy to send out. We were terribly excited and I was fantastically naïve, because when you fall in love with a project, you assume that everyone else will be in love with it as well. The actors were very much in love with it. Several well-known actresses wanted to play Gerda, but the subject matter made it quite difficult to find someone to play Lili. We scheduled various directors and with each director came a new draft.[12]
In September 2009, Tomas Alfredson revealed to Variety that production on the project would precede that of his upcoming Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy adaptation, adding: "We have been in talks for close to a year, and we are soon going into production".[13] In December 2009, Swedish newspapers reported that Alfredson was no longer attached to direct The Danish Girl and would begin work on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy next. Alfredson said he regretted that reports of him working on The Danish Girl spread before the deal was finalized. He also said that he still wanted to make the film and might return to the project.[14][15]
On 12 January 2010, Swedish director Lasse Hallström told Swedish media that he had been assigned to replace Alfredson as director.[16]
CastingEdit
In 2008, Nicole Kidman was originally attached to play Einar/Lili and would also produce the film through her company Blossom Films.[17][18][19] Charlize Theron was originally slated to play the role of Gerda Wegener but, after leaving the project, was replaced by Gwyneth Paltrow.[19] Paltrow then left the project due to location changes.[20] Uma Thurman was also a rumoured replacement. In September 2010, Marion Cotillard was rumored to be the lead candidate for the role of Gerda Wegener.[21][22]
On 11 June 2010, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the film had received €1.2 million ($1.5 million) in subsidy financing from Germany's NRW Film Board. The conditions of the deal include the planned 19-day shoot in Germany.[23] In February 2011, Screen Daily reported that the film would begin shooting in July of the same year and that Rachel Weisz would play Wegener.[24] In May, it was revealed that both Weisz and Hallström had left the project.[25]
On 28 April 2014, it was announced that Tom Hooper would direct the film with Eddie Redmayne as the lead.[26] On 19 June 2014, Alicia Vikander was announced in the cast.[27] On 8 January 2015, Matthias Schoenaerts joined the cast.[28]
FilmingEdit
Filming was projected to start in Spring 2010 in Berlin.[29] Coxon revealed to Creative Screenwriting that, when filming finally began with Hooper, he actually filmed an older version of the script:
We had probably gone through 20 drafts before landing Tom Hooper. In fact, the one we shot was actually an early revised draft that Tom had read back in 2008. I did a fairly large rewrite for Tom, but in the end, we used a version with little revision from the original.[12]
Filming began in February 2015, and also took place at Nyhavn, where the iconic waterfront was transformed to look like Copenhagen in the 1930s.[30][31] Sets for the Danish and Paris flats were built in the Elstree Studios in London and additional shooting took place in Copenhagen and Brussels.[32] Production on the film concluded on 12 April 2015. Filming took 44 days for the 186 scenes in six countries.[32]
Post-productionEdit
Post-production ended in September 2015.[33] According to composer, Alexandre Desplat, post-production was very fast, with the film being cut as Desplat was writing the score, which was recorded only a week prior to the film's premiere at the Venice Film Festival.[34]
Hooper revealed to Indiewire and After Ellen that the film's ending is different from the novel (in which Gerda and Hans stay together) and real life (Gerda and Lili were not together in Lili's final days), and he de-emphasized the importance of the Hans storyline because he did not want to feel that there was a love possibility for Gerda with Hans that could in any way rival Lili. He wanted it to be ambiguous whether it would turn into a love affair, rather than a friendship, because he saw Lili and Gerda as the loves of each other's lives. He took the script in that direction to protect the importance of their relationship.[35][36]
In an interview with MTV International, Vikander revealed that two scenes featuring Amber Heard dancing were cut from the film, as well as stating the first cut for the film was over 2 hours.[37]
ReleaseEdit
On 4 March 2015, Focus Features set the film for a limited release on 27 November 2015.[38] The film had its world premiere at the 72nd Venice Film Festival on 5 September 2015.[39][40] Universal Pictures handled distribution in other territories outside the U.S., with a release on 1 January 2016, in the United Kingdom.[9]
Home mediaEdit
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 1 March 2016 in the United States.[41]
MarketingEdit
The first image of Redmayne as Lili Elbe was revealed on 26 February 2015.[42] A pair of posters of Redmayne and Vikander were then released in August,[43] On 1 September 2015, the first trailer was released.[44] on 19 November 2015, The first clip from the film was released.[45]
ReceptionEdit
Buffalo, New York theater showing the film
Box officeEdit
The Danish Girl has grossed $11.1 million in North America and $53.1 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $64.2 million, against a budget of $15 million.[3]
The film had a limited release in the United States and Canada across four cinemas in New York and Los Angeles on 27 November 2015 before expanding cinemas in December.[46] The film earned $185,000 in its opening weekend, averaging $46,250, which is the sixth-best opening weekend per cinema average of 2015.[46] The opening weekend’s audience was 58% female, and 67% were over 40.[46]
Critical responseEdit
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 67% based on 241 reviews, with an average rating of 6.61/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Danish Girl serves as another showcase for Eddie Redmayne's talent—and poignantly explores thought-provoking themes with a beautifully filmed biopic drama".[47] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 66 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[48]
Independent film website FilmDebate credited The Danish Girl as the 'most important film of 2015', stating that 'This is not only the best movie of the year, but it is the most important. The story and performances come together in the truest of ways to make a film that the whole world needs to see and get behind.'[49]
The film's acting, particularly that of Redmayne and Vikander in the lead roles, received considerable acclaim, with Marie Asner of Phantom Tollbooth stating that "the acting is what makes this film".[50] Redmayne's performance was described as "another sterling example of just how deeply he can immerse himself into a role" by Jim Schembri of 3AW, and as "revealing, heartbreaking and believable" by Linda Cook of Quad-City Times.[51]
Kyle Buchanan, writing for Vulture, complained that it was part of a trend of "queer and trans films that are actually about straight people",[52] while Paul Byrnes for The Sydney Morning Herald said it was "a lost opportunity" in which "the frocks are more convincing than the emotions."[53] Casey Plett, a transgender writer, criticized the script in a conversation in The Walrus as "atrocious and boring", going on to say "It's like someone got inspired by a Shakespeare tragedy, then combined the verbosity of R. L. Stine with the subtlety of Brendan Fraser."[54]
ControversyEdit
The Danish Girl has been criticized for being written similarly to forced feminization erotica, obscuring the actual story of a historical trans person,[55][56] and for being based on a fictional book that does not tell the true story of Lili and Gerda Wegener.[57][58][59] Redmayne's casting as Elbe also received some criticism due to the casting of a cisgender actor in a transgender role, which Redmayne acknowledged in an interview with Indiewire around the time of the film's release.[60] In a 2018 GQ interview, he admitted he was unsure if he should have accepted the role in retrospect.[61]
Oscar category controversyEdit
Alicia Vikander was awarded the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film, the film's only Oscar win out of the four nominations, a decision that the Academy was heavily criticized for as Vikander has about one hour of screen-time, which is 50% of the film's run-time and therefore qualified her for consideration in the Best Actress category. It was actually a decision made by the film's distributor, Focus Features, to campaign Vikander for the Oscar and all other prizes in the supporting actress category, in which many lead actresses have been nominated and even won.[62][63] She was intentionally not shortlisted in the best actress category as she would have been competing against Brie Larson for her role in Room, which would have decreased her chances of winning while the supporting actress category had little competition.[64][65][66][67][68] At both the Golden Globe Awards and the British Academy Awards, Vikander's performance in The Danish Girl was nominated for Best Actress and she was included in the Best Supporting Actress category for her work in Ex Machina.[69][70]
Historical accuracyEdit
Elbe was not the first transgender woman to undergo sex reassignment surgery, having been preceded by Dora Richter.[71]
The film is based on the novel The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff. The novel, as Ebershoff has stated, does not try to tell a true story. He not only imagined most of what he wrote about Elbe's inner life, but also created all of the other characters in the book, such as Hans and Henrik, both characters present in the film.[4] Despite many inaccuracies,[72][73] the film was marketed as a "true story" and "a true love story".[36][74][75][76] Director Tom Hooper stated that the film is closer to the real story than Ebershoff's book.[35]
The character Ulla Paulson is a fictionalized version of Ulla Poulsen, a Danish ballerina and actress and very good friend of Lili and Gerda.
The film begins in 1926, when Lili was 44 years old and Gerda was 40. Their marriage lasted 26 years (1904-1930); they were respectively 22 and 18 years old when they got married. The film only mentions that Lili and Gerda had been married for 6 years.[77]
Gerda was a natural blonde and blue-eyed woman (as she used to be portrayed in her self-portraits)[78][79] with pale skin, while Alicia Vikander is a natural brunette with brown eyes and natural olive skin. Vikander had to wear blonde wigs while filming the movie, and she also revealed to The New York Times that the filmmakers were obsessed with the fact that she did not look Scandinavian and paled her skin, to make her lighter.[80]
Gerda was 43–44 years old during the events portrayed in the film. Lili was 47 years old when she underwent sex reassignment surgery in 1930, and died the following year, at 48. Eddie Redmayne was 33 years old during filming, while Alicia Vikander was 26.
Lili and Gerda moved to Paris in 1912, when they were 30 and 26 years old, respectively. The film appears to imply they moved to Paris in the late '20s. Paris was remarkably liberal in the 1910s and 1920s, which is the reason why Gerda and Lili settled there and Gerda lived openly as a lesbian in the city.[78][81] The scene in which Lili, dressed in men's clothes, is beaten by two men in Paris after being assumed to be a lesbian is fictional.[77]
Lili's post-transition name was Lili Ilse Elvenes. The name "Lili Elbe", the only name used in the film, was made up by Copenhagen journalist Louise "Loulou" Lassen.[71]
Topics including Gerda's sexuality,[82] which is evidenced by the subjects in her erotic drawings,[83][84] and the disintegration of Gerda and Lili's relationship after having their marriage annulled in 1930, are omitted in both the novel[85] and the film.[77]
Gerda's famous Lesbian Erotica paintings are never mentioned in the film, nor the fact that she was not present during Lili's last operation and death, but was living in Italy with her second husband, Italian officer Fernando Porta. Gerda divorced from Porta in 1936, did not have children, and never married again. She returned to Denmark, took to drinking, and died penniless in 1940. The character Hans Axgil did not exist in her life and was merely a loose inspiration from Porta, though the real Fernando Porta was not a childhood friend of Einar/Lili.[86] The surname Axgil is a reference to the Danish couple Axel and Eigil Axgil, the first gay couple ever to enter into a registered partnership.
Lili's boyfriend at the time of her last surgery and death was French art dealer Claude Lejeune, whom she hoped to marry and have a child with. There is a photo of Lili and Lejeune together dating from 1928, when Lili was still legally married to Gerda.[57] Lejeune is not mentioned in the film. The character Henrik is a fictional creation and is only loosely inspired by Lejeune.[57][87][88][89]
An important factor surrounding Lili's death was omitted from the film; she died from organ rejection due to a uterus transplant (her fifth operation) in 1931, at the age of 48, but in the film she dies after the second sex reassignment surgery.[87]
During the last scene, when Gerda and Hans are standing by Vejle Fjord, mountains are present in the background. Denmark has no mountains. The scenes were shot at Mannen, at Haramsøya in Norway[90] and at the Isle of Sheppey in England. This historical inaccuracy was a conscious choice by the director, who later apologized to Danish people for his mistake.[91]
BanEdit
The film has been banned in Qatar on grounds of moral depravity,[92] and also in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Malaysia.[93]
AccoladesEdit
Main article: List of accolades received by The Danish Girl (film)
List of transgender characters in film and television
List of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender-related films of 2015
^ "THE DANISH GIRL (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
^ "How 'The Danish Girl' Made It to the Screen After a 15-Year Odyssey". Indiewire. 7 December 2015. Archived from the original on 15 December 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
^ a b "The Danish Girl (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
^ a b "BOOKS OF THE TIMES; Radical Change and Enduring Love". The New York Times. 14 February 2000. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
^ "Venice Film Festival: Lido Lineup Builds Awards Season Buzz - Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
^ "Venice Fest Reveals Robust Lineup Featuring Hollywood Stars and International Auteurs". Variety. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
^ "Toronto to open with 'Demolition'; world premieres for 'Trumbo', 'The Program'". ScreenDaily. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
^ Hatchett, Keisha (4 March 2015). "'The Danish Girl' starring Eddie Redmayne gets awards season release date". EW.com. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
^ a b "Lana Wachowski helped Eddie Redmayne prepare for The Danish Girl". GayTimes.co.uk. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
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^ a b Swinson, Brock (9 December 2015). ""The pleasure for me is in the monomania." Lucinda Coxon on The Danish Girl". Creative Screenwriting. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
^ "Alfredson right helmer for 'Danish'", Variety. 15 September 2009
^ "Tomas Alfredson hoppar av filmen med Nicole Kidman". Dagens Nyheter. 7 December 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
^ "Alfredson vill ännu göra Kidman-film". Svenska Dagbladet. 13 December 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
^ "Hallström gör film med Kidman - efter Alfredsons avhopp". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 12 January 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
^ Nicole Kidman to Reassign Sexuality Vulture
^ Nicole Kidman Goes Transsexual for ‘The Danish Girl’ Film School Rejects
^ a b Nicole Kidman and Gwyneth Paltrow to play husband and wife The Telegraph. 9 November 2009
^ Gwyneth Paltrow Opens Up About Marriage, Talks Brad & Angelina Harper's Bazaar. May 2010
^ Casting Call: Kidman Headed Back To Broadway
^ Marion Cotillard to Star Opposite Nicole Kidman in The Danish Girl?
^ 'Danish Girl' picks up German cash Hollywood Reporter. 11 June 2010
^ Rehlin, Gunnar (14 February 2011). "Hallstrom set to start The Danish Girl shoot in July". Screen Daily. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
^ Hallstrom leaves The Danish Girl, casts Persbrandt for The Hypnotist Screen Daily. 15 May 2011
^ "'Les Mis' Duo Tom Hooper And Eddie Redmayne Re-Team On 'The Danish Girl'". Aftonbladet. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
^ "Alicia Vikander To Star In 'Light Between Oceans' And 'Danish Girl'". Deadline. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
^ "Matthias Schoenaerts To Join Tom Hooper's 'The Danish Girl'". Deadline. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
^ "The serious business of becoming a woman". Vancouver Sun. 16 February 2010. [permanent dead link]
^ "Se billederne: Filmstjerner genskaber 1930ernes København" [See the pictures: Stars recreates 1930s Copenhagen]. TV2.dk (in Danish). 30 March 2015.
^ "Filming of The Danish Girl in Copenhagen". thelocal.dk.
^ a b Brooks, Brian (25 November 2015). "Eddie Redmayne Gets Dressed For 'The Danish Girl'; Amy Berg Bows 'Janis: Little Girl Blue': Specialty Preview". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
^ McCue, Michelle (9 November 2015). "Eddie Redmayne & Laverne Cox At Special Screening Of Tom Hooper's THE DANISH GIRL". Retrieved 21 December 2015.
^ Gray, Tim (15 December 2015). "Alexandre Desplat on the Music Challenges & Rewards of 'Danish Girl'". Variety.com. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
^ a b Puchko, Kristy (25 November 2015). "Tom Hooper Explains Why He Cast Eddie Redmayne as 'The Danish Girl'". Variety.com. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
^ a b "Alicia Vikander on the love story that is "The Danish Girl"". afterellen.com. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
^ International, MTV (28 December 2015). "The Danish Girl Deleted Scenes: Cast's Favourite". YouTube.com. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
^ Sneider, Jeff (4 March 2015). "Eddie Redmayne's Transgender Drama 'The Danish Girl' Gets Awards Season Release Date". TheWrap. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
^ "Two Matthias Schoenaerts' movies at Venice Film Festival". deredactie.be. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
^ "72nd Venice International Film Festival Screening Schedule". labiennale.org. 12 August 2015. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
^ "The Danish Girl Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
^ Lloyd, Kenji. "Eddie Redmayne Transforms Into Transgender Painter Einar Wegener in First Look at The Danish Girl". Final Reel. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
^ Lloyd, Kenji (27 August 2015). "Stunning First Posters for The Danish Girl with Eddie Redmayne & Alicia Vikander". Final Reel. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
^ Gerard, Jeremy (1 September 2015). "'The Danish Girl' Trailer: Eddie Redmayne & Alicia Vikander Drama First Look". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
^ McGovern, Joe (19 November 2015). "Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander recall fateful first kiss in The Danish Girl clip". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
^ a b c Brian Brooks (29 November 2015). "'The Danish Girl' Bows With Style; 'Janis: Little Girl Blue' Solid In Debut; 'Carol' Dominates Thanksgiving: Specialty B.O." Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
^ "The Danish Girl (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
^ "The Danish Girl Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
^ "The Danish Girl: Most Important Film Of 2015 | FilmDebate". filmdebate.co.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
^ "The Danish Girl (Asner)". Tolllbooth. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
^ "'Danish Girl' is a memorable love story". Qaud-City Times. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
^ "Enough With the Queer and Trans Films That Are Actually About Straight People". Vulture.com. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
^ Byrnes, Paul (22 January 2016). "Review: The Danish Girl is "an exercise in constructed melodrama"". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
^ "Seeing Lili Elbe". thewalrus.ca. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
^ ""The Danish Girl" Stretches Frilly Forced-Femme Fantasy Over Actual Trans History". HARLOT Magazine. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
^ "Regressive, Reductive and Harmful: A Trans Woman's Take On Tom Hooper's Embarrassing 'Danish Girl'". Indiewire. 3 December 2015. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
^ a b c "The tragic true story behind The Danish Girl". The Telegraph. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
^ "Biopic Formula Undermines The Danish Girl's True Story". westword.com. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
^ "The Danish Girl (2015): a disappointing [sic] and conservative portrayal of transsexuality". nickysfilmdiary.com. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
^ Puchko, Kristy. "Eddie Redmayne Talks Backlash, Trans Representation and the Power of the Male Gaze in 'The Danish Girl'". Indiewire. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
^ "Eddie Redmayne Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters - GQ". YouTube. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
^ "Alicia Vikander: Best Actress race loaded with contenders". Entertainment Weekly. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
^ "Alicia Vikander and Rooney Mara Campaigns Fuel 'Category Fraud' Debate". Variety. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
^ "Why Oscar Nominations Make No Sense". The Atlantic. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
^ "Awards "Category Fraud": The Insane Manipulation of the Acting Categories". The Hollywood Reporter. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
^ "What Is Category Fraud? A Closer Look at This Year's Big Oscar Controversy". ScreenCrush. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
^ "Alicia Vikander, Rooney Mara, and the Most Egregiously Miscategorized Oscar Nominees". Yahoo. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
^ Lindsay, Brian (2016). Category Fraud p139-145. Tranter Ward Books ISBN 978-0-9804909-1-6
^ "Golden Globe Nominations: The Complete List". The Hollywood Reporter. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
^ "Film Awards Information". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
^ a b "A Trans Timeline - Trans Media Watch". Trans Media Watch. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
^ "The Danish Girl, film review: Eddie Redmayne fatally miscast". London Evening Standard. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
^ "Film review: 'The Danish Girl,' dir. Tom Hooper". dailyuw.com. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
^ "Eddie Redmayne calls 'Danish Girl' unique love story". abc7.com. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
^ "Tom Hooper on directing the queer love story, "The Danish Girl"". afterellen.com. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
^ "The Danish Girl - Filmmaker Letter". landmarktheatres.com. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
^ a b c "The Danish Girl transforms fascinating truths into tasteful, safe drama". The Guardian. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
^ a b "Gerda Wegener - Artist". Biography.com. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
^ "GERDA WEGENER (1886-1940) Self-Portrait". Pinterest.com. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
^ "Alicia Vikander on Pale Makeup and Other Film Surprises". The New York Times. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
^ "Who Was 'The Danish Girl?'". Edge Media Network. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
^ "Review: The Danish Girl". cinedork.com. 14 December 2015. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
^ "The Incredibly True Adventures of Gerda Wegener and Lili Elbe". coilhouse.net. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
^ "Remembering Danish illustrator and painter Gerda Wegener, best known for her (lesbian) erotica". Tlgbt-news.com. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
^ "Reading Group Notes The Danish Girl". allenandunwin.com. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
^ "The Danish Girl vs the True Story of Lili Elbe, Gerda Wegener". historyvshollywood.com. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
^ a b "Is 'The Danish Girl' A True Story? Lili Elbe's Journey Was Incredible". bustle.com. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
^ "Lili Elbe: the transgender artist behind The Danish Girl". The Week UK. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
^ "Beyond The Danish Girl". The Enthusiastic Historian. 15 January 2016. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
^ "The Danish Girl". Moviebuff.com. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
^ http://underholdning.tv2.dk/kendte/2016-02-03-hollywood-instruktoer-derfor-er-der-bjerge-i-vejle-fjord
^ The Independent (12 January 2016). The Danish Girl banned in Qatar on grounds of 'moral depravity'
^ The Hollywood Reporter 13 January 2016 'The Danish Girl' Pulled From Cinemas in Qatar
The Danish Girl on IMDb
The Danish Girl at Box Office Mojo
The Danish Girl at Rotten Tomatoes
The Danish Girl at Metacritic
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ESIL Reflection – Shrinking Self-determination – The Chagos Opinion of the International Court of Justice
March 27, 2019 September 18, 2019 Demeter Chantr ESIL Reflections Publications
Vol 8, Issue 2
Editorial board: Federico Casolari, Patrycja Grzebyk, Ellen Hey, Guy Sinclair and Ramses Wessel (editor-in-chief)
Professor of International Law
The right to self-determination, ever since it first burst on the international legal scene, has always divided people. It has even divided those who were otherwise fairly kindred spirits. As is well-known, for instance, US President Woodrow Wilson initially was a strong advocate, while his own Secretary of State, Robert Lansing, was considerably less enthusiastic. It is also telling perhaps that Wilson’s enthusiasm waned considerably when he was asked to apply it: when approached by the Irish delegation at Versailles to support their claims for self-determination and independence from Britain, he cooled off, realizing that endorsing self-determination of the Irish against his British allies might be politically awkward, and could be left to democratic processes.[1]
Still, Wilson’s initial enthusiasm was understandable, and is widely shared to this day, for self-determination is one of the very few international law concepts which manages, at least at first sight, to capture both apology and utopia in one and the same idea. Self-determination manages to appeal both to romantic cosmopolitans and to equally romantic nationalists; it simultaneously taps into a sense of global community based on smaller organic communities, and into a nationalist Blut und Boden ideology; it appeals to the political left as well as the political right. What is more, self-determination defies absolutization. It is impossible to think of any excuse for genocide, apartheid or slavery. But self-determination is different: perhaps precisely because it embodies its own antithesis, it is easy to think of compromising self-determination, putting it on hold, or denying it altogether in the name of some higher or different interest, and in the realization that my self-determination may end up undermining your self-determination, as when there is a minority within a minority. In this light, it is surprising that the right to self-determination in general is often regarded as a jus cogens norm; it makes considerably more sense to do so, however, if self-determination is nigh-on exclusively linked to decolonization, and that is precisely what the Court achieves in its Chagos opinion, rendered in February 2019: the strong condemnation of colonialism provides self-determination, in that particular context, with a sense that no derogation can be permitted.
Indeed, the one area in which the right to self-determination is often said to have been extremely successful is the decolonization process. Many former colonies gained their independence in the course of the twentieth century, and this seems to have solidified the right to self-determination. In other cases it has proven to be less successful, if not less explosive. The failure to apply self-determination in Europe after World War I,[2] and more recently with respect to Kosovo and to a lesser extent Quebec and Catalunya, suggests that it may be easier to achieve self-determination when one has been colonized. Alternatively, self-determination seems likely when the ‘mother’ state cooperates with attempts to exercise self-determination in the form of secession: Eritrea in the 1990s and South Sudan in 2011 could both secede from larger states (Ethiopia and Sudan, respectively) because those larger entities willingly cooperated. Such cases (decolonization, friendly secession) may look like a success for self-determination, but on a different reading self-determination does little work here.[3] Where there is political agreement to break up, the law is hardly tested; and where the law is tested, as in Kosovo, the right to self-determination turns out to be less than helpful.
Consequently, politically (and thus legally as well), there is merit in limiting the scope of the right to self-determination to those situations where it is not really needed, or then reserving it for those situations where no other option seems viable anymore. In much the same way that rich people never have problems getting a bank loan and the very poor might get support in the form of food stamps, so too the right to self-determination serves either those who do not need it, or those who have no other option left. It is this position that was recently taken by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its advisory opinion on the fate of the Chagos Archipelago, where the Court assimilates the right of self-determination strongly with decolonization, following the argumentative structure presented by Mauritius,[4] while carving out a little niche, almost in passing, for its application in situations of gross oppression. This brief reflection will focus on the way the Court handles the right to self-determination and shrinks it to fit the decolonization context but not much else; what is left of the right to self-determination in other contexts is, mostly, a right to be taken seriously: a right to be heard and taken seriously when one’s fate is affected, well-honed in the ICJ’s earlier case-law on self-determination.[5] Indeed, in light of its jurisprudence constante, it is no coincidence that the Court ends up endorsing domestic democratic processes.
On 25 February 2019, the ICJ rendered its long-awaited advisory opinion on the Chagos Archipelago or, to be more precise, on the question whether the decolonization of Mauritius, of which the Chagos Archipelago had once been a part, had been completed in conformity with international law: ‘Was the process of decolonization of Mauritius lawfully completed when Mauritius was granted independence in 1968…?’[6] The question asked by the General Assembly, it must be noted, was exceedingly clever. The Court was not asked whether the process of decolonization had taken place lawfully: such a question could have opened the door for all sorts of arguments about the process still being ongoing and incomplete; hence, any finding could have been found premature. The verb ‘to complete’, by contrast, leaves no room for debate or delaying tactics.
More importantly, neither was the Court asked whether the Chagossians had a right to self-determination and if so, whether this had been violated: this would have been the obvious way to frame the issue, but it would have invited all the regular problems associated with the right to self-determination: who are the right holders? Do the islanders qualify as a ‘people’ for purposes of self-determination, or do the Mauritians, and are these the same people or not?[7] And what exactly is it they are entitled to? These questions tend to defy easy answers (nay, any answers), and are thus best avoided. If anything, asking who the ‘true Chagossians’ are would have been likely to reveal deep political cleavages – not particularly convenient if the aim is to present a united front. Hence, the General Assembly (or, more likely, Mauritius’ legal advisers) must have realized that the question needed to be framed differently, focusing not on self-determination of the Chagossians (even if that is ultimately the heart of the matter) but rather on the decolonization of Mauritius. And by framing the question the way they did, they strongly suggested that the process was assumed to have been completed, and they found a way to circumvent all the usual problems associated with self-determination.
What was also ingenious was to ask the question at this moment in time, in light of discussions in various parts of the world concerning the possible self-determination of groups of people, whether in Spain (Catalunya) or in Ukraine (Crimea) or even the United Kingdom itself, where a referendum on Scottish self-determination had taken place not so long ago. And then there is Brexit, also involving the United Kingdom and yet another attempt to break away from a larger whole under a loose set of thoughts bearing an uncanny resemblance to the idea of self-determination. Counsel for Mauritius sardonically invoked former UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson’s letter of resignation in support: Johnson had resigned in light of Brexit since ‘no one wants to be a colony’.[8] In short, the timing was felicitous: this was an opportune moment for the Court to operationalize self-determination and make it workable beyond its established value as a right to be taken seriously. And the Court seized the moment, limiting the scope of self-determination to processes of decolonization: shrinking self-determination to fit decolonization.
Mauritius, earlier colonized by the French, had been taken over by the British in 1814, and Britain administered the Chagos Archipelago as a dependency of Mauritius. Following the creation of the UN, Mauritius was registered as a non-self-governing territory, and therewith expected to gain independence, in its entirety, sooner rather than later. It would indeed gain independence in 1968, but not in its entirety. A few years before, in 1965, the British had divided Mauritius, and designated part of it, including the Chagos Archipelago, as British Indian Ocean Territory. This also covered the island of Diego Garcia, which was leased to the United States as a strategically convenient military base.[9] In the meantime, the initial population had been removed, and was refused a right to return. The question asked to the Court now was whether this meant that the process of decolonization of Mauritius had been lawfully completed, and the Court had little problem in answering in the negative.
This was, in its own way, an ‘open-and-shut’ case, as the opprobrium against colonialism is so strong that it is difficult to imagine anyone in their right mind trying to argue in favour of the way the UK had handled things. Even the UK itself seemed hardly convinced: its case was largely argued by hired hands – international law practitioners from law firms rather than Foreign Office lawyers – and the main substantive argument[10] it feebly presented in its defense was the argument that, in 1965, the local authorities in Mauritius had actually agreed with the partition by means of concluding the so-called Lancaster House agreement. And this the Court had no trouble shooting down, noting that an agreement concluded by the oppressed with their oppressor and favouring the oppressor would be hard to swallow (§ 172). Intriguingly, the Court stopped short of referring to this as coercion and invoking Article 52 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (according to which treaties concluded under duress are invalid),[11] but the message seemed clear enough at any rate.
In all likelihood, the Court could have rendered its opinion without even once resorting to the notion of self-determination. Central to the dispute, after all, was article 73 of the UN Charter, which in the name of the ‘sacred trust of civilization’ orders the colonizing powers have to take the best interests of the colonized to heart, and to assist them in achieving self-government. This was fleshed out, in several ways, in further resolutions adopted by the General Assembly, some of them endorsing decolonization, some of them relating to the treatment of the colonized, and some of them specifically addressing the situation of Mauritius. In other words, it would no doubt have been possible, and plausible, to render an opinion on the basis of United Nations law alone. Based on this set of rules and principles, there could be little doubt that Mauritius’ partition had been unlawful, and that the treatment of the Chagossians had been anything but in the interest of the local population. On this ground, it would have been possible, and plausible, for the Court to hold that the UK had been involved in a continuing wrongful act – a continuing violation of its obligations under the Charter. The Charter is a legally binding document, and the various subsequent General Assembly resolutions, while not strictly law-making by nature, can well be seen as implementing and providing detail to the obligations contained in the Charter. Anything else would be difficult to argue as long as those resolutions do little more than give hands and feet to already existing obligations such as those under Article 73 UN.
But the Court did not do so. It consistently resorted to the right of self-determination, a right which is mentioned in the Charter but in rather hortatory manner. And it felt the need to address General Assembly resolutions, in particular resolution 1514 (XV) of 1960, as ‘representing a defining moment’ in the consolidation of the relevant state practice, and as having a ‘declaratory character with regard to the right to self-determination as a customary norm’ (§ 152). Respect for self-determination is mentioned in Articles 1 and 55 of the UN Charter as underlying one of the UN’s purposes (the development of friendly relations between nations), but is not phrased as an enforceable right, in contrast to the enforceable right to self-government for non-self-governing territories under Article 73 of the UN Charter. This then begs the question: why does the Court feel the need to invoke the right to self-determination if it could have done without?
There seem to be two possible explanations. The first is that the Court itself doubted that a purely UN-based reasoning would be persuasive or, more likely perhaps, that some members of the Court were reluctant to rely too heavily on the UN legal order alone, for fear of granting this legal order too much weight. After all, the UN legal order may sometimes be talked about in a colloquial sense, but not in the sense of an ontologically existing autonomous legal order, on a par with the European Union legal order. The EU is generally seen as a legal order in its own right; the UN, on the other hand, is mostly seen as part of international law, and it is altogether not impossible that some of the judges felt things had better stay that way, and thus needed to bring general international law into the Court’s reasoning. This may seem like a somewhat academic argument (and it is), but it is more than just an academic conceit: as the EU experience suggests, an autonomous legal order can place itself above or beyond international law in ways not open to non-autonomous legal orders. An autonomous UN could possibly depart from international law, and that might not be desirable.[12]
There is however a second, and much more immediately practical reason as to why the Court felt compelled to invoke the right to self-determination, and it can be summarized as follows. As noted above, on some readings, the right to self-determination has been most successful in the context of decolonization. It has been less successful, and downright ‘explosive’, in non-colonial settings, whether Kashmir, Katanga, Kosovo, or any of a multitude of other settings. In such settings, where the ‘mother’ state is unwilling to allow a part to secede, the right to self-determination only leads to overblown expectations leading to violence and bloodshed, sometimes on a massive scale. Put this way, there is every reason to discourage the romantic reliance on a right to self-determination that cannot be enforced in the face of determined political opposition, and put this way. there is every reason to limit the scope of the right to those entities that are generally regarded as non-self-governing in the meaning of Article 73 of the UN Charter. It is too late to prevent bloody struggles in Kosovo, Katanga or Kashmir, but it is clear that this is not where the quest for self-determination stops. Self-determination, moreover, is not just a problem of poor states in the global south, but has also made inroads in the western world: think Quebec, think Scotland. And with populist politicians keen to tap in to romantic notions somehow related to self-determination, whether in the form of Brexit’s return to ‘sovereignty’, or politicians in the Netherlands (some of them, ironically, of immigrant descent) discovering the purity of indigenous Dutch-ness, or the almost-drama of Catalunya not so long ago, the Court must have felt it wiser to close off this avenue as much as it could. The Court cannot, sadly perhaps, prevent lunacy of the Brexit-type from occurring, but it can limit the amount of legal arguments available to those entities that wish to break away, especially perhaps from reasonably well-functioning, reasonably liberal democracies.
The Court, following the lead of Mauritius’s legal team, connected the right to self-determination to the status of non-self-governing territory, so much so that following the Chagos opinion, a persuasive argument can be made that self-determination and the right to decolonization come close to being one and the same thing, with the important corollary that self-determination cannot be invoked in other, non-colonial settings. Following this Advisory Opinion, the Catalans will have a hard time arguing that the right to self-determination applies to them in the same way as it applies to the Chagossians. The Court, admittedly, built in a safety valve when suggesting that self-determination, ‘as a fundamental human right’, has a broad scope of application (§ 144). But what this suggests is something coming close to the older idea of external self-determination (i.e. secession) as ultimum remedium in the face of gross oppression, useful in those circumstances where all else fails, and perhaps conditional on much blood already having been shed. On such a reading, the Rohingya stand a better chance of relying on the right to self-determination than the Catalans or the Scots.
Identifying the right to self-determination with colonization has the further advantage that all the traditional and difficult questions relating to self-determination no longer pose insurmountable obstacles. If self-determination is essentially limited to non-self-governing territories (i.e. colonies), there is no need to figure out what on earth the notion of ‘peoples’ means, as in the phrase ‘all peoples have a right to self-determination’.[13] There is no longer a need to balance historical continuity against linguistic community, or secession against territorial integrity, or romanticism against Realpolitik.
The two perennial problems associated with the right to self-determination have therewith been clarified. Firstly, the identity of the right-holder is now clear: the right-holder is the non-self-governing territory. Secondly, the consequence of self-determination has become clear as well: the self-determination of non-self-governing territories will ideally materialize in their independence, unless they themselves opt freely for association or integration with another state, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 1541 (XV).
Judge Tomka, while not disagreeing with the Court’s opinion, had a point when he suggested there was something unpersuasive about the ICJ rendering an advisory opinion to assist the General Assembly in dealing with an issue that had not been on the Assembly’s agenda for half a century. But while he had a point, he could also have realized that his point was politically unsustainable: colonialism is so strongly condemned, and the arrogance of the UK so much disliked, that it was a foregone conclusion that the Court would have to address the issue. Indeed, it is no coincidence that the always sharp Judge Xue in her declaration chides the UK for having ignored the General Assembly’s discussions on the partitioning of Mauritius: ‘the deep concern expressed by the General Assembly was left unaddressed’ by the UK (§ 10, Xue declaration).
Indeed, if anything, the general flavour emerging from the various declarations and separate opinions is that the Court did not go far enough. Judge Sebutinde, for example, felt that the Court should have declared that in the context of decolonization, the right of self-determination is jus cogens, and Judge Robinson made much the same point in his lengthy individual separate opinion. Several judges also felt that the Court could have ascribed greater legal force to the relevant General Assembly resolutions, either standing on their own (as was argued by Judges Cançado Trindade and Robinson in their joint declaration) or as having been endorsed by Security Council resolutions (Judge Salam). And when Judge Gevorgian criticized the Court for having concluded that the UK has been engaged in a continuing wrongful act, he only did so because he felt that this went beyond what the Court was asked to do – not because he disagreed with the finding as such.
In the end, it is clear that according to the Court, whichever way one turns the opinion, colonialism was on trial, and colonialism can only be met by a response based on self-determination. Doing so connects self-determination to non-self-governing territories, and does so almost by exclusion. The Court leaves open (and has to leave open) the possibility for resorting to self-determination outside the decolonization context, as a ‘fundamental human right’ to be relied on in times of great despair. It is striking, however, how reluctant the Court is to extend self-determination to entities such as Catalunya, parts of reasonably well-functioning democracies. In such cases, the Court seems strongly to rely on the sentiment ascribed to Woodrow Wilson a century ago, once his initial enthusiasm for self-determination had cooled off a little: the Catalans, the Quebecois and the Scots live ‘in a democratic country and [can] sort it out through democratic means.’[14] In such circumstances, there is no need for international law to help out.
Cite as: Jan Klabbers, ‘Shrinking Self-determination: The Chagos Opinion of the International Court of Justice’, ESIL Reflections 8:2 (2019).
[1] Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World (New York: Random House, 2001), 10-13.
[2] See further Thomas M. Franck, The Power of Legitimacy among Nations (Oxford University Press, 1990).
[3] Martti Koskenniemi, ‘National Self-Determination Today: Problems of Legal Theory and Practice’, (1994) 43 International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 241-269.
[4] Mauritius’ Memorial strongly connects self-determination to decolonization, holding self-determination to be the modus operandi of the decolonization process. It is available at www.icj-cij.org.
[5] And that, in turn, is not all that surprising: see Jan Klabbers, ‘The Right to be Taken Seriously: Self-Determination in International Law’, (2006) 28 Human Rights Quarterly, 186-206.
[6] An early but comprehensive analysis of the fate of the Chagossians, covering also proceedings in the English courts and the European Court of Human Rights, is Stephen Allen, The Chagos Islanders and International Law (Oxford: Hart, 2014).
[7] James Summers, Peoples and International Law: How Nationalism and Self-Determination Shape a Contemporary Law of Nations (Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff, 2007).
[8] Philippe Sands, ICJ Doc. CR 2018/20, at 71, § 2.
[9] Margareta Brummer, ‘Abandonment, Construction and Denial: The Formation of a Zone’, in Tanja Aalberts and Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen (eds.), The Changing Practices of International Law (Cambridge University Press, 2018), 45-69, esp. at 54-59.
[10] Much of its defense revolved around the claim that the Court should not accept the General Assembly’s request.
[11] The Vienna Convention applies to treaties between states, and in 1965, it could not be said that Mauritius qualified as such. Hence, the Court may have felt that referring to the Vienna Convention was not appropriate
[12] For further reflection, see Jan Klabbers and Gianluigi Palombella (eds.), The Challenge of Inter-Legality (CUP forthcoming), and Jan Klabbers and Panos Koutrakos (eds.), Autonomy in EU Law and International Organizations Law, (2019) 88 Nordic Journal of International Law, special issue, forthcoming.
[13] And the notion of ‘people’ is far more problematic than often assumed, as political theorists have found. See Margaret Canovan, The People (Cambridge: Polity, 2005).
[14] Macmillan, Paris 1919, at 11.
Brill Nijhoff – The Law & Practice of International Courts and Tribunals
ESIL Newsletter March 2019
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(Redirected from HP Touchpad)
For the pointing device, see Touchpad.
Android 2.3 on the TouchPad
July 1, 2011 (US),
July 15, 2011 (Canada, France, Germany, and UK),
August 15, 2011 (Australia)
Introductory price
US$499.99 (16 GB),
US$599.99 (64 GB)
webOS 3.0 to 3.0.5 [1]
Android 2.3 to 9.0 (unofficial)[2]
Ubuntu (unofficial)
1.2 GHz (black model),[1][3][4]
1.5 GHz (white model),[5]
Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 APQ8060,
dual-core ARM-based Scorpion[6]
1 GB, Mobile DDR2 SDRAM[1][3]
16 or 32 GB (black model),[1][3][4]
64 GB (white model),[5]
9.7 in (25 cm), 1024×768 px XGA (132 PPI), 18-bit color, TFT LCD with IPS, LED-backlit[1][3][4]
Qualcomm Adreno 220 core[1][6]
Internal stereo speakers with Beats Audio, 3.5 mm stereo jack for headset / headphone / microphone, vibration motor[1][3]
Capacitive Multi-touch screen,
4 resizable virtual keyboards, power / volume / center buttons, microphone, ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer (compass)[1][3][4]
1.3 MP HD front-facing[1][3]
Atheros AR6003 chip Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo,
Hi-Speed microUSB[1][3]
Rechargeable, 3.7 V, 6000 mAh, 22.2 W⋅h (80 kJ), lithium-ion polymer battery,[3]
240 mm (9.4 in) (w)
190 mm (7.5 in) (h)
13.7 mm (0.54 in) (d)[1]
740 g (26 oz)[1]
HP Slate 7
Palm Pre, Tablet computer
www.hpwebos.com
The HP TouchPad is a tablet computer that was developed and designed by Hewlett-Packard.[7] The HP TouchPad was launched on July 1, 2011, in the United States; July 15 in Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany; and August 15 in Australia.[8]
On August 18, 2011, 49 days after the TouchPad was launched in the United States, HP announced that it would discontinue all current devices running webOS. Remaining TouchPad stock received substantial price reductions, and quickly sold out.[9]
2.1 Screen, audio and input
2.2 Connectivity
2.3 Power and battery
2.4 Other models
3.1 Pre-installed applications
4 Operating systems
4.1 webOS
4.2 Android
4.3 Linux
4.4 LuneOS
5 Optional accessories
5.1 Touchstone
5.2 Keyboard
5.3 Power adapter
5.4 Case and sleeve
The HP TouchPad was announced on February 9, 2011, at the webOS "Think Beyond" event held at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco alongside the HP Veer and HP Pre 3.[10]
Initial sales of the device sold 25,000 of 270,000 units, and did not meet HP's expectations, rapidly becoming overshadowed by the launch of the iPad 2 in March. On August 16, 2011, it was reported that Best Buy refused to pay HP for any more TouchPad stock.[11] In Europe, the TouchPad was estimated to have sold 12,000 in its first month of release. In Australia, Harvey Norman who was the exclusive retailer sold about 1,200 units in the four days it was on sale.[12] Industry commentators suggested that the lack of apps for the platform and lackluster advertising was hindering sales.[13] On August 18, HP announced that it would discontinue all webOS devices.[14] HP CTO Shane Robison noted that the TouchPad "was half a generation or a generation behind the iPad and so that wasn't going to drive volume."[15] Some years later, a member of the development team described the device as being made from "cast-off reject iPad parts."[16]
On August 19, 2011, HP announced a substantial price drop on the TouchPad. In Canada and the USA, the price was $99 for the 16GB model and $149 for the 32GB model and quickly sold out.[9][17] Large numbers of buyers acquired the TouchPad at these "firesale" prices.[18] Most brick-and-mortar retailers reportedly sold out their entire inventories within hours the morning of August 20.[19] Online retailers, including Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, and Best Buy, took orders on August 22 that rapidly exceeded their inventory, and were forced to cancel many orders.[20] A similar sale was held in Australian Harvey Norman stores, with several stores selling out their inventory within an hour.[21][22] Similar sales took place in the UK with several stores reducing prices (£89 for the 16GB and £115 for the 32GB), and the HP TouchPad became the tablet with the highest approval rating.[23] HP TouchPad stock immediately sold out domestically and overseas from consumers rushing to take advantage of the price promotion.
Following this successful sale,[24] and to clear out their component suppliers' inventories of touch panels, batteries, and chassis,[25] HP announced on August 30 that it would make another production run of the TouchPad.[26] These units were used to fulfill existing orders to businesses like Tiger Direct and Best Buy, in bundles with a set price of $249.99 and $299.99.[27]
Following Meg Whitman's appointment as CEO of HP, in conjunction with an announcement of the company's plans to continue developing webOS as an open-source operating system, she said that the company would continue using the OS in devices, specifically resuming its use in tablets. She said this would not happen in 2012, but would probably take place in 2013.[28][29] In February 2013, HP sold the source code and transferred the remaining webOS team to LG, effectively ending the webOS' deployment in tablets and consumer products.[30]
The HP TouchPad is a touchscreen tablet that runs HP webOS. It has several notable features. The TouchPad uses card multitasking found in Palm Pre phones.[31] The integrated webcam on the front of the HP TouchPad enables video conferencing. There is a backlit Home button at the bottom. The HP TouchPad also allows for haptic feedback with vibration function. The hardware includes an ARM-based Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 1GB of RAM.[32] "Touch to Share" allows a Pre 3 mobile to share information such as websites by touching its sensors with the TouchPad's sensors. The TouchPad can receive calls and text messages forwarded from any phone using a Palm Profile.[33] as well as make and receive calls via the Skype application. An independent site estimated that the 16GB and the 32GB HP TouchPad's contained $296.15 and $318.15 of materials respectively with a cost to assemble of $10.[4]
Screen, audio and input[edit]
The HP TouchPad has a 9.7 inch, 1024×768 pixel, Gorilla Glass multitouch capacitive touch screen. Interaction can be by finger or a capacitive stylus, available for separate purchase. The TouchPad's virtual keyboard can be configured to one of four preset sizes, and has a number row on top of the common QWERTY layout. The TouchPad also features an InvenSense 3-axis gyroscope.[1]
The TouchPad has three separate physical buttons, a sleep/wake button on the top right, a home button at the bottom of the front that launches the card view or the app launcher and a set of volume rockers at the right of the device. Holding the power button and the home button together creates a screen snapshot. The TouchPad has stereo speakers that feature Beats Audio.
Connectivity[edit]
The Atheros AR6003 chipset supports dual band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth. The tablet can share URLs, phone calls, and text messages with webOS phones via Bluetooth pairing.[34] Pairing with non-webOS smartphones was enabled by a software update 3.0.4.
Power and battery[edit]
The TouchPad uses a rechargeable 6000 or 6300 mAh Lithium-ion polymer battery rated at 3,7 V (total 22,2 Wh).[35] It can be charged via MicroUSB connector or optional wireless charging by Touchstone charger. When using the Touchstone, the TouchPad enters a mode called Exhibition Mode, which displays simple information such as a clock, schedule or media.[36]
The battery life was estimated at nine hours by HP; in a review by Engadget, the battery lasted for about eight and a half hours.[36]
Other models[edit]
In July 2011, HP announced their webOS hardware roadmap.[37][38] This included the "HP TouchPad 4G", with a faster 1.5 GHz processor, 32 GB of flash memory, integrated A-GPS, and AT&T 3.5G HSPA+ wireless mobile broadband capabilities; demo models were displayed at a press show, but it was not released for sale,[37][39] except to HP employees, where it later appeared on eBay and craigslist. In August, a white model with 64 GB of flash memory, a 1.5 GHz processor and Wi-Fi – but without 3.5G – was built in small quantities and shipped.[5][37][40] A small number of "TouchPad Go" models (codenamed "Opal") with a 7-inch display, 32 GB of flash memory, a 1.5-GHz processor, and cellular capabilities were made, some of which sent to technology review websites. These smaller TouchPads, however, were not mass-produced, with the overall inspiration later carried on to the HP Slate 7.[41][42][43]
Software[edit]
Pre-installed applications[edit]
Web Web browser; uses WebKit layout engine.
Calendar Calendar application capable of synchronizing Facebook, Google, Microsoft Exchange and Yahoo calendars and displaying their events in unified and user-configurable Day, Week, and Month Views.
Email Default email client.
Messaging Standard SMS and MMS application; built in hooks for AIM, Yahoo, Google Chat, and Skype.
App Catalog Access the HP App Catalog.
Memos Note taking application.
Quickoffice Suite of office applications with that allows for the viewing and creation of spreadsheets, slideshow presentations and word processing documents.
Adobe Reader PDF viewing software.
Maps Default mapping application that searches for locations, gets directions and displays traffic patterns.
Contacts Address book where a user can store contact information that can be synced across your various accounts.
Music Application that plays the music files stored on the device.
Phone & Video Calls Standard phone dialer; can place phone calls and also use Skype for video calls.
Photos & Videos View videos and photographs on the device.
Amazon Kindle (Beta) Access to e-books on an Amazon account.
Facebook Access Facebook via the user's account.
YouTube Browse through videos on YouTube.
Operating systems[edit]
Jon Rubinstein introduces new HP TouchPad at a HP event in February 2011.
webOS[edit]
The TouchPad was sold with the webOS operating system, which offers video chat, wireless printing (HP printers only), email integration, ebooks, Web browsing, document editing, and access to the "HP Catalog", where additional apps can be downloaded.[44]
webOS was a "card-based" multitasking environment. Open applications can be arranged into "stacks." webOS unobtrusively notifies users of messages, emails, and calendar agenda items, appearing on the top right of the screen, rapidly reviewed by a swipe gesture. webOS 3.0 integrates Adobe Flash. The last updated version was 3.0.5 as of January 12, 2012.
HP supports funding of a new open source project. webOS's scalability and easy app development base attracts developers. Open Source webOS provides standardized Java development tools to build and port apps to webOS rapidly.[45] Open webOS as released by HP will not directly work with the TouchPad due to proprietary code; HP, however, released an open source webOS Community Edition for use with the TouchPad.[46]
Android[edit]
On October 6, 2011, it was reported that a few customers received new TouchPads with Android installed instead of webOS. HP was investigating the unofficial release, but has not commented.[47]
On October 22, 2011, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) (in an Alpha version) became available for the TouchPad. This port, based on the CyanogenMod enhanced distribution of Android, allows the TouchPad to run most Android apps natively.[48] The Android port for TouchPad does not replace webOS. It provides a "multi-boot" so that TouchPad owners can start their tablets into Android, webOS, or other OSs.[49] Android 3.0 'Honeycomb' was not ported to the TouchPad because the source code was not publicly available.[50]
On January 17, 2012, a port of Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) based on CyanogenMod 9 became available. It was a preliminary alpha build (Alpha 0) with some features including hardware-accelerated video playback, microphone and camera not functional at the time. It was updated to Alpha 0.5 around January 24, 2012 and then to Alpha 0.6 around January 30, 2012, bringing fixes and stability improvements.[51]
On February 2, 2012, HP released the source code for Android 2.3 for the HP TouchPad.[52] The CyanogenMod Team received source code from HP and started working again on the TouchPad tablet port.[53] PhoneNews.com reported, "The Android kernel was based on Qualcomm’s reference Android source code, and was used by HP internally to accelerate the release of the TouchPad. It was never intended for public use, but rather, to ensure that the TouchPad’s hardware would be ready for release to consumers alongside webOS 3. As webOS 3 was lagging behind the hardware in development, Android was also used in the manufacturing lines to test TouchPads before ultimately being flashed with webOS."[54]
CyanogenMod 9 (CM9) based on Android 4.0.4 have official stable builds with all features working. There are also unofficial CM10, CM10.1, CM10.2 and CM11 based builds that have all features working. The CM11 builds' stability for daily use is dependent on the kernel used. Development of kernels based on Linux 3.0 and 3.4 are proceeding. ROM's based on the 3.4 kernel can be unstable and may have features missing. ROM's based on the 3.0 kernel are generally stable. Android 5.0 works for the TouchPad, although it is sluggish.[55]
Android 7.0 (Nougat) was made available in September 2016, via Evervolv, an Android Open Source Project (AOSP) ROM authored by Flintman, and is nearly feature complete. It is usable and runs better than 5.1.[56]
Android 7.1.1 (Nougat) was made available around December 2016, via Evervolv (authored by Flintman) as well as a second option by LineageOS (authored by Invisiblek).[57]
Android 9.0 (Pie) was made available in April 2019, via Evervolv, an Android Open Source Project (AOSP) ROM.[58]
Linux[edit]
Linux distributions compiled for the ARM architecture have been successfully run via chroot.[59] Also, the X11 windowing system common to many Linux systems has been ported to run within webOS.[60] This allows most graphical applications made for Linux to run in webOS.
A port of Ubuntu to run natively on the TouchPad was in development in January 2012,[61] which boots via the moboot multiboot bootloader (using the same method as the Android port). The port was in an early alpha stage and is functional, but development ended after 2012.
In addition to Ubuntu, an alpha port of Arch Linux ARM, which in January 2012 provides full touchscreen support with GNOME 3 / LXDE, Wi-Fi access, but not Bluetooth, camera or sound can be installed using the previously mentioned moboot method.[62]
LuneOS[edit]
LuneOS is a Linux-based operating system, designed specifically for native execution on touch devices.[63]
Optional accessories[edit]
Touchstone[edit]
The Touchstone is a wireless charging dock. While charging with the Touchstone, the TouchPad can be set to an Exhibition mode, allowing the user to choose to display photos in a digital photo frame, upcoming appointments, a clock, or other items (using third party extensions).[64] The Touchstone also enables wireless communication between a HP Pre3 and a TouchPad. Tapping on a specific region will transfer web links to the Pre. This technology is known as “Touch to Share”.
The Touchstone has a USB power cable attached to it with a USB Standard-A plug on its end. It must be plugged into a high-power USB power adapter, such as the HP TouchPad power adapter or a newer high-current USB adapter. HP shows a warning in the user manual to not plug it into a laptop. In North America, the Touchstone ships with the same AC power adapter that is included with the TouchPad.
Keyboard[edit]
A Bluetooth wireless keyboard with typical QWERTY layout plus additional keys for special TouchPad capabilities. There is a power slide switch on the bottom. Two AA batteries are required.
It has special TouchPad keys for: Power, Card View, Cursor Left/Up/Right/Down, Volume +/-, Mute, Brightness +/-, Fast Forward, Play-Pause, Rewind, Show Virtual Keyboard, Show Just Type, Show Notifications. The keyboard will pair with other Bluetooth devices but some key functions may be missing as the keyboard layout (outside the alpha numeric keys) is specific to the TouchPad.
Power adapter[edit]
The power adapter converts wall AC to USB DC. This accessory contains the following items:
Wall AC to USB power adapter, which has input specifications of 100–240 Volt 50–60 Hz 0.4 Amp AC, and output specifications of 5.3 Volt 2.0 Amp DC. It is cylindrical roughly the size of a "D" battery with a foldable 2-prong AC connector and a Standard-A USB socket.
USB cable, 5 ft (150 cm), with a Standard-A plug and Micro-B plug on its two ends.
The TouchPad (adapter and cable) and Touchstone (adapter-only) ships with this accessory.[1]
Case and sleeve[edit]
The protective case doubles as a stand for watching videos or typing. There are holes on the edges of the case for access to the microUSB connector, 3.5 mm jack connector, internal microphone. When it is folded open, there is an opening for the speaker along the "binding" edge. The case has a raised surface above the power and volume buttons, so they can easily be found. The TouchPad can charge while in the case using either the microUSB cable or Touchstone dock.[65]
Early reviews of the HP TouchPad were mixed. David Pogue of The New York Times wrote, "It works beautifully, and conveys far more information than the iPad 2. The tablet offers "real multitasking" with all open apps always running."[66][67] Jason Chen of Gizmodo wrote, "After actually holding the TouchPad, I can say it's deceptively heavy. It's around the same weight as the iPad, but you'd think it would be lighter because the back was made of plastic. That said, it's not overly heavy, just heavier than you'd think by looking."[68] Matt Buchanan, also writing for Gizmodo, praised the OS interface concept as 'good conceptually' but described the performance as "slow motion... give this thing six months. It could be amazing. If it's not by then, well, I guess that says everything that needs to be said."[69] The Verge also noted poor performance, describing its interface as 'intuitive and natural' but 'sluggish, unfinished...a bit of a hard sell right now.'[70]
Due to the firesale of the Touchpad, HP led all non-Apple tablets sold in US in 2011.[71] By December 2011, HP's TouchPad was the second most desired tablet, with a 5 percent of share of tablet sales and an estimated 903,354 devices sold.[72][73]
The HP Touchpad's firesale had an effect on future Android tablet sales and the low pricing scheme, as compared to iPad, was used with the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7, which were commercially successful Android tablets originally priced at $199.[74]
Comparison of tablet computers
HP Slate 500
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^ Adhikari, Richard. "Is the HP TouchPad Untouchable?". Technewsworld. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
^ HP Confirms Discussions with Autonomy Corporation plc Regarding Possible Business Combination; Makes Other Announcements, Aug. 18, 2011, News Release, Hewlett-Packard Development Company
^ Kovar, Joseph. "HP Committed To WebOS As Enterprise Development Platform". CRN. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
^ Ziegler, Chris. "Pre to postmortem: the inside story of the death of Palm and webOS". The Verge. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
^ HP Issues TouchPad Liquidation Order – Get Yours Now For $100, By Devin Coldewey, August 19, 2011, TechCrunch
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^ "HP TouchPad Sells Out, Gadhafi Whereabouts Unknown: Daily Scoop". Ibtimes.com. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
^ TouchPad Backlash: Retailers Say 'Sorry' For Order Errors, By David Daw, Aug 23, 2011, PCWorld
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^ "HP webOS – High connectivity, stability and security – HP® Official Site – U.S." Archived from the original on September 23, 2011. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
^ "HP webOS – High connectivity, stability and security – HP® Official Site – U.S." (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 12, 2011. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
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^ a b c "White processor-bumped 64GB and black 4G TouchPad due in August, Opal and Pre3 by fall;precentral.net; July 4, 2011". Webosnation.com. July 4, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
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^ TouchPad "Go Opal model in FCC certification database"; precentral.net; August 10, 2011.
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^ "HP Touchpad Go Review"; YouTube.com; December 27, 2011.
^ Video: A Tour of HP's TouchPad and webOS, 2011/08/18.
^ webOS uptake rides on scalability, easy app creation, 2011/12/16.
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^ "Android thread". Rootzwiki.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
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^ CyanogenMod Team Now Gets Android Source Code From HP, Starts Working Again on TouchPad Tablet; tablet-news.com; February 8, 2012.
^ HP Releases TouchPad’s Android Debug Kernel Source Code; PhoneNews.com; February 8, 2012.
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^ [3]. Retrieved 6 Oct 2016
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^ How To Install Ubuntu Linux on HP TouchPad , How To Install Ubuntu Linux on HP TouchPad
^ X11 port for webOS, X11 port for webOS
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Making Sense of the War (India)
By Claude Markovits
Although India was not a theatre of war, World War I produced a major inflexion in a historical trajectory that had been marked since 1815 by a certain degree of insulation from the ebb and flow of the rivalries of the great powers. As India’s relatively small peacetime army expanded enormously, the reverberations of the conflict were felt in the economy, society and politics of the country. The connection between India and Britain emerged paradoxically weakened from a period in which India’s resources had been mobilized as never before in service of empire.
2 World War I in the Longue Durée of Indian History
3 World War I and Indian Nationalism
4 The Impact of World War I on the Indian Economy and Indian Society
Given the growing scholarly interest in the global aspects of World War I, the role of India in the conflict is receiving closer attention. Although the subcontinent was never a theatre of war, it figures prominently in recent general histories of the conflict such as Hew Strachan’s major survey.[1] Indian participation is no longer seen as one element in the overall mobilization of the British Empire but is perceived as worthy of more detailed attention per se. A recent volume entitled “The World in World Wars”[2] has five of a total of eighteen regional articles dealing specifically with the case of India. In spite of the continuous increase in the body of literature devoted to India in World War I, there remain gaps in our understanding of the impact of the conflict on the subcontinent. This article will argue that the war accelerated trends already at work in the Indian body politic and Indian society but that it also ushered in a whole new stage in India’s relationship with Britain and the world at large. Starting with an attempt at locating the war in the longue durée of Indian history, the article moves on to an examination of its impact on the rise of nationalism, before presenting some reflections on its economic and social consequences.
World War I in the Longue Durée of Indian History↑
Since the end of the Franco-British conflict of the late 18th and early 19th century in which it had been involved quite directly both as a theatre of war and as a base for British naval expeditions, India had not been embroiled in any large-scale foreign wars outside of its immediate neighbourhood, as in the case of the two Afghan wars of 1839-1842 and 1878-1879 and the three Burmese wars of 1824-1826, 1852-1853 and 1885-1886. Although India’s armies had also participated in many British colonial expeditions to various parts of Asia and Africa[3] and a small Indian contingent had even been dispatched to Europe at the time of the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the repercussions of these conflicts in India had been limited. Only the sepoys (native soldiers) and their immediate entourage as well as a few military contractors had been involved in these expeditions. The bulk of India’s population, deemed by the British theory of “martial races” as unfit for military service, had remained largely unaffected. The Great War, however, was to engulf large swathes of India’s population, directly or indirectly, in its fiery furnace. As a result, the war was to modify the trajectory of Indian history in a way no event since the Great Revolt of 1857 had done.
The reasons why a country not involved in a theatre of war was so profoundly affected are worth briefly underlining. First, India was such a vast reservoir of human and material resources for the British Empire that imperial decision-makers, faced at the outset of the war with a shortage of manpower, had no other choice than to tap that reservoir, whatever their own reservations regarding its worth. Over time, India contributed more men, a total of some 1.5 million, to the war than any other country of the empire, apart from Britain itself. An expeditionary force of four divisions was sent from India to France to take part in the war on the Western Front even though the reigning pre-1914 British military doctrine specifically excluded the participation of Indians in a European conflict.[4] A plan prepared by Douglas Haig (1861-1928) while he was Commander-in-Chief in India in 1909-1911, which provided for the dispatch of Indian troops to Europe in case of a European conflict, had been shelved on the instructions of the Secretary of State for India and had escaped destruction only by chance.[5] It was hastily dusted off in 1914 and served as a blueprint for the deployment of the Indian army on the Western Front. It deserves notice in passing that the Germans indicted both the British and the French for a breach of “civilized” norms of warfare in bringing “savage” colonial warriors to take part in a conflict between European nations. Although the two Indian infantry divisions were withdrawn in January 1916, after having suffered some 8,000 casualties, and dispatched to Mesopotamia, the cavalry remained in France until March 1918. Nor was India’s material contribution to the overall war effort of the British Empire negligible, even if it remained inferior to that of the much richer white Dominions such as Australia and Canada.
The war effort put enormous stress on India’s fragile economic fabric, with long-term consequences that proved significant. Because communications with Britain were severely impaired, the tendency to growing economic self-sufficiency, already at work since 1905 with the onset of the Swadeshi movement (geared towards the substitution of locally-produced goods for imported ones), received a further boost. Similarly, the war reawakened political forces hostile to British imperialism that had been dormant for a few years but found new opportunities to make their voice heard. India was unique in the pre-1914 British colonial empire (Ireland aside) in that it had a nationalist movement that, although not yet endowed with a mass base, nevertheless had been able to mount significant challenges to imperial rule in the first decade of the 20th century, culminating in the bold attempt at killing the Viceroy of India Charles Hardinge, Baron Hardinge of Penshurst (1858-1944) in Delhi in December 1912 at the time of his solemn entry into the new capital of British India. The immediate pre-war years however had seen an uneasy calm prevail in India. The next section focuses on the way in which the war contributed to the rise of Indian nationalism.
World War I and Indian Nationalism↑
The existence of a direct correlation between World War I and a powerful surge in anti-colonial nationalism on a global scale is well established in the historiography.[6] The main argument adduced in support of that thesis is that the bloody inter-European conflict exploded once and for all the myth of the superiority of Western civilization[7] by placing in full light its dark underside of violence and even its barbarity. In the case of India, this theme had a particular resonance, as the violence inherent to the materialist ethos of the west had been at the heart of a devastating critique of Western civilization developed by an influential group of Indian publicists, starting with Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) in his famous intervention at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. That critique was deepened in the following decades and found expression in particular in the pamphlet written in 1909 by a South Africa-based Indian lawyer, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), under the title of Hind Swaraj (Indian Home Rule).[8] In the pamphlet, which had not been widely disseminated in India because of censorship, the future Mahatma had forcefully argued against Indians choosing the path of armed violence to fight British domination, as some revolutionaries were then advocating in word and deed. The thrust of his argument was that, by following the path of violence, Indians would actually mimic the west and could not therefore attain true Swaraj, which for him meant a return to an idealized pre-colonial India in the form of a self-sufficient rural utopia.
By exposing in full view the horrors of Western industrialized warfare, World War I gave added power of persuasion to the Gandhian message. At the same time, it subjected the revolutionary path to a severe reality check. Taking a leaf from the book of Irish nationalism with its famous dictum that “England’s difficulty is Ireland’s opportunity,” a few Indian revolutionaries tried to take advantage of the war to instigate anti-British risings with little success. Some, like the legendary Jatin Mukherjee (1879-1915), challenged the Raj on Indian soil and met with a tragic end.[9] Others operated from abroad. Two different groups of exiles were involved in anti-British conspiracies which eventually failed but gave the British a fright. One group was based in Germany and known under the name of “Berlin committee.” It was directly supported by German intelligence and composed mostly of Bengalis and Muslims; it had a propagandist agenda, directed firstly at Indian soldiers who had been taken prisoners by the Germans on the Western Front.
The other group, known as the Ghadr (revolution) Party, was based in California and recruited mostly amongst Sikhs. It revolved around a newspaper that was widely circulated amongst the small but rapidly growing Sikh diaspora. By 1917, it was clear that the attempts by both groups at instigating an anti-British revolt in India had been a failure. Hundreds of Ghadrites returning from North America had been arrested in the Punjab and in a riot in Budge-Budge near Calcutta. Attempts at smuggling arms through the Dutch East Indies with German support had also been quashed. But, by then, in spite of the failure of armed risings, the war had become increasingly unpopular in India and had started to feed a rising wave of mass discontent. The growing trend of opposition to the war was due firstly to economic causes which will be elaborated upon later. But the large-scale losses suffered by Indian troops in East Africa and Mesopotamia, the two theatres of war in which they were involved after the departure from France of most of the Indian Expeditionary Force, also contributed to making the war unpopular, particularly in the province of Punjab which had supplied the bulk of the troops.[10] It is remarkable to note that the Punjab, which had been one of the provinces least affected by the rise of nationalism before 1914, emerged after the war as a major trouble spot, as it went through a quasi-insurrectional phase in 1918-1919 that led to the Amritsar massacre in April 1919.
Some of the pre-1914 “extremist” nationalists took advantage of this wave of mass discontent to make a political comeback. This was the case in particular of Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920), who played a major role in the creation of so-called “Home Rule leagues,” loose organizations inspired by the Irish example that substituted themselves largely for a Congress that appeared moribund at the time. They did not directly oppose the war, but tried to take advantage of it to advance a political agenda of self-rule. The same path was followed by the man who was to emerge after the war as the uncontested leader of the Indian nationalist movement, Gandhi, after he returned to India in 1915. In spite of his own belief in non-violence, he called on Indians to enlist in the army, in the hope that such loyalty would be rewarded after the conflict with significant political concessions. Although a declaration in August 1917 by the Secretary of State for India Sir Samuel Montagu (1879-1924) promised in very vague terms a measure of self-government for India after the war, it did not signal a major change in British policy. The disappointment felt by Gandhi led him to enter into open opposition to the Raj in 1919 by launching the Rowlatt satyagraha, a protest movement directed against a repressive wartime legislation, his first attempt to apply to India the lessons learnt in South Africa in the organization of non-violent resistance.
One can therefore link Gandhi’s change of attitude towards the British Empire to the impact of the war on him, not so much in confirming his already formed negative view of western civilization as in destroying for good his faith in British trustworthiness. Although the 1919 movement was a failure, it made Gandhi a household name all over India. As early as 1920, he was able to mount a new challenge to the British with his non-cooperation movement. Its success, which surprised even Gandhi, can be partly explained by a definite change in the political atmosphere. More specifically, the mindset of a section of the middle classes appears to have been transformed. While members of this group used to be loyal to the British before the war, many of them came to share Gandhi’s view of British rule as oppressive and doomed. It is plausible, although speculative, inasmuch as only a few middle-class youngsters had been given commissions in the army towards the end of the war to palliate a penury of British officers, that the spectacle of the war and of the difficulties faced by Britain had contributed to this change of heart in no small way. The prestige of the Raj had taken a blow that was to prove irreparable and Gandhi was able to take advantage of it. With the benefit of hindsight, it is possible to argue that World War I contributed significantly to the rise of a mass-based nationalist movement that was capable of mounting a direct challenge to British rule. The war also tended to discredit ideas of an armed revolution and therefore contributed indirectly to the ascendancy of ideas of non-violent resistance. However, other changes in the economic and social fabric of colonial India were perhaps of even greater importance.
The Impact of World War I on the Indian Economy and Indian Society↑
The war put an end to a period of relative prosperity based on a growing integration of India into the world capitalist economy. That prosperity, which never reached the mass of the population, rested basically on the export of a number of cash crops, mostly jute, cotton and tea, to Europe, North America and Japan. While the production of tea was almost entirely in the hands of big British companies which employed a mass of poorly paid coolies, cotton and jute were grown mostly by small Indian farmers and commercialized by Indian intermediaries who sold the produce to big British, European and Japanese trading firms based in the port-cities of Bombay and Calcutta. Apart from commercial agriculture, other sectors which had been expanding in the pre-war years were coal mining, largely dominated by British firms, and manufacturing industry. The latter was dominated by textiles, cotton and jute. While jute mills in Calcutta were in the hands of British (mostly Scottish) capitalists, the cotton industry was more dispersed (Bombay being the largest centre) and dominated by Indian capitalists. In the ten years from 1905-1914 some Indian firms had diversified from textiles into other industries such as cement or steel. Most spectacular had been the foundation of a steel industry in the jungles of Bihar by the great Bombay Parsi firm of Tatas.
The war impacted the economy in many ways, mostly negatively. Massive requisitions of cereals, in particular for the needs of the cavalry, led to a rapid rise in the price of food that hurt the urban poor and agricultural labourers who depended on the market for their daily needs. Producers did not derive many benefits from higher prices, as intermediaries reaped most of them. A thriving black market developed, as always in times of war, in which fortunes were made. Exports of cash crops, especially jute, suffered from the loss of the German market and from the obstacles to communications with Britain due to the threat of German submarines. The main beneficiary of the war was the domestic manufacturing industry, especially the cotton mills which profited from the decline in imports of Lancashire piece-goods which dominated the market before the war. The production of piece-goods was 50 percent higher in 1917-18 than in the pre-war years.[11] The Tata steel mills were saved from looming bankruptcy by a contract to supply rails to Mesopotamia where the British built 1,500 miles of railway lines to transport troops and material.[12] From a longer-term perspective, Indian capitalists benefitted from the fact that British businessmen felt powerfully the pull of loyalty to the homeland and tended as a result to somewhat reduce their involvement in the Indian economy, a trend that would only accelerate throughout the interwar period. All in all, while some operators, both British and Indian, reaped handsome profits from war contracts, the mass of the population suffered a fall in an already low purchasing power. Although the 1920s saw the return of a modicum of prosperity, the dynamics of the colonial economy had been somewhat broken and it would never recover its pre-1914 shine (however misleading that shine may have been in many ways). The role played by India in the imperial economy was clearly diminished. In particular, India’s contribution to the overall imperial balance of payments, so crucial before 1914,[13] was soon eclipsed by that of Malaya and Northern Rhodesia.
While the economic consequences of the war are fairly easy to chart, it is much more difficult to appraise the societal changes it may have brought about. Firstly, it should be recalled that the immediate post-war period saw a demographic disaster of first magnitude. Between June 1918 and June 1919, the influenza pandemic is thought to have resulted in 17-18 million deaths in India, i.e. one-third of the total death toll of the pandemic worldwide. Its long-term consequences remain subject to speculation. As to the direct consequences of the war, focusing on the soldiers who took part in the conflict is one way of opening the field. The almost 1.5 million men who were enlisted during the war, enormously swelling the ranks of an Indian Army which had only 150,000 men in 1914, were not entirely recruited from the “martial races” that had been favoured by recruiters in the post-1858 era. Although almost half hailed from the Punjab, mostly Muslims and Sikhs, the British Army was forced to tap new sources in areas of Northern India such as Gahrwal but also in South India.[14]
Apart from soldiers and a host of “followers,” some 50,000 labourers were also recruited for the Western Front and the majority of them came from the tribal areas of Northeastern India (Nagaland, Mizoram). This had significant consequences for these “backwards” areas. While the total casualties (65,000 dead) suffered by India’s military were low compared to figures in Europe, the departure of so many young men nevertheless disrupted life in many rural communities where women had to take up tasks that were traditionally reserved for men. In the Punjab and the Northwest Frontier Province, as revealed in letters intercepted by military censors,[15] some men who had not enlisted took advantage of the absence of male members in some households to press their claims in property disputes against helpless women, thus sowing the seeds of enduring feuds.
As to the question of whether the participation of so many young men in a worldwide conflict and their discovery of foreign countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East led to an expansion of their horizons and the absorption of new ideas, the answer remains open. Examination of the censored correspondence of Indian soldiers in France reveals a great curiosity and a generally positive appraisal of certain features of Western societies, such as a greater presence of women in public spaces[16] in comparison with India. There is no clear indication, however, that, on their return to their villages, war veterans were behind a movement towards greater gender equality, a sign that there remained a gap between discourse and actual social practice. There are scattered indications that participation in the Great War contributed to opening India up to new emancipatory ideas which were spreading worldwide in the wake of the Russian revolution. While this did not result in the emergence of a revolutionary movement, it did give a more radical tinge to nationalist politics and thus had significant long-term consequences.
The Great War exposed India to global currents in a novel way. Within a period of four years, more Indians left for faraway lands than in the preceding one hundred years. Excepting the tens of thousands who died on foreign soil and the much smaller number who remained abroad because they had found love, most of these men came back from their travels. Thus, the war was linked to circulation more than to migration. One item, whose circulation proved fatal to millions, was the virus of the influenza pandemic which originated in the United States and created more havoc in India than all the home-bred epidemics of plague and cholera. This large-scale circulation, though not so much of the virus, was to be repeated at the time of the Second World War on an even larger scale. While the First World War gave a boost to Indian nationalism, the Second World War brought Indian independence in its wake, a reminder that India’s history is part of a broader international framework.
Claude Markovits, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Section Editor: Santanu Das
↑ Strachan, Hew: The First World War, Volume I: To Arms, Oxford 2001.
↑ Liebau, Heike et al. (eds.): The World in World Wars: Experiences, Perceptions and Perspectives from Africa and Asia, Leiden and Boston 2010.
↑ Metcalf, Thomas Richard: Projecting Power. The Indian Army Overseas, in Metcalf, Thomas Richard (ed.): Imperial Connections: India in the Indian Ocean Arena 1860–1920, Delhi 2007, pp. 68-101.
↑ Heathcote, Thomas Anthony: The Indian Army and the Grand Strategy of Empire to 1913, in: Guy, Alan J./Boyden, Peter B. (eds.): Soldiers of the Raj: The Indian Army 1600–1947, London 1997.
↑ Mead, Gary: The Good Soldier: The Biography of Douglas Haig, London 2007, pp. 158-59.
↑ Sonderhaus, Lawrence: World War One: The Global Revolution, Cambridge 2011.
↑ Adas, Michael: Contested hegemony : the Great War and the Afro-Asian assault on the civilizing mission ideology, in: Duara, Prasenjit (ed.): Decolonization: Perspectives from now and then, London and New York 2004, pp. 78-100.
↑ Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand: Hind Swaraj and other writings, Parel, Anthony J. (ed.), Cambridge 1997.
↑ Mukherjee, Prithwindra: Undying courage: the story of Bagha Jatin, Calcutta 1992.
↑ Tai-Yong, Tan: An Imperial Home Front: Punjab and the First World War, in: The Journal of Military History 64 (2000), pp. 371-410.
↑ Thakkar, N.H.: The Indian Cotton Industry during Twentieth Century (with special reference to war periods), Bombay 1949, p. 71.
↑ Lala, Russi Manekshaw: The Romance of Tata Steel, Delhi 2007, pp. 28-29.
↑ Saul, Samuel Berrick: Studies in British Overseas Trade, 1870-1914, Liverpool 1960.
↑ Mills, Ian D.: The 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic: The Indian Experience, in: The Indian Economic and Social History Review 23/1 (1986), pp. 1-40. Pradhan, Satyendra Dev: The Indian Army and the First World War,in: Ellinwood, De Witt C./Pradhan, Satyendra Dev (eds.): India and World War 1, Delhi 1978, pp. 49-67.
↑ Omissi, David (ed.): Indian Voices of the Great War: Soldiers’ Letters, 1914–1918, Basingstoke and London 1999.
↑ Markovits, Claude: Indian Soldiers’ Experiences in France during World War I: Seeing Europe from the Rear of the Front, in: Liebau, Heike et al. (eds.): The World in World Wars: Experiences, Perceptions and Perspectives from Africa and Asia, Leiden and Boston 2010, pp. 29-53.
Adas, Michael: Contested hegemony. The Great War and the Afro-Asian assault on the civilizing mission ideology, in: Duara, Prasenjit (ed.): Decolonization. Perspectives from now and then, London 2008: Routledge, pp. 78-100.
Ellinwood, DeWitt C. / Pradhan, Satyendra Dev. (eds.): India and World War 1, New Delhi 1978: Manohar.
Liebau, Heike / Bromber, Katrin / Lange, Katharina et al. (eds.): The world in world wars. Experiences, perceptions and perspectives from Africa and Asia, Leiden 2010: Brill.
Markovits, Claude: Indian soldiers’ experiences in France during World War I. Seeing Europe from the rear of the front, in: Liebau, Heike (et al.) (ed.): The world in world wars. Experiences, perceptions and perspectives from Africa and Asia, Leiden 2010: Brill, pp. 29-53.
Omissi, David (ed.): Indian voices of the Great War. Soldiers' letters, 1914-18, Houndmills; New York 1999: Macmillan Press; St. Martin's Press.
Sondhaus, Lawrence: World War I. The global revolution, Cambridge; New York 2011: Cambridge University Press.
Strachan, Hew: The First World War. To arms, volume 1, Oxford 2001: Oxford University Press.
Tan, Tai Yong: An imperial home-front. Punjab and the First World War, in: Journal of Military History 64, 2000, pp. 371-410.
Markovits, Claude: Making Sense of the War (India) , in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. by Ute Daniel, Peter Gatrell, Oliver Janz, Heather Jones, Jennifer Keene, Alan Kramer, and Bill Nasson, issued by Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 2014-10-08. DOI: 10.15463/ie1418.10465.
Economy > War economy > Agriculture
Economy > War economy > War industry
Economy > Labour > Colonial labour
Politics, law > International relations > Colonialism, imperialism
Politics, law > International relations > Exile, politics
Politics, law > Political and social movements > National movements
Warfare and the military > Combatants > Colonial troops
India; First World War; Nationalism; War economy; Social change
Indien ; Weltkrieg [1914-1918]
World War, 1914-1918--India
Guerre mondiale (1914-1918) ; Inde
Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920); Charles <i>Hardinge</i>, Baron Hardinge of Penshurst (1858-1944); Douglas Haig (1861-1928); Jatin Mukherjee (1879-1915); Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948); Samuel Montagu (1879-1924); Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)
Amritsar; Bombay; Budge-Budge; Calcutta; Delhi
South and South East Asia > British India
Markovits, Claude
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Holger Schlör1,
Wolfgang Fischer1 &
Jürgen-Friedrich Hake1
We analyse Gordon’s trade-off by adapting Thurow’s approach of pure public good using the example of the German energy sector which is in a transition process to a low-carbon sustainable energy system (Energiewende). The income distribution and the energy expenditures of households are interpreted as public goods. Their distribution is measured with the Atkinson index, which determines how the quality of life, as measured in income and energy expenditures, is distributed among society.
We use the disaggregated consumption and income for 39.409 million German households. Our socio-economic analysis focuses on six household types.
Our analysis shows that among German households, energy expenditures are more equally distributed than private consumption in general and income. The rather (but by far not completely) equal distribution of energy expenditures confirms Smil’s finding that energy is the universal currency (Sen, On Economic Inequality, 1973) for people’s welfare and can be seen as an indicator of the basic needs of households irrespective of household income. Nevertheless, low-income households have to spend a higher share of their income on energy to avoid energy poverty. Further price increases could lead to an unequal distribution and rising energy poverty.
The socio‐economic conditions of society and its energy sector have to be addressed in a transition processes. Energy poverty constitutes an infringement of the sustainability concept. If society does not take distributional effects into account, the transition process itself could be jeopardized.
Sustainable development is a process in which society and political decision makers have to balance ecological, economic, and social targets. Equal rights and equality in terms of “equivalent living conditions” (Article 74 German constitutional law) are key elements of the social pillar of sustainability.
Gordon’s trade-off
Modern societies are confronted with Gordon’sFootnote 1 trade-off [14], that is to say, their democratic constitutions guarantee all citizens the same political rights and obligations [27]. However, this democratic guarantee of equality is contrasted with economic inequality as the result of economic market forces which produce unequal income, consumption opportunities, and life prospects [14, 29]. Individuals have the same political rights, but their social participation opportunities correlate not only with these rights but also with their individual success in economic processes [7, 14]. Individuals are affected by two institutions—economic market processes and the constitution—which grant different positions in society according to their specific institutional rules.Footnote 2 The constitutions of democratic systems grant their citizens rights without any preconditions, whereas their position within the economic market system is based on their success in this system [27]. Economic institutions can “generate substantial disparities among citizens in living standards and material welfare [14].”
The political institutions of the government are, on the one hand, confronted with and have to manage a socio-economic democratic system that guarantees the same rights to each individual without any preconditions, and on the other hand, with an economic system in which individual success is based mainly on individual performance. Society and its government have to find a way to balance the trade-off between these two principles to avoid political tensions between social groups and households, because of the trade-off between the conflicting principles of society’s democratic institutions and those of the economic market system: “At some points along the way, society confronts choices that offer somewhat more equality at the expense of efficiency or somewhat more efficiency at the expense of equality. In the idiom of the economist, a trade-off emerges between equality and efficiency [14].” Political projects such as the German Energiewende can be implemented more easily if social justice is taken into account, i.e. the distribution of the material welfare of society [26].
Hence, we can summarize that Gordon’s trade-off is the result of the relations between two competing institutions (the democratic system and the economic market system). This competition is confirmed by Stiglitz, who illustrates that these conflicts arising from the trade-off are not the “result of the forces of nature, of abstract forces. [They are] the result of government policies that shape and direct the forces of technology and markets and broader societal forces [36].” In other words, Gordon’s trade-off is politically shapeable by the institutions of society and has to be analysed so that this management process can avoid mismanagement on the basis of flawed data.
The need for such an analysis is also stressed by Acemoglu and Robinson [1], who argue “that economic analysis needs to identify, theoretically and empirically, conditions under which politics and economics run into conflict, and then evaluate policy proposals taking this conflict and the potential backlashes it creates into account [2].” These conflicts could endanger policy conceptions such as the German energy transition [13].
Our analysis tries to reveal societal obstacles in the socio-economic conditions of society which have to be addressed in transition processes and will show the necessity of political discourse concerning Gordon’s trade-off, because transition processes are not only technical problems but increasingly also socio-economic problems that have to be solved. No one in society can escape from these unsolved problems. Hence, we will analyse Gordon’s trade-off in the context of Thurow’s theory of public goods.
Thurow—distribution of public goods
Private and public goods
The idea of public goods was developed in 1954 by Samuelson in his paper “The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure” [23]. He explains the characteristics of a public good: “that each individual's consumption of such a good leads to no subtraction from any other individual's consumption of that good [23].” Public goods “can be enjoyed by everyone and from which no one can be excluded [24].” Hence, we can classify the private and public goods consumed by households [10] and needed for the well-being of households [17] into four major categories [10] (Table 1).
Table 1 Classification of goods
In the case of private goods, the use of such a good by one consumer excludes other consumers from consuming it (i.e. food). In contrast, a dike is a pure public good, because everyone behind it is protected. A club good [11, 28] refers to, for instance, the use of a gym. If the monthly fee is paid, everyone in the gym may use the equipment. A congested road is an impure public good—no one can be excluded from the use of the road, but there will be rivalry in using the road in the case of congestion [17].
Thurow’s public good approach
The distribution of income was already interpreted as a pure public good by Thurow in 1971 [39], because every individual is confronted with the same distribution of income. No individual can be excluded from the advantages and disadvantages of a given distribution of income, and there is also non-rivalry in the consumption of the advantages and disadvantages [37, 40] of a given distribution of income [39]. Every individual is confronted with the same distribution of income, because as Joseph Stiglitz explains: “Widely unequal societies do not function efficiently and their economies are neither stable nor sustainable … there comes a point when inequality spirals into economic dysfunction for the whole society [37].” Everyone needs a functioning society to sustain their social position [37]. That is to say, the distribution of income is a pure public good [39] which sustains the functioning of society. It functions like a dike to stabilize the socio-economic system.
We will enlarge Thurow’s approach of a public good by interpreting not only the income distribution of German households but also the distribution of their energy expenses as a public good, because the participation of all households in the energy system is an important factor in the success of any country’s economy. The energy system is a dike for the socio-economic system which needs a competitive infrastructure. We therefore also interpreted the performance of the energy system as a public good for society, because no individual can be excluded from the advantages or disadvantages of the energy system and there is also non-rivalry in the consumption of the advantages or disadvantages of the energy system.
Hence, we will expand Thurow’s idea of a pure public good by including household energy consumption as a parameter for the quality of the German energy system. In the following, the distribution of the two public goods—income and energy system—will be analysed with the Atkinson index on the basis of the German household expenditure survey (EVS) database.
Atkinson index
The index is based on social theories [5] and regards society as “a cooperative project for the mutual [5]” benefit of all members of society.
The Atkinson index is a normative distribution measure. The index is based on a social welfare function, which implies diminishing marginal utility of income [5, 15]. The index thereby assumes additive social welfare, which is the sum of the individual utility of society members. This concept is based on utilitarian individual philosophy [15]. In this philosophy, the welfare of the other members of society is not part of the individual utility function [5]: Each individual simply maximizes his own utility and does not care about the other individuals. The welfare of the individual is measured independently of the income of other individuals [5, 15]. Hence, the level of possible energy consumption is based on the net income, and energy consumption is part of the social welfare function (SWF), as the following definition of the welfare function shows:
$$ \begin{array}{l}\begin{array}{l}\mathrm{S}\mathrm{W}\mathrm{F}={\displaystyle \sum_{i=1}^nU\left(Y{\left(PC\Big(EC\right)}_i\right)},\ \mathrm{Y}=\mathrm{income},\ \mathrm{U}=\mathrm{utility}\ \mathrm{level},\ \mathrm{n}=\mathrm{number}\ \mathrm{of}\ \mathrm{households}\hfill \\ {}\kern20.5em \mathrm{E}\mathrm{C}=\mathrm{energy}\ \mathrm{consumption},\ \mathrm{P}\mathrm{C}=\mathrm{total}\ \mathrm{private}\ \mathrm{consumption}\hfill \end{array}\\ {}\kern6em \end{array} $$
In our theoretical approach (utilitarianism), an “outside observer” has to compare the individual members of society with each other. His instrument is the Atkinson index [15]. The Atkinson index calculates how society can assess the distribution of individual income and consumption expenditures between the different income classes of the social groups.Footnote 3 The index defines maximum inequality with 1 and maximum equality with 0 [26] and fulfils six mathematical axioms thus allowing it to measure inequality [26].
The Atkinson index has a specific feature for calculating distribution, namely the epsilon parameter ε [3, 4]. The epsilon parameter of Eq. (1) “defines how sensitively the Atkinson index should interpret inequalities [25].” The value ranges from zero to infinity. If society does not give any consideration to the distribution of income, then the value is zero (low inequality aversion). If society cares only about the lowest income group, then the value moves towards infinity (high inequality aversion).Footnote 4 “The larger epsilon is, the more strongly the Atkinson index reacts to inequalities [27].” Epsilon can therefore represent the inequality aversion of society and can be interpreted as the mathematical parameter of Gordon’s trade-off.
$$ \mathrm{Gordon}\hbox{'}\mathrm{s}\ \mathrm{Trade}\hbox{-} \mathrm{off}=\frac{\mathrm{Social}\ \mathrm{Equity}}{\mathrm{Economic}\ \mathrm{Efficiency}}=\mathrm{Inequality}\ \mathrm{Aversion}=\mathrm{Epsilon}\ \mathrm{Parameter}\ \mathrm{of}\ \mathrm{Atkinson}\ \mathrm{Index} $$
With the determination of the epsilon parameter, Gordon’s trade-off becomes measurable by the Atkinson index. Epsilon relates two institutions to each other: the societal trade-off between social equality based on a democratic constitution and market economic efficiency. Researchers, social stakeholders, or legislators can define the social meaning of inequality for socio-economic development and can define Gordon’s trade-off by the epsilon parameter. In a political discourse, society can develop a social view of its own understanding of how individuals treat and see each other in society which can also be expressed in the tax system. Epsilon confronts a society with its self-assessment as a just, fair society but also as an efficient market economy [25, 27].
We use the Atkinson index to determine the distributional effect of gross income, net income, private consumption, and energy expenditures [3]. The value of the Atkinson index is Thurow’s public good. It defines the distribution of income and energy expenditure and the shape of the dike which prevents economic and social distortions of the socio-economic system.
For our analysis, we use the modified Atkinson index (AIXtype) to analyse the inequality of these issues:
$$ {\mathrm{AIX}}_{\mathrm{type}}=1-{\left[{\displaystyle \sum_{i=1}^n{\left(\frac{X_{i, type}}{\overline{X_{\mathrm{type}}}}\right)}^{1-\varepsilon }}{f}_{i, type}\right]}^{\frac{1}{1-\varepsilon }},\kern0.5em X={Y}^G,{Y}^N,\ \mathrm{P}\mathrm{C},\ E,\ EK,\ EW,\ \mathrm{f}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{r}\ \varepsilon \ne 1. $$
$$ {\mathrm{AIX}}_{\mathrm{type}}=1- \exp \left[{\displaystyle \sum_{i=1}^n{f}_{i, type}{ \log}_e\frac{X_{i, type}}{\overline{X_{\mathrm{type}}}}}\right],\ \mathrm{X}={\mathrm{Y}}^G,{\mathrm{Y}}^N,\ \mathrm{P}\mathrm{C},\ E,\ EK,\ EW,\ for\ \varepsilon =1 $$
\( {Y}_{i,\mathrm{type}}^G \) represents gross income of individuals, \( {Y}_{i, type}^N \) the net income of individuals, PC i,type consumption expenditure, E i,type energy consumption expenditure, EW i,type residential energy consumption expenditure, EK i,type car energy consumption expenditure in the i th income range (n sum of the income classes) in the household type (singles, singles with child(ren), couples, couples without child(ren), couples with child(ren)), f i,type is the proportion of the population in the particular household type with income in the i th income range, \( {\overline{X}}_{\mathrm{type}} \) is the mean household value for six income and expenditure issues (YG, YN, K, E, EK, EW) of the household types, and the epsilon parameter (ε) is the same for all groups.
Database—German household expenditure survey data
The German household expenditure survey (EVS) provides data sets on German economic life and the consumer behaviour of private households [34]. Every 5 years, the Federal Statistical Office questions a selection of German households (0.2% of all German households) about their income, expenditures, assets, consumer goods, and residential situation. The 2008 survey was the tenth survey, following surveys in 1962/63, 1969, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003 [16, 35]. The EVS for 2008 was published in 2011 [31, 32]. The EVS for 2013 was not published in 2015. The EVS data sets provide an overview of the social conditions and socio-economic development of the population in Germany. The data sets are important not only for German social politics but also for all other socio-economic fields of politics [33].
Private households are the central object of investigation in the framework of the EVS.
Our analysis focuses on the following household types:
Single households
Single households with child(ren)
Couples without child(ren)
Couples with child(ren)
Other householdsFootnote 5
In our model, we consider all 39.409 million households which took part in the EVS survey, of which 15.537 million (30.1%) are single households, 1.339 million are single households with child(ren) (2.6%), and 17.381 million are couples (33.7%) living in one household, while 11.441 million of the couples households have no children (22.2%) and 5.940 million of the couples households have child(ren) (11.5%). We also consider the 5.152 million as other households (“sonstige Haushalte”).
The following table shows how German households are distributed among social groups and income groups. We analyse nine income classes as Table 2 shows.
Table 2 Distribution of households 2008
The table shows the distribution of the households over the nine income classes. The relatively largest group of all households (25.8%) is the income class € 2600–€ 3600, whereas within the single households, the income class € 900–€ 1300 has the largest relative proportion (22%). Within the single households with child(ren), the largest relative grouping (26.1%) is the income class € 1500–€ 2000, while couples have the biggest share (25.1%) in the income class of € 2600–€ 3600 and couples without children have the highest share (24.9%) in the income group of € 2600–€ 3600. Couples with child(ren) have the biggest share (28.4%) in the income group of € 3600–€ 5000. Nearly one third of the other households (29.3%) belong to the highest income group (€ 5000–€ 18,000).
Our paper measures the distribution of the public goods (income distribution and energy system) with the Atkinson index [3, 4].
In the first step, we analyse the first part of Gordon’s trade-off, i.e. the success of the household groups in the economic process, i.e. the income and consumption expenditures of the different household types.
Real distribution
Disposable income of private households according to their social position
Our analysis is focused on five household types (single households, single households with child(ren), couples, couples without child(ren), couples with child(ren)), which are part of the group of all households. We analyse the real distribution of income, of consumption, and of energy expenses. In the first step, we analyse the dispersion of income [12, 18–21, 38], consumption, and energy use. We define dispersion as the ratio of the income, consumption, and energy expenditures of the highest income group to the average household of the social group.
Monthly gross income
Couples without children achieved the highest average monthly gross income in 2008 (€ 9222), followed by other households (€ 9152) and couples (€ 9136). Singles and couples with child(ren) achieved nearly the same level of gross income (€ 9083, € 9037), whereas the gross income of singles with children in the highest income group is significantly lower (€ 7990).
The dispersion of the gross income varies significantly between the household types. We can identify three major groups: The highest dispersion is found in the single households group (4.14, 3.43). The second group consists of all couples and couples without children (1.97, 2.18). The income dispersion reaches its lowest value in the groups containing couples with child(ren) and other households (1.66, 1.67) (Table 3).
Table 3 Gross income 2008
Monthly net income
The monthly net income of private households also varies strongly with the social status of the main income recipient, as the following table shows (Table 4).
Table 4 Net income of private households in Germany 2008 according to their household type
Couples with children achieved the highest average monthly net income in 2008 (€ 4191), followed by couples (€ 3662), couples without child(ren) (€ 3387), and singles with and without child(ren) (€ 1943, € 1726). The dispersion of the net income varies significantly between the household types. Once again, the first group contains single households where the dispersion decreases from 4.09 to 3.3. The second group contains couples and couples without child(ren) (1.9, 2.1). They have a significantly lower dispersion than the single households. The income dispersion reaches its lowest value in the group containing couples with child(ren) and other households (1.6). The comparison of net and gross income shows that the German income tax system reduces the dispersion in this particular household type.
Expenditure of private households according to their social position
Monthly private consumption
Expenditure for private consumption also varies between the different household types, as the following Table 5 shows. The single households spend an average of € 1418 per month, singles with child(ren) € 1740, couples € 2757, couples without child(ren) € 2622, couples with child(ren) € 3017, and other households € 3142. The consumption expenditures increase with rising income without reaching a saturation point. The consumption dispersion is significantly lower than the income dispersion.
Table 5 Private consumption
The consumption dispersion of singles (2.35) and singles with child(ren) (2.12) is the highest of all households analysed, followed by couples (1.53, 1.62, 1.38) and other households (1.46). Their dispersion is much lower, and they have more similar consumption patterns than the single households.
In the following, we analyse the energy expenditures of the households.
Monthly energy consumption
The expenditures for energy consumption of the households will be analysed in more detail to obtain a picture of the real distribution of energy consumption in Germany. This includes car energy and residential energy expenditures and total energy expenditures as summarized in Table 6.
Table 6 Energy consumption—car, residential, and total
Energy expenses for cars
Energy expenses for cars include expenses for fuel and lubricants in the six social groups. The single households without and with children spend nearly the same amount (€ 50 and € 67, respectively) on car energy, whereas the couples without child(ren) spend on average € 111 and the couples with child(ren) and couples spend € 150 and € 124, respectively. The other households have on average the highest expenditures on car energy: € 160. With rising income, expenses for car energy increase continuously without reaching a saturation point. The dispersion of energy expenditure between the household types is significantly lower compared to income and overall consumption. In the case of car energy expenditure, it ranges from 1.18 to 1.94.
Residential energy expenditure
With respect to expenses for residential energy, all three couple household types have nearly the same expenditures for residential energy (€ 165, € 163, € 169). The single households with child(ren) (€ 119) have insignificantly higher residential energy expenditure than all single households (€ 93). The other households have the highest expenditures for residential energy, with an average of € 201. With rising income, expenses for residential energy increase continuously, reaching a saturation point before the highest income group only in the case of singles with child(ren). In the other household types, the residential energy expenditure increases without reaching a saturation point. Generally, the dispersion in the case of residential energy is lower than that of car energy. All household types show a dispersion between 1.17 and 1.65.
Total energy expenditure
When we now sum up the car and residential energy expenditures to calculate the total energy expenditures. We see that couples with child(ren) (€ 319) have nearly the highest energy expenditures followed by the other two couple household types (€ 274, € 289), whereas the two single household types have lower energy expenditures (€ 143, € 186). The other households have the highest energy expenditures: € 361.
With rising income, the total energy expenses increase and reach a saturation point before the highest income group only in the household type singles with child(ren). In the other household types, the total energy expenditures increase without reaching a saturation point before the highest income group.
Hence, the dispersion varies between households. Couple (1.18, 1.28, 1.33) and single households show a slightly higher dispersion (1.55, 1.75), whereas the other households have a dispersion similar to the couple households (1.32).
In the following, we also present the distribution of expenditures for another basic good: food and beverages. The comparison between food and energy enables us to classify the energy distribution results.
The expenditures for food and beverages differ among the households. But the dispersion of food expenditures is the lowest of all analysed types of consumption and income (Table 7).
Table 7 Food consumption
The single households spend on average €182 for food and beverages. These expenditures reach their saturation point at € 222 per month in the highest income class. The food consumption of singles with children increases on average by about € 100 to € 281 per month and reaches its saturation point in the income group of € 3600–5000 (€ 366) before the top income group, which consumes less (€ 357). The social group of couple households consumes on average food and beverage for € 400 a month, and this consumption reaches its highest value in the highest income group with € 486. Couples without children (€ 360, € 432) consume on average and in the top group less than all couples. Food and beverage consumption increases on average in the social group of couples with children to € 478 a month and in the top income group this rises to € 547. The social group of other households has the highest monthly food consumption with on average € 483 and in the top group € 603. The food consumption dispersion for other households (1.25) and single parents (1.27) is the highest of all households analysed, followed by couples (1.2, 1.2, 1.14). Couples with children have food consumption patterns that are more similar than the other households.
Our analysis shows how the household types’ heterogeneous levels of success in the economic system may be measured in income and consumption expenditures.
In the following, we examine how the real distribution of expenses and income is perceived by the households against the background of differing levels of inequality aversion within society, i.e. how society assesses the distribution of income and expenditures against their normative perception of inequality.
Normative distribution
In the following, we examine how the real distribution of expenses and income is perceived by the households against the background of differing levels of inequality aversion within society, i.e. how society assesses the distribution of income and expenditures against their normative perception of inequality. In our analysis, the epsilon parameter of the Atkinson index ranges from 1 to 2.5, whereas (ε = 1, 1.5) represents a low inequality aversion of society and (ε = 2, 2.5) represents a high inequality aversion of German society.
In the case of the single households, the net income (0.149–0.299) is more equally distributed than the gross income (0.176–0.356). This illustrates the effectiveness of the German tax system in reducing some of the inequality of the German economic market system.
The consumption patterns of the singles (0.066–0.149) are distributed more equally between the households than the two income types.
In the case of energy consumption, the expenditures on residential energy (0.023–0.053) are nearly equally distributed between the households. On the other hand, the expenditures for car energy are more unequally distributed in this household group than the gross income (0.165–0.388). Residential energy expenditures are of central importance for the households irrespective of their income, whereas individual mobility (cars) is not necessarily required by all households. For the single households, the public transport system is an alternative. This explains why in the single households the car energy values of the Atkinson index are higher than the residential energy. Table 8 shows that “food” is the most equally distributed (0.006–0.018) item of the analysed data sample. As expected, food is the main basic good for single households.
Table 8 Atkinson index of single households
Singles with child(ren)
As in the household groups of all single households, the net income of single households with child(ren) is more equally distributed than the gross income. The data confirms that the German tax system evens out the inequalities of the economic market system to some extent. The gross income of single households with child(ren) is more unequally distributed (0.125–0.258) than the income of the group consisting of all single households. This is also valid for the net income.
We can also see that the distribution of private consumption (0.056–0.121) and of all energy expenditures (0.038–0.087) is more equal in this household type than car energy expenditures (0.106–0.262). Table 9 illustrates that also in this social group food consumption is the most equally distributed consumption issue.
Table 9 Atkinson index of single households with child(ren)
In the couple group, the gross income (0.138–0.323) is again more unequally distributed than the net income (0.118–0.277) due to the German tax system (Table 10).
Table 10 Atkinson index of all couples households
This is also valid for the consumption patterns (0.05–0.124) and energy expenditures (0.025–0.067). The residential energy expenditures (0.025–0.034) of this household group are again the most equally distributed issue in this household group. The results also show that car energy expenditures (0.047–0.139) are more unequally distributed than residential energy expenditures but more equally distributed than in the case of single households. Food consumption is distributed in the same way in the couple households (0.011–0.038) as in the single households with children.
In the case of the gross and net income, we see again that, because of the tax system, the net income (0.124–0.355) is more equally distributed than the gross income (0.150–0.355). We can assert that residential energy (0.017–0.041) is again the most equally distributed good. Private consumption (0.053–0.128) is distributed in a manner similar to car energy (0.057–0.148), and a little more unequally than energy expenditures.
The food consumption of the couple households with children (0.008–0.020) is more equally distributed than that of all couples. Table 11 also documents the basic need character of food consumption, because it is the most equally distributed good of these households.
Table 11 Atkinson index of couples without child(ren)
The effects of the German tax system as an instrument to reduce income inequality can also be confirmed by the analysis of the gross (0.104–0.267) and net income (0.091–0.227) of couples with children (Table 12).
Table 12 Atkinson index of couples with child(ren)
Private consumption in this household group is relatively equally distributed. But the results show that car energy expenditures are also equally distributed and we can see a clear contrast to the single households, where car energy expenditures are distributed very unequally. We can conclude from this that car energy expenditures are not necessarily an essential good for single households, but for the couples, especially for those with children, they are indispensable. In the households of couples with children, food consumption is also very equally distributed, and the Atkinson index (0.007–0.018) is a good indicator of that.
Other households
The final household type in our analysis is the group containing other households. This household group also confirms the effects of the German tax system, which reduces income inequality between the members of that household type (0.176–0.337 to 0.149–0.326).
Table 13 shows that the inequality assessed by the modified Atkinson index increases with rising epsilon irrespective of which issue is analysed. The energy expenditures (0.048–0.133) of that group are more equally distributed than the overall private consumption (0.065–0.167). The residential energy expenditures (0.024–0.069) are more equally distributed than the car energy expenditures (0.030–0.129). Food consumption is more unequally distributed in the group of all other households than in the other household groups. The values of the Atkinson index (0.025–0.065) are near the values of the residential energy. The other households group, which includes, for example, parents-in-law, children over 18 and groups sharing an apartment, is more heterogeneous than the single and couple households, which explains the higher Atkinson index.
Table 13 Atkinson index of other households
We can therefore summarize that the household group of couples with child(ren) is the most homogeneous group and that their net income is more equally distributed than their gross income. Private consumption is more equally distributed than both income types, and energy services are distributed almost equally between the household types. However, the single households are the most heterogeneous household group and show a more differentiated distribution picture than the couple households. In both single household types, the German tax system significantly reduces the inequality between households. In the case of epsilon 2.5—representing a high inequality aversion—the German tax system reduces the Atkinson index of single households from 0.356 to 0.299. But also in the single households, private consumption is more equally distributed than income, and energy expenditures are still the most equally distributed expenditure type (0.055–0.125). What is striking in this group is the fact that car energy expenditures are the most unevenly distributed expenditure type. We have seen that energy expenditures are more equally distributed than private consumption and income types. The nearly equal distribution of energy expenditures confirms Smil’s assumption that energy is the universal currency [30] for people’s welfare and can be seen as an indicator of the basic needs of the households, whereby “basic” means something different in different countries—for Germany basic needs means an energy consumption which offers social participation. These basic energy needs are to a large extent, but not completely, independent of people’s income situation.
This means that the lower income groups have to spend a very high percentage of their income on energy services compared to the higher income groups (Table 14). Households with a net income lower than € 900 are divided into two major groups. The singles in this income group spend between 11.9 and 13.6% of their income on energy services. They spend between 3 and 4 basis points more than the average household in this social group and nearly 10 basis points more than the highest income group.
Table 14 Energy consumption of private households in relation to net income* Germany 2008 according to their social position—in %
However, we get a different picture in the social group of couples households: the couple households of the income group <€ 900 spend more than 25% of their net income on energy services. Rising energy prices would affect these households directly. In this case, they would have to rearrange the expenditures in their household budgets. They would have to reduce other expenditures to maintain their use of energy services at its current level; otherwise, they would lose access to modern energy services which are “crucial to human well-being and to a country’s economic development” as the IEA stated. There is a danger that these households will be confronted with energy poverty, which can be defined as a “condition wherein a household is unable to access energy services [8]” at its accustomed level, and so there is a growing need for energy governance. Energy poverty constitutes an infringement of the sustainability concept: environmental, economic, and social targets have to be balanced in the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Our analysis reveals that energy poverty and the socio-economic conditions of society and its energy sector have to be addressed in transition processes to a sustainable society and have to be at the centre of any energy transition process and its political discourse. The analysis of Gordon’s trade-off shows that transition processes such as the German Energiewende are not only technical problems but increasingly also socio-economic problems that have to be solved by energy governance [6], and because of Thurow’s public good approach, no one in society can escape from the unsolved problems of Gordon’s trade-off.
The analysis using the Atkinson index can reveal deeper insights into the self-perception of society and the conception of justice and equality, which are central pillars of a sustainable society. The epsilon parameter thereby enables us to parameterize this perception and conception in measuring the distribution of consumption and income. Our analysis is necessary, because every economic and political reform has distributional effects. If politicians do not consider these effects (energy poverty), they can endanger the total reform of the energy sector (Energiewende), because people will turn away from the goals of the reform [1, 9]. Acceptance of reforms such as the German Energiewende will thus decline.
The transformation of current energy systems into sustainable systems is on the agenda of all European countries (EU climate policy). Therefore, such a transformation could (and probably will) also lead to rising electricity prices, placing an above-average strain on the lowest income groups. Moreover, this regressive effect will appear in all categories of expenditure if prices increase, no matter whether this is caused by political decisions or market forces.
Our index can also be applied to other countries with respect to energy and other household expenditures, if the respective national statistical office provides the necessary household survey data for the analysis. Our index can then provide decision makers and institutions with information on how (un)equally the costs of transformation processes are distributed between the different income groups. We used energy in our analysis because it is one of the basic needs, and the energy sector is at the centre of the German transformation process: the Energiewende. Energy poverty caused by the Energiewende—as a synonym for a lack of societal participation in the transformation process, at least in highly developed countries—can endanger the whole transformation process. Political strategies to strengthen participation should therefore focus on the regressive effect of high energy prices.
Decision makers and political institutions can decide in a public discourse which categories of expenditures should be analysed and which are more important and relevant to justify political interventions to reduce the inequality caused by rising prices.
The index could also deliver information about the differences in income distribution in EU countries. For this analysis, we need reliable and comparable statistical data for the whole of Europe. However, in our view, two important political obstacles are looming: Firstly, it is difficult enough to find common political ground in domestic policy between the different political actors and interest groups in order to distribute the costs of national transformation policies. Secondly, this challenge is raised to a completely different level if wealth is to be redistributed between EU states (Euro crisis, Greek debt crisis) to a much larger extent than is the case today (EU Regional Fund, Structural Fund etc.).
To summarize, our concept has both a detection (revealing the implicit preferences) and potentially also an orientation function (defining explicit societal preferences with respect to the degree of homogeneity of a society).
Kermit Gordon (1916–1976) was Director of the United States Bureau of the Budget (now the Office of Management and Budget) (December 28, 1962–June 1, 1965) during the administration of Lyndon Johnson, and he was also the president of the Brookings Institution. He oversaw the creation of the first budgets for Johnson’s Great Society domestic agenda. Gordon was a member of the Council of Economic Advisors, 1961–1962.
For our analysis, we take up the definition of an institution offered by Rawls. Institutions in Rawls’s sense are the constitution, economic and social conditions, freedom of thought, freedom of conscience, economic markets with competition, and private property [22].
Nicholas Barr shows that the Gini coefficient has two disadvantages for measuring inequality, which are avoided by the Atkinson index [5]. The Gini coefficient is not an unambiguous measure because, as Hauser and Barr have shown, different distributions can lead to the same Gini coefficient [13, 52]. Hence, we decided to use the Atkinson index to estimate the distributional effects of increasing energy prices [27].
This analytical view is based on Rawls’ theory of justice, where inequality is determined by the “position of the least advantaged members of society. Where epsilon lies between these extremes depends on the importance attached to redistribution towards the bottom [3].”
Other households include, e.g. parents-in-law, children over 18, and groups sharing an apartment.
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HS initiated the research idea of analyzing Gordon’s trade-off and developed the Atkinson model based on EVS data. HS and WF designed and organized all the research for this study. WF reviewed the theory of public goods. JFH had a leading role in the literature review and the analysis of the real distribution of the EVS data. All the authors contributed to the conclusion and the outlook of the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-STE: Systems Analysis and Technology Evaluation, Jülich, Germany
Holger Schlör, Wolfgang Fischer & Jürgen-Friedrich Hake
Holger Schlör
Jürgen-Friedrich Hake
Correspondence to Holger Schlör.
Schlör, H., Fischer, W. & Hake, JF. Analysing Gordon’s trade-off by adapting Thurow’s approach of pure public good to the German energy sector. Energ Sustain Soc 6, 34 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-016-0100-1
Gordon’s trade‐off
Sustainable energy system
Sustainable Energy; A Systems Approach
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est@est-east.eu
PRE-EST
PRE-EST and SOLARNET annual meetings held in Prague
The events brought together a significant representation of the European Solar Physics community. The EAST General Assembly also took place in the city.
PRE-EST Board meeting group picture (more pictures of the meetings at the bottom of the page).
The consortium of the European Solar Telescope (EST) met last week in Prague to discuss the roadmap towards the future implementation of EST and assess the progress of the EST-related projects. The meetings, held over three days at the Czech Academy of Sciences, brought together a significant representation of the European Solar Physics community in the field of high spatial resolution.
Members of the PRE-EST project shared the latest strategic and technical developments related to EST. This project, funded by the EU H2020 programme to develop a detailed plan for the implementation of EST, has worked intensively during the last year to consolidate the EST design, including the adoption of an 800-mm adaptive secondary mirror to ensure that EST is equipped with the most advanced technology. All works have a clear aim in sight: having a detailed Construction Plan by 2022.
SOLARNET H2020 also held its first annual meeting in Prague. The EU-funded project, which continues the work started by its predecessor under the same name, aspires to integrate the major European infrastructures in the field of high-resolution solar physics. During this first meeting, a comprehensive review of the annual activities was made: networking activities and schools, mobility programmes to ensure access to research infrastructures, and joint research activities.
The meetings were supported by the Czech Republic Ministry of Youth, Education and Sport under the large research infrastructure project LM2018095. The commitment of the Czech Republic with EST was recently reaffirmed in the last update of the Czech National Infrastructure Roadmap, which prioritised and consolidated the Czech participation in the construction and operation of the European Solar Telescope.
EAST General Assembly
The European Association for Solar Telescopes also held its annual meeting. Among other aspects, Dr. Salvo Gugliemino (Università di Catania, Italy) was elected as the new EAST Executive Director (in substitution of Dr. Marco Stangalini).
Founded in 2006, the association is now formed by 26 institutions from 18 countries (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and UK). The goal of the association is to ensure access of European solar astronomers to world class ground-based high-resolution observing facilities. EAST is also the promoter of the European Solar Telescope.
SEE ALL PICTURES FROM THE MEETINGS
AllPRE-EST BoardPRE-EST Exec CommitteeEST SAGSOLARNET Assembly AllPRE-EST BoardPRE-EST Exec CommitteeEST SAGSOLARNET Assembly
PRE-EST Board
PRE-EST Exec Committee
EST SAG
SOLARNET Assembly
European Solar Telescope
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Improving UK Border Security After Brexit
The UK government is working towards improving border security after Brexit. Making the frontiers more secure was central to the Leave campaign and plans are now in place to deliver on this promise.
The ways in which border security may be improved from January 2021 include the implementation of a points-based system, the extension of the Electronic Visa Waiver UK, and increased goods checks. All these measures depend on significant investment in infrastructure and new procedures.
The information below explains how the UK plans to strike a balance between increasing border security and ensuring Britains remains an attractive option for top global talent and international tourists.
Investment in infrastructure and technology
In July 2020, the UK government announced it was investing £705 million in preparing the borders for Brexit.
Michael Gove in an article for the Telegraph said:
“We’re investing in new infrastructure, more jobs and better technology to help goods move smoothly, make our country more secure and our citizens safer”
Gove went onto state that the UK aimed to build the ‘worlds most effective border’ by 2025. The UK will also need to be prepared for new export arrangements and border processes once the UK leaves the single market.
Introduction of a points-based immigration system
From January 1st 2021, free movement will end and a points-based immigration system for the UK[2] will be implemented. This system is similar to that already in use in countries such as Australia which evaluate migrants based on certain criteria.
Under the new scheme, EU and non-EU citizens will be treated equally, this means tighter controls on Europeans able to work in the United Kingdom. Foreigners will require a total of 70 points to apply to work in the UK. Points will be available for characteristics including:
Offer of a job by an approved sponsor
Job at an appropriate skill level
Required English language skills
Education qualifications
The points-based system aims to improve security whilst at the same time allowing skilled workers, such as healthcare professions, to work in Britain.
There will also be other routes available to stay in the UK long term after Brexit. The Global Talent route is designed to attract promising individuals in areas such as science, humanities, and digital technology.
Other opportunities include graduate, sporting, and creative routes. In all cases, overseas citizens will be required to meet a specific set of requirements and, as a result, immigration will be more closely monitored and controlled.
Passport requirements for entering the UK after Brexit
It will not be possible for most people to travel to the UK with an EEA or Swiss national ID card from October 2021. Some exceptions do apply. Instead, European citizens will be required to present a valid passport at the UK borders.
There are also plans to modernise border control with automated entry and exit checks. Biometric passports may soon be required to help UK authorities identify individuals who have overstayed their visa and travellers with criminal records.
Such changes are aimed at making it more difficult for criminals and potentially dangerous individuals from accessing the UK.
Extension of the UK Visa Waiver
The United Kingdom already has a functioning visa waiver programme for citizens of Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and The United Arab Emirates.
With an approved EVW, citizens of these countries can stay in the UK without a visa for up to 6 months. Applicants are required to provide certain personal and passport details so that the relevant background checks can be carried out before they travel, this way security is not compromised despite the visa-free privileges.
There are no plans to introduce visa requirements for EU citizens spending a short time in the UK. Nevertheless, the British government may decide to extend the EVW to cover EU nationals after Brexit or introduce a similar visa waiver requirement.
This would mean that Europeans would still be able to travel to the United Kingdom without a visa, provided they register for a visa waiver. Fortunately, such applications are fully online and quick to complete.
A UK EVW is valid for a range of travel purposes including tourism, business, and short-term medical treatment.
British travellers heading to the European Schengen Area will soon be subject to similar requirements. UK passport holders will need to apply for the new ETIAS visa waiver once the system is launched towards the end of 2022.
Travel authorisations such as the EVW are increasingly being used to improve border security across the world. The US ESTA and Canada eTA are just 2 examples of existing visa waiver programmes.
Travelling to the UK as an EU citizen therefore looks set to change in the near future. Visitors are advised to stay up to date with the latest developments when planning a trip post-Brexit.
BY Elliot Preece - January 6, 2021
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Chef Interview: Daniel Clifford, Midsummer House (2013)
Posted on: March 11th, 2013 by Simon Carter & Daniel Darwood
Daniel Clifford is one of those rare breed of Michelin two star chefs (20 in the UK) who collectively exhibit the on-going passion to succeed while encouraging those around them to learn and grow. Daniel has successfully spawned three Michelin starred chefs from his kitchen at Midsummer House – a restaurant which continues to gain plaudits and recognition. You can see Daniel on Great British Menu from March 11th onwards…here’s what he had to say to fine-dining-guide about his career and aspirations.
Tell us about your experiences cooking on Great British Menu?
I’ve really enjoyed it! It’s strange, when I watched back the first year that I participated in the programme I was shocked – I thought I would struggle to work for that guy! Maybe I could see some truth in the rumour (laughing) that I had been a tough guy to work for. So this was good for me, as it made me step back and think about the restaurant (Midsummer House), where we were going and the pressure I was putting on people.
Since that rethink it’s been a lot easier to do the TV. On the face of it, you’re put in a stressful (and competitive) environment, you’re not trained for it and you don’t know what to expect. Having got that first year under my belt it definitely got easier. I’ve taken part in it this year, going out from March 11th 2013, and hopefully people will enjoy seeing how a more relaxed version of me gets on! (laughing).
Describe the experience of setting up your own restaurant (Midsummer House)?
The fact is when you set up your restaurant and build it from scratch you are following a dream: You invest everything into it, your heart and soul as well as all your money. People may imagine that because it is (now) a Michelin Two Star restaurant that the chef/patron is making lots of money; on the contrary I’ve constantly re-invested every penny; this has been a fifteen year project and there are still a hundred and one things I want to do to take it forward. For example, I’ve just invested a large sum in improving the quality of the cellar. This may prove a ten year financial return on investment project. I suppose it’s a pension plan in a way but crucially it is helping me to drive forward the vision I have for Midsummer House in the here and now and right now that’s all that’s important!
So perhaps its understandable that chefs have that ‘passion’ because they do what they do because they love the craft and that same passion may lead them to getting upset when things don’t quite go right. (smiling).
At Midsummer House we’ve really relaxed into our personality as a restaurant. I feel like I’m inviting people into my home so we’ve moved away form the ‘stiff’ and ‘starchy’ to a more relaxed ‘British led’ service with a sense of theatre in many of the dishes – finishing the plating at the table, on some occasions the chefs coming to the table to finish the dish and so on. I feel it’s created a much more ‘relaxed and giving atmosphere’ rather than a restaurant in which you just eat quietly, are served at arms length, and appreciate the food.
How have you evolved your personal signature on a plate?
The important thing is to cook from the heart and share my personality on a plate. If I got too carried away with what other chefs were doing I could go round in circles wondering whether what I was doing was “right,” whether it should be “different” to be “better.” In actual fact learning to put my collection of 3000 cookery books in the loft and concentrate on developing my personal signature was the best thing that’s happened to me. Yes, you may get some inspiration from other chefs but ultimately it has to be in harmony with your own style.
Which chefs do you admire from the Michelin firmament and why?
What’s been great about Michelin recently is the diversity being shown in recognition of restaurants in every aspect of the word diversity. This must be applauded. In a way Michelin have been brave. What do I mean? Well one example is that they’ve demonstrated that someone can set up a restaurant with next to no money, follow their dream and get two Michelin Stars: Tom Kerridge (Hand & Flowers) produces a consistently great product; you may not get the theatre of Paris with truffles being shaved at the table but he is equally worthy and congratulations to him! At the same time such recognition must be an inspiration to so many aspiring chefs in Britain and that can only be a good thing.
Another perspective might be Simon Rogan (L’Enclume, two Michelin Stars) who is so in tune with what he is doing and a chef genius. You know he is possibly one of the few (if any) chefs that I’ve worked with in close quarters (on Great British Menu) and thought “If I were a few years younger I could work for him!” He has such a lightness of touch, which made me step back and think about, for example, my more classically rich reduced saucing. That’s the beauty of something like Great British Menu, you get to see others close up and not just learn from them but importantly learn about yourself!
Tom Kitchin is one hell of a cook and a certain tip for two Michelin stars, I worked with him at The Cube and he and his food are like Pierre Koffmann with a cheeky smile (laughing).
I’m also good friends with Claude (Bosi) who can pull almost anything together and make it work beautifully and Sat (Bains) who thrives on passionate organized chaos. We all speak regularly, visit restaurants together and socialize. Each has their unique signature and as friends and peers I admire them and they are influencial, too.
At what point in your career did you realize that being a top end restaurant chef was your destiny?
I think the first Michelin star was a massive moment. For me it took a long time to come but when it did come I was worried that we weren’t actually ready for it! I’d set myself a goal of achieving in my career one Michelin star so when it happened to say I was happy was an understatement. Then I stepped back and was so afraid of losing the one star that I turned into ‘an animal’ and everything that went out the door was perfect, perfect and more perfect. I was so determined to keep hold of that (Michelin) star. Then what happened? Two years later the restaurant got two Michelin stars!
How would you describe your kitchen management style?
I’ve mellowed and matured a great deal in my outlook toward the kitchen. I find that it’s so important to nurture the team and make decisions in the kitchen as collective as possible. The longer your team stay with you and grow together, the stronger you are, the stronger your restaurant will become. At the same time you have to show some strong leadership – if a chef cooks a piece of fish I want him or her to love that piece of fish as much as I do – there’s also lines that mustn’t be crossed as we have to be happy with absolutely everything that leaves the kitchen.
One of the hardest things to learn (for me) was to respect the fact that everyone expresses themselves in their own way and that this can be developed to the benefit of the kitchen. After all, if everyone in the team was a clone of me and cooked in exactly the same way, not only would we all fall out but they’d all be off running their own restaurants (laughing). In fact when they’re ready to leave and set up on their own you can see it – like Mark Poynton (seven years here), Matt Gillan and Tim Allen and I’m so proud that they’ve all gone onto to gain Michelin stars.
Describe one of your favourite ingredients to cook and the techniques involved?
I love poaching birds, for example, Quail which I might poach in a chicken stock with herbs and aromats for about three minutes. Then as soon as it is poached and seasoned we roast it in the pan (does not enter the oven) and it stays moist.
I have spent many years of my career fascinated by water baths but they have to be used only for the right kinds of produce. There’s also a worry of de-skilling chefs for the future if there is over reliance on the concept. We now use pressure cookers in many instances and we’re finding that a technique which is producing some wonderful results.
What is the menu offering at Midsummer House and how often does the menu change?
I like to change about two dishes a week, which keeps us all sane and motivated. It also ensures the regular customers have variety. When we had the chicken dish on the menu that won on Great British Menu last year, we sold 70 portions of chicken a day for two months. As soon as it was becoming robotic to the chefs (and me) and some love had been lost for the dish it was time to change. This is true of any dish – it has to loved and be produced perfectly for every guest, every time and the only way to ensure that is to retain the love and passion for what you are cooking! Having said that, the scallop dish has been on the menu since day one and is a signature to hang your hat on, year in year out.
What are your views on regionality, sustainability and foraging?
Foraging has been an interesting experiment for me. A couple of years ago we picked chickweed outside the restaurant which was a success so I bought the foragers book and took out my sous chef on a foraging adventure. I picked what I thought was wild spinach, put it in my mouth, my tongue went numb and my mouth blew up. That was the last time I went foraging. I think it’s brilliant if you know what you are doing and dangerous if you don’t. I do have a forager for some things that I can trust but ultimately it’s about an end customer experience at a Michelin two star restaurant in Cambridge.
Regionality and sustainability are of course important, you want to help local businesses and reduce transport miles while ensuring your produce is sustainable. At the same time, I remember a talk by Ferran Adria about red peppers – he said that the taste of the pepper would actually be enhanced travelling from one side of Spain to the other compared to one picked in the garden. So you have to think about what tastes the best for your customer. I source some things from further afield quite simply because that is where they taste best. On the other hand, we have, for example, a local chicken farmer who produces the best chickens in the UK.
What do you make of the information age and its impact on chefs eg Twitter, Facebook, Blogs and Websites?
It’s a genius invention and wonderful for the industry. When you create a dish you put it on the web and then everyone knows it’s yours! I remember working for Marco (Pierre White) at Harveys before going to France for a while. At the time everyone was doing what Marco (the master) was doing at his peek and I think the web helps and encourages chefs to embrace their own style and signature of cooking.
Twitter also provides a role in chefs coming closer together as a community, I socialize on twitter and copy in three of four chef friends. We have a laugh and joke and also share ideas.
As a flip side something like twitter has its dangers – you have to think carefully before posting things out onto social media as once it’s out, it’s out and what may seem funny to you may cause offense to others. As an example I own two King Charles Spaniels (and love them dearly), we’d just got the brand new barbeques and before they’d ever been switched on one of the dogs jumped up on the barbeque. I posted a picture with the caption ‘hot dog’ which I thought was very funny. You’d have thought the world had ended on twitter. So you have to be careful!
When you get the chance where do you want to eat out?
The four three stars are all so different. I want to try all four of them in a week. Each one offers such a unique package so I’ll be fascinated to try them again in a short space of time. Last year I went to Scandinavia, which confused me a little and the year before to Spain (which I loved).
What do make of reader-led Guides like Zagat, Hardens and Trip Advisor compared to inspector-led Guides such as Michelin, AA and Which?
I think you have to take them all very seriously! With certain reader-led guides people can write a nasty review (if they have an axe to grind) having never eaten at the restaurant. However, I do listen to them all.
Michelin remain the strongest of all guides and certainly the most respected in the industry. I think customers can be confident that they’ll always get a good meal at a Michelin restaurant and if they don’t you can be sure Michelin will be onto it quickly. The interesting thing, perhaps driven by the web, is whether Michelin will start updating awards on-line on an on-going basis rather than having an annual publication.
I remember the day Derek Bulmer called here, a day before the guide came out, my receptionist didn’t have a clue who he was and asked me if I wanted to take the call. “Of course I want to take the call”, I said (or words to that effect). I was frightened that he was calling to say that the restaurant had lost the Michelin star. We started chatting “Hello Daniel, how’s it going?” he said, I said “Oh fine, Mr Bulmer” I had started shaking with fear at this point. “We’ve never met,” he said “but I’ve been to Midsummer House many times.” Where is this going I thought, starting to feel physically sick – an hour had seemed to go by but it was seconds – “You’ve got two Michelin stars,” he said. I dropped the phone, ran into the garden and was physically sick.
Only people within or close to this industry can know what that moment of recognition means! Within a couple of days I had received congratulatory calls from Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay. Should three stars ever come along I’ll probably collapse (Laughing).
Continue to enjoy laying down more roots while encouraging those around me to develop and grow. I hope to be at this restaurant for some considerable time to come and enjoy my job every day.
And so it was time to leave after a thoroughly enjoyable lunch and an hour’s chat in the company of Daniel Clifford. A far more relaxed and approachable man than the interviewer had anticipated – his sense of fun and humour in abundance. Who knows the workings of Michelin but if there are marks for bold, imaginative and honest cooking with underlying sophistication then Daniel Clifford stands well in the firmament. We wish him well!
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← ON THIS DAY: April 6, 2019
TCS: This Whole Experiment of Green →
ON THIS DAY: April 7, 2019
Posted on April 7, 2019 by wordcloud9
April 7th is
Coffee Cake Day
National Beer Day *
International Beaver Day *
International Snailpapers Day *
World Health (Organization) Day *
Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Rwanda Genocide *
MORE! William Wordsworth, Gabriela Mistral and Babatunde Olatunji, click
Armenia – Motherhood and Beauty Day
Haiti – Toussaint L’Ouverture Memorial Day *
Kiribati – National Health Day
Kyrgyzstan – People’s Revolution Day
Mozambique – Mozambique Womens’ Day
Rwanda – Tutsi Genocide Memorial Day
Slovenia – Flag Day
Tanzania – Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume Day
(revolutionary leader – first V.P of Tanzania)
529 – First draft of the Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I
611 – Maya King Uneh Chan of Calakmul sacks rival city-state Palenque in Mexico
Temple at Calakmul
1141 – Empress Matilda becomes the first female ruler of England, adopting the title ‘Lady of the English’ but war with Stephen, her rival for the throne, makes her reign short-lived
1521 – Inquisitor-General Adriaan Boeyens bans Lutheran books; he becomes Pope Adrian VI the following year
1712 – A slave revolt in New York kills 6 white men; 21 black men are executed
1724 – First performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion at Leipzig
1767 – Burmese-Siamese War: the second military conflict between the Konbaung dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) and the Ban Phlu Luang Dynasty of Siam (Thailand) ends with the Burmese defeating the four-century-old Siamese kingdom. However, the Burmese were soon forced to give up their hard-won gains when Chinese invasions of their homeland force their complete withdrawal from Siam by the end of 1767. A new Siamese dynasty, to which the current Thai monarchy traces its origins, emerges to reunify Siam by 1770
1770 – William Wordsworth born, major English poet
1780 – William Ellery Channing born, foremost Unitarian preacher in the U.S., and one of the leading Unitarian theologians. His liberal theology had a major influence on the New England Transcendentalists, although he saw their beliefs as extreme
1795 – France adopts the metre as the basic measure of length
1803 – Flora Tristan born, French author, socialist and feminist; her works include Peregrinations of a Pariah and The Workers’ Union
1803 – Toussaint L’Ouverture * a leader of the Haitian Revolution, who had laid down his arms in exchange for a French promise not to restore slavery, dies imprisoned in France under harsh interrogation, after being seized by French General Jean-Baptiste Brunet at a false parley set up in Haiti to entrap him
1805 – Beethoven conducts the first performance of his 3rd symphony, Eroica, in Vienna
1827 – English chemist John Walker invents wooden matches
1830 – President Andrew Jackson submits the Indian Removal Act of 1830 to Congress authorizing removal most of the tribes in the southeastern states to lands west of the Mississippi; Senator Theodore Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) denounces the bill, speaking for six hours over three days, “I ask in what code of the law of nations, or by what process of abstract deduction, their rights have been extinguished? Where is the decree or ordinance that has stripped these early and first lords of the soil? Sir, no record of such measure can be found. And I might triumphantly rest the hopes of these feeble fragments of once great nations upon this impregnable foundation. However mere human policy, or the law of power, or the tyrant’s plea of expediency, may have found it convenient at any or in all times to recede from the unchangeable principles of eternal justice, no argument can shake the political maxim, that, where the Indian always has been, he enjoys an absolute right still to be, in the free exercise of his own modes of thought, government, and conduct . . . Do the obligations of justice change with the color of the skin? Is it one of the prerogatives of the white man, that he may disregard the dictates of moral principles, when an Indian shall be concerned? No, sir. . .”
Senator Theodore Frelinghuysen
1831 – Dom Pedro I abdicates as Emperor of Brazil in favor of his 5-year-old son Dom Pedro II, who will reign for almost 59 years before the Monarchy is abolished
1872 – Marie Equi born, American physician, lesbian, abortion provider, suffragist, labor and anti-war activist; recognized by Theodore Roosevelt and the U.S. Army for her services during the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco; spoke against US involvement in WWI and was imprisoned under the Sedition Act for a three-year term and served a year-and-a-half before being released
1889 – Gabriela Mistral born as Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, Chilean poet, diplomat and educator, recipient of 1945 Nobel Prize in Literature
1890 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas born, American journalist, women’s suffrage and civil rights advocate, and tireless environmental activist who campaigned to preserve the Florida Everglades. She worked for the Miami Herald (1915-1923), rising from society columnist to assistant editor, and daily columnist. Best known for her 1947 book, The Everglades: River of Grass which did much to change the popular conception of the Everglades from a worthless swamp to a treasured river system. She played a central role in the protection of the Everglades up until a short time before her death, at the age of 108, in 1998. An obituary in The Independent newspaper in London stated, “In the history of the American environmental movement, there have been few more remarkable figures than Marjory Stoneman Douglas.”
1891 – Nebraska passes legislation for an eight-hour workday, requiring overtime pay, but Nebraska’s Supreme Court strikes it down
1915 – Billie Holiday born, “Lady Day” influential American jazz singer and songwriter
1917 – De Falla’s ballet El Sombrero de tres Picos (The Three-Cornered Hat) premieres in Madrid
1920 – Ravi Shankar born, Indian sitar master
1922 – Warren G. Harding’s Interior Secretary, Albert B. Fall, leases the Teapot Dome oil reserves to Harry Sinclair, in what becomes the Teapot Dome Scandal
1923 – First brain tumor operation under local anesthetic performed at NYC’s Beth Israel Hospita by Dr K. Winfield Ney
1926 – Violet Gibson fires shots at Italian Dictator Mussolini, but only hits his nose
1927 – Babatunde Olatunji born, Nigerian drummer, recording artist, composer and social justice activist; Olatunji wrote music for the Broadway and film versions of A Raisin in the Sun; he often spoke on civil rights and social justice issues before his performances, toured the American South with Dr. Martin Luther King, and joined King in the 1963 March on Washington. He also performed before the UN General Assembly; He died of complications from diabetes in 2003, and his autobiography, The Beat of My Drum, was published posthumously in 2005
1928 – James Garner born as James Bumgarner, American actor, film and television leading man, and producer; noted for his two popular TV series Maverick (1957-1960) and The Rockford Files (1974-1980), which his company, Cherokee Productions co-produced; he also appeared in over 50 films, including The Great Escape, The Americanization of Emily, Victor/Victoria, and Murphy’s Romance, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. Politically, he was a Democrat, and publicly supported the Civil Rights Movement and the Equal Rights Amendment
1931 – Daniel Ellsberg born; he releases the ‘Pentagon Papers’ to the New York Times
1933 – The first Nazi anti-Semitic laws bar Jews from the law and public service
1933 – National Beer Day * the day the sale of beer becomes legal again in the U.S. as the Cullen-Harrison Act goes into effect, redefining what an “intoxicating beverage” is to exclude beer from Prohibition – but full repeal of Prohibition wasn’t until the December 5, 1933 ratification of the 21 Amendment, repealing the 18th Amendment
1937 – Eleanor Holmes Norton born, member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the District of Columbia since 1991
1938 – Iris Johansen born, American novelist, primarily in the crime, romantic suspense, and historical romance genres; noted for her long-running Eve Duncan suspense series, in which the leading character is a forensic sculptor
1940 – Booker T. Washington is the first black person to appear on a U.S. Stamp
1940 – Marju Lauristin born, Estonian academic and Social Democratic politician; Tartu City Council member since 2017; Member of the European Parliament (2014-2017) for the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats; Member of the Estonian Parliament (1992-2014); Estonian Minister of Social Affairs (1992-1994)
1944 – Julia Phillips born, American film producer and author; best known as co-producer of The Sting, Taxi Driver, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind; she was the first woman producer to win an Academy Award for Best Film, for The Sting. Her tell-all memoir, You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again, which included her struggles with cocaine addiction, was a 1991 bestseller, and was followed in 1995 by Driving Under the Influence
1945 – Marilyn Friedman born, American philosopher, academic and author; currently holds the W. Alton Jones Chair of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University; it took her twenty years of teaching to gain tenure. She became focused on autonomy in the 1980s because “Many feminists thought that the moral ideal of autonomy represented male but not female modes of moral reasoning. Most people saw autonomy as a separation of self from loved ones—a kind of selfishness. I see it in terms of self-determination, and I didn’t think it had to carry specifically masculine associations.” She has also explored the nature of close interpersonal relationships, women in poverty, care and justice, partiality and impartiality, gender identity, multicultural education, and female terrorists. Noted for her books What Are Friends For? Feminist Perspectives on Personal Relationships on Moral Theory; and Autonomy, Gender, Politics. Friedman also co-edited Feminism and Community, Mind and Morals: Essays on Ethics and Cognitive Science, and Rights and Reason: Essays in Honor of Carl Wellman
1946 – Syria’s independence from France is officially recognized
1948 – World Health Organization Day * – WHO, the UN global health organization goes into operation
1949 – South Pacific opens on Broadway
1951 – Janis Ian born, American singer-songwriter, best known for her songs “At Seventeen” and “Society’s Child” – both in the Grammy Hall of Fame
1953 – UN General Assembly elects Dag Hammarskjold as Secretary-General
1954 – U.S. President Eisenhower first uses the phrase “domino effect” in reference to communism in Indo-China at a news conference
1956 – Annika Billström born, Swedish Social Democratic politician, first woman to be Mayor of Stockholm (2002-2006); Stockholm City Councilwoman (1994-2002)
1957 – Thelma Walker born, British Labour politician and school administrator; Member of Parliament for Colne Valley since 2017
1960 – Sandy Powell born, British costume designer; nominated for Best Costume Design Oscars 14 times, winning three Academy Awards, for Shakespeare in Love, The Aviator and The Young Victoria. She has also been nominated 15 times for BAFTA Awards, and won three times. Powell was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 for services to the film industry
Sandy Powell, and costume from 2010’s Young Victoria
1961 – Brigitte van der Burg born in Tanzania, Dutch People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy politician; Netherlands House of Representatives member (2006-2017)
1963 – Yugoslavia is proclaimed a Socialistic republic
1965 – Rosalie Hirs born, Dutch composer of contemporary classical music, and poet; noted for her compositions Book of Mirrors and Roseherte, and her poetry collections Locus, Logo and Speling
1965 – Alison Lapper born, English artist who was born with phocomelia, without arms and with shortened legs. She was institutionalized in her infancy, and after childhood rejected artificial limbs as an attempt to make her look “more normal” instead of helping her. She studied art at several colleges, then graduated with a first class honors degree in Fine Art from the Faculty of Arts and Architecture at the University of Brighton in 1994. She works in photography, digital imaging, and painting, and is a member of the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the World (AMFPA)
1969 – U.S. Supreme Court strikes down laws prohibiting private possession of obscene material
1975 – First meeting in Paris of oil -exporting and -importing countries on world economic crisis
1975 – Beverly Sills makes her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in Gioacchino Rossini’s Siege of Corinth
1978 – A Guttenberg bible sells for $2,000,000 in New York
1980 – President Carter breaks off relations with Iran over hostage crisis
1983 – Oldest known human skeleton, 80,000 years old, is discovered in Egypt
1985 – First live telecast of the New York Easter Parade
1988 – Russia announces withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan
1990 – Michael Milken pleads innocent to security law violations
1994 – Vatican acknowledges Holocaust (Nazis killing Jews) for the first time
1999 – Banana Wars: The World Trade Organization rules in favor of the United States in its long-running trade dispute with the European Union over its complex combination of tariffs and quotas on bananas
2000 – U.S. President Clinton signs into law the Senior Citizens Freedom to Work Act, reversing a Depression-era law so senior citizens may earn some money without losing Social Security retirement benefits
2001 – NASA’s Mars Odyssey is launched
2002 – The Roman Catholic church announces that six priests from the New York Archdiocese are suspended over allegations of sexual misconduct
2004 – UN designates this date as a Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Rwanda Genocide * commemorating the 800,000 people who were murdered during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, in central Africa
2009 – The first International Beaver Day * is launched by Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife (BWW), originally called ‘Friends of Beaversprite’ which was founded in 1985 to honor the memory and continue the work of Dorothy Richards at Beaversprite Sanctuary in the Adirondack Mountains; in 1996, now internationally recognized as a major source on Beaver behavior and habitat, and problem-solving when human and wildlife needs conflict
2009 – Vermont becomes the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage
2010 – The first International Snailpapers Day * is created by Dan E. Bloom of Taiwan, to commemorate the existence of printed newspapers before online versions totally take over. The Dibao is earliest news-on-paper, a handwritten account of news in the imperial court and the capital city, beginning around 200 BCE in China
2012 – Joyce Banda, leader of the People’s Party, becomes Malawi’s first woman President
2014 – In Washington DC, Senate Democrats and six Republican Senators pushed through a bill to extend jobless benefits for 2.4 million Americans unemployed for six months or longer. President Obama called on the GOP-led House to approve the bill, where there is much opposition in spite of increasing pressure to pass relief for the unemployed before November’s midterm elections
This entry was posted in History, Holidays, On This Day and tagged Babatunde Olatunji, Daniel Ellsberg, Gabriela Mistral, Marie Equi, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Toussaint L’Ouverture, William Wordsworth. Bookmark the permalink.
3 Responses to ON THIS DAY: April 7, 2019
Malisha says:
From Ravi Shankar:
And from Olatunji:
wordcloud9 says:
Thanks for the music Malisha!
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https://forums.nethugs.com/
https://forums.nethugs.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=28106
by izzyfalcon
ALWAYS,…ADVOCATING / “JESUS!”…
Friends. I,…like-our / Apostle: Paul… Also, perceive that,…our / world, today; remains much, like….”Athens-Greece!”… *(Yes!... Centuries-ago)*… *(please-read, Acts 17: 22 )*…
How, so?...
Answer: In that, the,…(majority-of-humanity),…is-still / “very-religious!”… Yes!... In, every way!... Amen.
Note-well, how our,…Apostle / Paul: denotes, the difference,…between,…(“Followers-of-Jesus”): and these, whom he,…calls-out / as: “the-religious!”… Yes!...
Folks!... The very, terminology,…I’ve used,…many times, over / is that,…same, which-is-found; right-inside,…our, written pages,…of / The-Bible!... Yes!... Amen.
Dear-reader and friends. The,…(”times-of-ignorance”) / God: has, overlooked. But, today,…He, *(Yahweh)*… commands-all-peoples, everywhere,…to: “Repent!”… *(read, Acts 17: 30 )*…
Yes!... Our, living-God,… by / in-and-thru: Jesus!... Has, truly,…(“fixed”) / A-Day!... On, which,…He, (God) / will: Judge-the-World,…in,…”righteousness!”…
Yes!... God, will do this,…by / “The-Hand”,…of: His-Son!... Whom,…Almighty-God / has: appointed!...
Of, this,…God/ has-given, assurance; to all, by,…(“raising”),…our / Jesus!... Yes!... From, among-the-Dead!... *(read, Acts 17: 31 )*… Amen.
After, this,…Paul / left: “Athens-Greece!”… And, went to,…the city / of: “Corinth!”… *(read, Acts 18: 1 )*… Yes!... Friends!...
The-Anointed-One,…of,…God / is: none-other-than,…our / Jesus!... *(His-Only / begotten)*… *(read, Acts 18: 5 )*…
It was, at,…this city / of: “Corinth!”… That, our,…Apostle-Paul / decides, to: focus-more-so, on preaching,…to-the / “Gentiles!”… *(read, Acts 18: 6 )*…
He, begins to enter,…into / districts-of-Asia: of which, previously,…were / “forbidden”: by,…The-Holy-Spirit!... And, by,…the / “Spirit-of-Jesus!”… *(to enter / therein)*…
Answer: God, has a time,…and / a-place: for, all-things!... He, wanted,…our / Paul, to: seek-out, other,…regions / first!... It’s at, “Corinth” / that, Paul: begins to realize, that,…Salvation / is-offered: to whom, so-ever-wills!...
The-Jews, for the,…(“most-part”) / were: rejecting-and-rebuking, this newfound,…Faith!...
Many-of-us, are,…(”afraid”) / and, so,…we-often-times; tend, to not,…go-on-speaking / as-the: Spirit-gives-us,…”The-Unction!”…
Yes!... (“Silent”),…many / remain, despite; their own, countless-convictions. They, refuse to share,…real-truths!... Why?...
Answer: Because, mainly,…these-very-same / have, today: “incorporated-themselves!”… Yes!...
No longer, is,…God / with-these: I-speak-of… No, sir!... Although, once,…they were / from: among-our-household, of,…Faith!...
But, today,…they / have-gone: completely-astray!... Yes!... In fact, we’re seen,…by them / as being, those: who,…like / our: Apostle-Paul… We, are teaching,…the world,…very-contrary / to-their-otherwise: “mainstream-madness!”… Yes!...
They, blame us,…of / preaching: another,…”Doctrine!”… Never, really-seeking,…for, themselves,…the-truth / all-the-while; they speculate, that, we conjure-up: many,…”fabricate-fables” / and: follies!... *(read, Acts 18: 13 )*…
Folks!... When, push,…comes-to-shove / examine-well: all-things!...
Look, most,…at, the very,…life-styles / of-all-who: profess, to,…follow / The-Christ!...
Tell me, dear-reader and friends. Who-of-us, is truly,…striving / in: “reasoning?”… Yes!... With, our,…fellow / brethren-in-Faith?...
Who, is,…really / working-hard, in persuading; others,…to / receive: Jesus’-own-Words?... *(read, Acts 18: 4, 13, 19, )*…
Also, please-read: *(Acts 18: 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 )*…
Many, are those,…whose / primary-focus, is to; render, an,…unrelenting / loyalty: to men, of this world… Yes!... To those,…”Scholars-and-Scribes” / who-stand, behind; their, putrid-pulpits,…preaching / only: “Doctrines-of-Devils!”… Amen.
Tell me, who-of-us,…strives / like: “Apollos?”… A man, most-competent,…in-the / Scriptures!... Are you, (dear-reader); instructing,…”others?”… In, the,…Way?...
Are you, “fervent-in-Spirit?”… Speaking-and-teaching, accurately,…the-very-things / concerning-our: Jesus?...
Oh’, how-I-pray,…so!... Amen.
Are you,…”Bold” / in, encouraging; our,…Brothers-in-Faith?... Who, through,…God’s-Good-Grace / have-finally-come,…to: actually,…”believe?”…
Are you,…(”powerfully-refuting”) / our: worldly-churches?... Showing, by-our,…Holy-Scriptures / that, Jesus,…is, that,…One / appointed-by: our living, God!...
To be, humanity’s,…only,…Saviour!... For, this-is-that,…truth / mentioned: since,…days-of-old!... Amen.
Jesus!... The-Messiah!... Sent-forth, by-in-and-thru,…our / living-God!...
For,…The-Son / truly,…is-our, most-effective,…”Advocate!”… Yes!...
Jesus, still,…(“pleads-and-intercedes”) / for,…us: As, the,…Holy-Spirit / (“seals”): each-believer!... Yes!...
This,…(“other-comforter”) / guides-us,…into: all-truths!... And, protects us,…from / harm’s-way, until; the return,…of / The-Son!...
Often-times, we don’t know,…for / what?... Nor, how-to-pray,…as-we / ought!... And, so,…this / Holy-Spirit: takes-over, also,…(“interceding-and-mediating”): unto both, The-Father,…and/ His-Son!... *(with-our / prayers-and-supplications)*…
Folks!... Until, that,…Day-and-Hour / of: God’s-own-Reckoning!... When, His-Son,…returns / to: Earth!... We, (who-believe),…have-been / given: The-Holy-Spirit!...
His, protection,…(“guards-and-keeps”) / us, from,…otherwise, being; completely-devoured, by,…these: surrounding, “Dark-Forces”,…that / be!... Amen.
Remember-always-that, God,…never / “forsakes”, those; whom,…from-the-beginning / have-been: Elected!... Yes!... God’s-Remnant-Class!...
Chosen-and-Destined, with,…extra-ordinary / “tasks!”…
Completing, them,…(“thoroughly”) / all-throughout: humanity’s-history!... God’s-People, remain,…at / Hand!... Praise-God!... Amen.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=28106&start=6360
“MIRACLES”,…DO-THEY / EXIST?...
Friends. Do you, believe in,…”Miracles?”…
*(please-read, Acts 19: 11-12 )*…
Yes!... Even, hand-ker-chiefs,…or,…aprons,…that, had / touched, the-skin; of-our, Apostle-Paul. These, very same, articles,…were-carried-away / to-the, sick,…and,…their / many diseases,…left-them.
And,…(“evil-spirits”),…came out,…of / countless: others!... Amen.
Yes!... Truly,…(”Anointed”) / was-our: Apostle-Paul…
Folks!... I, receive,…today, (spiritually-speaking) / that, all-believers; are indeed,…(”sealed”) / with-the: Holy-Spirit!... *(for / He; protects-and-guides, us)*… Yes!...
We, who-believe,…know that / this: (“Spirit-of-Truth”),…is our, appointed: (“Other-Comforter”)!... Amen.
(“Other”),…besides,…who?... *(you-may-ask)*…
Answer: (“Other-Than”),…Jesus / Himself!... Yes!... Father, Son and Holy-Spirit!... Each, uniquely-proper,…(“separate”) / but-equal,…in: Love, Unity, Cause,…”Vision-and-Mindset!”... Amen.
But, few-are-those,…who / recognize,…the: “hidden-manna”,…here. Yes!... To be,…(”Anointed”) / holds, another-level; of,…”Spiritual-Power!”… Indeed!...
To the, extent,…that,…”Healing” / and,…”disposing-of-demons”; as given, in this,…(“Biblical”),…example: was being done,…(“transferred”)!... Yes!...
By, in-and-thru,…articles / of: “clothing!”…
Another,…(“example”), of this,…(”extra-ordinary”) / Power!... Was, when, people,…were being / “Healed!”… Simply, by,…(”believing-that”) / if-only-they, could; place themselves, in the,…very,…”shadow-of-Peter!”…
Yes!... Peter-and-John, also,…held / this: “Marvelous-Gift!”... The-Holy-Spirit,…(“Power”)!... Whereas, by, contrast,…”others” / like: Philip!...
Although, he,…also-known-as,…a-devout-man / full-of-Faith: he, couldn’t,…achieve-the-same: results. Despite, his,…many; exercised-Miracles!...
Philip, was known,…to have / healed-the-sick; perform, many other,…”signs-and-wonders!”… Dispose, demons,…from / afflicted: people.
He, would, travel,…as / an: “Evangelist!”… All throughout, various-regions!...
He, (Philip),…would / baptize,…also: in the very, Name-of-Jesus!... Yet, in the region,…of,…”Samaria!”… Peter-and-John, were sent,…by-the-brothers / from: Jerusalem!...
To travel, north-bound,…to / this-city-of: “Samaria!”… *(read, Acts / chapter: 8)*…
Answer: Because, although,…they, had-all,…(“heard”) / in, Jerusalem; that, this,…devoted-Philip / was performing: Miracles!... None, who had been,…”baptized-by-Philip!”… Had, actually,…(”received”) / the: Holy-Spirit-Power!...
Hence, Peter-and-John,…traveled / to: Samaria!... Placed-their-hands, on these,…newly-converted,…(“believers”)!... And, prayed-over-them.
Only, then,…did each / of them; thereafter, truly,…(“receive”): this, promised,…(“Gift”)!... Amen.
What, does this,…tell us?...
Answer: God, uses,…much / (“discretion”): as to who, and when,…to / disperse: this, special-Gift!... *(The-Holy-Spirit / Power)*… That’s, the topic,…at / hand: here… *(and-apparently / also,…to: varying-degrees)*… Amen.
Dear-reader and friends. (“Anointed-Ones”),…have / touched-and-blessed: articles-of-clothing, like,…hand-ker-chiefs / and-or: aprons!...
And, these, (“articles”),…have-then, been; taken-over, to,…”afflicted”,…individuals / who, thereafter: become,…”healed!”...
As well,…(“dispossessed”),…of / demons!...
Our,…Jesus / was-also: (“Anointed”)!... Yes!... Set-apart,…and/or,…(“Sanctified”)!... But,…By,…Whom?...
Answer: By,…His-Father / Who, is-in: Heaven!... Amen.
And, this,…(“Anointing”) / occurred, on the,…Day-and-Hour,…of: Jesus’-own-baptismal… Yes!...
As,…”John-the-Baptist” / raised, our Jesus; from being, submerged-in-water. Immediately, there-after,…Jesus / (“received”): this,…Holy-Spirit-Power!...
He, (Jesus),…throughout / His-Public-Ministry, “laid-hands”,…and/or: “breathed-upon”,…countless-others!... Yes!... This,…”Holy-Spirit / Power!”… Amen.
A,…very / “Transferrable-Act!”… (“Anointing”),…ultimately / specially-selected, individuals. For-the-fulfilling,…of,…”extra-ordinary”: tasks!... *(like: healing, disposing-demons and/or, even: raising-the-Dead)*…
Dear-reader and friends. As, I-personally-study,…this / “Book-of-Acts!”…
I notice, that,…many / individuals; although, get-baptized. They, don’t,…necessarily / (“receive”),…this: “Holy-Spirit”,…(Anointing)!...
Not, until,…someone, else / already: (“Anointed-of-the-Spirit”),…actually, “lays-hands”,…on / you!... Amen.
In the, “first-century-era”,…primarily / these were, the-original-twelve: disciples,…of,…Jesus!...
As well, the other,…seventy, (70); mentioned in our, Bible!... *(whose-names / are not: included)*… These, were-also-sent,…by / our-own,…Jesus!... These-went-forth,…(“exercising”),…the / very-same,…Power!...
Which, Almighty-God,…had / (“bestowed”),…upon / His-Son!... *(to include / raising-the-Dead)*…
Paul, wasn’t,…part of these / original-twelve: yet, the,…”Spirit-of-Jesus!”… Elected-and-chose, our,…Apostle-Paul / to become,…that: all-too-important,…”Vessel”…
Yes!... Unto,…Righteousness-Sake!... Amen.
I also, think,…of,…another / “scenario”: that-of,…the / centurion: (“Cornelius”)!... Of how, his entire,…household / plus,…his; closest-of-friends.
All of them, received,…this / “Holy-Spirit-Power!”… Yes!...
But, only-after,…(“Peter”), was present,…at this / centurion’s-home. Thereafter, Peter,…commanded / that-they-be: “baptized!”…
*(Yes!... In, the / Name-of-Jesus)*…
Here, we have,…Gentiles, (“receiving”) / The-Gift!... And, even before,…ever-being / “baptized!”…
So, is there,…a,…”set-order” / to: God’s-affairs?...
Answer: Folks!... God, often-times,…purposely / “defies-our-logic!”… Simply, to,…”prove”,…that / He: is-indeed, our,…”Most-High-God!”…
*(Yahweh / His-Infinite-Name)*… Amen.
(“Believing”),…is / the-key: first-and-foremost!... Jews-and-Gentiles!... Without, Faith!... Nothing,…happens / yet-with-it: all-things, become,…”possible!”…
Friends. Who, is,…like / no-other?...
Answer: *(Yahweh)*…
And, this,…”Holy-Spirit?”…
Answer: He, is,…that,…”connecting-cord!”… Yes!... Onto,…The-Father!... Much, like,…The-Son / is-also, humanity’s-own: Intercessor,…and/or: Mediator!...
*(between / us: who-believe. And, our,…Creator / of: all-things)*…
This,…(”Spirit-of-Truth”) / not-only,…comforts-and-guides / us, onto all,…Truths!... He, also,…with-much / certainty: gives us, spiritual,…”knowledge-and-wisdom!”… Yes!...
And, this,…”Holy-Spirit” / also, (“Empowers”)!... Yes!... By-God’s-Will…
All, (“these-things”),…are / accomplished; why?...
Answer: Because, all-things,…(“Proceed”) / from: Almighty-God!... Amen.
This,…”Spirit-of-Truth” / also: (“Anoints”),…all-those-whom / God, had: Himself,…”chosen-and-destined!”… For,…”very-special-tasks!”…
Extra-Ordinary,…(“Miracles”)!... Yes!... They, were being,…done!... In that, first-century-era. Like,…raising / The-Dead!...
*(something, not-ever-replicated / again)*…
Today, we are,…”guarded-and-kept” / from: harm’s-way!... By, this,…(“Spirit-of-Truth”)!...
And, I-dare-say,…more, so / than, we-are,…being: actually,…(“Anointed”)!...
To perform, these,…”signs-and-wonders” / mentioned: here!... I truly, question / who: can?... *(in-today’s-world / of: materialism)*…
Do,…(“Miracles-still-Exist”)?...
Answer: Of course, they,…do!... Although, truly,…”numbered!”… Just, like, the very,…hairs / on-your-head; not merely, counted,…but / also: “numbered!”… Amen.
Never-the-less,…Praise-God!... For, this,…”Holy-Spirit-Power!”…
BY-THE-SWEAT,…OF-MY / “BROW!”…
Dear-reader and friends. This, next-chapter, (20) / in-our: “Book-of-Acts!”… Indeed, is worthy,…of,…our-intense / study!...
*(read, Acts 20: 3 )*…
Note-well, that a,…(“plot”) / was made, against-our: Apostle-Paul… Yes!... It was, “The-Jews” / for-the-most, part; who rejected, the gospel,…news!... *(AS-THEY-STILL / DO: EVEN, TODAY)*…
Paul’s,…”Holy-Assignment” / would, turn-out; to be, an unmatched-one. Yes!... Of,….”preaching” / onto-the: “Gentile-Nations!”…
Folks!... Take-a-moment,…and,…reflect, on this,…one-practice / if-you-will. Yes!... Of,…”Breaking-Bread” / *(read, Acts 20: 7, 11 )*…
I-ask-you: “When, was the last time,…you / dear-reader: (Broke-Bread), in communion,…with,…your-fellow / (Brethren-in-Faith)?”…
Fellow-shipping,…at,…table / is-most: “Sacred!”… Indeed!... It’s a wonderful, opportunity,…to unite,…with / Family-and-Friends!... *(drawing-ever-closer / to: Christ-our-Lord)*…
Although, our,…Apostle-Paul / was-not-one, of; the, “original-twelve”,…disciples-of-Christ!... He, was,…”personally-picked” / by: “The-Spirit-of-Jesus!”…
Yes!... To, become,…an-essential / “instrument!”… An, ultimate,…chosen-vessel / onto: “Righteousness!”…
And, this,…occurred,…by-in-and-thru / many: “trials-and-tribulations!”… *(For, it’s how / we-all: “must-enter” , the very,…Kingdom-of-God)*…
Not, through,…an,…”escapism-concept” / like: The-Rapture-Theory!... Another, man-made,…fabricated / fable-and-folly!... Amen.
He, (Paul),…was, destined / to-enter, there-into; this,…”Kingdom-of-God!”… Yes!... He, actually-possessed,…the / “Anointing!”… Why?...
Answer: He, was,…well-able / to: raise-the-Dead!... As, was the case,…with / “Eutychus!”… Yes!... A-young-man, who,…subsequently / feel-asleep; and fell-from, a three, (3),…story-window: to his,…Death!...
*(“Eutychus”,…while-attending / a-quite-lengthy, discourse; of,…Paul)*...
Our, Apostle, preached,…that / night: onto, the-midnight-hour: causing this, youngster / to, loose-interest, fall-asleep… Subsequently, falling-from, the,…third-story / window: to his, Death!... Of, which,…”Eutychus”, obviously / was-seated!...
Folks!... There’s, that, (“midnight-hour”) / again, being: mentioned!... Yes!... “hidden-manna, indeed!”… Amen.
Yet, Paul,…bends / over, him: and does, what,…”few-selected-others”,…who-are / “Anointed!”… In, the end, also,…can / well-do. Yes!...
Paul,…(”breathes”) / new-life, into this; young-man… *(although, already counted / for,…being; Dead. From, his-previous-fall)*…
Let’s remember, that. Jesus, in,…that,…”upper-room” / also: (“Breathed”),…that / “Holy-Spirit-Power!”… Into, the very,…(“nostrils”) / of,…”His-original-Twelve”,…Disciples!...
*(less-one. Yes!... That, old,…”Doubting-Thomas!”… He, wasn’t,…there,…on / Jesus’: first-visitation, after,…Jesus’ / Resurrection!... Thomas,…(“missed-out”) / in-this-receiving,…of,…The-Transferrable / Holy-Spirit-Power)*... Amen.
Paul, also,…never-strayed / never-was; anything less, than,…”steadfast!”… In,…his / servitude-and-endurance!... With, regard to,…the-gospel-message!... Yes!...
He, endured,…till / the: “bitter-end!”… Amen. *(please-read, Acts 20: 10 )*…
Please, note-well,…that / Paul, served: God’s-Son!... *(for-emphasis-sake)*… Our, Bible,…repeats / itself!... And, Paul,…served-with / much: “humility!”…
And, with,…many / “tears-and-trials!”… Which, were the result of,…countless / “plots”,…set-forth; against,…Paul / by: “The-Jews!”…*(read, Acts 20: 19 )*…
May, we,…also / be, well-able; to,…follow-in / this: Apostle’s-footsteps!... Yes!... Never,…”shrinking-back” / from,…declaring: the-gospel’s,…profitability!... Amen. *(read, verse: 20 )*…
What, is,…our,…”gospel-message?”…
Answer: “Repentance!”… Toward,…Almighty-God!... *(Yahweh / His-Eternal-Name)*…
And, this,…involves,…a-continual-exercising, of-our; practiced,…”Faith!”… Yes!... Faith, in,…God’s-Son / our: Appointed-One!...
Our,…Redeemer!... Humanity’s-only-hope,…for,…true / Salvation!... Amen.
*(read, Acts 20: 21 )*…
For, we,…(”Jesus-Faithful-Followers”) / are-those-who; (“Testify”),…to-the-gospel,…as,…originally-told,…by: The-Son!... It’s,…all-about / God’s-Good-Grace!...
The-Son,…has,…(”purchased”) / this: “Church-of-God!”… How, so?...
Answer: By, shedding,…His-Blameless / Blood!... We,…His / appointed: “Stewards!”… We, function,…as,…”overseers” / just-like, He: Jesus,…also / “oversees!”…
His,…Father’s-Kingdom!... *(read, verse: 28 )*…
The,…”whole-counsel” / of: God!... It deals, much,…with / “listening-to”: The-Son’s-Message!... Yes!... *(read, Acts 20: 27 )*… So, let us,…truly / pay-careful; “attention”,…to / ourselves: and, to,…all-the-flock!...
For,…”Fierce-Wolves!”… Yes!... They,…dressed / like: sheep!... Are, among,…us!... *(verse: 29 )*… Even, from,…among-our-own / “House-of-Faith!”…
Yes!... Men-and-women, have,…(”risen”) / speaking: “twisted-things!”… *(since / days-of-old)*… *(read, verse: 30 )*… Subsequently, luring-many,…(“Away”)!... After,…them!...
“A-Great-Apostasy!”... Truly,…it / exists!... May, we,…be / those-whom; God, has,…”Sanctified!”…
*(Yes!... Set-apart,…from: the-rest)*…
Joint-heirs, building-up,…”others!”… Amen. *(read, Acts 20: 32 )*…
For, we-are-those,…like / Paul: who, also,…”work-hard!”… Yes!... Work-as-Givers!... And,…(Not) / “Takers!”…
In, all-things,…you’ll find, / us: using-our-hands. Yes!... Ministering, to,…our-own / necessities. And, to,…those,…who / are: with us!...
Paul, was,…a,…”Tent-Maker!”… Yes!... By,…Trade!... I question, the many,…pastors / preachers,…in, today’s,…worldly-churches!...
To be, (“worthy”),…of / being: hired!... Folks!... This, means,…that / God, (“sees”),…our person,…with-much / “Favor!”… And/ or,…(”worthy”): because, of-our,…loyalty.
Yes!... In, all-aspects,…with regard / to: His-Kingdom!...
But,…(”twisted-has-become”) / this-truth: Yes!...
Many, for,…centuries,…misinterpreted-and-misunderstood,…this. Completely!... They, believe,…(“themselves”),…of-not-having / to: “Work!”…
Meaning, a regular,…Job / and-or: “Trade!”…
And, so,…they / (“fatten-themselves”),…off-the-backs,…of / the: gullible-and-ignorant, masses!... What, ever happened,…to / earning-our-daily: “Bread!”… *(Yes!... By-the-sweat / of-our: Brow)*…
NOT-EVERY-BELIEVER,…POSSESSES / “THIS-POWER!”…
Friends. As we, continue our study,…in-the: “Book-of-Acts!”… Note-well, the following!... *(please-read, Acts 21: 8 )*…
This,…”Philip” / mentioned; is the very, same person,…also-mentioned, in / *(read, Acts 8: 40 )*…
Our,…Apostle-Paul / meets-up, with this; so much,…spoken-of / individual: mentioned in, chapter, *(8)*… of this, great / “Book-of-Acts!”…
Yes!... This,…”Philip” / is-first-mentioned, in: *(Acts 6: 5 )*… He, was part of the,…seven, (7): men, chosen by the,…”Brothers-in-Faith!”…
For, the-initial-purpose,…of / tending, to-the: “widows”,…which-were-being, neglected,…in the / daily: distribution!... *(of-food)*… *(read, Acts 6: 1, 3 )*…
He,…”Philip” / was-a-man / of: “good-repute!”… We, now,…fast-forward / to: *(Acts 21: 8 )*…
Here, we see,…that,…”officially” / this, same: “Philip!”… He, is being recognized,…as-an / “evangelist!”…
Yes!... One-of-the,…”original-seven” / mentioned:
back-in,…*(Acts 6: 5 )*…
Full-of-the / “Spirit!”… And, of,…much / “wisdom!”… Appointed, by other,…”established” / believers; always, accomplishing,…special-duties / and: assigned-tasks!...
This,…”Philip” / traveled-greatly. And, baptized,…many/ in-the-Name: of our, Lord-and-Saviour!... Yes!... Jesus-of-Nazareth!... Amen.
*(read, Acts 8: 12 – 17 )*…
But, as-I’ve-mentioned,…previously / that, within-those; actually,…”sealed-with-the-Spirit!”… There, seems-or-appears,…to be / or: exist!... *(a-selected-few, who are / also: truly-“Anointed”)*…
Yes!... Anointed-by-the-Spirit!...
In,…chapter, (8): of this,…”Book-of-Acts!”… Philip, indeed,…”evangelizes” / The-Word!... And, even,…baptizes / many!... *(In-Jesus’-Name)*…
But,…our / Apostles: Peter-and-John!... These, two,…were sent / to: “Samaria!”… For, what,…reason?...
Answer: So, that-those,…being / baptized, by; “Philip!”… Could-and-would, finally,…now-also / “receive”: this,…”Holy-Spirit-Power!”…
Don’t get, me,…wrong!... Philip, indeed,…performed / “signs”: by, healing-many. As well, disposing,…countless / unclean-spirits!... Yes!...
From, those,…who-were / paralyzed-or-lame!... These, were being,…”Healed!”… *(read, Acts 8: 5 – 8 )*… Yes!... By, the very hand,…of / “Philip!”…
Great-miracles, were-being,…performed / by: Philip!... Amazing, even,…a-man-called,…”Simon” / The-Magician!... Those, like,…this / Simon: thought, they could,…actually,…purchase / such: Power!...
Folks!... We, cannot obtain,…This-Gift / with: money!... No, sir!... *(read, Acts 8: 18 – 24 )*… Amen.
Although, I have always,…said / that-this,…”Holy-Spirit” / is-an-entity: onto, itself. Yes!... Apart-and-separate, from,…The-Father / and: His-Son!... *(And, I’m / sticking, to: my – guns, on this fact)*…
Both,…this / “Spirit-of-Truth!”… And,…The-Son / of: God!... These, are also,…known / as: Powers-that-Be!... Yes!... They,…have-always / “proceeded!”… Yes!...
From,…God / Himself!... Why?...
Answer: Because, (all-things),…”proceed” / from: Almighty-God!... *(Yahweh / His-Glorious-Name)*…
My, case-in-point?... We, can,…indeed / “evangelize”: The-Spoken-Word!... Yes!... Till,…”Kingdom-Come!”…
Yet, never-really,…ever / “possess”: for ourselves, this,…”Given-Gift!”… Yes!...
The-Gift,…of,…”laying-on / of: Hands!”… Of,…thereafter / “transferring”: this, marvelous,…Divine-Power!... *(onto-others)*…
Why, is this,…Power / seen: less-and-less, every,…day?...
Answer: Because, there’s,…less-and-less / “Faith!”… *(seen-and-exercised / in-our: world… Today)*… Amen.
This,…”Philip” / had, four, (4): unmarried-daughters, who,…all / “prophesied!”… Yes!...
Indeed,…a / “devout-household”; full-of-Faith!... To me, there appears,…to / exist: varying-degrees, in,…(“receiving”),…this / “Gift!”… Yes!...
Of,…The-Holy-Spirit!... (“A-Transferrable-Power”)!... Of,…which / not-all-peoples,…can, in-the-end; come to,…exercise!... *(fully)*…
ARE-YOU,…BATTLE / “TESTED!”…
Friends. Let, the,…Will / of-our: Lord-and-Saviour!... Be, actually,…Done!... Yes!... In, each-and-every,…day / of-our: personal-lives!... Amen. *(please-read, Acts 21: 14 )*…
Despite, knowing about,…our,…future / adversities; short-shall-be, its,…duration. Yes!... When, compared,…to,…the / “Glory”: which awaits, us,…who-believe!... Amen.
Today,…I-too, greet / you: *(dear-reader)*…
From, day,…one / it has, always; been my, earnest desire,…to / relate: “one-by-one”,…the very things, that: Almighty-God!... *(has-done / for: me)*…
Yes!... By-in-and-thru / this, my-own: public-ministry!... *(read, Acts 21: 19 )*…
I-see-myself, with the ability,…and / “Gift”: to be, well-able,…to / “discern-between-spirits!”…
My, only,…true / “quest”; is that,…of,…”Glorifying-God!”… Amen.
In,…all-things!... For, it’s,…what,…I have / been: taught. By,…His-Son!... *(Jesus-the-Christ)*…
Among, many other things,…I have / learned,…that: “Sober-Judgment”,…is, truly: a-necessary-virtue, to,…develop. Yes!...
We, must,…polish-and-well / hone: this ability, to,…exercise,…”Sober-Judgment!”… Amen.
Something, our-world,…has / altogether; stopped-practicing, long ago!... It’s why, there’s,…so much,…”sexual-immorality!”…
Yes!... It’s been, present,…since / days-of-old!... Futile-pagan-practices!... Producing, only,…”sterile” / results!... Non-productive, with no,…”good-fruit” / being: produced, from these,…capricious-ways!...
Folks!... To, whom,…”much-is-given” / much, is also: “expected!”… Yes!...
God, from-the-beginning,…gave / our: Paul… A, very-special-position,…in / this: life!...
One, of,…great-leadership / ability; even, before,…he, (Paul): ever, converted over,… to / our-exercised: Faith!... Yes!...
Dear-reader and friends. Like, our,…Paul / we-too; have been given, “special-blessings!”… *(although, many-of-us / don’t recognize, them: at our, early-stages, in: Life)*…
Let us, become,…”fully-aware” / of: God’s-Given-Potentials!... *(shared-onto / us )*…
Germinating-and-growing, within,…us / each-day: sprouting-forth, as a kernel,…of / corn. Yes!...
Like, a,…caterpillar / must-go-thru, it’s own,…”metamorphic-changes!”… Before, it becomes,…that,…”beautiful-butterfly!”…
We, too,…must learn / to: crawl… Yes!... As,…true / “Babes-in-Christ!”… Before, we could ever,…expect-to-become / “spiritual-counselors”: for-others!...
God’s-Grace, is,…truly / “Great!”… Patient, we-must-be,…with / ourselves: as, God,…has / been: with, us,…all…
Patient!... Who-of-us, shall become,…in-the-end / a-true: “witness?”… For,…The-Risen-Christ!...
*(without / tagging: a-denominational-name, to,…our,…actions)*…
*(read, Acts 22: 15 )*… Beware!... You,…who / “rebuke-and-refute”: our-own,…appointed / “Redeemer!”… Many, will,…end-up / being: used!...
Yes!... As, a,…vessel / onto: Righteousness!... Much, like,…our / Apostle: Paul…
May, we,…all / end-up: (“BATTLE-TESTED”)!... Yes!... Warriors!... For,…The-Word!...
Jesus,…is / The-Way!... Although, our-truest-destination,…remains / at: His-Father’s-Throne!... *(Great-White-Throne / of: Judgment)*…
Never, forget,…that / all-things, “proceed”: from our, living,…God!... Including, His-Son,…and / the: Holy-Spirit!...
Many, shall be,…our / tribulations: Yes!... It’s how, we,…”must-enter” / into: This-Kingdom!... Amen.
JUST-TALKING,…ABOUT-MY / “FRIENDS!”…
Friends. Notice, the,…”hidden-manna” / found; within the very, written-pages,…of / our: “Holy-Scriptures!”… *(please-read, Acts 22: 6 )*…
It was, about,…(“noon-time”) / that-a,…(“great-light”),…from, Heaven; suddenly-shone, around,…our / Apostle-Paul…
It was,…”exactly” / between; noon-time and 3:00 p.m. / that-our-world: *(Lost-its-Light)*… Yes!... A-Great-Darkness, over-took,…the-entire-land,…as / our, Jesus: hung-on-that, horrendous,…”Roman-Stake!”…
*(total-elapse-time / was: from,…9:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. = 6 hours-total)*…
I-personally-believe, and have shared,…with,…you / dear-reader; many times. That, our,…Jesus / is-more-prone; to return, to our,…Earth!... Yes!... At, this,…”spiritually-designated-time” / of: 12:00…
But, more-specifically,…12:00 / “Midnight!”… Yes!... I pray, that: “He, not catch,…you / in: total-unawares!”… Amen.
For, we-are-told,…that / He, (Jesus); like,…”lightening”,…is known, to travel; from,…East-to-West!... So, shall the,…coming of / our: Lord!... Yes!... *(it-will-manifest / itself: in like, manner)*… Amen.
The-whole-sky, will,…(“Light-Up”)!... As, He,…returns / in: His-Father’s-Glory!... And,…Splendor!...
Our world, shall,…”regain-its-light” / spiritually-speaking; at our, darkest-period,…during-the-night!... *(typically-recognized-as / from: 9:00 p.m. -to- 3:00 a.m.)*…
But, more-specifically,…from / “Midnight-to-3:00 a.m." / Yes!... Praise-God!... Amen.
Again, tis’-only,…one-man’s-opinion!...
Also, let’s,…just-call-it,…an-educated / (“guess”)!... Based, according to the,…(“multiple,…times”) / that-this-hour, of: 12:00,…is actually, mentioned… Yes!...
It’s, inside,…our,…New-Testament-Writings!...
Note-well, this-word-of,…”Appointed!”… *(read, Acts 22: 10 )*… Tell me, my,…(”brethren-in-Faith”) / what, has-been: “Appointed”,…onto, you?...
Also, note-how,…the / (“Household-of-Faith”); refers to, one-another,…as / “Brothers!”… Yes!... *(we,…”Jesus’-Faithful-Followers”)*…
We, are all,…(”brothers-and-sisters”) / in,…this; exercised-faith, of,…ours. Amen. Jesus,…Himself / calls-us,…His: “Brothers!”…
Whereas, by,…(”contrast”) / God,…calls-us: His-Children!... Note-the-difference!... Two-separate-entities, here.
And, it,…was,…in / (“Antioch-Greece”); that, the believers,…began, to be called: “Christians!”… *(and-done-so, by,…the mouths / of: “other-pagan-practitioners”)*…
Yes!... Father-and-Son!... Each, uniquely-proper. Each, donning,…their-own / “crown-of-Righteousness!”… As, well,…The-Holy-Spirit!... Yes!...
Per, Jesus’-own-words!... Our,…(“Other-Comforter”)!...
Also, “commissioned-by-Christ!”... (“Ordained-of-God”)!... Amen.
Dear-reader and friends. I-shall-detain, you,…no / further. As, I-earnestly-plead,…for / your-own; “eyes-and-ears”,…to be / “spiritually-opened!”… Yes!...
By-in-and-thru / the very, hand: of-the,…”Holy-Spirit!”… Amen.
For,…I-cheerfully-make / my: case-in-point!... You, can verify,…what,…I share / by: examining-well, all-things,…yourselves!...
(“Ask”),…and / you-shall: “receive!”… Yes!... Real-Truths!...
(“Knock”),…and / it-shall-be: opened, onto-you!... Yes!... The-very-gates, of,…Eternity / yet-future. For, it awaits,…you, (who-believe)!... Amen.
(“Seek”),…and / you-too: will, ultimately,…(“see”) / the-very: Face-of-God!... *(Yahweh / His-Glorious-Name)*…
*(in-the-here / after: and, not-while-you,…still / occupy: flesh-and-blood, bodies)*…
Let us, “patiently”,…keep-our-Hope!... Yes!... Of, this-promised,…”Resurrection!”…
Of, both,…the,…”Just-and-the-Unjust!”… *(read, Acts 24: 15 )*…
Meanwhile, keep-your-conscience,…(“clear”) / toward, both; God-and-mankind!... *(verse: 16)*…
Remembering, always,…that / it-is-with: (“Respect”),…to-this-much / “Hoped-For”: Resurrection!... Yes!...
That, I-personally-devote,…myself / to: The-Father and His-Son!... Yes!... For, I-believe!... Yes!...
Also,…in, this,…(“Other-Comforter”) / as-being: just, that!... Someone,…(“else”)!...
Besides,…The-Father / and: His-Son!...
This,…(”Spirit-of-Truth”) / has-led-me, into-these; real-truths!... He, comforts-my-spirit. Yes!... This,…”Holy-Spirit” / He: is-my-friend,…also!... Amen.
WHAT-WE-NEED,…IS-MORE / “PRAYERS!”…
“Your-Throne, Oh’,…Mighty-God!... It stands, firm. Yes!... From,…even / days-of-old. Even, from,…(Everlasting-to-Everlasting)!”… Amen.
“Through, Your-Son,…Jesus-our-Christ!... We, (His-Faithful-Followers),…ask that, You / God, grant us; the very,…(gift-of-eternity). May we, forever-obtain,…Your-Grace!... Our, sincere-devotion,…has / rewarded,…us, with; this,…knowledge-and-wisdom!”… Amen.
“To-You,…Son-of-God!... Has, been-bestowed,…much / Dominion!... And, today,…it / rests-upon: Your-Strong-Shoulders!... Thank-You, for,…Your-Great-Counsel / regarding; Your-Father’s-Kingdom!”... Amen.
“Sweet-Jesus!... Today, we realize,…Your / Powerful-Intercession, made; in-our-stead. For, it is,…by-in-and-thru / Your-Wondrous-Deeds; that, we, (who-believe),…can now, receive-the-privilege: promised, by,…Your-Father!”… Amen. *(Eternal-Life / implied)*…
“Father-in-Heaven!... You, are the very,…(Giver-of-Life)!... Your,…(Favor),…has appeared, to,…us; in-the-person, of,…Jesus!... He, has trained,…us / to; reject-godlessness. And, worldly-lusts. And, to,…live-a-life / of,…much: self-control”… Amen.
“Father-in-Heaven!... Your-Son, is the object,…of / our-only: True-Hope!... His-Glorious-Appearance, we,…await / patiently. We, shall forever,…speak / with-much-insistence; about these, very things,…concerning / our: Christ!”… *(Your-Anointed-One)*… Amen.
“To-You / Son-of-God!... Be,…all / the: Glory!... And,…much / Splendor!... We, today,…know-about / Your-Father’s-Justice; revealed, in the sight,…of / many-nations: by-in-and-thru,…Your-Spoken-Words!”… Amen.
“Yes!... You,…Jesus!... In, diverse-ways,…spoke / in-times-past; to our, forefathers. And, today,…by-in-and-thru / the: Holy-Spirit!... Whom, You,…Jesus / have: (commissioned)!”… Amen.
Dear-reader and friends. Yes!... (“Ordained-of-God”),…and / commissioned-by-Christ!... This,…”Spirit-of-Truth!”… He, today,…leads / us,…to / all these,…real-truths. In which, The-Father’s-Judgment,…and / Justice, are revealed; as the very,…foundation / of: God’s-own-Throne!… Amen.
In-closing: “In-Your-Mercy, Father!... Hear, our,…petitions. We, pray,…more-so / for-those-who, have; much-less. Yes!... Less,…spiritual-knowledge / and: wisdom. For, the,…sick-and-diseased. For, the,…paralyzed-and-lame!”... Amen.
“As well, for those,…blind / both: (physically-and-spiritually). And, for,…so-many / others: still-in-darkness. Demon-possessed, not knowing,…that-they / remain: duped-and-stupefied!”… Amen.
Yes!... Dear-Friends!... For these, we shall,…pray / the-most!... Amen.
SET-FREE / BY: “POWERS-VESTED!”…
Friends. Truly, ours-is-but,…a / “Hope!”… *(read, Acts 24: 15 )*…
Oh’, but,…what-a-hope / it-is!... Glorious-and-filled, with much,…Splendor / indeed!... Yes!... There will be / a: “Resurrection!”…
Yes!... Of,…both / the-just; and of,…the / unjust!... Our, Bible,…is / filled, with; many different, (“types”)!... Of, what,…our / Jesus; would have to, suffer,…Himself!...
As, well,…what / “His-Faithful-Followers”; would, suffer!... *(themselves)*… Even, after-our,…Saviour / “ascended-back”; to the, right-hand,…of / His-Father!... *(Who, is-in-Heaven)*…
When, we read,…*(Acts 25: 7 )*… We, realize that,…our / Apostle-Paul; also, suffered,…many / “false-charges!”…
Yes!... Accusations, against,…Paul / that, could; not-ever-be, proved!... The whole, of,…chapter / (25): deals with, our,…Paul / being: wrongly-accused. And, he,…(Paul); seeking to be, sent,…to / “Caesar!”… Why?...
Answer: So, that,…He, (Paul): could receive, a more,…fair / trial: Yes!... Paul, was seeking,…(“Sober-Judgment”)!... *(after-all, Paul / was: A-Roman-Citizen)*…
Yes!... Born-in / “Tarsus!”… A province, of,…”Cilicia”…
Let’s, never-forget,…that / it was: “The-Jews!”… These, were,…Paul’s / “accusers!”… Paul, although born,…a / Roman-Citizen; he, spent his,…own / youth; from the beginning, in the city,…of / Jerusalem!...
Yes!... Studying,…”Moses’-Laws!”… Under-the-direction, of,…”Gamaliel”…
Paul, was known,…by / all: “The-Jews!”… He, led-a-life,…as / a: “Pharisee!”… *(read, Acts 26: 4, 5 )*…
He, (Paul),…was-standing-in / “trial”, for-only: exercising,…a,…”Hope!”… *(verse: 6 )*…
The very same,…”Hope” / which; the-twelve-tribes,…of,…Israel / “Hoped-to-Attain!”…
Here’s-a-man, (Paul),…who / in-the-beginning; was convinced, that,…he / should do; everything possible,…in,…”opposing” / this: “Name-of-Jesus!”… *(read, Acts 26: 9 )*…
Yes!... Paul,…”casted-votes” / of: Death!...
Against, those,…who / followed: “The-Way!”… *(with-the / Jews; always-believing, that,…these / so-called: Christians!... Were, but / just-another: “Sect”)*…
In-raging-Fury, Paul,…”persecuted” / believers.
Folks!... Realize-our-position!... We, are those,…”Sanctified!”… By, exercising,…our / Faith!... In,…The / Son-of-God!... *(verse: 18 )*…
Paul’s,…physical-blindness / for-those: three, (3),…days. It held, a much,…deeper / spiritual-connotation!...
Know, that,…the / power-of-Satan; suppresses-and-holds, countless,…individuals / in-utter: darkness!...
Where-as,…The-Power / of: God!... By-in-and-thru / His-Son!... (“Liberates”),…us / from: sinful-chains!... Amen.
I pray, that: “We, begin-to-perform,…(deeds) / in-keeping-with,…our: professed,…Repentance!… For,…Faith / without-works: is-completely, Dead!... That’s-right!... Because, of,…our,…exercised / Faith!... We, in,…turn / are: full-of-many,…(good-works)!”… Amen.
Otherwise, dear-reader and friends. Ours, is but,…mere / lip-service!... Yes!... *(read, Acts 26: 20 )*…
Folks!... Our-Truest-Help, comes,…from / Almighty-God!... *(Yahweh)*… Yes!... By-in-and-thru / His-Son!... *(Jesus)*…
As, well,…from / our: (“Other-Comforter”)!... Yes!... The,…”Spirit-of-Truth!”… Amen. For, we,…who / believe; are finally, set-free!...
Yes!... By,…These-Powers / vested-in-us!... Amen.
THIS-IS-DONE,…ALWAYS-IN / “LOVE!”…
Friends. I have, for the most,…part / shared-my-thoughts!... *(with-regard-to / this: “Book-of-Acts”)*…
I want, to,…finish, my comments / then-return: to sharing, with you, (my-readers)!... More, much-more,…”Prayers!”… Yes!... Our, hurting-and-lost,…world / desperately-needs: (“More-Prayers”)!... Amen.
But, meanwhile,…let’s-focus / on-this: “Midnight-Hour!”… Just-a-bit, more!... Yes!... A topic, which is mentioned,…several-times / within-the: New-Testament-Writings!...
Once-again, stated,…in / *(read, Acts 27: 27 )*…
Always, holding,…a more,…deeper-and-spiritual / message!...
“Salvation!”… And, also,…”Deliverance!”… Yes!... From,…many / perils…
I think, of,…the other,…(”parable”) / of-the: ten, (10),…virgins. Of, how,…the / first-five, were well; prepared-and-equipped,…with / plenty-of: lamp-oil…
And, the other,…(second-five) / were-not!... How, they had,…to,…go / (“out”): and purchase, more oil…
Yes!... Each, of,…our,…(”nights”) / are-indeed: long!... And, we must,…possess / enough: (“Light”)!... To, enable,…us,…to / (“see”): our, Lord-and-Saviour!... *(coming-at-last)*…
I-believe, (as-mentioned-many / other-times) / that-this, will occur: during-the-midnight / hour!... Let’s, not,…find ourselves,…”at-a-loss” / due-to, a lack: in,…preparation.
Have, the,…necessary,…”Unction” / to: (“see-far / into-the-night”)!...
Yes!... For, our,…Lord / returns: as-a-Thief!... Yes!... *(in-the-night)*… Amen.
May, He,…(Jesus) / never-catch-you: in your,…own,…”unawares!”…
Be, like the,…(“first-five”) / virgins: prepared, steadfast-and-unmoving!...
With, enough,…”spiritual-insight” / to, see-far-off; into these,…long / “nights!”…
Be,…prepared!... Know, The-Word!...
And, finally: As we, read,…in / *(Acts 28: 30 )*…
I-address / you: pastors, preachers-and-priests!... Yes!... Note-well, how our,…Apostle-Paul / always-managed; to carry,…his own,…”weight” / about.
Sure, he,…like / all-others; may have, had,…his / moments: of-dire-need.
Where, his,…other / brothers-in-Faith!... *(assisted, Paul / with: sustenance)*…
But, for,…the most,…part / he, (Paul): held-his-own!... Yes!... For, he,…was / a: “Tent-Maker!”… *(By – Trade )*…
My, point-in-case?... Paul, took care,…of his,…own / “expenses!”… He, didn’t,…”ride-on” / the shoulders: of his, countless,…disciples.
By, contrast / our-worldly-churches; mainly, nourish-their-own. Yes!...
Their, primary-focus,…is / to: feed, their,…institutions / of: “higher-learning!”…
For, there are,…countless / worldly-organizations: all-professing, to,…serve / Jesus!...
Folks!... I-don’t-hate!... No, sir!... But, I-do-(“dislike”),…their / many: “Deceptions!”… Yes!...
Monasteries, Cathedrals, Temples, Mosques, Chapels, Convents, Sanctuaries!... Call, them,…what-you-may. When, we read,…our / Bible!... We, are told,…The-Truth!...
Almighty-God, (“doesn’t,…reside”) / inside: any-man-made,…”structures!”… No, sir!...
Don’t, get me,…wrong!... If you, (dear-reader) / are-being, truly: “fed-the-Truth!”… Then, you’ve,…perhaps / found; a-remnant-class, of,…believers / worthy,…of: actually,…”listening!”…
*(just-like / The-Father: has-asked-us, to,…actually: “listen”, to,…His-Son)*… Yes!...
Churches-and-Organizations, many-of-them,…are indeed / full-of-charitable: “causes!”… Yes!... They, often-times,…help-the-needy / with-your-own: hard-earned-money, being,…well-spent!...
They, are,…also,…”great-places” / of-much: “camaraderie!”… Yes!...
“Social-Centers”, where,…many,…(”business-transactions”) / are-actually-being: “Transpired!”…
Yes!... Much, like,…in / Jesus’-Day!... Remember, when,…our / Lord: over-turned, the tables,…of-the / “money-changers?”…
And, how,…”offensive” / Jesus, perceived-this-act: of,…”doing-business”,…(in-God’s / House)!...
What, was-the-outcome?... What, could be,…your / outcome; should you, be also,…going-to-church: for-all-the,…(“wrong-reasons”)?...
Yes!... Everything,…but / God!... Can be,…found / in: these-modern-buildings!... I pray, they do,…a-better-job, at leading: their,…flocks!... Amen.
I-know-better, yes!... I’ve-been-there!... Done,…that!... Although, many-of-them,…have / indeed; helped me, in my past!...
I’m-afraid, I’ve,…”out-grown” / their: “Milk-Feeding!”… I pray,…you / too: have learned, to,…”chew-the-cud” / of: God’s-Word!... Amen.
P.S. Remember, we do share,…our / sentiments: always-in-Love!... Amen.
LET’S-PRAY-ABOUT,…THIS / “MESSAGE!”…
Friends. The,…”Redeemer” / of-our-world; is-none-other, than,…Jesus!...
For, He,…has-been / “Appointed”: Lord, over,…God’s-own-Chosen,…people!...
There is, no-other-name,…by / which, humanity; can be,…”Saved!”…
Every, knee,…will / bend; every-tongue, will confess this,…Jesus / as: God’s-own-Son!... Amen.
Pray-with-me,…won’t / you?...
“Save-us,…Father-in-Heaven!... Gather, us,…from / among; all-the-nations. Yes!... That, we may,…give / thanks, to: Your-Holy-Name!... *(of – Yahweh)*… Amen.
“For, only,…You / have-been, from: Everlasting!... Let, our mouths,…speak / the-same-praises; as does, Your-own-Son!... Yes!... Your,…Jesus!... He, has taught,…us / about: Your-Abounding-Kindness!”… Amen.
“Oh’, most-merciful / God!... May,…You / continue-blessing: us!... Your-Son’s,…Faithful-Followers!… Sanctify, us,…in / Honor, of: His-Name!... Let, our-own-daily,…acts / of,…praise; be most, pleasing to,…Your-Majesty!”… Amen.
“And, may we,…profit-much / from, this: promised,…Salvation!... For,…You-are-Great!... And, only,…You / can-do-these; wondrous-works. We, know that,…You / alone, are: Good!... Almighty-and-Eternal,…God!... Graciously, hear-our-petitions!”… Amen.
“Receive, kindly-and-favorably,…what-we-offer / You: this, being,…what-we-call / our, truest: Love!... Pour-out,…Your-Grace / upon,…us. That, we-may-rejoice,…to / see; our-own-names, written inside the pages,…of / Your-Son’s: Book-of-Life!”… Amen.
“To-You, our,…living-God!... We, pledge-our-all,…this / very-moment. Just, like,…Your-own-Son!... We, too,….offer / You; the gold, of our,…loving: hearts!”... Amen.
“And, to,…You / Sweet-Jesus!... We, gift,…You / with-the-very; frankincense, of our,…persevering,…prayers. And, the,…true / myrrh; of-our-readiness, to,…tirelessly / labor. All-of-it, done,…to / ultimately: Glorify-Your-Father!”… Amen.
“For, as sure,…as / we; take-in, our daily,…breath. We, also know,…that / there, exist: Your-Father’s-Kingdom!... For, *(Yahweh’s)*…is / the: Power!... And,…Dominion!... Forever-and-ever,…Amen!”…
“Unconfined, remains our,…spirit / today. Equally, yoked,…and / spiritually-destined; to rule, alongside of,…You / Son-of-God!... Glory-be, to,…Your-Father!... For, allowing us,…to / become; those, promised,…joint-heirs: throughout, all-of-eternity,…yet-future!”… Amen.
“Son-of-God!... Your-Light, has shone,…upon / us; in all, of its,…unmatched / Splendor!... Clearly, we see,…by / Faith; visions of our, eternal-tomorrows. We, will be those,…who / shall-walk,…beside; Your-Shining-Radiance!”…
“As, we raise our,…eyes / and, look-about; we, will find ourselves,…gathering / together: entering, Your-Saving-Sheepfold. From, afar-off,…our / hearts-and-minds; simply, over-flow and throb,…with-much / gladness!”… Amen.
“Prostrating, ourselves,…we / pay-homage, to: You!... Sweet-Jesus!... For, we know,…that / Your-Father’s-Chosen; by no means, are least,…among-those / You, Jesus: have-accepted, today,…as being,…Your-own. We, have always,…belonged / to: God!”… Amen.
“And, today,…God / shares,…us,…with; His-Son!”… Amen.
Friends!... Jesus,…”gladly-accepts” / His-Father’s: remnant-class, of,…believers!... We, fully-acknowledge,…The-Son’s,…own / rising,…to: His-Father’s, right hand. Jesus’-own / Exaltation: is indeed, very,…real. Yes!...
We, are,…the audience. Over-joyed, we stand,…receiving-always,…The-Son’s / Message!... Amen.
“PRAY,…PEOPLE,…PRAY!”…
“Oh’,…Almighty-God!... Grant, that we may,…come-to-fully / understand; with pure, hearts-and-minds,…these / Revelations, of: Your-Son!”… *(Jesus)*… Amen.
“For, we-have-seen,…His-Glory!... Yes!... And, it’s,…none-other-than / the same, Glory; of which,…You / Father: already-possess. Yes!... Your-Son, just like,…You / is-also, full,…of: Grace-and-Truth!”…
Dear-reader and friends:
The,…”family” / is-the: “smaller-unit!”… From, which,…(“stems”),…the rest / of-our: societies. And, it can truly,…develop-and-grow / as long, as: God’s-Love,…(“binds”),…its members. These, families,…together / with, Christian-Virtues: can rule,…in-our-homes!...
But, we must,…first / allow: God’s-Peace, to,…abound / inside!... Without, it,…this-becomes / impossible; to achieve.
I-ask-you. Are we,…”spiritually-prospering?”…
When, I-ask-myself,…this / hard-question; sadly, the answer,…comes-back / a-firm: No!... This, truth,…reflects / in-the-majority,…of: our-homes.
Odds, are,…that / not-even, remotely; do we, resemble the examples,…which / The-Father: desires, most,…to witness.
And, so. It’s why, we need,…to,…(“PRAY,…PEOPLE,…PRAY”)!... Amen.
True-Joy, and lasting,…Peace / is,…(“fostered”); only, when we strive,…in / reflecting: these-basic-attitudes. How, are we,…conducting / ourselves; towards, our-living,…God?...
Let’s, continue-praying:
“May, we come to,…share / with; The-Father and His-Son!... All-things, including,…imitating / their-own: Eternal-Bond!... As we, pledge-onto-others,…our / heart-felt: kindness!”... Amen.
“For-You,…Son-of-God!... Has, taught us,…by / Your-own-Examples; how to be, humble-and-patiently,…meek. We, too,…will strive / daily; in-bearing, with,…one-another. Forgiving, whatever-grievances,…we / may-have; against-each, other!”… Amen.
“Just, as,…You, (Jesus); have-forgiven-those, who,…accused / You: falsely!... We, also,…will / put-on: Your-Love!... Yes!... Starting-anew, right-here,…and / now: today!... With, high-hopes,…of / binding,…our; family-members, together!”… Amen.
Folks!... Most-importantly. Remain,…(“Obedient”)!... Yes!... To, both,…The-Father / and: His-Son!... Thereafter, you shall witness,…many-things / falling-into: place. Yes!... Right-inside, your very own,…homes!... Amen.
Because, as,…”members” / of-this: One-Body!... We, all,…(“Jesus’-Faithful-Followers”) / have been,…called: to-this,…Peace!... Amen.
So, be,…”thankful” / and, let: The-Word, of,…Jesus!... Indwell, with all,…its / richness. Instruct-and-admonish, one-another,…with / The-Son’s: wisdom. And, whatever,…you-do, whether,…in; word-or-work.
Do, everything,…in / The-Name,…of: Jesus!... Amen.
Giving,…”thanks” / to: His-God!... Who, happens-to-be,…His-Father / in: Heaven!... *(as-well / ours)*…
I pray, that: “You, dear-reader. Keep, all-these-things,…in / your: hearts. For, if you do,…you will / also: “progress!”… Yes!... In, both,…God’s / “knowledge-and-wisdom!”… Amen.
As, well,…you / shall-be, most: “Favored!”… Yes!... Before, the-very-eyes,…of / Almighty-God!... Just, as,…The-Son / is-also: “Highly-Favored!”…
For, He,…(Jesus) / today, stands: Exalted!... At, the-right-hand,…of / His-Father!... Awaiting, further-instructions,…as-to-the / Day-and-Hour,…of: His-own-Return!... *(To-our-Earth)*… Amen.
So, present,…yourselves / to: The-Son!... Seek,…His-Father’s / Favor!... And, trust,…them / both: for-your-own,…”Deliverance!”…
May, their,…”Peace-and-Grace” / abound, upon: your-own-household. As, the,…Holy-Spirit / over-shadows, your,…dwelling-place, refreshing; your,…spirit / by-knowing-that, Atonement: has already,…been, made!... Amen.
Thank-You, Jesus!... For,…Your / Intercession!... Imitate,…Jesus!... His,…life-style / of,…charity: is truly, missing-in-many,…households / today!...
And, finally: Rely, on,…His-Father’s / “Power!”… Yes!... For-All-Things!... Amen.
REVEALING,…”JESUS” / IN: ME!...
All, you on,…Earth!... Sing, praise,…to-the / Glory, of: His-Name!... Yes!... Glory, be-to-both,…The-Father / and: His-Son!...
“Let, all-on-Earth,…worship / You, our: Most-High-God!... Yes!... You, Who,…governs / all-things, in: Heaven-and-on, Earth!.... Mercifully, hear-the-prayers,…of / Your-Chosen-People!... And, grant-us,…Your-Peace / in-our: days!”… Amen.
By-in-and-thru / Jesus-our-Christ: we ask, all-things!... Amen.
“Father, we-all-possess / Your-Gifts, which,…differ; according to the,…(Favor) / we-have,…received: from,…You!... Yes!... We, have-also-recognized,…to / use-our, authority; with much, care. God-in-Heaven!... Our, works-of-mercy,…are / performed: most-cheerfully!”… Amen.
“Our, Love-for-others,… is / sincere. As, we-also,…detest / what-is-evil. And,…(cling) / to: what-is-good. Your-Son, has taught,…us,…to / Love: one-another. Yes!... With, the affection,…of / (brothers). Showing, others,…Honor / without-slacking,…in: due-diligence!”… Amen.
“Fervent-in-Spirit, we’ve become. As, it is,…Your-Son / Whom,…we; freely-serve!”... Amen.
Dear-reader and friends. Jesus, has,…set-the-example / for-us,…to: follow. Today, we-too-are,…rejoicing / in: Hope!... Patient, under many,…trials. As, we continually / persevere-in-prayer!... Yes!...
We’ve learned, to,…look-upon / the needs, of: others. As, though,…they /were-our-own: needs. Yes!... And, as-a-result,…we’ve / become, most; prompt-in-offering, our,…hospitality!...
Let’s-continue / praying: shall-we?...
“Father-in-Heaven!... We’ve, put-away,…our / ambitious-thoughts. As, each-day,…we / associate-ourselves; with those, who are,…lowly. Your-Son’s-Message, has-healed-us. We, stand,…today / (snatched-from-destruction)!”… Amen.
“Thank-You,…Jesus!... And,…Your-Father’s / Angels!... Yes!... For-all-the / help!”... Amen.
Folks!... I-declare-publicly, today,…that / Jesus, has-turned; this, most-wretched-of,…sinners / into: a-true-believer!... Amen.
And, in-the-presence,…of / all: His-Father’s-Angels!... I-today, confess,…my / Faith!... Yes!... A-Steward, am,…I / daily-increasing,…in: God’s-Good-Grace!... For, this is,…truly,…who / I-Am!... Amen.
“Oh,…Son-of-God!... Yes!... You,…Sweet-Jesus!... Increase, Your-Father’s-Grace,…within / us: (Your-Faithful-Followers)… So, that,…we may be / prepared, for-the-blessedness; of,…all / Your-Promises!... Yes!... I-for-one,…believe!”… Amen.
“For, receiving,…You / Jesus; in-frequent-communion, with humble,…Faith!... This, assures me,…that / I-shall-enter,…into: Your-Father’s-Kingdom!... Yes!... My-Faith!... My-Humility!... My-Spiritual-Confidence!... These-things, (mark-my-approach) / to, Your-God’s,…Great-White-Throne!”… *(Of – Judgment )*… Amen.
My-total-surrender,…this / day: (REVEALS,…”JESUS” / IN: ME)!... Amen.
“TO-THE-POWERS”,…THAT / BE: WE-PRAY!...
“Almighty-God!... Look, mercifully upon each,…of / our-weaknesses, and; stretch-forth, Your-Right-Hand,…of / Power!... And, protect us,…Your-Son’s / Faithful-Followers!”… Amen.
“How-wrong, we’ve been,…in / our-past: Dear-God!... Yes!... To, have actually thought,…ourselves / as-being: wise, in our own,…estimations. For, only,…You / *(Yahweh)*…are / all-knowing!”… Amen.
“And, You,…Sweet-Jesus!... How, wonderful,…that / You,…of,…Your-own-accord; willed,…to / become: Your-Father’s,…Sacrificial-Lamb!... How, truly-brave,…and / most-noble: Your-Valor!... Son-of-God!”... Amen.
“I,…Israel-Falcon / shall, tell those; whom,…You / Jesus, consider-to-be: natural-heirs. Lest, they forget,…Your / valuable-deeds. And, end-up,…being / driven-out,…into: the-utter-darkness!”… Amen.
Folks!... Many, are indeed,…ravenous / wolves; declaring, the works,…of / their-own: hands!... Millions, and for,…”eons-on-end” / have marveled, at-the-words; spoken,…by / these-dressed: as,…docile-sheep!...
Beware!... Such, is-the-subtleness,…of / Satan!... Yes!... Lucifer!... Once,…a / “Great-Morning-Star!”… Though, today,…he / stands: most-fallen and fading.
Folks!... Only,…by-in-and-thru / the; mouth-of-Jesus!... Are we, well-able-to,…reap / fine-fruits. Yes!... Great, are-the-mysteries,…which / The-Son, has so,…graciously-given; and revealed, onto,…us / who-believe!...
Let’s-continue / praying: Please!...
“Great-God, in,…Heaven!... Our, personal-lives,…with all / its-temptations; and with all, its countless,…struggles / has-been-a,…very: stormy-voyage, indeed. Yet, we trust,…in / Your-Power!”… Amen.
“All-the-while,…Sweet-Jesus!... We, rest-fully-in,…Your / Strong-Arms!... Knowing, that-there,…will / soon,…come: a great, calm-and-peace!”… Amen.
Dear-reader and friends. Adore, God!... All, you,…who / read-this: prayer, today!... Do, so,…as / The-Son,…and; the very, Angels-in-Heaven,…do. Yes!... Adore,…God!... Amen.
Folks!... You, know / all-too-well,…that; our-weakened, nature,…cannot / withstand: Satan’s-Fiery-Darts!... As, danger,…surrounds / us: daily!...
“And, so,…I-plead / today; with both,…The-Father / and: His-Son!... Yes!... Make-us-Strong!... In, both,…our / hearts-and-minds. So, that,…with / Your-Help, we may; be able,…to,…overcome / our-many: afflictions!”… Amen.
For, we know,…that / our-own-sins; have brought, upon us,…much / turmoil... Yes!...
“Son-of-God!... You’ve, taught us,…to be / bound. Yes!... To,…this / One-Love!... The same,…Love / which-exists,…between: You and Your,…Father-in-Heaven!... And, so,…today / I-shall-Obey!... Yes!... I-shall-declare, the very works,…of / my: Lord-and-Saviour!”… Amen. *(Jesus-the-Christ)*…
“Draw, us,…away / from: Earthly-Pleasures!... Son-of-God!... May, the-spiritual-nourishment,…we receive,…from-the / Holy-Spirit; take us,…well / into: the-here-after!”… Amen.
And, to,…You / “Spirit-of-Truth!”…
“Fill,, us,…always / with, new-and-refreshing; strengths!... So, that,…we may / conquer,…our: biggest-Adversary!... Satan, himself!”... Amen.
And, in-closing:
“Forgive, the misuse,…of-our / Free-Will… Dear-God!... For, we have,…transgressed / Your-Commandments!... And, watch-over,…our / entire-household,…with; Your-Loving-Care!... Let, Your-Protective-Power,…forever / shield-us,…who; from,…days-of-old: have-always-believed!”... Amen.
Yes!... We-are-those, who,…rely,…solely / upon: The-Hope,…of,…Your-Heavenly-Grace!... Amen.
“TO-YOU,…CHILDREN-OF-PROMISE!”…
Friends. As, God’s-Chosen-Ones!... We, must-put-on,…much / “patience!”… Yes!...
“May, the,…Peace / of: The-Father!... Rule-over, our,…own / hearts-and-mind. Let, the-spoken-words,…of / The-Son, dwell-deeply; within your own,…spirit!”… Amen.
Folks!... We, must exercise this necessary,…”patience!”… In, a manner that,…allows / “the-tares”; to also grow, alongside of us,…”The-Wheat!”…
For, when the crop,…comes-up / and begins, to ripen; these,…”weeds” / planted,…by; our many, enemies. They, will also make,…their / appearance: well-known!... Yes!...
In-the-end, these,…”tares” / display, their: true-colors!... And, without any doubt,…they shall / distinguish/ themselves,…becoming; easily-defined.
Dear-reader and friends. Lies-and-deceptions, turn-out,…blacken / darken: by-their-deeds!... Only, real-truth,…is / “golden”: just like, the ripen,…Wheat!... Amen.
So, let us,…allow / both,…the; tares-and-the, wheat,…to grow / together: until-the-harvest!... Then, at-the-harvest,…God / by-in-and-thru: Jesus!... He, will order,…the-harvesters / His-Angels, from-Heaven; to collect, the,…”blacken-and-dark” / tares!... *(first-and-foremost)*…
And, bundle-them-up,…to / burn!...
Friends. Hell-Fire, is,…(“spiritually-representative”) / of-an-eternal: separation, from,…God!... Yes!... Truly,…a-place-of / torment: both, night-and-day!... It’s been, set-apart,…for / the: purposely-defiant and unruly-ones!...
Yes!... A-dark-place, of permanent,…”separation” / from: God!... And, without any,…”Angelic-Protection!”… *(what-so-ever)*…
Unlike, today. Where, we have,…God’s-Love / which-keeps, us: “Safe!”… And,…from,…harm’s-way!... As, God,…has / “ordained”: The-Holy-Spirit!... Yes!... To, remain,…down-here / on: Earth!... And, with much,…”permanence!”… *(until-the-return / of: Jesus)*… Amen.
This,…”Spirit-of-Truth” / is-our-surest: Protector!... Guiding-and-Comforting, us,…who-believe / into: all-truths!... *(at-the-same / time)*…
I-personally-believe, that,…we are / also-assigned,…each: A-Guardian-Angel… Yes!... Just, count,…all / your-previous; close, calls,…which you / have: encountered!... With,…Death!... And, of how,…you’ve / “escaped!”…
Then, tell me,…that / this: isn’t-so!... *(who-was-there / to: protect-you?)*…
And, to you,…the / unbeliever; who always, tends,…to / question: God’s-own-position. Yes, you,…the, accusers. Always, doubting,…God’s / existence.
Where, is,…God?... And, why,…does / He, allow-the-young; and the, innocent,…to / die: always, so,…tragically. And, without,…any / real: reason-nor-justification?... *(this-is-often / the most: asked-question)*…
Folks!... Countless, are-the-verifiable,…answers: In,…God’s-own / defense,…let me, start; by,…saying / that: “Medically-speaking, many couples,…are / engaging, in having; babies. Without, determining,…first / their-own: “blood-types!”... Yes!...
Babies-born, by,…the mere,…(“will-of-mankind”)!... And, not, really-ever,…by / the-will,…of: Almighty-God!... Big-Difference, here. Yes!...
“Incest”, is another / issue: not-easily-addressed.
“Kissing-Cousins”,…having,…mutant-babies!... All, because / of: “Blood-lines”,…being; way-too-close,…to / original: family-nucleus. Known, to the,…science / world: to cause, real,…problems-with-births!...
We, as,…humans / are: fallen-and-diseased!... And, to,…me / personally: this-seems, more true,…with the / passing-of-time!... Yes!... Defects, in-children… *(more-evident / and: all-around-us)*…
“Autism”, ever-growing,…within / our: local-communities!... Often-times, attributed-and-blamed,…on / the: processed-foods, we are all,…consuming!...
Also, something-not,…too / politically-correct: to even, say!... Mixed-Ethnic-Groups!...
God, has always,…created / (“specific-species”): to include, the,…animal-kingdom; there, are,…birds-of-the-air / each: after, its-own-kind. Differing,…”species!”…
And, there are,…fish-in-the,…sea. Each, after its,…own / kind, with: varying-species, always,…included. Yet, they are all,…called / fish!...
Let’s not, think,…for / one moment,…that / humans: aren’t-originally-created, with,…varying-types,…of / “species!”… Yet, we are all,…called / One: Human-Race!... *(although-existing / with: varying-species, yes)*…
The-general-masses,…(“politically-say”),…that: The-Human-Race, it is all,…One!... Really?... Why, are-our-government,…forms, applications / documents: even-till-this,…day. Still, insisting,…we / mark: who-we-are?...
Are, you,…Hispanic / Latino?... Are, you,…White, Black, Asia-or-Indian?...
Why, do we,…hold,…”double-standards?”…
Because, (“deep-down”),…we / know: although, we don’t,…admit / publicly, that; “the-human-race”,…consists / of: varying-species!...
Now, this-springs-forth,…another / important: issue!...
What-about. Before,…and,…after,…”Noah’s-Days!”… Were, Noah’s-own-Sons,…married / each: to one,…of-the,…”primary-species?”…
After, all,…our / Bible,…says, that: Noah,…had-a-wife. And, he also,…had / three, (3): sons!... And, each,…son / had, each: his-own-wife!...
Well,…”Noah’s-Sons” / would-obviously-be: of the same,…”species” / as: Noah!... Assuming, that,…Noah / was: White, himself!... *(and-that / his-wife: was, also,…white)*…
Then, did,…each,…son-of-Noah / marry: a woman, of the other,…primary / “species?”…
Answer: I don’t know. This, is one,…of / my-own-questions: which remain, unanswered!...
And, if,…each / son-of-Noah: married-a-different,…”species” / than-that, of: themselves!... Would, not,…this / “equate”,…to: the-following-generations, being,…of / “mixed-ethnic-groups?”…
How, was,…this / world: re-started?... Really?... And, could it be,…possibly / that: God, allowed,…such / inter-marrying,…only, for that: (“one-time”)!...
Only, for,…the,…(“purpose”),…of / continuing: the primary,…four, (4): species-of-humans?... *(meaning / white, black, red-skin / and-yellow)*…
After, all. God, also,…”imposed” / that-we-humans: were to be, only,…allowed-to-live / thereafter: for a maximum, of,…120 / years!...
Whereas, prior,…to the,…”Great-Flood” / of: Noah’s-Days!... Mankind, as-a-whole,…lived / several-hundred: years!... Well, documented,…in our,…Bible!...
Was, it,…because,…God / knew-that, further; decay-would-follow?...
That, the-human-body / changed,…by, exercising; inter-breeding, practices?… And, that we,…would / not-last,…as long: as,…before?...
Yes!... Before, the,…”Great-Flood” / perhaps, humans; back then,…were / more-so,…of: one-specific,…(”species”) / or,…another!...
But, not,…”mixed!”… After, all,…its known / that, in the; “Book-of-Genesis” / it-highlights, the fact,…that,…”Giants-were-born” / as-the-result,…of / Fallen-Angels!...
They, desiring,…to,…”lay-down” / with-the: women-of-the,…Earth!... *(back-in-those / times)*…
Special-Note, here:
Have you, not,…noticed,…how / readily: people today, reach,…the heights,…of,…seven, (7): feet?... Yes!... Basketball, players,…abound / who, are extremely; taller-and-taller,…every / day…
To,…be,…(“seven-feet”) / tall,…is not; looked-upon,…as any / big-deal: now-a-days!... Are, we,…in-every / way: returning, to-the,…”Days-of-Noah?”…
Our,…Bible / notes-that; Jesus,…returns / in-a-time, where; our, world,…will be / found, as: in-the,…”Days-of-Noah!”… Yes!...
Very, extra-ordinarily-tall,…(”species-of-humans”) / and-of-mixed: “ethnic-groups!”… Amen.
Perhaps,…then-again / perhaps,…not: important?... You, tell,…me!...
Could, it be,…that,…thereafter / with-the-continuing,…of: additional-in-breeding, of,…these,…(”species”) / things: complicated, themselves,…further?...
And, to,…the-point,…where / we: stand, today?... With, the,…majority-of-people / representing,…various-mixed: “ethnic-backgrounds?”...
What, we,…do-know,…is / that,…like: never-before!... Children, being-born-today,…have / inherited: multiple-diseases,…and,…many-more / malformations!...
Our,…”medical-world” / in-the-past, was able; to,…(”identify”),…various-diseases,…as / primarily-belonging, to,…a-specific,…”species-of-human!”…
Not, the case,…now-a-days!... Complications-abound, at,…birth / with: (“mixed-ethnic-groups”), of,…humans.
“Mutant-genes”,…alcohol-and-drug,…use / prior-and-during: pregnancy!...
Many, are,…the issues / which-open-up: new cans, of,…worms!...
“Humanity”, has become,…like / a: run-a-way,…train. Without, an,…Engineer / at-the-helm. Yes!...
With, every-person,…doing / only,…what-they / believe: is-the-right, thing!... Never, questioning-nor-wandering,…what / God’s-Perspective: might-be?... *(nor-much-less / do-they-really: even, care)*…
And, so,…we / fast-forward: to-modern-days!... We, all,…”cry-out” / for: God!...
Why,…us?... Why, did,…You / take-my: baby?... So, early,…so / young?...
In, the case,…of,…”early-infant-death-syndrome” / known-as: “SIDS!”…
How, unfair,…truly / this-is!... Many, times,…doctors / dumb-founded: completely. Never-knowing, the actual,…cause-of-Death!...
I want, to close / this-hard-topic, by: saying, this…
None, of it,…is / God’s-Doing!... No, sir!... They, are the,…”direct-results” / of-us-humans, exercising: our own,…free-will…
Perhaps,…(“misused-and-mismanaged”),…altogether!... Yes!...
These, events,…of / sudden-Deaths,…whether-of-children; and/ or,…adults. They, teach us / how fragile; life, truly,…is. Yes!...
Sometimes, they,…(“convict”) / us: to change, certain ways,…of / behavior!... I believe, each,…of us,…is-a / “Spirit!”…
And, to be,…”Absent-from-the-body. Is, to be present / with: God!”…
So, each,…”spirit” / is, appointed; their-own-time,…here / on: Earth!... *(how-ever / brief: or long, that,..may be)*…
Yes!... Appointed-by-God!...
Despite, all,…”the-physical-challenges”,…mentioned / above: all-of-it, might be,…the result / of,…our-own / (“mismanagement-of-self”)!...
I think, of,…how /God: never wanted, the,…Israelite / people: to ever, marry,…other-peoples!...
Then, I question,…why?... Is there, a-deeper-message,…here?... Does, it go,…beyond / (“religious-pagan-practices”),…of / other: nations?...
Could-it-have, been,…because / differing-species: and the, inter-breeding,…of / them: eventually-brings, about,…insurmountable / “afflictions?”...
*(more-so / than, we are; already-destined, to. Because, of our,…inherit-sin-nature)*…
Answer: I-don’t have, all-the-answers!... No, one,…person / does!... Just, food-for-thought!... That’s,…all…
If, I can,…remotely / get you,…to / think, for-yourselves; about, our every,…”behavior” / having: consequences!... Both, good-and-bad,…”consequences” / depending-upon, the actual: behavior!...
Then, perhaps,…as-a-writer,…by / hobby: I will have,…succeeded!... Amen.
Thank-God, for,…His / “Pro-Active-Plan!”… Of,…Salvation!...
Something,…(”good”) / always-comes-forth,…from, every; man-made-turmoil... Yes!...
Many, are the,…man-made / “errors!”…
“May, Almighty-God!... Continue, to,…delve / His-Hands, into; what we, have managed,…to / destroy!”... Amen. *(His-Once / Long-Ago: Perfect-Plan)*…
I believe, in,…”His-Restoration-Plan!”... Designed, by-in-and-thru,…The-Son’s / involvement!... Amen.
Praise-God!... All-will, come-to-pass!... Yes!...
In-the-end, “Creation”,…will / move-on: to-new-chapters, yet,…future!... Amen.
*(God-Willing)*…
REMEMBERING-YOU,…IN-MY / “PRAYERS!”…
“Sweet-Jesus!... Exert, Your-Great-Powers,…over the constancy, of / our-own: hearts-and-minds!... For, countless,…continue-to-be, our: wrong-doings!... We, (Your-Faithful-Followers), marvel at,…Your / own: spoken-words!”… Amen.
“All-the-while, we,…know that,…You / have-learned-them, from: Your-own-Father!... Yes!... Who, is-in-Heaven!”... Amen.
Dear-reader and friends. We, today,…give / thanks, to: Almighty-God!... For-the-shelter, given us,…(who-believe); under the truths, spoken by,…His-Son!... *(Jesus-the-Christ)*…
But, it would not,…profit / us,…if-the, Son’s-Teachings; did not,…”leaven” / our-thoughts,…and, our-own,…words-and-deeds. May, we all,…be / ultimately; stimulated-into-Actions!... Amen.
“Almighty-God!... *(Yahweh)*… Let, our,…spirit / be-fixed, on: Your-Truths!... So, that,…in-every-thing / we-do,…and,…say. We, end-up,…pleasing / You!”... Amen.
Brothers-and-Sisters!... I-personally, keep-thanking,…God!... Always. For, all-of-you!... Yes!… Constantly, remembering you,…in / my-personal-prayers!...
Mindful, I-remain,…as-we / together,…stand, before; our-living,…God!... Amen.
Yes!... The-Work,…of,…your-own / Faith!... The, many,…”labors-of-love!”… And, the,…(“constancy”),…of / your-hope,…fixed, on-our; Lord-and-Saviour!... *(Jesus-of-Nazareth)*…
I-know, also,…that / you-have, been; chosen-and-destined, of,…God!... As, the-gospel-message,…has / proven,…to be: also-for-you!...
Not-only, in,…matter-of-words / but, also-of-much: “Power!”… Yes!... By-in-and-thru, The-Holy-Spirit!... *(and-your-own / personal-convictions)*…
For, doing your part,…you have / become,…(“imitators”)-of: Jesus!... And, this,…pleases / God: the-most!...
Thus,…”together” / we, continue-to-be,…that,…(“ideal”) / model… Yes!... For, others,…to / follow. Because, this,…”Word” / spoken-first,…by: Jesus!... It, today,…also / “resounds”: in-us!... *(“His-Faithful-Followers”)!... Amen.
So, let,…”others” / talk-about, us!... With, regard to,…what-kind / of,…admittance, we’ve finally; gained. Yes!... As, we hold,…our heads / high, in the,…very-presence / of: God!...
For, we-are-those,…who / serve,…the, (“living-and-true”), God!... *(Yahweh / His-Infinite-Name)*… As, we,…patiently / await; the-coming-down, from,…Heaven!... His, only,…begotten / Son!... *(our-blessed / Jesus)*…
Yes!... Jesus!... Whom,…The-Father / has-raised: from-the-Dead!... And, this,…very-same / Jesus, shall: deliver, us!... From,…God’s-own-Wrath!... Still-to-come!... Amen.
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Once Upon a Time Character Spoilers: The Blind Witch and Maleficent
The article talks a bit about Maleficent, and reveals that the witch from Hansel and Gretel is going to feature in the show, though she hasn't been cast yet.
Once Upon a Time could run for 'multiple years,' per ABC chief
As Once Upon a Time undergoes a creative reboot heading into its seventh season, ABC Chief Channing Dungey is leaving open the possibility of plus years to come.
Once Upon a Time Creators question if Hook and Emma's True l’amour Will Conquer All
Interview with A&E. What I'm most excited about is what they have to say about the return of Mulan and Ruby, and the upcoming same-sex l’amour story (FINALLY)!
Once Upon a Time Deserves a Happy Ending
About the writers and cast finding each other.
Once Upon A Time discussion room
With a friend we have decided to create a room, where people who actually like Once Upon A Time would discuss. If toi want to come, it will be really really cool to talk about this montrer we actually all love!!! Thanks and I hope to see toi there :)
soumis par helomusic il y a plus d’un an
Once Upon a Time Down to Series Low on Sunday
Episode five of OUAT took in 10.66 million viewers, and had a rating of 3.4.
Once Upon a Time Enchants Viewers
'Nother positive review.
Once Upon A Time Episode 100 Description: “Souls Of The Departed”
ABC has released an official description for the highly-anticipated 100th episode of Once Upon A Time which airs on Sunday, March 6.
Once Upon a Time Episode 5 Synopsis and Promo photos
For episode five, "That Still Small Voice."
Once Upon a Time Episode Two "The Thing toi l’amour the Most" First Nine minutes
Watch the first nine minutes of 1x02, "The Thing toi l’amour the Most."
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Michel Wieviorka: Global Sociology of Social Movements
By Admin Jul 27, 2015 / No Comments
Towards a Global Sociology of Social Movements Today
English | Pour une sociologie globale es mouvements sociaux d’aujourd’hui (French)
Michel Wieviorka
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS),
Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH), Paris
Sociology is now global.
This observation has in fact at least three distinct and complementary meanings.
The first is that this subject is no longer the monopoly of the West alone and that the hegemony of the West has been demolished. True, the English language is omni-present and the publishers or major journals remain, as they say, ‘Anglo-Saxon’, mainly North American, British and Dutch. True, the ‘soft power’ of the United States also continues to operate through the social sciences, in particular from the platform of their academic system. But in other parts of the world the social sciences are vibrant and capable of intellectual autonomy; we witnessed the first instance in Latin America, then in Asia and now this is beginning to be the case in Africa. One might say that the social sciences have become globalised, extending geographically throughout the world.
To say that sociology is global, also means that its developments cannot be understood if we restrict our observations to the context of the nation-state or even of the region. To grasp these developments we have to go beyond what Ulrich Beck referred to as ‘methodological nationalism’ and develop a vision of the origin, circulation and future growth or regression of its paradigms, the choice of objects and methods and theoretical discussions. In a way, even the term ‘international’ should in many respects give way to that of ‘global’ so as not to restrict the global dimensions of our activities to the linkage of what is taking place in the context of the nation-State alone.
And, thirdly, to describe sociology as being global is to admit that the ways of thinking in this subject are becoming global, by which I mean that they recognise the existence for the analysis of a set of levels which extend from the most general, at world level, to the most restricted, the local level, and pass through the regional and the national. This is ‘thinking globally’. Each level retains its possible autonomy and a researcher may very well focus on only one of them. But that should not prevent the study of the facts or social relations on other scales and consideration of the articulation of the levels.
This threefold globalisation of sociology in no way means that sociology is restricted to considering its objects uniquely from the viewpoint of different systems ARTICULATED TO VARYING DEGREES and even less that it remains dominated by structuralist-type approaches. On the contrary, and this is not a paradox, this threefold globalisation encourages us to consider what may appear to be very distant from it namely the most unusual, the most personal: the individual, the particular subject (the private person), their passions, desires, calculations, fears, or emotions including the most intimate. For, if individualism is gaining ground all over the world, if the social sciences in the past thirty years, have been rediscovering the individual subject, subjectivity and, better still, the processes of subjectivation and de-subjectivation, it is because globalisation, generally speaking, weakens the previous systems, certain States, certain institutions, old social movements and that, in the face of globalisation, finally the first form of resistance or of action originates in the personal conscience of individuals. The latter can then choose to become involved, define themselves in terms of a collective identity, mobilise for a cause, recognise themselves in a religion: the point of departure, in a world which is globalising, is a highly subjective personal choice.
Consequently, the sociology of ‘struggles for a better world’ should be envisaged from a new perspective. In the 1960s and 70s, two main trends set the tone both of which proposed to focus on social movements in a framework which was basically national. On one hand, the ‘mobilisation of resource’ theories and those related to them saw social movements as being instrumental action, in fact essentially political, with actors endeavouring to break into an institutional system, extend their influence there and weaken that of their opponents. Charles Tilly was undoubtedly the founder and the best representative of this type of approach. On the other hand, for Alain Touraine and his close associates the term ‘social movement’ served to distinguish analytically one particular meaning in social struggles, that which ultimately aimed at controlling historicity, the most central values of community life.
It must now be admitted that this theoretical conflict has to be reviewed, to take into consideration the fact that our societies are no longer industrial, or even ‘post-industrial’, that the most important protestors have changed and that they act locally while they themselves think in global terms. It must also be noted that the failure of this type of actor, their absence and their impotence can lead to their inversion, to the rise of social anti-movements, for example to global terrorism. It should also be noted that the cultural or religious dimensions of the action are often a more mobilizing force than their specifically social aspects. To put it in a nutshell, if we consider that social life is produced and constructed through its conflicts and consequently, if we aim for the development of a global sociology of social movements, we must make a determined effort to update.
Michel Wieviorka is Professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales and President of the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, both in Paris. He has been President of the ISA (2006-2010).
global sociology,
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Watch This One's for the Ladies
(232) IMDb 5.0 82 min 2018
This One's for the Ladies is a movie starring Lakia Hunter, Michele Moore, and Poundcake. This documentary explores the sexual and social identity of contemporary black America through intimate, eye opening and often hilarious...
Lakia Hunter, Poundcake, Terrill Ross, Michele Moore
Gene Graham
This documentary explores the sexual and social identity of contemporary black America through intimate, eye opening and often hilarious accounts from women and men who find love and community in the underground world of exotic dancing.
Download documentary «This One's for the Ladies»
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29 customer reviews about «This One's for the Ladies»
Margaret H.
Sunday, 19 Jul 2020 20:00
The book was a good one, but the movie is even better. I'm going to read the book again to see how they did it. I was impressed with the movie. It is better than the book, and better than the movie version of the book. The movie is so much better than the book, I could go on and on about how great the movie is. If you have not seen the movie, I recommend you do. It is a very good movie, and if you have seen the movie, you will not be disappointed. The movie is so much better than the book, and I highly recommend you see it.
This documentary will show you that women in the world can run, dance, act, and have an orgasm without getting it on. That's the big secret of women. This is a big discovery for us as men too. It's true, it's soooooo cute and funny and exciting. It's also scary, it's soooo true. And the funniest part of the whole documentary is when we get to see some of these people after they watch the documentary and they're like "Yikes! What did I just watch?! What was I thinking?! This is so awesome!"
Betty Holland
An Amazing documentary that I believe will become a standard for future documentaries. I was really touched by the people in the documentary and their testimonies. The video was beautiful, the details of the people and their stories were wonderful. I loved how the narrator gave his life story in the film. The narrator was so honest and full of himself, and I really liked that about this documentary. The documentary made me feel so sorry for all the people in the world that are facing such extreme situations. I also think the documentary had a message that I needed to hear, and it was a great thing to see. Thank you for a wonderful documentary. I loved it!
Friday, 10 Jul 2020 04:23
This film is the story of one man's quest to make a film, and how he and his crew made a film about one of the most notorious cults in the history of film-making. The film shows the difficulties and aplomb of making a film. The film is filmed in high definition and it is the most complete film I have ever seen about cults. The film shows the complexities of cults and the inner workings of the cult itself. It is the ultimate in documentary film making. I give this film a 10 out of 10.
I don't want to say too much about this movie because it is an incredible film and I am not going to tell you any spoilers. The only thing I would like to say is that this film was completely phenomenal. The story is nothing special but it was excellent and I am going to have to go watch it again in a few weeks. I am glad that I decided to go see it. I was very impressed with the direction that this film took. I felt like it was a good representation of the gay community and the people who lived through it. It was very informative and it showed that everyone is still trying to make it in life and that they are still alive. This is a very important movie that will definitely not be forgotten.
Jesse Y.
From the title and the subject, I expected a strange and disjointed documentary about the making of a movie. Instead, I was treated to a fascinating and enlightening history lesson. I never thought that movies could be so complex and complex and complex. I always thought that they were about telling a story and making a point. This movie showed me that films are also about more than just making a point, that they can be so much more. This movie is a very well made film that is based on true events. I was moved and amazed by the experience I had at the Sundance film festival. My heart ached for the people who worked on this project, because it is all so real. I never thought that the people who worked on this movie could be so compassionate and kind. I loved the honesty in the stories of these people, I loved the way they were portrayed in the movie, and I loved the way the movie was presented. I wish that I had seen it at the theater. This movie was very well done, and I hope that it gets a wide distribution. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about the making of a movie.
This film tells the story of the deadly people who are so deeply intertwined with our world. It shows how a horrific epidemic of AIDS is linked to a repressive regime in Cambodia. It's shocking to see the lengths to which the regime will go to eradicate the AIDS virus, but it is also inspiring to see how a small community in Cambodia has made a difference in the fight against AIDS. The film shows the impact of the disease, but it also shows the impact of the government, the people, and the media. The film is a great look at how one man can make a difference, and it shows the positive role that a community can play in the fight against AIDS. It's also a great film about the devastating impact that the Cambodian regime had on the lives of the Cambodian people, and it is a great movie to watch with your friends, as it's a great watch, not because of its content, but because of its message.
Beverly J.
This documentary is a must for all girls who are in high school or college. It shows the harsh realities of high school for the girls. I don't know if it is accurate or not, but I do know that most girls who attend this school go through the same things. It shows a lot of things, such as being forced to do drugs, getting in fights and getting into trouble. It also shows a lot of other things, such as how much they are trying to fit in and the social aspect of the school. There are two interviews with the girls, and the interviews are really good. I recommend it to girls who want to know what it is like to go through high school and have to do drugs, get into fights and have to be friends with girls who do drugs. It is a really good documentary, and I think it should be shown to every high school. It shows a lot of other things, such as the girls not wanting to be friends with other girls and that they have to get in fights to get attention. I would recommend it to girls who want to know what it is like to go through high school and have to do drugs, get into fights and have to be friends with girls who do drugs.
Ronald Jensen
I had the pleasure of meeting with Christopher Strickland in New York last week. I was really impressed by the man and his work. He is very likable and a real pro, as I'm sure is his daughter. He is not only a long time freelance photographer, but he has also worked in many other fields. I felt he was very honest and had an honest sense of humor. I'm happy that he was able to share his story and share his ideas with so many people. He did not want his story to be used as a marketing tool, so I'm very happy that his story has been shared. I'm glad he was able to bring his story to the public, and I'm very glad he was able to share his ideas with the world. Thank you Christopher for being such a great photographer and for sharing his story with the world. It is a shame he wasn't able to share his ideas with the world. I can only hope that this can happen again and again. There are people out there that are too afraid to express their feelings and their thoughts to others. This is the way it should be!
Phillip Curtis
This movie, like so many others of its kind, is a must see for anyone who has a personal connection to these great men who lost their lives. It is in its nature a very graphic movie and there is no substitute for the film itself. But this is a film for people who like to see what war can do to people. I also recommend this film to people who don't have an interest in war at all, or only have a general interest in the civil war. This film will touch you and make you think. I do not believe that any movie has ever done this before, and I have seen many, many movies, both good and bad, but I will not say it again. This is a movie that will touch you and make you think.
I saw this documentary in a screening in Boston, and to be honest, I have never seen a documentary that had as much to say about the topic as this one. I'd like to believe that the people who made this film had a lot of passion for the subject matter, but I feel like they were unable to capture the essence of this documentary that would have made it stand out as a classic. I feel like it's important to have a voice on the topic of the LGBTQ community, and for that, I applaud the filmmakers for the work they put into this film. They were able to make a documentary that was an hour and a half of life, and I felt like they were able to convey the essence of the subject matter through their film. I thought the movie was very well made, and I think the film is one that you need to see.
I am a fan of the films of Martin Scorsese and The Departed. The two films have been compared in the past, so it was with some trepidation that I decided to watch this documentary. The film covers the entire film and not just the first two minutes. If you want a summary of the film, I would recommend viewing the previous commentaries. However, if you want a complete breakdown of the film, you will be disappointed. For the most part, the film is based around the audience reaction to the film, not Scorsese's film. I would not say that the film was Oscar worthy, but I think it is very close. The film is very slow at times and is not as entertaining as the previous commentaries, but it does get you thinking about the film and the questions it raises. I am sure that you will want to watch this film and learn more about the movie.
Vincent Ortega
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie. I think it's a great story about a different world. The camera is very realistic, and the script was so real and so cool. I thought the story was interesting and interesting to me. The acting is very good. I'm glad I watched this movie. It really moved me. The director did a great job and the actors did a great job too. I think this is a great movie and a great story. I hope it's nominated for some awards. I really want to see it win some awards. I'm really happy that this movie was made. It really changed my life. I love this movie so much.
This is an amazing documentary about the girls who went on to be Hollywood stars. They are still around to this day, and they tell their story of their young lives in Hollywood, and how it changed them. As they got older, they had to grow up fast. The story of her mother, who was a sex addict, was an incredible reminder of the terrible things that could have happened to them, had they not had a father figure in their lives. In the documentary, we learn about the amazing career that these girls had. And the fact that they could make it big, despite their very difficult lives. There are so many women, who had such a tough childhood, who were able to rise to the top of the business, and even beyond. So, to the one who says, "Girls are pretty bad for a long time." I say, if they were so bad for so long, why didn't they get help sooner, and were able to overcome it? What did these girls need, that we didn't have? What were they really lacking? Because I think that women have to be strong, to face up to the worst things that they can go through in their lives, and rise to the top. This is an amazing documentary about these women, and their lives in Hollywood, and the lives they are living now, with their success in their careers.
Deborah F.
This movie was just great. It was really amazing how everyone was doing what they were doing, how they were all so happy. I was so moved by the audience, it was so touching. I can't get it out of my mind. I will never forget this movie. The ending was just so beautiful. And the special effects were amazing. It was so nice to see this kind of movie. It really was a good one. Thank you so much for this movie. It was so good.
Joshua Wheeler
I am a fan of the arts, and this documentary is about the American muralist, Henry O. Rockwell. The art was and is an important part of our culture, and it is all but lost to us today. The beautiful things in this documentary include art to the right of his back, hand drawn figures in the middle of the painting, and a few to the left. I was especially impressed with the underwater shots of the great Colorado River that are still there today. The beautiful landscape that was part of his life is still there, and if we are lucky it will be there for the next generation to enjoy. His style of painting and drawing is a beautiful one, and he will be remembered in the arts as a great artist. I loved his use of color, and I loved the fact that he did not go for flashy colors, but a subtlety that helped the viewer get into his paintings. I also enjoyed the story about his wife, who died from cancer in the 80's. He was a true artist and is missed by all.
Gary Barrett
It's easy to understand why this movie is so successful. It's a MUST SEE for anyone who's considering a career in acting. The directors interviews and descriptions of the roles were riveting. The movie is filled with quotes from the actors themselves, which is a nice touch. I highly recommend it. It's a wonderful, honest, and revealing look at what the role of an actor is. The director did a fantastic job, as well as the other cast members. They were all excellent in their roles, as well. If you are considering acting, see this movie. I don't see why not.
I have been a fan of Tim Robbins for quite a while now, and even though his films are always awesome, this one is the best I have ever seen. He shows us that we all have flaws and that we have the ability to learn from them, and that in order to learn, we need to learn from our mistakes. I love how he describes how it feels to be a successful writer, or artist, or whatever. I also love how he talks about what the process of writing is like, and how difficult it is to keep going with a bad script. If you want to learn from the mistakes that you make in life, this is the film for you. I highly recommend this movie.
I just saw this documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. It was so powerful, and I can't get it out of my mind. The people interviewed are really good people, and they have been impacted by the changes they have seen in their lives. They are people who have been making this movie for years, and they had to keep working on it, because they could not be satisfied with the results. This is a great movie, and I hope that more people see it. The people interviewed are also very talented, and they deserve to be recognized for their work. I hope that the people interviewed will continue to make these films. I hope that they will be able to make more movies like this one. I have seen some really great documentaries, but this one is really different. It is a documentary that shows you the people that are making the changes, and how they are making them. This is a movie that is very powerful, and it will change the way you see the world. This is a must-see film, and it is a movie that I will be recommending to my friends. I have been watching it for over two years, and I will continue to watch it.
Ethan C.
One thing you'll never hear about in a film is the dangers of use of crack cocaine. Yet in this film, crack-heads are portrayed in a light that is chilling. What makes this film so powerful is that the director didn't exploit the plight of the drug-using community, but instead just presented a more accurate and realistic picture of how the drug is really affecting the lives of the addicts. The problem with this film is that the images of the drug are graphic and it's difficult to watch. Also, if you're the type of person who watches a lot of television, this film is not for you. I would have to say this is the best film I have ever seen about drugs. The film has a clear message and it is powerful. There are many things that the film can be used for, such as motivating people to take control of their lives. I recommend it to anyone who wants to see a film that will touch you.
I have always been a huge fan of "Saturday Night Live" and having watched all the episodes, I am well aware of what they did for the United States in the early 1980s. This documentary should be a must for any viewer, especially anyone that has never been to the U.S. in the early 1980s, is easily familiar with the American media and its "New York Cons" (aka the "New York Times"), or just wants to know what the fuss was about. I would recommend this documentary to anyone who is in the mood to see what the "New York Times" (and the rest of the "New York" media) were all about and how they were getting away with it. I believe this documentary should be required viewing for anyone that has been to the U.S. in the 1980s, but if you do not know what the "New York Times" were about or just want to know what all the fuss was about, I highly recommend this documentary. I am now on my way to a "special" screening of this documentary on "National Public Radio" and am going to do my best to have it shown to the entire audience. Thanks for making it!
I love how one of my all time favorite songs is not played on a big screen at the theatre. Even though it is now a part of my heart. The story is about the many amazing things that can be done with a little bit of creativity. This film is a must see for everyone. Whether you're into music, movies, or just trying to be creative. Everyone should see this movie!
Julia Ross
Great documentary, all the issues are addressed, but in a balanced way. I would watch it again and again and never get tired of it. If you're tired of seeing the same video of some fool, make this film for yourself.
Deborah Armstrong
As a die-hard MMA fan, I was skeptical that there would be an easy way to understand the sport in a casual and entertaining way. After watching this movie, I'm glad I was wrong. I loved every minute of it, and I'll definitely be going back to see it again. It's a must see for anyone interested in martial arts, and a must see for anyone who loves films about boxing. This movie is a must see for the sports and fighting fans out there. The cinematography is incredible, and it really gets you into the atmosphere of the fight scenes. I recommend this movie to anyone interested in martial arts, or just anyone who wants to learn more about it. It's a must see, and I give it 10/10.
I loved this movie. It was very entertaining and it was very touching. I was very moved by it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has any heart. It is a movie that will touch your heart and make you laugh. It is a must see.
Kathy J.
I was a bit skeptical about the idea of a documentary about a man who has been a part of the New Orleans Jazz scene for the past 25 years. I was skeptical because I am not a jazz fan. I've never been to a jazz concert and have never been to a club. I'm not a musician. I've never even heard of jazz. But I was pleasantly surprised by this film. The interviews with the men in the film are so candid and compelling that I was left with the feeling that I had been on the set of a film that had been made by a jazz fan who had spent his life in New Orleans. I would highly recommend this film to anyone who is interested in the history of the New Orleans Jazz scene. I was reminded of the great films that I have seen about jazz and New Orleans. "The Last Waltz" and "Rhapsody in Blue" are two of the best films about jazz I have seen. I highly recommend this film to anyone who is interested in jazz and New Orleans.
Susan Jenkins
I've seen this movie in the theater and I was very impressed. It is a must see for anyone interested in the life of the Beatles. I was surprised that the movie was not released in theaters. I thought the movie would be boring and I would not enjoy it. I was wrong. The movie is very well done. I was very impressed with the quality of the film. It is not a movie that I would have wanted to see on the big screen, but it is a movie that I would like to see again. I think the movie is very important because it is the story of a group of people who are extremely important to the history of music. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in the Beatles and their music.
Rachel T.
I was just watching this movie on TBS. I was completely captivated. I was not disappointed. The main character was very believable and I was impressed with the editing. I was also impressed with the information provided on the movie. It is very interesting to see the process that is used to prepare a man for marriage. It was also interesting to see how the men in the film are trained to be married men. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is looking for a good movie to watch.
Steven Jimenez
I thought this documentary was amazing. It shows the history of the 'wrestling' business, and how it is a very small part of a very big business. I think it is important for people to understand that the wrestling business is very different from other sports. The wrestling business is a business, and it is not like other sports. I think it is important to show that, and that is what this film does. It is a very good documentary, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes to learn more about the wrestling business.
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Defining Elegance and Power
The third-generation CLS
By Shereen Shabnam
The new five-seater Mercedes-Benz CLS with its sportiness and exceptional style blends the practicality of a sedan with the elegance and dynamism of a coupé. The third-generation pioneers the new design idiom of Mercedes-Benz, and is immediately recognisable by its clear contours and reduced lines.
The sportiness is evident in this model as it encompasses the design philosophy of sensual purity of its predecessors, but the new CLS exudes self-assured sportiness in exemplary style: a highly emotive vehicle, offering impressive long-distance and acoustic comfort coupled with thrilling, unrivalled technology.
The CLS’s striking front-end includes the diamond grille typical of Mercedes-Benz coupés, with a single louvre. The silhouette of the radiator grille widens towards the base, resembling the contours of the grille on the Mercedes-AMG GT.
The side design is characterised by the high, arching waistline with frameless side windows. The forward-slanting front end is reminiscent of a shark’s nose, and appears longer thanks to the fully inset bonnet. The contours follow the design philosophy of sensual purity: lines and edges are greatly reduced, and the surfaces are generously arched.
Extensive standard appointments include LED High Performance headlamps and the latest driving assistance systems. Like the headlamps, the LED tail lights, fitted with innovative Edge Light technology have a crystalline appearance and create a three-dimensional effect. Their low positioning accentuates the width of the vehicle.
Keeping wellness in mind while driving, the improved suspension and specific wellness settings for enhanced comfort, including massage, climate control and ambient lighting adds to the drive experience. The luxurious interior of the CLS Coupé impresses with its clear basic lines, and echoes the sensual, flowing contours of the exterior, with premium choice of materials delivering an impeccable finish.
The sporty, width-accentuated cockpit and colour combination creates an impression of particularly generous spaciousness. For a flowing overall impression, the wave-like course of the interior design extends from the front to the rear doors, opening up at the B‑pillars.
As a new highlight of the ambient lighting, the illuminated air vents are reminiscent of jet aircraft turbines. The sporty impression is also reinforced by the hand-finished appearance of the seats. A high-resolution Widescreen cockpit is available as well.
The seats were designed exclusively for this model series. Depending on the interior, they feature high-quality piping or transverse seams. The outer seats in the rear have the same appearance as the front seats, creating a sporty single-seat impression, although the CLS Coupé is in fact a five-seater for the first time. When required the backrests can be folded down in a 40/20/40 ratio, expanding the generous 520‑litre luggage compartment.
Energizing comfort control (optional) links various comfort systems in the vehicle. It systematically uses the functions of the climate control system (including fragrancing) and the seats (heater, ventilation, massage), the surface and steering wheel heating plus lighting and musical atmospheres, and allows a specific wellness set-up tailored to the mood of the customer. Well-being and performance levels are enhanced with six programmes to select from; Refresh, Warmth, Vitality, Joy, Comfort and Training.
The exclusivity of the CLS can be heightened even further with numerous luxurious features such as the copper art interior concept with seats in black pearl nappa leather, centre sections in a diamond design and copper-coloured accents plus copper-coloured contrasting topstitching on the centre console.
The CLS is equipped with the latest generation of driving assistance systems, with route-based driver support provided by the Driving Assistance Package. For instance, thanks to improved camera and radar systems, the new CLS has an even better view of the surrounding traffic. With the completely new engine line-up featuring the latest-generation of four and six-cylinder units, the third generation CLS promises to be a smooth ride for CLS fans.
Masterpiece of comfort, conviviality and on-board privacy
VISO REACHES OUT TO LABOURERS DURING RAMADAN
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Original contributions
Short communications
Technical advance
Ukrainian Medical Journal Online
Максим Степанов: МОЗ розробило Національну стратегію контролю...
Ліцензійний іспит «Крок» показав позитивну динаміку
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Оперативна інформація про поширення коронавірусної інфекції 2019-nCoV...
Full article in pdf format
Vol. 36, No. 4 :
Anatoly I. Bykorez
October 29, 2014 marks the 80th anniversary of Anatoly I. Bykorez, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Laureate of the State Award of Ukraine in Science and Technology.
A. Bykorez is a leading scientist in the field of experimental oncology, who made a great contribution to the development of such scientific fields as chemical carcinogenesis, growth factors, environmental oncology. He authored about 170 scientific papers, including 8 monographs.
The studies on the mechanisms of malignant transformation carried out by A. Bykorez in the 60–80s provided the basis for the concept of the common morphological manifestations of carcinogenesis induced by factors of different nature, such as the chemicals and the ionizing radiation. The findings of these studies were summarized in the monographs “Experimental Tumors of the Liver” (1976) and “Experimental Tumors of the Stomach” (1982), which became go-to books for many oncologists. These studies of Prof. A. Bykorez were honored with the State Award of Ukraine in Science and Technology (1981) and the Award of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine named after A.A. Bogomolets (1977).
An important and priority area of research by A. Bykorez and his followers deals with growth factors. One aspect of this research is reflected in the monographs “Polypeptide Growth Factors and Carcinogenesis” (1990) and “Transforming Growth Factor” (1994) dedicated to biological regulators of cell proliferation and differentiation. In 1995, A. Bykorez and his co-authors were awarded the Award of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine named after A.V. Palladin.
A. Bykorez was at the origin of the development of a new scientific field — environmental oncology. This topic was in focus of the world’s first book “Ecology and Cancer” (1985), and he was one of the authors and editor-in-chief of this book. Here and in subsequent papers, prospects for the development of environmental oncology were outlined, as well as the concept of ecological monitoring of carcinogens was put forward. In 1990, Prof. A. Bykorez was elected the president of the USSR Section of the Institute of Ecology and Cancer (Institut für das Entgeltsystem im Krankenhaus, or InEK).
A. Bykorez contributed a lot to the formation and development of the R.E. Kavetsky Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology of the NAS of Ukraine, where he had been working since 1960. Since 1974, he had headed the Department for Modeling of Tumor Process. In the same year, Rostislav Kavetsky invited him to become the deputy director for scientific work. A. Bykorez had held this position for over 20 years and has made an enormous contribution to the development of the scientific potential of the Institute and organization of its structure. All of the above is also true for his role as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the international journal “Experimental Oncology”. It is no exaggeration to say that no one issue has come out without a responsible control and editing by A. Bykorez.
A. Bykorez created one of the best schools of thought in Ukraine in the field of experimental oncology. His followers work in Ukraine, USA, England and other countries and remember with gratitude his practical and friendly advice, support and assistance.
Since the very foundation of the specialized dissertation advisory board in oncology, he had worked as the Deputy Chairman of the Board for many years.
After retiring in 1999, A. Bykorez continued to actively cooperate with the editorial board of the journal “Experimental Oncology”, and made very valuable contribution due to his knowledge, erudition and experience. In particular, he was a scientific editor of such books as “Apoptosis and Cancer” by A.A. Philchenkov, R.S. Stoika (1999), “Fas/Fas-ligand System” by Y.M. Stepanov, A.A. Philchenkov, N.E. Kushlinsky (2000) and “Immunology of Malignant Growth” by N.M. Berezhnaya, V.F. Chekhun (2005).
A. Bykorez features remarkable performance, exceptional modesty, accessibility, high culture and commitment.
The team of the R.E. Kavetsky Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology of the NAS of Ukraine, the editorial board of the journal “Experimental Oncology”, staff and followers congratulate A. Bykorez with his anniversary and wish him good health and new successes.
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The Sun Also Rises~ Alienation
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Alienation In the book The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, the three main characters deal with some form of alienation. The characters who are alienated would be Jake, Brett, and Robert and each of them are dealing with a different type. Jake would be going through powerlessness where he doesn’t have any control over his problem as well as cultural estrangement. Brett is also dealing with powerlessness but also socially isolated. Robert is battling social isolation, normlessness and meaninglessness.
This novel is one where the most important characters are set apart from each other due to problems that they encounter. Jake Barnes is not only one of the most important characters of the book but also the one who tell the story and tell the audience what is happening from his point of view. The fact that he is impotent is the root of his alienation. He is unable to have a relationship with women but more specifically, Brett. The only women he truly loves will not come into a relationship with him because he will not be able to satisfy her sexual needs.
Jake is also dealing with cultural estrangement which means he is not one with his generation. Being an expatriate of World War I, Jake is part of what Hemingway calls the “lost generation”. His experiences have led to a demise of his confidence in his masculinity and love. He is alienated from ever being physically involved with a women. Likewise, Brett is alienated from satisfying her love. Brett is a promiscuous woman and has to have her sexual desires fulfilled. The love of her life, Jake is impotent and incapable of giving her what she wants.
Even if she were to try to pursue a relationship with him, it would not work because he would not be able to please her and she would cheat on him in order to try and feel the same love she has for him with another man. She would not be able to truly satisfy her love mainly because of the way she is. She is an independent person and isn’t able to stay in a relationship with one person for a long time. Jake is the only one who she really wants to be with but since he is incapable of having sex, she won’t commit to a relationship with him.
Lastly, Robert Cohn has never been one to fit in with anyone. He is socially isolated in that no one really wants to talk to him or get to know him. “That moron” (Hemingway 50) is how Harvey Stone chooses to acknowledge Robert. He is constantly harassed by Mike in their trip to Spain and is never really invited anywhere, he just comes. He simply isn’t interesting in a way that people would like associate with him. His issue with normlessness is that he is just bland. There nothing anyone wants to find out about him even though he is a nice guy and is friendly.
When it comes to the matter of meaningless, Robert Cohn also is dealing with this issue. His life has no meaning or purpose to it. He doesn’t seem to know what he want in life or doesn’t seem to have any concrete goals or achievements that he would like to meet. In essence, there is no more than what meets the eye with Robert Cohn. The story of The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway shows members of a lost generation living out the remainders of their lives and the problems they face that get in the way of them living as if they were about to die.
The three main characters of this novel, Jake, Brett, and Robert all are dealing with some sort of alienation. Jake has problems with powerlessness in addition to cultural estrangement. Similarly, Brett deals with powerlessness and socially isolated. Lastly, Robert Cohn battles meaninglessness, normlessness, and social isolation. All these characters are alienated due to problems with themselves, others, or things that they have no control over. Alienation seems to be a common issue amongst these three main characters.
Author: Brandon Johnson
Related Posts about The Sun Also Rises~ Alienation
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The Sun Also Rises: Liberal Use of Dialogue by Hemingway
John Donne: the Sun Also Rises
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The Sun Also Rises Annotated Bibliography
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HomeEncyclopedia of Communist BiographiesBBirch Chris
Birch Chris
Christopher Berkeley Peyton Birch was born in 1928 in St Kitts, which was then the British West Indies, the son of Norman Peyton Birch and Iris Berkeley King. St Kitts was the same small island where Emile Burns (see separate entry), a distant relative, was born. Birch’s father was the accountant at the St Kitts branch of Barclays Bank; his mother’s family had been in the West Indies for nearly 300 years. As a child he spent ten years in St Kitts, followed by seven years schooling in Trinidad and a year in Barbados before going to England in 1946.
At Bristol University, he joined the Communist Party in 1948 and met and fell in love with Betty, his wife and life-long partner whom he married in 1950. When they moved to London from Bristol, the couple were both involved in the Aid to Spanish Youth Committee (Betty was chair), which campaigned on behalf of young political prisoners in Franco’s jails.
Chris was national treasurer of the Young Communist League from 1953 to 1955. The couple went to Warsaw (with their small son) in April 1955 to work on the International Preparatory Committee for the 5th World Festival of Youth and Students, which was held in Warsaw from 31 July to 14 August. When the festival was over, they then went in August to Budapest to work at the headquarters of the World Federation of Democratic Youth. Chris was the Young Communist League’s representative on the secretariat; Betty worked in the propaganda department. Their daughter was born in Budapest and, when street fighting broke out, Betty left with the children on 1 November. Chris and Charlie Coutts stayed until the fighting was over, leaving Budapest on 17 November.
Their time in Hungary enabled them to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the `communist’ government in that country and its failure to respond flexibly to demands for democratic change. On their return to London in 1956, Birch and Charlie Coutts wrote a memo to John Gollan, who had recently succeeded Harry Pollitt as party general secretary. It dealt with questions of democracy, corruption and their view that the ruling Communist Party in Hungary “had been reduced almost to political impotence,” largely because of a “widely held view that no major question could be decided without Moscow’s approval.” (The then governing party was actually called the Hungarian Working People’s Party.) Gollan did not reply to the letter but handed it over to the Soviet ambassador in 1956 to be forwarded to Moscow. Birch served for many years in the British-Hungarian Friendship Society on its executive committee, while Coutts settled in Hungary, from where he wrote regularly to the Morning Star until he died in 2000.
In 1966, Chris Birch was election agent for Peter Robson when he stood as a Communist candidate for Fulham. In 1968, he stood as a Communist candidate in the elections to Hammersmith borough council, gaining 145 votes. At that time he was secretary of the party’s Hammersmith borough committee.
A journalist for most of his working life, Chris was editor of a local government weekly for 13 years, taught journalism at the London College of Printing (now known as the London College of Communications), and was a journalist and sub-editor on the Morning Star, for a period of three-and-a-half years.
Fulfilling roles such as a NUJ activist, party branch officer, treasurer of the International Brigade Memorial Appeal and author of Communist Party policy on HIV/Aids, he remained a member of the CPGB until 1991 when it dissolved itself into the short-lived Democratic Left. Although Chris and Betty Birch still regard themselves as Communists, despite not having been a member of any communist organisation since 1991.
Chris’ own bisexuality has been open and accepted within a very happy marriage. He has given voluntary work at London Lighthouse from the earliest days of the HIV epidemic, along with the Terrence Higgins Trust, the Kobler HIV Clinic at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and Westminster Abbey.
Chris retired in 2012 after 20 years as an Abbey volunteer, despite being an atheist.
He was first elected a governor of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in 2007 and re-elected for a third three-year term in 2013.
MI5 has a file on him, no P.F.402/51/1064 which is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
He has published his autobiography “My Life: The Caribbean, Communism, Budapest 1956, journalism, HIV/Aids, London Lighthouse, Diana’s funeral, Westminster Abbey, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, and much much more”. (This may be ordered from www.StChristopherPress.com.)
Mason Johnnie
Ancrum Jimmy
Evans Chris
April 27, 2013 admin E 0
Chris Evans Born Christopher Evans around 1912, Chris Evans became a miner employed at the Seven Sisters Colliery and was an active Communist trades unionist for much of his life. In his younger days, […]
Knowles Chris
April 2, 2010 admin K 0
Chris Knowles Frank Spittle write: Chris Knowles was a labourer who worked in my father’s factory many years ago. During those terrible times of the 1930s, when work could not be found near one’s home, […]
Birch Betty
October 15, 2013 admin B 0
Betty Birch Betty Birch was born on 2nd March 1930 in Rothwell, Northamptonshire, the second child of Walter Andrew, a boot and shoe worker, and his wife Ruth, who came from the Forest of Dean, […]
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Grandfather Mountain celebrates exemplary customer service
Grandfather Mountain is known for its Mile High Swinging Bridge, but when it comes to service, the nonprofit nature park’s staff aims even higher.
In the first week of January, Harris Prevost, director of guest experience and external relations, announced the 2020 recipients for the Bill Alexander and Martha Oberhelman Award: Steve Miller and Jane Galloway.
The Bill Alexander Award acknowledges the staff member who goes above and beyond the call of duty in serving park guests, while the Martha Oberhelman Award recognizes the staff member who provides exceptional service to fellow employees.
Alexander spent nearly half a century helping customers and his fellow staff members. He was known for going the extra mile to teach, encourage and share the load of his many friends on the Mountain.
Oberhelman was known for her exemplary service to customers, the personal interest she took in them and the memorable experience they received when they came in contact with her.
In the 24th year since the awards’ conception, fellow staff members and past recipients recognize the best in Grandfather’s service-minded staff.
This year’s Bill Award was presented to head of park safety, Steve Miller. Miller can be described as a “Swiss Army Knife,” capable of completing many different tasks across numerous departments.
In nominating Miller, his fellow staff members said:
“He helps other departments on busy days, when staff is stretched to the max. He may be in the kitchen or at the gate or helping at the shops. He may even be outside directing traffic or parking cars. In a nutshell, he’s everywhere.”
“He’s a behind-the-scenes guy, but he needs to know that he is greatly appreciated for helping out when needed.”
“He is always helping other departments. I nominate him because he’s willing to help when he sees people need it.”
Miller has been at Grandfather Mountain for 38 years and is the only member of our staff to be head of three different departments throughout his career— habitats, trails and safety.
While accepting the award, Miller thought back to when it first originated.
“I remember the first time we started the Bill and Martha Award program, and I had the honor of picking the first member of the Bill Award,” Miller said. “So, it’s been a long time since we started that up and got it going. Thank you. I appreciate it, and I appreciate you all supporting the safety program.”
This year’s Martha Award was presented to food and beverage attendant Jane Galloway. Galloway has been compared by staff members to a “mother hen”—taking care of coworkers and guests alike.
“We work with the nicest people anywhere in the world, and that’s why I don’t want to be anywhere else,” Galloway said. “Because if you’re going to grow a family at my age, you are the people I want to grow with. So, thank you.”
In nominating Galloway, her fellow coworkers said:
“I’ve never seen anyone on the mountain treat our guests as well as she does. She always strives to make guests feel special.”
“She’s willing to drop anything if she sees a customer or fellow employee in need. She provides a shoulder to lean on.”
“She’s always ready to come in, even on her days off, even when the mountain is closed, just to feed the staff members.”
Jesse Pope, the park’s president and executive director, said, “Thank you so much for being such long-time, very supportive members of this family. You’ve always been a great support to all of us, and we really appreciate everything that you do. Both of you stepped up so much. There were times when you were coming in on your days off to fill in shifts and doing things way outside your regular realm. So, we very much recognize you for your hard work this year, and we greatly appreciate it.”
The nonprofit Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation strives to inspire conservation of the natural world by helping guests explore, understand and value the wonders of Grandfather Mountain. For more information or to book a trip, visit www.grandfather.com or call 800-468-7325.
Giving Tuesday at Grandfather Mountain
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Day 113: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Harry Potter finds out that there’s a whole hidden world of wizards and witches.
What’s more he’s an integral, famous part of this new world. He’s “the boy who lived!”, whatever that means.
A lot to take in for a boy who didn’t even know wizards existed.
For his entire life Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) has been controlled and restricted by his Uncle Vernon (Richard Griffiths). Married to Harry’s mother’s sister, Petunia (Fiona Shaw), Uncle Vernon tries to hide Harry’s real heritage from him.
When Harry approaches his 11th birthday, Uncle Vernon finds this now impossible as Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) comes to collect the young wizard and escort him to his first term at Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
He’ll meet new friends, like Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), and make new enemies, like Professor Snape (Alan Rickman) and Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton). Yep, even one of his new teachers seems to be out to get him.
But more importantly, he’ll learn of ‘He who must not be named‘, how his parents really died and hints at his own destiny. All the time trying to complete his studies in a world that is wholly new to him.
The first Potter movie is an enjoyable, innocent ride that introduces the audience to all the major elements of the story. A lot of the first half of the movie is taken up magically [sic] revealing the wizarding world to Harry and thus us.
Nicely acted by a young inexperienced cast and obvious care was taken over all the actor selections. Daniel Radcliffe seems made for the role. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson seem to enjoy and relish their roles too. With all the rest of the young cast pulling the story along the adults hardly seem necessary.
Put, boy, do the adult help! We start with the Dursleys played by Richard Griffiths and Fiona Shaw and quickly on to Hagrid, played by Robbie Coltrane. The movie starts with a quick glimpse of magic with a flying motorcycle, a light extinguishing “lighter” and a transmorphing cat. Later we learn more of Headmaster Dumbledore, played quietly by Richard Harris, and Professor McGonagall beautifully played by Maggie Smith. I can’t help thinking about Miss Jean Brodie though. 🙂
I could go on.
The book is well loved and watching the viewer feels it has been dealt with properly. Perhaps some small (hopefully) items are changed but that is always the case with adaptations. Or nearly. Perhaps I am down-playing the plot of the Philosopher’s Stone itself but that’s because the emphasis does seem to be “this is what we are doing, I hope you enjoy it”. But there is no excuse for renaming it “Sorcerer’s Stone” – that makes no sense at all.
However, I enjoy the movie every time I see it and it is a wonderful adventure.
Things to look out for: snake, “There’s no such thing as magic.“, Diagon Alley, Hogwart’s, “Curious, very curious.“, Alan Rickman‘s wonderful Snape, “She needs to sort out her priorities.“, Fluffy, friends and friendship, Quidditch, “I shouldn’t have said that.“, the power of love, The Mirror of Erised, the magic begins…
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Griffiths, Maggie Smith, Fiona Shaw, Tom Felton, Alan Rickman, Ian Hart, Julie Walters
Rating: highly entertaining magical adventure, very highly rcommended
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
Part of “Harry Potter, The Complete 8-Film Collection”
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NAMM 2021: Gibson outlines sprawling collection of new artist models for 2021
Daniel Seah - 21st January 2021
Including Custom Shop models for Peter Frampton, Marcus King, Tom Petty and many more.
NAMM 2021: Gibson updates Original, Modern Collections with new ES models and non-reverse Thunderbird bass
The brand's new-for-2021 models have landed.
FeaturesInterviews
Josh Rand’s Top 10 Guitar Playing Tips
Josh Rand is a founding member of Stone Sour, a Berklee College of Music graduate and an accomplished rock guitarist. Here, he shares his tips on becoming a better player…
1. Playing standing up
“I’m even guilty of constantly sitting down myself. If the ultimate goal is for the individual to perform and unless you’re playing nylon it’s a necessity.”
2. Learn your favourite songs
“This is the music that’s inspired you to pick up an instrument, so make every attempt to learn those songs. No matter what area you’re in you have to put in the work, but I would suggest not to get too tied up in the technique or theory that you forget what inspired you to play to begin with. You might not be able to play it well, but it’s all about muscle memory, so the more you work on it the more you advance your playing. Unless you’re a fan of shredding I don’t see why you’d be intimidated to play the music you like. Start slowly, eventually it’ll click.”
3. Jam/play with others
“Start a band, go to jam nights. Get out and play. Just play with as many people as possible. I’m convinced you can learn from anyone at any level. It doesn’t hurt to play in different styles. You can take something from the blues and apply it to metal. Ultimately you’re gonna make it your own anyway. With our previous record I was taking lessons and learning jazz, which made me include 9th and 11th chords in metal.”
4. Play outside of your comfort zone
“One thing I’ve learned is that I can learn more from working on difficult chords and changes, that I normally would suck at, than playing along to a metronome for an hour. There are so many chords you can play in different positions to strengthen all of your fingers and it makes you more musical, too.”
5. You’re not too good to take lessons
“I don’t think anyone is too good to take lessons. Even Steve Via would say he hasn’t mastered the guitar, it’s not possible. There’s not enough time. From a young players perspective it’s also important because you have someone to bounce questions off of. I learnt by book but then went back and started taking online classes at Berklee, I’ve taken seven classes there since 2009 and I’m now working towards my masters.”
6. Record yourself playing
“The easiest way to say it is that tape doesn’t lie. When you’re playing you might not hear exactly how you’re phrasing it. If you record yourself and listen back you can notice if you’re sloppy in certain areas etc. It’ll give you a different perspective, you might totally change ideas after listening to it, rather than just playing it. With todays technology it’s so easy, it’s not like 30 years ago.”
7. Use a metronome
“It can be annoying, but if you’re a younger player you have to learn timing. It’s a lot more musical and fun to play along with a drum machine or an actual drummer versus a metronome, but the exercise is still really important. I tend to stick with 4/4. I never really veer too far off the grid with time signatures. For the aspect I’m talking about it’s about painting hand strength and dexterity, but you could push into alternative time signatures with a drum machine.”
8. Use technology to your advantage
“The vast amount of information that is available to everyone now is crazy. When I was learning I had to wait a month for a magazine that might have four columns on technique and that was it. For example, when Metallica released the black album, you’d wait forever for them to feature it in a guitar magazine and then the tab that comes with it is Master Of Puppets when really you want to learn the solo to Enter Sandman because it just came out, y’know? Now, if I want to learn sweep picking I can go online and find every sweep picking riff ever written! There’s so much information at your fingertips, why wouldn’t you use that?”
9. Work on your original material
“You’re not just gonna wake up one day and be Bob Dylan. You have to keep writing, that’s the only way you’ll progress. Some of them will suck, but that’s how it is for everyone in every genre. How you get better is continuing to do so.”
10. Guitar maintenance
“The neck is gonna shift, strings will need changing… When these things happen the guitar will become more difficult to play and make you not want to play it. Basic maintenance is important for all level of players and probably gets overlooked. Play around with different string gauges and picks. When I play live I use 2-3 different gauges, ranging from 10s to 13s and pick sizes for different songs. I use heavy picks for heavy and articulated stuff, and more mellow straight up rock and roll like Through Glass would constitute a thinner pick. It all depends on what the guitar part is, even the materials.”
Hydrograd is out now on Roadrunner Records.
http://www.stonesour.com
Gear 21st January 2021
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MagicFX
This article pertains to a defacer known as "MagicFX", who was part of a group known as "irc.psychic.com", named after a small IRC server the defacers were active on. MagicFX's most notable defacement was that of Ebay (www.ebay.com), in which he demonstrated to Adam Penenberg/Forbes that he had full control over their main web server and more. A mirror of the two defacements and links to the article can be found at:
http://www.attrition.org/mirror/attrition/1999/03/13/ebay.com/
Since the defacement was posted, the three articles including Penenberg's which contained an interview with MagicFX have since been moved or removed from the various sites. Searching Forbes, I can find no reference to that specific article.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-4438378.html?tag=st.ne.1002.thed.ni
By Reuters Special to CNET News.com January 10, 2001, 6:15 p.m. PT
SAN FRANCISCO--A current employee of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the nation's top nuclear weapons research facility, has been arrested on charges of computer hacking and tampering with a witness while a student, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Wednesday.
A senior lab official stressed that all of the charges related to activity before the suspect joined the staff at Los Alamos--which has been hit with a string of security problems--and that there was no evidence that any of the nation's sensitive nuclear secrets had been compromised.
The employee, 21-year-old Jerome Heckenkamp, was arrested Tuesday at Los Alamos on an indictment returned by a San Jose, Calif., grand jury last December, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
According to the indictment, Heckenkamp used the names "MagicFX" and "Magic" to commit computer intrusions and intercept electronic communications between Feb. 26, 1999, and Nov. 29, 1999, apparently while he was a student at the University of Wisconsin.
The indictment also alleges that Heckenkamp attempted to tamper with a witness in the case with a view to persuading that person to withhold testimony.
A senior Los Alamos official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said all of the charges related to activity that occurred well before Heckenkamp was hired to work on the lab's network and information systems in June 2000. "We were notified by the bureau after he was hired and we took every possible step necessary to protect our info security and our nation's secrets," the official said.
"He had no access, either physically or electronically, to anything of a sensitive nature at the lab."
Los Alamos' security measures have been under increased scrutiny following the December 1999 arrest of former lab physicist Wen Ho Lee on charges of mishandling sensitive nuclear data, and the temporary disappearance of two computer hard drives containing nuclear secrets.
Initially portrayed as a spy for China, the Taiwanese-born Lee eventually pleaded guilty to one felony count of downloading nuclear weapons design secrets to a nonsecure computer. The hard drives, which disappeared in May last year, were subsequently found behind a copying machine.
The lab official said security officials had been over Los Alamos' systems "with an exceptionally fine-toothed comb" and found no evidence of any tampering related to the Heckenkamp case. "There is absolutely no evidence of anything improper," he said.
Heckenkamp, who has also been charged in a separate indictment returned by a federal grand jury in San Diego, appeared in court in Los Alamos on Wednesday and was detained in federal custody pending further hearings.
He is scheduled to return to court Thursday for a hearing to determine whether he will be moved to either San Jose or San Diego, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Retrieved from "https://hackstory.net/MagicFX"
Categories: Administrivia:Workinprogress pages | Hackers
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John Wessler and his unique collection
A few years ago, the Hagströmer Library was entrusted with an extremely rare collection of odontological pictures and objects from the Department of Dental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet. It had originally belonged to John Wessler (1864-1927), who assembled the collection himself in the early 1900s. As one of the foremost dentists in Stockholm at the time, Wessler was interested in most aspects of odontology: for instance, he was a champion of the modernisation of dentistry programmes, co-founder of the Institute of Dentistry in 1898, an advocate of “social dentistry” and secretary of the Swedish Dental Society. He was also noted in Sweden and abroad as a writer of numerous books and articles as well as a leading chemist who made and sold his own formulae of dental amalgam and dental powder. It was partly thanks to his income from this venture that he was able to finance his love of art. Maybe someone recognises the toothbrush he designed and marketed in 1895?
Wessler travelled widely, and was in contact with art dealers and dentists in Europe and the US. A hundred or so letters from cities like Berlin, Paris, London, Rome and New York relating to his purchases survive. From 1911 up to his death in 1927 he collected almost 800 pictures and artefacts dating from about 1400 to 1920. His collection includes over 500 prints and oil paintings, divided roughly equally into depictions of St Apollonia, the patron saint of dentistry, and dental practitioners and their patients. There are also a large number of gold, silver, iron and ivory toothpicks, miscellaneous dental implements (some more alarming than others), amulets, medals and photographs. He donated the collection to the Institute of Dentistry, now the Department of Dental Medicine, in 1923.
C O Henrikson, professor of odontological radiodiagnostics at KI between 1974 and 1990, was long the curator of the collection. Apart from maintaining, sorting and cataloguing the items, he published many articles on John Wessler and his collection, and arranged exhibitions. One such exhibition was at the Nordic Medical History Congress in Stockholm in 1997, where selected items were put on display. He finally consigned the collection to the custody of the Hagströmer Library in 2011. The Wessler collection is unique, and its pictures and objects spanning over five centuries give us a fascinating look at the evolution of dentistry. How many people today, for example, know what a dental pelican is? Or what links Tsar Peter the Great of Russia with dentistry?
Anna Lantz, 12 October 2016
The banner of the Munich Guild of Bath-Keepers, oil on canvas, ca 1750. Wessler collection.
Letter to Dr. John Wessler from Bremer Kunst-Antiquariat und Verlag Alfred Kock, 1921. Wessler collection.
Bohman, Nils (red.), ”Wessler, John Adrian”. Svenska män och kvinnor. Biografisk uppslagsbok 8. Stockholm, 1955.
Henriksson, Carl O, ”S:ta Apollonia, martyr och skyddshelgon”. Svensk medicinhistorisk tidskrift, vol. 1, suppl. I (1997), 143-151.
Henriksson, Carl O, ”John Adrian Wessler – hängiven odontolog och samlare”. Svensk medicinhistorisk tidskrift, vol. 7 (2003), 197-216.
Wessler, John, Beskrivande förteckning över Tandläkarinstitutets i Stockholm Apollonia-samling. Stockholm, 1923.
Translation: Neil Betteridge
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Top Flying Aces of World War I – 8
Max Ritter von Mulzer
Lt. Max Ritter von Mulzer of the German Empire graduated from cadet training with the Royal Bavarian Cadet Corps on 10 July 1914. From there he was commissioned in the 8th Cavalry Regiment on 13 December 1914, but he transferred to aviation on 20 August 1915.
Nicknamed “Bavarian Max” because he flew with “Saxon Max” Immelmann, von Mulzer’s first victory, on 13 March 1916, went unconfirmed. However, he had three confirmed victories between 20 March and 31 May.
He tallied three more wins in June 1916 after being transferred to the Russian front. During a dogfight in which he scored the second of three victories, his friend and wingman Immelmann was killed.
Von Mulzer scored two more victories on 8 and 22 July, giving him eight and earning him the Blue Max. He would down two more enemy planes before test flying an Albatros D.I and crashing to his death in Valenciennes, France, in September 1916. With 10 total confirmed victories, von Mulzer became the first Bavarian fighter ace, first Bavarian ace recipient of the Pour le Merite, and first Bavarian knighted for his exploits.
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Searching for Jimmy Hoffa: The Disappearance of America’s Most Notorious Labor Leader and Why It Still Matters Today
Thursday, February 25, 2021 - 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
David Witwer, Penn State Laureate for the 2020-21 academic year, explores the history of Jimmy Hoffa, a powerful labor leader with ties to organized crime whose disappearance in 1975 made him the most prominent victim of a mob hit in American history. Witwer discusses Hoffa’s disappearance, including why it mattered at the time and why it continues to matter, the case's connection to the federal government’s war on organized crime, and the shifting fortunes of the American workers who had once been among Hoffa’s most avid supporters.
Witwer is a professor of American studies at Penn State Harrisburg. He previously worked for the New York County District Attorney’s Office and was an investigative analyst on assignment with the New York State Organized Crime Task Force looking into the mob’s role in the construction industry. He has written three books on labor racketeering: "Corruption and Reform in the Teamsters Union (2003)"; "Shadow of the Racketeer: Scandal in Organized Labor (2009)"; and "Murder in the Garment District: The Grip of Organized Crime and the Decline of Labor in the United States" (2020).
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← After 32 months a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against Guelph resident and blogger, Gerry Barker, will be heard July 4, 2019
Why the indelible stain of council secrecy still muzzles our right to public participation concerning public interests →
Is the Police HQ renovation completion delay another Urbacon debacle?
Mercy me. The similarities between the two most major construction of city buildings, since the Urbacon debacle that ended with the city being found responsible for firing the general contractor.
In 2014, an election year, it didn’t stop city council from approving the $34.1 million renovation of the 40.7 year-old headquarters. When first built in 1960, the city’s population was 38,000. In 1989, the building was retrofitted and a new wing added.
In 2014, the need was apparent, as the city population is now more than 131,000.
Is it déjà vu, all over again?
The new city hall and provincial court project in the old city hall took five years to complete and a cost overrun of $23 million. Now we have the case of the Police headquarters renovation that was approved in August 2014 and has yet to be completed 4.7 years later. The final cost has yet to be determined as the construction was impacted by excessive bedrock formations for new buildings on the site. Also winter weather conditions stalled construction.
This brings us to a new staff proposal to increase the city debt by $33.1 million. In 2017, according to the city, the debt was $110 million. At the end of 2018, the debt was reported as $96 million.
That’s progress right?
Here are the caveats about increasing the city debt
Council, at its June 24 meeting must approve the new debt terms and conditions. However, the staff will present the final numbers and associated cost to council July 8, 2019 according to the news report.
Is that a typo? The staff report follows council approval? It’s time to jack up the car and change the oil.
The new debt is guaranteed by the City of Guelph and it has a 20-year term when fully repaid in 2039, according to the staff report, the end cost of this new loan is $47.8 million.
The lender is not identified nor is the interest rate or any adjustments over the term of the loan.
If now approved the city debt will increase from $96 million in 2018 to $129 million this year. Is it possible that we ordinary citizens could handle the cost of a 29 per cent increase in our debt over 20 years?
FYI, starting next year, the city will be paying $862,000 per year costing 29 per cent more for its 2019 assumed debt.
So, where is the new money being spent?
Of the $33.1 million, $15.1 million is to be spent on the Police HQ renovation and the Wilson Street Parkade, both under construction; some $1.3 million will be spent replacing transit fare boxes; $1.6 million for fuel tank replacement at the city’s operations facility.
The amount to be spent on the two major projects was not spelled out.
It should be noted that the city approved a $16 million debenture for the Police HQ renovation that started in April 2016. The Police Services Board contributed some $3 million toward the renovation. That brought the outstanding balance to $14.1 million to meet the original approved cost of $34.1 million.
This does not include change orders or other unexpected costs that can increase the original council approval last August 2014.
The Wilson Street Parkade financing is murky. Last year, Mayor Guthrie announced the estimated $350 million Baker Street project would include a new downtown library, that is a key part of the plan. Barely mention, the $22 million Wilson Street Parkade was included in the original Baker Street project estimates.
Indeed, many a promise is embedded before an election.
Putting it all together, the report does not specify how and where the balance of the $33.1 million debt funds will be spent. So far, there is some $14.1 million still not allocated.
The other missing piece of promises made is the fate of the $63 million South End Recreation Centre. The city has already spent $3.5 million on preliminary plans from general revenues.
Incidently, whatever happened to that $18.5 million so-called dividend to be received from Guelph Hydrp following the merger with Alectra Utilities?
In my opinion, these developments are paying for a horribly mismanaged past that has milked the citizen’s ability to pay their obligations to the administration.
Under the present administration, don’t expect its collective ambition and disdain for professionalism that in the past four years has turned Guelph into an island of managemnt mediocrity in terms of not serving the people’s interests and blithely ignoring the fallout.
Tagged as City of Guelph debt, Guelph, Mayor Cam Guthrie
7 responses to “Is the Police HQ renovation completion delay another Urbacon debacle?”
Smittybare
Nicely presented Gerry especially the part on Council approval before a staff presentation. Sad state of affairs. Could this be collusion?
david bloomer
What about the $200,000,000 for solid waste on Dunlop
David Bloomer: I am aware of some buts and pieces over the years including the organic waste facility that cost $34 million. There has been more money spent on the site by the former chief of Waste, Janet Laird, who retired shortly following the 2014 civic election when her friend. Karen Farbridge. lost her bid to remain as mayor.If you have further information and numbers, please email to me – gerrybarker76@gmail.com. Best, Gerry
Like I always say someone is lining their pockets.
I drive by the new police building every week, amazing it has to run over budget by at least 25 million. I hope I am wrong.
FYI Reformatory lands are now up for sale, 326 Acres split by the Eramosa River, Stone Rd and Victoria Rd.
Guido: I don’t think the Police Headquarters will be over budget by $25 million when the final costs of the project are reported next spring. Completion is scheduled for the end of this year. It always takes a couple of months to settle the final cost. That will pit it into the 2020 budget.
I am not aware of the Reformatory lands you are referring to. The city is bidding on buying 245 acres of Reformatory property for its Guelph Innovation District Planned site. There is a modified auction on those lands bordered by York and Victoria Roads It is expected the result of this auction will be known by the end of July.n
Gerry, the lands on the market is bordered by the river, Stone Rd. and Victoria Rd, including the Turf Institute. This may not be the District planned site.
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Welcome to the Customary IHL Database, available in:
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1. Rules
2. Practice
By Rule
1. Rules\Respect for Family Life
1. Rules(current)
By Rule (current)
Annex II
Annex III
Authors' Note
Translation Note
Rule 105 (current)
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Rule 105. Respect for Family Life
International and non-international armed conflicts
Definition of the term “family”
Rule 105. Family life must be respected as far as possible.
Volume II, Chapter 32, Section Q.
State practice establishes this rule as a norm of customary international law applicable in both international and non-international armed conflicts.
The obligation to respect the family rights of persons in occupied territory was already recognized in the Lieber Code, the Brussels Declaration and the Oxford Manual.[1] It was codified in the Hague Regulations.[2] This obligation is extended to all protected civilians in the Fourth Geneva Convention.[3] The Fourth Geneva Convention also provides that, as far as possible, interned families must be given “facilities for leading a proper family life”.[4] Although not articulated in these general terms in treaty rules relating to non-international armed conflicts, this rule is the basis of the more specific rules relating to family unity in treaty provisions governing such conflicts.[5]
Several military manuals refer in general terms to the duty to respect family rights, often without specific reference to the Fourth Geneva Convention.[6] There is also extensive practice in the form of post-conflict agreements and resolutions of the United Nations and other international organizations that stresses the need to respect family life.[7]
The protection of the family as the “natural and fundamental group unit of society” or, alternatively, “natural unit and basis of society” is provided for in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and in the three regional human rights conventions.[8] Under the American Convention on Human Rights, the protection due to the family cannot be dispensed with.[9] Such protection is also required under other international instruments.[10]
Collected practice shows that respect for family life requires, to the degree possible, the maintenance of family unity, contact between family members and the provision of information on the whereabouts of family members.
(i) Maintenance of family unity. The duty to avoid, as far as possible, separation of members of a family is provided for in the Fourth Geneva Convention in the context of transfers or evacuations of civilians by an occupying power.[11] The commentary to Rule 131 on the treatment of displaced persons includes practice requiring respect for family unity in general terms not limited to displacement.
In addition, there is significant practice relating to the obligation to facilitate the reunion of dispersed families. The Fourth Geneva Convention provides that “each Party to the conflict shall facilitate enquiries made by members of families dispersed owing to the war, with the object of renewing contact with one another and of meeting, if possible”.[12] Additional Protocols I and II provide that parties to a conflict must facilitate the reunion of families dispersed as a result of armed conflict.[13] This obligation is set forth in several military manuals and in the legislation of several States.[14] It is supported by official statements, including a statement of the United States which is not party to the Additional Protocols.[15] A number of agreements, laws and policies have been adopted by States involved in armed conflict and facing the problem of dispersed families, which seek to implement the principle of family reunification.[16] The obligation to facilitate the reunification of dispersed families is also supported by several resolutions adopted by consensus by International Conferences of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.[17] The importance of family reunification in human rights law, in particular in relation to reuniting children with their parents, is reflected in treaties and other international instruments, case-law and resolutions.[18]
There is also practice relating to the maintenance of family unity during deprivation of liberty. The Fourth Geneva Convention requires that “whenever possible, interned members of the same family shall be housed together in the same premises and given separate accommodation from other internees”.[19] Further practice is referred to in the commentaries to Rules 119 and 120, which require that members of the same family be accommodated together during deprivation of liberty.
(ii) Contact between family members. The Fourth Geneva Convention provides that “all persons in the territory of a Party to the conflict, or in territory occupied by it, shall be enabled to give news of a strictly personal nature to members of their families, wherever they may be, and to receive news from them”.[20] Rule 125 requires that persons deprived of their liberty be allowed to correspond with their families, subject to reasonable conditions relating to frequency and the need for censorship by authorities. Rule 126 requires that persons deprived of their liberty must be allowed to receive visitors to the degree practicable. In addition to the practice cited in the commentaries to Rules 125 and 126, human rights case-law confirms that the right to family life includes the right of detainees to communicate with their families through correspondence and receiving visits, subject to reasonable restrictions concerning timing and censorship of mail.[21]
(iii) Provision of information on the whereabouts of family members. There is extensive practice on the measures to be taken by authorities to account for missing persons and on the duty to inform families of the whereabouts of persons when such information is available. Deliberately withholding such information has been found to amount to inhuman treatment in human rights case-law. This practice is to be found in the commentary to Rule 117 which provides that each party to a conflict must take all feasible measures to account for persons reported missing as a result of armed conflict and to provide their family members with any information it has on their fate.
In addition, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the American Convention on Human Rights guarantee the right to be free from arbitrary, unlawful or abusive interference with one’s family life.[22] This is also provided for in other international instruments.[23] The European Convention on Human Rights, meanwhile, contains a general right to respect for “private and family life” which may not be interfered with by a public authority
except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.[24]
The UN Human Rights Committee’s General Comment on Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that interference with family life will be “arbitrary” if the interference is not in accordance with the provisions, aims and objectives of the Covenant and if it is not “reasonable in the particular circumstances”.[25]
In its General Comment on Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN Human Rights Committee stated that, for the purposes of the Article, the term family should be interpreted as including “all those comprising the family as understood in the society of the State party concerned”.[26] The European Court of Human Rights includes the relationship between husband and wife and the children dependent on them within the notion of family.[27] It has also, depending on the circumstances and in particular when children are involved, included brothers and sisters, persons living together outside marriage and grandparents.[28]
[1] Lieber Code, Article 37 (cited in Vol. II, Ch. 32, § 3923); Brussels Declaration, Article 38 (ibid., § 3924); Oxford Manual, Article 49 (ibid., § 3925).
[2] Hague Regulations, Article 46 (ibid., § 3905).
[3] Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 27, first paragraph (ibid., § 3907).
[4] Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 82, third paragraph.
[5] See Additional Protocol II, Article 4(3)(b) (adopted by consensus) (reunion of families temporarily separated) (cited in Vol. II, Ch. 32, § 3915); Additional Protocol II, Article 5(2)(a) (adopted by consensus) (accommodation of men and women of the same family in detention or internment) (cited in Vol. II, Ch. 37, § 106); Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 37(c) (accommodation of children with their parents during deprivation of liberty) (ibid., § 149).
[6] See, e.g., the military manuals of Australia (cited in Vol. II, Ch. 32, § 3935), Canada (ibid., § 3936), Dominican Republic (ibid., § 3937), El Salvador (ibid., § 3938), Germany (ibid., § 3939), Kenya (ibid., § 3941), Nicaragua (ibid., § 3943), Spain (ibid., § 3945) and United Kingdom (ibid., § 3948).
[7] See commentary below and also the practice referred to in the commentaries to Rules 117, 119–120, 125–126 and 131.
[8] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 23(1) (ibid., § 3910); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Article 10(1) (ibid., § 3911); American Convention on Human Rights, Article 17(1) (ibid., § 3913); Protocol of San Salvador, Article 15(1) (ibid., § 3917); African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Article 18 (ibid., § 3916); see also UNHCR, Executive Committee, Conclusion No. 84 (XLVIII): Refugee Children and Adolescents (ibid., § 3968).
[9] American Convention on Human Rights, Article 17 (ibid., § 3913) and Article 27(2).
[10] See, e.g., Universal Declaration on Human Rights, Article 16(3) (cited in Vol. II, Ch. 32, § 3927); American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, Article VI (ibid., § 3929); Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, Article 5(b) (ibid., § 3930).
[11] Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 49, third paragraph (cited in Vol. II, Ch. 38, § 541).
[12] Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 26 (cited in Vol. II, Ch. 32, § 3906).
[13] Additional Protocol I, Article 74 (adopted by consensus) (“in every possible way”) (ibid., § 3914); Additional Protocol II, Article 4(3)(b) (adopted by consensus) (“all appropriate steps”) (ibid., § 3915).
[14] See, e.g., the military manuals of Argentina (ibid., §§ 3933–3934), New Zealand (ibid., § 3942), Spain (ibid., § 3945) and United States (ibid., § 3952) and the legislation of Angola (ibid., § 3953), Colombia (ibid., § 3955) and Philippines (ibid., § 3959).
[15] See, e.g., the statements of the Republic of Korea (ibid., § 3961) and United States (ibid., § 3962).
[16] See, e.g., the Quadripartite Agreement on Georgian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (ibid., § 3922), the legislation of Angola (ibid., § 3953), Colombia (ibid., § 3955) and Philippines (ibid., § 3959) and the practice of the Republic of Korea (ibid., § 3961).
[17] 19th International Conference of the Red Cross, Res. XX; 25th International Conference of the Red Cross, Res. IX (ibid., § 3970); 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Res. II (ibid., § 3971).
[18] See, e.g., Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 10 (ibid., § 3919) and Article 22(2) (ibid., § 3921); Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, Principle 17(3) (ibid., § 3931); UN General Assembly, Res. 51/77 (ibid., § 3964), Res. 52/107 (ibid., § 3964) and Res. 53/128 (ibid., § 3964); UN Commission on Human Rights, Res. 1997/78 (ibid., § 3965) and Res. 1998/76 (ibid., § 3965); UNHCR Executive Committee, Conclusion No. 24 (XXXII) (ibid., § 3967); Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding observations on the report of Myanmar (ibid., § 3973); European Court of Human Rights, Eriksson case, Andersson v. Sweden, Rieme v. Sweden, Olsson v. Sweden, Hokkanen v. Finland and Gül v. Switzerland (ibid., § 3974).
[19] Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 82, third paragraph.
[20] Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 25, first paragraph (cited in Vol. II, Ch. 37, § 468).
[21] See, e.g., African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Constitutional Rights Project and Civil Liberties Organisation v. Nigeria, Communication Nos. 143/95 and 150/96, 15 November 1999, § 29; Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Report on the situation of human rights in Peru, 12 March 1993, p. 29; European Court of Human Rights, Branningan and McBride v.UK, Judgment, 26 May 1993, § 64.
[22] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 17(1) (“arbitrary or unlawful interference”) (cited in Vol. II, Ch. 32, § 3909); Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 16(1) (“arbitrary or unlawful interference”) (ibid., § 3920); American Convention on Human Rights, Article 11 (“arbitrary or abusive interference”) (ibid., § 3912).
[23] See, e.g., Universal Declaration on Human Rights, Article 12 (“arbitrary interference”) (ibid., § 3926); American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, Article V (“abusive attacks”) (ibid., § 3928); EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, Article 7 (“respect for his or her private and family life”) (ibid., § 3932).
[24] European Convention on Human Rights, Article 8(2) (ibid., § 3908).
[25] UN Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 16 (Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) (ibid., § 3972); see also Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Report on Terrorism and Human Rights, Doc. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.116, Doc. 5 rev. 1 corr., 22 October 2002, § 55.
[26] UN Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 16 (Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) (cited in Vol. II, Ch. 32, § 3972).
[27] European Court of Human Rights, B. v. UK (ibid., § 3976) (the Court stated that “the mutual enjoyment by parent and child of each other’s company constitutes a fundamental element of family life”).
[28] European Court of Human Rights, Johnston and Others v. Ireland (ibid., § 3975), Moustaquim v. Belgium, (ibid., § 3978) and Vermeire v. Belgium (ibid., § 3978).
© International Committee of the Red Cross
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Jessica Nuccio Stars as Mimì in the National Taichung Theater’s First La bohème
Soprano Jessica Nuccio returns to the opera stage as Mimì in the National Taichung Theater’s first ever production of La bohème. The Andreas Homoki production is conducted by Shao-Chia LÜ, with Tetsu Taoshita as the revival’s stage director. Ms Nuccio will perform on 24 and 26 December.
National Taichung Theater writes:
“Since its premiere in 1896, Puccini’s La Bohème has become one of the handful of works central to the opera repertoire worldwide. An adaptation of Henri Murger’s Scènes de la Vie de Bohème, the opera depicts the bohemian lifestyle of late 19th-century artists and intellectuals: when the frail Mimì knocks on Rodolfo’s door to light her candle on Christmas Eve, a heartbreaking story of love, jealousy and sorrow thus begins, as we peer into the lives.
“In this production, Shao-Chia LÜ joins long-time collaborator Andreas Homoki to recreate the Quartier Latin of Paris, with a colourful, enormous Christmas tree highlighting the free spirit of life and passion.”
Born in Palermo in 1985, Jessica Nuccio made her debut in 2011 as Violetta in La traviata at Venice’s Teatro La Fenice. She has earned critical acclaim for her performances around the world including in Le Convenienze ed Inconvenienze Teatrali at Catania and Zurich; Mimì in Lucca, Pisa, Ravenna, Venice, Naples, Florence and Pompei; Adina in L’elisir D’Amore in Messina, Palermo, Modena, Parma and Torino; Violetta in in Venice, Valencia, Trieste, Naples, Verona, Florence, Berlin, Macwrata, Maribor and Cagliari; La Cena delle Beffe at Teatro alla Scala; in Lucia di Lammermoor in Munich and Muscat; Sonnambula in Rome; and Rigoletto in Macertata, Naples, Seoul, Parma, Verona, Liege, Florence and Mindorca.
For more information, and to purchase tickets, please visit npac-ntt.org.
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Digital Marketing, Gagets And Technology News
DocuSign acquires Liveoak Technologies for $38M for online notarization
7 months 0
Even in the best of times, finding a notary can be a challenge. In the middle of a pandemic, it’s even more difficult. DocuSign announced it has acquired Liveoak Technologies today for approximately $38 million, giving the company an online notarization option.
At the same time, DocuSign announced a new product called DocuSign Notary, which should ease the notary requirement by allowing it to happen online along with the eSignature. As we get deeper into the pandemic, companies like DocuSign that allow workflows to happen completely digitally are in more demand than ever. This new product will be available for early access later in the summer.
The deal made sense given that the two companies had a partnership already. Liveoak brings together live video, collaboration tooling and identity verification that enables parties to get notarized approval as though you were sitting at the desk in front of the notary.
Typically, you might get a document that requires your signature. Without electronic signature, you would need to print it, sign the document, scan it and return it. If it requires a notary, you would need to sign it in the notary’s presence, which requires an in-person visit. All of this can be streamlined with an online workflow, which DocuSign is providing with this acquisition.
It’s like the perfect pandemic acquisition, making a manual process digital and saving people from having to make face-to-face transactions at a time when it can be dangerous.
Liveoak Technologies was founded in 2014 and is part of the Austin, Texas startup scene. The company raised just under $28 million during its life as a private company. The firm most recently raised $8 million at a post-money valuation of $30.4 million, according to PitchBook data. Given the amount that DocuSign paid for the startup, it appears to have gotten a bargain.
This acquisition is part of a growing pandemic acquisition trend of sorts, where larger public enterprise companies are plucking early-stage startups, in some cases for relatively bargain prices. Among the recent acquisitions are Apple buying Fleetsmith and ServiceNow acquiring Sweagle last month.
Walking Duck is a digital news startup trying to find middle ground in US politics
These are the 20 companies presenting at Alchemist Accelerator’s 26th Demo Day today
Walking Duck is a digital news startup trying to find middle ground in U.S. politics
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Indian Glories
Let's Explore India
You are here: Home / Forts and Palaces / Forts in Kerala
Forts in Kerala
While Kerala is popular for its natural beauty, it has no dearth of heritage monuments. Despite being a small state tucked away in the southern corner of India, it has witnessed a very dramatic history. It has endured territorial conflicts, foreign invasions, and colonization before it became a part of the independent India. So, just like any other region, the rulers and invaders created fortifications for their safety. While some of them could endure the test of time, many of them have crumbled. There are many forts in Kerala, and some of them are really very impressive. Here is the list of all the forts.
Note: At the end of the post there is a playlist which has videos of six famous forts of Kerala.
6 Existing Forts in Kerala
Walls of Bekal Fort rising above the beach (Picture Credit: Vinayaraj)
Spread over 40 acres, Bekal is the largest and the best-preserved fort in Kerala. Shivappa Nayaka of Nagar built this mighty fort in the 17th century. It is situated by the coast in the northern Kerala, 16 km from Kasargod. Its laterite ramparts, 39 m high, run along the headland and appear to be emerging out of the sea. One of the bastions is standing on a promontory in the sea. Beneath the fort there is a series of passages that connect the fort to the sea. Apart from a few isolated structures, nothing much has survived in the enclosed area of the fort. Haider Ali – father of Tipu Sultan – took over the fort in 1763. Eventually in 1792, British seized it from Tipu Sultan. ASI (Archaelogical Survey of India) manages this monument.
Location: Bekal Fort is 16 km south of Kasaragod.
Picture Credit: Kerala Tourism Department
Situated along the banks of Payaswini River, Chandragiri Fort is very close to the river mouth. Shivappa Nayaka, the founder of Bekal, is the man behind this fort. Set on a hillock, the fort encloses an area of about seven acres, and is 46 m above sea level. For a phase in the history Chandragiri Region was ruled by the Vijaynagara Rulers. With their fall in the 16th century, it was taken over by the family of Shivappa Nayaka. It is a treat to watch the river merging into the sea from the fort. This monument is protected by the State Archaelogy Department.
Location: Chandragiri is 7 km south of Kasaragod, and 10 km north of Bekal Fort.
Picture Credit: Prasanthvembayam
Anchuthengu means five coconut trees, it was earlier called Anjengo. This fort is situated in the village called Anchuthengu, 12 km from the town of Varkala. British arrived here in 1684, and built this fort in 1696. They used it as a signalling station for the ships. This structure was the first permanent post of the British on the Malabar Coast. The fort is well-kept and encloses quite a huge area. There is a lighthouse nearby; you can climb up to enjoy the views. The English had also constructed a factory and a warehouse here which have completely vanished.
Location: Anchuthengu is 12 km south of Varkala.
Entrance of Thalassery Fort (Picture Credit: Jaisen Nedumpala)
Thalassery, previously called Tellicherry, is a coastal town in Kannur District. The British East India Company entered here in 1683, and began trading in pepper and cardamom. In 1708, they established a fort here. They built this square fort with the massive laterite blocks. This small fort has two secret tunnels; one of them leads into the sea. An old lighthouse still stands on the ramparts. It looks out towards the surf breaking on the reefs.
Location: Thalassery is 22 km south of Kannur.
Palakkad Fort
Picture Credit: Edukeralam
Palakkad fort is also known as Hanuman Kotta and few people also call it Tipu’s Fort. Haider Ali – father of Tipu Sultan – established this fort in 1766. It is said that some sort of fortification existed over here before the construction of this fort. The present fort is a sombre granite structure, surrounded by a moat. A small bridge leads to the entrance. The control of the fort alternated between Hyder Ali’s family and the British; but finally it came under the latter. Once Zamorin’s troops had also captured it, they controlled it for a short while. Today this fort houses government offices, a sub-jail, and a small shrine.
Location: Palakkad is 68 km north-east of Thrissur.
St. Angelo Fort
Picture Credit: Akhilkc007
Kannur, formerly called Cannanore, was an important maritime centre. Portuguese built St Angelo fort here in 1505 with the permission from Ali Rajas. The Dutch captured this fort in 1663 and in 1772 sold it back to the Ali Rajas. Around the end of the 18th century, it fell in the hands of British, who established a garrison here. This huge fort is made of laterite stones and overlooks the fishing harbour. It is surrounded on three sides by the sea. Situated in the cantonment area of Kannur, it is protected by ASI (Archaelogical Survey of India). Some time back ASI officials have unearthed a huge collection of cannon balls from this fort.
Location: St Angelo Fort is in Thrissur City.
2 Fortified Towns of Kerala That Have Merged Into Cities
East Fort (Thiruvananthapuram)
East Fort Gate in Thiruvananthapuram (Picture Credit: Jithindop)
What was once the fortified capital of Travancore Royals is the southern part of today’s Thiruvananthapuram City. The popular ‘Sri Padmanabhswamy Temple’ was built in the centre of the fort. To the east of the temple is the popular Kuthira Malika (or Puthen Malika) Palace. Not much of the fortification has survived. East Fort is the name given to the eastern gate of the fort. This impressive gate still stands in its full glory.
Location: The fortified capital of Travancore is now part of Thiruvananthapuram City.
Fort Emmanuel (or Immanuel)
Remnant of Fort Emmanuel near Fort Kochi Beach (Picture Credit: Ranjithsiji)
The Kochi Royals allowed Portuguese to build a fort near the harbour in 1503. They called it Fort Emmanuel. Today the fort is ruined but the area is called Fort Kochi; it is part of the Kochi City. They built the St. Francis church within the enclosed area. Later on, the fort was captured by the Dutch, and eventually it came under the control of the British.
Location: The area of Fort Emmanuel is now called Fort Kochi and is part of Kochi City.
6 Ruined Forts in Kerala
Cragnanore
This fort was built by the Portuguese in the early 16th century. It is also known as Kodungallur Fort and is situated in the Kodungallur City in Thrissur District. Dutch took it over in 1661. Later on, it came in the hands of Tipu Sultan, who destroyed it. Today some of its remnants can be seen.
Somshekara Nayak of Ikkeri Dynasty had built this fort. All that remains of Hosdurg fort are a part of the wall and a bastion. Situated nearby is an ashram of Swami Nityananda. This ashram is in fact a collection of caves.
Nedumkotta
Nedumkotta was a fortification along the northern borders of Travancore State. It was meant to safeguard the state from the invasions of northern kingdoms, especially that of Haider Ali and Zamorins. It extended from Krishna Kotta on the west coast to the Annamalai Hills on the Western Ghats. Today this fortification is almost non-existent.
St Thomas is a ruined fort; it is also known as Tangasseri Fort. Situated 3 km west of Kollam, Tangasseri is a coastal town. Once it was a trading post and has been utilized by both Portuguese and Dutch. A very small portion of the structure has survived.
The ruins of Pallipuram fort can be found in the northern part of the Vypin Island in Ernakulam. Locally it is called Ayikkotta or Alikotta. This fort is said to be the oldest existing European Fort in India. It was built by the Portuguese in 1503 by using laterite, lime, and wood. The ruins lie unprotected and are surrounded by thick vegetation.
William Fort
William Fort, also called Chettuva Fort, is now in ruins. It is situated in the Chettuva, a backwater village in Thrissur District. Dutch constructed this in the early 18th century and lost it to Zamorins, who eventually lost it to Tipu Sultan. Currently archaeological department of the state is carrying out conservation activities.
Here is the playlist with videos of the famous forts of Kerala:
Palaces in Kerala
The palaces of Kerala are graceful reminders of its vibrant past. Most of the palaces here are defined by gabled roofs, colonnaded facades, and dark passageways. Many of them have turned into museums. By displaying a collection of the arts and objects of the past, they provide a good opportunity to delve into the traditional culture of Kerala. Majority of the palaces have been built by the Travancore Royals. Kochi Royals have also contributed a few palaces to the region. Read More
Forts in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu has witnessed a rich past. This land of Cholas, Pandyans, and Nayakas is dotted with magnificent structures created by them. The dynasties of the surrounding geographies also laid their claim over many regions of this state. Their excursions led to the building of newer structures which added to the heritage of Tamil Nadu. The eastern border of this state is the southeastern coast of India. The Dutch, the French, and the British entered the country from this coast. They built the forts and settlements; they also took over the existing fortifications and reinforced them. Read More
Palaces in Tamil Nadu
Just like other states, the dynasties that thrived in Tamil Nadu have left behind many palaces. Amongst them, there are a few splendid structures. The most significant ones are Maratha Palace in Thanjavur and Thirumalai Nayaka Palace in Madurai. With sheer coincidence the Padmanabhapuram Palace built by the Travancore kings is also a part of Tamil Nadu. Read More
Ranthambhore Fort: One of the Oldest Forts in Rajasthan
Ranthambhore is amongst the earliest forts of India. As per some records, it is not only one of the oldest but also one of the most famous forts in Rajasthan. It is situated within the Ranthambhore National Park, which is amongst the most popular travel destinations in Rajasthan. The path within the sanctuary meanders through […]
Chittorgarh: Fort, Monuments, and History
Chittorgarh city has developed at the base of a massive fort – “Chittorgarh Fort”. This fort overlooks the city from above a 180 mt high lone hill. The fort walls enclose about 700 acres of area within them and all the monuments which you will read about further are encased in this fort. At first […]
Kangra Valley
Kangra Valley is one of the most beautiful regions of Himachal Pradesh. This lush green valley is dotted with sun-bathed paddy fields, tea-covered slopes and crisscrossed with gurgling streams. The major part of this valley is overlooked by the towering Dhauladhar mountains. The white-tipped peaks of Dhauladhars are like conscience keepers of the valley. As […]
Offbeat Historical Places in Karnataka
There are numerous historical places in Karnataka. Along with the known sites, there are many lesser-known heritage sites in this state. Karnataka was the hotbed of the religious art and architecture. Several dynasties have ruled in different regions spread across today’s Karnataka. The towns and cities which have served as the bases for these ruling clans […]
Halebidu: The Remains of a Mighty Empire
In the 12th century, Halebidu (also called Halebid) succeeded Belur as the capital of the Hoysala Empire. And the kings, who were great admirers of temple-architecture, continued their building activities here. They built several Hindu and Jain temples. Of all the Hindu temples, Hoysaleshwara temple has the most impressive carvings. It was commissioned by Vishnuvardhana […]
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Home » TYPE-III » III-2. “Improvement of the Infrastructure for Utilization and Preservation of Periodicals in North Vietnam during Indochina War” (H25 FY2013)
III-2. “Improvement of the Infrastructure for Utilization and Preservation of Periodicals in North Vietnam during Indochina War” (H25 FY2013)
Project Leader : Iwatsuki Junichi (The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences)
Collaborators : Kojima Hiroyuki (The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Economics)
: Kitani Kimiya (Kyoto University, Center for Southeast Asian Studies)
: Oono Mikiko (Kyoto University, Center for Southeast Asian Studies)
: Ishikawa Kasuki (The University of Tokyo, Institute for Advanced Studies
on Asia)
: Suenari Michio (Toyo University, Asian Cultures Research Institute)
: Endo Satoshi (Kyoritsu Women’s University, Faculty of International Studies)
Outline of Research
Vietnam in recent years has many research institutes such as National Library and Archives which have promoted the digitization of historical materials. However, almost all those projects tend to focus on Hannom materials, overlooking periodicals from the modern periods, especially those published during the Indochina wartime such as magazines and gazettes which have deteriorated and face the possibility of disappearing. This project aims to bring these materials to Japan, open to public use under adequate circumstances, and contribute to the progress of Vietnamese studies in Japan.
This project aims to bring “The collection of Periodicals in North Vietnam during the Indo-China war period” which consists of general academic magazines that deal with history, geography, literature, and so on. These materials are not in systematic possession in organizations inside and outside Japan, nor are they preserved adequately in Vietnam itself.
This project aims to normalize these materials under adequate circumstances in libraries, archives and ensure open access for all users.
This collection will renew the situation of materials on South Vietnam, and hopes to open up a path for Vietnamese societies as whole. For example, Cong Bao- official gazette of South Vietnam are in some Universities in Japan, but those of North Vietnam in 1945-50 are not available either digitally or in hard copy. Collecting these basic materials will facilitate and contribute to deepening Vietnamese modern historical studies.
First Official Gazette of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, No.2, 6 October, 1945. (Owned by the Library of Social Sciences and Informations attached to Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences)
Early Childfood Education: Supplement to Monthly Education, No.1, July, 1950. (Issued by the Ministry of National Education in Hanoi occupied by the French during the First Indochina War. Owned by the Library of Social Sciences and Information attached to Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences)
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Home IRF Members' News Greek toll road interoperability: improved user experience
A new electronic tolling service will be implemented shortly on all of Greece’s toll roads, following the request of Greece’s Infrastructure Ministry for the implementation of interoperability among all eight (8) Hellastron members, who are responsible for operating all the toll roads of the country.
Interoperability will ensure greatly enhanced user experience and will also help Greece’s effort to minimise the COVID-19 pandemic health risk.
The new service, expected to be fully functional by early November, will ensure interoperability between the participating toll Infrastructures, namely Attiki Odos, the Rio-Antirio Bridge, Egnatia Odos, Nea Odos, Moreas Motorway, Aegean Motorway, Olympia Odos, and Kentriki Odos, which together make up the 2,133.2 kilometres of the Hellastron network, covering most of mainland Greece.
Interoperability is a huge improvement in convenience for all current and future users equipped with transponders distributed by all Greek Toll Road Operators and Concessionaires.
With more than 67 million ETC transactions per year (out of 233 million in the HELLASTRON Network, accounting for 8,7% of the total transactions), interoperability is a key factor for the convenience of the 750 thousand drivers who have an account and make use of transponders.
Drivers will be able to drive through the electronic toll lanes of all toll stations across Greece irrespective of the issuer of their transponder.
Transponder accounts and invoices will be handled by the issuer of the tag and “refilling” of the account can be done very easily electronically, avoiding any need of physical presence in the facilities of the issuer.
Mr. Stavros Stavris, HELLASTRON’s Chairman stated: “Interoperability is not only a promise kept by Hellastron, which has vowed to continuously improve user driving experience on Greece’s recently completed toll road network, but it is also a clear motivation for increased transponder penetration, further shoring up benefits to users and toll road operators in the years to come.”
Mr. Bill Halkias, President of the IRF and representative of HELLASTRON in IRF and IBTTA and former President of ASECAP commented: “Greece’s new service is a state-of-the-art technological achievement, effected by the HELLASTRON members’ extremely competent scientific and technical professionals, who made it happen in a truly short time indeed”.
UNRSC meets to discuss new UN Road Safety resolution and World Day of Remembrance
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Letters To My Torturer
ALL ABOUT houshang asadi new book
A look
Home > Review > Years of Torture in Iran Comes to Light
Years of Torture in Iran Comes to Light
November 22, 2012 Houshang Assadi Leave a comment Go to comments
IHT Special
By KRISTEN McTIGHE
PARIS — Houshang Asadi was a Communist journalist thrown into the cold confines of Moshtarek prison in Iranwhen he found an unlikely friend in the tall, slender Muslim cleric who greeted him with a smile.
Imprisoned together in 1974, under the rule of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, they found common ground in their passion for literature. They shared jokes, spoke of where they came from, their families and falling in love. Mr. Asadi, who did not smoke, would give cigarettes to his cellmate who, uncharacteristic of a cleric, did. On days when Mr. Asadi felt broken, he said, the cleric would invite him to take a walk in their cell to brighten his spirits.
So, when his release came six months later and the cleric stood cold and trembling, Mr. Asadi gave him his jacket. “At first he refused it, but I told him I was going to be released,” Mr. Asadi recalled. “Then we hugged each other and he had tears coming down his face. He whispered in my ear, ‘Houshang, when Islam comes to power, not a single tear will be shed from an innocent person.”’
What Mr. Asadi found unimaginable was that the cleric would become president of the Islamic Republic that later imprisoned him again, sentenced him to death and brutally tortured him for six years in the same prison. Today that same cleric is the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mr. Asadi’s account of torture and imprisonment has offered a rare glimpse into what activists say was a decade of grave human rights violations in Iran. And at a time when international attention has shifted to the nuclear issue and sanctions, they say a campaign to bring justice and accountability through a symbolic tribunal has helped unite a once fractured opposition.
“I never expected he would get power, never,” said Mr. Asadi in an interview in Paris, where he lives in exile.
Mr. Asadi, a 63-year-old writer, journalist and former member of the Tudeh party, was routinely arrested and tortured under the shah. He had supported the revolution, so when he was arrested again in 1982 and accused of being a spy for the Russians and the British, he was convinced that it was a mistake.
In a plea for help, his wife wrote to Mr. Khamenei, who had risen to power as president after the Islamic revolution, but two weeks later the letter was returned with a note in the margin saying only that he had been aware of the journalist’s political beliefs. Mr. Asadi’s death sentence was reduced to 15 years in prison. During his time in prison, he again developed a relationship with the only person he had contact with — as he had done with Mr. Khamenei. This time it was with his torturer, a man he knew only as “Brother Hamid.”
“He is your torturer and he thinks he is your god, he thinks he is religious, he is pure, and you are evil, you are the enemy,” Mr. Asadi said. “So he can do anything to you.”
Mr. Asadi said he was called a “useless wimp” and hung by a chain attached to his arms twisted behind his back while the soles of his feet were whipped until he was unable to walk.
Brother Hamid forced him to bark like a dog to speak or when the pain was too much and he was ready to make confessions. His ears were hit and his teeth were broken. Mr. Asadi said he had even been forced to eat his own excrement and the excrement of fellow prisoners.
Beyond physical pain, he endured psychological torture. He was shown coffins and told his comrades had been killed. He would hear screams and was made to believe his wife was being tortured in the cell next to him.
Allowed sporadic visits of only 15 minutes, his wife said his torment was evident. “I didn’t recognize him,” Nooshabeh Amiri, Mr. Asadi’s wife, said of her first visit, six months after his arrest. “He was fat, he was dirty, he had a long beard. But especially in his eyes, they were not the same. You could see that nothing passed through; it was just fear and being helpless.”
Ms. Amiri, who was initially arrested with Mr. Asadi and released the same day, said her husband’s imprisonment had also changed her. “The person who was inside of me before was a happy person. I loved life. But suddenly, I became older. It is not just the prisoners who are being disturbed. Families suffer, too.”
The torture continued daily for six years, until he was abruptly pulled out of his cell in 1988 when the supreme leader at the time, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, ordered the mass killing of thousands of political prisoners. Prisoners were asked three questions concerning their religious faith and loyalty to the regime. “If you answered no to any question, they killed you,” Mr. Asadi said. “I lied to save my life.”
In 2009, he published his memoir, “Letters to My Torturer,” detailing the relationship that grew between him and Brother Hamid. He hopes to find an American film company to bring his story to a wider audience.
“It’s hard for me to talk about even today,” said Mr. Asadi, who had a heart attack while writing the book, provoked by the stress of recalling his imprisonment. “But this is something that the world needs to know about.
Categories: Review
The Day the Shah Left Buchliebling 2011
My Persian Site
برای مشاهدهی وبگاه فارسی من روی تصویر زیر کلیک کنید. متن فارسی بزودی
To view my Persian website, please click on the following picture
The Day the Shah Left
Buchliebling 2011
Book Reading Houshang Asadi Letters to my Torture Germany – Wisboden 27 Aprill 2012
About My Torturer
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Nov. 25, 2020 2:31 PM EST
Tornado causes damage, injuries in Dallas-area city
BC-US--Severe Weather, 2nd Ld-Writethru
Tom Fox, ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — A tornado swept through parts of the Dallas-area city of Arlington, damaging several apartment complexes and other buildings, displacing 75 families and causing minor injuries to three people, officials said Wednesday.
The Arlington Fire Department said the storm, which passed through the city at around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, caused the collapse of three apartment complexes, two commercial buildings, a church and a home. Gas leaks and downed power lines at various locations were also reported.
About 75 families were displaced by the damage at the apartment complexes and the American Red Cross of North Texas said it was providing them with emergency shelter.
Maria Macias, who lives in one of the damaged complexes, told t he Fort Worth Star-Telegram that she was making banana pies when the loud thunder started.
“Then the roof came off,” she said, and rain poured into her family’s apartment.
“We also don’t have any cars,” Macias said, pointing to two vehicles in the complex parking lot that were damaged. “God took care of us.”
Three people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, the fire department said.
A National Weather Service survey team determined the damage was caused by an EF-2 tornado with wind peaks of around 115 mph (185 kph).
The survey team was still determining the length and width of the tornado's path.
Large hail and strong winds were also reported in Oklahoma, but there were no widespread reports of damage.
In the South, tornadoes and severe storms are not uncommon in the late fall and early winter.
“We could get a tornado any month of the year here,” meteorologist Jason Dunn told the newspaper.
The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, says more severe thunderstorms are possible throughout the week in parts of the South and Midwest.
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The Day Shift: Carl Sadd
Written by Keith Price
The latest member of the Culture Shift team to share insight about their role, career journey and excitement for the future is none other than our co-founder and chief technology officer Carl Sadd.
Hi Carl. What does your role involve day-to-day?
My main role is looking after the product as a whole. So typically, I’ll be involved in top-level planning and strategy of the product roadmap from a design and development perspective. But as I come from a design background and love to be hands-on whenever I get the opportunity, I’m frequently involved in research and UI/UX design of existing and new features.
I’m also heavily involved in the brand and marketing side of the business. I lead the creative output with our internal design team that works on our website, marketing materials and thought leadership content, such as white papers, ebooks, videos and infographics.
What has been your career journey to get to this point?
I studied Graphic Design and Typography at University and went on to work in a number of Manchester-based creative agencies both large and small, initially in print and advertising but quickly I became more focused on digital and brand.
I started out as junior designer then progressed to studio manager for a couple of smaller independents before starting my own branding and digital agency ‘Trust’ with Stuart and Gemma almost 10 years ago now.
We built Trust up to a team of around 10 people and created some fantastic brands and digital experiences. It was during this time that we started working with the University of Manchester on an anonymous reporting system which helped to give us the experience and passion to launch Culture Shift.
How would you describe the working environment at Culture Shift to someone who doesn’t know the business?
I feel like we have an amazing team who create an environment that makes people feel safe, happy and supported, so they can work to the best of their ability whilst being inspired and learning from their colleagues. They’re progressing their careers but at the same time helping to build a product that makes a real difference to other people's lives.
We’re also very passionate about providing a working environment that has the very best of everything. That includes our working practices and methodologies, the culture and benefits. But also the physical office environment and equipment that our team has access to, so that they love working with us as much as we love working with them.
What piece of advice would you give to someone starting here tomorrow?
The most important thing is to have fun and enjoy what you do! Feel free to speak out and share your experience and expertise.
What excites you most about the future of the business?
First and foremost it’s the opportunity to really help people. Having listened to a number of emotional survivor stories over the years, it really drives home how vital the support provided by Culture Shift can be. Connecting the dots, it’s very easy to see how these experiences could apply to my own friends and family and I find that incredibly motivating.
Also for me it’s the opportunity to build, fine tune and perfect a digital experience that’s not only beautiful but also incredibly intuitive. It’s taken a huge amount of effort to get to where we are but there is still so much more that we can do. Every time we review our product roadmap it excites me to discuss the huge range of ideas we have to improve the product. The difficulty is prioritising which ones we should work on first!
Who or what inspires you?
At the moment I’m inspired by Adobe XD. It’s developed so much in the last couple of years and there’s always something new to learn. Recently I’ve been learning how to build rapid prototypes, this means our design team can quickly mockup and test new features using high fidelity visuals that look and behave almost the same as the finished product without the need for huge amounts of time from the dev team.
What are your passions outside of work?
I love photography. I’m particularly interested in portraits but have always loved landscapes and architecture. I also enjoy running, mountain biking, hiking and pretty much anything that involves getting outdoors and exploring nature with friends and family.
What should we be watching or reading right now?
Recently I found ‘The Morning Show’ really interesting. The subject matter is very relevant to us as it’s set with the background of the ‘Weinstein’ enquiry which was one of the most high-profile cases that triggered a wave of public opinion that surrounded the launch of Culture Shift.
I also really enjoyed ‘Free Solo’ which is the utterly mind-blowing documentary about rock climber Alex Honnold attempting to conquer the first free solo (no ropes) climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Equally interesting is his TED talk about that climb in which he describes how he prepared physically and mentally over many years before he started the climb. Hearing about his preparation makes it seem even more impressive… if that’s possible!
Finally, what technologies, apps or platforms would you struggle to live without?
I’m a big fan of ‘Wunderlist’ (recently purchased by Microsoft). It’s probably the most basic piece of software I use but that’s why I love it. All it does is create drag and drop lists but I find it’s the best way for me to keep track of my workload. I have separate lists for monthly, weekly and daily tasks which really helps me prioritise.
Maintaining workplace culture in a rapidly changing environment
UK workforce say remote working has positively impacted culture
Launching University of Leicester's Student Sex Worker Policy and Toolkit
Sign up to our newsletter to receive monthly insights and resources.
hello@culture-shift.co.uk
321 Broadstone Mill
Broadstone Road
SK5 7DL
© 2020 Culture Shift. All Rights Reserved.
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Berkeley Lab-Mexico Recent Highlights
Two projects awarded to Berkeley Lab and Mexican institutions advancing energy efficiency in buildings in Mexico as part of the call “Collaboration Projects in Energy Efficiency; Cooperation with the University of California” started work this fall. The call, issued last year by the CONACYT-SENER Energy Sustainability Fund (ESF) in a ceremony led by UC President Janet Napolitano and Mexico Secretary of Energy Pedro Joaquin, supports collaborative research aimed at reducing the energy demand of buildings and urban services and transitioning to a low-carbon economy via demonstration projects and comprehensive energy efficiency solutions.
In total, the fund received more than 20 proposals developed by leading Mexican institutions and researchers from Berkeley Lab, UC Davis, UC Berkeley, and UC Irvine. An evaluation committee comprised by independent experts from the U.S. and Mexico reviewed the proposals and selected five projects to be awarded (3 led on the UC side by UC Davis and 2 by Berkeley Lab). A special ceremony to announce the winning proposals was held at Casa de la Universidad de California in Mexico City last November.
The project “Demonstration buildings based on bioclimatic design in a warm sub-humid climate at the Institute of Renewable Energies (IER)-UNAM”, developed by Berkeley Lab and IER-UNAM, will receive $325,000.00 USD over four years. As part of this project, a building based on bioclimatic design at IER-UNAM (warm sub-humid climate) will be evaluated for thermal comfort, daylighting and effectiveness for low energy cooling systems. Based on the lessons learned from this building, a second building will be designed and simulated. These buildings are going to be demonstrative examples of bioclimatic design in warm sub-humid climate, and within the project, a building design guide for this climate will be published. LBNL will also work closely with the UNAM-IER team in the design, implementation and analysis of the data acquisition in the first building.
Berkeley Lab also received a $87,500.00 USD award from ESF to work with the National Institute of Electricity and Clean Energies (INEEL) in the project “Energy Observatory for the Mexican Building Sector”. This 3-year project will establish a system for obtaining periodic information necessary for the evaluation of the technical, economic, and environmental impacts of buildings energy efficiency programs in Mexico and will allow the comparison of these impacts between different programs in order to better plan, prioritize, and enhance Mexican energy policy. The development of the data collection system will allow the generation of a national 'Energy Observatory' database hosted, maintained and managed by INEEL.
Photo: Projects awarded to Berkeley Lab and Mexican institutions to support Energy Efficiency in Buildings in Mexico starting work
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Articles published in the Italian Journal of Medicine are Open Access, giving a number of advantages for the widest dissemination, visibility, and impact of your research.
Publishing as Open access offers authors a number of benefits, including:
Higher and faster visibility: Open Access articles are viewed on a global scale, and contents are available to everyone.
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Perpetual accessibility: Open Access articles are hosted on dedicated servers, being accessible to everyone endlessly.
Funding opportunities: an increasing number of funding bodies and agencies requires their grant holders to publish their researches as Open Access articles to be comprehensively available, free and without restrictions on re-use.
Copyright on any article in the Italian Journal of Medicine is retained by the author(s) under a CC BY-NC license, which permits to copy, redistribute, remix, transform, and build upon the material in any non-commercial medium or format. This type of license is mandatory for many research funding bodies, and allows for maximum dissemination and re-use of open access materials.
Wide-ranging and rigorous peer review
Manuscripts are evaluated by skilled reviewers who are authorities in your field. Our journal follows the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (joint statement by COPE, DOAJ, WAME, and OASPA).
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Article level metrics for each article show your research impact on the journal site and provide understandings in the ways people interact with your research in the online environment.
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Fabrication and characterisation of porous coatings obtained by plasma electrolytic oxidation
Krzysztof Rokosz Division of BioEngineering and Surface Electrochemistry, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Koszalin University of Technology, Racławicka 15-17, PL 75-620 Koszalin, Poland
Tadeusz Hryniewicz Division of BioEngineering and Surface Electrochemistry, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Koszalin University of Technology, Racławicka 15-17, PL 75-620 Koszalin, Poland
Steinar Raaen Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Realfagbygget E3-124 Høgskoleringen 5, NO 7491 Trondheim, Norway
Winfried Malorny Hochschule Wismar-University of Applied Sciences Technology, Business and Design, Faculty of Engineering, DE 23966 Wismar, Germany
Keywords: Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO), Micro Arc Oxidation (MAO), CP Titanium Grade 2, Niobium, Ti2448, Ti6Al4V, TNZ
In the paper, characteristics of porous coatings enriched in copper on pure Titanium and its alloys (NiTi, Ti6Al4V, TNZ, Ti2448) as well as on niobium obtained by Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) in electrolyte containing H3PO4 within Cu(NO3)2, are presented. All obtained surfaces of PEO coatings have different shapes and diameters of pores. The binding energies of main peaks for titanium Ti2p3/2, niobium Nb3d5/2, zirconium Zr3d5/2, phosphorus (P2p) and oxygen (O1s) suggest the presence of titanium Ti4+, niobium Nb5+ and zirconium Zrx+ (x≤2) as well as PO43–.
Krzysztof Rokosz, Division of BioEngineering and Surface Electrochemistry, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Koszalin University of Technology, Racławicka 15-17, PL 75-620 Koszalin, Poland
Krzysztof Rokosz graduated at Faculty of Electronics, Koszalin University of Technology (2001). He completed studies in Instituto Superior Tecnico Lisboa, Chemical Engineering Faculty, Portugal, in the scope of electrochemical corrosion methods (2003). He has got the PhD degree (2006) and DSc degree (2013) at Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Koszalin University of Technology. He has performed research studies in Norway, Germany, France Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Research interests: corrosion, electropolishing, plasma electrolytic oxidation, metallic biomaterials as well as data processing.
Tadeusz Hryniewicz, Division of BioEngineering and Surface Electrochemistry, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Koszalin University of Technology, Racławicka 15-17, PL 75-620 Koszalin, Poland
Tadeusz Hryniewicz graduated at the Faculty of Machine Building Technology, Szczecin University of Technology (1968). Then he completed industrial training (1968-71), got PhD (1979), professorship (2010). He had got the Fulbright allowance, completed studies at Chemical Engineering Faculty, University of California, Berkeley CA (USA), and made research works at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (1980-81). PhD and DSc degrees got from Wrocław University of Technology. He was invited to many technical universities in Europe and beyond as a visiting professor. Published in over 50 intl. Journal titles, served as a reviewer to 47 intl. Journals, Editor-in-Chief to 2 intl. Journals. Scientific interests: surface science, electrochemical corrosion, surface electrochemistry, metallic biomaterials, standard electropolishing and magnetoelectropolishing, plasma electrolytic oxidation.
Steinar Raaen, Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Realfagbygget E3-124 Høgskoleringen 5, NO 7491 Trondheim, Norway
Steinar Raaen is a professor at the Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU in Trondheim, Norway. PhD in physics obtained from Polytechnic Institute of New York (USA) in 1984. Master of technology in physics from NTNU in 1980. Scientific interests: solid state physics and surface science.
Winfried Malorny, Hochschule Wismar-University of Applied Sciences Technology, Business and Design, Faculty of Engineering, DE 23966 Wismar, Germany
Winfried Malorny is a professor at Hochschule Wismar, University of Applied Sciences Technology, Business and Design, Germany. He is involved in many projects with industry related to porous concrete. Under his management is the laboratory related to SEM, EDS, EBSD and XRD measurements.
Rokosz, K., Hryniewicz, T., Raaen, S. and Malorny, W. (2017) “Fabrication and characterisation of porous coatings obtained by plasma electrolytic oxidation”, Journal of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, 1(1), pp. 23-30. Available at: https://jmee.tu.koszalin.pl/ojs/index.php/jmee/article/view/35 (Accessed: 21January2021).
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Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Company v. Railway Labor Executives’ Association
PETITIONER:Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Company
RESPONDENT:Railway Labor Executives’ Association
LOCATION:Checker Gasoline Station
DOCKET NO.: 87-1589
DECIDED BY: Rehnquist Court (1988-1990)
LOWER COURT: United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
ARGUED: Mar 29, 1989
John B. O’Clarke, Jr. – on behalf of Respondents
Jeffrey P. Minear – as amicus curiae
Richard L. Wyatt, Jr. – on behalf of Petitioner
Audio Transcription for Oral Argument – March 29, 1989 in Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Company v. Railway Labor Executives’ Association
William H. Rehnquist:
We’ll hear argument next in No. 87-1589, Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Company v. Railway Labor Executives’ Association, and No. 87-1888, Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Company v. Railway Labor Executives’ Association.
Richard L. Wyatt, Jr.:
Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the Court:
Seventeen months ago the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad decided to go out of the railroad business.
The simple undeniable fact in this case is that after years of losses and a fruitless search for a buyer, it finally found a buyer willing to buy its assets.
Deciding to exercise its fundamental right to go out of business, it entered into an agreement to sell certain of its assets to Railco.
Now, 17 months later, much against its will, the railroad is still in business and it’s still losing enormous amounts of money, Over one–
Excuse me.
–million dollars each month.
Antonin Scalia:
How fundamental is that right not to go out of business?
Can the Interstate Commerce Commission prevent a railroad from going… it can certainly prevent a railroad that stays in business from abandoning certain parts of its operations.
Can the Interstate Commerce Commission compel a railroad to continue to serve if it really wants to go entirely out of business?
Your Honor, they cannot require them to serve indefinitely, as we indicate in the Fifth Amendment cases.
I believe the Brooks-Scanlon case was a railroad case where the Interstate Commerce Commission tried to prolong the railroad from going out of business.
There is a point at which a losing railroad has a right, even as against the ICC, to go completely out of business.
But Mr. Justice Scalia is correct, the ICC does have the authority to require that railroad to delay its exit from the industry.
And that is exclusively the ICC’s authority.
And that’s theoretically all we’re talking about here.
A delay of exit, I suppose.
Well, at this point we are now talking about a 17-month delay in exit, which appears to stretch on endlessly.
We are now talking about an interminable delay and we’re talking about a specific ICC order in this case, Mr. Justice Scalia, which said the immediate consummation of that transaction to Railco was in the public interest and it should have been done immediately.
Instead, what we have in this case now are two companion rulings from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals that hold that the company, while it was free to decide to go out of business, it could not do so until it completed the bargaining processes of the Act.
And it also held that RLEA’s strike, launched, as the district court said, to deliberately frustrate the terms of the ICC-approved sale, and for that purpose alone, that that strike could not be enjoined as a violation of the Interstate Commerce Act.
But, really, we believe three issues critical to the resolution of the issues this Court granted certiorari on.
Those three issues are, first, the Interstate Commerce Act, the nature and scope of the Interstate Commerce Commission’s exclusive and plenary jurisdiction in these transactions.
The second is the nature and scope of the Railway Labor Act’s bargaining command, and it’s command… and its prohibition on unilateral action.
Do those bargaining commands and do those prohibitions apply to ICC-regulated transactions?
We think there’s a third critical issue.
Depending on the resolution of the Interstate Commerce Act issue and the Railway Labor Act issue, it may not be necessary to reach it.
But the third issue would be the accommodation issue.
And that is if these two conflicting laws do… if these two laws do apply in a way where there is a conflict, what is the appropriate accommodation of the two laws.
Turning first to the Interstate Commerce Commission issue, we think it’s clear, and it’s always been clear, that in the case of fundamental corporate transactions involving rail carriers the Interstate Commerce Commission has exclusive and plenary jurisdiction to approve or disapprove those transactions.
For instance, the exit of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad from the industry.
That was governed under Section 10901 or 10903 of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
The purchase of assets by Railco, or the potential purchase of assets, that was governed under Section 10901 in this case.
Exit, entrance, sale of assets, in most cases are subject to the extensive regulatory framework of the ICC, and that’s because Congress has repeatedly recognized that railroads are infused with the public interest.
And it’s given the ICC a broad mandate to regulate railroads.
It regulates the railroad system of this country in the public interest and under a standard of public convenience and necessity.
This transaction was regulated, as I’ve indicated, under Section 10901 in the ICC’s order in Ex Parte 392.
But more than just regulating corporate transactions or the sale of assets, entrance and exit of new companies, the ICC has very large discretionary jurisdiction over labor interests.
The interests of the Railway Labor Executives’ Association in this case.
Their interest comes from Section 10101(a), subsection 12, where they’re charged by Congress with providing fair wages and suitable working conditions for the employees in the nation’s rail industry.
And their interests and their discretion comes from further than that.
Their discretion also goes back as far as the case of United States v. Lowden, this Court’s decision in a discretionary transaction, this Court holding that the ICC had the discretionary authority to protect the interests of labor in the transaction to further labor peace and to improve the morale of the employees of the nation’s railroads.
For 50 years beginning before the Lowden case and continuing after the Lowden case, rail labor has regularly gone to the ICC and they’ve regularly gone to Congress and they’ve implored both, and usually been successful, to impose labor protective conditions in ICC-regulated transactions.
In this particular case, this transaction was governed under the ICC’s order In Ex Parte 392.
Rail labor participated fully and completely in the formulation of the policy of Ex Parte 392.
They participated actively.
They opposed what the ICC did in Ex Parte 392, but they were participants.
What they received from Ex Parte 392 was the right to petition the ICC in exceptional cases where they could demonstrate extraordinary circumstances in under 10901 and could show that their interests were truly being harmed by the transaction.
In this particular case, the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie transaction, rail labor never went to the ICC under Ex Parte 392 and tried to invoke its discretionary jurisdiction.
Instead, rail labor went to the ICC and they went and said to the ICC, you should stay this transaction.
Not stay it to look at the impact on labor, but stay it to give us, the employees, an opportunity to make a competing offer for this railroad.
We don’t like the purchaser.
We don’t like Railco.
We want to make our own offer.
And we have an investment advisor, in fact, and he’s going to offer an affidavit.
And the affidavit of the investment advisor is in the record.
But from the very outset of this proceeding rail labor was insistent that they had a right, through the ICC process originally, to make an offer themselves to purchase the railroad.
So, they invoked all sorts of ICC jurisdiction under Ex Parte 392.
But the primary reason for the invocation, as the filings indicate, was not labor protections, to protect these employees from the effects of the transaction.
But, instead, was to say,
“Give us an opportunity to buy the railroad. “
The ICC in an order in this particular case denied rail labor’s motion for a stay.
They looked at the situation with the P&LE, understanding the economic realities of a sale transaction, the fact that the financing wouldn’t last forever for the purchaser.
They looked at the entire situation and said the P&LE is very weak, the P&LE is very sick.
They are also essential to the national transportation interests.
This transaction needs to be consummated immediately, and we will not stay it.
They did suggest to the RLEA that RLEA could come before them after the fact… which is exactly what the 10505 exemption procedure requires… and orally they could come before them and raise all claims.
They could even raise their claim to have the transaction reversed.
And they ordered P&LE to maintain its corporate existence.
Sandra Day O’Connor:
Well, Mr. Wyatt, the Solicitor General, of course, takes a view somewhat different from yours and says it’s true that we should not interpret the Acts here to preclude the railroad from going out of business but that the RLA can be reconciled with the statues governing the ICC by requiring some limited effects bargaining.
Are you going to address yourself to that argument?
Yes, your Honor.
I was going to address that now.
I do think, though, that the statutory scheme of the Interstate Commerce Commission comes into play in evaluating any duty to bargain over effects that might arise in a transaction.
And I think it’s important for the Court to realize and focus on, contrary to the Solicitor’s approach, how extensive those protections are and how powerful the ICC is and how vigilant it has been to protect the interests of rail labor employees from just the effects of these corporate transactions.
That has been their primary role with respect to rail labor for 50 years.
And Congress has recognized it.
Does the ICC, in your view, clearly have power to cover all the effects, if you will, of the termination?
Severance pay and so forth?
Justice O’Connor, I think the ICC has far more power… they certainly have the power to cover severance pay and traditional effects.
They even have the power, we would submit, to effectively compel us to look at RLEA’s purchase offer.
They even have the power to impose the successorship obligation.
They have a very broad conditioning power that is a fundamental power, and they can simply impose upon us whatever conditions as a condition of our exit from the industry.
John Paul Stevens:
Mr. Wyatt, do I understand your position to be that you… given the fact, that under your view the ICC has such extensive power and has historically imposed labor conditions and all the rest, did you have no duty to bargain over the protective provisions that the RLEA asked for?
That’s correct.
In the case of an ICC-approved transaction, Justice Stevens, once that transaction process goes forward or is initiated, the effects… whatever RLEA wants by way of effects, it has to present that petition to the ICC.
Through the ICC.
To the ICC.
We have to know… in this case P&LE intended to honor its labor agreements as it understood them to exist.
There is no question that we were intent on honoring the terms of the labor agreements.
But we have to know with some certainty when we enter into these corporate transactions, when we go to a buyer and say, would you like to buy us, would you like to buy our assets… we have to be able to tell them what our liabilities are at that point in time.
You do acknowledge that… and I don’t see that this is entirely consistent.
You do acknowledge that if anything you were doing in connection with the sale violated your labor agreement, then the provisions of the Rail Labor Act would apply and it would be a major dispute and would have to go through that mechanism.
Mr. Justice Scalla, I do not acknowledge that.
You don’t?
That fact is just not present in this case.
Everyone has agreed from the outset in this case that there is no violation of the labor agreements as they exist.
Suppose there were, suppose your contract said the company will not go out of business for 20 years.
That’s what your collective bargaining agreement says.
And then you try to sell within the 20 years.
What… what would be… do you think that the ICC’s approval would be an end of the matter?
I think the ICC… think the ICC would have jurisdiction and would have discretion.
Now, how the reconciliation of a… how the ICC would reconcile an explicitly guaranteed contractual right and what they view to be the needs of this country in the national transportation system, I’m not sure.
They’ve suggested… and, in fact, they’ve said… in the FRVR case–
We’ll resume at 1:00 o’clock.
0 [Recess.]
We’ll resume the argument where we left off, Mr. Wyatt.
–Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice and may it please this court:
Let me ask you, if I may.
Is it your contention that the decision… P&LE’s decision to sell was not what in the words of the RLA is some respecting rates of pay, rules or working conditions that shouldn’t be altered by the carrier?
–Yes, that’s our position.
Our position is that the decision to sell itself is a non-bargainable subject, it’s not included within the statutory definition of rates, pay, rules or working conditions.
And we rely there, Mr. Chief Justice, on this Court’s reasoning in First National Maintenance where this Court faced a similar claim under the National Labor Relations Act that a decision to partially close a business was part of the phrase “terms and conditions” of employment.
A much broaded phrase, a bargaining command.
And this Court held, after a lengthy analysis in First National Maintenance that indeed the decision was not part of terms and conditions of employment.
Byron R. White:
Well, the court of appeals agreed with you.
Well, the court of appeals appeared to agree with us.
Yes, well–
The court of appeals–
–the court of appeals said that the decision to sell wasn’t bargainable.
–The court of appeals isolated the decision from any… the court of appeals left us with the right to make the decision in the boardroom but not the right to go forward with the decision.
We think what First National Maintenance fairly read says is that not only do you have the right to make the decision and the decision is not bargainable, but that you have a right to implement the decision and that you don’t have to exhaust a bargaining duty as to effects, even it you could define… if you define what the effects are, that that duty does not have to be exhausted.
Therefore there should have been no status quo.
There should have been no injunction for bidding the sale.
It’s exactly correct.
Although perhaps you did have a duty to bargain about the effects.
–Well, we… of course, our first position here is that the effects were within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission in this case.
Our second position is that these particular effects notices… and I would invite the Court to focus on these notices… that under this Court’s authority and under the authority of the lower courts these notices themselves, we had no duty as to them since they were attempts to undo the transaction.
That the duty to bargain as to the effects depends on the nature of the effect over which bargaining is sought.
In this case, what RLEA wanted was this carrier to agree to renegotiate the sale transaction with Railco to provide for a successorship agreement.
So we take the second position that these notices themselves were non-bargainable in this case.
But how about the necessary consequences of your decision to sell?
Didn’t that mean a change in working conditions or rates of pay or rules for some of the employees under the successor?
Mr. Chief Justice, it absolutely meant no change for those employees as long as they were in our employ.
We were honoring all contractually agreed upon rates of pay, rules, and working conditions.
These contracts, as they existed the day we decided to go out of business, provided no guaranteed level of employment.
They provided no job guarantees at all.
They merely provided that when an employee came to work, if there was work… when an employee came to work, these were the rates of pay, rules, and actual agreements that covered that work.
So, we weren’t changing… P&LE was not changing any term of the agreement, they weren’t violating any term of the agreement, by simply going out of business.
And whatever the successor’s obligations are as to RLEA and those P&LE employees the successor hired are governed, we believe, under this Court’s decisions in Burns Detective and Fall River Dyeing.
I suppose that even if the United States is right that you had to bargain over effects, I take it that the United States would say that you may effectuate the transaction as soon as you want.
I believe that is–
And then surely any bargaining over effects is gone.
–That would be the case in a company going out of business.
Once we effectuate the decision, as a practical matter, P&LE has no operating business.
But that is not to say in this particular case that bargaining… for instance, bargaining could not have been meaningfully conducted.
There was a three-month gap… If in fact this Court found in effect bargaining obligation.
Typically between the time a decision is made, a sale contract entered, there is a period of time before the transaction closes, during which bargaining could occur.
And in this case, P&LE would have continued its bargaining obligation after the sale because P&LE intended to operate, albeit not as a railroad, but as a company leasing rail cars and as a company managing real estate assets.
And it would have had some employees covered under the old Brack agreement in this case who would have worked as clericals.
Anthony M. Kennedy:
Would the new company have a successor obligation to bargain?
As I indicated, Justice Kennedy, I think that’s covered by this Court’s decisions in the Burns case.
I believe the successor obligation would depend on how many of the P&LE employees it hired.
And if it hired a majority of its employees from the P&LE work force, it would have a successor obligation.
And, in fact, in this case it contemplated doing that and had already started negotiations with rail labor for new collective bargaining agreements covering those employees that it would hire.
Would that consider… would that include some matters that were covered by bargaining over effects?
The successor employer’s obligations?
No, your Honor.
The successor really has no obligation to bargain over the effects.
The seller… something going out of business has the effects obligation.
The successor enters the world, as any new employer.
Only in this case he has a union and he has a statutory bargaining obligation.
But that’s by virtue of how he hires and the fact that the entity… employing enterprise is basically a railroad going forward only with new employees.
Well, they could make the same claims that they were making against your company… made against your company.
They would be effects claims.
They could make the very same claims against the new company, they just wouldn’t be effects claims.
That’s absolutely correct, Justice Scalia.
They could simply go to the new company and say,
“Here is the contract like we want. “
“We want to… you have hired the majority of our employees and we want a new contract, and we want all these provisions in our new contract to protect us from the employer you sell to. “
But the simple fact of the matter is we had no bargaining duty under this Court’s decision in First National Maintenance.
We don’t believe we had an effects duty at all because of the unique presence of the Interstate Commerce Act.
But regardless of whether we had an effects duty or not, we did not violate the status quo in this case, as the status quo has come to be known, by going out of business.
Simply put, we were not changing rates of pay, rules, or working conditions.
And it would be… I think it would create an unworkable situation if every time a management transaction were going forward, as in this case, a non-bargainable decision, if RLEA could serve a vast panoply of notices allegedly addressed to effects or even directly addressed to effects–
Mr. Wyatt, I guess it is conceivable that the collective bargaining agreement might have contained some provisions dealing with the effects of going out of business.
–Justice O’Connor, the collective bargaining agreement had provisions dealing, as do most, dealing with furlough and dealing with pay when one is on furlough status.
Well, the point I’m trying to make is it is theoretically possible that a collective bargaining agreement could cover some aspects of the effects of going out of business.
And the collective bargaining agreement in this case is not part of the record I understand.
–The collective bargaining agreement, you’re correct, is not part of the record.
So no matter whether we agree with you or not, it has to go back below to determine whether the collective bargaining agreement has something to say about this?
Not at all, Justice O’Connor.
It has been stipulated through and agreed throughout… and I believe even the Third Circuit found… that what P&LE was proposing to do did not in any way violate the collective bargaining agreement.
P&LE doesn’t have to look to the collective bargaining agreement in this case for its right to go out of business.
P&LE’s right to go out of business is a fundamental management right, as we argue in our brief.
RLEA–
Yes, but if your bargaining agreement said that if we go out of business here’s some things we have to do, why, you would have to do them.
But RLEA’s remedy is–
But it’s stipulated that that isn’t the case here?
–It’s stipulated throughout that there is no violation of the agreement–
–by P&LE going out of business.
If RLEA believed the agreements were violated by P&LE going out of business in the way it had chosen to do so, or if they agreed… they believed that P&LE had ever agreed not to go out of business, their remedy would have been to file a grievance saying P&LE is breaching–
Then have it decided by a board.
Then say P&LE is breaching its collective bargaining agreement.
In this case RLEA says the statute, the Railway Labor Act… not the contracts… the Railway Labor Act itself operates to keep P&LE from going out of business and that is just totally inconsistent with this court’s rationale in Darlington and First National Maintenance.
If there are no further questions, I’d reserve the remainder of my time for rebuttal.
Thank you, Mr. Wyatt.
Mr. Minear.
Jeffrey P. Minear:
P&LE and its unions are in sharp disagreement about virtually every aspect of this dispute.
And perhaps for that reason this case seems somewhat more complicated than it needs to be.
The United States submits that neither party is completely correct and that this case turns on three critical questions.
That makes it even more complicated.
[Laughter]
Perhaps, your Honor.
The questions we think that are at the bottom of this dispute, however, are, first, does the RLA control the bargaining rights and obligations of these parties.
And we submit the answer to that is yes.
Second, does that statute require P&LE to bargain with its employees upon request about the effects of its decision to go out of business?
Here too, the answer is yes.
And, third, does P&LE’s obligation under the RLA to maintain rates of pay, rules, and working conditions during the bargaining process automatically require the railroad to preserve its employee’s jobs until bargaining is completed?
We submit that the answer to that question is no.
What is the government’s position, Mr. Minear, with respect to whether or not the district court should have entered a status quo injunction in this case?
The problem here, your Honor, is–
Does it have a position?
–I believe it does have a position, but it’s complicated–
What is that… what is the position?
–When this case arrived at the district court, there was a request for a status quo injunction, but it wasn’t clear what exactly the status quo was.
We believe that the RLA… or, the unions in this case, could legitimately ask that the rates of pay, rules and working conditions shall not be altered by the carrier during the effects of bargaining process.
However, I think the unions sought something broader than that.
They wished the absolute preservation of their jobs.
We believe the district court erred in requiring absolute preservation of its jobs but could have entered an injunction to preserve the status quo which would include any terms or conditions the employment.
Could the district court have, as it did here, forbade P&LE from going ahead with the sale?
I think only in one circumstance, your Honor.
And that is if the collective bargaining agreements themselves clearly prohibited the sale from going forward.
And if the collective bargaining agreements didn’t prohibit that, then it should not have prohibited the sale?
So the judgment here in your mind should be reversed, at least to that extent?
At least to that extent it should be reversed.
And I take it that if they have to bargain over effects, if as soon as they close the transaction, the bargaining duty is over?
Yes, that’s right, your Honor.
But I think there’s two factors to bear in mind with respect to that.
First of all, there is, as P&LE pointed out, a lag period between the time of announcement of the closure and the actual closure.
And, secondly, the fact that the unions are disadvantaged by this simply reflects the fact… the rather late in the day come to seek to change their agreements to reflect additional job security.
All of these things are matters that could have been negotiated months or even years ago.
And so, in fact, although the unions might have little bargaining power here, it simply reflects the fact they’ve not raised these issues before.
Well, the railroad just has to bargain in good faith.
But it doesn’t have to wait on… it doesn’t have to delay the closing.
That’s correct, your Honor.
As I said, there are three questions here.
I’d like to turn to the first of those at this point.
We think it is apparent that the RLA, rather than the Interstate Commerce Act determines the bargaining rights and obligations of these parties.
Since 1926 the RLA has been the basic source for defining the bargaining obligations of railway management and labor.
Section 2 of that statute provides that both labor and management must exert every reasonable effort to make and maintain agreements with respect to rates of pay, rules and working conditions.
Section 2 further provides that no carrier shall change the rates of pay rules or working conditions as embodied in the agreements except in the manner prescribed in Section 6–
Section 6, which controls the resolution of these so-called major disputes, requires that a party seeking to change a collective bargaining agreement must give 30 days notice of the intended change, and further provides that rates of pay, rules and working conditions shall not be altered during the bargaining process.
Do you think the notice that was served by the unions in this case was proper in all respects and just covered effects bargaining as you see it, or did it go beyond that?
Well, that’s a difficulty here that I don’t think the United States is in the best position to address.
What the Section 6 notice has included in this case was a request for perpetual employment in that sense.
Is that proper?
–We believe that this could well constitute bargaining over the decision itself rather than simply effects decisionmaking.
In a case where the railroad were a term that sought to be bargained… would in effect prevent the transaction from going forward, it may extend beyond effects bargaining.
Mr. Minear, you may be right about which of these two statutes triumphs here but it seems to me a closed question.
You’re essentially making the argument that the specific governs the general.
–I think the Railway Labor Act deals with labor relations.
But It depends on how you slice… how you slice the cake.
You could say that the Interstate Commerce Act deals more specifically with the consequences of going out of business.
If you choose to look at this as a going out of business problem, the Interstate Commerce Act is the more specific statute and should govern.
If you choose to look at it as a labor problem, the Railway Labor Act is the more specific and should govern.
I don’t… I don’t have any clue as to why you should look at it as the one rather than as the other.
Your Honor, I think there’s a couple of points I’d like to say in response to that.
First, we’re talking about a particular type of transaction here.
A Section 10901 transaction.
Now, there are other types of transactions covered by the ICA where the result could conceivably be different.
But in this we’re only looking at a 10901 transaction.
Secondly, this is a case where the transaction itself has been exempted from ICA regulation.
What Section 10505 of the ICA gives the ICC is the power to exempt a transaction from its scrutiny on the basis that there is no need for the application of a particular provision of the ICA.
Now, if they’ve made that determination, then it seems somewhat difficult for us to argue that the ICA would in fact supersede another statute on the books.
Well, what if the ICC had imposed specific requirements in connection with the transaction?
–That is a more difficult question.
I would point out that question is not here, but there’s certain matters that the court may consider.
Well, what would your position be then?
I’m not sure I’m authorized to take a position for the Solicitor General on that particular point.
But I would point out that first of all there is no express textual basis for–
But it comes close to that if the ICC thinks about whether they should impose conditions and determines that in this case they shouldn’t.
Then you think.
In those circumstances, the RLA trumps.
–Your Honor, I think certainly there’s a strong basis for that inference, based primarily on the fact that Section 10901 doesn’t have any express preemptive language.
You can compare that to Section 11341 which does have an express preemptive provision in the case of mergers and consolidations.
In those cases, given the difference between those two statutes, that might well reflect a Congressional intent to treat these two types of transactions differently.
Again, since this is an accepted… exempted transaction, we think that the case is somewhat easier here.
In this case, the railroad announced its decision to go out of business and its unions sought to modify their labor contracts to soften the blow.
They invoked the RLA’s collective bargaining mechanism for that purpose.
We believe that the unions could properly invoke the RLA bargaining rights in these circumstances and that the railroad could not enjoin them from doing so.
But that does not mean that RLA had a duty to bargain about any and all aspects of the transaction.
As the court of appeals correctly recognized and the unions apparently conceded below, the unions have no right to bargain about the actual decision to go out of business.
The RLA, which specifies and specifically identifies the subjects of bargaining, does not require the railroad to bargain about business decisions which have always been treated as matters of managerial prerogative.
But bargaining about the effects of the business decision is a different matter.
The RLA, by its terms, requires the railroad to bargain about rates of pay, rules and working conditions, and nothing in the RLA prohibits the union from proposing changes with respect to those matters in response to a railroad’s business decision.
Two points, however, deserve special emphasis here.
And I think I’ve touched on them both already.
First, the RLA’s limitation on subjects of bargaining reflects Congress’ judgment that management must be free from the constraints of the bargaining process to the extent necessary to exercise business judgment.
But it follows that a union is not entitled to engage in effects of bargaining for the improper purpose of thwarting an employer’s exercise of that judgment.
And, second, the carrier’s duty to bargain–
Would your… your principle that the employer can go out of business despite the bargaining obligation, would that extend to the proposition that the employer can sign a sales contract despite the existence of the bargaining obligation?
Specifically, the union hears that there’s a deal in the works.
So, it comes in and says we want to bargain about post-effects.
The deal hasn’t yet been signed.
Would the… would the railroad violate its good faith obligation to bargain about after-deal effects if it went ahead and signed the agreement that in fact did not impose these protections?
–I think not, your Honor, although that is a tougher case.
Typically effects bargaining extends to questions of severance pay, job security, and the like.
Now, obviously your question contemplates the possibility of a term of proposal that would in fact provide that protection as a part of the transaction.
Although I think that’s a closer question, I still think that would fall within the traditional business judgment of the railroad and it would not be a rate of pay rule or working condition as that term is used in the RLA.
It’s sort of hard to consider it good faith bargaining if even at the moment that you’re talking to the unions about whether these protections should be there you’re signing a deal that doesn’t contain them.
Well, it’s a question of whether or not this is a mandatory subject of bargaining.
And if it’s not a mandatory subject of bargaining, then, of course, the railroad can go forward and take the action.
I admit that that is a closer question, but the government would believe that that would not be a mandatory subject of bargaining.
This brings us to the most important issue in this case, and that is P&LE’s status quo obligations.
The court of appeals broadly held that if a union serves a Section 6 notice that proposes changes in the collective bargaining agreement, Section 6 prohibits the railroad from taking actions adverse to labor even though such actions would be permissible or authorized under the existing employer/employee relationship.
We believe that that is incorrect.
The RLA is concerned, as I said before, with the formation and maintenance of agreements concerning rates of pay, rules and working conditions.
And Section 6, which sets forth the process for the change in such agreements, provides the railroad must continue to honor its existing obligations with respect to those subjects during the bargaining process.
But it does not prevent the railroad from taking actions that are authorized under existing collective agreements or through the understanding of the parties, as reflected in established work practices.
Indeed, if a railroad were precluded from taking such actions, then many existing agreements and implicit understandings would be meaningless.
For example, a union could always thwart a railroad’s exercise of a contractual right to take future action by simply filing a Section 6 notice before the action is taking and invoking Section 6 status quo requirement.
Plainly, the RLA was not intended to produce that result.
Instead, existing terms and conditions of employment are part of the status quo.
We believe that this is the only position that is consistent with Section 6’s language and the legislative history.
We believe that this position is also consistent with this Court’s decision in Shoreline.
The question there was whether the collective bargaining agreements were the sole source for determining working conditions.
The Court held that one must look as well to implicit understandings, as expressed in the actual on-the-job practices.
The Court did not hold that the railroad must preserve jobs apart from the express or implicit understandings that define and condition the employment relationship.
It viewed those as a part of the status quo.
Our interpretation, in addition to being consistent with the RLA’s language and legislative history and this Court’s precedence, also furthers the RLA’s fundamental policy of encouraging the formation of agreements that specify in advance the rights of management and labor in the face of future contingencies.
Furthermore, it avoids the possibility of an erosive taking of an insolvent railroad who would be forced to continue its operations against its will.
In this case, as P&LE indicated, the collective bargaining agreements are not before the court, and the parties have not established the past practices with respect to reductions in work force.
If P&LE’s unions have already negotiated applicable job security arrangements or certain severance benefits are an established work practice in these circumstances, then the unions are permitted the continuation of those arrangements or benefits during the bargaining process.
But if, on the other hand, the agreements and practices authorize work force reductions without such protections, then that is the status quo.
And if the parties have differing interpretations of the agreements and past practices, then their disagreement is subject to resolution under the RLA’s so-called minor dispute provisions which call for binding arbitration of such questions.
I think it’s important to note that binding arbitration can even go to the question of whether there is or is not a major or minor dispute.
This is something that is indicated in Section 3 Second.
So, in fact, the adjustment board can provide complete relief in these circumstances and also can make some of these determinations that advance to the courts.
At this point the… our brief, of course, was filed before the unions filed theirs.
And we, of course, left open the question that there was a dispute over the collective bargaining agreement.
P&LE now suggests that perhaps they agree on what the terms of the collective bargaining agreement are.
Well, at least no one has claimed that they’re violated.
They haven’t gone to an adjustment board.
What the unions seem to be arguing is that there is a change in the nature of the agreements.
I’m not sure what that term means.
Perhaps that’s another way of saying that there is a violation of the agreement.
But if there is no violation of the agreement, it’s hard to see how there would be either a major or a minor dispute in these circumstances.
Mr. Minear, can I ask you a question that is related to that?
I’m sorry the ICC is not here.
They would assert that whatever they said would govern, correct?
Contrary to the position that you’ve taken.
If the ICC… which you say shouldn’t even be here anyway… had their way, if they said that a railroad can get out of business, it can get out of business and all the labor consequences are resolved in its judgment.
Do you know if they would take the position that… well, let me… do the labor protective provisions that the ICC is allowed to include, do they embrace labor protective provisions that merely consist of the obligations that the company has under its existing contract?
That is, suppose this contract said that if I go out of business I will retain the employment of everybody who… my successor will retain the employment of everybody who is here, would the ICC feel authorized to insert that as one of the labor protective provisions?
Their labor protective provisions are defined in Section 11347 which have a long history and they incorporate some of the notions and past understandings in the railroad business.
One of the things that 11347 says is that it looks to a separate section, the Rail Passenger Act, to define in part what the collective provisions are.
That statute in turn says that collective bargaining rights are preserved.
It doesn’t say “agreements” as I recall, but it talks about rights.
So I think there is some ambiguity of whether the ICC would believe that the collective bargaining agreements themselves are preserved or only the collective bargaining in–
Well, what if the collective bargaining agreement would give the employees no rights upon the sale?
May the… I thought the ICC could nevertheless impose labor protective–
–That is correct.
They can do so in this transaction.
–Even though the collective bargaining agreement isn’t violated at all.
Yes, that is right.
The ICC does have the power to impose collective bargaining… or, to impose labor protective provisions.
That was something this court said in its Lowden decision, and it’s something that’s covered in Section 10901 transactions.
The ICC’s authority, however, is discretionary.
It’s a matter of–
Well, the ICC isn’t here, but the company certainly is and it is pressing the ICC position.
And I haven’t heard a whole lot from you… you won’t… you won’t express an opinion about some of the questions that–
–Well, I–
–that I would think is necessary to decide whether the ICC position is correct or not.
–Well, I’d be happy to answer–
Well, suppose you… well, you wouldn’t… suppose the ICC imposes some labor protective provisions, all that it thinks are necessary.
Must a company then bargain with the union over other and different ones?
–I indicated before I think that’s an unsettled question, and that’s a question where I can give you the views of myself standing at the podium here, although I don’t believe the Solicitor General has taken a position on that–
Well, then–
–specific matter.
–That seems to me a rather critical question if you’re going to resolve this claim, that the ICC… that the Interstate Commerce Act preempts the RLA in these sale cases.
Well, in this particular case, as I pointed out before, the Court doesn’t need to reach that particular issue because it’s an exempted transaction.
Well, I know, but that’s a… I think, as Justice O’Connor indicated, if you’re going to exempt it, it seems to me that they’ve said no labor protective provisions are necessary.
Let’s assume they just said, we’ve considered everything we think is relevant, no labor protective positions will be imposed.
But that can also–
Now, then you think the company nevertheless has to bargain with the union?
–Their exemption can also reflect the view that there is no need for them to impose labor protective provisions.
It’s something that can be left to the RLA.
Our concern here is that there is–
Well, that isn’t… I can’t believe that’s the inference you would draw.
I would think they would think that we’re approving this transaction for the benefit of the public.
And we just don’t think that any labor protective provisions are appropriate.
But, your Honor, the decision whether or not to provide labor protection under the ICA goes primarily to whether or not this is providing fair wages for employees and safe working conditions.
The ICC might conclude, on the on hand, that the provision of the protective conditions is not necessary in this case because there is an alternative mechanism.
I suggest that they probably did not have that view here.
In fact, felt that it was in the public interest not to provide such a protection.
How do we know that?
–Probably the best source for that would be the ICC’s exemption provision itself, the Ex Parte 392 provision.
Well, I guess we have to read–
But, again, the difficulty here is that Section 10901 does not have any affirmative textual basis for superseding otherwise applicable law.
And that’s what gives us some pause in this situation.
–This is one of the problems, at least for me, that historically, before the recent amendments to the Commerce Act, wherever there were protective provisions they were the result of an ICC order.
Were they not?
They didn’t typically bargain about this.
Or, am I wrong as a matter of history?
I think that that is generally true, your Honor.
So that it was not, at least historically, a matter of collective bargaining.
And then when the ICC changes its practice and says no more protective provisions, it’s sort of totally changing the conditions under which bargaining might have taken place in the past.
But that certainly would be appropriate at that point for the labor unions to approach their employers and to indicate that they would like to bargain for protective conditions that the ICC is no longer providing.
That would be a legitimate Section 6 request that could be forwarded to any of–
But if they had done so, and if there were protective provisions in the collective bargaining agreement, could the ICC supersede those and say we are going to approve this on the condition that there would be no… could it alter the protective provisions that might have been agreed upon between the parties?
–I think that raises a fairly serious question of the ICC’s authority, whether it would have the authority to in fact preempt existing contracts.
The places where the ICC is given the authority to supersede loss usually uses the term law.
It indicates, for instance in Section 11341, that a transaction approved by the ICC is exempt from any other laws necessary to carry forward the transaction.
I’m not aware of anything in the ICA that gives the ICC the power to in fact undo contractual provisions that might already be present.
Well, sure.
It can undo it to the detriment of whoever is asking the permission.
It can undo contractual provisions to the detriment of the railroad who is requesting the permission.
When it imposes labor protective provisions it’s essentially imposing labor obligations that they don’t have.
Isn’t that right?
Well, it’s imposing additional obligations by law.
It’s not undoing an obligation that it already has by contract.
And I think there’s a distinction there.
Yeah, I suppose.
You make a big point of the fact that 10901 does not contain any provision superseding otherwise applicable law, as you put it.
Does the Railway Labor Act have a provision explicitly superseding otherwise applicable law?
So, it’s a standoff as far as that goes, isn’t it?
I mean, you just have to decide what’s the applicable law.
That is correct, your Honor.
But in terms of supersession, it usually requires an affirmative showing of an intent to supersede another statute.
That has been the rule this Court has adopted and the rule that presumably Congress acts upon when it passes legislation.
Well, but the if there is no preemption provision… they come across the finish line equal, don’t they?
The question is whether or not they can reconciled, whether or not they can both be applied in a coherent way.
And, again, here we have a case where the ICC has exempted the party from the relevant provision of the statute.
And so, again, it’s difficult to see how there is a direct conflict between those two statutes.
Well, on that basis the company has to obey whatever are the most rigorous conditions that are imposed.
Either the ICC or what the union wants.
Well, if both statutes impose conditions upon the employer, then I suppose that would be the logical result of choosing one or the other, is that one of the two would apply.
I guess you do have to be… said for you that although Section 113 does contain provisions explicitly overriding other law… right?
It’s 11341.
11341 is the section.
If there are no further questions, thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Minear.
Mr. Clarke, we’ll hear from you now.
John B. O’Clarke, Jr.:
Mr. Chief Justice may it please the Court:
This case actually involves a misunderstanding of two statutes that has now led to the apparent conflict between the two statutes.
But when you go back to the actual manner in which the statutes were implemented, for the 60-some odd years that they existed side-by-side before you had this conflict, there was no conflict between the two statutes.
And the reason for that is that corporate decisions of a carrier that do not affect rates of pay, rules or working conditions, do not change rates of pay, rules or working conditions do not require notice and were not… there is no status quo that prohibits the implementation of such a corporate decision.
The only time that you have a conflict between the two statutes is where the parties, the carriers, tend to use the Interstate Commerce Act to justify changes in existing collectively-established rates of pay, rules or working conditions.
Do you think that going out of business necessarily involves changing of rates of pay and rules and working conditions?
As that term is used in the statue… in the Railway Labor Act, yes, your Honor.
But this is not a going out of business case.
Even though the railroad agrees to until it makes the sale maintain the status quo?
Yes, your Honor, because what is going to happen as a result of that sale is that P&LE will continue… under the terms of this sale P&LE Railco would operate the railroad.
It would take the lines, it would take the equipment, and it would take some of the employees.
But what it would do, it would impose entirely new rates of pay, rules or working conditions.
If they just went out of business and sold it to nobody, then it would be different?
Because then there would be no work, no working conditions.
–Your Honor, at that point it would still be a change in the collective agreements, as that term is used in the statute.
Yeah, but not a change in working conditions.
It is, your Honor.
We would submit it would still be a change and it would require notice.
But that’s not the fact because in this case, first of all,–
Well, you–
–the P&LE is not going out of business.
–take the result of that issue… take the position that the union can in effect require bargaining over the decision to go out of business or sale?
Your Honor, we draw a distinction between a question of whether you can bargain over the decision itself and over the effects.
–Well, that’s not a meaningful distinction though, I don’t think.
If you’re saying that the P&LE is perfectly free to decide to go out of business or decide to sell but it can’t proceed to go ahead and consummate the transaction unless it goes through this bargaining–
That’s not the position we’re taking, your Honor.
The injunction that was issued in this case sets forth the position quite clearly.
And that injunction says the P&LE is enjoined from selling in a way that it changes it rates of pay, rules and working conditions.
It may sell so long as there is no change.
Namely, that Railco assumes the collective bargaining agreements and continues to operate.
That’s the way in which the Railway Labor Act and the Interstate Commerce Act have existed side-by-side for 60-some odd years.
When you look at the Republic Airlines case which we cited to the court in one of the footnotes, the National Mediation Board pointed out that what has happened in the railroad Industry as a result of mergers, purchases, and uncontrolled transactions that have occurred is that you have a proliferation of agreements on the PMR/Kent merger in the ’40s, the PMR/Kent rules still apply on the C&O part.
What has happened is when a railroad takes over another railroad’s operations, it takes over the contracts.
The only difference is that there’s now a new name on the paycheck as to who the employer is.
But as far as the employees are concerned, there is no change in the actual rates of pay, rules or work conditions that are established by the contract.
–Well, why would the district court… could the district court properly have done on the hypothesis that P&LE simply says we are going out of business, period?
Your Honor, first of all it would have been a question of whether or not they had the ICC approval to do so.
Supposing they did?
If they had the ICC approval to do so, we would submit, your Honor, that the Railway Labor Act would still prohibit that form of a change because it is a change as that term was used–
Well, nobody would be picking up… nobody then would be picking up the paychecks?
–Yes, your Honor, there would be someone picking up the paycheck because the railroad will still continue operating.
So, in effect, you say if they aren’t going to sell to somebody but just go out of business, they can’t do that.
–The Railway Labor Act would prohibit them from doing that.
But that’s not this case.
How does the Railway Labor Act prohibit them from doing that?
Because, your Honor, it says that any time a carrier… in Section 27… any time a carrier… no change shall be made in rates of pay, rules or working conditions as a class as embodied in the agreements except in the manner prescribed in the agreements or in Section 6 of the Act.
But that assumes the point we’re talking about, I thought, whether this is a change.
And this is where we get back to the legislative history.
At the time the Railway Labor Act was enacted, it was enacted for an industry that was heavily regulated, an industry where it was a startling innovation to believe that a railroad could go out of business any time it wanted.
Railroads couldn’t even become debtors under the Bankruptcy Act as it existed at that time.
And it wasn’t until 1933 that they were allowed to even become… in the reorganization under the Bankruptcy Act.
The only way they could restructure financially was through the equity receiverships.
This was the understanding that Congress had and that the parties had.
And what the labor representatives who drafted the bill that was modified in some forms but not in Section 2 First or Section 6 that are applicable here, indicated to Congress the intent of that statute was to do.
It was to implement the bargaining obligation.
It was to implement the requirement that the Railroad Labor Board in 1920… 1921… had promulgated, that any time management makes a decision that would affect rates of pay, rules or working conditions, it must give notice and it must bargain with the employees.
So, what the drafters of that legislation did… and they specifically sighted Wilson v. Nu, which this Court had decided in 1917, which dealt with Congress’ power to regulate railroads and to impose obligations on railroads… and they said we’re relying upon that power to impose an obligation.
The obligation that was imposed, because of the great transportation needs of railroads at that time, which we submit still exist to a degree today was that Congress was not going to allow the rail industry to become disrupted by labor disputes.
But, rather, would adopt the solution that management and labor had devised, which provided that any time there is to be a change in working conditions… not a violation of the agreement, but a change… and the expiration of a contract is a change.
Yes, but there’s a whole law as to what’s working conditions, just as to there’s a whole law as to what are terms and conditions of employment under the National Labor Relations Act.
But that’s not this Act, your Honor.
Well, I understand that.
But, still, you will acknowledge that not everything is a working condition.
Whether I choose to subcontract some of my work, for example,–
–there are management prerogatives.
And why isn’t going out of business a management prerogative?
Because… the going out of business is a management prerogative.
But if the way in which they will go out of business will affect rates of pay, rules and working conditions, that management prerogative is limited by the statute which says there has to be bargaining about it first.
The example that your Honor raised in an earlier case, the Conrall case, is a perfect example of what I’m talking about here where there is a reporting requirement.
Assume employees had to report to work at 7:45 in the morning and the railroad wanted to change it to 8:00 in the morning.
Would they have to give notice?
Would that be a change in working conditions?
It’s obviously a change in working conditions if you’re moving your reporting requirement 15 minutes.
But the question as to whether or not notice was required was is it a working condition that is embodied in collectively established agreements, implied and explicit or written agreements?
If it is, even though it might not be prohibited by the agreements, it is still the type of thing that requires advance notice before the carrier does it.
Now, on the other hand, if it’s not, as would typically be the case, what then comes into play is the carrier could make that change unless the union believes that it is important to its people that that change not be made.
In which case, it has the right under Section 6 to serve what’s known as the Section 6 notice to request bargaining about that particular change.
If it does, then an entirely different concept… and this is the concept that is really involved here.
Not so much whether it is an obligation to bargain over the impact of this decision on employees, but what are the ramifications of the statute during that bargaining process.
And that’s the status quo obligation.
And if you look at 5 First Section 6 of the Act, and Section 10 of the Act, as this Court did in Detroit Toledo, and as the language clearly shows, in 2 Seventh and 6… in the first part of Section 6 it talks about changes affecting agreements establishing rates of pay, rules or working conditions.
And then, in 5 First, it says that during that bargaining process no change shall be made in agreements affecting rates of pay, rules or working conditions or established practices.
And in Section 10 of the Act it says that during the dispute process no change shall be made in the conditions out of which the dispute arose.
And the legislative history, as this Court pointed out just 20 years ago in Detroit Toledo, was that the language was broad.
It was intended to be broad because the concept was that while bargaining was going on, whether it’s mandatory bargaining in the sense that the carrier has to give the notice or bargaining because the union gave the notice, no change shall be made in the actual objective working conditions broadly conceived which are involved in or related to the dispute because–
What if the ICC enters specific orders covering what’s going to happen to the labor–
–Your Honor, that phrases the question as to whether or not the ICC is a labor board.
What role does the ICC play–
–Well, suppose–
–in the labor–
–they issue such orders, covering exactly the things the union claims it wants to bargain about–
–Such as in the Cady case, your Honor, where they allowed the use of the employees.
We would submit that that is the type of case where the ICC would exceed its jurisdiction.
It has no right to determine the labor relations aspects.
What the ICC’s role in labor relations in that sense… and it’s not even labor relations… the ICC’s role on labor matters is a minimum standards type of role.
It provides simply what is the public interest minimum requirement as to what is fair and equitable.
It does not… and this goes back to the early days of the relationship between the Acts–
–What do you mean by the public interest standard as to what’s fair and equitable?
It’s always just the employee’s interests you’re talking about.
–That’s correct your Honor.
But this court said in Lowden that the fair and equitable treatment of railroad employees is essential to the maintenance of an uninterrupted and efficient rail service.
Well, railroad employees are just treated shabbily.
When their interests are ignored, two things happen.
One, the railroad employees naturally react by using their economic muscle.
The second thing that happens is the efficiency of the service.
That a high efficient morale factor would improve is lost.
And what Congress has recognized from back in the ’20s… and in fact, even prior to that, back in the 1800’s, 1880’s… 1887 when the Interstate Commerce Act was enacted… there are also labor problems.
The two were different; economic regulations are different than labor relations regulations.
There is an overlap in this one sense.
The Interstate Commerce Act is concerned with the underlying public interest in an efficient rail service.
The Railway Labor Act is concerned with preventing disputes over labor matters from reaching the level of interruption to commerce.
The difference between the two Acts is this.
The Railway Labor Act, as this Court said in the Terminal Railroad case, is not concerned whatsoever with the fairness or the equities of whatever bargaining agreement might be reached.
The Interstate Commerce Act, on the other hand, is.
So what Congress has said… and this is right in the 1940 legislation where for the first time Congress required imposed protection.
The reason… prior to that, four years earlier, rail labor had gotten together with the railroads and had entered into the Washington Job Protection Agreement which formed a form of protection for railroad employees.
When Congress was considering in 1940 what became the 1940 Transportation Act where employee protection was imposed as a mandatory requirement, the position that rail labor took was they were asking for the mandatory protection.
And it was asked, why?
If you already have it by this agreement, why do we have to make it mandatory?
And the answer for that was this.
Only 85 percent of the mileage in the country was under the Washington Job Protection Agreement.
There were others who refused to come under it.
There were other employees who were not covered by it.
And that’s what Congress is concerned about.
The Interstate Commerce Act makes no differentiation at all between represented and non-represented employees.
It applies equally to all.
It applies equally to all regardless of what form of protection they might have gained by bargaining.
Now, what happened in the history of the Act and the relationship between the two is that from 1940 to… in the middle 40’s the Interstate Commerce Act Commission was developing the formal protections.
Then when the Interstate Commerce Commission protections didn’t keep up with the trend and the development of the Washington Job Protection in the industry, and, in fact, was actually below the Washington Job, the unions went to the collective bargaining table and negotiated collective bargaining agreements.
We’ve cited in our brief several cases.
And if you look at the major merger cases in the ’50s and the ’60s, they were all negotiated agreements.
Now, the ICC and the P&LE say well, they were all negotiated under the auspices of the Interstate Commerce Act.
Well, the Interstate Commerce Act doesn’t give rail labor a right to negotiate anything on behalf of anybody.
The Railway Labor Act does.
The negotiation that reached the agreement could only be binding on the employees because it was negotiation under the Railway Labor Act.
And when you look at the two Acts what you see… in a sense it’s like history.
Then this isn’t a matter of interpretation of law.
What happened in the past 60 years?
Why wasn’t there a conflict between the two?
And the reason there was no conflict was because the two Acts work hand in hand as part of a single form of regulation of the rail industry.
The Interstate Commerce Act with its mandatory minimums, the Railway Labor Act with an ability on rail labor’s part to either accept, as they did in many cases, the mandatory minimums, or to negotiate what they believed was fair and equitable.
Mr. Clarke, in those examples you described in the ’50s and ’60s did the negotiations generally precede the submission to the ICC for approval so that the ICC would then put into effect the conditions the parties already agreed upon?
Is that how it worked?
It would be a combination, your Honor.
Normally the agreements were reached beforehand.
But, for instance in the 70s, in the Northern Lines merger case, the ICC first turned it down when there was no agreement.
And then an agreement was reached and the ICC approved it.
In some of the other cases, the ICC cases which were cited in P&LE’s brief, the agreements were entered into after the merger actually took place.
The Milwaukee case is an example.
After the merger occurred, the ICC imposed conditions.
An agreement was then entered into which modified those conditions and that became the form of protection.
Now, in 1971… 1972… this Court decided the Nemitz case, Norfolk and Western Railroad v. Nemitz.
And in that case it said that even though you have this negotiated form of protection and the ICC’s role up to that point was that it’s policy was you have a negotiated agreement, fine, we don’t look at it.
This Court said that that was wrong and that that was actually a part of the order of the commission and rail labor could not substantially abrogate whatever had in fact been negotiated or imposed by the ICC.
So, there is a relationship in this way.
The rail labor can negotiate an agreement.
But if that agreement doesn’t meet the minimum standards, the floor that the statute imposes, then the ICC still has to impose that floor.
If the agreement exceeds the floor and it is adopted as the protection, then that becomes part of the ICC order.
But the parties cannot substantially abrogate below the floor.
Now, when you look at the Acts in this light and you remember the fact that notice is only required where there is a change in working conditions caused by the agreement, there is no conflict between the Interstate Commerce Act and the Railway Labor Act.
The only time you get a conflict between the two Acts is what has occurred in this case where the carrier’s relying upon the ICC’s belief that it is this labor board now say, well, wait a minute, we can sell, we can abrogate your contracts and you can’t bargain about it, and you can’t insist that we bargain about it.
And that is where the conflict occurs.
Now, on this one point, I point out that the policy that we’re talking about, the Ex Parte 392 policy, is a creation not of Congress but of the Interstate Commerce Commission itself.
Where Congress has considered and developed programs such as the feeder line programs, it specifically provided various forms of protection that would apply and how employees would be treated as a minimum level.
But this is one that the chairman of the ICC has stated was an unpleasant surprise, an unexpected gain out of the regulation.
This encouragement of short-line programs.
And the only reason it has been so popular is because for the first time the railroads are using the Interstate Commerce Commission’s authority as a means to abrogate existing agreements, to change the agreements and not bargain about it.
And we submit that that’s not in any way near the intent of the relationship between the two Acts.
Mr. Clarke–
–what do we know from the record about how P&LE operations will compare after the sale and before the sale?
Your Honor, there is some indication, if I’m not mistaken, in the ICC’s decision, talking about the P&LE’s Railco, the new company’s proposed rules.
The one thing that is clear from the record is that P&LE at that time had approximately 600 organized employees, agreement employees, as the term is used.
The Railco, P&LE Railco, the new company, intended to use only approximately 220 to perform that same type of operation.
Before the sale P&LE was running trains?
P&LE fully–
Freight trains?
–Excuse me, your Honor?
Only freight trains?
There is no passenger service.
There’s a 182 mile-system with around 200 and some odd miles from–
From Pittsburgh to Cleveland?
Not quite Cleveland, but Youngstown and that area.
And then there’s some track that’s–
After the sale, were the trains still going to be running?
Mr. Neuenschwander testified… he’s the President of the P&LE… that… and this is in the transcript and part of the Joint Appendix… that the P&LE Railco intended to operate in the same manner, the same lines, the same equipment, and service the same customers, and even adopt the contracts that dealt with those customers.
The only contract that would not be assumed and honored were the collective bargaining agreements.
And that’s what would allow the reduction in operations.
Now, I might, add because I realize my time… my time is fleeting on this… the status quo that is required to be maintained by the Act is not at the government submits and as the P&LE submits, simply the agreements or contractual rights… contractual limitations and contractual authorizations.
Rather, the status quo, as this Court pointed out in the Detroit Toledo case, is much broader.
It extends to the actual objective working conditions broadly conceived.
But you could read Detroit just the way you say it should be read and the way it’s spoke.
And saying it didn’t have to be something in writing and still not feel that it goes to… you know, who is the corporate owner.
–Your Honor, we’re not saying and the injunction did not prohibit P&LE from selling.
The corporate owner is immaterial to the status quo.
The court did not enjoin the sale.
But the status quo is violated, you say, by the plan of the successor to use only one-third of the employees?
That’s correct, your Honor, and not to honor the agreements that were in place.
And those agreements, I might add… contrary to what P&LE has informed the court… did contain employee protections that required a guaranteed form of employment.
But we acknowledge that once the sale occurs and the carrier no longer operates, unless there’s a carryover of agreements by the new carrier, those agreements would terminate.
And I might add there is no need for any remand to determine what the collective bargaining agreements provide because the record is quite clear in this case that the collective bargaining agreements provide that the employees are the ones who operate the P&LE trains.
And in the 1926 Act when Mr. Richburg was asked what is meant by the conditions out of which a dispute arose, he specifically stated that the conditions out of which the dispute arose include, at the very least, the basic employment relationship itself.
And that’s the point that we’re getting at.
What will happen by this sale is that the P&LE as far as the public is concerned… as far as the public interests are concerned… will continue to operate.
The only people who will be affected by this sale are the employees who have the contractual right to perform that work.
Rail labor agreements are unlike other agreements in that they do not have specific termination dates.
They do not run from September 1st of one year to, say, August 31st of another year.
Rather, they’re indefinite.
They have no termination dates.
And that’s the result of the status quo provision and the carryover.
But the point is these agreements are in effect right now and they require that these people do the operation.
Did the successor company ever explain how it was going to do the same work with only 200 of the 600 employees?
It would do what was known as a short-line operation.
The P&LE is a traditional operation that has craft lines.
A short-line operation, as that term is coming to be used in the industry today, is one that blends craft lines.
So, you have an electrician do a sheet metal worker’s work.
But the point that I wish to emphasize… and I realize my time is fleeting… is that the status quo injunction of the court does not prohibit layoffs of employees.
Where do we find the injunction?
Your Honor, it’s in the petition–
In the petition?
–at page 85… 84(a) and 85(a).
And the last paragraph is the important one.
“It is further ordered that the sale of defendant’s assets is enjoined to the extent that such sale does not include provisions for the maintenance of the status quo. “
“That is, provisions prohibiting the alteration of rates of pay, rules and working conditions existing at the time Section 6 notices were given. “
“The injunction hereby ordered shall remain in effect until the time the dispute resolution procedure set forth in the Railway Labor Act have been completed. “
And that brings me to the final point on this.
And that is that the one thing that is being ignored in this… the ICC is considered to be the protector of the public interest.
It is the protector of the public interest in rail economic transportation matters.
But the protector of the public interest in labor matters is the National Mediation Board.
And the National Mediation Board is the agency which now has jurisdiction over this labor dispute.
The amendments to the Interstate Commerce Act which intended to allow railroads to go out of business, to merge, to do all sorts of things and to do so promptly, are really frustrated if they are going to be interpreted the way you are.
So that it’s not only effects that must be bargained but even the making of the new contract.
Your Honor, we submit it is not.
The carrier can enter into any sale contract it wants.
But the point is that it cannot change as a result of that sale contract.
It just can’t cut its costs.
Your Honor, it can cut its costs through the legitimate process of the Railway Labor Act in bargaining.
That is what’s going on right now with the P&LE.
They’re using the bargaining process to address the cost factors.
But the railroad cannot use the Interstate Commerce Act to cut its labor costs.
That’s where we have the distinction.
Congress and the Interstate Commerce Act and the deregulation affected by the Interstate Commerce Act only deregulated rail economic relations.
It did not deregulate labor relations.
It didn’t touch the Railway Labor Act.
And the exemption in this case is, as 10505 indicates, is an exemption from the requirements of the Interstate Commerce Act.
In no way can that be read, we submit, to give an exemption from the Railway Labor Act as well.
The only way you could read it that way is to say that the Interstate Commerce Act carries with it a right to regulate rail labor relations matters, rail collective bargaining agreements in both the floor and the top.
And be submit it does not.
And that brings up… yes, sir.
I wasn’t going to say a word.
That brings up the final question as to–
Well, but what can happen after all of this occurs and it goes to… you go through the lengthy process, the union can strike against the sale of the railroad ultimately.
Or even against the railroad’s going out of business.
And you think that’s what was envisioned by the Interstate Commerce Act amendments?
Your Honor, if employees are treated fairly and the collective bargaining agreements are not abrogate, there will be no strike.
But what you have to remember in comparing the two is the Interstate Commerce Act is a permissive legislation.
Congress specifically refused to adopt a compulsive form of legislation.
Well, they also thought there was going to be a lot of fluidity in the rail industry with mergers and all sorts of things, which I doubt would happen very readily if they could be halted by strikes.
Your Honor, it has in the past.
There was a tremendous mixing of the industry in the past.
We’ve gone down from hundreds of carriers to about 11 trunk line carriers.
But we’ve gone down in that sort of thing by each carrier being absorbed, being continued in the same form it was before.
And then if you… you can immediately implement your corporate transaction and if you want to consummate any… effectuate any change in working conditions, you use the Railway Labor Act’s bargaining processes to negotiate that.
What you mean is that the railroad may not implement its deal unless it imposes on the successor the same agreement.
–are not going to be any of these mergers.
None of these short-line operations.
Your Honor, there could be if it is done properly.
And if it’s done through the bargaining process, you can… because the bargaining process is not an end.
It’s just simply the beginning of the process that has an end in sight.
But to short-change it, to short-shift it, what it comes down to is this.
If the Interstate Commerce Act has the effect that the P&LE says it has, what that means is that the Commission can impose an order which gives the railroad the right to make a contract in secret with another party and that that contract can abrogate the existing agreements.
The railroad can accept it or reject it and the unions have no say whatsoever.
Thank you, Mr. Clarke.
Mr. Wyatt, you have eight minutes remaining.
Mr. Chief Justice and may it please the Court:
Could I just ask you a question?
Does the union have a… can’t the union appear before the ICC?
–Oh, absolutely.
And in this particular case, as we pointed out, they appeared–
–the ICC in the P&LE proceeding to ask the ICC to allow them to buy the railroad.
But did they ever ask that the exemption be revoked?
They asked the exemption be revoked.
They asked for everything except labor protections.
They did not go to the ICC, even though, as RLEA points out, Railco did not intend to hire the full P&LE complement–
And if they had asked for labor protection and it had been turned down, I suppose that was subject to judicial review?
–That would have been subject to judicial review.
But that was never asked of the ICC in this particular occasion.
Judicial review under an arbitrary and capricious standard?
I believe that’s correct but I can’t be certain.
But it would have been subject to review in the court of appeals.
That was Judge Hutchinson’s point in his dissent in the Third Circuit too, wasn’t it?
I’m sorry, your Honor.
Wasn’t that part of Judge Hutchinson’s point in his dissent in the Third Circuit?
That was exactly his point.
And he specifically noted that RLEA had made no attempt to invoke labor protections but that if they did, they had a right of recourse to the court of appeals should their request for labor protections be denied.
What RLEA has here today, and their theory here today is an elaborate theory that says ultimately any time in any corporate transaction, ICC approved or not, if there is an effect, any effect, that they can find on their employees, their membership, no matter what the cause of that effect, that they can serve notices and that whatever exists that day has to remain in existence.
In this particular case, for 17 long months.
I specifically heard RLEA’s counsel say that there couldn’t be an abandonment filing, that P&LE couldn’t go to the ICC and say,
“We quit. “
“We give up. “
“We can’t find a buyer. “
“We’re just going to abandon. “
They could serve a notice there and say, well, they can’t abandon.
They’re going to have to preserve in place the rates of pay, rules and working conditions until we finish the bargaining process of the Railway Labor Act.
Well, actually, on their theory they don’t… they wouldn’t have to serve a notice.
They would just go to court and say you’re threatening to change the agreement and they want an injunction.
Their initial theory is that any threatened action that would affect, I believe, the agreement, would be subject to a bargaining notice by us to them.
I know you have some things you want to say but what about… isn’t there another case before us?
There’s the injunction case.
And I did want to say something about the injunction cases.
All rights.
We believe that Judge Block’s injunction… original injunction was properly entered.
We believe, as I indicated to you in my earlier presentation about the Interstate Commerce Act, that the Interstate Commerce Commission does have very broad discretion to address the effects of these transactions and that once they enter that order, that order is properly reviewable in the court of appeals.
But that a strike… and the district court expressly found here… that the strike was designed not to compel Railway Labor Act bargaining but to frustrate this transaction.
The strike should have been enjoined in that the Norris-LaGuardia Act can be and should be accommodated to the orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
And, moreover, we believe, as does the Solicitor… we believe there was absolutely no bargaining duty.
And where there is no duty to engage in collective bargaining, we believe that an injunction will rely under the Railway Labor Act, Section 2 First.
We think that where we have no duty to bargain and where we aren’t violating the status quo, that a Railway Labor Act injunction will lie to prohibit a strike and 2 First would be the proper foundation for that injunction.
So, we believe that the injunction was properly entered, improperly reversed.
We think the Third Circuit was just wrong when it said Norris-LaGuardia shouldn’t be accommodated with the Interstate Commerce Act.
You say the union has an obligation not to strike until and unless or even if it does exhaust the remedies it has before the ICC?
I think Congress provided… yes, your Honor, I think Congress provided an exclusive set of remedies for the union and I think it deliberately intended to take away from the union the strike weapon.
I think it provides an elaborate mechanism.
It gives the ICC tremendous discretion to impose labor protective conditions.
It gives the union rights to review in the court of appeals.
It gives… if labor protections are imposed… and these are, by the way, generally far more than contractual, mere preservation of contracts.
They are additional protections over and above.
But if they’re imposed, the ICC can appoint ICC arbitrators to hear disputes about their… about the use.
I think that’s a classic boy’s market situation, an accommodation to an administrative scheme of… there is an administrative scheme in the ICA and I think Norris-LaGuardia has to be accommodated to it and the unions should use it.
The government does not agree with you on this point, I gather, since they agreed that there would be a duty to bargain on the effects until such time as the sale was concluded.
Yes, your Honor, that has been the government’s position.
I don’t think the government has directly addressed the question with the Court today of whether they… of the scope and power of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
Although they–
–Well, they don’t seem to want to do it.
The government might have agreed with this particular injunction because there might have been no right to strike even at this point, even if there was a… under the Railway Labor Act even if there was a duty to bargain.
–I believe the government… and I don’t want to speak for the government, but I believe under their analytical framework, even had there been an effects bargaining obligation, proper notice is served.
And those are all major assumptions.
Had P&LE engaged in that bargaining but nonetheless completed the transactions, which is consistent with the government’s theory, a Railway Labor Act injunction would lie to prohibit the strike.
I did want to address my closing remarks to the status quo argument that’s been made here today by RLEA and their reading of Detroit and Toledo Shoreline.
I think to understand Detroit and Toledo Shoreline one has to go back to what is the Railway Labor Act’s prohibition on unilateral action.
And the Railway Labor Act prohibits in Section 2 Seven unilateral action that would change rates of pay, rules, or working conditions as embodied in agreements.
Now, RLEA is correct.
There are other places where the “as embodied in the agreement’s” language doesn’t necessarily appear.
But I think Detroit and Toledo Shoreline properly read says that a working practice may become an implied agreement between the parties.
In that case, there was a question about where people reported to work and there was a unilateral change.
I don’t think Detroit and Toledo Shoreline can be read any broader than to say the status quo is composed of explicit agreements and what can fairly be said to be an implicit agreement.
And I think the notion that the status quo is composed of whatever existed on the property on the day the notice was served is ludicrous because what that does is simply take away from management whatever preexisting rights it had that day, rights that hadn’t been exercised.
It simply freezes them in time.
And that’s clearly the Act and its bargaining obligations and it’s status quo obligation.
We’re not intending to freeze people in time as they existed on day one or day two.
But all they’re meant to do… I’m sorry, my time is up.
The case is submitted.
The Honorable Court is now adjourned until Monday next at 10:00.
United States v. Alaska – Oral Argument – February 24, 1997
ETSI Pipeline Project v. Missouri – Oral Argument – November 03, 1987
Dunn v. Commodity Futures Trading Commission – Oral Argument – November 13, 1996
United States v. Idaho ex rel. Director, Idaho Dept. of Water Resources
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Home Bankruptcy Illinois Marion
Marion Bankruptcy Lawyers
Mr. Larry Edward Lauterjung
Marion, IL Bankruptcy Lawyer with 32 years of experience
(618) 997-5529 1702B West Main Street
Marion, IL 62959
Bankruptcy, DUI & DWI and Traffic Tickets
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Marcus Hayes Herbert
Carbondale, IL Bankruptcy Lawyer with 29 years of experience
(618) 549-9800 308 West Walnut
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Andy Miofsky
Mount Vernon, IL Bankruptcy Lawyer with 41 years of experience
(618) 931-1313 3218 W Broadway
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Mr. Karl Joseph Wulff
Collinsville, IL Bankruptcy Attorney with 24 years of experience
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Stan Weller
Belleville, IL Bankruptcy Attorney with 22 years of experience
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Allen G. Mealey
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Mazyar M. Hedayat Esq.
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The John Marshall Law School and Michigan State University
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Oklahoma City University School of Law and DePaul College of Law
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(630) 932-9100 https://www.mevorahlaw.com/
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Springfield, IL Bankruptcy Attorney with 37 years of experience
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Christine Thurston
Downers Grove, IL Bankruptcy Lawyer with 13 years of experience
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Downers Grove, IL 60515
Filing bankruptcy does not have to be a stressful situation. In fact, it should be alleviating the financial burden you have been enduring. I strive to provide the most personalized and hands-on approach to serving my clients. You will have access to my cell phone number, and I will always be a phone call, text, or email away to answer any question you have. I am committed to explaining the process so that you understand exactly how bankruptcy works and are prepared for every step, so that there are no surprises.
Eric Zelazny
Tinley Park, IL Bankruptcy Lawyer with 26 years of experience
(708) 888-2299 18400 Maple Creek Drive
Tinley Park, IL 60477
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Eric Zelazny is a bankruptcy attorney who is the founder and managing partner of EZ Business Bankruptcy & IRS Solutions. Before becoming an attorney, Eric was a Certified Public Accountant and worked for KPMG, which is the largest accounting firm in the world. He graduated from the University of Illinois Champaign Urbana with Honors. At the time, the University of Illinois was the number one ranked accounting program in the United States. Eric also managed to pass the Certified Public Accountant exam the first time he sat for the exam, a feat only twenty-eight percent of those who...
Stephen M. Thacker
(312) 464-1234 One East Wacker Drive #3800
Mr. Thacker is an attorney at the law offices of GWC Injury Lawyers LLC. With more than 30 years of experience and a proven track record of success, Stephen is a valued asset to our law firm. If you require comprehensive legal counsel in Illinois, contact Mr. Thacker today at (312) 464-1234 or toll free at (800) 464-4772.
Bloomington, IL Bankruptcy Attorney with 6 years of experience
(309) 827-0388 111 W. Front St.
Bloomington, IL 61701
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After attending the University of Illinois for Undergraduate school I attended Northern Illinois University School of Law. I was a Prosecutor for the McLean County State's Attorney's office for a year and a half, before leaving the office to practice with my father Jim Finegan. I will be working closely with my father on bankruptcy, real estate and other civil cases in the Bloomington, Illinois area.
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US Attorney General Calls for Changes to Asylum Rules
Cuban migrants picked up earlier on Puerto Rico's remote Mona Island sit on the deck of a U.S. Border Patrol boat. Now they are being sent to a processing center on mainland Puerto Rico where they could seek asylum.
The United States has long offered asylum protection to people who have fled their own countries and fear they will face threats or harm if they go back.
In the latest available report, over 26,000 were granted asylum in 2015. Many came from China, El Salvador and Guatemala.
However, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Session said recently the current system is hurt by a lot of “abuse and fraud.” And he demanded stronger rules for people seeking asylum in the U.S.
Sessions said current policies let some people enter the country without a good reason. The immigration court system, he added, is overwhelmed with 600,000 cases awaiting a hearing, although not all are asylum cases.
President Donald Trump has called for major changes to immigration and asylum rules. He has called the current system “broken.”
Asylum, a form of protection for refugees
Asylum-seekers could face persecution because of their “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.”
The requirements are part of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It is a 1952 law to protect refugees in the U.S. that has been updated over the years to meet changing needs.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security supervises immigration. Recently, the department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review wrote a document, which could influence how judges consider some asylum cases.
The document deals with people younger than 18 who entered the country without their parents. It suggests that these minors could find it harder to seek asylum if they are reunited with their parents in the U.S.
The document says such young people could lose protections under a 2008 law if they turn 18 during court proceedings.
Another possible new standard for immigration judges could require faster decisions on immigration issues in court.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says asylum laws exist to ensure due process. The laws oversee anyone caught at the U.S. border without documents or immigrants detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Any foreign national can seek asylum protection no matter what their immigration status is.
However, asylum-seekers have to apply within one year from the date of their last arrival in the U.S. or show an “exceptional” change in their situation.
Most importantly, asylum-seekers must prove to the asylum officer that they have a “credible fear” of returning to their home country.
Top U.S. lawyer sees problems with some asylum cases
In his speech, Sessions said many asylum cases were not real.
He added that the system “…cannot deal effectively with just claims,” and the
Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks about "the crisis facing our asylum system" at the Executive Office for Immigration Review in Falls Church, Virginia, October 12, 2017.
Sessions said the number of people claiming they had a “credible fear” of returning to their home country had increased very sharply. In 2009, there were 3,000 cases. By 2016, there were more than 69,000.
Session added that 88 percent of asylum cases are approved. Numbers from the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service show that the approval rate for 2017 was 76 percent.
Mana Yegani is an immigration lawyer in Houston, Texas. She said the credible fear interview is a “very difficult” process for people seeking asylum.
“I had a client who went through a credible fear interview,” Yegani said, “She was 19 and she had been gang raped.” Yegani went on to say that the interviewing officer was a male and her client could not tell the officer about the gang rape. “She was scared. So, she failed the interview,” Yegani said.
An immigration judge reviews the questions an interviewing officer asked an asylum-seeker if a credible fear claim is denied. The judge wants to know if there were errors or if the officer missed something.
Lawyers for the asylum-seeker, however, cannot speak or present new evidence during the hearing. And the immigration judge’s decision cannot be appealed. Hearings on credible fear claims usually last between five and 10 minutes.
Yegani said once she had photographs of dead people from a person’s family that she wanted to introduce as evidence, but they were not accepted.
Lawyers say that asylum-seekers also must show that law enforcement or government officials in their home country did not protect them.
Yegani said this could lead to denial of a credible fear claim because you have to establish “proof that your government is not willing to support you.” Yegani said that many of the people she represents come from countries where they do not trust the police. They also may fear officers could raid their homes or harm their families.
However, some immigration groups note that it is very difficult to know if asylum-seekers are telling the truth. The Federation for American Immigration Reform is a group pushing for reform of immigration laws in the U.S. On its website, the group says, “Because of the nature of asylum claims, the claimant’s true background and history are difficult to verify.”
As the number of cases increase, so has the number of people waiting for court hearings. The Associated Press has reported that about 70,000 asylum-seekers were being held at family detention centers waiting for a hearing.
Aline Barros reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.
fraud –n. using dishonest methods to get something
persecution –n. to treat someone unfairly because of race, religion or other reasons
proceedings –n. the process of appearing before a court so a legal action can go forward
due process –n. the guarantee that all legal proceedings shall be fair and follow the processes established by law
status –n. the position of someone relating to law
exceptional –adj. unusual, not happening very often
verify –v. to find out if something is true
A Day in US Immigration Court
US Government Cuts Refugee Admissions to Historic Lows
Trump Administration Ends ‘Dreamer’ Immigration Program
Trump Supports Bill to Cut Legal Immigration
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Autism reported at 1 in 50, but some parents no longer report their child is autistic. Can we say why?
A recent study reported that 1 in 50 children in the U.S. are autistic. This is based on parent report via a telephone survey, the National Survey of Children’s Health. The recent survey was taken in 2011-12. The last time a NSCH was performed was in 2007, and when those results were released in 2009 as Prevalence of Parent-Reported Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children in the US, 2007, a great deal of attention was focused primarily on two outcomes. First, the estimated parent-reported prevalence of ASD was about 1.1%. Second, about 0.5% of parents reported that they had been told that their child was autistic at some time in the past, but that their child was no longer autistic.
The report that came out recently presented a new parent-reported prevalence estimate: 1 in 50. (Changes in Prevalence of Parent-reported Autism Spectrum Disorder in School-aged U.S. Children: 2007 to 2011–2012). That report did not go into details about those who were no longer reported as autistic by their parents. The question was asked–as were many follow up questions.
The question and some of the responses are:
Does [the child] currently have autism or autism spectrum disorder?
No: 0.36%
yes: 1.70%
Don’t know: 0.08%
So, out of a total of a raw (uncorrected) 2.1% of parents who responded that they were told at some point that their child was autistic at some point, 0.36% said their child was no longer autistic. That’s comparable to the previous report in absolute terms (about 0.4%).
As already noted, they asked follow up questions to those who answered “no”. They asked directly “To the best of your knowledge, did [your child] ever have autism or autism spectrum disorder?”.
Of those 0.36% whose child had “lost” their diagnosis at some point, 0.24% of parents reported “No”. I.e. the parents reported that they were told that their child was autistic in the past, but out of those parents 2/3 reported that their child was never autistic. A further 0.02% said they “don’t know” if their child was ever autistic.
to put another way, in the majority of cases where a parent-reported “ever had” been told their child was autistic, the same parent reported that the child was never autistic or they didn’t know.
If you are looking for evidence of recovery, 0.07% parents said that “Treatment helped the condition go away”. Another way to look at this: that’s 69 reports out of “treatment helped the condition go away” out of 2041 who reported they had ever been told their child was autistic (ASD). That’s about 3.4% of the total “ever had ASD” population.
The survey did not ask what specific therapies parents thought helped their children go from autistic to non-autistic. They did ask if, “The condition seemed to go away on its own.” (37 parents answered yes, about 1/2 of the number who said treatment helped). 81 parents reported “The behaviors or symptoms changed” 46 reported “A doctor or health care provider changed the diagnosis.”
Out of the total 0.36% (343) reports of no to “Does [the child] currently have autism or autism spectrum disorder?”, 102 said that “The diagnosis was given so that [the child] could receive needed services” and 122 said “You disagree with the doctor or other health provider about his or her opinion that [the child] had autism or autism spectrum disorder.”
The National Survey of Children’s Health is not just about autism. Which means they can’t spend all their time on autism questions. This time they have answered some of the questions raised by the idea that a sizable fraction of parents who are ever told their child is autistic later conclude their child is not. That fraction where parents report that treament was part of what “made the condition go away” is nonzero, but at about 3.4%, it is small enough that getting accurate information on what the parents thought was involved will be difficult. And it should be about 3-4 years before we get another NSCH survey report.
Categories Autism, Epidemiology, Matt Carey, Science
← California Department of Education sued
Andrew Wakefield: Don’t try to blame me for the results of what I said and did →
6 Responses to “Autism reported at 1 in 50, but some parents no longer report their child is autistic. Can we say why?”
farmwifetwo April 16, 2013 at 13:25 #
Why not?? Because yes, some social issues may still remain but there is no reason why they cannot function in the real world. They no longer qualify for services or funding. I’m not going to allow my 13yr old to go around telling people he’s “autistic” and implying being disabled when he is not. We plan on a re-dx request at our next meds meeting in May. Sorry, he’s not autistic… his brother is… and we were told so a year ago and it’s time to make the change to social communication disorder or just good old narcissistic behaviour.
Ettina September 2, 2016 at 18:45 #
Narcissistic behavior is completely different from autism. And if you think your son isn’t disabled, why would you think he qualifies for SCD or narcissism? Those are both disabilities as well.
Brian Deer April 16, 2013 at 14:00 #
For a story by me in The Sunday Times last weekend, we had a lengthy interview with a mother in Swansea, who had sued Merck and was very agitated over the vaccine damage issue.
We had to drop the material because the next day there was a family punch-up, with her son, now 19, pointing out that he was not vaccine damaged and didn’t have autism.
futuredave5 April 16, 2013 at 19:03 #
I can see where most parents might suppose this is just a matter of terminology. Autism is a condition that is defined (for now) exclusively by its symptoms. If you no longer have the symptoms, then you are no longer autistic, by definition.
If a child was autistic from birth, but by age ten has overcome his symptoms, then doctors might say that “he has lost his diagnosis.” It would be unscientific, or worse, to say he was never autistic to start with.
Eventually, scientists will identify different types of autism, and might very easily identify a certain type that, with the proper work and therpies, a child can “grow out of.”
Personally, I tend to believe that some children, with certain forms of autism, are able to develop really good coping mechanisms, and that they lose their diagnosis because we can no longer recognize the symptoms. The combination of genes that caused their brain to develop differently is still there, but they have adjusted their behavior so that no one can tell.
Similarly, I know an accountant who is colorblind, but has adjusted his behaviors so that no one can tell. What if we had no good tests for color-blindness?
Sullivan (Matt Carey) April 16, 2013 at 20:02 #
Similar to what you write later in your comment–Autism is diagnosed by symptoms, but not defined by symptoms. It’s a fine point but an important one. For example, there is a case of a child who developed autism-like symptoms after age 10 (as I recall). That child was not considered autistic.
“The combination of genes that caused their brain to develop differently is still there, but they have adjusted their behavior so that no one can tell. ”
The structure of the brain may still be different as well.
If I act autistic, I am not autistic. Why do we say that if an autistic acts not autistic, he/she is no longer autistic? Also, a lot of people assume that this is a simple dichotomy: autistic or typical. As demonstrated in the recent “optimal outcomes” study, many people declared no longer autistic are not “typical”.
Dave April 17, 2013 at 03:06 #
There are a whole series of questions here. If someone starts repetitive behaviors, loses language skills, and loses social abilities, why would they not be considered autistic? If it is because of the age of onset, then isn’t that a different symptom?
Children who lose social and language skills due to seizures are not considered “autistic”, but isn’t that because their symptoms are different? Children with childhood disintegrative disorder are not considered autistic because their symptoms are different over the course of time. On any given day, the symptoms might be similar, but wouldn’t a complete list of symptoms includes whether or not the skill is declining?
I understand the difference between diagnosis and definition, but I can’t think of a definition of autism that does not include a list of symptoms. We strongly suspect that it has to do with gene expression, but so does everything from blue eyes to bad hair.
I agree with you that we have to draw a line of distinction between symptoms and “observed” symptoms. Many autistic children learn to “act normal” at an early age, and some get very good at it. It does not mean they are no longer autistic. It just means that they have the ability to develop new habits.
I also agree that there are hundreds of shades of gray (or for those of you in the UK, “grey”) in between “ASD” and “just and average guy with a few quirks”. This is all the more reason to suspect that certain forms of autism might be “curable”.
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Archive | Omnibus Experts RSS feed for this section
Stephen Bustin: Why There Is no Link Between Measles Virus and Autism
Andrew Wakefield promoted the idea that the MMR vaccine caused autism. While his now-retracted 1997 Lancet paper is most often discussed, the strongest evidence he had actually came in later work where his team reported that they found evidence of the vaccine strain of the measles virus in the intestinal tissues of autistic children. The team used a methodology called Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR amplifies a specific fragment of DNA, allowing one to identify if small amounts of that gene are present in larger samples. PCR tests were performed by John O’Leary in Dublin. As revealed later, Andrew Wakefield had a business stake in this laboratory.
As part of the MMR litigation in the UK, the vaccine manufacturers hired Stephen Bustin to review the methods and results of the O’Leary laboratory. Those results were not made public, but Prof. Bustin later was called in to testify in the U.S. Autism Omnibus Proceeding (the vaccine court). That testimony was discussed here at LeftBrain/RightBrain and elsewhere. Prof. Bustin is one of the world’s experts on PCR.
Prof. Bustin has now written his own account of the history of the measles-virus/autism work by Mr. Wakefield’s team in Why There Is no Link Between Measles Virus and Autism. The full report is free, open access. The report discusses what he already disclosed in his testimony: the multiple failures which resulted in the reporting of a false association of measles virus and autism.
Some of those failures include:
Absence of transparency: the key publication shows no data; hence an expert reader cannot evaluate the reliability of its conclusions
Unreliable techniques and protocols: analysis of the qPCR data was incorrect
Disregard for controls: obvious evidence of extensive contamination was disregarded
Lack of reproducibility: the data could not be duplicated by several independent investigators
One key failure involved skipping key steps in using PCR on measles virus. The measles virus is an RNA virus. PCR is very inefficient at detecting RNA, so a step called reverse transcriptase is used to convert the RNA to DNA before PCR (RT-PCR). The O’Leary lab did not perform this step. This result, and others, show that the samples used by Mr. Wakefield’s team were contaminated. Prof. Bustin goes into detail and covers more important topics, and as the paper is relatively short, it is worth a read for those interested in the science.
Prof. Bustin concludes:
As a result, the conclusions put forward by this [the Wakefield/O’Leary] paper are entirely incorrect and there is no evidence whatever for the presence either of MeV genomic RNA or mRNA in the GI tracts of any of the patients investigated during the course of the studies reported by O’Leary et al. Instead, it is clear that the data support the opposite conclusion: there is no evidence for any MeV being present in the majority of patients’ analysed. Unfortunately, the authors do not report whether any the patients had received the MMR vaccination. However, assuming that a significant proportion had done so, it is also clear that there is no link between the MMR vaccine and the presence of MeV in the intestine of autistic children.
The Wakefield MMR hypothesis is already failed, so this does not really change the conversation. What this report by Prof. Bustin does is document his own observations, measurements and analyses for the historical record so we can see just how bad the science was that promoted the Wakefield hypothesis.
Categories Autism, Autism Omnibus, Autistic Enterocolitis, Matt Carey, Measles, MMR, Omnibus Experts, Science, Vaccines, Wakefield
The Next Vaccine-Autism Newsmaker…5 years later
Years back, much focus in online autism parent community discussions focused on the Omnibus Autism Proceeding (OAP). This was the large “vaccine court” proceeding to explore if people could be compensated for autism as a vaccine injury. Those hearings were held in 2008, and the decisions went against the families.
A year ago I wrote (The Omnibus Autism Proceeding: effectively over), and while, yes, as an “Omnibus” it is effectively over, there is still activity for those who filed claims and were included in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding. Statistics as of today show there were 5,635 claims included in the Omnibus, and 4,564 have been dismissed. 2 claimants have been compensated, with the caveat given that “**HHS has never concluded in any case that autism was caused by vaccination.” This leaves 1,069 cases still pending. A relatively small fraction of the original Omnibus, but a large number nonetheless.
Another way to look at this is the Omnibus proceedings are over, the docket hasn’t been updated for quite some time but there are still individual cases to be decided. Including one case that was rather prominent in the Omnibus: that of A. Krakow. He was intended to be one of the test cases for the thimerosal but was pulled out to pursue another argument: that metabolic dysfunction is involved. David Kirby referred to him as “The Next Vaccine-Autism Newsmaker”, following the supposed game-changer of Hannah Poling.
That was in 2008. As it’s been nearly 5 years, I checked the status of the case. It turns out the first hearing was held in December (a hearing on fact) and a second hearing is set for expert witnesses to testify in April of this year. One way to explore the arguments the family may be taking is to review the experts that are testifying. For example, the family has chosen Richard Deth as an expert. His work has not focused on mitochondria. On the other hand, Yuval Shafir is also listed as an expert and has listed many articles on mitochondria with his report. Richard Frye’s CV was submitted (he also has some work on mitochondria and autism), but I don’t see that an expert report from him has been submitted.
Other experts date from 2008 (from when he was going to be an Omnibus test case) include: Elizabeth A. Mumper, Robert S. Rust, Richard Deth and Sander Greenland.
(edit to add, I see a report in the docket from Marcel Kinsbourne in 2010).
So, is this going ahead as a “mitochondrial autism” case? The “Next Hannah Poling” as David Kirby claimed in Spectrum Magazine? Well, even Hannah Poling wasn’t the game-changer some people predicted. Probably the most we can say is that is 10 years old, with a docket 16 pages long, will finally be heard.
edit to add: For the curious, here is the docket.
Categories Alexander Krakow, Autism Omnibus, Hannah Poling, Legal, Matt Carey, Mito, Omnibus Experts
A busy week in vaccine-injury news: the Cedillo appeal
The past week has had three somewhat major news events in the world of vaccine injury: the denial of the Cedillo appeal, the award of damages in the UK for an MMR case and the damages award in the Hannah Poling case. I thought I would write about them all, but the Cedillo appeal part is already long so I will leave the other subjects for another time.
The Cedillo Appeal
Kev blogged the denial as Cedillo appeal denied. I had blogged the hearing in June as Another appeal heard in the Autism Omnibus, then blogged the actual audio from the hearing as Audio of the Cedillo appeal part 1 and Audio of the Cedillo appeal part 2.
The arugument used in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding for MMR causing autism is basically the model that grew out of the work of Andrew Wakefield: that measles virus (MV) from vaccines persisted in the body, particularly in the digestive tract. Wakefield’s theory involved the MV infection causing intestinal permeability which allowed substances to “leak” out into the system (the “leaky gut” hypothesis). The Cedllio’s attorneys argued that the measles virus itself traveled to the brain, causing inflammation and autism.
This is not the first appeal for the Cedillo family, or for the test cases in the Omnibus. It is likely the last, however. The next step would be the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court would be unlikely to hear an appeal. The Supreme Court does not hear all the cases submitted, instead choosing to hear mostly cases which clarify points of law. The Cedillo appeal so far has not been about the laws for the most part but about the procedure of the case. One exception is the question of whether the correct standard was applied to reviewing the admissibility of the evidence. The Court used the Daubert standard, which the Cedillo’s attorneys argued was incorrect. This is not the first time the Court used Daubert, and it is not the first time the appeals court upheld it.
The other arguments made include whether the testimony and reports of Dr. Stephen Bustin should have been allowed. Dr. Bustin’s reports were obtained very shortly before the hearing and were based on closed documents from a U.K. proceeding on MMR and autism. The Cedillo’s attorneys argued that they were unable to prepare a counter argument to Dr. Bustin on short notice and that since they did not have access to the underlying data and documents. In a civil court, these arguments would have carried much weight. However, in the vaccine court, much flexibility is allowed. In this case, the Special Master allowed the evidence to be heard, and gave the Cedillo’s attorneys over a year to obtain the background data from the UK and mount a counter argument.
The Cedillo’s attorneys did not attempt to obtain the background data for the Bustin testimony in year that followed the hearing. Yes, it isn’t that they were unsuccessful, they didn’t try to obtain it. They stated that their consultants in the UK advised them that it was unlikely that they would be able to obtain the documents without the permission of the experts. However, Dr. Bustin gave his permission.
From the appeals court decision:
Petitioners considered making such a re-quest from the UK court, but never did so. They contend that British counsel informed them that it was unlikely that the UK court would permit disclosure of the expert reports without the consent of the experts, which peti-tioners stated that they could not obtain. But Dr. Bustin did consent to the release of his reports. Once his consent for the release of his reports had been obtained by the government, there is no reason why the data underlying his reports could not also have been requested
Dr. Bustin’s testimony focused on a critical part of the argument used to claim that MMR causes autism: the claimed presence of measles virus in the bodies of autistics like Miss Cedillo. Dr. Bustin is arguably the worlds top expert on PCR, the method used by the Unigenetics Laboratory to test tissue samples for measles virus. Dr. Bustin discussed at length multiple reasons why the Unigenetics Laboratory results were not reliable.
A few points to be made here.
(1) The Cedillo’s attorneys presented an expert (Dr. Kennedy) to claim that the Unigenetics laboratory was reliable. Dr. Kennedy also had worked on the UK litigation and Dr. Kennedy’s underlying data were also under seal in that litigation. In other words, the Cedillo’s attorney’s were asking that the Special Master apply one standard to the government’s witness (rejecting his report without the underlying data) while applying the exact opposite standard to their own witness (Dr. Kennedy, who also didn’t have the underlying data).
(2) Michelle Cedillo was one of three “test cases” used to test the question of “general causation”. The other two children used as test cases did not have evidence of persistent measles virus in their bodies.
There is only one paper with reliable data showing the presence of measles virus in the tissues of an autistic child. This paper came out after the Cedillo hearing. The paper: Lack of Association between Measles Virus Vaccine and Autism with Enteropathy: A Case-Control Study. In that study they found measles virus in one autistic child, and in one non-autistic “control”. The Cedillo’s attorney’s argued that this was “significant new evidence” that showed the reliability of the Unigenetics laboratory.
I found it very odd that a paper titled “Lack of association between Mealses Virus Vaccine and Autism with Enteropathy” would be used as evidence for an association between measles virus vaccine and autism. But the argument is that this paper validates the Unigenetics laboratory as being able to produce reliable results. The argument is not valid, and the court did not agree with it. The work done by Unigenetics on Miss Cedillo was performed in 2002. The research on the paper was performed much later, after significant criticism was already levied against Unigenetics. Quite simply put, it is possible that Unigenetics “cleaned up its act” by the time of the recent paper.
(3) It was noted that the arguments about Dr. Bustin’s testimony were essentially moot, as the Special Master would have come to the same decision without his testimony.
(4) It was also noted that the appeals court had already decided on Dr. Bustin’s testimony in an appeal mounted by the attorneys for the Hazelhurst family (another of the Omnibus test cases).
The Cedillo’s attorneys further argued that it was unfair that evidence was brought in from the other “test case” hearings (Hazelhurst and Snyder). The appeals ruling noted that the Cedillo hearing was not a stand-alone proceeding. As a test case in an Omnibus Proceeding, evidence from all the test cases would be used to answer the question of general causation. I was surprised at the time of the appeal that the Cedillo’s attorneys were arguing that they were not actively monitoring the other test case hearings. What, in the end, is the point of an Omnibus Proceeding or a “petitioners steering committee” of the petitioners are not acting in some way as a group?
The Cedillo’s attorneys argued that the Special Master did not give enough weight to Miss Cedillo’s doctor, Dr. Krigsman, who stated that her condition was caused by MMR. The fact is that the Special Master rejected Dr. Krigsman’s argument with good cause:
He [the special master] also concluded that Dr. Krigsman’s opinion should be rejected because 1) he relied on the discredited Unigenetics testing in forming his opinion, 2) he misunderstood Michelle’s medical history and his testimony was inconsistent with her medical records, and 3) his conclusion that Michelle suffered from chronic gastrointestinal inflammation was substantially out-weighed by Michelle’s medical records and the testimony of the government’s experts.
The Cedillo’s attorneys argued that sufficient weight was not given to Miss Cedillo’s other physicians whom, they assert, associated her condition with the MMR vaccine:
Petitioners cited nine notations in Michelle’s records from eight individuals, including four physicians who treated Michelle and four non-physicians who exam-ined Michelle, in which the treating physicians mentioned her vaccinations, as support for the proposition that these individuals concluded that her autism was caused by her MMR vaccine.
The appeals court disagreed:
The Special Master did not err in failing to afford sig-nificant weight to the opinions of Michelle’s treating physicians. As the Special Master observed in his deci-sion, in seven of the nine notations, the physician was simply indicating an awareness of a temporal, not causal, relationship between the fever Michelle experienced after her MMR vaccine and the emergence of her autistic symptoms sometime thereafter. Initial Decision, slip op. at 100. In one of the other notations, the physician sim-ply noted that an exemption for Michelle from vaccination requirements could be arranged. In the other notation, the physician speculated that Michelle’s fevers might have caused her neurological abnormalities. However, he expressly stated that it would be “difficult to say” whether this was “a post-immunization phenomenon, or a separate occurrence.” Id. at 100. Thus, “none of the treating physicians concluded that the MMR vaccine caused Michelle’s autism.” Final Decision, 89 Fed. Cl. at 176. The Special Master
In the end, the appeals court decision takes on the arguments by the Cedillo’s attorneys point by point and refutes them. The closest the Cedillo’s attorneys got to making a point stick was in the case of Dr. Bustin’s testimony, which the appeals court stated:
We agree with petitioners that the government’s fail-ure to produce or even to request the documentation underlying Dr. Bustin’s reports is troubling, but we think that in the circumstances of this case, that failure does not justify reversal.
The fact of the matter is, the petitioners in general, and the Cedillo’s in specific, did not have a good case for MMR causing autism. The mechanism they proposed was not sound, the data they had was poor and incomplete and the experts speaking for the government were excellent and refuted the petitioner’s arguments. The Omnibus cases were, as the Special Masters noted, not close.
Categories Autism Omnibus, Legal, Mady Hornig, Measles, MMR, News, Omnibus Experts, PLoS, Science, Vaccines, Wakefield
Audio of the Cedillo appeal part 2
We’ve recently discussed the first part of the audio from the Cedillo appeal (the part where Miss Cedillo’s attorney was speaking) in Audio of the Cedillo appeal part 1. Here I share notes on the second half of the audio: where the government’s attorney is speaking.
I should have done this before, but a little nomenclature:
The U.S. Government is represented by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. She doesn’t actually take part, but is represented by attorneys from the Department of Justice (DoJ). The government is referred to as the “Respondent” in these proceedings.
The Cedillo family is represented by their attorney, Ms. Chin-Caplan. Michelle Cedillo is the “petitioner”. Her case is one of the “test cases” heard in the portion of the hearings to determine if MMR causes autism. Her case served two purposes. First, to argue that in her specific situation vaccines resulted in some or all of her conditions. This is referred to as “specific causation”. Second, her case presented evidence on the general question of whether the MMR (alone or with Thimerosal) could cause autism. This is referred to as “general causation”.
Ms. Chin-Caplan is working as both the attorney for Ms. Cedillo and as a member of the “Petitioner’s Steering Committee” or PSC, which is the association of attorneys working with the 5,000 plus families who filed petitions claiming autism as a vaccine injury. Those 5000 plus cases are grouped in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding, or for short: OAP, or “Omnibus”.
Again, my observations are added in italics.
The DoJ attorney didn’t even finish her introduction before one of the judges jumped in to ask about the fact that in a regular civil court, the underlying documents would have to be produced or Prof. Bustin’s testimony would be excluded. The fact remains that in the vaccine court, that rule (rule 26) does not apply. As noted in the first half of the audio, the PSC attorneys could have asked for those rules to apply but they did not do so.
The judge goes on to say that it was the government’s responsibility under the federal rules to obtain the documents to support the testimony.
I will add here that I am somewhat unclear if these are the Federal rules for the vaccine court, or the Federal rules (e.g. Rule 26) for the civil court. It sounds to me like they are the rules for the civil court.
The DoJ attorney noted that they tried to get everything from the UK litigation. All the expert reports and information. However, the solicitors they were working with in the UK suggested that their petition was too broad and would be denied. So, on advice of those solicitors, the DoJ narrowed the request down to only the three expert reports.
It sounds to me as though the DoJ attorneys were possibly unaware that the evidence–in this case the actual lab notebooks from the Unigenetics laboratory–were not going to be produced in full with the expert report. Even if so, I don’t see this really as an excuse.
However, some of the pages which Prof. Bustin used in his testimony were reproduced. These include pages that showed that Unigenetics made corrections after the dates on the notebooks.
Another observation: the laboratory notebooks are not all of the information from which Stephen Bustin made his report and it is not all the information which he used to form his testimony in the Cedillo case. Not all of his testimony would be excluded without the full laboratory books, in my opinion. Prof. Bustin spent considerable time investigating Unigenetics
The DoJ attorney noted that they went to the UK to obtain the information only after they learned that the Unigenetics laboratory results constituted a key part of the petitioner’s case–four months before the case was heard. They had to “hussle” to get the information unsealed. The judge asked if the DoJ had a responsibility to inform the petitioners of their intent to obtain this information. The DoJ stated that she did not believe that was the case.
The full witness list for the government was not finalized and made public until shortly before the proceeding. One list of potential witnesses was made available to the petitioners in March 2007–four months before the hearing–but that list is not public. The final list for both sides was made public on June 12, 2007. To me, this may indicate that the DoJ attorneys were *not* required to give more lead time on their witnesses or strategy.
The petitioner’s attorneys were given a year after the hearing to request the lab notebooks from the UK. DoJ attorneys offered to join in the request and the Special Masters wrote a letter of support for the request. The petitioners never filed an application in an attempt to obtain the documentation.
The DoJ attorney stressed again that the Special Master stated that he didn’t need the testimony from Prof. Bustin or some of the other information to make his decision.
I keep thinking that in many ways the Special Master should have been present in this appeal. Both Ms. Chin-Caplan and the DoJ attorney spent a considerable amount of time discussing what the Special Master thought and did. I realize that is not how appeals work, but as the appeals judges keep saying, this is not supposed to be an adversarial procedure. The goal is to bring in all the information and weigh it
One of the judges made a short speech about how scientific opinion progresses and that new data, new techniques could emerge which might support the petitioners. The DoJ attorney noted that the Courts can not wait indefinitely for the science. The petitioners deserve to have cases settled.
First, this is precisely why the evidence standards in the vaccine court are low. The idea is to give the petitioners the chance to win cases before the evidence is in. This is what happened in the DTP cases in the early phases of the vaccine court. Many cases were decided–for the petitioners, mind you–which later evidence showed were not supported. Second, this is not the purview of the appellate court. They shouldn’t be deciding on the merits of the evidence but on procedural questions. Third, as time progresses, the MMR causation theory has only become more implausible. The Hornig study, for example, came out after the Cedillo trial and was a clear rebuke of the early papers by Wakefield’s team
At one point, the DoJ attorney suggested that the underlying data would have buttressed Prof. Bustin’s testimony and she wishes she did have it. One judge, quite rightly in my opinion, corrected her with “how do we know that?” The Judge asserts that Prof. Bustin relied upon the documents to determine that Unigenetics was “a bad laboratory”
I would disagree at this point. The lab notebooks were *part* of the data Prof. Bustin used to form his opinion. But, they were not *all*
Ms. Chin-Caplan claims that she would have joined the DoJ in their attempt to obtain the documents had she known they were attempting that. One judge pointed out that she was given a year after the hearing to obtain the documents and failed to even make the attempt.
I don’t see how Ms. Chin-Caplan aiding the DoJ in their attempt would have changed what she is claiming it would have changed. She demonstrated that she was unable to obtain the documents on her own, so her expertise would not have been helpful. What this would have done is signaled to her 4 months in advance that the DoJ planned to challenge the quality of the Unigenetics laboratory. Frankly, that should have come as no surprise. There was much criticism of the Unigentics laboratory and the resutls in the public arena. The petitioners were aware of the UK litigation as they had also attempted to get data from that proceeding–and some of the petitioner’s experts had worked on the UK litigation.
Ms. Chin-Caplan argues that the one year she was given to obtain the documents was not enough because it was “an impossible task”. One of the judges points out that she has no way of knowing it was impossible since she didn’t try.
Ms Chin-Caplan stated that she didn’t want to waste the taxpayer’s money on an attempt to get the documentation since she wasn’t sure it could be obtained. She argues that it would be difficult because it involved possibly two foreign jurisdictions.
This is a very weak argument. First, the question of whether she was sure or not really doesn’t apply. The only thing that would apply is if she was sure are request would be denied. Second, the idea that she was saving the taxpayer’s money doesn’t really work. The costs of the appeals far outweigh the savings involved. Third, the DoJ had already shown that it could obtain documents from the UK litigation in a matter of four months. The DoJ offered to assist the petitioners, but they apparently did not avail themselves of that opportunity.
Another observation: the petitioners relied upon the Unigenetics laboratory. This is a laboratory which refused to be allow standard inspections to be come an accredited laboratory. It strikes this observer that it was the responsibility of the petitioners to obtain the laboratory notebooks. Without them, the DoJ was unable to effectively cross examine their witness who was claiming that Unigenetics was a good laboratory. That expert, Dr. Kennedy, took part in the UK Litigation, so he too was relying at least in part on data which was not entered into evidence.
The Judge asked Ms. Chin-Caplan if she could have made her case if Dr. Bustin’s testimony were excluded. Ms. Chin-Caplan claimed that she could
this is counter to what the special master who heard the case and wrote the decision *clearly* wrote in that decision
I think it is safe to say that *neither* the DoJ *nor* the petitioner’s attorney came away without some very tough scrutiny by the judges.
More on this appeal can be found in a piece on the VaccinesWork blog, Appeals Won’t Succeed – Olmsted Isn’t Honest
Even though I give away the ending of his excellent post, I quote it here:
The Court of Appeal panel in Hazlehurst faced roughly the same arguments as the Cedillo panel. The Court of Appeal reviews the trial court decision ‘de novo’, or brand new. If they don’t like the trial court decision, they replace it with theirs. However, the appeals court and the trial court can’t merely replace their judgment for the Special Master. All quotes below are from the Court of Appeals decision in Hazlehurst.
By statute, the Court of Federal Claims may set aside the special master’s decision “only if the special master’s fact findings are arbitrary and capricious, its legal conclusions are not in accordance with law, or its discretionary rulings are an abuse of discretion.”
Appeals courts are very limited in what they can do when they disagree with the facts decided by a trial court (in a criminal matter) or the medical facts (before the Special Master). But normally the Court of Appeal can substitute its views on admissible evidence for that of the trial court (criminal court) or the Special Masters. That isn’t the case here, because following the statute that governs the Vaccine Court, Rule 8 states:
In receiving evidence, the special master will not be bound by common law or statutory rules of evidence but must consider all relevant and reliable evidence governed by principles of fundamental fairness to both parties.” Vaccine R. 8(b)(1) (2009).
Even if the Court of Appeals thinks that the Special Master was wrong when letting in Dr. Bustin’s testimony after giving the plaintiffs a year to apply to the British for access to the reports, that isn’t enough for them to substitute their opinion for that of the Special Master.
So there is near zero chance that the appeal would succeed. Dan Olmsted should have said so and explained why.
Categories Autism, Autism Omnibus, Legal, Omnibus Experts
Another appeal heard in the Autism Omnibus
Part of the United States Court of Federal Claims includes the “vaccine court”, where claims against the government are heard regarding vaccine injuries. Probably the most well known activity of the vaccine court, especially to readers of LeftBrainRightBrain, is the “Omnibus Autism Proceeding“. The Omnibus comprises over 5,000 families claiming vaccine injury resulted in autism. Rather than hear all these cases individually, both sides agreed to first hear “test cases” where the stories of six children were heard to answer the question of whether vaccines induced autism in those children and to decide whether the general question of whether vaccines cause autism could be addressed. The first three test cases presented the argument that the MMR vaccine, either alone or with thimerosal from other vaccines, could cause autism. The next three cases presented the argument that thimerosal alone could cause autism.
The Omnibus is back in the news, in a small way, after another appeal for the Cedillo test case was heard last week. The attorneys and the bloggers are concentrating on whether the testimony and expert reports of Prof. Stephen Bustin should have been allowed. I’ll go into the detail about this argument below. It is worth saying at the outset that this argument is likely to accomplish nothing, whether they win or lose. The Special Master who decided the Cedillo case and the judge who heard the first appeal both stated, clearly, that the decision to deny the Cedillo claim would be the same without Prof. Bustin’s testimony and report.
That is worth repeating: win or lose on this point in the appeal, the Cedillo’s still do not have a compelling case that the MMR vaccine causes autism.
Before going any further, it is worth stopping and recognizing the human side of this proceeding. The “test cases” are six children whose families agreed to let their stories be heard and analyzed in public. They went into this with faith in their positions, but without the knowledge of the legal outcome. When the decisions were handed down against them (yes, they lost), they didn’t have the opportunity to change their arguments. They were committed. So, in two big ways, these are brave families. Agree or disagree with the science they depend upon, they had some guts to step forward as they did.
It is also worth noting that no one gets wealthy from successful claims in the Court. Settlements are typically around US$1 million. While this sounds like a lot, the purpose is to pay for the needs of the injured and to set up an annuity which will supplement the government support already in existence for the disabled. Most readers to this blog will have an idea to how far that support goes.
The Omnibus hearing and the appeals
The first of the test cases heard was that of Michelle Cedillo. Miss Cedillo is a severely handicapped girl with multiple disabilities. Her case was heard in June 2007. The decision, by Special Master Hastings, was handed down in February 2009. The Cedillo family appealed and the case was heard by a Judge in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, Judge Wheeler, whose decision in August 2009 went against the Cedillo family. The Cedillo family appealed again, this time to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Their appeal was heard on June 10 before judges Newman, Linn and Dyk.
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is probably the last appeal for the Cedillo family. Should this go against them, they have the right to appeal to U.S. Supreme Court. But the Supreme Court is not required to hear their case. In fact, the Supreme Court usually chooses cases which decide points of law. The arguments by the Cedillo family are more questions of procedure and, as such, I would expect the Supreme Court would refuse to hear any appeal. But, that is getting ahead of ourselves. Right now, we still haven’t heard the decision from the Appeals Court.
Public Responses to the Recent Appeal
What we have heard is some minor publicity about the hearing in the Appeals Court. The Age of Autism blog has Olmsted on Autism: Day in Court and one of the Examiner blogs has Oral arguments made in Cedillo Omnibus Autism Proceeding mercury and MMR vaccine test case appeal.
I haven’t heard the arguments made in court. I wish I had because in my experience there is a fairly large gap between what I’ve heard in past proceedings and how they are portrayed on the net. A fairly egregious example was in the portrayal of an expert witness for the Cedillos, Dr. Vera Byers. When she testified in 2007, someone was portraying her as coming across with the gravity of Dame Judi Dench (who plays “M” in the James Bond movies, amongst other roles). During the hearing, Dr. Byers was found to have seriously padded her resume, claiming she worked at the prestigious University of California San Fransisco when, in fact, she only used their libraries and attended their parties. She also accused the Department of Justice lawyer of “making faces” at her. I did not think of Dame Judi Dench when I heard her testimony.
Following the original hearings for the Cedillo case, many bloggers in the vaccines-cause-autism groups were optimistic. They felt that they had made a strong case and they would prevail, complete with imagery of “Dark Towers” being brought down by bolts of lightening. From my perspective, such cheer-leading seemed to border on cruel given the very weak case made to support the general question of MMR causing autism.
Given this background you would probably not be surprised that I look at the optimistic reports coming out of last week’s appeal with a somewhat skeptical eye. Which begs the question, “what was said” by these bloggers? From Mr. Olmsted’s piece, here are two quotes.
The first is from one of the attorneys working with the Cedillo family:
“I have a very positive feeling about the federal judges,” said Sylvia Chin-Caplan, who argued the appeal.
The second quote comes from an attorney who blogs for the Age of Autism blog and who, I believe, has a child who is a claimant in the Omnibus:
“I leave with the sense that the judges were very troubled that the government had not acted in good faith,” said Mary Holland. “Those judges were very troubled by what the government’s done – very troubled.”
The argument for the appeal: Prof. Bustin’s testimony
So, what are the judges supposedly “troubled” by? Well, this has to do with part of the appeals argument by the attorneys for the Cedillo family: the testimony of Prof. Stephen Bustin.
Professor Bustin is a world expert on a technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which he describes as
Real-Time PCR is a variation of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that allows simultaneous (i.e. in real-time) amplification and detection of DNA templates. Because it is used to quantitate DNA, it is often abbreviated to qPCR, although that abbreviation is not universally accepted.
PCR played an important rule in the Omnibus. PCR was used in attempts to identify measles in tissue samples taken from autistic children’s bowels. One of the key papers for the families in the Omnibus was written by Uhlman et al. Potential viral pathogenic mechanism for new variant inflammatory bowel disease. The Uhlman paper concluded “The data confirm an association between the presence of measles virus and gut pathology in children with developmental disorder. ” One of the co-authors on that paper is Professor J J O’Leary, whose laboratory, Unigenetics, performed the tests on samples sent from the group headed by Andrew Wakefield in London. The same laboratory was used to test samples taken from Michelle Cedillo.
The presence of measles virus in the tissues is key to the theory argued in the Omnibus. This was made very clear when the expert reports were filed, in February of 2007. At that time, the Department of Justice attorneys sought information to rebut the “persistent measles in the gut” argument. One source they sought was information filed in the United Kingdom for the MMR litigation that was held there. In specific, they sought the report by Prof. Bustin, who had testified in that litigation. Those reports are sealed and require special permission to obtain. The DoJ attorneys received the first of those reports on May 31, 2007, 1 hour after receiving it, but only 12 days before the start of the Cedillo hearing. One week later, the DoJ filed two more reports by Prof. Bustin.
The attorney’s for the Cedillo family argued that they didn’t have time to assimilate such technical information and prepare a good response. Further, they argued that the reports were submitted after a deadline imposed by the Special Master. The Special Master allowed Prof. Bustin to testify and to submit his expert reports. The Special Master argued that the admissibility of the testimony and reports could be decided after the hearings.
This history and greater detail are summarized in the Wheeler decision denying the first Cedillo appeal.
Was Prof. Bustin’s Testimony Damning to the Case?
Professory Bustin is possibly the word’s number one expert on PCR. Not only that, he was given access to the Unigenetics laboratory and the notebooks they kept. He found that the Unigenetics laboratory was missing a key step in the process. PCR tests DNA. Measles is an RNA virus. So, there must be a step to turn the RNA into DNA or PCR won’t work.
At the time Unigenetics were testing samples for the Uhlmann paper and the sample from Michelle Cedillo, they weren’t using RNA–>DNA step. Whatever they were detecting, it wasn’t an RNA virus and, hence, it wasn’t measles.
Prof. Bustin also testified that at that time Unigenetics was not using “controls” correctly, making interpretation of their results problematic at best.
Prof. Bustin also testified that the laboratory notebooks had been altered after the fact.
Prof. Bustin also testified that Unigenetics found the same results from two different types of samples (fresh-frozen and formalyn fixed). That could only happen if they were detecting contaminants.
And the list of errors at Unigenetics goes on. (There is an extensive summary in the Hastings decision for the Cedillo case)
These are only parts of the testimony. But, yes, it is safe to say that Prof. Bustin’s testimony hurt the case the attorneys for the Cedillos were trying to make.
Would the case have been decided for the Cedillos had Prof. Bustin’s testimony been excluded?
As noted at the outset of this piece, Prof. Bustin’s testimony is not key to the decision to deny the claim of the Cedillo family. It also isn’t key to denying the question of general causation (does MMR, in general, cause autism).
Special Master Hastings has a section of his decision entitled, “Even if I were to disregard Dr. Bustin’s expert reports and hearing testimony, all my conclusions in this case would remain the same.” I quote that section in its entirety below:
Finally, even if I were to completely exclude and disregard all of Dr. Bustin’s reports and all of his hearing testimony, nevertheless all of my conclusions in this case would remain exactly the same.
First, the testimony and reports of Dr. Bustin were relevant chiefly in establishing my conclusion discussed at pp. 58-60 above, i.e., that there were severe problems with the facilities and procedures of the Unigenetics laboratory. But even concerning this narrow point, Dr. Bustin’s testimony was not the only evidence. Dr. Rima provided extensive, convincing evidence to the same effect, and Dr. MacDonald provided some corroboration as well. (See discussion at pp. 52-54, 58-59 above.) I would have reached the same conclusion, that there were severe problems with the Unigenetics facilities and procedures, based just on the evidence supplied by Dr. Rima and Dr. MacDonald, even without any information from Dr. Bustin.
Second, even if there had been no testimony from Dr. Bustin, Dr. Rima, Dr. MacDonald, or any other expert who participated in the British litigation, concerning the problems with the Unigenetics procedures and facilities, nevertheless I still would have concluded that the Unigenetics testing was not reliable. That is, as explained above (p. 77), the most important points in my rejection of the Unigenetics testing were (1) the fact that the laboratory failed to publish any sequencing data to confirm the validity of its testing, (2) the failure of other laboratories to replicate the Unigenetics testing, and (3) the demonstration by the D’Souza group that the Uhlmann primers were “nonspecific.” The testimony by Drs. Bustin, Rima, and MacDonald, about the many problems with the Unigenetics laboratory and procedures, was merely a secondary, additional reason to doubt the reliability of the Unigenetics testing. Accordingly, I would still have found the Unigenetics testing to be unreliable even if there had been no reports or testimony at all from Drs. Bustin, Rima, or MacDonald.
Accordingly, for all the reasons set forth above, I conclude (1) that there is no valid reason for me to disregard the evidence supplied by Dr. Bustin, and (2) that even if I did disregard that evidence, my conclusions concerning all of the issues in this case would remain the same.
Testimony of Nicholas Chadwick
One reason that the Special Master could be so decisive on the unreliability of the Unigenetics laboratory was the fact that other groups were unable to replicate those findings. One of those researchers was Nicholas Chadwick, a post doctoral researcher in Wakefield’s own group. Dr. Chadwick used PCR to test biopsy samples from autistic children–many of whom were a part of the now-retracted Lancet paper by Wakefield’s team–and found that they were negative for measles virus.
Dr. Chadwick’s Ph.D. thesis includes results from “Autistic enteropathy samples. Biopsies, PBMCs and Vero/PBMC cocultures were analysed from 22 patients with autistic enteropathy and 6 controls.”
He found
Results. Hybrid capture and RT-PCR could detect 104 molecules of a measles RNA transcript added to control tissue homogenates. The fidelity of NASBA, in terms of its nucleic acid error rates, was found to be comparable with that of RT-PCR. All samples were found to be positive for a housekeeping RNA species and internal modified positive control RNA. None of the samples tested positive for measles, mumps or rubella RNA, although viral RNA was successfully amplified in positive control samples.
Conclusion. The results do not support previous data implicating persistent measles virus infection with the aetiology of IBD or autistic enteropathy.
He studied gut biopsy samples, cerebral spinal fluid samples and blood samples.
This isn’t a separate group and different children. This is Mr. Wakefield’s own hospital, someone he was in contact with. It is likely that some of these children’s samples were also tested by Unigenetics and with false positive results.
Dr. Chadwick’s expert report and testimony are online.
Should Prof. Bustin’s Testimony have been Allowed?
Prof. Bustin’s report was submitted very close to the start of the Cedillo hearing. In fact, it was past a deadline imposed by the Special Master. The attorneys for the Cedillos have argued that they were unable to prepare a response to such a technical report and that they didn’t have access to the lab notebooks which Prof. Bustin relied upon.
Let’s take this in stages.
First, yes the report was submitted past the deadline. So were reports submitted by the attorneys for the Cedillos. The vaccine court is supposed to be flexible in allowing evidence in.
How about the idea that the attorneys for the Cedillos were unable to prepare a case in time? First, page back and recall how all this got started. The Cedillo’s attorneys submitted expert reports which relied upon the results of the Unigenetics laboratory results. Not only that, but the expert who submitted that report, Dr. Ronald Kennedy. Kent Heckenlively, blogger for the Age of Autism, wrote in a post following Prof. Kennedy’s testimony, “Dr. Kennedy is familiar with the Unigenetics Lab of Dr. John O’Leary and Dr. Laura Shields at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland where measles virus RNA was diagnosed in the cerebral spinal fluid of Colten Snyder.” (Colten Snyder was one of the other “Test Cases”)
So, the attorneys for the Cedillos not only had an expert on their team to discuss PCR, but their expert was familiar with the Unigenetics laboratory. Their report was filed four months before Stephen Bustin’s reports and, presumably, their team had access to information from well before that.
How about the idea that the attorneys for the Cedillos didn’t have access to the lab notebooks which Prof. Bustin reported upon? First, it is clear that Prof. Bustin’s analyses did not rely solely on the lab notebooks. Some of the problematic results were public (from the paper) and other information he obtained in his 1,500 hours spent analyzing the Uhlmann work. Yes, 1500 hours.
The whole argument begs the question: how are the Cedillo’s attorneys and their expert (Prof. Kennedy) so confident of the Uhlmann results if they haven’t seen the notebooks?
One of those attorney’s is quoted:
Chin-Caplan told Examiner.com, “Two reports that he submitted on behalf of the government were of such technical matter and so incomprehensible that at the very least a motion to continue the hearing should have been entertained and it wasn’t.”
I am again at a bit of a loss. Why were Ms. Chin-Caplan and her team unprepared to respond to Prof. Bustin’s reports? She and her team were the ones who were admitting PCR testing as evidence.
Ms. Chin-Caplan is also quoted:
“The fact that they went over there (to the U.K.) secretly four months before the hearing to try and get these documents without giving me notice that they were going to do this leads me to think that they wanted to examine those documents without me being present,” Chin-Caplan told Examiner.com. “And that violates the concept of fundamental due process as far as I’m concerned.”
The idea of obtaining information from the U.K. litigation was not a surprise to the Cedillo’s attorneys. They had attempted as early as 2004–three years before the hearing–to obtain reports from the U.K. The idea that the DoJ attorney’s “wanted to examine those documents wihout me being present” is totally at odds with the fact that the DoJ submitted the first report 1 hour after receiving it. One hour.
One might ask why Ms. Chin-Caplan didn’t call upon, say, Andrew Wakefield or others to write reports or to serve as an expert witness. Mr. Wakefield is on the list of potential experts. Mr. Wakefield is one of the authors of the Uhlmann paper. Of course, the answer is that Mr. Wakefield, father of the MMR causes autism hypothesis, is not a very credible witness.
Friend of the Court Brief
Much of the argument for the appeal is summarized in a “Friend of the Court” brief.
That brief concentrates much space to the reliability of the O’Leary lab results. It introduces new “data”
Michelle submitted further compelling evidence of the reliability of the O’Leary lab results in her motion for reconsideration. She submitted a new study on the recovery of measles RNA from the gut tissue of autistic children. The multi-center Hornig study,57 relying on laboratories at HHS’s own Centers for Disease Control, Columbia University and Dr. O’Leary’s laboratory at Trinity College were all concordant in finding measles RNA in one clinical subject and one control, again showing the O’Leary laboratory’s reliability.
The Hornig study was an attempt to recreate some of the Wakefield group’s studies. The study was much more careful than Wakefield’s team’s efforts. It was discussed on this blog at that time.
I am always amazed when people try to use the Hornig study to support the MMR-causes-autism hypothesis. The paper concluded:
This study provides strong evidence against association of autism with persistent MV RNA in the GI tract or MMR exposure
As far as supporting the idea that the O’Leary laboratory was reliable, it is far from convincing. There is a vast difference between how a laboratory performs in, say, the late 1990’s and ten years later after facing much criticism and while under intense scrutiny for accuracy. In other words, it is very possible that the O’Leary laboratory’s methods were different for the Hornig study than used for the Wakefield/Uhlmann studies.
It seems unlikely to this observer that the Cedillos will win this appeal. They rely on discounting the testimony of Stephen Bustin. The arguments to throw out his testimony have not proven persuasive in a previous appeal. More importantly, the Court made it extremely clear that the decision would be the same whether or not Prof. Bustin’s testimony was allowed. The public statements being made about this appear to be coloring the facts somewhat to create an image of impropriety by the government. Also, those making public statements appear to ignore the fact that even without Prof. Bustin’s testimony, the case was not close.
At every step along the process of the Omnibus Proceedings, public statements have been heard suggesting the families had a strong case. In my opinion, this has been a disservice to those families. I worry that this is yet another instance of building up false hope for the families in the Omnibus.
US Court of Appeals denies vaccine court case
The first of the vaccine court autism cases has been denied by the United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit. The Vaccine court (or, more accurately, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims) grouped the autism claims into an “Omnibus”, something like a class action case, where evidence to prove vaccines cause autism was presented in a few “test cases”, rather than hearing all the cases individually. The Omnibus Autism Proceeding heard six test cases, three on the theory that the MMR vaccine causes autism and three on the theory that thimerosal (a mercury containing perservative) causes autism.
The appeals decision is for the test case of Yates Hazelhurst, one of the MMR test cases. The case was summarized by the Special Master who decided the case:
[P]etitioners assert that the measles component of the MMR vaccine causes an immune dysfunction that impairs the vaccinee’s ability to clear the measles virus. Unable to properly clear the measles virus from the body, the vaccinee experiences measles virus persistence which leads to chronic inflammation in the gastrointestinal system and, in turn, chronic inflammation in the brain. Petitioners argue that the inflammation in the brain causes neurological damage that manifests as autism.
The Special Master (essentially the Judge in the vaccine court) denied the claim. The family appealed to the Court of Federal Claims, who upheld the decision. The recent decision is from the United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit, making this the second appeal affirming the original decision.
The family appealed on the basis, as the appeals judge put it:
On appeal to this court, the Hazlehursts argue that the special master improperly relied on certain evidence that should have been excluded and disregarded other evidence that should have been considered.
The MMR theory for autism causation relies on the notion that the measles virus from the vaccine persists in the guts of children. This, in turn relies on research by Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s team and in particular, the Unigenetics laboratory. The government brought in a witness, Dr. Stephen Bustin, to refute the validity of the results from the Unigenetics lab. Dr. Bustin’s testimony and level of expertise were very clear in showing that the Unigenetics results were faulty.
The special master found that Dr. Wakefield’s work had been largely discredited within the scientific community and that none of the studies indicating the presence of measles virus in autistic children had been successfully replicated by an accredited laboratory independent of Dr. Wakefield or Unigenetics. In particular, the special master found that Dr. Wakefield’s early 1990s research on persistent measles infections was reviewed by the Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom and found to lack important controls and sufficiently specific reagents for detecting measles virus. She also found that Dr. Wakefield’s subsequent research was dismissed by the scientific community as methodologically unsound. In that regard, she noted that 10 of 12 co-authors on Dr. Wakefield’s controversial 1998 article in the medical journal The Lancet subsequently retracted their support for the article’s conclusion that there is a potential causal link between the MMR vaccine and autism.
The Special Masters allowed the petititioners (including the Hazelhursts) time to rebut Dr. Bustin’s testimony, through cross examination and through documentation from the UK MMR litigation. The petitioners did not avail themselves of this opportunity.
Over objection, the government sought to introduce Dr. Bustin’s reports and testimony regarding the Unigenetics laboratory, which, by that time, had gone out of business.[ 2 ] The special master in the Cedillo case provisionally admitted the evidence. The three special masters in the omnibus proceeding then deferred decision on whether to rely on that evidence and stated that they would “favorably consider joining in a request” by the petitioners “for the release of relevant reports” from the UK litigation. The record remained open for more than a year following the Cedillo hearing to afford the petitioners sufficient time to present rebuttal evidence, to conduct additional cross-examination of Dr. Bustin, and to obtain documents from the British court. However, none of the petitioners recalled Dr. Bustin for further questioning or applied for access to any of the materials from the UK litigation.
The Hazelhurst’s argued that evidence should have been allowed that was not. In particular, they argued that some unpublished results demonstrate the persistent measles theory.
The special master further concluded that the unpublished and preliminary findings of the Walker group should not be accorded significant weight. She observed that Dr. Hepner had declined to “draw any conclusions about the biological significance” of the investigators’ findings and had testified that negative controls were not included with each experimental run. The special master also noted that the petitioners’ experts based their opinions on the characteristics of the “wild-type” measles virus, as opposed to the vaccine-strain measles virus, which is far less virulent and replicates poorly in the human body.
In the end, the appeals judge ruled that there was no reason to overturn the original decision:
Because we find no error in the special master’s consideration of the evidence, we also find no error in her decision to discount Dr. Corbier’s opinion that the MMR vaccine caused Yates’s autism. By Dr. Corbier’s own admission, his opinion depended heavily on the reliability of the scientific studies purporting to show measles virus persistence in autistic children.
Compensation under the Vaccine Act is limited to those individuals whose injuries or deaths can be linked causally, either by a Table Injury presumption or by a preponderance of “causation-in-fact” evidence, to a listed vaccine. The special master concluded that the Hazlehursts’ evidence failed to demonstrate the necessary causal link, and the petitioners have not identified any reversible error in the special master’s decision reaching that conclusion.
The petitioners now have the choice of appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. As noted above, the Supreme Court hears cases which help define laws and this does not appear to be such a case. It would seem unlikely, then, that the Court would agree to hear this case. If so, this is the end of the appeals for the Hazelhurst’s in their case against the U.S. government. The next step would, then, be to take their case to civil court against the vaccine manufacturers. Such cases have not been successful so far. Civil cases require a higher level of evidence and expertise than the vaccine court. Having failed in the Federal Court, where the rules are more favorable to the petitioners, it would seem a difficult battle to win the case in civil court.
Categories Autism, Autism Omnibus, Legal, MMR, Omnibus Experts, Vaccines, Wakefield
Bogus Urine Metals Testing Fails In Vaccine Court
The Thimersoal “test cases” in the OAP relied on bogus urine mercury testing. Among many other common problems the petitioners had in providing any sound scientific support for the notion that mecury can cause autism, that, was at least in part, the apparent conclusion of all three of the special masters.
I just skimmed through the recent decisions by the US Court Of Federal Claims in the Thimerosal “test cases” that were part of the Omnibus Autism Proceeding, and the expert testimony provided by Dr. Brent (respondent) in this regard is pretty clear:
From the Mead Decision
When specifically asked about the urine mercury tests that were performed on William, Dr. Brent said that the tests “showed pretty much exactly what you’d expect for the normal population, that their unprovoked specimens are normal. Yet, when they give chelators, most of [mercury excretion results] are increased.” Id. at 1852-1853. Dr. Brent expressed a concern about the use of data in this way to suggest that a condition exists that, in fact, does not. See id. at 1853. He stated that “it’s data like this that has been used as an excuse to subject these children to chelation therapy where the data supports [a finding] that their urine mercury status is totally normal.” Id. at 1853.
From the King Decision
Moreover, Dr. Brent explained that when the results of mercury testing of Jordan, both provoked and non-provoked, are viewed in their entirety, they are exactly what one would expect from an individual without any mercury-related problem. That is, Jordan’s non-provoked test results were within the normal range for non-provoked testing. (Tr. 1852-53, 4340.) At the same time, while his provoked results were outside the normal range for non-provoked testing, that is not surprising since the provocation/chelation process is designed to specifically provoke an increased excretion of metals. (Tr. 1852-53, 4340-41, 4347.) As Drs. Brent and Fombonne explained, administration of a chelating agent to anyone, autistic or not, mercury-poisoned or not, will always be followed by increased excretion of mercury.118 (Ex. M, p. 74; Tr. 1852, 4340-41, 4343.)
Interestingly, the added scientific clarity of the special masters with regard to bogus urine metals testing is also present to some degree in all three test cases:
Here’s one example from the Mead Decision
Moreover, a subsequent study, as reported in the 2007 Soden article filed as RMRL 458,150 could not confirm the 2003 Bradstreet study results. See Mead Tr. at 1844. The investigators found that “DMSA provoked excretion testing did not produce evidence of an excess chelatable body burden among the autistic [study] participants.” RMRL 458 at 480. The investigators concluded that “[i]n the absence of a novel mechanism of heavy metal toxicity or an alternate therapeutic action of chelators, the data presented provide[d] no justification for chelation therapy for the [study] participants.”
Many will remember the conclusion of Soden et al.
“In the absence a proven novel mode of heavy metal toxicity, the proportion of autistic participants in this study whose DMSA provoked excretion results demonstrate an excess chelatable body burden of As, Cd, Pb, or Hg is zero.”
But perhaps the most interesting of all, is the common thread that the reliance upon the bogus mercury testing seems pretty much acknowledged for what it is by both the special masters and the petitioners’ expert:
From the Dwyer Decision
Doctor Mumper’s willingness to rely on Colin’s mercury test results as evidence of high levels of mercury in his body was particularly troubling. She admitted that his results were not typical of those she saw in other autistic children. She admitted that she knew of no research into normal mercury excretion levels after chelation against which Colin’s one positive mercury test could be measured.741 It appeared that regardless of the results for mercury levels, Dr. Mumper was willing to opine that they reflected mercury’s role in ASD.
In short, a careful analysis of the record demonstrates that there is no valid basis for Dr. Mumper’s view that the results of mercury excretion testing on Jordan King offer support for a conclusion that thimerosal-containing vaccines played a role in causing Jordan’s autism. To the contrary, the evidence supports a conclusion that Dr. Mumper’s reliance on such mercury tests has no basis in science or logic. Indeed, upon cross-examination even Dr. Mumper acknowledged that there is no particular profile or pattern of post-provocation test results that points to a finding that a child has mercury-induced autism. (Tr. 1555-60, 1568-69.) When pressed, Dr. Mumper could not even suggest an example of any type of result on a post-provocation mercury urine test that would not, in her analysis, support a claim of mercury-induced autism. (Tr. 1558-60.) Dr. Mumper’s analysis in this regard was illogical, and completely unpersuasive.119
Yep, regardless of the results of a scientifically meaningless test, it’s the mercury. Right.
Remember, these were the three Thimerosal “test cases”, presumably chosen by the Petitioner’s Steering Committee (PSC) because they offered the best opportunity to introduce good, and representative scientific evidence for the hypothesized role of thimerosal in the etiology of autism. It looks like they failed miserably, and this doesn’t seem surprising when it’s clear the cases leaned on at least one form of laboratory testing that’s clearly scientifically meaningless.
It won’t be surprising when many of the die-hard anti-vaccine and “alternative” autism medicine brigade ignore the fact that bogus urine toxic metals testing just had a bright light shined on it by the vaccine court. They’ll be likely to claim some form of conspiracy or politics about the cases, despite the fact that the spotlight revealed an apparent decision-making tool of many a “DAN! doctor” to not only be worthless in medicine, but also worthless in court.
On a related note, there has been recent news that a couple of “DAN! doctors” are facing a lawsuit in which bogus urine toxic metals testing is called out directly. Aside from numerous other problems they face in the complaint, it should be interesting to see how the defendants (Dr. Dan Rossignol, Dr. Anjum Usman, and Doctors Data, Inc.) explain the potential role of comparing chelator-provoked urine metals levels to a non-provoked reference range. If the three test cases in the OAP are an indication of the state of actual scientific support for such testing, the defendants would seem to have plenty to worry about.
Mead v. Secretary of Health and Human Services Case No. 03-215V
King v. Secretary of Health and Human Services Case No. 03-584V
Dwyer v. Secretary of Health and Human Services Case No. 03-1202V
Thimerosal-Autism Test Cases Dismissed
Doctors sued over ‘dangerous’ autism treatment
Suing DAN! practitioners for malpractice: It’s about time
How the “Urine Toxic Metals” Test Is Used to Defraud Patients
24-hour provoked urine excretion test for heavy metals in children with autism and typically developing controls, a pilot study
Categories Autism Omnibus, Chelation, News, Omnibus Experts, Quackery, Science, Thimerosal, Vaccines
Fees for the Omnibus Autism Proceeding hit $7M
In the United States, the court hearings on whether vaccines cause autism were held under the Omnibus Autism Proceedings (OAP). These proceedings represented over 5,000 families who filed for consideration that they had a child who (a) suffered a vaccine injury and (b) this injury resulted in autism.
The OAP heard six “test cases”. Each test case represented both the question of whether the specific test-case child considered suffered a vaccine injury and also the general question of whether the idea that vaccines cause autism was proven.
The first three test cases considered the question of whether the MMR vaccine could cause a vaccine injury resulting in autism. The second three test case considered the question of whether thimerosal containing vaccines could cause vaccine injury resulting in autism.
The decisions from the MMR cases have been handed down, and they were unanimously and definitively against the MMR causes autism theory. These have been appealed and that appeal was denied. I believe an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court has been either filed or planned.
The decisions in the thimerosal cases have not been handed down yet.
The OAP was a very long process, starting in 2002 and still ongoing, involving multiple law firms and many lawyers and experts. It has been an expensive process. We are slowly learning just how expensive.
Last year an interim award of over $2M in legal fees was granted for lawyers working on the Cedillo test case. That was the first case heard in the MMR segment of the AOP.
The Court has now granted an interim award of $2,300,000 for the King test case, the first heard in the Thimerosal segment of the AOP.
During an unrecorded telephonic status conference on July 1, 2009, the law firm of Williams, Love, O’Leary, and Powers (WLOP) agreed to reduce its interim attorneys’ fees and costs request from $3,101,764.84 to $2,300,000.00, including $2,070,000 in fees and $230,000 in costs. Respondent’s counsel then indicated that respondent will not object to that amount. WLOP’s reductions included: the withdrawal of time and expenses relating to direct legislative lobbying, that is, any activity relating to efforts to affect the outcome of the political process; the withdrawal of time and expenses relating to “case specific” work in cases other than this claim, and unrelated to “general causation” work on the OAP; the withdrawal of time and expenses WLOP conceded were related exclusively to civil cases outside of the Vaccine Program; and the withdrawal of time and cost claims relating to public relations and media work during the pendency of the OAP. In addition, WLOP generally reduced the fees it requested for time spent on the OAP. Finally, WLOP agreed to significantly reduce the expenses for which it sought reimbursement, particularly those costs incurred while on travel.
Let me highlight a couple of statements:
the withdrawal of time and expenses WLOP conceded were related exclusively to civil cases outside of the Vaccine Program.
WLOP’s reductions included: the withdrawal of time and expenses relating to direct legislative lobbying, that is, any activity relating to efforts to affect the outcome of the political process
Bold is mine.
Apparently, the law firm applied for and was denied funding for work done for civil cases that were outside of the vaccine program and for lobbying efforts. What were they thinking trying to get tack that onto their fee request? Let’s face it, the Omnibus has already subsidized any upcoming civil cases by giving the lawyers time to research their arguments and pay experts. And, really, asking the program to pay for lobbying?
This is only an “interim” fee request. Fees are still mounting, and not all the past fees have been assessed:
Of note, this Decision resolves all fees and costs requested by the WLOP firm in the King interim fees application, at Tabs A & B of that application. This Decision does not resolve the amounts requested at Tabs C through U of that application.
I don’t know how much is involved with “Tabs C through U”, but it sounds like the remaining fees could be considerably more than the $2.3M granted.
It is interesting to note that the father/son team of David and Dr. Mark Geier have expert fee requests submitted (and as yet unpaid) for this case, even though they were not called as witnesses and, to my knowledge, did not submit expert reports:
This does not resolve the vast majority of fees and expenses relating to Drs. Geier and Young. The majority of expenses relating to Dr. Geier, David Geier, and Dr. Young are included in the PSC Committee Costs, at Tab C of the initial Fee Application
The Geier’s are well known “experts” in the vaccine court. Young, I suspect, is the same person as co-authored a paper with the Geiers purporting to show a link between neurodevelopmental disorders and thimerosal in vaccines. That paper was reported to have been recieved funding “…from the Autism Petitioners’ Steering Committee of the no-fault National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP).”
I am all for petitioners in the Vaccine Court having access to good experts. I don’t consider the Geier team to meet that standard. Should the Petitioners’ Steering Committee have decided to fund this reasearch, I see that as their expense, not one that should be passed on to the vaccine program. Dr. Mark Geier has been referred to in court documents as:
There are multiple cases where Dr. Geier’s opinion and testimony have been given little or no weight because they exceeded the scope of his expertise.
Dr. Geier is “a professional witness in areas for which he has no training, expertise, and experience”
I frankly suspect that funding The team of Young, Geier and Geier in this instance is another attempt to get the Vaccine Program to pay for work the lawyers expect to use in the civil cases that will follow the likely rejection of the Vaccine Court hearings. Remember, they weren’t called as expert witnesses in the Omnibus.
One other expert witness of note, Dr. Vas Aposhian, is also mentioned in the fee ruling:
This decision resolves the $34,048.25 that WLOP requested for expenses related to Dr. Aposhian ($31,750.00 in fees; and $2,298.25 in expenses incurred in May 2008). This decision does not resolve the $207,382.53 in fees and expenses included in the PSC Committee Costs for costs relating to Dr. Aposhian, nor does it resolve the $7,910 requested by Williams Kherkher for costs associated with Dr. Aposhian. See Tab C at 3887 and Tab E at 4396-98.
We don’t have the decisions from the King hearing yet, but here are some comments from the Cedillo decision:
Thus, concerning this issue [genetic hypersensitivity to mercury], I conclude that the testimony of Drs. Brent and Cook was persuasive, and that the testimony of Dr. Aposhian was not.
I find that Dr. Brent’s testimony on this point [the lack of an established mercury efflux disorder] was persuasive, and that the testimony of Dr. Aposhian was not.
I wonder if Dr. Brent, whose expertise was persuasive, will be paid anything like the roughly quarter million dollars that Dr. Aposhian has billed.
So we have $2M in fees granted for the Cedillo hearings, and now $2.3M for the King hearings. This is part of a total of over $7,000,000 requested in interim fees:
In their application, the petitioners sought a total of $7,202,653 for interim fees and costs. This total reflected the fact that this case was, as explained above, one of the “test cases” in the OAP. Because this was a “test case,” in which the petitioners sought to present all of the “general causation” evidence concerning the theory that thimerosal-containing vaccines can cause autism, several different law firms participated in the development and presentation of the evidence, while five expert witnesses prepared expert reports and testified at length for petitioners during the evidentiary hearing. The high total sought reflects the participation of all those law firms and expert witnesses.
I don’t think anyone is surprised that this is a very expensive proceeding.
Millions of dollars were spent trying to prove the now discredited (and never well supported) hypothesis of Dr. Wakefield. The thimerosal hypothesis also never had much substance, and has cost millions more.
One thing good out of all this is that the proceeding also paid to compile expert reports from some real experts debunking the MMR and Thimerosal myths.
Categories Autism, Autism Omnibus, Legal, MMR, Omnibus Experts, Thimerosal, Vaccines
Autism Omnibus: Hazelhurst appeal denied
The Autism Omnibus Proceedings is, for better or worse, one of the big stories in the world of autism news. Hearings have been held, using the best science and arguments that could be brought to bear. The two theories were (1) does MMR cause autism and (2) does thimerosal cause autism.
Each theory was tested using three “test cases”. Essentially, three trials for each theory, each discussing an individual child plus arguments on “general causation”.
So far, the decisions are only in on the MMR question. The answers were clear and decisive: “this is not a close case”.
The Omnibus decisions are not the end of the vaccine/autism lawsuits. Not by a longshot. The first step was an appeal, and the first appeal has been decided.
Here is the conclusion of the Judge who heard the appeal for the Hazelhurst case:
In hearing this appeal, the court is not without sympathy for Yates, the Hazlehursts, and the other children and families dealing with autism and autism spectrum disorders. And this court, like the special master, acknowledges both the burdens many of these families have faced and the tremendous love and support they have shown their children. The facts, however, do not support petitioners’ appeal and we have no choice but to deny their motion. Accordingly, for the reasons set forth above, the special master’s decision of February 12, 2009, is AFFIRMED.
I.e. the appeal failed. The decision stands. The Court holds that MMR does not cause autism.
The judge’s decision in the appeal gives a good summary of the original case. If you want to read about the Hazelhurst case, it would be the first place I would send you.
From the appeals judge’s ruling, here are the two “cardinal” flaws in the petitioner’s case:
1) First, the special master explained that petitioners’ experts based their opinions on the characteristics of the “wild-type” measles virus rather than on the characteristics of vaccine-strain measles, despite the fact that the measles vaccine is distinguishable from the wild-type measles virus in several key respects.
2) Second, the special master observed that petitioners’ experts further based their opinions on studies (detecting the presence of the measles virus in the gut tissue of autistic children) that the special master found to be unreliable.
The special master considered the presence of the measles virus in the gut to be the “linchpin” of the petitioner’s case. In other words, they needed to show reliable data or studies demonstrating that the virus was still in the tissues of the children long after the vaccination.
The two studies they had to rely on were (a) that by Dr. Wakefield’s team and (b) an unpublished study by Dr. Stephen Walker, presented as a poster at the 2006 IMFAR conference. Well, the Wakefield study was pretty well discredited, and the Walker study was never published.
In the appeal, the Hazelhurst’s lawyer argued that the testimony of Dr. Stephen Bustin should not have been considered. Amongst the arguments were that some of the information was submitted at the last minute.
No arguments were made that Dr. Bustin was wrong in his analysis of the O’Leary laboratory. That was one of those strange moments in law–no one challenged Dr. Bustin on being right. The judge hearing the appeal noted that the rules for the Vaccine Court are different from a typical court of law. Specifially, the rules are designed specifically to allow more information in to inform the Special Master. The judge further noted that under the typical rules of evidence, the Walker study would never be admitted anyway.
If you haven’t read about Dr. Bustin’s testimony, you should consider it now. Dr. Bustin basically discredited the entire “persistent measles in the gut” idea by showing that the O’Leary laboratory that made tests had serious methodological flaws and, basically, couldn’t make the tests at all.
The Hazelhurst’s lawyer then argued that the Special Master failed to include all the relevant evidence., In specific, that the Walker study wasn’t given due weight.
Again, one of those strange moments in law. The laywers moved directly from trying to get the Special Master to exclude evidence that was clearly relevant, to claiming that the Special Master had to include all relevant evidence. I guess that’s why I am not a lawyer. I couldn’t pull that off with a straight face.
As it turns out, even the witness for the Hazelhurts’ side stated that the Walker study wasn’t reliable:
Respondent additionally notes that Dr. Hepner herself acknowledged that the preliminary data from the study was “not useful at this time” (Cedillo Tr. at 682), declined to draw any conclusions about the biological significance of the Walker group’s findings (Cedillo Tr. at 682), and identified what respondent describes as several significant drawbacks to the study, including that the experiments had not been “blinded”28 and had lacked negative controls.
So, it is rather moot as to whether the Walker study was considered, since it doesn’t really provide substantial evidence to support the MMR theory.
The third main argument used in the appeal was that the Special Master failed to decide on a “critical issue”. Namely, whether regressive autism exists as a separate phenotype.
The Special Master wrote in his decision, and the appeals judge agreed: since the decision held that MMR doesn’t cause autism, there was no point in deciding on the question of regressive autism as a separate phenotype.
Given that the expert testimony was against this idea, it is probably better for the petetioners that this question was left unanswered.
The main result is, of course, the original decision was upheld. Looking forward, it doesn’t look good for the MMR theory to win in civil litigation from my perspective. The Bustin testimony is very damning to the little evidence there is, and that will be allowed in a civil case. The Walker study, however, will almost certainly not be allowed as it is unpublished and has severe limitation
Categories Autism, Autism Omnibus, Autistic Enterocolitis, Legal, Measles, MMR, Omnibus Experts, Vaccines, Wakefield
Richard Deth – gambling man
Maybe you don’t know, or have forgotten who Richard Deth (pronounced to rhyme with ‘teeth’) is.
Richard Deth, Ph.D., is a neuropharmacologist, a professor of pharmacology at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, and is on the scientific advisory board of the National Autism Association. Deth has published scientific studies on the role of D4 dopamine receptors in psychiatric disorders, as well as the book, Molecular Origins of Human Attention: The Dopamine-Folate Connection. He has also become a prominent voice in the controversies in autism and vaccine controversy, due to his theory that certain children are more at risk than others because they lack the normal ability to excrete neurotoxic metals.
Deth became ‘hot property’ in the anti-vaccine autism groups after publishing a paper (with which there were numerous issues – see Bart Cubbins excellent video for details) that was funded by one of those anti-vaccine groups – Safe Minds. Interestingly, during an exchange with Kathleen documented at neurodiversity.com, it also came to light that Richard Deth was registered as a paid expert witness in the vaccine litigation omnibus proceedings. Professor Deth said:
“I thank you for alerting me to the fact that my name was included on that expert witness list. It was done so without my knowledge or permission. It might be related to a phone call from that law office that was logged to my office while I was away on vacation in February. I never returned the call.”
To which Kathleen replied replied:
“It was quite an oversight for the attorneys to fail to confirm your willingness to serve in that role prior to naming you as a plaintiffs’ expert in the Petitioners’ Initial Disclosure of Experts, and filing that document with the Court of Federal Claims. However, their certainty is understandable, given your indication during our brief telephone conversation that the lawyer with whom you discussed the matter was “Andy” Waters, lead attorney in the thimerosal cases.”
Deth didn’t comment any further. As many have discovered, if you want to go head to head with Kathleen you better make sure your i’s are dotted and your t’s are crossed.
One of the statements Deth made during their exchange stood out to me at the time.
…I would like to make a virtual wager that within the next 18-24 months scientific evidence will make the thimerosal-autism link a near certainty. If you are willing, I’ll let you name the stakes.
Deth sent his email on March 22 2006. Luckily for him, Kathleen took pity on him and declined his rather gauche offer.
So what does this mean? What does it prove?
Why, nothing. Nothing at all. I just wanted LB/RB readers to be perfectly clear that a strong _belief_ in a scenario doesn’t make one right. In fact, when we look at all the recent evidence for the various beliefs of the various anti-vaccine/autism groups – from the prediction that the Omnibus Autism cases would be a walkover for them, to David Kirby’s certainty that thiomersal causation would be vindicated by CDDS data in 2005, then 2007, to this example of ego from Richard Deth what we see is a clear picture of a set of people who are consistently and unerringly wrong. This is because they simply cannot see the science right in front of them. Even such an august figure as Richard Deth, Ph. D.
Categories Autism, Autism Omnibus, CDDS, David Kirby, Mercury, Omnibus Experts, Richard Deth, Safe Minds, Thimerosal
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September 10, 2018 Sykeena Jackson
Left Handed Celebrities | Natalie Cole
Guess who's a lefty? Natalie Cole was left handed! I absolutely love her voice. Her dad is the late great Nat King Cole, but she definitely made a name for herself and held her own.
Her career officially started in the mid 1970s. She had a huge fan base. Check her out at the Sinbad Soul festival in 1996:
The audience seems so star struck and they knew all of the lyrics! Oh wow! Not many artists can just stop singing and let the audience sing.
I am just super happy to add Natalie Cole to our left handed celebrities list. Here's a short snippet of her biography per Wikipedia:
"Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, voice actress, songwriter, and actress. The daughter of the great American singer Nat King Cole, she rose to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be", "Inseparable" (1975), and "Our Love" (1977). Cole re-emerged as a pop artist with the 1987 album Everlasting and her cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac". In the 1990s, she re-recorded standards by her father, resulting in her biggest success, Unforgettable... with Love, which sold over seven million copies and also won Cole seven Grammy Awards. She sold over 30 million records worldwide.[1] On December 31, 2015, Cole died at the age of 65 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, due to congestive heart failure."
READ MORE ABOUT LEFT HANDED CELEBRITIES
OUR TOP LIST OF FAMOUS LEFT HANDED PEOPLE
WHICH U.S PRESIDENTS WERE LEFT HANDED
CHECK OUT OUR LIST OF LEFT HANDED CARTOON CHARACTERS
CHECK OUT OUR GROWING LIST OF LEFT HANDED POETS
LEARN ABOUT LEFT HANDED DISCRIMINATION
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Last edited by Zologore
7 edition of The U.S. Air Force found in the catalog.
The U.S. Air Force
Helen Grigsby Doss
from balloons to spaceships
by Helen Grigsby Doss
Published 1981 by J. Messner in New York .
United States. Air Force -- History -- Juvenile literature.
Statement by Helen Doss ; illustrated with photographs.
LC Classifications UG633 .D64
Pagination 64 p. :
Elon Musk, the chief engineer of SpaceX, speaks with U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. John Thompson, Space and Missile Systems Center commander, and program executive officer for space, during a question. In , a relatively obscure book caused a major stir among the U.S. Air Force leadership. Why Air Forces Fail, edited by Robin Higham and Stephen J. Harris, lays out the determinants of failure Author: Lani Kass.
U.S. Air Force Col. Mona Alexander, U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Operations School (EOS) commander, presents an Air Advisor tab to U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Matthew Moneymaker-Grizzle, an air transportation cargo processor assigned to the th Aerial Port Squadron, during the Air Advisor C course graduation ceremony Aug. 16, , at Joint Base McGuire-Dix . U.S. Air Force USAF-Basic-Military-Training Aug. Let's give Stephanie Goff from the 81st Training Wing a shout-out for being chosen as Warrior of the Week during this week's staff meeting! Goff is the director of complaints resolution within the 81st TRW inspector general office. She has provided excellent service to.
Air Force wife writes novel about Air Force life Illustration of the cover for the book "As Iron Sharpens Iron: A Shepherd's Duty" written by Ruth Alfred, . Project BLUE BOOK - Unidentified Flying Objects This File Moved. This file was moved to a location to make it easier for you to locate similar information.
The Power of Truth
Time Out for Ginger
Ramage in South Italy
Taking Off Beginning English Literacy Workbook AC
Prince Dan of Yann, short story written about B.C. 226
Pension and welfare plans.
The secrets of Chinese meditation
effect of a consumption tax on the rate of interest
Up, Up, And Away (Yellow Umbrella Books)
Kashmir enigma
Production of meat in the United States and its distribution during the war
Nuclear regulation reporter
The story of a wireless telegraph boy
Gone tomorrow
The U.S. Air Force by Helen Grigsby Doss Download PDF EPUB FB2
This is quite possibly the ultimate U.S. Air Force History book. It is written under the general guidence of Lt. Col Dik Alan Daso, USAF (Ret), Curator of Modern Military Aircraft National Air and Space Museum. The individual contributors, some 35 in number vary from retired military, professional historians, librarians, and more/5(7).
Posts about U.S. Air Force written by Trudy Hawkins. “Twas the Night Before Christmas” when a misprinted Sears Roebuck & Co. newspaper ad featuring a direct dial in number for kid’s to chat with Santa turned out to be the U.S.
– Soviet alert hotline to the Colorado HQ of America’s Air Defense Command. U.S. Air Force personnel assigned to the nd Air Mobility Squadron load cargo into a C Globemaster III at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson - JBER, Alaska, April 8, JBER deployed medical personnel and supplies to Guam in support of the FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency’s mission.
The unique capabilities the military provides is key to Followers: M. The almanac version of Air Force Link is now available online.
Traditionally called "The Book." This section focuses on important facts and provides insight into today's Air Force. Data in "The Book" highlights the service's major commands and their functions, weapon systems, demographics, statistics and other information.
Welcome to the United States Air Force. Learn about great opportunities for enlisted airmen, officers and health care professionals. If you are an Air Force veteran or an Air Force parent, this coffee table book is a wonderful gift and reference The U.S.
Air Force book. A comprehensive history (updated) of our nation's Air Force. Great pictures and superb writing by many of the leaders of our USAF/5(29). WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Air Force officials here recently revised Air Force instructionThe Enlisted Force Structure, also known as "The Little Brown Book," and the electronic version is available now with hardcopies expected to be available in May.
The guide has long been a staple of establishing expectations and standards for enlisted Airmen. Books shelved as air-force: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand, The Red Baron by Manfred von Rich.
General Information Reference Report relating to Project BLUE BOOK U.S. Air Force Fact Sheet on UFO'S and Project BLUE BOOK Reference Report relating to Majestic 12 {MJ} Information of the "Roswell Incident" General Information The United States Air Force retired to the custody of the National Archives its records on Project BLUE BOOK relating to the investigations of.
Your career in the Air Force officially begins with Basic Military Training (BMT). Your career in the Air Force officially begins with Basic Military Training (BMT).
It is a challenging experience both mentally and physically but will ultimately transform you from humble recruit to confident Airman with the skills and confidence you need to. Written for use in formal United States Air Force survival training courses, the U.S.
Air Force Survival Handbook iis the bible for pilots who want to stay aliveno matter what. Assuming, as the Air Force does, that flight personnel may be faced at any time with a bailout or crash landing in hostile territory without supplies, the advice here is superlatively practical, but/5.
More than 50 years after its founding, the United States Air Force is celebrated in a stunning, lavishly illustrated volume published in conjunction with the Air Force Historical Foundation. Building on official Air Force chronologies, and containing more than color and 1, b&w photographs, the book presents an encyclopedic summary of Air Force activities.
This book has 36 pages and was uploaded by narfstar on The file size is mb. Publisher is Charlton5/10(2). U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO.
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This book has 36 pages and was uploaded by comicwanderer on Ma The file size is mb. Publisher is Charlton10/10(1).
Project Blue Book was one of a series of systematic studies of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) conducted by the United States Air Force (USAF). It started inthe third study of its kind, following projects Sign () and Grudge (). A termination order was given for the study in Decemberand all activity under its auspices officially ceased on January 19th, The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed is one of the eight U.S.
uniformed lly formed as a part of the United States Army on 1 Augustthe USAF was established as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September with the passing of the National Security Act of Colors: Ultramarine blue, Golden yellow.
Background. General Ronald Fogleman created the CSAF Professional Reading Program in to develop a common frame of reference among Air Force members -- officers, enlisted, and civilians -- to help each of us become better, more effective advocates of air and space power.
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for - U.S. Air Force Comic Book Package - 22 eBooks on CD at the best online prices at Seller Rating: % positive.
Released on the 70th anniversary of the US Air Force, this book outlines specific survival threats found in many different types of terrain and how to survive them. It is invaluable to all who enjoy the outdoors and anyone who seeks insight into the training tactics of the US Air ed on: Janu.
Discount prices on books by United States Air Force, including titles like The Tuskegee Airmen Chronology. Click here for the lowest price.Offered at more than 1, colleges and universities across the country, Air Force ROTC develops the leaders of tomorrow by preparing students to become officers in the U.S.
Air Force while earning a college degree.According to the Department of Defense’s website, the United States Air Force is 66 years ago today “that the National Security Act of turned what was then known as the Army Air Corps into the United States Department of the Air Force.
A strategic, tactical and defensive force for the skies, the Air Force has become a vital role in our country’s military power.
charlesrosier.com - The U.S. Air Force book © 2020
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Ryan Lockhart Uncategorized 7 AM00000010000005630 2018 7 PM00000050000001831 2018 4 Minutes
My early years of hunting I had little understanding of what “hunting is conservation” meant. I knew that the stamps and licenses I had to buy went to state and federal support for conservation efforts but that is pretty much the extent of my understanding of how hunting contributes to conservation.
To be honest it wasn’t until very recently as I became a podcast addict that I learned to what extent hunting supports conservation. What I have learned has given me a tremendous amount of pride in being a hunter. In order to have an understanding as to where we are now, we have to first understand where we came from.
Abiding by the economic laws of supply and demand, market hunters gunned America’s woods, fields and marshes looking to supply the wild game market. They gunned with impunity, looking to make money at the expense of wild animals, driving America’s game animals near to extinction. When people unfamiliar with hunting think of hunting, this is the image many conjure up.
Unregulated hunting combined with market demand for wild game in the 19th and early 20th centuries led to such a decline in animal life in America that we were in real danger of losing a vast amount of our wildlife. Iconic species like the bison had been hunted to the precipice of extinction, waterfowl populations had been severely reduced due to the pressures of the market hunting days.
Something had to be done or we were going to lose it all. So during the height of the Great Depression, when Americans were feeling the pain of economic hardship, American outdoorsmen supported an 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition in the form of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, more commonly known as the Pittman Robertson Act. It was so named because of the two individuals that sponsored the bill, Senator Key Pittman of Nevada and Congressman Absalom Willis Robertson of Virginia.
Upon it’s signing by president Roosevelt on September 2nd 1937 and implementation on July 1st 1938, the act placed an 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition. This money was then rerouted from the Treasury Department and given to the Secretary of the Interior and distributed to the States. The amount of money given to the States is determined by a formula taking into account the area of the state and the amount of licensed hunters in that state. What is in my opinion a great thing about the money generated by the Pittman Robertson Act, is that the states cannot use the money for anything other than wildlife management. The use of the money has to be approved by the Secretary of the Interior, and upon approval the state has to pay money up front and then is reimbursed by the Federal money. Any money that isn’t used by the state two years after issuance is then rerouted again to the Migratory Bird Conservation Act. This ensures that no matter what, the money allotted is used solely for the benefit of wildlife.
In the 1970’s, during the height of the environmental movement, the act was revised and expanded, placing a 10% tax on handguns and handgun ammunition and an 11% tax on archery equipment. Additionally it was added that half of the new money generated by the tax would go to hunter safety education and other safety training. As of 2016 according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service the Pittman Robertson Act has raised $11 billion (yes billion with a B) for conservation since it’s inception.
In 2016 money raised from Pittman Robertson and it’s companion bill Dingell Johnson (a similar fishing bill) distributed $1.1 billion to the states for conservation efforts. That amount of money is strictly money from the excise tax, as the states also raise money from licenses, stamps and permits as well.
Another success story of hunting raising money for conservation is the Federal Duck Stamp. Due to severe habitat loss during the Dust bowl days of the 1930’s, America’s already fragile waterfowl populations were further threatened due to the destructive farming practices. Something had to be done to protect the critical wetlands, and so President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act, commonly referred to as the Duck Stamp. 98 cents of every dollar from every stamp purchased (and they are required to hunt migratory birds) goes to restoration and protection of critical wetlands, and also helped create the National Refuge System. Since 1934, $800 million has gone to protect and preserve some 5.7 million acres of habitat. The great thing about the stamp is anyone can (and should) buy them.
There is an annual art competition for the artwork to be featured on the year’s duck stamp. This is the 2018-2019 winner.
Just these two examples show how much hunters contribute to conservation through excise tax and stamp purchases. However, there are a plethora of organizations in the hunting community that go beyond this. Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl, Pheasants Forever, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, Wild Sheep Foundation, the list goes on and on. These organizations are made up of members from across the nation, all with the common goal of preserving and protecting our wild animals and wild places. Hunters give more to conservation, because hunters understand how vital protecting not only the animals but their habitat is. If you are a hunter, join one of these organizations. They have fundraisers in the form of mail campaigns and also dinners, in addition to their regional projects. Hunters should take pride in the fact that no one else comes close to doing more for conservation than the hunting community.
Published 7 AM00000010000005630 2018 7 PM00000050000001831 2018
Previous Post The Defense of Hunting.
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Lindell-Herndon Genealogy
Genealogy of the Herndon, Lindell, Fairbanks, and Bonnell families.
Dansk Deutsch English Español Français Svenska
Robert Frank Herndon[1]
Name Robert Frank Herndon [2]
Born 19 Jul 1935 Houston, Harris County, Texas, United States [3]
Also Known As Donald Stiles Herndon [3]
Residence Apr 1940 El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, United States [4]
3231 Memphis Steet
Census 13 Apr 1940 Divisions 183 - 190, El Paso City, El Paso County, Texas, United States [4]
Died 4 Aug 2012 El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, United States [1]
Buried 16 Aug 2012 Fort Bliss National Cemetery, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, United States [5]
Section M1, Space 385
Person ID I112 Lindell-Herndon Genealogy
Father Robert Paul Herndon, b. 9 Oct 1909, Durant, Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States , d. 12 Dec 1992, West Memphis, Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States (Age 83 years)
Mother Elizabeth Marina Masten, b. 5 Feb 1915, Mimbres, Grant County, New Mexico, United States , d. 20 Sep 1937, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, United States (Age 22 years)
Married 13 Apr 1932 Las Cruces, Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States [6]
Separated Abt 1936 [1]
A ‘Mrs. H. Mabry’ (Tennie (Calhoun-Herndon) Mabry) witnessed the marriage of Robert Paul Herndon to Elizabeth Marina Masten in New Mexico in 1932. [6]
Family (Living)
1. (Living)
Born - 19 Jul 1935 - Houston, Harris County, Texas, United States
Residence - Apr 1940 - El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, United States
Census - 13 Apr 1940 - Divisions 183 - 190, El Paso City, El Paso County, Texas, United States
Died - 4 Aug 2012 - El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, United States
Buried - 16 Aug 2012 - Fort Bliss National Cemetery, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, United States
More Herndon Boys
William Cecil Herndon (lower) and Robert Frank Herndon (upper), Bill's father and uncle circa 1938.
Robert Frank Herndon was officially renamed ‘Donald Stiles Herndon’ by his maternal grandmother, Lois Miranda (Stiles) Masten, upon his adoption by her in 1941, but she was using this name as early as 1940 as indicated by [US-1940-1b]. Family members continued to refer to Robert by the name ‘Don’, but he used his birth name professionally throughout most of his life. [3, 4]
Reference Herndon, William Robert. "Robert Frank Herndon", Lindell-Herndon Genealogy. [Online]. Available: https://lindell-herndon.org/getperson.php?personID=I112&tree=LindellHerndon. [Accessed: 21-Jan-2021].
[S315] [Herndon-2019] Herndon, William Robert, Lindell-Herndon Genealogy, Washington, District of Columbia: By the author, 2019.
[S8] [Ferguson-1997] Herndon, William Robert (Interviewer), "Interview of Nell Pauline (Ferguson) Herndon".
[S195] [TxDoH-1935a] "Birth Entry for Donald Stiles Herndon," Texas Birth Index, 1903 - 1997, Austin, Texas: Texas Department of Health - Bureau of Vital Statistics, 1935, fiche 1935-0004, page 859.
[S473] [US-1940-1b] "Divisions 183 - 190, El Paso City, El Paso County, Texas," Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940,
Washington, District of Columbia: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), publication T627, roll 4182, E.D. 256-68, sheet 12B.
[S530] [Fort Bliss-2012] "Interment Record - Robert F. Herndon," section M1, space 385.
[S399] [DonaAna-1932] "Marriage License of Robert Paul Herndon and Elizabeth Marina Masten," Doña Ana County, Marriages, Las Cruces, New Mexico: Office of Doña Ana County Clerk, 2011, volume 12, page 297.
Lindell-Herndon Genealogy is governed by these Terms of Use.
© 1996 — 2020, William Herndon, CC BY-NC-SA.
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Eastern Religions: Books
This Credo-based guide provides resources for researching and understanding the history and philosophies of Eastern religions.
Magazine/Journal Articles
Buddhism Toggle Dropdown
Practices & Beliefs
Hinduism Toggle Dropdown
Off-Campus (Remote) Access for Distance Learners
Search Across All Library Resources
Books on Religion
Bloomsbury Dictionary of Myth
This work retells the world's major myths and legends, and gives a clear reference guide to who was who, where was where and what was what. In addition to A-Z entries of myths, motifs, locations and characters, there are generic essays and entries about the various traditions, organized by location. The essays discuss the kinds of myth each area has produced, and their relationship to local geography, culture and religions. The guide explores the major myth traditions of every continent, from the Americas and Middle East to Europe and Africa. The origins and historical significance of each legend are examined and recurring motifs are traced through the ages and around the world.
Critical Terms for Religious Studies
Provides a concise history of each critical term, explores the issues raised by the term, and puts the term to use in an analysis of a religious work, practice, or event. Moving across Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Native American and Mayan religions, contributors explore terms ranging from experience, territory, and image, to God, sacrifice, and transgression.
Religious Holidays & Calendars
A comprehensive, authoritative source of information about the calendars and holidays of the world's religions. It also provides concise information about the beliefs, practices, and history of major religions.
Books on Eastern Religions
Critical Terms for the Study of Buddhism
Provides a unique introduction to Buddhism by examining categories essential for a nuanced understanding of its traditions.
Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend
Provides accessible, informative and authoritative entries to answer any major question about Hinduism, its mythology, practices, customs and laws.
Books on Philosophy & Ethics
Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Philosophers
Provides detailed accounts of the lives, works, influence and reception of thinkers from all the major philosophical schools and traditions of the twentieth-century.
Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy
Covers the main traditions within Asian thought: Persian; Indian; Buddhist; Chinese; Japanese; and Islamic philosophy. Each section provides comprehensive coverage of the origins of the tradition, its approaches to, for example, logic and languages, and to questions of morals and society. Also contains useful histories of the lives of the key influential thinkers, as well as a thorough analysis of the current trends.
Dictionary of World Philosophy
Covers the diverse and challenging terminology, concepts, schools and traditions of the vast field of world philosophy.
The Essentials of Philosophy and Ethics
An important resource for those needing to understand the key concepts in philosophy and ethics and their relevance to current issues. It covers a wide range of philosophical ideas including often-neglected non-European traditions such as African philosophies and Islamic ethics.
24/7 Reference Desk
510 Building, Main Campus
Subjects:Geography, History, Reference
Next: Magazine/Journal Articles >>
Last Updated: Nov 24, 2020 12:46 PM
URL: https://libguides.tridenttech.edu/eastern
Subjects: Religion and Philosophy
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Open Access Week @ USC
Open access is a means of taking advantage of the global reach and relative inexpense of internet publishing to make peer-reviewed scholarly content freely available.
2018 Open Access Week
2017 Open Access Event @ USC
2016 Open Access Week Panels
Open Access Monographs
Open Access Presses
Open Access at HSC
Open Access Week is an annual program of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), which organizes global events to promote informed consideration of the potential benefits, complications, and challenges surrounding open access to scholarly information. Open access publications are digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Updated: Here is a link to Ms. Roh's slides from her presentation on October 26 at USC.
Open Access Week is October 22 to 28. Please set aside some time on Friday afternoon, October 26 for a very interesting discussion as Charlotte Roh, Scholarly Communication Librarian at the University of San Francisco, will be speaking in DML 233 (Intellectual Commons) on:
“Open Access isn't Perfect, but Neither is Publishing: The New Landscape of Scholarly Communication as an Opportunity for Social Justice”
Ms. Roh writes and speaks on the intersection of social justice and scholarly communication, dealing frankly with issues such as bias, diversity, and the subversion of traditional publishing power structures. In addition to her work in academic libraries, Ms. Roh has spent the last year as a Library Publishing Coalition Fellow working on the Ethical Framework for Library Publishing. She has an MLIS from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Selected works of Ms. Roh can be found at: https://works.bepress.com/charlotteroh/
In addition to Ms. Roh's presentation, the Science & Engineering Library will be hosting a display on Open Access in their lobby.
The USC Libraries have coordinated a keynote address to bring an important topic to the forefront:
Navigating an Open Access World: Avoiding Publishing in Predatory Journals
Join us for this year's recognition of Open Access!
Jeffrey Beall, University of Colorado, Denver, Scholarly Initiatives Librarian, will give a keynote presentation on the shifting landscape of open access publishing and the threat of predatory publishers.
This keynote will be followed by a Q&A with respondents offering alternative perspectives to open access publishing.
Monday, October 9th, 2017 in Doheny Memorial Library (DML) 240 at 12:00pm
Please RSVP at the link to reserve a lunch and seat.
http://bit.ly/2jqY72c
Events will be held at Doheny Memorial Library (DML) & Norris Medical Library
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
10:30 am – 11:30 am, DML 241 (Doheny Memorial Library)
Open Access, Archives, and the Digital
This panel will pertain to the stakes in open access, as it relates to archives and digital culture in the humanities. As liaisons and generators of information between regulated spaces and the public, these panelists will discuss how information can be shared and accessible to the individual, no matter their status as professor or student or otherwise. What does it mean to their field to support open access and why does it matter?
Virginia Kuhn, Associate Professor in Media Arts + Practice Division and Associate Director of the Institute for Multimedia Literacy
Andrew Justice, Head of the Music Library
Brett Service, Curator of the Warner Bros. Archives at USC
Moderated by Eszter Zimanyi, PhD candidate, Cinema & Media Studies
Coffee and tea will be available
Friends of USC Libraries Lecture Hall (DML 240)
Lunch and Learn: 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
(lunch delivered at 11:30 and the panel starts at 12:00 p.m.)
Open Access Publishing in the Social Sciences and Humanities: USC Faculty Perspectives
This panel will explore the reasons why scholars in the humanities and social sciences support open access publishing. How are USC faculty contributing to open access initiatives? How might contributing to open access journals, and monographs reshape the practice of scholarship, tenure and education? How can libraries support and promote open access publishing? The panelists will discuss these and other questions related to the challenges and benefits of evolving scholarly communication practices.
Larry Gross, Professor of Communication, Annenberg School for Communication
Editor, The International Journal of Communication
Manuel Pastor, Professor of Sociology, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Author, Equity, Growth, and Community: What the Nation can Learn from America's Metro Areas, published via the new UCLA Open Access Press program Luminos
Mark Andrew Schroeder, Professor of Philosophy, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Editor, Journal of Ethics & Social Philosophy
RSVP at http://bit.ly/opendml
10:30 am – 11:30 am, DML 240
Join USC Libraries faculty to discuss open education resources (OER) and how they can be used to allow for open teaching, learning, and research. Open educational resources (OER) are freely accessible, openly licensed documents and media used for teaching, learning, and assessing as well as for research purposes. Universities across the country are replacing costly textbooks with OER materials in their curriculum to promote ‘open’ resources and also for cost savings for students. In California, the state-wide Textbook Affordability Act (AB798) promises to expand the use of OER materials and provide professional development to professors who choose to use the free materials. The law and changing trends have implications for professors, students, and librarians at USC.
John Juricek, Collections Strategist Librarian
Caroline Muglia, Collection Assessment Librarian
Melanee Vicedo, Head, Education & Social Work Library Services
12 – 2 PM, DML 240
Scholarly Publishing and Open Access
Join Sabbi Lall and a panel for a discussion of scholarly publishing and open access from the perspective of the publisher and editors. The panel of experts will answer your publishing questions. Lunch will be served.
Sabbi Lall has worked at Cell Reports for 5 years. She helped launch the journal, the first Open Access journal within Cell Press and went on to take the reins as Editor-in-Chief in 2014. Before that she was a Senior editor at Nature Publishing group for 5 years and a post-doc in Dr. Rajewsky’s lab at New York University after gaining her PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Oxford/Cancer Research UK.
Lunch will be served.
RSVP @ http://bit.ly/opendml
West Conference Room - Norris Medical Library (Health Sciences Campus)
Tech Lunch Series
Close Only Counts in Horseshoes and Slow Dancing: Open Access Options
Have you ever tried accessing a journal article and been asked to pay $20, $50, or even more for a PDF? Have you ever found the perfect article in PubMed only to find out the library didn’t subscribe to that journal? Then open access might be your new favorite thing! Open access is a movement to use current technologies to share information to further progress science and research. We'll talk about locating open access journals, how open access connects to NIH and NSF funding, discounts available to USC authors, and how to figure out which journals are open access and which are just plain predatory.
Pizza and bottled water will be provided
No RSVP required
<< Previous: Definitions
Next: Open Access Journals >>
Last Updated: Jan 7, 2021 3:37 PM
URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/openaccess
Subjects: Communication & Journalism, Cultural & Ethnic Studies, General Reference & Research Help, Languages & Literatures, Mathematics, Physics & Astronomy, Philosophy & Religion
Tags: open access
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Train Kept on Rolling
They may be derided as “middle of the road,” but Train is still one of my favorite bands.
They put out consistently good music, and frontman Pat Monahan is one of the more charismatic and enjoyable guys to watch.
He also has an awesome voice.
Monday, at the House of Blues here in Boston, Pat was nursing a cold, but he still sounded great as the band played its latest gig to support Save Me, San Francisco, its latest release.
No surprise, the band’s set leaned heavily on well-known songs (including “Drops of Jupiter,” “Calling All Angels,” Get to Me,” “She’s on Fire,” and of course, “Meet Virginia,” which came out early in the setlist), with a few from Save Me sprinkled in, starting with opener “Parachute,” and including my favorite track, the title song.
There were also a couple of impressive covers, including Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California” and Aerosmith’s “Dream On” (enhanced, kind of randomly, by two members of the band All-American Rejects).
Guitarist Jimmy Stafford made a memorable impression on “Mississippi” and “Free.”
And the acoustics were also fantastic; Sara K and I stood pretty much right in front of a set of speakers and we could still hear everything clearly (though my ears were ringing for a while after the show).
Opener Uncle Kracker (yes, he’s still around) played a laid-back set. We missed the first couple songs, but got there in time to hear “Drift Away,” “Follow Me,” and a mostly carbon-copy cover of Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long,” which Kracker co-wrote. No need to run out and buy his latest album.
On the whole, this was a solid show — nothing earth-shattering, but it was worth it for me.
Train’s a great, reliable band and they never disappoint.
Categories concerts, music
← A Toast to the Friendly Toast
Lloyd Dobler Saves the Day! →
Relationships are everything. But 88% of sellers report that developing relationships with buyers is challenging to… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 2 hours ago
RT @DJJudd: Montana Senator Jon Tester opens his questioning of Pete Buttigieg with high praise, telling him, "You have put on a clinic on… 3 hours ago
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Last edited by Voodoorr
4 edition of National Park Service found in the catalog.
flood recovery efforts at Yosemite National Park, California
Published 1999 by The Office in Washington, D.C. (P.O. Box 37050, Washington, D.C. 20013) .
United States. -- National Park Service -- Appropriations and expenditures.,
Flood damage -- California -- Yosemite National Park.,
National parks and reserves -- California -- Management -- Finance.,
Yosemite National Park (Calif.) -- Management -- Finance.
Other titles Flood recovery efforts at Yosemite National Park, California.
Statement United States General Accounting Office, Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division.
Contributions United States. General Accounting Office.
Pagination 41, [2] p.
Back when I started this site, I could not find any up-to-date pages on the web dedicated to the little book "Passport To Your National Parks" so I thought I'd put something lphsbands.com Official Passport Program website.. My wife and I began our National Parks tour on May 14, at . Books that take place in National Parks Score A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
To help shed light on these important stories, the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program has undertaken the Route 66 Green Book Project. The “Green Book”, known variously as the Negro Motorist Green Book and the Negro Travelers’ Green Book, was an annual travel guide published from to by Victor H. Green. Aug 25, · Today, August 25, is the th anniversary of the creation of the National Park Service (NPS). The NPS is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior. It manages the approximately areas of the National Park System.
The National Park Service Handbook book series by multiple authors includes books Clara Barton: Clara Barton National Historic Site, Maryland, Big Bend: Big Bend National Park, Texas, Craters of the Moon: A Guide to Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho, and several more. The park service sells an official national park passport from Eastern National for about $15 to collect your stamps. You don’t have to purchase the passport book to collect stamps, but it’s by far the most common way for people to collect their cancellation stamps.
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National Park Service Download PDF EPUB FB2
National Park Service (NPS) In this collection, you will find a vast majority of official travel and recreational destination guides showcasing the historical value, exploratory discoveries, and maintenance of preserved monuments, natural environments, and architectural sites that are important to American history.
This book provides a fresh look at the National Parks and an analysis of why the Service has not responded in full faith to the environmental concerns of recent times. Sontag, William H., ed. National Park Service: The First 75 Years. The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all National Park Service book experience our heritage.
May 03, · National Park Service Camping Guide, 6th Edition [Roundabout Publications] on lphsbands.com *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Enjoy camping in America’s national parks.
Let this book be your guide to over public campgrounds managed by the National Park Service. It’s a concise guide to campgrounds in over national parks/5(28). KC Publications celebrates its 52nd year publishing books on National Parks and Monuments. Founded in to promote appreciation, understanding and visitation to the many U.S.
National Parks, KC Publications has been a true partner to the National Parks and Associations and remains committed to continue that for many years to come. We've provided over $ million to the National Park Service - thanks to your purchases from our park stores.
Prophets and Moguls, Rangers and Rogues, Bison and Bears: Years of The National Park Service. Seattle: Mountaineers Books, p. Epp, Ronald H. Creating Acadia National Park: The Biography of George National Park Service book Dorr. Bar Harbor: Friends of Acadia, p. The Birth of the National Park Service: The Founding Years, This is a book I wish I had read many years ago.
Told by Horace M. Albright not long before his death, it’s a recounting of the establishment years of the National Park Service from one of the two men who literally created it and rightfully became legends in its history.
National Park Reservations is a reservation service providing lodging and activity reservations. National Park Reservations is not an authorized concessionaire of any National Park nor are we in any way affiliated with the National Park Service of the Federal Government.
National Park Service History Electronic Library. The NPS History Electronic Library is a portal to electronic publications covering the history of the National Park Service and the cultural and natural history of the national parks, monuments, and historic sites of the U.S.
National Park System. The information contained in this Website is historical in scope and is not meant as an aid for. National Park Service.
The National Park Service cares for the more than national parks in the United States. The National Park Service partners with local communities to assist in historic preservation and the creation and maintenance of recreational spaces. Discount prices on books by National Park Service, including titles like General Management Plan Summary.
Click here for the lowest price. The National Park Service Preserving America for the Future: This is a Wikipedia book, a collection of Wikipedia articles that can be easily saved, imported by an external electronic rendering service, and ordered as a printed book.
lphsbands.com: national park service book. Skip to main content. Hardcover: th Anniversary of the National Park Service.
by Researcher-Lecturer Joel Anderson, Anderson Design Group, et al. | Oct 1, out of 5 stars Hardcover $ $ 31 $ $ The National Park Service prepares a variety of planning and environmental documents to help guide management of park resources and visitor use and activity. The Park Planning and Special Studies Division in the national office provides overall direction for park planning.
Provides summary information about the National Park Service Library Program, including organization, services, contacts, and opportunites.
Provides summary information about libraries in the National Park system, as well as links to National Park Service library websites when they are available. Provides link to the NPS Library Catalog, including link to summary information about the scope of.
U.S. National Park Service has books on Goodreads with ratings. U.S. National Park Service’s most popular book is Forts of Old San Juan: San Jua. Rather, the National Park Service preserves many different types of resources, including collections and artifacts.
Book lovers can rejoice to learn that several national parks include marvelous libraries that will make the most ardent bibliophile’s heart skip a beat.
Passport books. Passport books, sold at Eastern National park stores and lphsbands.com, provide a place for park visitors to collect National Park cancellation lphsbands.com 1, Passport books have been sold. The " x " passport book provides five pages for each of the nine regions where the passport user can place ink stamp cancellations and can affix one featured stamp per page.
Glacier Bay: A Guide to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (National Park Service Handbook) by National Park Service (U.S.) and a great selection of related books.
Explore all of America’s national parks right here with NPF. Discover our most treasured places, supported by people like you, and start your travel planning here. Search by each park individually or browse a full list of parks in the National Park System.The Official online store for national park service employees and volunteers-in-parks.
Shop Now close.Explore Your Parks Park Locator, Alphabet. Ready to explore the National Parks of the United States?
The U.S. is fortunate to have an abundance of beautiful parks to explore. Putting it all together, there are over sites that the US National Park Service maintains from National Parks, National Monuments, Seashores, Battlefields and more.
lphsbands.com - National Park Service book © 2020
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Tag Archives: Treaty of London
The execution of Walter Raleigh (1618)
The Devonian landed-gentleman, writer, poet, court favourite, politician, soldier, spy and explorer Walter Ralegh was executed on this day in 1618.
Ralegh was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I in 1584 to explore, colonise and rule any “remote, heathen and barbarous lands, countries and territories, not actually possessed of any Christian Prince or inhabited by Christian People [in the New World]”, in return for one-fifth of all the gold and silver that might be mined there. He first organised, although did not himself participate in, two voyages to Roanoke in Virginia in the 1580s, in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to establish an English colony in North America, under the governorship of John White (it was not until 1607 that a successful colony was to become established, at Jamestown in Virginia). White first went out to Roanoke in 1587, but returned to England shortly afterwards in order to pick up further supplies. He had intended to go back again within the year, but, for various reasons, was not actually able to do so until three years later than planned. When he finally did arrive back in Roanoke, he found no trace of the colony or of the colonists, other than the word “CROATOAN” carved into tree trunks. Ralegh then himself participated in a voyage in 1595 in search of “El Dorado”, the fabled city of gold in South America, again with no success. In between times, in 1591, he had been temporarily imprisoned in the Tower of London, for having married Elizabeth Throckmorton, one of Elizabeth I’s ladies-in-waiting, without first having sought the Queen’s express permission. Later, after Elizabeth I died, and James I succeeded her to the throne, Ralegh was imprisoned again, this time on the altogether more serious charge of complicity in the so-called “Main Plot” against the new King in 1603 (which sought to remove him and replace hm with his cousin Arbella Stuart). He was eventually pardoned and released from captivity in 1616, in order to undertake a second voyage in search of “El Dorado”. This time, he did find gold, albeit by the expedient of ransacking a Spanish outpost, in violation of the terms not only of his pardon, but also of the Treaty of London of 1604, that had brought to an end the long-running Anglo-Spanish War. On his eventual return to England in 1618, he was arrested and executed in Westminster Palace Yard, essentially to appease the Spanish.
There is a portrait of Ralegh, by an unknown artist of the English School, in the National Portrait Gallery. It depicts a handsome man wearing an embroidered and padded white doublet, and a sable-trimmed and pearl-studded cloak, in the Queen’s colours of black and white. Ralegh is of course remembered for supposedly once having made the chivalrous gesture of casting one of his cloaks upon a puddle so as to allow the Queen to walk over it without getting her feet wet. He is also widely credited with having supposedly introduced the potato, and tobacco, to England
This entry was posted in 16th century London, 17th Century London, London History, On this day, Post-Medieval, Stuart, Tudor and tagged Anglo-Spanish War, Elizabeth I, James I, National Portrait Gallery, Tower of London, Treaty of London, Walter Ralegh on October 29, 2018 by Bob Jones - The Lost City of London.
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Green, OH Won’t Allow Nov. 6 Vote to Nix NEXUS Pipeline Deal
June 15, 2018 Energy Services, Industrywide Issues, NEXUS Pipeline, Ohio, Pipelines, Regulation, Summit County
In February the City of Green, OH (Summit County), finally faced the reality that NEXUS Pipeline–a $2 billion, 255-mile interstate pipeline that will run from Ohio through Michigan and eventually to the Dawn Hub in Ontario, Canada–will come through their paradise (see Antis of Green, OH Finally Face Reality – Will Allow NEXUS Pipe). Green hired a high-priced Cleveland law firm to try and scuttle the NEXUS project (see Green, OH Paying Lawyers $100K to Fund Stop NEXUS Crusade). In the end, everyone has their price. For Green, the price was $7.5 million and 20 acres of land that sit next to an existing city park. While Green antis in city government hate the idea of the pipeline getting built at all (especially Green’s anti-pipeline mayor), the writing was on the wall. They would lose and they knew it. To save face, the mayor negotiated a deal with NEXUS that city council voted to accept. However, the mayor and city council’s actions didn’t sit well with some of the more radical elements in Green. The rads launched a petition campaign to put a referendum on the Nov. 6 ballot on whether or not the city should settle with NEXUS. The city says the signed settlement is an administrative action, not subject to a popular vote. The rads say otherwise. In a bold move, even though the rads have enough signatures to put the referendum on the ballot, the city has refused to allow the it to appear on the ballot. Which will surely send the radicals into orbit. It’s shaping up to be a battle between left and lefter…
Lycoming County Residents Oppose Loyalsock Creek Gathering Pipe
Federal Court Upholds Ohio Forced Pooling Law in Chesapeake Case
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Developed in partnership with United Methodist Communications, this FM radio station houses two studios – one for on-air operations and one for production.
It was created in two steps:
First, feasibility studies were conducted June 25-27, 2012 to assess the location and implementation possibilities. The annual conference had a large room located on the ground floor that housed offices, which was prepared to accommodate both the on-air and production studios. An adjacent room was used for equipment. The work completed at this stage included creating a partition with a glass-wall separation between the studios, blocking existing windows, insulating the walls against sound and providing appropriate electrical outlets for the radio equipment.
The second step commenced in August 2012. Because The United Methodist Church in Angola was able to obtain local resources and governmental support, no investment was necessary. This phase was limited to technical assistance. The work included procuring equipment, cabling the studios, wiring the rooms for Internet connectivity and acquiring a domain name.
Radio is a life-saving tool in Africa. Please support this station’s vital operations in Angola.
The Rev. Gary Henderson (left) and Bishop Elaine J.W. Stanovsky are interviewed about The United Methodist Church's Imagine No Malaria campaign in the studio of Radio Kairós in Luanda, Angola. Conducting the interview is Domingos João Antonio (right). At rear are technicians Agostinho da Silva (center) and Manuel Bernardo. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS
Broadcasters work in the newsroom at The United Methodist Church's Radio Kairós in Luanda, Angola. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS
The United Methodist Church's Radio Kairós is next to The United Methodist University of Angola in Luanda, Angola. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS
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01709 273119 07850231436 contactus@mbheatingservices.co.uk
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Home / Media Release / “Best mistake ever” leads Boronia man to multi million dollars after winning TattsLotto twice in the same draw
“Best mistake ever” leads Boronia man to $2 million after winning TattsLotto twice in the same draw
A Boronia man has burst into hysterical laugher this morning after discovering he held not one, but two, division one winning entries in the weekend’s TattsLotto draw which yielded him over $2 million in division one prize money.
The Melbourne player held two of the six division one winning entries nationally in TattsLotto draw 4101, drawn Saturday 7 November 2020. Each division one winning entry is worth $1,028,920.70.
As well as winning the coveted division one prize, the happy man’s marked System 7 entry also won him division two 6 times bolstering his prize to $1,056,289.10.
Since both of his tickets were the same type of entry, he takes home a total prize of $2,112,578.20.
When asked how he planned to enjoy life as a newly-minted multi-millionaire, the thrilled man said he would have to let the news sink in but hoped to donate some of his win to charity.
The happy winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, purchased both of his winning entries online at thelott.com – Australia’s official lotteries.
Mornington man receives birthday gift worth over $1 million thanks to TattsLotto Ten Sunshine locals kick start the week sharing $2 million TattsLotto win
Updated 9 November 2020 - 11:26 am,
first published at 9 November 2020 - 11:26 am
When an official from The Lott phoned the winner this morning, he was midway through his morning errands and had to pull his car over to hear the exciting news.
“Ok, I’m pulled over! I’m ready! What have you got to tell me?” he asked.
“Hooray! Thank you! I didn’t realise I had bought the same ticket twice.
“That’s so funny! I play every week and I usually just press ‘play it again’. I didn’t realise I had pressed it twice.
“It’s crazy! I never imagined I’d get those exact numbers once and win, let alone twice!
“I got a shock when you told me I’d won so it’s hard to believe the second win.
“It’s interesting but very good! I’m very very happy!
“It’s the best mistake ever! I’d be happy to make a few more mistakes like this one!”
The happy winner also revealed the unusual way he chose the winning numbers.
“These numbers have been hand-picked by my family,” he explained.
“We put all of the numbers in the box, and then I asked each of my immediate family members to choose one.
“So they are special numbers, but not birthdays or anything, just special because my family helped me choose them.”
When asked how he planned to enjoy life as a multi-millionaire, the thrilled winner confessed the news was still sinking in.
“I haven’t thought about it yet! It’s too crazy to think about!” he laughed.
“We’ll definitely look into what we can do with it.
“I know my wife will be keen to make sure we give back to some charities.
“Maybe we’ll pull their names out of a box too!”
The winning numbers in TattsLotto draw 4101 on Saturday 7 November 2020 were 1, 2, 7, 8, 15 and 35 while the supplementary numbers were 5 and 10.
Across Australia, there were six division one winning entries in TattsLotto draw 4101 – three from Victoria and one each from Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia.
The Lott’s division one winning tally has now reached 151 so far this financial year, including 61 won by Tatts customers.
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COVID-19 and Challenges to the Indian Defence Establishment
Sharan KA
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an uncertain situation all over the world. It is defined as the greatest challenge faced by the world since World War II. At a certain point, the pandemic had forced world governments to announce lockdowns in their respective countries that led to more than half of the human population being home quarantined. Since then, social distancing, travel bans, and cancellation of international summits have become a routine exercise. Most sectors such as agriculture, health, education, economy, manufacturing have been severely hit across the globe. One such sector which is vital to national security that has been impacted due to the pandemic is defence.
The effect of influenza and pneumonia during WWI on the US military was huge. The necessity to mobilise troops across the Atlantic made it even ideal for the diseases to spread rapidly among the defence personnel and civilians. Between mid-1917 and 1919, the fatalities were more so due to the disease than getting killed in action. Due to COVID-19, there have been many implications within the defence sector. Amid the ongoing transgressions in Ladakh, it becomes imperative to analyse the preparedness of the Indian defence establishment to tackle the challenges at hand.
Disrupting the Status Quo
Many personnel in the Indian armed forces have been tested positive for COVID-19. This puts the operational capabilities at risk. In one isolated incident, 26 personnel of the Navy had been placed in quarantine after being tested positive for COVID-19. The French and the Americans had a great challenge ahead of them as hundreds of soldiers were getting infected onboard their Naval vessels. Furthermore, the Army saw some cases being tested positive as well. In one such incident, the headquarters of the Indian Army had to be temporarily shut down because of a soldier contracting the virus. These uncalled disruptions are very dangerous for our armed forces. These disruptions challenge the recruitment process and training exercises.
Since the Indian Army has been involved in quarantining tasks, this exposes the personnel to the virus. As a result of this, the first soldier was tested positive on March 20 in Leh. Among them, those who work as medical personnel are even more exposed to the virus. In order to enforce damage control to the operational capabilities, the Army made sure that the non-essential training, travel, and attending conferences remained cancelled. They called off any foreign assignments and postings for the time being. The Army also made it a point to extend leaves for that personnel who were already on absence. This was a major preventive measure adopted to prevent further infection.
As a result of the lockdown that had been imposed nationwide, the defence services were forced to temporarily stall all the activities that relate to soldiering during peacetime. These activities include training, pursuing professional qualification, fitness tests and regimes, equipment maintenance such as unit assets and stores, up-gradation of the cadres among others. Since the Indian Army boasts of a force that has signed up voluntarily to guard the borders, most of the troops are away from their families, which makes it even more difficult during the times of crises. The mega biennial naval exercises scheduled to be held in Vizag were cancelled due to COVID-19. A total of 41 navies were planned to be a part of the joint exercises called MILAN. The Service Selection Board (SSB) training and the recruitment process have been put to a halt as well. This will severely impact the intake process for this year.
Handling Biohazards
The Army’s capable of operating in a Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) environment and has sufficient equipment like infantry vehicles, helicopters and tanks which can operate without any hassles. Since instances of chemical warfare have been witnessed in West Asia and other regions in the last two decades, the focus of the Army has been on that and not on biological warfare. Most Armies believe that bio-weaponry is still fictional and won’t come into play any time soon. Naturally, due to this mindset, most Armies are not capable of handling biohazards. This is a major setback in the time of COVID-19 and has to be addressed.
Riding Down the Slope
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Indian economy has been nose-diving day by day. This is some bad news for the defence sector since the military spending will possibly be reduced as a result of the slowdown. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India’s GDP will grow at 1.9 per cent. This is one of the lowest in the history of post-independent India. Allocations and spendings will naturally take a hit and will take a long time to revive again. Defence manufacturing will also face a setback and discourage indigenous players who are looking at getting involved in the manufacturing and innovation sector. MoD has already received the Ministry of Finance’s circular that called for the defence spending to be limited to 15-20 per cent of the total amount allocated. This will ensure that the defence budget is not the priority for the finance ministry. A gap of Rs. 1,03,000 crore has been highlighted between the requirement and the allocated money. More than 60 per cent of this allocated amount anyway goes towards paying salaries and pensions. This means that the modernisation efforts will face a major slowdown in the next two years. Defence procurement is already difficult due to the bureaucratic hurdles, now the monetary crunch only adds more woes.
Moreover, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had announced earlier that more than 9,000 posts belonging to the Military Engineering Services (MES) will be abolished in the said industrial division. The reason cited was that this would bring about a balance to the expenditure. Due to the lockdown, the military development has taken a hit and has seen a decline in the production of freights. As of now, there is no manufacturing that is ongoing as far as fighter planes or aircraft, in general, is concerned. Some of the signed defence deals and contracts are said to be reviewed due to the financial crunch. India’s defence budget is expected to see some cuts due to the economy slowing down. The pandemic has worsened this even further. There is already an existing order to cap the spending for the first quarter of this fiscal year. Most of the payments that are being disbursed is largely that of paying for the existing contracts. This will diminish any scope for procurement of newer defence equipment that helps in modernising the armed forces in the long run. According to a report, it says that the Ministry of Defence is looking at a savings of anywhere between Rs. 400 and 800 billion in the 2020-21 financial year. To quote Yuval Noah Harari from his recent article in the Financial Times would seem relevant in this case, “Many short-term emergency measures will become a fixture of life. That is the nature of emergencies. They fast-forward historical processes. Decisions that in normal times could take years of deliberation are passed in a matter of hours.” India has displayed the significant political will to make impactful decisions during the pandemic. The question is, how far and how soon can we push ourselves to be prepared on all fronts?
Related Topics:CoronavirusDefenseEconomicsIndia
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India’s Sprouting Counterforce Posture
Amber Afreen Abid
In recent years, the technological advancements by India in the domain of counterforce military capabilities have increased the vulnerability of the South Asian region. While trying to disturb the strategic stability in South Asia, India through its adventuresome counterforce posture against Pakistan is on the verge of becoming a rogue state. Notwithstanding the repercussions, India is voyaging towards destabilization in the South Asian Region.
India’s enhanced strategic nuclear capabilities which includes-the development of Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs), Ballistic Missile Defence System (BMD), Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), supersonic and hypersonic cruise missiles, and acquisition of nuclear-capable submarines- indicate that India is moving away from its declared policy of ‘No First Use’ (NFU) towards a more aggressive, counterforce posture against Pakistan. The BMD and MIRV technology along with the provision of an advanced navigation system under BECA would embolden India to go for the first strike against Pakistan. While having reliance on BMD, as to be sheltered in return. These technological advancements made by India are sprouting a new era of counterforce posture, which would further make the South Asian region volatile and vulnerable to conflicts.
India’s urge to acquire counterforce capability is strongly associated with its doctrinal shift. As the stated posture requires flexibility in the use of nuclear weapons, which fortifies the first strike capability, and thus a deviation in India’s declared policy of ‘No First Use’ (NFU) has become more significant, particularly concerning its impact on regional stability. India’s declared policy of NFU, set out in Draft Nuclear Doctrine in 1999, followed by its first amendment in January 2003 has since then been into hot debates. Pakistan has long doubted the Indian policy of NFU, as the actions and statements by the officials of the latter have always been aggressive and protruding towards the former. India, now, is drifting away from its policy of NFU with the acquisition of counterforce capabilities, particularly against Pakistan. This is further evident from the statement issued by India’s Defense Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh, back in August 2019. It stated “Till today, our nuclear policy is ‘no-first-use’ (NFU). What happens in the future depends on the circumstances.” A change at the doctrinal level is evident in the Indian strategic enclave. Notwithstanding the challenges and repercussions caused by the counterforce strategy and with an attempt to destabilize the nuclear deterrence in the region, India would go unjustifiably low to attain such measures.
In the same vein, India has been enhancing its nuclear capabilities for strategic flexibility against its regional rivals. By the same token, it wants to attain nuclear dominance, which would ultimately result in chaos in the region. The counterforce capability by India would compel its adversaries to heed towards the preemptive strike, in case of a crisis, out of the fear of the use of Nuclear weapons first by the patent enemy. Moreover, the counterforce capability pushes the enemy to put the nuclear weapons on hair-trigger mode, which is directly linked with the crisis escalation. The acquisition of counterforce capability by India would likely provoke a new arms race in the region. This would further destabilize the already volatile South Asian region. The far-reaching destabilization which India is trying to create, just to have an edge on the nuclear adversary, would be back on India’s face, faster than she knew it.
On the contrary, Pakistan has been maintaining a posture of Credible Minimum Deterrence (CMD) and does not claim to have a No-First Use (NFU) policy. Moreover, Pakistan’s nuclear capability is defensive in principle and a tool for deterrence. Given the Indian evolved notions of counterforce preemption, even now Pakistan would be left with no choice but to leave room for carrying out a ‘first strike’ as a feasible deterrent against India. Nevertheless, with the advent of technological innovations, its countermeasure arrives soon, too. Presently, there are two aspects that Pakistan should take into consideration; the growing Indo-US nexus and India’s concealed innovations in the nuclear posture. Though India is far from achieving counterforce strikes against Pakistan’s nuclear targets, concrete steps are required for maintaining future deterrence stability. With that intention, Pakistan might need to look towards its allies for getting hands-on the modern capabilities which includes- advanced communication and navigation systems, sensors, and advancements in artificial intelligence and otherwise, is essential for strengthening its deterrent capability. Pakistan should heed towards the development of absolute second-strike capability; as, what is survivable today, could be vulnerable tomorrow. Therefore, advancements in technology should be made for preserving nuclear deterrence in the future as well.
Summarizing it all, the existence of Pakistan’s nuclear deterrence has created a stable environment in the region, by deterring full-scale wars on multiple occasions that might have resulted in a nuclear exchange. With the revolution in nuclear technology, the threat of nuclear war has emerged again. Instead of going towards the attainment of peace and stability in the region, India has been enhancing its counterforce capabilities. This would likely remain a significant threat to the deterrence stability in the region. Moreover, any kind of failure to maintain nuclear deterrence in South Asia could result in an all-out war, without any escalation control. India, in its lust for power and hegemonic designs, has been destabilizing the region. Both the nuclear states in South Asia need to engage in arms restraint and escalation control measures. This seems to be a concrete and more plausible way out; else the new era of destabilization could be more disastrous.
A pig in a poke of Lithuanian Armed Forces
Adomas Abromaitis
The proverb “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link” perfectly reflects the situation in the Lithuanian armed forces. It is it unclear how the army will carry out its tasks, if everything that happens there runs counter to common sense.
The conscription took place in Lithuania. The recruits once again were revealed by an electronic lottery on January 7, 2021. 3,828 recruits were selected from the list of 38 thousand conscripts aged 18 to 23.
The idea of using electronic lottery in such a serious procedure arises a lot of questions among Lithuanians. Young people are suspicious of this method and fully admit the possibility of corruption. Nobody could check the results and so nobody could be blamed for random selection. The more so, the armed forces could get weaker recruits than in case of using usual ways of choosing among candidates. So, the army buys a pig in a poke.
This approach to recruitment in Lithuania results in presence of those with criminal intents and inclinations. Сases of crimes committed by Lithuanian military personnel have increased. Incidents with the involvement of military regularly occurred in Lithuania in 2020.
Thus, a soldier of the Lithuanian army was detained in Jurbarkas in October. He was driving under the influence of alcohol. A Lithuanian soldier suspected of drunk driving was detained also in Siauliai in December. Panevėžys County Chief Police Commissariat was looking for a soldier who deserted from the Lithuanian Armed Forces and so forth.
Such behaviour poses serious risks to public safety and leads to loss of confidence in the Lithuanian army in society.
Lithuanian military officials have chosen a new way to discourage young people from serving in the army, which is already not popular.
“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” The ministry of defence decided to run a photo contest that would reflect service in the country’s armed forces. It is doubtful that such pictures will attract to the army, but the real situation is provided.
Usually, popularization is the act of making something attractive to the general public. This contest served the opposite goal. Look at the pictures and make conclusions.
Fatah-1: A New Security and Technological Development About Pakistan’s Indigenous GMLRS
Uswa Khan
Islamabad: It seems like 2021 has been a good start for Pakistan specifically with regard to stepping up its missile testing. On the 7th of January, the Pakistan military has successfully conducted a purely indigenously developed missile test flight known to be Fatah-1. As stated by various reports, Fatah-1 is an extended-range Guided Multi-Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) which itself is a developed variant of the guided MLRS family.
According to the recent statement given by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) about the newly developed rocket, it was stated: “The weapon system will give Pakistan Army capability of a precision target deep in the enemy territory.” Director-General of Pakistan Army, Media Wing, major general Babar Iftikhar on 7th January tweeted: “Pakistan today conducted a successful; test flight of indigenously developed Fatah-1, Guided Multi Launch Rocket System, capable of delivering a conventional Warhead up to a range of 140 km.”
Defense analyst Mr. Syed Muhammad Ali also stated in his capacity: “the new system was very fast, accurate, survivable, and difficult to intercept”. A video was also shared by ISPR on their official website, in which the missile launch can be seen while being fired from the launcher however, the details on when and where the test flight has taken place, along with the specification of the rocket system are yet to be announced.
Currently, Pakistan Army owns a wide range of Short-Range Ballistic Missiles (SRBM), Medium-Range Ballistic Missiles (MRBM), Battlefield Ballistic Missiles (BBM), Rocket Artillery, and Surface to Surface Cruise Missile (SSCM). In the previous year, Pakistan had also maintained prime success in conducting the Ra’ad-II cruise missile and Ghaznavi surface-to-surface ballistic missile (SSBM). Besides, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on 30thDecember made apt progress when it comes to the national air defense arsenal as it was announced that PAF is beginning the production of the State-of-the-art JF-17 Thunder Block 3 fighter jets, at the same time acquiring the 14 dual-seat Jf-17 aircraft.
According to various reports, the JF-17 Thunder Block 3 will be said to have a new radar operational capability which will be far better in the practical domain as compared to the Raphael aircraft acquired by India. Whereas, the exchange of 14 dual-seat aircraft, manufactured with Pak-China cooperation were also given to the PAF which will be used for extensive training.
The recent successful testing of Fatah-1 has been considered to be another milestone for Pakistan as it tends to be a fitting response to the recent developments in the conventional capabilities carried out by India and also to India’s Cold Start Doctrine.
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1943 in Italy
Battles of World War II involving Canada
Battles of World War II involving Italy
Battles of World War II involving the United States
World War II invasions
Naval battles and operations of the European theatre of World War II
World War II operations and battles of the Italian Campaign
History of Salerno
"Operation Avalanche" redirects here. For other uses, see Operation Avalanche (disambiguation).
Invasion of Italy
Part of the Italian Campaign of World War II
Troops and vehicles being landed under shell fire during the invasion of mainland Italy at Salerno, September 1943.
3 – 16 September 1943
Salerno, Calabria and Taranto, Italy
Allied victory
Belligerents
Canada Germany
(to 8 September)
Harold Alexander
Mark W. Clark Albert Kesselring
Heinrich von Vietinghoff
189,000 (by September 16) 100,000
2,009 killed
7,050 wounded
3,501 missing 3,500 casualties
Invasion of Sicily
Armistice with Italy
Vatican bombing
Volturno Line
Barbara Line
Bari raid
Winter Line (Bernhardt Line / Cassino / Anzio Nettuno)
Trasimene Line
Gothic Line
1945 Spring offensive
The Allied Invasion of Italy was the Allied landing on mainland Italy on 3 September 1943, by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group (comprising Lieutenant General Mark Clark's U.S. Fifth Army and General Bernard Montgomery's British Eighth Army) during the Second World War. The operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign. The main invasion force landed around Salerno on the western coast in Operation Avalanche, while two supporting operations took place in Calabria (Operation Baytown) and Taranto (Operation Slapstick).
1.1 Allied plan
1.2 Axis defensive organization
2 Battle
2.1 Operations in southern Italy
2.2 Salerno landings
2.3 Consolidation of the beachhead
2.4 German counterattacks
2.5 Eighth Army ordered to apply pressure
2.6 German withdrawal
2.7 Salerno mutiny
2.8 Further Allied advances
3.1 Clark's award
Allied plan[edit | edit source]
Following the defeat of the Axis Powers in North Africa, there was disagreement between the Allies as to what the next step should be. Winston Churchill in particular wanted to invade Italy, which in November 1942 he called "the soft underbelly of the axis" (and General Mark Clark later called "one tough gut").[1] Popular support in Italy for the war was declining, and he believed an invasion would remove Italy, and thus the influence of axis forces in the Mediterranean Sea, opening it to Allied traffic. This would very materially reduce the amount of scarce shipping capacity needed to supply Allied forces in the Middle East and Far East[2] at a time when the disposal of Allied shipping capacity was in crisis[3] and increase British and American supplies to the Soviet Union. In addition, it would tie down German forces, keeping them away from the Russian front. Stalin had been pressing to open a "second front" in Europe, which would weaken the Wehrmacht's invasion of Russia.
However, General George Marshall and much of the American staff wanted to avoid operations that might delay an invasion of Europe, discussed and planned as early as 1942, which finally materialized as Operation Overlord. When it became clear that no invasion could be undertaken in 1943, it was agreed to invade Sicily, with no commitment made to any follow-up operations. However, both Roosevelt and Churchill accepted the necessity of Allied armies continuing to engage the Axis in the period after a successful campaign in Sicily and before the start of one in northwest Europe [4] The discussion continued through the Trident Conference in Washington in May but it was not until late July, after the course of the Sicily campaign had become clear and with the fall of Mussolini, that the Joint Chiefs of Staff instructed Eisenhower to go ahead at the earliest possible date.[5]
Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ were operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it was they who planned and commanded the invasion of Sicily and the Italian mainland.
The Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, codenamed Operation Husky, was highly successful, although many of the Axis forces managed to avoid capture and escape to the mainland. To the Axis, this was viewed as a success. More importantly in late July a coup deposed Benito Mussolini as head of the Italian government, which then began approaching the Allies to make peace. It was believed a quick invasion of Italy might hasten an Italian surrender and produce quick military victories over the German troops that could be trapped fighting in a hostile country. However, Italian (and more so German) resistance proved relatively strong, and fighting in Italy continued even after the fall of Berlin. In addition, the invasion left the Allies in a position of supplying food and supplies to conquered territory, a burden which would otherwise have fallen on Germany. As well, Italy occupied by a hostile German army would have created additional problems for the German Commander-in-Chief Albert Kesselring.[6]
Map of the Invasion of Italy.
Salerno D-Day plan
Further information: Allied Invasion of Italy Order of Battle
Prior to Sicily, Allied plans envisioned crossing the Strait of Messina, a limited invasion in the "instep" area (Taranto), and advancing up the toe of Italy, anticipating a defense by both German and Italian forces. The overthrow of Benito Mussolini and the Fascisti made a more ambitious plan feasible, and the Allies decided to supplement the crossing of the Eighth Army with a seizure of the port of Naples. They had a choice of two landing areas: one at the Volturno River basin and the other at Salerno, both at the range limits of Allied fighter planes based in Sicily. Salerno was chosen because it was closer to air bases, experienced better surf conditions for landing, allowed transport ships to anchor closer to the beaches, had narrower beaches for the rapid construction of exit roads, and had an excellent pre-existing road network behind the beaches.
Operation Baytown was the preliminary step in the plan in which Eighth Army, under General Bernard Montgomery would depart from the port of Messina on Sicily, to cross the Straits of Messina and land near the tip of Calabria (the "toe" of Italy), on 3 September 1943. The short distance from Sicily meant landing craft could launch from there directly, rather than be carried by ship. V British Corps' 5th Infantry Division would land on the north side of the "toe" while its 1st Canadian Infantry Division would land at Cape Spartivento on the south side. General Montgomery was strongly opposed to Operation Baytown. He predicted it would be a waste of effort since it assumed the Germans would give battle in Calabria; if they failed to do so, the diversion would not work, and the only effect of the operation would be to place the Eighth Army 300 mi (480 km) south of the main landing at Salerno. He was proved correct; after Operation Baytown the Eighth Army marched 300 miles north to the Salerno area against no opposition other than engineer obstacles.
Plans for the use of airborne forces took several forms, all of which were cancelled. The initial plan to land glider-borne troops in the mountain passes of the Sorrento Peninsula above Salerno was abandoned 12 August. Six days later it was replaced by Operation Giant, in which two regiments of the 82nd U.S. Airborne Division would seize and hold crossings over the Volturno River. This was at first expanded to include the entire division, including an amphibious landing by the glider regiment, then deemed logistically unsupportable and reduced to a two-battalion drop at Capua to block the highway there. The Italian surrender on 3 September cancelled Operation Giant I and replaced it with Operation Giant II, a drop of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment on Stazione di Furbara and Cerveteri airfields, 25 mi (40 km) northwest of Rome, to aid Italian forces in saving Rome from the Germans, a condition of the Italian armistice. Because the distance from the Allied beachheads precluded any substantial Allied support of the airborne troops, Brig. Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, 82nd Airborne's Assistant Division Commander, was spirited into Rome to assess the willingness of Italian troops to cooperate with the Americans. Taylor's judgment was the operation would be a trap and he advised cancellation, which occurred late on the afternoon of 8 September as troop carriers were preparing to take off.
The main landings (Operation Avalanche) were scheduled to take on 9 September, during which the main force would land around Salerno on the western coast. It would consist of the U.S. Fifth Army under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, comprising the U.S. VI Corps under Major General Ernest J. Dawley, the British X Corps under Lieutenant General Richard McCreery, with 82nd Airborne in reserve, a total of eight divisions and two brigade-sized units. Its primary objectives were to seize the port of Naples to ensure resupply, and to cut across to the east coast, trapping Axis troops further south. The naval task force of warships, merchant ships and landing craft totaling 627 vessels came under the command of Vice Admiral Kent Hewitt.[7] Part of Hewitt's command was Force V which included five aircraft carriers to provide air cover for the landings. Cover for the task force was provided by Force H, a group of four British battleships and two fleet carriers with destroyers in support, which was directly subordinate to the C–in–C Mediterranean Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham.[7]
In the original planning, the great attraction of capturing the important port of Taranto in the "heel" of Italy had been evident and an assault had been considered but rejected because of the very strong defenses there. However, with the signing of the armistice with the Italians on 3 September the picture changed. It was decided to carry the British 1st Airborne Division to Taranto using British warships, seize the port and several nearby airfields and follow up by shipping in British V Corps and a number of fighter squadrons. The airborne division, which was undergoing training exercises in two locations 400 mi (640 km) apart, was ordered on 4 September to embark on 8 September. With such short notice to create plans, Operation Slapstick was soon nicknamed Operation Bedlam.[8]
The Avalanche plan was daring but flawed; Fifth Army would be landing on a very broad 35 mi (56 km) front, using only three assault divisions (two British in X Corps, one American in VI Corps),[9] and the two Corps were widely-separated both in distance (12 mi (19 km) and by the Sele River.[10] Clark initially provided no troops to cover the river, offering the Germans an easy route to attack, and only belatedly landed two battalions to protect it.[10] Furthermore, the terrain was highly favorable to the defender. Planning for the Salerno phase was accomplished in only forty-five days, rather than the months that might be expected.[10] A U.S. Army Ranger force under Colonel William O. Darby consisting of three U.S. Ranger battalions and two British Commando units was tasked with holding the mountain passes leading to Naples, but no plan existed for linking the Ranger force up with X Corps' follow-up units. Finally, although tactical surprise was unlikely, Clark ordered no naval preparatory bombardment or naval gunfire support take place, despite experience in the Pacific Theatre demonstrating it was necessary.[11][page needed] (Major General Fred Walker, commanding 36th "Arrowhead" Division, believed the defenders, from LXXVI Panzer Corps,[citation needed] were too scattered for it to be effective.)[10]
On the German side, Albrecht von Kesselring lacked the strength to push the Salerno landing back, and was refused two panzer divisions from northern Italy to assist him.[10]
Operation Avalanche was planned under the name Top Hat and supported by a deception plan, Operation Boardman, a false threat of an Allied invasion of the Balkans.
Axis defensive organization[edit | edit source]
In mid-August, the Germans had activated Army Group B (Heeresgruppe B) under Erwin Rommel with responsibility for German troops in Italy as far south as Pisa.[12] Army Command South (OB Süd) under Albert Kesselring continued to be responsible for southern Italy[13] and the German High Command formed a new army headquarters to be Army Command South's main field formation. The new Tenth Army (10. Armee) headquarters, commanded by Heinrich von Vietinghoff, was activated on 22 August.[14] German Tenth Army had two subordinate corps with a total of six divisions which were positioned to cover possible landing sites. Under XIV Panzer Corps (XIV Panzerkorps) was Hermann Göring Panzer Division (Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Göring), 15th Panzergrenadier Division (15. Panzergrenadier-Division) and 16th Panzer Division (16. Panzer-Division); and under LXXVI Panzer Corps (LXXVI Panzerkorps) was 26th Panzer Division (26. Panzer-Division), 29th Panzergrenadier Division (29. Panzergrenadier-Division) and 1st Parachute Division (1. Fallschirmjäger-Division).[15] von Vietinghoff specifically positioned the 16th Panzer Division in the hills above the Salerno plain.
Battle[edit | edit source]
Operations in southern Italy[edit | edit source]
US General Mark Wayne Clark on board USS Ancon during the landings at Salerno, Italy, 12 September 1943.
Map of the Salerno Beachhead at the end of 11 September 1943
On 3 September 1943, British Eighth Army's XIII Corps, which was composed of British and Canadian formations, launched Operation Baytown under General Bernard Montgomery's direction. Opposition to the landings was light and the Italian units surrendered almost immediately. Albert Kesselring and his staff did not believe Calabria landings would be the main Allied point of attack, the Salerno region or possibly even north of Rome being more logical. He had already therefore ordered General Traugott Herr's LXXVI Panzer Corps to pull back from engagement with 8th Army leaving only 29th Panzer Grenadier Division's 15th Panzergrenadier Regiment in the 'toe' of Italy. By 3 September, most of this unit was in prepared positions at Bagnara, some 25 mi (40 km) from the landings which it had orders to hold until 6 September. After this they were to withdraw to join the rest of 29th Panzergrenadier Division which was concentrating at Castrovillari, some 80 mi (130 km) to the rear. The Krüger Battle Group (two battalions of 71st Panzergrenadier Regiment, 129th Reconnaissance Battalion and detachments of artillery and engineers) under 26th Panzer Division, would then stand at Nicotera, roughly 15 mi (24 km) up the coast from Bagnara.[16]
On 4 September, 5 Division reached Bagnara, linked up with 1st Special Reconnaissance Squadron (which arrived by sea) and drove 3/15th Panzergrenadier Regiment from its position. On 7 September, contact was made with the Krüger Battle Group. On 8 September, 231st Brigade was landed by sea at Pizo, some 15 miles (24 km) behind the Nicotera defenses. They found themselves attacked from the north by a mobile force from 26th Panzer Division and from the south by the Krüger Battle Group which was withdrawing from the Nicotera position. After an initial attack which made no headway, the Krüger Battle Group veered away but the northern attack continued throughout the day before the whole German force withdrew at dusk.[17]
Progress was slow as demolished bridges, roadblocks and mines delayed Eighth Army. The nature of the countryside in the toe of Italy made it impossible to by-pass obstacles and so the Allies' speed of advance was entirely dependent on the rate at which their engineers could clear obstructions.[16] Thus, Montgomery's objections to the operation were proved correct: the Eighth Army could not tie down German units that refused battle and the main obstacle to their advance was the terrain and German demolitions of roads and bridges.
By 8 September, Kesselring had concentrated Heinrich von Vietinghoff's 10th Army, ready to make a rapid response to any Allied landing.[18] In Calabria, Herr's LXXVI Panzer Corps had two divisions concentrated in the Castrovillari area. Its third division, 1st Parachute Division (1. Fallschirmjäger-Division), was deployed toward Taranto. The rearguard in the toe was BattleGroup von Usedom, comprising a single battalion (1/67th Panzergrenadier Regiment) with detachments of artillery and engineers.[19] Meanwhile, Hube's XIV Panzer Corps was positioned to face possible landings from the sea with 16th Panzer Division in the Gulf of Salerno, the Hermann Göring Division near Naples and the 15th Panzergrenadier Division to the north in the Gulf of Gaeta.[20]
On 8 September (before the main invasion), the surrender of Italy to the Allies was announced, first by Eisenhower, then in the Badoglio Proclamation by the Italian government. Italian units ceased combat and the Navy sailed to Allied ports to surrender. The German forces in Italy were prepared for this and implemented Operation Achse to disarm Italian units and occupy important defensive positions.
Operation Slapstick commenced on 9 September. The first echelon of 1st Airborne arrived on four British cruisers, a US cruiser, and the British fast minelayer HMS Abdiel. The Italian battleships Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio with two cruisers passed by, en route to surrender in Malta. There were no Germans in Taranto and so disembarkation was unopposed. The only casualties occurred when Abdiel, at anchor, struck a mine and sank in minutes, with 168 killed and 126 injured.[21] On 11 September, as patrols were sent further afield, there were some sharp encounters with elements of the German 1st Parachute Division. But 1st Parachute could do little but skirmish and fall back because most of its strength was attached to the 26th Panzer and Herman Göring Divisions at Salerno. 1st Airborne's commander, Major General George F. Hopkinson, was mortally wounded in one of these actions. By 11 September the ports of Bari and Brindisi, still under Italian control, were occupied.[21]
Salerno landings[edit | edit source]
Allied invasion of Italy and uprising in occupied Yugoslavia 1943.
Operation Avalanche - the main invasion at Salerno by the U.S. 5th Army - began on 9 September 1943, and in order to secure surprise, the Army decided to assault without preliminary naval or aerial bombardment. However, as amphibious force commander Hewitt had predicted, tactical surprise was not achieved. As the first wave of the U.S. 36th Infantry Division approached the shore at Paestum a loudspeaker from the landing area proclaimed in English: "Come on in and give up. We have you covered." The Allied troops attacked nonetheless.[22]
Major General Rudolf Sieckenius commander of 16th Panzer Division had organised his forces into four mixed arms battle groups which he had placed roughly 6 mi (9.7 km) apart and between 3 and 6 mi (4.8 and 9.7 km) back from the beaches. The Dőrnemann group was just east of Salerno (and therefore were opposite 46th Division when it landed), the Stempel battle group was between Pontecagnano and Battipaglia (and so faced the 56th Division), the Holtey battle group was in a reserve role at Persano on the Sele river which formed the corps boundary between X and VI Corps, while the von Doering battle group responsible for the Albanella to Rutino sector was 4 mi (6.4 km) south-east of Ogliastro, somewhat south of the 36th Division's beaches.[23]
X Corps, composed of the British 46th and 56th Divisions and a light infantry force of U.S. Rangers and British Commandos of Brigadier 'Lucky' Laycock's 2nd Special Service Brigade, experienced mixed reactions to its landings. The Rangers met no opposition and with support from the guns of HMS Ledbury seized their mountain pass objectives while the Commandos, from No. 2 Commando and No. 41 (Royal Marine) Commando, were also unopposed and secured the high ground on each side of the road through Molina Pass on the main route from Salerno to Naples. At first light units of No. 2 Commando moved towards Salerno and pushed back a small force of tanks and armoured cars from 16th Panzer Reconnaissance battalion.[24]
The two British infantry divisions, however, met determined resistance and had to fight their way ashore with the help of naval bombardments. The depth and intensity of German resistance forced British commanders to concentrate their forces, rather than driving for a linkup with the Americans to the south.
At Paestum, the two lead battalions of the 36th (Texas) Division (from 141st and 142nd Regimental Combat Teams) received a hot reception from two companies of the von Doering group.[24] The division had not been in combat before and as a result of the Italian surrender, there was a general belief amongst the soldiers that the landings would be routine.[25] 141st RCT lost cohesion and failed to gain any depth during the day which made the landing of supporting arms and stores impossible, leaving them without artillery and anti-tank guns.[26] However, 142nd RCT fared better and with the support of 143rd RCT, the reserve formation which had landed by 0800, were able to push forward.
By the end of the first day the 5th Army, although it had not gained all its objectives, had made a promising start: X Corps' two assault divisions had pushed between 5 and 7 mi (8.0 and 11.3 km) inland and the special forces had advanced north across the Sorrento Peninsula and were looking down on the Plain of Naples. To the south, 36th Division had established itself in the plain to the right of the Sele river and the higher ground to a depth of 5 mi (8.0 km), although 141st RCT was still stuck near the beach. However, XIV Panzer Corps commander Hermann Balck had seen the 16th Panzer Division's battle groups perform as intended and he had ordered both the Hermann Göring Division south to the battle and later in the day had been able to order 15th Panzergrenadier likewise. Meanwhile to the south, 29th Panzergrenadier Division from LXXVI Panzer Corps had also been directed to Salerno.[27] Neither side had gained the initiative.
Consolidation of the beachhead[edit | edit source]
Men of the Queen's Regiment advance past a pair of burning German PzKpfw IV tanks - Salerno area, 22 September 1943.
For the next three days, the Allies fought to expand their beachhead while the Germans defended stubbornly to mask the build-up of their reinforcements for a counter-offensive.[28] On 10 September, Clark visited the battlefield and judged that it was unlikely that X Corps would be able to push quickly east past Battipaglia to link with VI corps. Since X Corps' main line of thrust was to be north towards Naples, he decided to move the VI Corps left hand boundary north of the Sele river and move the bulk of 45th Division into the gap. In view of the enemy reinforcements approaching from the north he also ordered a battalion-sized mixed arms group to reinforce the Rangers the next day.[29] Over the same period, German reinforcements filtered into the battlefield. Units, short of transport and subjected to other delays, arrived piecemeal and were formed into ad-hoc battle groups for immediate action. By 13 September, all the immediately available reinforcements had arrived including additional elements from 3rd Panzergrenadier Division which had been released by Kesselring from further north near Rome.[30] By contrast, the Allied build-up was constrained by the limited transport available for the operation and the pre-determined schedule of the build-up based on how, during the planning phase, it had been anticipated the battle would develop. By 12 September, it had become clear that 5th Army had an acute shortage of infantry on the ground.[31] On 12 September, General Alexander reported to London that: "I am not satisfied with the situation at Avalanche. The build-up is slow and they are pinned down to a bridgehead which has not enough depth. Everything is being done to push follow-up units and material to them. I expect heavy German counter-attack to be imminent."[32]
By 12 September, X Corps had taken a defensive posture because every battalion was committed and there were no reserves available to form an attack.[33] In the south, 36th Division made some progress but towards midday a counter-attack by elements of 29th Panzergrenadier Division overran 1st battalion 142nd Infantry.
German counterattacks[edit | edit source]
A German 7.5 cm PaK 40 anti-tank gun near Salerno
On 13 September, the Germans launched their counteroffensive. While the Herman Göring battle groups attacked the northern flank of the beachhead, the main attack was on the boundary between the two Allied Corps which ran roughly from Battipaglia to the sea, with the greatest weight due to fall on the VI Corps side [34] On the morning of 13 September elements of 36th Division attacked and captured Altavilla in the high ground some 9 mi (14 km) behind Paestum but a counterattack forced them to withdraw as darkness fell. During the afternoon, two German battlegroups, the Kleine Limburg and the Krüger had attacked Persano and overrun 1st battalion 157th Infantry before crossing the Sele to engage 2nd battalion 143rd Infantry and virtually wipe it out.[35]
The battle groups continued their strike south and south-west until reaching the confluence of the Sele and its large tributary the Calore, where it was stopped by artillery firing over open sights, naval gunfire and a makeshift infantry position manned by artillerymen, drivers, cooks and clerks and anyone else that Walker, commander of 36th Division could scrape together.[36]
Albert Kesselring, Commander of German forces in Italy
VI Corps had by this time lost the best part of three battalions and so the forward units of both its divisions were withdrawn to reduce the length of the defensive line. 45th Division consolidated at the Sele - Calore position while 36th Division was on the high ground on the seaward side of the La Caso stream (which flowed into the Calore).[37] The new perimeter was held with the assistance of the 82nd Airborne Division. Two battalions (1,300 paratroops) of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, after the cancellation of Giant II, had been assigned to execute the final version of Operation Giant I at Capua on the evening of 13 September. Instead they jumped inside the beachhead, guided by transponding radar beacons and moved immediately into the line on the right of VI Corps. The next night, with the crisis passed, 2,100 troops of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment also parachuted into the beachhead and reinforced the 504th. A clear sign of the crisis passing was that when on the afternoon of 14 September, 180th infantry the final regiment of 45th Division landed, Clark was able to place it in reserve rather than in the line.[38] The 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, reinforced by the 3rd Battalion 504th PIR, landed by sea on 15 September. A night drop of 600 paratroops of the 2nd Battalion 509th Parachute Infantry to disrupt German movements behind the lines in the vicinity of Avellino was widely dispersed and failed,[39] incurring significant casualties.
With strong naval gunfire support from the British Royal Navy and well-served by Fifth Army's artillery, the reinforced and reorganized infantry units defeated all German attempts on 14 September to find a weak spot in the lines. German losses, particularly in tanks, were severe. In addition, on 14 September and the following night Tedder ordered every available aircraft to support 5th Army, including the strategic bomber force. Over 1,000 tons of bombs were dropped during the daylight hours of that day.[40]
On 15 September 16th Panzer Division and 29th Panzergrenadier Division went on the defensive, thus marking the end to the thrust towards Paestum.[41] Further north the Schmalz group of the Hermann Göring Division achieved surprise attacking 128th Infantry Brigade on the high ground east of Salerno. The armoured column following up was intercepted and driven back leaving the German infantry exposed.[42]
The Allied bomber effort continued on 15 September, although slightly less intense than the previous day, as did the naval bombardment. The arrival of the British battleships HMS Warspite and Valiant, with 15 in (38 cm) guns off the beaches provided the Allied troops with a morale boost, although Valiant was not required to shoot and Warspite's 29 rounds fired were awe-inspiring but a minor contribution to the 2,592 naval rounds fired in total that day.[43]
On 15 September, Kesselring reported to the High Command that the Allies air and naval superiority had forced LXXVI Panzer Corps onto the defensive and that a decisive success would depend on the current attack by XIV Panzer Corps. If this failed, Tenth Army must break off the battle to avoid being 'mangled'.[44]
On 16 September, the Schmalz group renewed its efforts on the X Corps front but with no more success. The airforce and navy continued to batter enemy targets, although during an air raid by Dornier Do 217 K-2 bombers armed with Fritz X radio-controlled glide bombs, Warspite was hit and disabled which required her to be towed to Malta for repair.[39]
Eighth Army ordered to apply pressure[edit | edit source]
On 9 September, Montgomery's formations had been strung out along the coastal roads in the 'toe' of Italy. The build-up across the Straits of Messina had proved slow and he was therefore short of transport. On 9 September, he decided to halt his formations in order to reorganise before pushing on but Alexander replied on 10 September that "It is of the utmost importance that you maintain pressure upon the Germans so that they cannot remove forces from your front and concentrate them against Avalanche". This message was further reinforced on 12 September by a personal visit from Alexander's Chief of Staff.[45] Montgomery had no choice and while reorganising the main body of his troops sent light forces up the coast which reached Castrovillari and Belvedere on 12 September, still some 80 mi (130 km) from the Salerno battlefield. On 14 September, he was in a position to start a more general advance, and by 16 September 5th Infantry Division had reached Sapri, 25 mi (40 km) beyond Belvedere, where forward patrols made contact with patrols from VI Corps' 36th Division.[46]
German withdrawal[edit | edit source]
On 16 September, von Vietinghoff reported to Kesselring that the Allied air and naval superiority were decisive and that he had not the power to neutralize this. Tenth Army had succeeded in preventing troops being cut off, and continuing the battle would just invite heavy losses. The approach of Eighth Army was also now posing a threat. He recommended to break off the battle, pivoting on Salerno to form a defensive line, preparatory to commencing withdrawal on 18/19 September. Kesselring's agreement reached von Vietinghoff early on 17 September.[47]
Salerno mutiny[edit | edit source]
The Salerno battle was also the site of the Salerno Mutiny instigated by about 500 men of the British X Corps, who on 16 September refused assignment to new units as replacements. They had previously understood that they would be returning to their own units from which they had been separated during the fighting in the North African Campaign, mainly because they had been wounded. Eventually the corps commander, McCreery, persuaded about half of the men to follow their orders. The remainder were court-martialled. Three NCOs who led the mutiny were sentenced to death but the sentence was not carried out and they were eventually allowed to rejoin units.
Further Allied advances[edit | edit source]
Allied advance to the Volturno river
Map of the German prepared defensive lines south of Rome
With the Salerno beachhead secure, Fifth Army began its attack northwest towards Naples on 19 September. The 82nd Airborne, after suffering serious casualties near Altavilla Silentina, was shifted to X Corps, joining the Rangers and the British 23rd Armoured Brigade on the Sorrento Peninsula to flank the German defenses at Nocera Inferiore, Sant'Antonio Abate, and Angri, which the 46th (North Midland) Division attacked. The 7th Armoured Division, passing through the 46th Division, was assigned the task of taking Naples, while the newly landed U.S. 3rd Infantry Division took Acerno on 22 September and Avellino on 28 September.
Eighth Army made good progress from the "toe" in spite of German demolitions and linked with the 1st Airborne Division at Taranto. Its left linked up with Fifth Army's right on 16 September. Eighth Army now concentrated its forces east of the Apennines mountains and pushed north along the Adriatic coast through Bari. On 27 September, Eighth Army captured the large airfield complex near Foggia, a major Allied objective.
German troops occupying Naples provoked a rebellion by the population, starting on 27 September and had to evacuate. On 1 October, "A" Squadron of the 1st King's Dragoon Guards entered the city. The entire Fifth Army, now consisting of three British and five U.S. divisions, reached the line of the Volturno River on 6 October. This provided a natural defensive barrier, securing Naples, the Campanian plain and the vital airfields on it from German counterattack.
Meanwhile, on the Adriatic coast, Eighth Army advanced to a line from Campobasso to Larino and Termoli on the Biferno river.
The German 10th Army had come close to defeating the Salerno beachhead. The stubborn initial resistance by 16th Panzer Division's battlegroups and the Germans' ability to reinforce them by land more quickly than the Allies could land follow-up forces by sea or air had almost tipped the battle. 5th Army planners had concentrated the main weight of its forces in X Corps on its left wing, in line with its major objective of advancing on Naples. This had left its right wing thinly manned to defend X Corps' right flank and left a particular weakness at the corps boundary.[48] In the end, the Germans, aware of the limited time available to deal with the Salerno landings because of the inevitable arrival in due course of Eighth Army, were obliged to make hurried and uncoordinated attempts to force a quick decision[46] and had failed to break through Allied lines and exploit the gains in the face of total Allied air superiority and artillery and naval gunfire support. The Allies had been fortunate that at this time Adolf Hitler had sided with the view of his Army Group commander in Northern Italy, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, and decided that defending Italy south of Rome was not a strategic priority. As a result, Kesselring had been forbidden to call upon reserves from the northern Army Group.
The success of the 10th Army in inflicting heavy casualties, and Kesselring's strategic arguments, led Hitler to agree that the Allies should be kept away from German borders and prevented from gaining the oil resources of the Balkans. On 6 November,[49] Hitler withdrew Rommel to oversee the build-up of defenses in northern France and gave Kesselring command of the whole of Italy with a remit to keep Rome in German hands for as long as possible.[50]
By early October, the whole of southern Italy was in Allied hands, and the Allied armies stood facing the Volturno Line, the first of a series of prepared defensive lines running across Italy from which the Germans chose to fight delaying actions, giving ground slowly and buying time to complete their preparation of the Winter Line, their strongest defensive line south of Rome. The next stage of the Italian Campaign became for the Allied armies a grinding and attritional slog against skillful, determined and well-prepared defenses in terrain and weather conditions which favoured defense and hampered the Allied advantages in mechanised equipment and air superiority. It took until mid-January 1944 to fight through the Volturno, Barbara and Bernhardt lines to reach the Gustav Line, the backbone of the Winter Line defenses, setting the scene for the four battles of Monte Cassino which took place between January and May 1944.
Clark's award[edit | edit source]
General Mark W. Clark was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest U.S. award for valor in combat, for his front-line leadership during this crisis. He was frequently seen in the most forward positions encouraging the troops. However, in the opinion of historian Carlo D'Este,[citation needed] Clark's poor planning of the operation caused the crisis in the first place. Clark himself blamed the slowness of the Eighth Army for the beachhead crisis, for which there was at least some validity[citation needed].
Military history of Italy during World War II
European Theatre of World War II
↑ Langworth 2008, p. 43.
↑ Molony 2004, p. 2.
↑ Leighton 2000, pp. 206–218.
↑ Molony, p. 186.
↑ Molony, pp. 185-197.
↑ Grigg,[page needed]
↑ 7.0 7.1 Molony, p. 261.
↑ Terdoslavich, William. "Nothing Goes Right in Italy", in Fawcett, Bill, ed. How to Lose WWII (New York: Harper, 2000), p.157.
↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Terdoslavich, p.157.
↑ Grigg, p.[page needed]
↑ Molony, pp. 209 -210.
↑ 16.0 16.1 Molony, p. 239.
↑ Clark, p.20.
↑ Potter & Nimitz pp.595-598
↑ Molony, pp. 316-317/
↑ Molony, 318.
↑ Orgill, p. 5.
↑ Mavrogordato, p. 321
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.
Churchill, Winston; Langworth, Richard (2008). Churchill by Himself: The Definitive Collection of Quotations. New York: PublicAffairs.
Clark, Lloyd (2006). Anzio: The Friction of War - Italy and the Battle for Rome 1944. Headline Publishing Group, London. ISBN 978-0-7553-1420-1.
D'Este, Carlo (1991). Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome. ISBN 0-06-092148-X.
Fifth Army Historical Section (1990) [1944]. Salerno: American Operations From the Beaches to the Volturno 9 September - 6 October 1943. American Forces in Action Series. Washington: United States Army Center of Military History. ISBN 0-16-001998-2. CMH Pub 100-7. http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/salerno/sal-fm.htm#cont.
Grigg, John (1982). 1943: The Victory that Never Was. Kensington Pub Corp. ISBN 0-8217-1596-8.
Leighton, Richard M. (2000) [1960]. "Chapter 8: U.S. Merchant Shipping and the British Import Crisis". In Greenfield, Kent Roberts. Command Decisions. Washington: United States Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 72-7. http://www.history.army.mil/books/70-7_08.htm.
Mavrogordato, Ralph S. (2000) [1960]. "Chapter 12: Hitler's Decision on the Defense of Italy". In Greenfield, Kent Roberts. Command Decisions. Washington: United States Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 72-7. http://www.history.army.mil/books/70-7_12.htm.
Molony, Brigadier C.J.C.; with Flynn, Captain F.C. (R.N.); Davies, Major-General H.L. & Gleave, Group Captain T.P. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO:1973]. Butler, Sir James. ed. The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume V: The Campaign in Sicily 1943 and The Campaign in Italy 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944. History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-069-6.
Muhm, Gerhard (1993) (in Italian). La Tattica tedesca nella Campagna d'Italia, in Linea Gotica avanposto dei Balcani, (Hrsg.). Roma: Amedeo Montemaggi - Edizioni Civitas.
Muhm, Gerhard. "German Tactics in the Italian Campaign" (in in English). http://www.larchivio.org/xoom/gerhardmuhm2.htm.
Orgill, Douglas (1967). The Gothic Line (The Autumn Campaign in Italy 1944). London: Heinemann.
Potter, E.B.; Nimitz, Chester W. (1960). Sea Power. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Smith, Col. Kenneth V. (1990?). Naples-Foggia 9 September 1943-21 January 1944. The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II Campaigns. Washington: United States Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 72-17. http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/naples/72-17.htm.
Terdoslavich, William. "Nothing Goes Right in Italy", in Fawcett, Bill, ed. How to Lose WWII, pp. 156–60. New York: Harper, 2000.
Further reading[edit | edit source]
Mavrogordato, Ralph S. (2000 (reissue from 1960)). "Chapter 12: Hitler's Decision on the Defense of Italy". In Kent Roberts Greenfield. Command Decisions. United States Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 70-7. http://www.history.army.mil/books/70-7_12.htm.
"Canada-Italy: 1943-1945". Veterans Affairs Canada. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20100327030720/http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=history/secondwar/Italy. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
"Campaign Summaries of World War 2: Italy and the Italian Campaign 1943-1945, including Sicily, Salerno & Anzio Landings". Naval-History.net. 1998-2010. http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignsItaly.htm. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
Royal Engineers Museum Royal Engineers and Second World War (Italy)
Summary of the Italian Campaign
University of Kansas Electronic Library Bad link
One of Many - Overview of 10 Corps operations at Salerno
Retrieved from "https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Allied_invasion_of_Italy?oldid=4410071"
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Bill Meek
Revision as of 00:59, 25 September 2019 by Reguylabot (Message Wall | contribs) (Remove some templates, interwiki links, delink non military terms and cleanup)
May 28, 1998(1998-05-28) (aged 76)
Missouri Valley COY (1956)
William M. Meek (1922 – May 28, 1998(1998-05-28)[1]) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University (1947–1950), the University of Houston (1951–1954), Southern Methodist University (1957–1961),[2] and the University of Utah (1968–1973), compiling a career college football record of 78–88–7.
2 Coaching career
3 Head coaching record
Meek was born in Waterbury, Connecticut and his family moved to Birmingham, Alabama in his youth. In college, he earned three letters playing as a back-up quarterback for the University of Tennessee; he graduated in 1943.
Meek had his first head coaching experience at age 22, with the Fort Benning Doughboy football club in 1944, while serving in the Army during World War II. Most of the starters on the team were members of the great Army teams of the early 1940s, and the team defeated all opponents except for a 0–7 loss to Auburn University. Marty Blake, later the NBA director of scouting, was one of the team managers.[3] Following the war, Meek left the Army with the rank of captain.
Meek served as an assistant football coach throughout the remainder of the 1940s. From 1947 to 1950, he coached under Jim Tatum at the University of Maryland.[4][5] During his tenure there, Meek was credited with the development of backs Ed Modzelewski and Bob Shemonski.[5]
In 1951, Meek was offered the his first collegiate head coaching position at $3 with an initial salary of $8,000.[5] Meek was offered the job even though he told the hiring committee at K-State that the program was a huge mess. His first season he posted a 1–7–1 record, typical for Kansas State at the time. When he learned after the season that an ineligible player had participated, he self-reported the violation to the NCAA and the school voluntarily forfeited the win and the tie. The following season, the squad went 1–9. Meek — who had already proven his integrity — accepted the services of several former Army players who resigned from the academy after violating the honor code in 1951. In 1953, Kansas State posted a 6–3–1 record, the first winning season at the school since Wes Fry's 1936 team. After starting that season 5–1, K-State also received its first national ranking, at #18 in the Coaches Poll on October 28, 1953. The following year was even better, with Kansas State posting a 7–3 record and playing for an Orange Bowl berth in their final game (they went on to lose at Colorado). Meek left Kansas State following the 1954 season, when the school refused to give raises to his assistants. Kansas State wouldn't have another winning record for 16 years.
In January 1955, Meek took over as the head coach at the University of Houston. In two years at Houston, from 1955 to 1956, Meek compiled a 13–6–1 record. In his second season, Meek led the Cougars to the Missouri Valley Conference championship and was named the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year.
In 1957, Meek took the job as head coach of the SMU Mustangs. During his tenure, from 1957 to 1961, he compiled a 17–29–4 record, while coaching All-American quarterback Don Meredith. By far his worst season at SMU was 1960, when his team went 0–9–1, with the only game decided by less than 10 points being a 0–0 tie with Texas A&M.
From 1962 to 1967, Meek worked as an assistant coach, including stints as Director of Pro Personnel for the Denver Broncos and as a scout for the Dallas Cowboys. Meek was offensive coordinator for Army during the 1966 and 1967 seasons.
In 1968, he took his final coaching job, as head coach for the University of Utah. Meek guided the team to a 33–31 record between 1968 and 1973, and his 1969 Utes squad posted an 8–2 record.
Bowl/playoffs
$3 (Big Seven Conference) (1951–1954)
1951 Kansas State 0–9* 0–6* 7th
1952 Kansas State 1–9 0–6 7th
1953 Kansas State 6–3–1 4–2 T–2nd
Kansas State: 14–24–1 7–17
Houston Cougars (Missouri Valley Conference) (1955–1956)
1955 Houston 6–4 2–2 3rd
1956 Houston 7–2–1 4–0 1st
Houston: 13–6–1 6–2
SMU Mustangs (Southwest Conference) (1957–1961)
1957 SMU 4–5–1 3–3 4th
1958 SMU 6–4 4–2 T–2nd
1959 SMU 5–4–1 2–3–1 4th
SMU: 17–29–4 10–19–3
Utah Utes (Western Athletic Conference) (1968–1973)
1968 Utah 3–7 2–3 5th
1969 Utah 8–2 5–1 2nd
1970 Utah 6–4 4–2 3rd
1971 Utah 3–8 3–4 T–4th
1972 Utah 6–5 5–2 T–2nd
Utah: 33–31 23–14
National championship Conference title Conference division title
*1951 season record reflects voluntary forfeits by the school.
Utah Utes football under Bill Meek
↑ "New York Times: Bill Meek, 76, Football Coach Who Was Don Meredith's Tutor". The New York Times. June 1, 1998. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9401E6D9163BF932A35755C0A96E958260. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
↑ http://www.smumustangs.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/greatest-moments-57.html
↑ "NBA.com Marty The City By The Bay". http://www.nba.com/marty_bythebay.html.
↑ Terrapin, University of Maryland Yearbook, Class of 1948, p. 237.
↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Meek, Aide at Maryland U., Named Kansas State Coach, Sunday Herald, February 4, 1951.
↑ "William M. "Bill" Meek Records by Year". College Football Data Warehouse. http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/coaching/alltime_coach_year_by_year.php?coachid=1590. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
Bill Meek at the College Football Data Warehouse
Retrieved from "https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Bill_Meek?oldid=4469088"
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Articles using infobox military person, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, 1889 births,
Gloucestershire Regiment officers
British Army personnel of World War I
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Harry Edward de Robillard Wetherall
1979 (aged 89–90) (aged 89 or 90)
Commands held
4th Bn Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
1st Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment
19th Brigade
11th African Division
East Africa Force
Battles/wars
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Military Cross
Lieutenant General Sir Harry Edward de Robillard Wetherall KBE CB DSO MC (1889–1979) was an officer in the British Army during World War I and World War II.
Military career[edit | edit source]
Wetherall was commissioned into the Gloucestershire Regiment in 1909.[1]
He served in World War I in France and Belgium becoming Commanding Officer of 4th Bn Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in 1917.[1] In March 1918 he was seriously wounded by a piece of shell in his neck.[2]
After the War he became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Machine Gun Corps and then a General Staff Officer for Weapon Training in Scottish Command in 1930.[1] He was appointed Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment in 1936 and then Commander of 19th Brigade in 1938.[1]
He served in World War II as General Officer Commanding 11th African Division in Abyssinia in 1941:[1] he was part of the "Southern Front" for this campaign and commanded the Division during the advance from Kenya, through Italian Somaliland, and into Ethiopia. In late 1941, with the campaign all but over, the 11th African Division was disbanded and he became General Officer Commanding the East Africa Force.[1] He was then appointed General Officer Commanding, Ceylon in 1943.[1]
After the War he became Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon at a time when the Sri Lankan independence struggle was ongoing; he retired in 1946.[1]
↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
↑ The Story of the 2/4th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, G. K. Rose
Military offices
Sir Alan Cunningham GOC East Africa Force
August 1941–December 1941 Succeeded by
Sir William Platt
(As GOC East Africa Command)
Retrieved from "https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Harry_Edward_de_Robillard_Wetherall?oldid=5357751"
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The Russian Orthodox Church Department for External Church Relations
About DECR
Patriarchal Ministry
DECR Chairman
Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations – Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk (since 31 March 2009)
Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk (secular name Grigory V. Alfeyev) was born on July 24, 1966, in Moscow.
From 1973 to 1984, he attended the secondary Gnessin Music School in Moscow, majoring in violin and composition.
At the age of 15, he entered the service of reader at the Church of the Founding of the Lord’s Sepulcher in Moscow. From 1983, he acted as sub-deacon to Metropolitan Pitirim (Nechaev) of Volokolamsk and Yuriev and worked as non-staff for the Moscow Patriarchate’s publishing department.
Upon graduation from school in 1984, he entered the composition faculty of the Moscow State Conservatoire.
He served in the Army from 1984 to 1986.
In January 1987, he voluntarily terminated his studies at the conservatoire and joined as novice the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius.
On June 19, 1987, Archbishop Victorin (Belyaev) of Vilnius and Lithuania tonsured him at the cathedral of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius, naming him Hilarion in honour of St. Hilarion the New (whose memory if celebrated on June 6 (19), and on June 21 ordained him Hierodeacon at the same cathedral.
On August 19, the Bishop Anatoly of Ufa and Sterlitamak (now Archbishop of Kerch), acting on the blessing of Archbishop Victorin of Vilnius and Lithuania, ordained him hieromonk at Cathedral of Our Lady in Vilnius.
From 1988 to 1990, he served as rector of churches in the town of Telšiai and the villages of Kolainai and Tituvenai in the Diocese of Vilnius. In 1990 he was appointed rector of the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the city of Kaunas, Lithuania.
In 1990, he took part in the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church as delegate from the diocesan clergy of Vilnius and Lithuania.
He graduated by correspondence from the Moscow Seminary in 1989, and the Moscow Theological Academy in 1991 with the degree of Candidate of Theology. He completed his post-graduate studies in 1993.
From 1991 to 1993 he taught Homiletics, New Testament, Dogmatic Theology and Greek at the Moscow Seminary and Theological Academy. In 1992 and 1993 he taught New Testament at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Institute and Patrology at the Russian Orthodox University of St. John the Theologian.
In 1993, he was sent to the University of Oxford for internship. Under the guidance of Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia (Patriarchate of Constantinople) he worked on his doctoral thesis on ‘St. Simeon the New Theologian and the Orthodox Tradition’, combining his studies with service at the Diocese of Surozh parishes. He graduated from Oxford University with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1995.
From 1995, he worked at the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations. From August 1997 to the beginning of 2002, he directed its secretariat for inter-Christian relations.
In the period from 1995 to 1997, he taught Patrology at the Smolensk and Kaluga Seminaries. In 1996 he read a course on Dogmatic Theology at St. Herman’s Orthodox Seminary in Alaska, USA.
Since 1996 he was a cleric of the Church of the Holy Protomartyr Catherine-Close-to-the-Fields in Moscow (Representation of the Orthodox Church in America).
From 1996 to 2004 he was member of the Synodal Theological Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church.
From 1997 to 1999, he read lectures on Dogmatic Theology at St. Vladimir’s Seminary in New York, USA, and on the Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church at the department of theology of the University of Cambridge, Great Britain.
In 1999, St. Sergius’ Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris awarded him the degree of Doctor of Theology.
On Easter 2000, he was elevated to the rank of hegumen by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad at the Church of the Holy Trinity at Khoroshevo, Moscow.
By the Holy Synod decision of 27 December 2001, he was elected as Bishop of Kerch, Vicar of the Surozh diocese.
On January 7, 2002, the Nativity of Christ, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite at the Smolensk Cathedral by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.
On January 14, 2002, he was consecrated as bishop at the Church of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. The consecration was celebrated by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia with ten archpastoral concelebrants.
By the Holy Synod Decision of July 17, 2002, he was appointed as Bishop of Podolsk, Vicar of the Moscow diocese, and head of the Russian Orthodox Church representation at European international organizations.
By the Holy Synod Decision of May 7, 2002, he was appointed Bishop of Vienna and Austria and charged with temporary administration over the diocese of Budapest and Hungary, retaining the office of Russian Orthodox Church Representative at European international organizations in Brussels.
On February 1, 2005, he was elected privat-docent of the Faculty of Theology’s Chair of Dogmatic Theology, University of Freiburg, Switzerland.
On August 24, 2005, he was awarded the St. Macarius Prize for his work on ‘The Church’s Sacred War. An Introduction to the History and Problems of Onomatodoxic Polemics’.
On March 31, 2009, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia relieved Bishop Hilarion of his duty as administrator of the dioceses of Vienna and Austria and Hungary and appointed him as chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations and permanent member of the Holy Synod with the title of Bishop of Volokolamsk, Vicar to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
At the same time he was appointed as rector of the newly-established Sts Cyril and Methodius Church Post-Graduate and Doctoral School of the Moscow Patriarchate.
On April 9, 2009, he was appointed as rector of the Church of Our Lady the Joy to All the Afflicted in Bolshaya Ordynka in Moscow.
On April 20, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and on February 1, 2010, to the rank of metropolitan.
Since May 28, 2009, he has been member of the Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations.
Since July 27, 2009, he has been member of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Inter-Council Presence and its Presidium as chairman of its commission on attitude to non-Orthodox confessions and other religions and vice-chairman of its commission for opposing and overcoming church schisms and as member of its commission on theological, liturgical and church art issues.
Since July 26, 2010, he has been member of the Patriarchal Council for Culture.
Since January 13, 2010, he has been member of the Board of Guardians of the Russian World Foundation.
Since March 22, 2011, he has been member of the Supreme Church Council.
Academic ranks and degrees:
Doctor of Philosophy, University of Oxford, 1995
Doctor of Divinity, St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris, 1999.
Honorary Doctor, Russian State Social University.
Honorary Doctor of Divinity, Theological Faculty, University of Catalonia.
Professor Emeritus, Russian Christian Humanitarian Academy.
Professor of theology honoris causa, University of Lugano, Switzerland.
Professor, Fribourg University, Switzerland.
Member of Russia’s Union of Composers.
Member of the editorial boards of magazines Bogoslovskie trudy, Moscow, Tserkov i vremya, Moscow, Studia Monastica, Barcelona, and Vizantijskaya biblioteka series, St. Petersburg.
Diplomas of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1996 and 1999), the Polish Orthodox Church’s Medal of Prince Constantine of Ostrog (2003), the Orthodox Church in America’s Silver Order of St. Innocent (2009), the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Order of St. Isidore of Yuriev, Class II (2010), the Orthodox Church of Moldova’s Order of St. Stephan the Great, Class II (2010), the Orthodox Church of Alexandria’s Order of St. Mark, Class II (2010), the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia’s Order of Sts Cyril and Methodius with the Gold Star (2011), the Order of Friendship (2011), Republic of Lithuania’s Medal for Courage and Self-Sacrifice (1992), the Order of Burgomaster Jonas Vileisis (Kaunas, Lithuania, 2011), the Order of Serbian Falcons from the Union of Serbian Falcons (2011), the Sigillum Magnum Gold Medal from the University of Bologna, Italy (2010), the St. Macarius Prize (2005).
Metropolitan Hilarion is author of over 700 publications including monographs on patristics, dogmatic theology and church history. He also translated works by Church Fathers from Greek and Syrian.
Among his books are Mystery of Faith. An Introduction to Dogmatic Theology (1996), Life and Teaching of St. Gregory the Theologian (1998), The Spiritual World of St. Isaac the Syrian (1998), St. Simeon the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition (1998), Orthodox Theology at the Turn of the Century (1999), The Sacred Mystery of the Church. An Introduction to the History and Problems of Onomatodoxic Polemics (in two volumes, 2002), What Orthodox Christians believe in. Catechetical Discourses (2004), Orthodoxy (in two volumes, 2008-2009), Patriarch Kirill. Life and Worldview (2009).
Music compositions:
He is also author of a number of musical compositions including Divine Liturgy and All-Night Vigil for a choral a capella performance, Passions according to Matthews for soloists, a choir and an orchestra, and Christmas oratorios for soloists, a boys’ choir, a mixed choir and a symphony orchestra.
On February 1, 2010, was elevated to the rank of metropolitan by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia
Works_by_Metropolitan_Hilarion
Inter-Orthodox relations
Inter-Christian relations
Interreligious relations
The Far Abroad
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill’s condolences over passenger plane crash in the Java Sea
Christmas Message by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill chairs Holy Synod’s last session in 2020
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and Primate of Orthodox Church in America hold telephone conversation
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill congratulates Joseph Biden on his election as President of the United States of America
DECR chairman meets with chairman of Palestinian Civil Affairs Committee
DECR chairman speaks at on-line conference in defence of African Christians
Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk: Russian Church has called for alliance in defence of African Christians
Metropolitan Hilarion celebrates Divine Liturgy on the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Bari
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord celebrated in Jerusalem
The Epiphany is celebrated at the Russian Orthodox Church Representation in Damascus
Holy Assumption church in Stafford returns to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia
DECR chairman sends condolences over the death of Archbishop David of Sitka and Alaska
Holy Synod states the impossibility of Eucharistic communion with Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill’s Message to the Primate of the Albanian Orthodox Church
DECR chairman expresses condolences over the death of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has expressed condolences over the killing of believers of the Ethiopian Church in the Vallega region of Oromia state
Stenogram of the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and leaders of religious associations in Russia
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has expressed condolences to Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria Sebastian Kurz over the death of people as a result of the terrorist action in Vienna
The Lord Has Entrusted Us With a Church That Has Existed for 1,000 Years
Metropolitan Hilarion: Constantinople’s papist claims are groundless
Metropolitan Antony of Borispol and Brovary: Metropolitan Amfilohije was surrounded with love of all Montenegrins
Metropolitan Hilarion: Archbishop of Cyprus can be no longer liturgically mentioned in the Russian Orthodox Church
Metropolitan Hilarion: We have supported and will support the canonical Church of Montenegro
Metropolitan Hilarion: For the Orthodox Church, Hagia Sophia church is the same as St. Peter’s Cathedral for the Catholics
Metropolitan Hilarion: Decision to transform Hagia Sophia into a mosque is a blow to the entire world Orthodoxy
The Church and the World
Metropolitan Hilarion: Soviet dogma on religion’s ‘dying out” is obviously untenable
Metropolitan Hilarion: the schism provoked by Constantinople is developing outside the folds of our Church
Interreligious dialogue is much in demand today
Metropolitan Hilarion: For the Patriarch the prayerful support of the whole Church is important
Metropolitan Hilarion: “Christians in Europe are feeling themselves to be a discriminated against minority”
Representatives of Russian Ecclesiastical Mission congratulate Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem on the Nativity of Christ
Patriarch Kirill Gives Christmas Interview to Rossia TV
Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church to take place in November 2021
© 1997—2021 The Russian Orthodox Church. Department for External Church Relations
The Russian Orthodox Church
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Democrats Victorious: Ossoff and Warnock Defeat Incumbents
I Messenger January 8, 2021
By Ashley Moss
Rev. Raphael Warnock made history on January 5th becoming Georgia’s first Black senator. In a closely watched competition, the Morehouse College graduate eked out a victory over incumbent senator Kelly Loeffler in the special election for the U.S. Senate, with nearly 51 percent of the vote. The reverend is the first Georgia Democrat elected to the Senate in 20 years. Warnock and Loeffler, as well as Sen. David Perdue and challenger Jon Ossoff returned to the ring in January after neither candidate reached 50 percent of the vote in the November general election. In that crowded race, Warnock finished with 32.9 percent of the vote and Loeffler had 25.9 percent.
Senator-Elect Jon Ossoff/Photo Courtesy of the Georgia Public Broadcasting
Warnock serves as senior pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the church where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was co-pastor from 1960 until his assassination in 1968. It was also the location of the funerals of both Dr. King and the late congressman John Lewis. Warnock has never held public office, but in a message to his supporters late Tuesday night the Senator-elect said his victory was an immediate reflection of Georgia voters coming together. “We were told that we couldn’t win this election,” said Rev. Warnock, who presented a message of harmony and unity as he talked about his plans as senator. “But tonight we proved that with hope, hard work and the people by our side, anything is possible.”
Senator-Elect Reverend Raphael Warnock/Photo Courtesy of Warnock for Congress
The Senator-elect will succeed Loeffler, who conceded to Warnock in the aftermath of the Capitol insurrection. Loeffler, who was appointed to the Senate in December 2019 after then-Republican senator Johnny Isakson resigned for health reasons, is also co-owner of The Atlanta Dream women’s basketball team, with whom she has frequently been at odds due to her opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement. She garnered 49.4 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s tightly contested race.
In the upcoming term, Warnock said his focus will be on the pandemic, saying he’d focus on bringing people together, for the good of the state of Georgia and the country. He also cited beating the pandemic with “science and good old-fashioned common sense,” rebuilding the economy and providing better benefits for essential workers among his priorities. “To everyone out there who is struggling today, whether you voted for me or not, know this: I hear you, I see you, and every day I am in the United States Senate, I will fight for you,” he said. Warnock and Ossoff will assume office later this month after the results of the election are certified. Once he is sworn in, Warnock is also set to become just the 11th African American to serve in the U.S. Senate. With the Warnock and Ossoff wins, the balance of power in Congress will change, giving Democrats control over the Senate and clearing the way for an unobstructed agenda once President-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20.
Ashley Moss
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A tour of my favorite Christmas decorations.
I hope everyone’s having a lovely holiday season! 🙂
Things here are great. I’ve spent most of the day baking cookies, which is always fun.
I thought I would take some time out to share a few of my favorite Christmas decorations with you all. I always enjoy seeing everyone else’s!
As with everything else, I try to keep things simple when it comes to how heavily we decorate around here. These days, we pretty much stick with just the tree and a few outdoor lights. The apartment we moved to this year doesn’t have a balcony, though, and our windows aren’t really visible, so…Steve strung the lights inside, instead. I love the effect, and kind of wish we could leave them up all year :).
Please pay no attention to the breakfast tacos and assorted clutter covering my coffee table. Thank you! 🙂
We’ve been using clothes pins to hang our Christmas cards from the lights as they arrive.
Here’s our tree. It’s fake and I bought it at Target for twenty dollars seventeen years ago. I’d say I’ve gotten my money’s worth!
For minimalists, we sure do have a lot of presents under the tree :O.
And now for a few of my favorite ornaments.
A couple of cute Santas:
Santa with a cookie and a cup of cocoa.
Santa’s to-do list. “Increase daily snacks.” XD
Winnie the Pooh is very popular around here.
I also have a lot of baking themed ornaments. A lot of these are from the Hallmark “Season’s Treatings” collection, but I don’t have the whole set.
The world’s teeniest measuring cup, spatula, whisk, and measuring spoons.
I love gingerbread people and houses! I found this little fabric one at Target a few years ago. Isn’t he cute?
This year I also hung these pot-holders on the fridge. I’m not sure what year they’re from, but they’re pretty old. They were my grandmother’s.
And last but not least, my star tree-topper, which came from the Dollar Store the same year as the tree, 2000. Not bad for a two dollar purchase!
What are some of your favorite holiday decorations? Have you had them forever and a day, like I have? 😉
Happy holidays, y’all!
December 24, 2017 mylesaweek baking, Christmas, Christmas lights, Christmas ornaments, decorations, gingerbread people, Hallmark, Holidays, traditions, Winnie the Pooh, Xmas Leave a comment
Horror movie top ten, October, 2017
Can it really be time for another one of these posts already? Where has the year gone? Sheesh.
Anyway, here it is: my annual list of the top ten horror movies Steve and I watched during our October challenge. (Previous lists can be found here: 2014, 2015, 2016). All descriptions are from either Amazon or the IMDB. I do not own any of these images; posters are from all around the ‘net.
10) The Shallows, Howl (tie)
Yes, for the first time since I started compiling these lists, I wound up with a tie!
I’ll start with The Shallows.
A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy (Blake Lively) is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.
I debated including this film on the list because I’m not sure if it’s really a horror movie or a thriller.
(Side note: This was true of a lot of the movies we watched this year, actually. I’m starting to think Steve and I have watched every horror movie out there. We’re now having to expand the criteria for this challenge to include anything remotely scary or creepy in any way. I think sharks are frightening, so it counted.)
I feel as though it’s a fine line sometimes, between a sort-of-tame horror film and a really intense/bloody thriller, if you know what I mean?
Anyway, the IMDB lists this one as both, so…Aside from the climax, which I won’t spoil, I thought it was entertaining and I enjoyed watching it.
On a stormy night, passengers on the last train out of London begin to panic after coming to a sudden halt. They soon realize there’s something dangerous lurking in the forest, and it’s stalking the besieged train and picking them off one-by-one.
Howl was quite an entertaining movie, too, albeit completely different. Definitely a horror movie! This one is about people trapped on a train while…something prowls around outside, trying to get in and eat them. You can probably guess what that ‘something’ is just from the title and from looking at the poster, but…I won’t mention it here in case it’s considered a spoiler :). Just allow me to say I’m a fan of these particular creatures, so I may be a little biased here, but I thought this one was a lot of fun.
9) Clown
A loving father dons a clown suit for his son’s birthday party, only to realize that it’s cursed.
I know what you’re probably thinking. An evil clown suit? C’mon. I thought that, too, at first but I was pleasantly surprised. This was a very solid horror film, and I was impressed with the way it perfectly straddled the line between being scary and funny. I wouldn’t have minded if it was a straight-up horror comedy, TBH, but it wasn’t. The inherent humor in the clown-centered premise isn’t ignored, the film doesn’t take itself too seriously, and there were certainly laughs, but from the moment the dad, Kent, (played by Andy Powers), realizes he is stuck inside the suit and no matter what he does it will not come off, you start to get genuinely creeped out and anxious on his behalf. And of course from that point on, things only get worse for poor Kent…
8) 10 Cloverfield Lane
After a car crash, a woman wakes up in a survivalist’s bunker. He claims to have saved her from an apocalyptic attack but, growing suspicious of his motives, she’ll have to escape to discover the truth in this heart-pounding new thriller from J.J. Abrams.
Another one I’d probably classify as a thriller, or maybe sci-fi, but once again, the IMDB lists horror as one of the genres so we’ll go with that :). Everyone in this did such a great job with their performances. A nail-biter through and through.
7) Cult of Chucky
Confined to an asylum for the criminally insane for the past four years, Nica (Fiona Dourif) is wrongly convinced that she, not Chucky, murdered her entire family. But when her psychiatrist introduces a new group therapy tool — a “Good Guy” doll — a string of grisly deaths plague the asylum and Nica starts to wonder if maybe she isn’t crazy after all. Andy (Alex Vincent), Chucky’s now-grown-up nemesis from the original Child’s Play, races to Nica’s aid. But to save her he’ll have to get past Tiffany (Oscar-nominee Jennifer Tilly), Chucky’s long-ago bride, who will do anything, no matter how deadly or depraved, to help her beloved devil doll.
I’ve enjoyed all of the Child’s Play franchise and this installment was no exception. It was very weird, but in a good, kinda mind-bending way that worked for me. There were just so many elements here that I enjoyed: seeing Nica, Andy, and Tiffany/Jennifer again, as well as the multiple Chucky dolls. Yeah, there were unanswered questions but overall, a fun movie.
6) The Devil’s Candy
Diehard metal-head and struggling artist Jesse (Ethan Embry) moves with his wife (Shiri Appleby) and daughter (Kiara Glasco) to a rural Texas town, unaware that the house they got for an unbelievable deal comes with a grisly history. Their dream home turns into a nightmare as disturbing demonic occurrences culminate with the appearance of Ray (Pruitt Taylor Vince), the home’s former resident who’s destined to do the devil’s bidding.
Well, I love metal and I love horror so I guess it’s not all that surprising that I’d like a horror movie about metal fans–and which features metal music on the soundtrack.
This was a good, creepy haunted (sorta) house movie that easily held my interest, but what I really liked about it were the performances by all the actors (even though I totally did not recognize Ethan Embry until the credits rolled. I’m still not entirely convinced that was him. When did he morph into a completely different dude?) The relationship between Jesse and his daughter, in particular, felt realistic and sweet.
Empire Records
The Devil’s Candy
5) Possession
A woman starts exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior after asking her husband for a divorce. Suspicions of infidelity soon give way to something much more sinister.
I’m sort of cheating with this one, I guess, because I’d seen it multiple times before, but…it’s one of my favorites and IMO doesn’t get enough attention, so I’m putting it on the list :). Also, this viewing was special because it was on the big screen, at the Alamo Drafthouse. To say I was surprised they decided to screen this is putting it mildly. I was even more surprised I’m not the only person who showed up!
I first stumbled upon this movie completely randomly. Steve and I were in a Tower records, I think (so yeah, you know it was a long time ago) and we came across this DVD…actually a two-pack with Mario Bava’s Shock. So we bought it on a whim.
I loved both movies, particularly Possession, but Steve didn’t care much for either one. So Possession became one of those movies (like Mulholland Drive, Brazil, or The Man Who Fell to Earth) that I’d watch whenever he was out of town, so as not to subject him to the weirdness. Ha, ha.
I’m not even sure what it is about this film that I like so much, other than that it’s just so hard to look away from. And it certainly isn’t predictable. A lot of it doesn’t make sense. It does remind me a little of Hellraiser, though, in some respects. If you watch it, you’ll probably see what I mean. Not that I recommend watching it. Please don’t blame me if you do!
4) Blair Witch (2016)
After discovering a video showing what he believes to be his vanished sister Heather, James and a group of friends head to the forest believed to be inhabited by the Blair Witch.
Was this movie necessary? Nope. Was it surprisingly creepy and fun to watch? Yep.
I’m not generally a fan of hand-held/found footage movies and am hard-pressed to watch them…unless Eduardo Sanchez was somehow involved in their production. All of his movies are cool.
3) Victor Crowley
The latest installment in the very fun Hatchet franchise. Good, old-fashioned, old-school horror with loads of gore and humor mixed in. Felissa Rose cracked me up so much in this! And it was especially cool to see this movie in the theater, with director Adam Green in attendance.
2) The Blackcoat’s Daughter
Two girls must battle a mysterious evil force when they get left behind at their boarding school over winter break.
This was slow-paced and understated without being pretentious. Not too heavy on the gore (although there are a couple of sequences) but very heavy on the creepiness. And how impressive is Kiernan Shipka? She did a great job in this film. I knew while I was watching The Blackcoat’s Daughter that it would most likely make this list because I was enjoying it so much, and I knew for sure it’d make the list when I kept thinking about it the next day, too. If you like stuff like Rosemary’s Baby or The Lords of Salem–movies that really crank up that building sense of dread–you might dig this.
1) The Void
Shortly after delivering a patient to an understaffed hospital, a police officer experiences strange and violent occurrences seemingly linked to a group of mysterious hooded figures.
It’s kind of funny to me that this wound up being my number one movie this year, for a couple of reasons. To begin with, it was the very first one we watched, on the last day of September. We decided to include it as a bonus movie on “day zero” because Steve had already seen it before, but I had only seen half. Because I’d fallen asleep the first time we watched it! Not because it was boring or anything; it was just really late at night. And I’d taken a Zirtec. And had a couple of beers.
We’d gone to see it as part of a double feature (with In The Mouth of Madness) at the Alamo Drafthouse and it was freezing cold in the theater, so between movies, Steve, being the sweet husband that he is, went out to the car to get me the travel blanket we carry around in there. Well, I snuggled down under that thing and…boom, out like a light by the second half of the movie. I felt really bad! But yeah, I made it up by watching it again and this time staying awake for the whole thing. Turns out I’d missed all the craziest/best parts. This was an insanely weird film that was right up my alley. If you like Cronenberg, Lovecraft, The Thing, and you know, stuff like that, you should give this a try; it’s really cool.
Honorable mentions this year go to:
Friday the 13th pt. 2
I didn’t put them on the list because I’d seen them both multiple times before. Hellraiser is my fave, and I felt like I’d already used up that chip by including Possession ;).
Okay, so that’s it; another year down. The full list of movies we watched can be found on my husband’s blog. All links in this post are his. Hope y’all enjoyed your October!
November 7, 2017 mylesaweek Adam Green, Blair Witch, Child's Play, Chucky, Clive Barker, Clown, Eduardo Sanchez, Ethan Embry, Friday the 13th, Hellraiser, horror movies, Howl, movie posters, movies, Oz Perkins, Possession, The Blackcoat's Daughter, The Devil's Candy, The Shallows, The Void, Victor Crowley Leave a comment
10212017 (General updates–plus a new book announcement!)
Since it’s been so long since I last updated, this is going to be a kind of long, rambl-y post…with lots of pictures :). I’ll do my best to keep it organized in some fashion, though.
The summer went by so fast!
Back in July Steve and I saw Matthew Sweet live. This was a dream come true for me and I sort of blubbered all through the show.
I know, how embarrassing :X.
I hadn’t expected to get that emotional but sheesh…so many of his songs just mean so much to me! Hearing them played live made me think about the past, and what a lonely and depressed teenager I was back then. It’s not an understatement to say music was one of the things that got me through those rough years, and some of Matthew Sweet’s albums in particular, helped me so much. So, yeah. That show was an a-m-a-z-i-n-g experience for me. I just wish the audience had been livelier. They just sat there–while I wanted to go nuts, lol :).
I also got to see Guns N Roses live again in September, in San Antonio. They put on a really great show, of course, and it was doubly wonderful because Steve and I were able to catch up with some old friends before the concert, too! Later in the month we saw The Descendents, one of Steve’s favorite bands, which was also a lot of fun.
In August, we continued with our 6pack 5K Beer Challenge and completed the course at the Southern Star Brewing Company in Conroe. This race benefited Toys for Tots. It was super fun, as all of these races have been. The breakfast tacos afterward were dee-licious, too!
Toward the end of August, Hurricane Harvey hit and everything went haywire. Or at least, that is what it sort of felt like down here in Houston! I’m thankful (very, very thankful) our home did not flood. We were without power for a couple of days, but that was it.
We played Scrabble by candlelight :).
It was heartbreaking to see so much damage all around us, though.
We have made some donations to relief charities and Steve and I will be raising money for the Houston Food Bank when we run the Aramco Houston Half Marathon for the tenth time this year. This is an organization that we have donated to and volunteered with many times in the past, and I think they are great. Here are some stats about their recovery efforts, from an email they sent me. (And if you’d like to read more about them and their ongoing work, please click here to go to their website!)
Houston is my home, it has a big piece of my heart, and I hope we can do at least a little something to help out around here.
A Rodeo Clown IPA from Karbach Brewing Co.’s “Happy Hour for Hunger” back in September — another fun event, and for a good cause!
At the same time, I know we are far from the only area to be devastated in one way or another, lately :(. There have been hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and that terrible shooting in Las Vegas, just to name a few.
I know bad things happen all the time but it really feels as though 2017 has been an especially tough year for a lot of people.
I’m not one to blog very much, either here or on social media, in general and honestly, lately it has been even harder for me to get motivated to do so. In the face of so much tragedy, what do you even say? Particularly when you are someone who spends a lot of her time writing (ostensibly) funny stuff. You can begin to question what you do, whether it is important at all, or a worthwhile contribution to the world. I think about this a lot anyway, but lately it has really been on my mind.
BUT…a couple weeks ago, Steve and I saw horror-comedy director Adam Green speak before a screening of Victor Crowley and he talked about this very topic. He said (and I’m totally paraphrasing here) that, in a way, it’s more important than ever to share a laugh together after something bad happens, because it reminds us that life isn’t all one thing.
There’s good and there’s bad, and getting our minds off the bad, even if it’s only for a short while, can be really helpful sometimes.
I think that makes sense. I know it’s true for me. A few years ago I had some health problems and was having to go to the doctor a lot, while they tried to determine what was wrong with me (it ended up being nothing too bad, thankfully). I was reading Meg Cabot’s Abandon series at the time and I remember being so grateful for the distraction. Her funny, happy books almost always put me in a good mood! I would love it if anything I wrote or did was ever able to lift someone’s spirits in a similar manner, even temporarily. That’s part of why I do what I do, to entertain and encourage, and it’s extremely humbling and fulfilling for me when someone does seem to get something worthwhile out of my work :).
So, um, I guess I’ll keep doing it. Particularly since I can’t seem to stop, anyway.
All of which leads me to…book news!
The Goodreads giveaway for The Real You ended on September 10th. There were almost 1500 entries all told, which is awesome! All of the books have long been packaged up and sent out, I just hadn’t gotten around to writing about it yet (big surprise). Thanks to everyone who entered! I had such a blast with this, I may just have to do another one again sometime soon ;).
I may have gotten a little crazy with the packaging.
And last but not least…I’ve written another thing.
Adorable cover by Steve, once again :).
This is a short novella, about 33,000 words (130 pages) in length, and I hope to have it out soon. Very soon.
As in very, very soon.
You know, seeing as how it is set at Halloween and all..! 🙂
This story (which I’m so far referring to as a “Bonus Holiday Special”) takes place about 2+ years after the end of The Real You. It features Rourke, Dallas, and a bunch of other characters from The Real You, as well as Fear and Laundry and Fear and Laundry 2. I have no idea if anyone will be interested in reading this (and, really, that is true of everything I’ve ever written in my life), but I wrote it anyway because:
A) I like Rourke and Dallas, they wouldn’t leave my mind, and I wanted to write a little more about them.
B) I enjoy writing about holidays, and since Halloween is my favorite, I wanted to write a story set then.
C) And yeah, I wanted to put the characters in funny costumes and send them off to a haunted house :D. Why not, I ask you?
I hope at least some of y’all will check it out and get a kick out of it. I’ll post the release date as soon as I know what it is. (Edit: As of October 28th, 2017, A Very Merry Carreen Halloween is now available in the Amazon Kindle store :)).
‘Til then…thank you for reading this and take care, y’all!
October 21, 2017 mylesaweek Adam Green, Amazon, Amazon Kindle, beer, books, Concerts, craft beer, ebooks, Halloween, indie, indie publishing, Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, Matthew Sweet, new releases, novellas, writing Leave a comment
Enter to win The Real You.
The Goodreads giveaway for The Real You is now live. Follow the link below to enter to win one of twelve paperback copies! Thanks and good luck! 🙂
by Elizabeth Myles
Giveaway ends September 10, 2017.
July 29, 2017 mylesaweek book giveaways, books, free book, free books, giveaway, Goodreads, romance, YA, YA romance Leave a comment
Had a really nice past few days with Steve, even though we didn’t do anything too special.
Thursday night we saw Spider-man: Homecoming, which I thought was a little too long but overall, cute and fun. I still haven’t quite gotten used to the movie theaters that have reclining seats in them but I have to admit they are comfy. I’m sure it won’t be long before I wind up falling asleep in one of them :).
Friday night I tried my hand at making pizza using beer in the crust. We had an odd number of Saint Arnold’s Art Car IPA, so I used the extra one in the recipe. It turned out pretty well but I think a different, darker beer might work better. Steve suggested Fat Tire and I think that would probably be really good!
Earlier in the week, a local furniture bank sent a truck out to pick up our old bed, which had been sitting in our garage since we moved to this apartment a few months ago. We knew before we even moved that we wanted to get rid of it. It’s too big and not very comfortable. But it’s hardly been used, so we wanted to find a good home for it if we could, and we didn’t have time to do that before packing up, so we just wound up bringing it along with us.
It took a lot of hunting to find a charity that would take it but I finally did. I’m glad the bed will now most likely be going to someone who can use it, and I’m also SO glad to have that crossed off my to-do list! The garage looks so much better now, too, without the mattresses and such stacked in it. Yesterday Steve and I re-arranged the stuff that’s left in there and it looks even nicer and neater now. It’s awesome every time we open the door and go in there.
No, it doesn’t take much to excite me :).
Yesterday was National Ice Cream Day, or so Steve told me. We went to get milkshakes. Mine was Oreo.
We started watching “Ash Vs. Evil Dead” on DVD from Netflix over the weekend. I don’t watch TV shows anymore, really, unless they are “Supernatural” or “The X-Files,” but we both wanted to give this one a shot because it ties into the Evil Dead movie series. We got through the first disc really quickly. It’s pretty hilarious so far — and gory. Groovy :).
Still watching “Twin Peaks: The Return,” too. It’s so bizarre, but I look forward to watching it every Sunday night. I hope there’s another season after this because it doesn’t seem as if the plot is going to wrap up in only 8 more episodes…or as if much of anything is really going to happen at all, TBH. Ha. But I am such a Lynch/”Twin Peaks” junkie, I really don’t mind. I will watch and/or read anything related to the show.
Proof. Although I kinda feel like I need that little Funko log lady to make this complete.
I finished reading Just Kids by Patti Smith yesterday. It started off so cute but by the end it was a total bummer. I got to thinking about how, even though Patti and Robert Mapplethorpe were best friends for over twenty years, he has now been dead longer than they knew one another :(. The idea left me in a bit of a melancholy mood. But that is one more book knocked off the virtual TBR pile.
In happier news, the paperback version of The Real You should be available by the end of the week :). This has been largely Steve’s project and I’m so grateful he not only knows how to do these sorts of formatting-type-things, but that he’s willing to, and that he seems to enjoy it. The end product looks so great, I think. Can’t wait to give away some copies!
July 17, 2017 mylesaweek ash vs evil dead, book giveaways, life update, patti smith, random, television, tv, twin peaks, Weekend 1 Comment
Books # 10 – 15
#10: Factotum, by Charles Bukowksi
One of Charles Bukowski’s best, this beer-soaked, deliciously degenerate novel follows the wanderings of aspiring writer Henry Chinaski across World War II-era America. Deferred from military service, Chinaski travels from city to city, moving listlessly from one odd job to another, always needing money but never badly enough to keep a job. His day-to-day existence spirals into an endless litany of pathetic whores, sordid rooms, dreary embraces, and drunken brawls, as he makes his bitter, brilliant way from one drink to the next.
Charles Bukowski’s posthumous legend continues to grow. Factotum is a masterfully vivid evocation of slow-paced, low-life urbanity and alcoholism, and an excellent introduction to the fictional world of Charles Bukowski.
I liked this a lot, although not as much as Ham on Rye. Factotum is quite funny but in a dark way, since the main character is a terrible alcoholic and his life is bleak. The book is much shorter than I’d anticipated. I read it in two days!
#11: Post Office, by Charles Bukowski
“It began as a mistake.” By middle age, Henry Chinaski has lost more than twelve years of his life to the U.S. Postal Service. In a world where his three true, bitter pleasures are women, booze, and racetrack betting, he somehow drags his hangover out of bed every dawn to lug waterlogged mailbags up mud-soaked mountains, outsmart vicious guard dogs, and pray to survive the day-to-day trials of sadistic bosses and certifiable coworkers. This classic 1971 novel—the one that catapulted its author to national fame—is the perfect introduction to the grimly hysterical world of legendary writer, poet, and Dirty Old Man Charles Bukowski and his fictional alter ego, Chinaski.
Like Factotum, this one was shorter than I’d anticipated. It went really quickly! This was darkly funny and interesting and I enjoyed it (although I probably liked Ham On Rye and Factotum better).
Btw, when I was a kid, I wrote a lot of letters to pen pals. I loved mail, and I used to think it would be so fun to work at the Post Office. This makes it sound awful, though. Ha.
#12: Heartless, by Marissa Meyer
Long before she was the terror of Wonderland, she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.
Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.
In her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
I’m not a big Alice in Wonderland fan but I wanted to read this because I enjoyed Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles so, so much. I’d read the excerpt for this, too, and liked it. Ultimately, however, the book just wasn’t for me. It’s not that I disliked the writing – it is well-written – it just wasn’t my kind of story. Too dark for my taste. I’m still looking forward to Renegades, though.
#13: Dressed To Kiss, by various authors
True love never goes out of style….
Once renowned for creating the most envied gowns in London, Madame Follette’s dressmaking shop has fallen far out of fashion. The approaching coronation of King George IV offers a chance to reclaim former glory by supplying stunning new wardrobes to the most glittering society in Regency England. In the face of long-held secrets, looming scandals, and the potential ruin of their shop, the dressmakers of Follette’s are undaunted, not even by the most unexpected complication of all: true love.
The Duke’s Dressmaker by Madeline Hunter
When the Duke of Barrowmore walks into the dress shop, Selina Fontaine assumes her secret identity will compromised. Four years ago this man’s brother seduced her and abandoned her to scandal, and she holds the duke responsible. To her amazement the duke is more interested in pursuing her than exposing her, however—and that pursuit soon becomes seductively pleasurable.
The Colors of Love by Myretta Robens
Delyth Owen’s exuberant passion for her new job as a dressmaker at Madame Follette’s is matched only by her love of diverse, vibrant, and frequently unfortunate color combinations. Simon Merrithew, the pseudonymous author of a well-regarded fashion column, is horrified by the gown Delyth creates for a friend, and suspects her motives. He sets out to uncover her duplicity, but instead, he uncovers genuine joy and discovers the colors of love.
No Accounting for Love by Megan Frampton
Miss Katherine Grant is a lady’s companion, one whose number of dishonorable offers (six) greatly outweigh her honorable ones (zero). Now tasked with making certain her charge, Lady Euphemia, does not contract herself to someone inappropriate, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to Mr. Henry Dawkins, the inappropriate gentleman Lady Euphemia wants to charm, who keeps the books at Madame Follette’s. But it seems that Henry only has eyes for Miss Katherine Grant.
A Fashionable Affair by Caroline Linden
Madame Follette’s is Felicity Dawkins’s birthright; her mother founded it, and now she runs it. She’s fiercely committed to making it the most exclusive modiste in London. The Earl of Carmarthen also has big plans for the shop—he wants to buy it and tear it down, to make way for a grand new boulevard of shops. One way or another, he’s determined to persuade Felicity…not only to sell her shop, but to explore the passion that sparks between them every time they meet.
When I first heard about this book, I knew I wanted to read it. I’ve read a lot by Megan Frampton already and I like her humorous writing style, plus the premise of this book just sounded too cute. I like anthologies where all the different stories are inter-connected, and I wanted to read about the dress shop. I wasn’t disappointed; this turned out to be super cute. I enjoyed the first story best, and will definitely look for more books by the author, Madeline Hunter, because I liked her minimal writing style a lot, but all of the stories were entertaining in different ways. I will probably look for more stuff by all of the writers, actually.
#14: With My Eyes Wide Open, by Brian Welch
He left KoRn to help himself. He went back to help others. And along the way, he nearly lost everything.
A life-changing spiritual awakening freed Brian “Head” Welch from a stranglehold of drugs and alcohol and prompted him to leave the highly successful nu-metal band KoRn in 2005. What followed was a decade-long trial by fire, from the perils of fathering a teen lost in depression and self-mutilation to the harsh realities of playing solo and surviving the shattering betrayal of a trusted friend. In this intensely inspiring redemption saga, perhaps most inspiring is Brian’s radical decision to rejoin KoRn and reconcile with the tribe of people he once considered family in the metal music scene.
Brian returned to his musical roots with a clear head and a devoted heart. Though his story is wild, hilarious, and deeply poignant, the message is simple: God will love you into the freedom of being yourself, as long as you keep the relationship going and never, ever quit.
I read Brian’s previous book, Save Me From Myself and really liked it. This one was great, too; it was interesting to learn what happened to him after he left the band, and why he ultimately decided to rejoin Korn. I’m glad he did, because I love the band so much and I definitely think they are better with Brian around!
#15: Got the Life, by Fieldy
From Reggie “Fieldy” Arvizu, legendary bassist of nu-metal pioneers KORN, comes Got the Life: a no-holds-barred look at his extreme highs, drug- and-booze-fueled lows, and, finally, redemption through a conversion to Christianity. Got the Life is simultaneously an insider’s look at rock n’ roll superstardom—the good, the bad, and everything in between—and a survivor’s story of a life brought back from the precipice by a new found belief in religious salvation.
After finishing With My Eyes Wide Open I felt like reading more about Korn. I’m glad I did because this was so good! I’ve read a lot of “rock star books” over the years and it can get tiresome hearing about their binges, but I do always enjoy a good redemption story. This one seems like nothing short of a miracle, given just how horrible Fieldy’s self-described behavior was. He definitely doesn’t try to sugar-coat his past, and even for a rock star he sounds bad :(. But of course his life is completely different now and I’m very glad for him (and for us Korn fans :)).
July 17, 2017 mylesaweek books, Brian Head Welch, Bukowski, ebooks, fiction, Fieldy, Korn, reading, romance, TBR, TBR list, what I'm reading Leave a comment
Lots of travel, running, beer-drinking, and rock.
Just a quick update on what I’ve been doing with myself these past few months…:)
I’ve been fairly busy. Steve and I moved cities back in March and we’ve also been on several small trips, so it feels as though I’ve been “in transit” quite a lot this year.
In April we took a pretty big trip to Orlando, FL, to participate in the Star Wars Dark Side Challenge at Disney World. This was a 10K on Saturday followed by a half marathon on Sunday. We also did the 5K on Friday because…you know, that wasn’t enough running for us, apparently :). It was an, uh, interesting experience; one I’m not in a big hurry to have again, frankly! But I’m glad we went. We did have fun.
We flew to FL but drove back to TX afterward. Along the way, we stopped in New Orleans, LA because neither of us had ever been there before. That was interesting and fun, too. We had iced coffee and beignets at Café du Monde (not the super-popular one, but a different location in the city):
D-licious…although they kinda skimp on the powdered sugar, don’t they?! 😉
…and on our way out of the city, we made a detour to Oak Alley Plantation, where we took a guided tour of the house and self-guided tour of an exhibit about slavery. Part of the movie Interview with the Vampire was filmed here. The house and grounds were quite gorgeous!
We got back home just in time for my birthday. Steve took me to see PJ Harvey in concert and then the following weekend we went to Dallas for the Texas Frightmare Weekend horror convention, where we met E.G. Daily, Michael Berryman (got those two to sign our The Devil’s Rejects poster) and Dario Argento!(!!)
Steve and I are also doing this Texas 6-pack 5K beer challenge thing this year, where you participate in a bunch of races at different independent craft breweries around the state. Each race benefits a different local charity. We’ve completed five so far, in San Marcos, Goliad, San Antonio, Seven Points, and Katy. These events have all been super fun, even if coming back from Seven Points (about an hour outside Dallas), we got stuck in major traffic for hours :(! Boo!!
This “Sittin’ Sidehaze” from No Label Brewing Co. has been one of my favorites we’ve tried so far. I had two! :O
Although I was excited to finally try the “Brew of H,” too — being a UH alum and all :).
Earlier this month we saw At the Drive-In, Metallica, and Iron Maiden in concert (not all at the same time, though, ha). They were all awesome performances and I’m really grateful I got to see them. Metallica and Maiden both have super impressive visual effects and stage shows! If you get the chance to check them out, I highly recommend it!
I think that’s all the fun stuff for now. Aside from that, I have been doing the usual: being a hermit, doing housework, reading and writing most of the day :). Luckily, these are my favorite ways to spend the time. I’ll post an update on some of the books I’ve finished reading soon. It feels as though there a ton of them. What have you guys been up to?! I hope you’re well. xoxo,
June 30, 2017 mylesaweek At the Drive In, beer, Concerts, Dario Argento, Disney World, E.G. Daily, horror, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Michael Berryman, No Label Brewing Co., NOLA, Orlando, road trips, running, Texas Frightmare Weekend, travel Leave a comment
More books!
Here a few more books I’ve read so far this year. All descriptions are from Amazon.
(Btw, there are gaps in the numbering because I don’t write about everything I read. For the most part, I only write about the older titles [and post the write-ups on LibraryThing] as part of my effort to conquer the TBR pile. I am part of a group there that tracks older books read. If you’re interested in seeing the complete list of books I’ve read for the year, I catalogue pretty much everything on my LT profile. I’m on Goodreads, too, but I haven’t finished adding every book over there yet. Feel free to add me as a friend on either or both platform(s). :))
#4: Seven Deadly Sins: Settling the Argument Between Born Bad and Damaged Good, by Corey Taylor
For the first time, Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor speaks directly to his fans and shares his worldview about life as a sinner. And Taylor knows how to sin. As a small-town hero in the early ’90s, he threw himself into a hard-drinking, fierce-loving, live-for-the-moment life; when his music exploded, he found himself rich, wanted, and on the road. But soon his extreme lifestyle led him to question what it means to sin and whether it could—or should—be cast in a different light. After all, if sin makes us human how wrong can it be?
Now updated with a new Afterword by the author, Seven Deadly Sins is a brutally honest look “at a life that could have gone horribly wrong at any turn,” and the soul-searching and self-discovery it took to set it right.
Having read Corey’s second book last year, I sort of knew what to expect in terms of his writing style. It is rambling and at times completely incoherent, but he does throw in a lot of interesting and hilarious stories. If you’re a big fan (like I am), it’s worth the effort to push through this; otherwise, probably not. I liked his other book better, too – it made me laugh out loud more often :). But still, I’m glad I read this one as well. Corey divulges more about his personal background in this one than in the other, and the details were interesting, if often sad.
#7: Sweet Valley High #17: Love Letters
Caroline Pearce has always been one of the least popular girls at Sweet Valley High. But when she invents a new out-of-town boyfriend, people finally start to pay attention to her. Brown-eyed, six foot Adam and his romantic love letters are the talk of the school.
Caroline has everyone fooled even clever Jessica Wakefield. But what begins as a bid for love and attention quickly becomes the worst jam of Caroline’s life, when her friends insist on meeting the boyfriend she’s been bragging about. Can Caroline keep the truth a secret, or will her lies be her downfall?
I’ve been working my way through all the SVH titles available from the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library (for some reason, you can’t borrow #1 -#12, but I think the rest of them are there). So far, this one has been my favorite. I just thought it was really cute and I liked that Caroline learns a few lessons: namely, that it’s never a good idea to lie in order to get attention, and that the best way to make friends is to try and learn how to be a good friend yourself.
PS – I love that cover :).
#8: Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon, by Keith R.A. DeCandido
A Supernatural novel that reveals a previously unseen adventure for the Winchester brothers, from the hit CW series!
When renegade angel Castiel alerts Sam and Dean to a series of particularly brutal killings in San Francisco’s Chinatown, they realise the Heart of the Dragon, an ancient evil of unspeakable power, is back! John Winchester faced the terrifying spirit 20 years ago, and the Campbell family fought it 20 years before that – can the boys succeed where their parents and grandparents failed?
I liked this story a lot. The fact that the demon comes back every twenty years means we get to see various members of the Winchester family fight it: first Mary (and her parents), and then John, and then finally Sam and Dean. I think this is the third of DeCandido’s Supernatural tie-ins that I’ve read and I really enjoy his no-nonsense writing style and the way he keeps the action moving. Also, this story sort of made me wish there were more books about Mary as a teen. She was cute and fun to read about :).
#9: The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield
Think of The War of Art as tough love… for yourself.
Since 2002, The War of Art has inspired people around the world to defeat “Resistance”; to recognize and knock down dream-blocking barriers and to silence the naysayers within us. Resistance kicks everyone’s butt, and the desire to defeat it is equally as universal. The War of Art identifies the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success. Though it was written for writers, it has been embraced by business entrepreneurs, actors, dancers, painters, photographers, filmmakers, military service members and thousands of others around the world.
Steven Pressfield is the author of the novels The Legend of Bagger Vance (made into the movie starring Matt Damon and Will Smith), Gates of Fire, Tides of War, Last of the Amazons, Virtues of War, The Afghan Campaign, Killing Rommel, and The Profession. His nonfiction includes The War of Art, The Warrior Ethos, and the upcoming Turning Pro. His books are included in the curriculum at West Point and the Naval Academy, and are on the Commandant’s Reading List for the Marine Corps.
This was a short book (around 200 pages) and I read most of it in one sitting. It was very good; probably one of the best books I’ve read about writing. If anyone ever feels they need a good kick in the pants to get them started on a project (of any type) I will be sure and recommend this!
February 23, 2017 mylesaweek books, Corey Taylor, ebooks, Goodreads, reading, Supernatural, Sweet Valley High, what I'm reading Leave a comment
Stuff I’ve been reading.
I’m still working on whittling down that TBR pile that is threatening to get out of control (even if most of the books are digital, it still makes me anxious) :). Here are a couple I’ve read so far this year.
#1: Tales From the Clerks, by Kevin Smith
Collects the contents from the Clerks, Chasing Dogma and Bluntman & Chronic books together with one new story and a 15-page, never before reprinted story.
Recently, Steve and I re-watched all the View Askew-niverse movies and it motivated me to finally read this collection of related comic book stories we’ve had on our shelf for a while (since 2009 — he’d read it, I hadn’t).
I enjoyed the stories featuring Dante and Randal the most, but the whole book had funny parts. If you’re a fan of this stuff, you’ll pretty much know what to expect but honestly, as Steve warned me when I started reading, “That’s a lot of Kevin Smith.” He was right; the raunchiness wore on me after a while. I’d recommend spacing the reading out over time!
#2: The Secret History of Twin Peaks, by Mark Frost
From the co-creator of the landmark series, the story millions of fans have been waiting to get their hands on for 25 long years.
The Secret History of Twin Peaks enlarges the world of the original series, placing the unexplained phenomena that unfolded there into a vastly layered, wide-ranging history, beginning with the journals of Lewis and Clark and ending with the shocking events that closed the finale. The perfect way to get in the mood for the upcoming Showtime series.
This book isn’t old at all. I got it for Christmas from Steve :). But, hey, it still needed to be read!
This book wasn’t at all what I was expecting (not sure what exactly I was expecting, but not this) but I really enjoyed it. It is supposed to replicate a found “dossier” of documents explaining the history of Twin Peaks, and I thought the lay-out and style were very cool. I tore through it. I’m quite psyched for the new season of TP, especially after reading this; too bad it won’t air until May!
PS: I’ve decided to discontinue the #MinsGame posts.
Why? Because after only a couple of days in, I remembered something about myself — the fact that I do not like to edit photos.
I couldn’t see myself editing all of those pictures, just so I could post them, particularly since they are photos of things I got rid of because I was tired of looking at them :). Ha. Also, the point of my decluttering those items was so that I could be done with them! I didn’t want to dwell on my old things any longer than necessary. So that’s the end of that project :).
January 27, 2017 mylesaweek Leave a comment
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Meet The Unsung Heroes Of Our New Album – We Love These Guys
in Exhortations And Musings
Kristen and I have been so blessed by everyone who has helped us record Kristen’s new full-length record of worship songs we wrote together, which we’ll release on CD and mp3 Tuesday, April 1. We’ve told you about our group vocalists, special guest duet vocalist and some of the other album details, like the song titles. But today I want to talk about the people who often go unsung in the music-making process — our recordists (engineers) and mixer.
In the photo above you see (left-to-right) Phillip Miller and Eddy Morris, our brothers in Sojourn Music. We recorded this album in Eddy’s Ear Candy Studio, with Eddy as chief engineer and Phil as his assistant. Ear Candy is the studio where Sojourn recorded albums like Before The Throne.
Eddy and Phil are excellent musicians in their own right, but for this project they used their recordist skills to give the band and Kristen a great live sound during the tracking sessions. Their feedback on arrangements, performances, and everything that was going on in the studio was invaluable. These guys know music inside and out — from the songwriting phase through the recording process.
After tracking the ten songs, we sent the music to Paul Mahern for final mixing. Paul is a Grammy-nominated engineer who has mixed the last several Sojourn records, including The Water And The Blood. He’s worked with many artists over the years, including legends like Willie Nelson and Iggy Pop. More recently, Paul has worked with Over The Rhine and John Mellencamp. And, Paul mixed the 2007 multi-platinum How To Save A Life by The Fray. Needless to say, we were excited to work with him.
He didn’t disappoint. Ours is a very well-mixed record that clings to our aesthetic of real, “live” music without a lot of studio trickery and computer-generated sounds. You’ll be able to hear the drums, guitars, piano and other instruments, played gorgeously but in a way that won’t detract from the vocals (meaning, you’ll be able to hear the words and sing along).
We can’t wait for you to hear these songs. The musicians and recordists helped us convey the full-range of emotions covered in these songs — everything from lament to joyous celebration. God has placed us right in the middle of an amazing community of artists with which to work. To say we’re grateful is an understatement.
Tagged as: Eddy Morris, Paul Mahern, Phillip Miller, recording
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1109 5th Ave at 92nd St, New York City, United States of America
Museums nearby
Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum; Smithsonian Institution
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
National Academy Museum
The Jewish Museum of New York, an art museum and repository of cultural artifacts, is the leading Jewish museum in the United States. With over 26,000 objects, it contains the largest collection of Jewish art and culture outside of museums in Israel. The museum is housed at 1109 Fifth Avenue, in the former Felix M. Warburg House, along Museum Mile on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City.
While its collection was established in 1904 at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the museum did not open to the public until 1947. It focuses both on artifacts of Jewish history and on modern and contemporary art. Its permanent exhibition, Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey, is supplemented by rotating exhibitions and special exhibitions.
The museum has over 26,000 objects including paintings, sculpture, archaeological artifacts, Jewish ceremonial art and many other pieces important to the preservation of Jewish history and culture. Artists included in the museum's collection include James Tissot, Marc Chagall, George Segal, Eleanor Antin and Deborah Kass. This represents the largest collection of Jewish art, Judaica and broadcast media outside of museums in Israel. It has a permanent exhibition called Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey, which explores the evolution of Jewish culture from antiquity to the present. The museum's collection includes objects from ancient to modern eras, in all media, and originated in every area of the world where Jews have had a presence.
Text source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Museum_(New_York)
Photo source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Felix_Warburg_Mansio.jpg
National Museum of Pančevo
National Museum of Požarevac
First Californians
Motorizirana preteklost
Družinska ustvarjalnica: Preizkusi grafiko
Zbirka Mednarodni slikarski Ex tempore Piran
Europeana Collection
Museum of World Culture
Ready to celebrate International Museum Day...
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Events Health Sports
Indoor motorcycle ice racing event at downtown Muskegon arena canceled
March 12, 2020 March 12, 2020 Anna Gustafson 0 Comments
The inaugural Dan Raymond Invitational has been canceled due to concerns about the coronavirus.
Concerns regarding the coronavirus are prompting organizers of the inaugural Dan Raymond Invitational Indoor Motorcycle Ice Races to cancel the event originally scheduled for Friday, March 20. The event was to be held at the Mercy Health Arena in downtown Muskegon.
Rebel Road partnered with the Muskegon Motorcycle Club to organize the ice racing event as a celebration of the motorcycle club’s 100th anniversary and to raise money for the Child Abuse Council of Muskegon County.
“Canceling the Dan Raymond Invitational was not an easy decision to make, but we thought it was the right thing to do in light of recent developments in Michigan and across the country,” Kyleen Gee, executive director of The Child Abuse Council of Muskegon County, said in a March 12 press release. “The health and wellbeing of the people we serve and our local community are central to the mission of the Child Abuse Council, and we believe this decision supports that mission.”
The Dan Raymond Invitational was a family-focused event that anticipated more than 1,000 spectators at the March 20 races, which would have included professional and amateur racers from all over the country.
The decision comes after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state health officials asked communities to cancel or postpone public gatherings of 100 or more people in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus, an infectious disease.
“Community support for the Dan Raymond Invitational has been amazing,” said Gee. “We want to thank everyone who purchased tickets or otherwise supported the event.”
Ticket refund information will be posted at https://www.rebelroad.org/danraymondinvitational when it becomes available.
For more information regarding the coronavirus and its impact in Muskegon, please click here.
← West Michigan Symphony postpones concerts, events due to coronavirus
Coronavirus prompts Muskegon Lumberjacks to postpone games on March 13, 14 and 17 →
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THE VIRUS: Context-based learning programs in the museum environment
Hosan Kim, CKD Kochon Foundation, Korea, Jenn Rhee, CKD Kochon Foundation , South Korea
The VIRUS is a game-based convergence learning program combined with mixed reality and storytelling. This program offers participants an immersive educational experience in regards to the museum collection and exhibition. The unique structures of the program range from storytelling to digital experience media, such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and role-play elements. The presentation will be held in a case study format, and participants will have an opportunity for questions and discussion.
Keywords: mixed reality game, gamification, context based learning
1 . Introduction
Over the past decades, museums have tried to make effective ways to boost engagement using technology in their galleries. Although attempts have evolved from linear to non-linear, the basic concept of searching for an effective method for conveying the exhibition items and labels has remained the same (Klopfer et al., 2005). Recently, there has been an attempt to search for an effective way to communicate this message through the game (both game and gamification), the standard example being the Scavenger Hunt.
Although giving visitors enough understanding of the exhibition items is important, offering satisfaction to visitors is a difficult concept to figure out, and we have to concede that there is a “feel” of the architecture and other more subjective aspects of the visit (Dierking, 1989).
Despite the rise of collaborative learning environments using game strategy to improve participation in museum learning, few have attempted to address this head-on. In Kochon Memorial Hall, effective engagement points with the visitors are being discovered. We developed a context-based learning game program in 2015 and have been operating it to this day, in order to create an additional layer of meaning in the physical space of the museum.
This paper has two central goals: 1) to highlight several aspects of learning programs using game strategy; and 2) to flesh out effective CBLG (Context Based Learning Game program) not in the lab, but in the museum.
2. Challenges and solutions in developing CBLG
1) Challenges
Firstly, the lack of data on potential users of the program.
We had the following development goal: “To give students in the age range of 10 to 15 an understanding of the contents of the museum by letting them experience it through the education program that applied the game strategy.” But, we did not have the information on who those users are, what type of visitors they are, and their intentions when visiting the museum.
Secondly, the necessity of a way to measure the effect of the blur magic circle.
Salen and Zimmerman (2004) defined the “blur magic circle” as “a special place in time and space created by a game.” The mixed reality game is a mixed reality media that is simply located in a particular place, letting the interaction between the daily physical environment and the fabricated game reality take over. However, having the possibility of altering the senses and perceptions of the players in their very location contains an ambiguity regarding the time and location the game will be played and in, and the object of the interaction (whether it will be with a person or an artifact). Such ambiguity may be a factor that decreases the continuity and coherence of the game (Young Sung Kim, 2014).
As a solution to the aforementioned challenges, we focused on the blur magic circle, about which Lin and Sun (2010) said, “As long as players show respect for game rules, they perceive magic circle boundaries as sufficiently strong to prevent the over-mixing of game and real worlds.” After conducting an interview with a potential program user, we decided to make a persona, as well as elements other than technology, that will prompt the users to respect the game rules.
2) Solutions
Crafted Persona
We decided to include the persona method to define the potential program user. Although the personae are not real people, they were created with significant rigor to share the goals real people have; this was done directly from observations of real people. (Cooper et al., 2007). Just as an actor represents a character in a movie or novel, and through that character’s history we understand their feelings, goals, and behaviors, Personas represent people who have their own stories; this helps the development team to understand the user (Caballero et al. 2014).
We conducted an interview with 20 middle school students from ages 12 to 15 who visited and experienced the program between May and July 2015. The personae drawn out from the interviews is the following:
“I want to be a movie star or celebrity“
Brief Information Name: Jaemin “Han Solo” Kim
Living: 3 BR apartment with family
Occupation: middle school student
User story – I am sure that I am an homme fatale, so I have enough qualities to become a celebrity like the ones in the movies. I sometimes wish that I will become the hero in the TV shows.
– On one hand, I always do the favors my friend asks for. That is what “loyalty” and friendship is about. By the way, I like playing First Person Shooter (FPS) games with my friends.
– It’s in my nature to like freedom, and I find school classes boring.
-I visit the museum two to three times a year, but I hardly find it interesting. There are just too many “Don’ts” in the place.
– It’s fun to play “pulling the teacher’s leg” in the museum with friends. The game goes like this: play and laugh all we can, and when the teacher comes near, pretend that we have been enjoying the exhibition. The group that does not get caught wins the game.
Habits Watching my favorite TV shows on demand
Goals Cool guy
Table 1: definition of male persona
“People treat me like a kid, but I’m really a grown-up.”
Brief Information Name: Soyoung Park
Living: 3 BR house with family
User story – I do not like being treated like a kid at school or in my house; after all, I can find out anything I want on the Internet.
– I wish I could meet a celebrity. I want to be a heroine, like in the TV shows. The teacher usually decides everything about our visits, and lets us know afterwards.
– Museums are no fun; we are always doing something that the elementary school kids do.
– Friendship is really important. I wish there was something I could do with my friends in the museum.
Habits Collecting K-pop group souvenirs
Goals Nothing
table 2 : definition of female persona
The elements to make the users respect the game rules
a. Introduction of TV show format and theatrical elements
We needed the museum professional to adopt a serious attitude toward operating the program in order for the game users to respect the game rules. Despite the fact that they are clearly aware that the program is not an event happening in real life, we believed that a serious attitude when operating the program would help them be immersed in it. The story of the personae development team can be summed up as “Wanna be celebrities” and “Pulling a leg on teachers.” Therefor, we recruited a group of theater actors separately from the technology team in order to review the entire storyline and find an effective method for using the actors.
First, we introduced the format of the Korean TV show Running Man, a show the potential users are mostly aware of. Running Man was classified as an “urban action variety show“ where celebrities must complete a mission at a landmark to win the race. The program is created in such a way so that the users get the experience of being the celebrities on the show, and playing the role of the main character. Moreover, to maintain continuity and coherence throughout the program, the users are required to “act,” thereby maintaining the magic circle.
b. Development of accurate customized service for the potential users based on their characteristic classification
Although visitors have already decided upon their participation prior to their museum visit, there have been many cases where specific information was not obtained. Aside from the introduction of technology, there was a need for a development of customized service according to visitor’s characteristics, in order to achieve a focused environment where they will respect the game rule during play. The museum visitors can be classified into five categories, depending on the motivation for visiting: Explorers, Experience Seekers, Facilitators, Rechargers, and Professionals (Falk 2013). An analysis based on the crafted personae indicated that most potential users were classified as Experience Seekers. The satisfaction of Experience Seekers primarily derives from the fact of having “been there and done that.” Thus, we attempted to satisfy the potential users by including various forms of experiences as we developed the program.
3. The Virus: context-based learning games as educational programs in the museum environment
1) Storyline
Figure 1: storyline and brief instruction of participant
2) Characteristics
The first context-based learning game in a Korean museum
The VIRUS is a game-based convergence learning program combined with mixed reality and storytelling. This program offers participants an immersive educational experience that explores museum collections and exhibitions. The unique features of the program range from storytelling to digital experience media, such as AR, VR, and role-play elements.
Building additional layers in existing physical space
The existing exhibition spaces of Kochon Memorial Hall are set as the virtual space of KVRI (Kochon Vaccine Research Institute). Players are “junior researchers” of KVRI and must find a vaccine against the CJR virus through several missions.
Pervasive network
There is Hub (a central system connecting each team’s tablet via Wi-Fi) with a big screen to show information, like a leader board to check the other team’s achievements. When they start “The VIRUS,” a brief description of the game is displayed on the big screen of the Hub. A team of six to eight students play the game with a tablet, which communicates with the Hub.
Dramatic element
Actors and actresses play the role of senior researchers of KVRI and encourage visitors to solve missions related to the pharmaceutical industry and the museum collection.
3) Evaluation
This program is ongoing, and the number of participants has grown more than 13 times since February 2016.
325 students ages 10-15 who attend middle school participated in this game, and most of them (212) are 13 years old.
The majority (281) answered that they could be immersed in role-playing and most (310) of the participants responded that the technology in the game helped them to play an active role. 248 participants said that learning new information through hands-on media which incorporates both online and offline methods is more effective than just presenting the information one way.
4. Conclusion and future research
This project began with the issue that museums lack an effective method to convey a message to their visitors. Our project was a fresh attempt to narrow the gap between the museum and visitor through an educational program that utilized game strategy. This empirical study, which took more than 13 rounds of actual game operation, shows that this program, which is equipped with various devices to analyze the potential users and maintain the magic circle, is highly effective.
For future research, we will focus on overcoming the limits of our existing program; namely that it is exclusive to a particular class only. Using this program as a stepping stone, we will examine the usefulness of developing customized programs for visitors with a variety of hopes and intentions for their visit.
Klopfer, E., J. Perry, K. Squire, & C. Steinkuehler. (2005). “Mystery at the museum: a collaborative game for museum education.” The Next 10 Years! Proceedings of the 2005 Conference on Computer Support for Collaborative Learning, CSCL ’05, Taipei, Taiwan, May 30 – June 4, 2005, 316-20.
Falk, J.H. & L.D. Dierking. (1992). The Museum Experience. Whalseback Books.
Falk, J.H. (2106). In A. Davis & K. Smeds (eds.) Visiting the Visitor: An Enquiry Into the Visitor Business in Museums. New York: Columbia University Press, 80-8.
Kim, S. (2014). “A study on narrative design model of location based mixed reality games for enhancing player’s continuous experience.” MA Thesis, Graduate School of Culture Technology, KAIST,
Dierking, L.D. (1989). “The Family Museum Experience: Implications from Research.” Journal of Museum Education 14(2), 9-11.
Salen, K., & E. Zimmerman. (2004). The rules of play: Game design fundamentals. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Cooper, A., R. Reimann, & D. Cronin. (2007). The essentials of interaction design. Wiley Publishing
Caballero, L. , A.M. Moreno, & A. Seffah. (2014). “Persona as a tool to involving human in Agile methods: Contributions from HCI and Marketing.” HSCE 2014-International Conference on Human Centered Software Engineering
Cite as:
. "THE VIRUS: Context-based learning programs in the museum environment." MW17: MW 2017. Published January 31, 2017. Consulted .
https://mw17.mwconf.org/paper/the-virus-context-based-learning-program-in-museum-environment/
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These Are the Most Generous Auto Insurers During Quarantine
*Updated with additional information*
American Family, an auto insurer, estimated that car owners drove 40 percent fewer miles than average during the last three weeks of March. That number may have declined further as an increasing number of state and local municipalities issued stay-at-home orders. With the country temporarily on pause, schools and businesses have closed their doors, carbon levels have dropped six percent, more than 38 million Americans have filed for unemployment since late March, and auto insurance providers are paying out next to nothing in claims.
The latter two developments set drivers and their insurance companies up for an uneasy dynamic. While millions of Americans face financial uncertainty, the auto insurance industry is set to make an estimated $2 billion in additional monthly profits during this pandemic according to insurance experts. While other sectors like retail, services, and travel are struggling to stay afloat, car insurers are uniquely poised to offer their clients a helping hand during this period of financial hardship.
Many companies are relaxing policies around late payments, extending coverage to new delivery drivers, and crediting money back to policyholders for future payments, but only a select few are putting money directly into the hands of drivers during this period of economic uncertainty. Curious to see which providers were so generous, the data science and research team at Insurify set to tally the companies that have been the most selfless during shelter-in-place.
Are smaller insurers more generous? There is a weak inverse correlation between the total estimated income a provider makes from premium payments and the percentage of that income they’re refunding to drivers during this pandemic. That is to say, the less a company earns from insurance premium payments, the higher the relative share that they return to car owners’ wallets.
Refunds are rare. Out of 20 top auto insurers, only nine are redistributing part of their boosts in revenue directly to drivers. Nine are either crediting money to policyholders’ accounts or offering discounts on upcoming payments, and two have yet to announce any plans to offset costs for car owners during this time of economic uncertainty.
Other policy changes. Thirteen of the top 20 car insurance providers are offering a respite on auto policy cancellations for drivers who can’t make premium payments during the outbreak. Additionally, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, and USAA are extending coverage to policyholders who have newly started driving for delivery services.
The data scientists at Insurify — a site that lets drivers compare car insurance policies — collected information on companies’ formal pandemic responses to determine which auto insurers have returned the most money to car owners during this economic downturn. This analysis included only those providers who refunded money directly to consumers; not those who only credited consumers’ accounts. Refunds are more selfless in that they are immediate and can be allocated to any financial need, and are not guaranteed to be spent with the company in the future.
These top eight insurers were sorted according to the percentage of their monthly premium income returned to their customers as a refund. To estimate this share, their reimbursements were divided over the average monthly direct premiums earned for 2019 across all lines of insurance. Data on insurers’ annual direct premiums came from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and was estimated from fourth-quarter financial information on Seeking Alpha in the case of Mercury.
The figures on how much money each company reimbursed came from individual corporate announcements. Auto-Owners’, The Hartford’s and Nationwide’s refunds had to be estimated as they only disclosed refund percentages and not total dollar amounts. Auto-Owners and The Hartford reimbursed 15 percent of premium payments for April and May, and Nationwide returned approximately 15 percent of a single month’s payment. As such, Auto-Owners’ and The Hartfords’ reimbursement was calculated at 15 percent of their 2019 average monthly private passenger auto premiums written for a total of two months, and Nationwide’s was calculated as 15 percent of their 2019 average monthly private passenger auto premiums written for a single month.
The Most Generous Auto Insurers During Quarantine
8. The Hartford
Estimated share of monthly premium income refunded: 4.89%
Total refund: $50,707,424 (estimated)
Individual refund amount: 15% of auto premiums for April and May
2019 premium income: $12,442,093,037
The Hartford is one of the 15 largest car insurance providers, but is the third most generous company during this public health crisis. The insurer has committed to reimburse 15 percent of auto premiums for the months of April and May despite steep losses to their own income as the financial fallout of the outbreak hits their investments.
7. Nationwide
Individual refund amount: One-time premium refund of $50 per policy
Nationwide is the tenth largest auto insurer in the United States in terms of both premiums and market share. Given the economic hardship faced by many car owners across the U.S., Nationwide has decided to share some of that premium revenue with its customers. In returning $50 for each policy, Nationwide is estimated to have given over $200 million back to drivers.
6. Liberty Mutual
Total refund: $250,000,000
Refund amount: 15 % for 2 months of personal auto premiums
Beginning our list is Liberty Mutual, the insurance company that gave away one of the largest refunds to policyholders across the country. Totaling a quarter of a billion dollars, the reimbursement payments automatically went out in April. LiMu is also offering extended payment deadlines, waiving late fees for customers who are impacted by the outbreak, and expanding coverage to drivers newly using their cars to deliver food and medicine.
5. Auto-Owners
Estimated share of monthly premium income refunded: 11.78%
2019 premium income: $8,241,035,838
Auto-Owners is one of the smallest insurers on this list, but it is also the second-most generous, as it returned 15 percent of premium payments for two months in response to the latest news. Estimated near a third of Auto-Owners’ monthly premium earnings, this is one of the most selfless refunds in response to the current state of affairs.
4. Allstate
Individual refund amount: 15% for 1 month of auto premiums
Allstate was one of the first providers to announce a direct refund to policyholders in response to the financial crisis. They also returned the largest total reimbursement, coming in at over half a billion dollars. Allstate is putting the largest dollar amount back in car owners’ wallets even though it is not the largest company in terms of premiums or market share.
3. American Family Insurance
American Family Insurance was another early leader at the forefront of auto insurance refunds. Not only has the insurer returned an estimated 21 percent of their monthly premium revenue to drivers, but they’re also donating another $275,000 to relief funds in cities where their offices are located.
Total refund: $80,000,000
2019 premium income: $3,701,600,000 (estimated)
By best estimates, Mercury refunded over a quarter of its monthly income from auto insurance policies. It also went the extra mile by reimbursing partial premium payments for not one, but two months. This doubled generosity is surely welcomed by Mercury’s customers as the unemployment rate continues to climb through May.
1. Erie
Individual refund amount: 30% for 2 months of auto premiums
Not only is Erie refunding the largest estimated percentage of its monthly premium income to policyholders during the pandemic, but they’re also helping their employees benefit their local communities. Erie has pledged $2.5 million to reimburse and/or match the donations of its agents, employees, and field offices around the country.
Honorable Mention: New Jersey Manufacturers
Unfortunately, we were unable to locate financial disclosings on the premium revenue for New Jersey Manufacturers in order for it to be included in this analysis. However, NJM has sent $41.7 million to car owners despite being much smaller than any other provider on this list.
Categories: What's New
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462 U.S. 306 - Haring v. Prosise
the United States Reports
462 US 306 Haring v. Prosise
103 S.Ct. 2368
76 L.Ed.2d 595
Gilbert A. HARING, Lieutenant, Arlington County Police Department, et al., Petitioners
John Franklin PROSISE.
No. 81-2169.
Argued April 20, 1983.
Decided June 13, 1983.
A Virginia trial court accepted respondent's plea of guilty to a charge of manufacturing a controlled substance. At the hearing at which respondent pleaded guilty, one of petitioner police officers gave a brief account of the search of respondent's apartment that led to the discovery of material typically used in manufacturing the controlled substance. Thereafter, respondent brought a damages action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in Federal District Court against petitioners, officers who participated in the search of his apartment, alleging that his Fourth Amendment rights had been violated. The District Court granted summary judgment for petitioners on the ground that respondent's guilty plea to the criminal charge barred his § 1983 claim. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded.
1. The § 1983 action is not barred on the asserted ground that under principles of collateral estoppel generally applied by the Virginia courts, respondent's conviction would bar his subsequent civil challenge to police conduct, and that a federal court must therefore give the state conviction the same effect under 28 U.S.C. § 1738, which generally requires federal courts to give preclusive effect to state-court judgments if the courts of the State from which the judgments emerged would do so. Under collateral-estoppel rules applied by Virginia courts, unless an issue was actually litigated and determined in the prior judicial proceeding, it will not be treated as final for purposes of the later action. Furthermore, under Virginia law collateral estoppel precludes litigation of only those issues necessary to support the judgment entered in the first action. Thus, the collateral-estoppel doctrine would not be invoked in this case by Virginia courts for at least three reasons. First, the legality of the search of respondent's apartment was not litigated in the criminal proceedings. Second, the criminal proceedings did not decide against respondent any issue on which he must prevail in order to establish his § 1983 claim, the only question determined by the guilty plea being whether respondent unlawfully engaged in the manufacture of a controlled substance. This question is irrelevant to the legality of the search or to respondent's right to compensation from state officials under § 1983. Finally, none of the issues in the § 1983 action could have been "necessarily" det rmined in the criminal proceeding. A determination as to whether or not the search of respondent's apartment was legal would have been entirely irrelevant in the context of the guilty plea proceeding. Pp. 312-317.
2. Nor is litigation of respondent's § 1983 damages claim barred on the asserted ground that because he had an opportunity to raise his Fourth Amendment claim in the criminal prosecution, by pleading guilty he should be deemed to have either admitted the legality of the search or waived any Fourth Amendment claim. The guilty plea in no way constituted an admission that the search of his apartment was proper under the Fourth Amendment. It may not be assumed that a guilty plea is based on a defendant's determination that he would be unable to prevail on a motion to suppress evidence, since a decision to plead guilty may have any number of other motivations. Cf. Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258, 263, 268, 93 S.Ct. 1602, 1606, 1608, 36 L.Ed.2d 235. Similarly, although a guilty plea results in the defendant's loss of any meaningful opportunity he might otherwise have had in the criminal proceeding to challenge the admissibility of evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment, it does not follow that a guilty plea is a "waiver" of antecedent Fourth Amendment claims that may be given effect outside the confines of the criminal proceeding. And while a Fourth Amendment claim ordinarily may not be raised in a habeas corpus proceeding following a guilty plea, that conclusion does not rest on any notion of waiver, but rests on the fact that the claim is irrelevant to the constitutional validity of the conviction. Thus, the justifications for denying habeas review of Fourth Amendment claims following a guilty plea are inapplicable to an action under § 1983. Adoption of a rule of preclusion in this case would threaten important interests in preserving federal courts as an available forum for the vindication of constitutional rights. Pp. 317-323.
667 F.2d 1133 (4 Cir.1981), affirmed.
David R. Lasso, Arlington, Va., for petitioners.
Norman A. Townsend, Alexandria, Va., for respondent.
Justice MARSHALL delivered the opinion of the Court.
The trial court accepted respondent John Franklin Prosise's plea of guilty to one count of manufacturing a controlled substance—phencyclidine. At the hearing at which respondent pleaded guilty, a police officer gave a brief account of the search of respondent's apartment that led to the discovery of material typically used in manufacturing this substance. Thereafter, Prosise brought a damages action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in federal district court against petitioner Gilbert A. Haring and the other officers who participated in the search of his apartment. The question presented by this case is whether respondent's § 1983 claim is barred by his prior guilty plea.
* On April 27, 1978, pursuant to a plea agreement, Prosise pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court for Arlington County, Va., to one count of manufacturing phencyclidine. The Commonwealth then called one witness, Detective Henry Allen of the Arlington County Police Department. Allen testified that on September 7, 1977, he responded to a radio call directing him to an Arlington apartment which turned out to be leased to Prosise. By the time he arrived, two uniformed officers had placed Prosise under arrest for the possession of a controlled substance. After entering the apartment, Allen noticed various chemicals in the apartment as well as a quantity of what he believed to be phencyclidine. A warrant was later obtained for a search of the apartment. Allen and Detective Petti then conducted a search which led to the seizure of devices and chemicals used to manufacture phencyclidine, receipts for such chemicals, a paper containing a formula for making phencyclidine, and two buckets containing traces of the substance.
At the conclusion of Allen's testimony, the judge accepted Prosise's guilty plea, finding that it had been entered oluntarily and intelligently and that it had a sufficient basis in fact. On June 23, 1978, the court denied Prosise's motion to withdraw his plea and sentenced him to 25 years' imprisonment.1
On January 23, 1979, while under confinement in the Arlington Detention Center, Prosise filed a pro se action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Lt. Gilbert A. Haring and various other members of the Arlington County Police Department who had participated in the search of his apartment. His complaint alleged that the officers had unlawfully searched his apartment prior to obtaining a search warrant, and that after obtaining the warrant the officers conducted a search that exceeded the scope of the warrant.
The District Court granted summary judgment for defendants on the ground that Prosise's guilty plea to the charge of manufacturing phencyclidine barred his § 1983 claim. The court reasoned that Prosise's failure to assert his Fourth Amendment claim in state court constituted a waiver of that right precluding its assertion in any subsequent proceeding. It relied primarily on this Court's decision in Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258, 93 S.Ct. 1602, 36 L.Ed.2d 235 (1973), which held that when a state criminal defendant has pleaded guilty to the offense for which he was indicted by the grand jury, he cannot in a later federal habeas corpus proceeding raise a claim of discrimination in the selection of the grand jury. The District Court stated that, under the reasoning in Tollett, a guilty plea would similarly foreclose federal habeas inquiry into the constitutionality of a search that turned up evidence of the crime charged. The court concluded:
"[i]f a defendant who pleads guilty is foreclosed from obtaining his freedom because of an illegal search and seizure, he should not be allowed to secure damages in a § 1983 suit and thereby litigate the antecedent constitutional question relating to the search that could not otherwise be heard because of Tollett."
The District Court also appears to have held that Prosise's plea of guilty constituted an implied admission that the search of his apartment was legal. The court stated that even though the constitutionality of the police conduct was not litigated in the state criminal proceedings, Prosise's "plea of guilty estops him from asserting a fourth amendment claim in a § 1983 suit [because his] plea of guilty necessarily implied that the search giving rise to the incriminating evidence was lawful." (Citations omitted.)
The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for further proceedings. 667 F.2d 1133 (CA4 1981). It held that the principles governing guilty pleas announced in Tollett are applicable only to subsequent habeas corpus proceedings and that the preclusive effect, if any, of a guilty plea upon subsequent proceedings under § 1983 "is to be determined on the basis of other principles, specifically, of collateral estoppel and the full faith and credit statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1738." Id., at 1136-1137. The Court of Appeals proceeded to examine the law of Virginia "to determine whether, and to what extent, that state would give preclusive effect to the criminal judgment here in issue." 667 F.2d, at 1138. The court found that under Virginia law "criminal judgments, whether by guilty plea or adjudicated guilt, have no preclusive effect in subsequent civil litigation." Id., at 1139. Because the courts of Virginia would not give preclusive effect to the criminal judgment, it was not entitled to any greater effect under § 1738.
The Court of Appeals concluded that in any event a guilty plea should not "have preclusive effect as to potential but not actually litigated issues respecting the exclusion of evidence on fourth amendment grounds." Id., at 1140- 141. The court cited the general view of courts and commentators that "among the most critical guarantees of fairness in applying collateral estoppel is the guarantee that the party to be estopped had not only a full and fair opportunity but an adequate incentive to litigate 'to the hilt' the issues in question." Id., at 1141. Unlike a criminal defendant who has been convicted after a full trial on the criminal charges, a defendant who pleads guilty has not necessarily had an adequate incentive to litigate "with respect to potential but unlitigated issues related to the exclusion of evidence on fourth amendment grounds." Ibid.
After the Court of Appeals denied rehearing, 667 F.2d, at 1143, petitioners' suggestion for rehearing en banc was denied by an equally divided court. Ibid. We granted certiorari, --- U.S. ----, 103 S.Ct. 204, 75 L.Ed.2d ---- (1982), to resolve the uncertainty concerning the impact of a guilty plea upon a later suit under § 1983.2 We now affirm.
We must decide whether Prosise's § 1983 action3 to redress an alleged Fourth Amendment violation4 is barred by the judgment of conviction entered in state court following his guilty plea. Petitioners' initial argument is that under principles of collateral estoppel generally applied by the Virginia courts, Prosise's conviction would bar his subsequent civil challenge to police conduct, and that a federal court must therefore give the state judgment the same effect under 28 U.S.C. § 1738.5
In Allen v. McCurry, 449 U.S. 90, 101 S.Ct. 411, 66 L.Ed.2d 308 (1980), the Court considered whether the doctrine of collat ral estoppel can be invoked against a § 1983 claimant to bar relitigation of a Fourth Amendment claim decided against him in a state criminal proceeding. The Court rejected the view that, because the § 1983 action provides the only route to federal district court for the plaintiff's constitutional claim, relitigation of the Fourth Amendment question in federal court must be permitted. No support was found in the Constitution or in § 1983 for the "principle that every person asserting a federal right is entitled to one unencumbered opportunity to litigate that right in a federal district court, regardless of" whether that claim has already been decided against him after a full and fair proceeding in state court. Id., at 103, 101 S.Ct., at 419. The Court concluded that the doctrine of collateral estoppel therefore applies to § 1983 suits against police officers to recover for Fourth Amendment violations. The Court in Allen v. McCurry did not consider precisely how the doctrine of collateral estoppel should be applied to a Fourth Amendment question that was litigated and decided during the course of a state criminal trial. Id., at 105, n. 25, 101 S.Ct., at 420, n. 25.
We begin by reviewing the principles governing our determination whether a § 1983 claimant will be collaterally estopped from litigating an issue on the basis of a prior state-court judgment. Section 28 U.S.C. § 1738 generally requires "federal courts to give preclusive effect to state-court judgments whenever the courts of the State from which the judgments emerged would do so." Allen v. McCurry, supra, at 96, 101 S.Ct., at 415.6 In federal actions, including § 1983 actions, a state-court judgment will not be given collateral estoppel effect, however, where "the party against whom an earlier court decision is asserted did not have a full and fair opportunity to litigate the claim or issue decided by the first court." Id., at 101, 101 S.Ct., at 418.7 Moreover, additional exceptions to collateral estoppel may be warranted in § 1983 actions in light of the "understanding of § 1983" that "the federal courts could step in where the state courts were unable or unwilling to protect federal rights." Id., at 101, 101 S.Ct., at 418. Cf. id., at 95, n. 7, 101 S.Ct., at 415, n. 7; Board of Regents v. Tomanio, 446 U.S. 478, 485-486, 100 S.Ct. 1790, 1795-96, 64 L.Ed.2d ---- (1980) (42 U.S.C. § 1988 authorizes federal courts, in an action under § 1983, to disregard an otherwise applicable state rule of law if the state law is inconsistent with the federal policy underlying § 1983).
The threshold question is whether, under the rul § of collateral estoppel applied by the Virginia courts, the judgment of conviction based upon Prosise's guilty plea would foreclose him in a later civil action from challenging the legality of a search which had produced inculpatory evidence.8 Because there is no Virginia decision precisely on point, we must look for guidance to Virginia decisions concerning collateral estoppel generally. While it is often appropriate to look to the law as it is generally applied in other jurisdictions for additional guidance, we need not do so in this case because the state law question is not a particularly difficult one.
The courts of Virginia have long recognized that a valid final "judgment rendered upon one cause of action" may bar a party to that action from later litigating "matters arising in a suit upon a different cause of action." Eason v. Eason, 204 Va. 347, 350, 131 S.E.2d 280, 282 (1963), quoting Kemp v. Miller, 166 Va. 661, 674-675, 186 S.E. 99 (1936).9 However, "the judgment in the prior action operates as an estoppel only as to those matters in issue or points controverted, upon the determination of which the finding or verdict was entered." Ibid. Unless an issue was actually litigated and determined in the former judicial proceeding, Virginia law will not treat it as final. See, e.g., Luke Construction Co. v. Simpkins, 223 Va. 387, 291 S.E.2d 204 (1982); Eason v. Eason, supra. Compare Brown v. Felsen, 442 U.S. 127, 139, n. 10, 99 S.Ct. 2205, 2213, n. 10, 60 L.Ed.2d 767 (1979). Furthermore, collateral estoppel precludes the litigation of only those issues necessary to support the judgment entered in the first action. As the Virginia Supreme Court stated in Petrus v. Robbins, 196 Va. 322, 330, 83 S.E.2d 408, 412 (1954), "[t]o render the judgment conclusive, it must appear by the record of the prior suit that the particular matter sought to be concluded was necessarily tried or determined,—that is, that the verdict could not have been rendered without deciding that matter." Compare Block v. Commissioners, 99 U.S. 686, 693, 25 L.Ed. 491 (1878); Segal v. American Tel. & Tel. Co., 606 F.2d 842, 845, n. 2 (CA9 1979).
It is clear from the foregoing that the doctrine of collateral estoppel would not be invoked in this case by the Virginia courts for at least three reasons. First, the legality of the search of Prosise's apartment was not actually litigated in the criminal proceedings. Indeed, no issue was "actually litigated" in the state proceeding since Prosise declined to contest his guilt in any way. Second, the criminal proceedings did not actually decide against Prosise any issue on which he must prevail in order to establish his § 1983 claim. The only question raised by the criminal indictment and determined by Prosise's guilty plea in Arlington Circuit Court was whether Prosise unlawfully engaged in the manufacture of a controlled substance. This question is simply irrelevant to the legality of the search under the Fourth Amendment or to Prosise's right to compensation from state officials under § 1983.
Finally, none of the issues in the § 1983 action could have been "necessarily" determined in the criminal proceeding. Specifically, a determination that the county police officers engaged in no illegal police conduct would not have been essential to the trial court's acceptance of Prosise's guilty plea. Indeed, a determination that the search of Prosise's apartment was illegal would have been entirely irrelevant in the context of the guilty plea proceeding. Neither state nor federal law requires that a guilty plea in state court be supported by legally admissible evidence where the accused's valid waiver of his right to stand trial is accompanied by a confession of guilt. See Kibert v. Commonwealth, 216 Va. 660, 222 S.E.2d 790 (1976); cf. North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 37-38, and n. 10, 91 S.Ct. 160, 167, and n. 10, 27 L.Ed.2d 162 (1970); Willett v. Georgia, 608 F.2d 538, 549 (CA5 1979).10
We therefore conclude that Virginia law would not bar Prosise from litigating the validity of the search conducted by petitioners. Accordingly, the issue is not foreclosed under 28 U.S.C. § 1738.
We turn next to petitioners' contention that even if Prosise's claim is not precluded under § 1738, this Court should create a special rule of preclusion which nevertheless would bar litigation of his § 1983 claim. As a general matter, even when issues have been raised, argued, and decided in a prior proceeding, and are therefore preclusive under state law, "[r]edetermination of the issues [may nevertheless be] warranted if there is reason to doubt the quality, extensiveness, or fairness of procedures followed in prior litigation." Montana v. United States, 440 U.S. 147, 164, n. 11, 99 S.Ct. 970, 979, n. 11, 59 L.Ed.2d 210 (1979). Yet petitioners maintain that Prosise should be barred from litigating an issue that was never raised, argued, or decided, simply because he had an opportunity to raise the issue in a previous proceeding. Petitioners reason that by pleading guilty Prosise should be deemed to have either admitted the legality of the search or waived any Fourth Amendment claim, thereby precluding him from asserting that claim in any subsequent suit. According to petitioners, such a federal rule of preclusion imposed in addition to the requirements of § 1738 is necessary to further important interests in judicial administration.
There is no justification for creating such an anomalous rule. To begin with, Prosise's guilty plea in no way constituted an admission that the search of his apartment was proper under the Fourth Amendment. During the course of proceedings in Arlington Circuit Court, Prosise made no concession with respect to the Fourth Amendment claim.
Petitioners contend that we should infer such an admission because Prosise had a substantial incentive to elect to go to trial if he considered his Fourth Amendment claim meritorious since the State would most likely have been unable to obtain a conviction in the absence of the evidence seized from Prosise's apartment. In our view, however, it is impermissible for a court to assume that a plea of guilty is based on a defendant's determination that he would be unable to prevail on a motion to suppress evidence. As we recognized in Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 750, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 1470, 25 L.Ed.2d 747 (1970), and reaffirmed in Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S., at 263, 93 S.Ct., at 1606, a defendant's decision to plead guilty may have any number of other motivations:
"For some people, their breach of a State's law is alone sufficient reason for surrendering themselves and accepting punishment. For others, apprehension and charge, both threatening acts by the Government, jar them into admitting their guilt. In still other cases, the post-indictment accumulation of evidence may convince the defendant and his counsel that a trial is not worth the agony and expense to the defendant and his family."
Similarly, a prospect of a favorable plea agreement or "the expectation or hope of a lesser sentence . . . are considerations that might well suggest the advisability of a guilty plea without elaborate consideration of whether [a Fourth Amendment challenge to the introduction of inculpatory evidence] might be factually supported." Tollett v. Henderson, supra, at 268, 93 S.Ct., at 1608. Therefore, Prosise's decision not to exercise his right to § and trial cannot be regarded as a concession of any kind that a Fourth Amendment evidentiary challenge would fail. Cf. Brown v. Felsen, 442 U.S. 127, 137, 99 S.Ct. 2205, 2212, 60 L.Ed.2d 767 (1979).
We similarly reject the view, argued by petitioners and accepted by the District Court, that by pleading guilty Prosise "waived" any claim involving an antecedent Fourth Amendment violation. Petitioners rely on our prior decisions concerning the scope of federal habeas review of a criminal conviction based upon a guilty plea. See, e.g., Brady v. United States, supra; Tollett v. Henderson, supra; Blackledge v. Perry, 417 U.S. 21, 94 S.Ct. 2098, 40 L.Ed.2d 628 (1974); Lefkowitz v. Newsome, 420 U.S. 283, 95 S.Ct. 886, 43 L.Ed.2d 196 (1975); Menna v. New York, 423 U.S. 61, 96 S.Ct. 241, 46 L.Ed.2d 195 (1975) (per curiam ). In Brady, we reaffirmed that a guilty plea is not simply "an admission of past conduct," but a waiver of constitutional trial rights such as the right to call witnesses, to confront and cross-examine one's accusers, and to trial by jury. Brady, supra, 397 U.S., at 747-748, 90 S.Ct., at 1468, citing Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 242, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 1711, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969). For this reason, a guilty plea "not only must be voluntary but must be [a] knowing, intelligent ac[t] done with sufficient awareness of the relevant circumstances and likely consequences." Brady, supra, 397 U.S., at 748, 90 S.Ct., at 1468. In Tollett v. Henderson, we concluded that an intelligent and voluntary plea of guilty generally bars habeas review of claims relating to the deprivation of constitutional rights that occurred before the defendant pleaded guilty. We held that, because "[t]he focus of federal habeas inquiry is the nature of [defense counsel's] advice and the voluntariness of the plea, not the existence as such of an antecedent constitutional infirmity," 411 U.S., at 266, 93 S.Ct., at 1607, Henderson was not entitled to a writ of habeas corpus on the basis of infirmities in the selection of the grand jury.
Our decisions subsequent to Tollett make clear that a plea of guilty does not bar the review in habeas corpus proceedings of all claims involving constitutional violations antecedent to a plea of guilty. A defendant who pleads guilty may seek to set aside a conviction based on prior constitutional claims which challenge "the very power of the State to bring the defendant into court to answer the charge against him." Blackledge v. Perry, supra, 417 U.S., at 30, 94 S.Ct., at 2103. Because a challenge to an indictment on grounds of prosecutorial vindictiveness was such a claim, we concluded that a federal court may grant the writ of habeas corpus if it found merit in that constitutional challenge. Id., at 30-31, 94 S.Ct., at 2103-04. We also applied this principle in Menna v. New York, supra, in holding that a double jeopardy claim may be raised in federal habeas proceedings following a state-court conviction based on a plea of guilty. In Lefkowitz v. Newsome, supra, we held that Tollett does not apply to preclude litigation of a Fourth Amendment claim subsequent to a guilty plea when the State itself permits the claim to be raised on appeal.
Under our past decisions, as the District Court correctly recognized, a guilty plea results in the defendant's loss of any meaningful opportunity he might otherwise have had to challenge the admissibility of evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment. It does not follow, however, that a guilty plea is a "waiver" of antecedent Fourth Amendment claims that may be given effect outside the confines of the criminal proceeding. The defendant's rights under the Fourth Amendment are not among the trial rights that he necessarily waives when he knowingly and voluntarily pleads guilty. Moreover, our decisions provide no support for petitioners' waiver theory for the simple reason that these decisions did not rest on any principle of waiver. The cases relied on by petitioners all involved challenges to the validity of a state criminal conviction. Our decisions in Tollett and the cases that followed simply recognized that when a defendant is convicted pursuant to his guilty plea rather than a trial, the validity of that conviction cannot be affected by an alleged Fourth Amendment violation because the conviction does not rest in any way on evidence that may have been improperly seized. State law treats a guilty plea as "a break in the chain of events [that] preceded it in the criminal process," Tollett v. Henderson, supra, 411 U.S., at 267, 93 S.Ct., at 1608. Therefore, the conclusion that a Fourth Amendment claim ordinarily may not be raised in a habeas proceeding following a plea of guilty does not rest on any notion of waiver, but rests on the simple fact that the claim is irrelevant to the constitutional validity of the conviction. As we explained in Menna v. New York, 423 U.S., at 62-63, n. 2, 96 S.Ct., at 242, n. 2,
"[W]aiver was not the basic ingredient of this line of cases. The point of these cases is that a counseled plea of guilty is an admission of factual guilt so reliable that, where voluntary and intelligent, it quite validly removes the issue of factual guilt from the case. In most cases, factual guilt is a sufficient basis for the State's imposition of punishment. A guilty plea, therefore, simply renders irrelevant those constitutional violations not logically inconsistent with the valid establishment of factual guilt and which do not stand in the way of conviction, if factual guilt is validly established." (Emphasis in original; citation omitted.)
It is therefore clear that Prosise did not waive his Fourth Amendment claims by pleading guilty in state court. The cases relied on by petitioners do not establish that a guilty plea is a waiver of Fourth Amendment claims. Moreover, the justifications for denying habeas review of Fourth Amendment claims following a guilty plea are inapplicable to an action under § 1983. While Prosise's Fourth Amendment claim is irrelevant to the constitutionality of his criminal conviction, and for that reason may not be the basis of a writ of habeas corpus, that claim is the crux of his § 1983 action which directly challenges the legality of police conduct.11
Adoption of petitioners' rule of preclusion would threaten important interests in preserving federal courts as an available forum for the vindication of constitutional rights. See England v. Medical Examiners, 375 U.S. 411, 416-417, 84 S.Ct. 461, 465, 11 L.Ed. d 440 (1964); McClellan v. Carland, 217 U.S. 268, 281, 30 S.Ct. 501, 504, 54 L.Ed. 762 (1910); Willcox v. Consolidated Gas Co., 212 U.S. 19, 40, 29 S.Ct. 192, 195, 53 L.Ed. 382 (1909); Cohens v. Virginia, 19 U.S. (6 Wheat.) 264, 404, 5 L.Ed. 257 (1821). Under petitioners' rule, whether or not a state judgment would be accorded preclusive effect by state courts, a federal court would be barred from entertaining a § 1983 claim. The rule would require "an otherwise unwilling party to try [Fourth Amendment] questions to the hilt" and prevail in state court "in order to [preserve] the mere possibility" of later bringing a § 1983 claim in federal court. Brown v. Felsen, 442 U.S., at 135, 99 S.Ct., at 2211. Defendants who have pleaded guilty and who wish to bring a § 1983 claim would be forced to bring that claim in state court, if at all. Not only have petitioners failed to advance any compelling justification for a rule confining the litigation of constitutional claims to a state forum, but such a rule would be wholly contrary to one of the central concerns which motivated the enactment of § 1983, namely, the "grave congressional concern that the state courts had been deficient in protecting federal rights." Allen v. McCurry, supra, 449 U.S., at 98-99, 101 S.Ct., at 416-17, citing Mitchum v. Foster, 407 U.S. 225, 241-242, 92 S.Ct. 2151, 2161-62, 32 L.Ed.2d 705 (1972), and Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167, 180, 81 S.Ct. 473, 480, 5 L.Ed.2d 492 (1961). See Patsy v. Board of Regents, 457 U.S. 496, 102 S.Ct. 2557, 73 L.Ed.2d 172 (1982).
We conclude that respondent's conviction in state court does not preclude him from now seeking to recover damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for an alleged Fourth Amendment violation that was never considered in the state proceedings. Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is
On July 17, 1979, the Supreme Court of Virginia denied respondent's petition for a writ of error to review the trial court's decision that his plea was voluntary and its refusal to permit the withdrawal of the plea.
In Metros v. United States District Court for the District of Colorado, 441 F.2d 313 (1971), the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that a guilty plea to one count of possession of heroin must be given preclusive effect in a subsequent civil rights action against police officers who had searched the premises in which the narcotics were found. Other federal courts have concluded, however, that civil rights plaintiffs are not barred from litigating issues that could have been raised in prior proceedings in state court on a different cause of action. See, e.g., New Jersey Ed. Assn. v. Burke, 579 F.2d 764, 772-774 (CA3 1978); Lombard v. Board of Education, 502 F.2d 631, 635-637 (CA2 1974). Since no motion to suppress evidence on Fourth Amendment grounds was ever raised at the state-court proceedings, this case does not present questions as to the scope of collateral estoppel with respect to particular issues that were litigated and decided at a criminal trial in state court. As we did in Allen v. McCurry, 449 U.S. 90, 93, n. 2, 101 S.Ct. 411, 414, n. 2, 66 L.Ed.2d 308 (1980), we now leave those questions to another day.
42 U.S.C. § 1983 provides:
"Every person, who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress."
U.S. Constitution Amendment IV provides:
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
28 U.S.C. § 1738 provides, in relevant part, that the "Acts, records and judicial proceedings" of any State, Territory, or Possession "shall have the same full faith and credit in every court within the United States and its Territories and Possessions as they have by law or usage in the courts of such State, Territory or Possession from which they are taken."
If the state courts would not give preclusive effect to the prior judgment, "the courts of the United States can accord it no greater efficacy" under § 1738. Union & Planters' Bank of Memphis v. Memphis, 189 U.S. 71, 75, 23 S.Ct. 604, 606, 47 L.Ed. 712 (1903).
We have recognized various other conditions that must also be satisfied before giving preclusive effect to a state-court judgment. See generally Montana v. United States, 440 U.S. 147, 99 S.Ct. 970, 59 L.Ed.2d 210 (1979). For example, collateral estoppel effect is not appropriate when "controlling facts or legal principles have changed significantly since the state-court judgment," id., at 155, 99 S.Ct., at 974, or when "special circumstances warrant an exception to the normal rules of preclusion," Montana v. United States, supra, at 155, 99 S.Ct., at 974; see, e.g., Porter and Dietsche, Inc. v. FTC, 605 F.2d 294, 300 (CA7 1979); cf. Montana v. United States, supra, at 163, 99 S.Ct., at 978 (preclusive effect to a state-court judgment may be inappropriate when the § 1983 claimant has not "freely and without reservation submit[ted] his federal claims for decision by the state courts . . . and ha[d] them decided there . . . .' ") (quoting England v. Medical Examiners, 375 U.S. 411, 419, 84 S.Ct. 461, 466, 11 L.Ed.2d 440 (1964)).
It is our practice to accept a reasonable construction of state law by the Court of Appeals "even if an examination of the state-law issue without such guidance might have justified a different conclusion." Bishop v. Wood, 426 U.S. 341, 346, 96 S.Ct. 2074, 2078, 48 L.Ed.2d 684 (1976). See id., at 346, n. 10, 96 S.Ct., at 2078, n. 10. Because we would be particularly hesitant to consider creating a new federal rule of preclusion, however, where a state rule of preclusion may itself be given effect under 28 U.S.C. § 1738, we consider petitioners' assertion that the Virginia courts would give collateral estoppel effect to Prosise's conviction. We emphasize, however, that, standing alone, a challenge to state-law determinations by the Court of Appeals will rarely constitute an appropriate subject of this Court's review. See Supreme Court Rule 17.
Like the federal courts, the courts of Virginia apply different rules of preclusion to matters arising in a suit between the same parties and based upon the same causes of action as those involved in the previous proceeding. Under the doctrine of res judicata, " 'the judgment in the former [action] is conclusive of the latter, not only as to every question which was decided, but also as to every other matter which the parties might have litigated and had determined, within the issues as they were made or tendered by the pleadings, or as incident to or essentially connected with the subject matter of the litigation, whether the same, as a matter of fact, were or were not considered.' " Eason v. Eason, 204 Va. 347, 349-350, 131 S.E.2d 280, 282 (1963), quoting Kemp v. Miller, 166 Va. 661, 674, 186 S.E. 99, 104 (1936). This doctrine does not apply, however, to a later action between different parties or to a later action between the same parties on a different claim or demand. Ibid.
The court below found that, even if the Fourth Amendment issue had been litigated and necessarily determined by the state court, that determination would not be given preclusive effect for an additional reason: under Virginia law, " 'a judgment rendered in a criminal prosecution, whether of conviction or acquittal, does not establish in a subsequent civil action the truth of the facts on which it is rendered.' " 667 F.2d,
at 1139, quoting Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Anderson, 200 Va. 385, 388, 105 S.E.2d 869, 872 (1958). This general rule is based largely on the traditional principle that collateral estoppel may only be asserted by persons who were either a party or privy to the prior action. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Anderson, 200 Va., at 389, 105 S.E.2d, at 872. Although the doctrine of mutuality of parties has been abandoned in recent years by the courts of many jurisdictions, see e.g., Parklane Hosiery Co. v. Shore, 439 U.S. 322, 323, 326-333, 99 S.Ct. 645, 649-52, 58 L.Ed.2d 552 (1979); Blonder-Tongue Laboratories, Inc. v. University of Illinois Foundation, 402 U.S. 313, 91 S.Ct. 1434, 28 L.Ed.2d 788 (1971), it has not been rejected by the courts of Virginia. Norfolk & Western Railway Co. v. Bailey's Lumber Co., 221 Va. 638, 272 S.E.2d 217 (1980).
In one reported case, however, the highest court of the State has allowed a stranger to a criminal conviction to invoke the doctrine of collateral estoppel in an action brought against him by the convicted person. Eagle, Star & British Dominions Ins. Co. v. Heller, 149 Va. 82, 140 S.E. 314 (1927). In Eagle, Star the court held that a convicted arsonist was foreclosed from seeking to recover the proceeds of a fire insurance company. This exception to the mutuality doctrine was expressly limited to cases in which "the plaintiff who brings [the] action has committed a felony, and seeks to recover the fruit of his own crime." 149 Va., at 105, 140 S.E., at 321. That Eagle, Star announced only a narrow exception to the rule that a criminal conviction may not be given preclusive effect in a later action was confirme by the court in Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Anderson, 200 Va., at 389, 105 S.E.2d, at 872. See also Smith v. New Dixie Lines, Inc., 201 Va. 466, 472-473, 111 S.E.2d 434, 438-439 (1959). Since a § 1983 action is not a suit to "recover the fruit" of the plaintiff's crime, the court below reasonably concluded that, under Virginia law, a criminal conviction would not be given preclusive effect in a § 1983 action with respect to any issues, including issues that were actually and necessarily decided.
Although petitioners also contend that a special federal rule of preclusion is necessary to preserve important federal interests in judicial administration, we fail to understand how any such interests justify the adoption of a rule that would bar the assertion of constitutional claims which have never been litigated. See Allen v. McCurry, 449 U.S., at 95, n. 7, 101 S.Ct., at 415, n. 7; cf. Patsy v. Board of Regents, 457 U.S. 496, 501-502, 512-513, and n. 13, 102 S.Ct. 2557, 2560-61, 2567, and n. 13, 73 L.Ed.2d 172 (1982); Kremer v. Chemical Construction Corp., 456 U.S. 461, 476, 102 S.Ct. 1883, 1894, 72 L.Ed.2d 262 (1982). Petitioners allude generally to the interests that underlie the principles of collateral estoppel, such as the elimination of "the expense, vexation, waste, and possible inconsistent results of duplicatory litigation." Hoag v. New Jersey, 356 U.S. 464, 470, 78 S.Ct. 829, 833, 2 L.Ed.2d 913 (1958). Yet these interests are quite simply inapplicable to this case. When a court accepts a defendant's guilty plea, there is no adjudication whatsoever of any issues that may subsequently be the basis of a § 1983 claim. There is thus no repetitive use of judicial resources and no possibility of inconsistent decisions that could justify precluding the bringing of such claims. Cf. England v. Medical Examiners, 375 U.S. 411, 419, 84 S.Ct. 461, 466, 11 L.Ed.2d 440 (1964).
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Home > Books > House of Windows by John Langan
House of Windows by John Langan
November 11, 2010 David Marshall Leave a comment Go to comments
Having read my first draft of this post to the end, I realised that, instead of a postscript, I need an antescript. From this, you will understand this is not a standard review. When thinking about books, it’s customary to discuss them more directly, even when what you write is literary criticism. This piece is rather oblique and, for those of you who worry about such things, it contains no spoilers. Instead and, perhaps, somewhat patronisingly, I have described what the book made me think about and vaguely projected this as if I assume it to be what the author was thinking about while writing.
For those of you who prefer reading posts on sites like this just to find out whether the reviewer thinks the book is any good, you can save yourself the trouble of reading the the end. As first novels go, this is very good. For those who want to know why, read on
The frame is a old-fashioned “club story” — in which one member of a club of adventurers pulls another to one side, offers a brandy and a cigar, and tells a story. This is very Victorian or Edwardian in approach and, in a perverse way, sets the tone of what can only be thought of as a postmodernist ghost story. This requires some explanation. Abandoning strict theory, let’s call the twentieth century a “modern” age in which we rejected the Victorian era that went before it and sought to progress to a new set of cultural ideas through our literature, art, theatre and music. As technology improved, we diversified away from the printing press, and into the new distribution systems of radio, television and now the internet. In the ways we have tried to use these different methods of communication, we were searching for new meanings. Early in the century, we had the harrowing experience of WWI. Millions of lives were thrown away in sterile conflict. We hoped there was a better way of communicating with each other to prevent such a catastrophe from repeating itself. Yet, no matter what political stance we took — whether the appeasement of the British or the isolationism of the US — future war was not to be denied.
This disturbed our certainties. The Victorians had prided themselves on the strength of their beliefs. They were invincible in trade and combat. After two world wars, we recognised that too high a price was paid for such certainty. We moved away from omniscience, and embraced relativism and subjectivism. Whereas the Victorian ghost was a practical manifestation of evil, intent upon causing harm and, even, threatening the Empire, the modernist ghost was a symptom of our own psychological insecurities. We were haunted as much by ourselves as by spirits or creatures from another dimension.
In a new century, we now move beyond modernism and look for a more coherent view of ourselves in the world. To do this, we use a kind of archaeology of the past, interweaving the fiction and ideas from earlier generations into our current discourse, allowing the past to illuminate the present. In writing this, I am borrowing the ideas of Michel Foucault and others who have helped crystalise the process, enriching our understanding of what we now think and believe by reinterpreting what we know, or do not know, of the past.
What’s so particularly fascinating about House of Windows (published by Night Shade Books, 2009) is that it becomes a form of postmodernist parable in which the two key characters mine the past for information in the hope it will explain what is happening to them. In this archaeological endeavour, they come equipped with the right skills. They are both academics, specialising in literature and, by implication, the postmodernist theories of literary interpretation and semiotics. So when they wish to explore the history of the house, they will search all records, look for contemporary witnesses from whom to collect impressions, and so on. They will interrogate the past. If they wish to know more about how the husband’s son died, they will reconstruct the past through maps, witness statements and physical re-enactment with models. There’s no tool or metaphorical device they will not use to progress their understanding of what happened and is happening.
There are supernatural events. As hopefully objective observers, they do not doubt the evidence of their senses, but this triggers anxiety about how their mental state will be perceived. It’s easy to predict how others will respond should they discuss their experiences. So they remain largely silent until the disclosures made through this novel. That they are willing to suspend disbelief is a sign of their scholarship. They become energised, determined to analyse, and so take control of events. They believe they will resolve matters satisfactorily once they have applied the scientific method, postulating a hypothesis, seeking evidence, interpreting it and reasoning to a conclusion. Such is the hubris of the postmodernist. That this may be genuinely supernatural and so not explicable in human terms, is not something they consider a barrier to eventual understanding.
Thematically, the main interest is in parental relationships. In theory, each generation socialises the next and fashions a new set of people capable of carrying the family fortune and the nation’s wealth to higher levels of prosperity. Except, of course, parental relationships can be seriously dysfunctional and the values that are handed down prove rather different from those intended. So we are invited to judge parents as they relate to their children. Where the focus is on a father, we are asked whether the behaviour of the natural mother and, in one case, the younger stepmother and wife, is a positive force. This is not to say that children are always the victims of their parents. A father may project his own dreams on to his son, hoping he will take up the torch and run further with it. Within reasonable limits, this is a constructive approach to parenting. But a more obsessional academic father may not to see his son’s dyslexia for what it is. When you want so desperately for your son to become a scholar, you are more likely predisposed to see the son’s difficulty in reading as defiance.
So when, for a host of sins, both real and imagined, the father curses the son and casts him out, what effect does this have? Remember, we are dealing with the supernatural here, so we are not restricting effect to physical separation or psychological torment. When the son dies without ever reconciling with the father, there will be guilt for the father to deal with and what from the spirit of the son? Indeed, the real question is what a dead son could do from beyond the grave. As a spirit, could he even find his way home without a map?
This is not a Victorian style of ghost story as in “The Horla” by Guy de Maupassant, nor do we meet a ghost such as Hodgson’s Carnacki might have found. This is not M. R. James nor anything cosmic with tentacles along the lines of H. P. Lovecraft (although there’s a hint the house might be a little like the Witch House). Instead, the house is a metaphor for memories and how we see them. If we were standing inside our heads, think of the eyes as like windows through which we can look out across our memories. At any moment, we might “see” a memory of our children, or a place we visited as a child, or something we imagine. Because we are fallible, memories are rearranged, we reinterpret them and some we forget. So the house might seem to be confusing, perhaps generating the suggestion of different rooms or doors, or being able to access different spaces. If you prefer not to accept this metaphor, think of the “slow glass” stories by Bob Shaw through which we might perceive the past. Why the past? Because that’s the source of the emotions of loss and grief and guilt (although not necessarily in that order).
House of Windows is not a horror story in the traditional sense. It’s far too cerebral and dispassionate for that. Rather it’s a story about relationships which has a supernatural dimension. As first novels go, it succeeds in provoking considerable thought. This is a good thing. I believe this is a harbinger of future greatness. In terms of style, I was reminded of Peter Straub. Langan is not yet that good but, if he strikes a better balance between the ideas and the narrative, I think he might get to that level.
For a review of John Langan’s first collection of short stories, see Mr Gaunt and other uneasy encounters.
Categories: Books Tags: ghost story, House of Windows, John Langan, Michel Foucault, postmodernism, semiotics, supernatural
The Fuller Memorandum by Charles Stross Leviathan Wept by Daniel Abraham
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The jewel in the crown
By Steinar Brandslet
Published 20.07.15
“Dynamic positioning” has been hailed as “the jewel in the crown” and Norway’s greatest engineering feat since World War II. But what is it?
MARITIME TECHNOLOGY: Dynamic positioning does not sound particularly exciting to the uninitiated, but it has helped bring huge revenues to Norway. And a Norwegian company is the world leader in the field.
Dynamic positioning enables platforms and ships to hold their position in the sea without any anchor or line. (Photo: Statoil)
Readers of Norway’s Technical Weekly Magazine recently named dynamic positioning, a technology from Kongsberg Maritime, as the greatest engineering feat in Norway since the war.
Dynamic positioning, or DP, is a computer-controlled system that uses the platform’s or ship’s propellers and thrusters to automatically maintain the vessel’s position. This is crucial for oil and gas extraction in deep water.
You can’t just throw out an anchor near a drilling platform, with so much vulnerable technology on the seabed. Nor can you have ships colliding with platforms or each other. And several operations on board the ships and platforms require them to be absolutely stable.
Associate Professor Stig Kvaal and fellow Professor Per Østby at NTNU have written the newly published book Juvelen i kronen [The Jewel in the Crown], which presents the development of Kongsberg Maritime’s dynamic positioning systems.
Kvaal and Østby work at NTNU’s Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture. The book’s title plays on the crown in the logo of Kongsberg Gruppen.
According to Kvaal, the Norwegian system was developed by a “creative and dynamic group” at the Kongsberg Weapons Factory and the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH) in Trondheim. It all started quietly.
An NTH brainstorm
The original idea came from NTNU’s main predecessor, NTH, where Professor Jens Glad Balchen had an idea that he wanted to turn into a business.
“The idea started here, and the theoretical groundwork was done here,” says Østby.
In 1971, Balchen contacted the management at the Kongsberg Weapons Factory (KV). He suggested that KV develop a dynamic positioning system, since the company had experience with other automated systems.
KV’s management said no. Balchen came back a little later, and KV said no again.
But Balchen persisted. He knew DP systems already existed, although they were not so well suited for the North Sea. The Americans had used them for ten years. Now he proposed to build a better system in Norway.
Azimuth thrusters on the icebreaker Fennica help to keep the ship in position. (Photo: Kongsberg Maritime)
He knew that new advances in cybernetics could be applied, especially the Kalman filter, a more accurate calculation method based on Rudolf E. Kalman’s theories. So why couldn’t KV join in to create their own systems? With offshore oil extraction imminent, this technology would be needed.
Balchen had long worked closely with SINTEF, an independent research organization in Norway. In the 1950s he had also helped expand the cybernetics programme at NTH.
KV only became interested in 1973, after Balchen contacted a third time.
The need for new technology was certainly there. Huge platforms were placed in the North Sea to bring up the oil that would someday make Norway rich. Much of the early work was carried out in relatively shallow waters where it was possible to anchor. Many of the first platforms rested on the seabed.
Divers did a lot of the rough work, and operated from diving vessels. This job was already dangerous, and became more so as the oil industry moved out to deeper waters. Eventually, the demand grew for ships and other structures that could remain stable while they floated.
KV was state owned, and in the 1970s it was a development workshop for technology concepts from Norwegian research institutes such as the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) and SINTEF. When oil was discovered in the North Sea, KV saw new opportunities.
The albatross flies
In the course of eighteen months, Kongsberg Weapons Factory, Simrad, the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) and NTH/SINTEF developed a Norwegian DP system called ADP-500.
Seaway Sandpiper was the first ship with auto-track functionality, which could follow a pipeline in a straight line between two geographical points. (Illustration: Kongsberg Maritime)
For researchers at NTNU and SINTEF, that meant a new possible application for cybernetic principles.
The timing was good. There was a lot of money in the oil sector. Norway had the right professionals. And yet things weren’t working out. They weren’t finding buyers for the system.
“There was talk of stopping the project already in November 1975. Then ship-owner Jacob Stolt-Nielsen ordered the first system,” Østby says.
Stolt-Nielsen Seaways had a rig they were not having any luck renting out, and so they decided to convert it from a drilling rig to a service vessel. They believed DP could give them a competitive advantage. The order came just in time.
The DP systems constructed by Dynposprosjektet, which later became Albatross Industries, were developed in a short period of time.
Forgiveness, not permission
The new DP system was created by people who tended to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.
This photos shows Kongsberg Gruppen’s call centre in Kongsberg, one of three. The other two are in Singapore and New Orleans, so that customers can connect with real people at any time of night or day. (Photo: Kongsberg Maritime)
They were the developers who knew they were capable of achieving anything.
But they were also the salespeople who would come back with contracts for systems that no one had seen, much yet developed, yet. The developers then had to show that they were able to deliver. Quite a few people were getting far less than the recommended hours of sleep.
Kvaal and Østby concur that “the culture was special — it was a bit like the Silicon Valley in the United States that we have today.”
“A dose of madness” is one of the phrases they use to describe the environment. But at the same time, these were people who were willing to head out immediately when a customer needed help.
One of the slogans was “We live for, with and from our customers.” Company staff were always available if a customer was in trouble, a critical factor for large companies who lose big sums of money whenever a ship or rig is out of commission.
Roar Flaathen, KV’s union representative who later became the leader of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), complained that people took unheard of liberties in the KV system.
But Rolf Qvenild, chief executive of KV, let them continue. They were generating income. As long as you deliver the goods, you can allow yourself some idiosyncrasies.
Myth would have it that development and testing of the Norwegian system were completed on 17 May 1977. Norway’s Constitution Day is a nifty date, but in reality it was tested and developed both before and afterwards.
Dynamic positioning
A dynamically positioned (or DP) vessel can maintain a fixed position relative to the seabed. Advanced technology, various types of position sensors, propellers and thrusters enable it to counteract natural forces such as wind, currents and waves without the use of anchors or lines.
Modern offshore industry would be inconceivable without dynamic positioning. DP is an "enabling technology” and relates especially to the development and operation of offshore oil and gas fields.
Dynamic positioning systems from Kongsberg are now found aboard supply ships, drilling rigs, pipe- and cable laying ships, rock dumping vessels, shuttle tankers, crane vessels, marine hunting vessels, cruise ships, floating hotels and yachts. They no longer just lie at rest, but can equally well follow a route or stay within a larger defined area.
A modern DP-operated drilling rig typically generates the power equivalent of a medium-sized Norwegian hydropower plant, or is equivalent to the consumption of about 15,000 people.
It has been 40 years since Kongsberg got its first contract for a DP control system with ship owner Stolt-Nielsen.
KV expanded into more fields. Albatross AS eventually spun off as a separate company. KV has been the world leader in dynamic positioning since 1980.
Large parts of the market disappeared with the drop in oil prices in 1987. KV was technically bankrupt, and Albatross was sold to Simrad in Horten, south of Oslo. However, the company stayed in Kongsberg throughout. Kongsberg Gruppen (KOG) was established from the “remnants” of the old weapons factory, and in 1996 KOG acquired Simrad. The DP enterprise now belongs to Kongsberg Maritime, which is part of KOG.
World leader
Kongsberg’s positioning system is the world leader in the field, holding approximately 80 per cent market share in the high-end market — not bad for a business in an inland municipality without any coastline.
Part of the secret is still service, and the willingness to be available for the customer at any time of day or night. Kongsberg Maritime has offices in several locations around the world, so someone always responds when a customer needs follow-up.
The system has also become a market standard of sorts that competing technologies have to deal with.
Kongsberg Gruppen has earned good money on the system, which has also been key to extracting the oil riches in the North Sea.
In other words, KOG’s dynamic positioning systems have come about through “a dynamic combination of engineering skills and sales talent, and the ability to not only help customers keep their vessels in position, but also to position themselves well,” according to the book’s authors.
Per Østby
Energy efficiency Innovation Success stories Transportation and traffic Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture dynamic positioning dynamic positioning system Jens Balchen Kongsberg Maritime Per Østby shipping SINTEF Stig Kvaal
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Parched Jordan faces water crisis as Syrian refugees flood in
by Sulafah Shami | @tidefenceteam
Monday, 16 December 2013 17:30 GMT
Water security is a pressing issue for Jordan. A resource-sharing pact with Syria goes unenforced, and a $1 billion water pipeline provides only temporary relief
AMMAN (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A flood of Syrian refugees is threatening to turn Jordan’s chronic water shortage into a crisis, stoking tension among Jordanians already resentful of what they see as Syria’s unfair exploitation of shared water supplies.
Jordan has long accused neighbouring Syria of ignoring regional water sharing agreements, leaving most of the kingdom a virtual desert, but an influx of refugees fleeing Syria’s raging civil war is now straining its scant water resources to breaking point.
“First they (the Syrian government) take our water, then they force their people to flee to our country,” said Omar Khalil, a Jordanian farmer from the northern city of Irbid, near the border with Syria.
“Hope things there will change for the better for us and the Syrian people … or may God help us all,” he added.
The Jordanian government’s poor management of its dwindling water supplies has exacerbated the problem, say experts, who doubt the long-term viability and efficiency of state plans to boost water flows.
The Yarmouk River is the main tributary to the Jordan River, which forms the border between Jordan and Syria then Jordan and Israel. Experts say Syrian dam building on the Yarmouk has sapped flows to Jordan, contravening a 1953 water sharing deal.
Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Israel agreed in principle to the United States-backed Johnston Plan, under which Jordan was allotted 375 million cubic metres (mcm) per year, about enough to fill 150,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
However, the deal was never ratified and Jordan’s allocation was subsequently reduced to 200 mcm by mutual agreement. Yet it receives no more than a quarter of that amount.
“Syria’s building of dams on the Yarmouk River inhibit the flow of water to Jordan, and hinders hopes of sharing the region's water resources,” hydrologist and Jordanian Royal Water Commission member Elias Salameh said.
“In the meantime Syria has built 20 weirs along the Yarmouk’s sources, taking in more than 60 percent of the total,” said Salameh.
While Jordanian authorities struggle to devise ways to conserve and increase water supplies, the number of Syrian refugees in the kingdom has swelled to an estimated 700,000 people, roughly 10 percent of Jordan’s population.
Officials expect that number to hit one million by the end of the year.
DANGEROUS SITUATION
Jordanians have been subjected to water rationing rules since the 1980s, and use only a fraction of the water enjoyed by their neighbours in the region – an estimated 70 litres a day for the average Jordanian, compared to 840 litres a day in Kuwait and 280 litres a day in Israel.
Yet that has not stopped the kingdom of seven million people becoming the world’s third poorest country in terms of water resources, the influx of Syrian refugees bouncing the country up from fourth place, Jordanian officials say.
Making matters worse is the threat posed to underground aquifers by the sprawling Zaatari camp in northern Jordan, which houses more than 120,000 Syrian refugees.
The desert refugee camp is the world’s second largest, behind Dadaab in eastern Kenya, and has become Jordan’s fourth largest city.
Water and Irrigation Ministry Secretary General Bassem Tilfah this month said a study showed that sewage and waste from the camp threatened underground water sources nearby.
“The situation is becoming increasingly dangerous. We have floated bids to build water desalination plants to deal with this crisis before it’s too late,” he said.
“The infrastructure simply can’t handle the pressure,” he added.
Partly in response to growing resentment among Jordanians, U.N. aid workers last year started a programme to educate Syrian refugees accustomed to plentiful water supplies in their homeland about the scarcity of water in Jordan, and the importance of reducing waste.
WATER THEFT
In a loudly trumpeted bid to help alleviate the problem, the Jordanian government this summer inaugurated a $1 billion pipeline to carry water from the country’s ancient Disi aquifer in the south to Amman in the north and later to other Jordanian cities.
But the 325 km pipeline is a short term solution, and water experts question the project’s efficiency. The pipeline is expected to boost water supplies by 100 mcm a year, but only for 10 years, and even within that time frame flows are unlikely to keep pace with population growth.
“With the population increase, the per capita share will decrease … It’s positive effect will last until 2020, so we have to look for other alternative sources of water,” said Ministry of Water and Irrigation spokesman Adnan Zoubi.
Some experts say the government would do better to crack down on the rampant drilling of illegal water wells before embarking on more grand infrastructure projects.
The government spent millions of dollars in the past two years to revamp the country’s water distribution network, but found that most of the water that had vanished before reaching customers had been stolen rather than lost through leaks.
The theft amounts to about six percent of Jordan’s annual water supply.
“The police are sometimes either not interfering to enforce the law or are simply unable. They sometimes come under tribal pressure and influence,” environmentalist Bater Wardam said.
Jordan’s battle to quench the nation’s thirst will be an ongoing one, and water experts and environmentalists are keen to see greener and more efficient solutions than the Disi pipeline.
Salameh said a new city should have been considered close to the Disi aquifer, creating new opportunities and jobs for the southern region, rather than pump the water hundreds of kilometres north, incurring expensive long-term pipeline maintenance costs.
Architect and conservationist Ammar Khammash proposed a different solution, which involved building dams around Amman to catch rainwater to recharge the hilltop city’s ancient aquifers.
“I think I’d rather look at the simpler, whispering intelligence of the landscape below Amman,” he said.
This story was reported as part of the Governance and Investigative Reporting project in Jordan, organised by Trust Media. It was edited by Mohammed Abbas and Salameh Nematt
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Fresh violence in Central African Republic sparks ‘unprecedented’ levels of displacement – UN
UNHCR/Aristophane Nagargoune
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and its partners are registering and assisting new refugee arrivals from Central African Republic in southern Chad villages.
Surging violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) has put unprecedented numbers of people on the run, the United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday, reporting that hungry, desperate arrivals being registered in neighbouring Chad say their houses have been torched and that armed groups are “killing anyone in their way.”
Overall, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the violence has pushed displacement to its highest levels since the start of the violence in 2013, moreover, estimates show that almost half the population is now food insecure and some 2.5 million people need humanitarian assistance.
“Data as of the end of December shows that 688,700 people were displaced internally – 60 per cent more than just a year ago,” Adrian Edwards, UNHCR spokesperson told reporters at today’s regular press briefing in Geneva.
Meanwhile, 542,380 CAR refugees are in neighbouring countries, a 12 per cent increase compared to last year.
“For a country whose population is estimated at around 4.6 million, these two figures combined represent an astonishing level of suffering and people in need,” he added.
Clashes between the mainly Muslim Séléka rebel coalition and anti-Balaka militia, which are mostly Christian, plunged the country into civil conflict in 2013. Hundreds of thousands of people have been uprooted and have fled to neighbouring Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Chad and the Republic of Congo for safety.
The recent surge in violence, particularly in the country’s north-west, has led over 17,000 Central Africans to flee to Chad since end-December – some ten times more than during the whole of 2017 – making it the biggest refugee influx since 2014.
UNHCR and the authorities are identifying host villages away from the border in Chad to relocate the refugees, and teams are distributing food and basic relief items, including blankets and mosquito nets, provided by the UN World Food Programme (WFP).
The UN refugee agency and its partners are also providing medical assistance to new arrivals, some of whom are affected by malaria, diarrhoea and respiratory infections. In total Chad hosts 77,122 refugees from CAR.
The conflict in CAR’s north-west has also displaced some 65,000 Central Africans to the city of Paoua, which has seen its population tripling.
“The newly displaced told UNHCR that armed groups attacked their villages, torching houses, looting food and killing anyone in their way,” updated Mr. Edwards.
While local authorities report that some 15,000 houses have been burned and 487 people killed across the northwest, UNHCR fears the number could be higher as some places are still inaccessible.
Describing the situation as “one of the world’s most forgotten displacement crises,” Mr. Edwards shared humanitarian community estimates that almost half of all Central Africans will face food insecurity in 2018.”
“In 2017, against needs we estimated at $209.2 million for the CAR situation, only 12 per cent was funded – barely more than a dollar for every 10 required. In 2018, UNHCR’s financial requirements for the CAR situation amount to $176.1 million,” he concluded.
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Armed bandits force tens of thousands of Central Africans to flee homes – UN
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Central African Republic: UN mission issues 48-hour ultimatum to armed groups
The United Nations Mission in the troubled Central African Republic, known by its French acronym, MINUSCA, has given armed groups in the north of the country 48 hours to clear out.
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Sarah Lucas was born in Holloway, London, in 1962 and studied at Goldsmith's College. One of the leading figures in the generation of Young British Artists who emerged during the 1990s, she has gai...
Sarah Lucas was born in Holloway, London, in 1962 and studied at Goldsmith's College. One of the leading figures in the generation of Young British Artists who emerged during the 1990s, she has gained an international reputation for provocative works that frequently employ coarse visual puns and a defiant, bawdy humour. Her works span the media of photography, collage and found objects. She lives in Suffolk and works in London and is represented by Sadie Coles HQ, London, Gladstone Gallery, New York, and CFA Berlin.
July 6, 2016 Daydreaming with Stanley Kubrick
Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
6 July – 24 August 2016
May 9, 2015 The British Pavilion
Sarah Lucas has been selected by the British Council to represent Britain at the 56th Venice International Art Biennale. Lucas will present a major solo show in the British Pavilion running from 9 May to 22 November 2015.
May 7, 2015 Sarah Lucas at Other Criteria London
In celebration of Sarah Lucas’ solo exhibition in the British Pavilion for the 56th Venice Biennale (9 May - 22 November 2015), Other Criteria are proud to present a selection of works created in collaboration with the artist. This exhibition, installed on May 7th, will be running until June 30th, 2015, at Other Criteria London, 14 Hinde Street.
November 11, 2013 Invitation to a Beheading
Until 20th December 2013
Marianne Boesky Gallery is pleased to present Invitation to a Beheading, a group exhibition curated by Rachel Howard, featuring works by Fiona Banner, Eloise Fornieles, Sarah Lucas, and Joyce Pensato, in addition to works by Howard. Invitation to a Beheading will be on view from November 7, 2013 through December 20, 2013 in the gallery’s location at 118 East 64th Street.
August 14, 2013 SITUATION at Whitechapel Gallery
2nd October - 15th December 2013
The Whitechapel Gallery are presenting Sarah Lucas first major solo show in London. Bringing together over two decades of sculpture, installation and photography SITUATION explores Lucas’s career and her role in British art.
October 17, 2012 Plus Art Projects
10th October – 10th November
Mayor’s Parlour, 1st Floor, 153-159 Bow House, London E3 2SE
Artists include Mat Collishaw, Adam Dix, Tracey Emin, Mustafa Hulusi & Sarah Lucas.
August 21, 2012 Screening of Energy Dairies in honour of Franz West
ICA Quickfire: Screening of Energy Dairies
23 August 2012, 7.30pm
, Free, booking required
An impromptu and informal screening of Energy Dairies in honour of Franz West, introduced by Sarah Lucas and Julian Simmons. Energy Dairies is a film of a conversation between Sarah Lucas, Philipp Quehenberger, Andreas Reiter Raabe, and Franz West.
For more information, please visit the ICA website.
March 10, 2012 SITUATION at Sadie Coles
Until December 2012
Sadie Coles, First Floor, 4 New Burlington Place, London W1
In February 2012, Situation, a new gallery at 4 New Burlington Place, will open. Devoted to the work of Sarah Lucas, Situation will present new installations in February, May, August and November 2012, alongside an organic programme of events directed by the artist. The extended displays will include works both new and historical, mainly by Sarah Lucas and occasionally involving other artists.
June 13, 2011 SNAP: Group art exhibition at the Aldeburgh Festival
10th June – 26th June
SNAP will bring together sculpture, video, photography and drawings, with work by Darren Almond, Don Brown, Cerith Wyn Evans, Mark Fuller, Russell Haswell, Gary Hume, Johnnie Shand Kydd, Abigail Lane, Simon Liddiment, Sarah Lucas, Julian Simmons and Juergen Teller.
Free. No ticket required. For more information visit the Aldeburgh website.
June 22, 2010 The Royal Institutions Artist's Talk
On 21 June 2010, at The Royal Institution, London, artists Sarah Lucas, Andreas Reiter Raabe and Franz West discussed art, music and literature, with musical interventions by Phillip Quehenberger, followed by a private view of the ‘RA Schools Show 2010’. See our blog for photos of the evening.
A Royal Academy Schools event generously supported by the David Lean Foundation
June 7, 2010 The Surreal House, Barbican
Step inside a labyrinth of chambers, designed by acclaimed young architects Carmody Groarke, and experience The Surreal House - its haunted rooms, delirious forms, blasted architecture and cinematic dreamscapes – featuring a host of artists, architects and film makers including Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, Alberto Giacometti, Rene Magritte, Man Ray, Joseph Cornell and Maya Deren, through to more contemporary figures, among them; Rebecca Horn, Edward Kienholz, Sarah Lucas and Rem Koolhaas.
For more information and images, visit our blog entry on The Surreal House.
June 1, 2010 Keeping it Real - Whitechapel Gallery
Sarah Lucas joins numerous artists in Keeping it Real at the Whitechapel Gallery exhibiting between 10 June – 5 September 2010
Visit our blog for more information and to see an image of Sarah Lucas piece Bunny Gets Snookered #10.
Athens Insider: June 2010
To read Athens Insider's review of Sarah Lucas' exhibition, Nuds, at the Cycladic Musuem of Art, click here.
Artist Sarah Lucas, Olivier Garbay, Jane Simpson, Dan Colen, Tim Noble & Sue Webster, Joanna Kirk Remove This Item
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Artists Colony Inn
by Rachel Perry
When artists explored Brown County in the early Twentieth Century, they found comfortable rooms and good food at the Pittman Inn in Nashville. The proprietors, Bill and Mandy Pittman, were known for their hospitality and interest in facilitating the artists’ special needs.
A century later the Artists Colony Inn at the corner of Franklin and Van Buren Streets, caters to the contemporary artist community while providing viable accommodations for weekend tourists and conference business. On Saturday mornings, the long table under the south dining room windows is implicitly reserved for any and all artists and/or art enthusiasts to exchange views while filling up on sweet potato pancakes or more conventional fare.
Quality original oil paintings displayed on every available wall surface reflect the owners’ passion for collecting art, and rooms at the Inn are named for members of the early Brown County Art Colony. Reproduction Nineteenth century furniture throughout the building lends an historical ambiance, although the Inn was built in the spring of 1992.
For the past decade the innkeepers, Jay and Ellen Carter, have dedicated much of their time and energy to operating the establishment. “We loved going to New England and visiting old inns and historic places,” Mr. Carter said. “The past is a big part of our lives, whether it’s Indiana art or eighteenth or nineteenth century furniture or pewter. So we had a dream of having an inn. What Ellen believed that I didn’t believe was that we could not simply hire a person (to take over the management) and not have to work at the inn. She said, ‘I know I’m going to end up doing this job.’”
Ellen Carter’s predictions proved to be accurate. Her daily presence at the Artists Colony Inn assists with operations and encourages open communication with the staff. “I like to run the business like a family, with a lot of personal contact,” Ellen said. “And we have twelve people working here that are all related (from the original Black family).”
Mrs. Carter’s passion for Indiana art began early in her life. Her artist father, Fred Rigley, brought his family to Brown County in 1952. “As a child I fell in love with Ada Shulz’s painting in the Brown County Library. You couldn’t forget something like that,” she declared. “That’s the thing about Ada. Even a child can relate to her paintings.”
In the early 1900s, Ellen’s grandparents had owned and operated an inn located in central Michigan. “Jay says I was destined to be in this business,” she laughed. After attending college in Missouri and at Indiana State, she worked as a probation officer in Johnson County, then Brown County. “I met Jay when I was getting a vacuum cleaner out of my car one day,” Ellen recalled. “I’d seen him at an antique show and he knew my sister.” Only four months after their first date at the Old Hickory to see the String Bean Band, they were married.
Jay Carter took a more circuitous path to Brown County. A native of Anderson, he received a business degree at Indiana University in 1964. While pursuing a graduate degree in public administration, he leased an old house on Ninth Street in Bloomington and rented rooms to other students. A neighbor who happened to be an antique buff advised him to invest in quality antique furniture since he was buying old pieces to furnish the rooms. Following introductions to some antique dealers, Jay’s interest and expertise expanded.
“Brown County was a fit and I always wanted to own a log cabin,” Mr. Carter explained. “In 1969 I stopped at Martin’s Antiques to see what they had and I said, ‘I’d love to have a cabin like yours.’ And they said, ‘There’s a nice one that the lady next door just listed across the street.’ After looking in the windows of the unimproved log house (no plumbing, no heat), he bought it for $12,500.
Jay Carter moved into his primitive cabin but traveled throughout Indiana with his job as a Federal bank examiner, reserving his evenings to explore back roads for antiques. “I’d sleep by the fireplace when I was at home. In the morning when I got up to go to work, I’d open the oven door to warm up the room. There was a rule (Federal employee) that if you were out over 50 miles, you could stay out. If I knew it was going to be real cold, I made sure to travel at least that distance. I had rooms all over southern Indiana.”
“I was a bank examiner for three years,” Mr. Carter continued. “I learned how people borrowed money. What I learned most was not to be afraid to ask. If you don’t ask, you don’t get it—it’s a basic principle of life.”
Jay Carter quit the banking job when his employers wanted him to give a speech at a national meeting about analyzing bank bond portfolios. “And I still have a fear of speaking in public,” he laughed. “I can speak up at a meeting, but I don’t like conducting them. I don’t like being the front person. I like to be involved in the ideas behind things.”
After owning and managing several businesses during the next twenty years, including the Orchard Hill Motel on State Road 135, a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise and the Sunshine Inn, Jay went on the road buying and selling antiques. The Carter family abruptly grew with the adoption of two teenagers, and later the addition of an infant, Jessie. When Jessie was twelve, Hanna was born and Jay began to seek more local employment. He purchased half interest in the First Insurance Group, which he just recently sold.
Jay and Ellen Carter’s dedication to serving behind the scenes in the Nashville community has led to active participation in several organizations. Ellen serves on the Board of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, and Jay is currently the President of Indiana Heritage Arts. He is also a Board member for the Brown County Community Foundation and is on the commission of the Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We have always filled up our lives with many things,” Ellen confessed.
Despite the frantic pace of the Carters’ lives, the Artists Colony Inn has successfully achieved an atmosphere of simple comforts and relaxation. Jay and Ellen’s vision for the future includes continued promotion of fine arts venues and activities in Nashville. “We would like to do more art related things like Elder Hostel or workshops,” Jay said. “We’d like to see people come to Brown County for the art.”
The Artists Colony Inn is open all year with the dining room hours from 7:30 am to 8:00 pm weekdays and until 9:00 pm on weekends. Their website at <www.artistscolonyinn.com> provides views of sample rooms and details about accommodations. Their phone number is 812-988-9023 or 800-737-0255.
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Dr. Thomas Anton ’43
Dr. Thomas Anton ’43, who practiced medicine in Southern Maine for more than 40 years, died January 5, 2009, at Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford. He was born on July 21, 1922, in Biddeford, and graduated from Biddeford High School in 1939. After Bowdoin, where he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity, he graduated from medical school at McGill University in Montreal in 1947. He served his internship and residency at the former Maine General Hospital in Portland, where he met his future wife, Carolyn Parsons, who was a nurse there. They were married in 1951. He served as a battalion surgeon in the 179th Regiment’s First Battalion and 45th Infantry Division of the Army Medical Corps in Korea and Japan during the Korean War and was awarded three Battle Stars. He attained the rank of captain. In 1953, after two years of military service, he opened his own medical practice in the Biddeford/Saco area and practiced there for the next 41 years. In 1961, he was named director of the medical division of the Old Orchard Beach Civil Defense organization. He was a member of the Webber/Southern Maine Medical Center hospital staff for many years, where he served as chief of internal medicine as well as a member of the hospital’s board of directors. He was a member of York County Medical Society, the Maine Medical Association, and the American Medical Association and was a medical examiner for the State of Maine for many years. He was an avid reader, enjoyed traveling, and had a great love for animals. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn Parsons Anton; a son, Charles Anton; a daughter, Eleanora Robert; a brother, Dr. Alexander Anton; and three grandchildren. He was predeceased by a sister, Eleanor Anton Lund.
← Shogo Moriyama ’54
Harold Bickford Lang ’36 →
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« Ahmadinejad's rough week | Main | 300 »
Having been busy, I haven't written about the firing of the eight prosecutors before now. (Josh Marshall has, and if you haven't been reading his reporting on it, you should. And TPMMuckraker has helpfully collected all its posts on this story here.) But it's one more of those stories that ought to be shocking, but isn't even surprising anymore. (The one truly surprising thing is that I found myself feeling nostalgic for John Ashcroft, of all people. One of the fired prosecutors, quoted in the NYT: "He said he had been guided by a personal admonition from former Attorney General John Ashcroft shortly after he was appointed in 2001. “He took me into his office and said, ‘David, when you come here, you’ve got to stay out of politics.’ ”)
The idea that prosecutors -- who have the power to decide whose life gets to be made hell on earth by being subjected to an investigation, and whose does not -- are being leaned on by Congresspeople, political operatives, and the like to prosecute Democrats is just wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. The latest twist:
"Presidential advisor Karl Rove and at least one other member of the White House political team were urged by the New Mexico Republican party chairman to fire the state's U.S. attorney because of dissatisfaction with his job performance including his failure to indict Democrats in a voter fraud investigation in the battleground election state.
In an interview Saturday with McClatchy Newspapers, Chairman Allen Weh said he complained in 2005 about then-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias to a White House liaison who worked for Rove and asked that he be removed. Weh said he followed up with Rove personally in late 2006 during a visit to the White House. (...)
Weh recalled asking Rove at a White House holiday event in December: "Is anything ever going to happen to that guy?" What Weh didn't know was that the firings of Iglesias and the others had already been approved.
Weh said Rove told him: "`He's gone.' I probably said something close to `Hallelujah.'""
Josh Marshall notes one big unanswered question: given that other prosecutors were subjected to pressure to prosecute Democrats, and apparently fired for not doing so, was Carol Lam fired because of her investigations of Republicans?
"Given what we know about New Mexico and Washington state, it simply defies credulity to believe that Lam -- in the midst of an historic corruption investigation touching the CIA, the White House and major Republican appropriators on Capitol Hill -- got canned because she wasn't prosecuting enough immigration cases. Was it the cover? Sure. The reason? Please.
I'm not sure Lam would have been canned simply for prosecuting Cunningham. His corruption was so wild and cartoonish that even a crew with as little respect for the rule of law would have realized the impossibility of not prosecuting him. But she didn't stop there. She took her investigation deep into congressional appropriations process -- kicking off a continuing probe into the dealings of former Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis. She also followed the trail into the heart of the Bush CIA. Those two stories are like mats of loose threads. That's where the story lies. "
(The administration claims Lam was fired because she didn't prosecute immigration cases aggressively enough, though apparently they didn't think so a few months before (pdf).)
Paul Krugman raises another crucial point:
"The bigger scandal, however, almost surely involves prosecutors still in office. The Gonzales Eight were fired because they wouldn’t go along with the Bush administration’s politicization of justice. But statistical evidence suggests that many other prosecutors decided to protect their jobs or further their careers by doing what the administration wanted them to do: harass Democrats while turning a blind eye to Republican malfeasance.
Donald Shields and John Cragan, two professors of communication, have compiled a database of investigations and/or indictments of candidates and elected officials by U.S. attorneys since the Bush administration came to power. Of the 375 cases they identified, 10 involved independents, 67 involved Republicans, and 298 involved Democrats. The main source of this partisan tilt was a huge disparity in investigations of local politicians, in which Democrats were seven times as likely as Republicans to face Justice Department scrutiny."
(The study is available here.)
He also brings up the investigation of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), which happened shortly before the election and has mysteriously vanished since:
"For those of us living in the Garden State, the growing scandal over the firing of federal prosecutors immediately brought to mind the subpoenas that Chris Christie, the former Bush “Pioneer” who is now the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, issued two months before the 2006 election — and the way news of the subpoenas was quickly leaked to local news media.
The subpoenas were issued in connection with allegations of corruption on the part of Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat who seemed to be facing a close race at the time. Those allegations appeared, on their face, to be convoluted and unconvincing, and Mr. Menendez claimed that both the investigation and the leaks were politically motivated.
Mr. Christie’s actions might have been all aboveboard. But given what we’ve learned about the pressure placed on federal prosecutors to pursue dubious investigations of Democrats, Mr. Menendez’s claims of persecution now seem quite plausible.
In fact, it’s becoming clear that the politicization of the Justice Department was a key component of the Bush administration’s attempt to create a permanent Republican lock on power. Bear in mind that if Mr. Menendez had lost, the G.O.P. would still control the Senate."
It is, unfortunately, standard practice for Presidents to give things like Ambassadorships to their political supporters. It is not, and should never be, standard practice for them to turn the full punitive powers of the Federal government on their opponents. This is a serious scandal, and I hope it is investigated for all it's worth.
Posted by hilzoy at 01:42 AM in Politics | Permalink
Dammit!
Posted by: Ugh | March 14, 2007 at 01:35 PM
Jesurgislac and dr ngo: Your comments beggar belief. Let me refresh your memory:
1. I make a comment pointing out several problems with the study, only one of which is the fact that it spuriously claims to have shown anything about whether Bush is "first."
2. Hilzoy responds only on the "first" point (wrongly suggesting that the study didn't make any such claim), and not at all on the other points.
3. Jesurgislac responds to me by pointing out that the real question isn't whether Bush was "first."
4. I specifically responded to Jesurgislac on this point. I said: "I've pointed out several other criticisms of the study; I haven't limited myself to the criticism that the study unjustifiably claims that Bush is the 'first.'"
5. Pat also points out the same thing: "Hilzoy, in my post at Stubborn Facts, I deliberately left the criticism of the 'study' cited by Krugman about the 'first administration' claim to last. It's the most minor point."
6. I point out yet again that Hilzoy quite unjustifiably assumed that the "only flaw alleged with the study is whether it claimed that the Bush administration was 'first' to engage in political witchhunts."
By now, even the most inattentive reader might have realized that we critics of the "study" have been complaining about a whole boatload of things other than the issue of whether Bush was "first."
Yet even after all of that, Jesurgislac parachutes in and pretends yet again that the only criticism at issue is whether the study properly claimed that Bush was the "first.":
None of these new commenters have paid attention to the refutation, but continue to buzz about Bush possibly not being the first, as if that mattered.
Nobody has "continued to buzz" about this issue, except insofar as I pointed out that it is a telling example of either stupidity or dishonesty (take your pick).
Yet Jesurgislac claims that "bad faith" on my part has been "proved"! She is the one who ignores other people's posts, pretends that their only criticism is one that they themselves repeatedly describe as "minor," and refuses to acknowledge the existence of their more significant criticisms. And we're the ones arguing in bad faith? What
Posted by: John Doe | March 14, 2007 at 01:40 PM
What amazing chutzpah, that should have said.
John Doe | March 13, 2007 at 12:59 AM : it's bullshit to put out a study claiming that the Bush administration is the "first" to do something when the study didn't even look at anything pre-Bush
John Doe | March 13, 2007 at 12:13 PM: It apparently bears repeating: You can't know whether something is "first" unless you look at what came before. You can't know whether Tuesday is hotter than Monday if you only know Tuesday's temperature. You can't know whether Los Angeles has more people than New York if you only know the population of Los Angeles. Is there anyone who still doesn't grasp this basic point?
John Doe | March 13, 2007 at 01:06 PM: I haven't limited myself to the criticism that the study unjustifiably claims that Bush is the "first" (although this should be a good clue to the discerning reader that mischief is afoot, as it proves that the study's authors are either too stupid to know what the word "first" means or too dishonest to care).
John Doe | March 13, 2007 at 05:10 PM: The authors of the study are clearly dishonest -- as shown by their claim to have proven that the Bush administration is the "first" to do [something] even without looking at any pre-Bush evidence.
John Doe | March 13, 2007 at 08:22 PM: Well, we've already established beyond a shadow of a doubt that these particular professors are willing to lie about their results (i.e., by claiming that they've proved that Bush is the "first" to politicize prosecutions, when they didn't even study anything pre-Bush).
John Doe | March 13, 2007 at 11:39 PM : I'm one of the few people who seems to have actually looked at the study (which is why I don't make embarrassing errors like claiming that the study had a "random" sample, or that it did not claim anything about Bush having been the "first" to engage in political prosecutions).
John Doe | March 14, 2007 at 09:02 AM to me: There's been a long discussion of points other than the one you seem hung up on, i.e., whether Bush was "first." Of all the criticisms that can be made of the so-called "study," that doesn't even make the top 10. Why are you still pretending that it's the only criticism that's been made?
John Doe | March 14, 2007 at 01:40 PM: Nobody has "continued to buzz" about this issue, except insofar as I pointed out that it is a telling example of either stupidity or dishonesty (take your pick).
And we're the ones arguing in bad faith?
Posted by: Jesurgislac | March 14, 2007 at 01:48 PM
This comment to apologize for the double post gives me the opportunity to note that John Doe wins the amazing chutzpah award of the night (though not the mensch award of the day) and to add that I am glad to be off to Belgium on holiday tomorrow. With any luck, once I'm back online on my usual basis, this crowd of wingnuts will have drifted away again.
Also, maybe Bush will have been impeached. I'll hope for it.
Anyone want chocolate? Or would they rather have beer? Belgian chocolate and Belgian beer are two of the good things of this earth.
Belgian Beer! Hmmm Goulden Carolus!
Posted by: Sebastian Holsclaw | March 14, 2007 at 01:58 PM
Oddly enough, you don't seem to have read the posts that you quoted. Viz:
There's been a long discussion of points other than the one you seem hung up on, i.e., whether Bush was "first." Of all the criticisms that can be made of the so-called "study," that doesn't even make the top 10. Why are you still pretending that it's the only criticism that's been made?
And this is exactly correct:
"Nobody has 'continued to buzz' about this issue, except insofar as I pointed out that it is a telling example of either stupidity or dishonesty (take your pick)."
Neither you nor Hilzoy nor anyone else has a good answer to this.
To the contrary, the only point that you and Hilzoy have made is that even if the study wrongly claims that Bush is the "first," that doesn't (in and of itself) disprove the rest of the study, nor does it prove anything about the attorney firings.
That's all fine and dandy. I don't disagree with that.
But at the same time, the fact that the authors are willing to make a partisan accusation that can be disproved just by reading the rest of the page doesn't speak well for the reliability of the study. If they are so untrustworthy as to easily-checkable matters, why should anyone trust their research on points that are less easily checked? Any rational person would be suspicious of a study if the author announced, "Based on my study that focuses exclusively on Ohio, I think Ohio has a higher rate of [whatever] than Oregon."
Not only have you not "refuted" this point, you haven't even tried.
Jes,
Belgian beer for me, too. I prefer the fruit lambics.
Posted by: Dantheman | March 14, 2007 at 02:35 PM
So now the hair-splitting is not about the study, but who said what about the study. But I think it's about over, although I thought that this morning.
Beer for me. Thanks. (Although I'm lucky enough to live outside of Philadelphia, which I know has quite a few Belgian bars. I've heard it's about the best city for those who love Belgian beer, but I don't know that to be true. I did a quick study that showed Philadelphia had 7 times as many Belgian bars as the city with the next highest total.)
Posted by: hairshirthedonist | March 14, 2007 at 03:12 PM
hairshirthedonist,
Philly also had the late and lamented Cuvee Notredame, which had wonderful Belgian cuisine.
'Tis kind of amusing to watch some make a big deal of something, have it debunked, and then whine that someone paid enough attention to debunk it and therefore the debunker must be saying something else.
I have addressed only the bogus study, which is Crap with a capital C. If anything claimed in the study is for real, it's not because the study showed it to be so.
And for the record, I've been reading here for quite a long time, I just don't usually bother to comment unless it's to address total BS being touted as reality.
Yeah, John, some folks think that "refutation" consists of saying "IS NOT!" repeatedly. Pfui. Another reason I don't comment here much--arguing with True Believers of either wing bores the hell out of me (which must make me a saint by now, having had all that hell bored right out).
Posted by: Tully | March 14, 2007 at 05:30 PM
If you're ordering beer, you really need a fridge that launches.
Posted by: Gary Farber | March 14, 2007 at 05:36 PM
Darn: I saw that Gary had commented on this thread, and thought: oh. my. god. Perfect storm. Unstoppable cannonball, immovable object. Gary vs. the study fiends!!!
What a disappointment ;)
Posted by: hilzoy | March 14, 2007 at 05:38 PM
Saw that, Gary. I'm resisting as it would put me into permanent sofa spud-dom...or maybe I just wanna build my own with a better distance-guaging remote....
"What a disappointment ;)"
I'm more in a sit back and have a beer, and some popcorn, mood, I'm afraid.
Besides, the Belgians really do make some excellent beers.
My life is otherwise much happier by ignoring the whole this-study debate; there's no shortage of actual news, and analysis.
Besides, I'm contemplating whether I should write a long long post reviewing the very first season of Mission Impossible.
You know, important stuff.
Lol, my spouse spent years complaining how hard it is to find it in the Netherlands (though in Dutch you should write 'gouden') - only to find that our little liquershop at the corner of our square has a room filled with special beers like the Gouden Carolus ;)
I go to Brussels regularly, my MIL lives there, but I cherish the Peking Duck above all else. Since the Marks and Sparks retreated with their food section there is NO Chinese in the Netherlands where you can eat it properly :(
Posted by: dutchmarbel | March 14, 2007 at 07:20 PM
This is pretty far afield, glasnost, but what's your reason for thinking that in a 5-year period where around 6,000 officials were actually prosecuted by the federal government, the number of investigated officials who were elected (rather than appointed) is anywhere near 375?
I've said this more than once now, John, and Pat brought it up himself.
Your figures from the DoJ report include both elected and unelected officials. The study in question is explicitly limited to elected officials. Your figure of "6000" includes a larger set of officials than is being investigated by the study. We don't know how many elected officials were indicted by DoJ.
Not that more is needed, but on top of that,
you yourself admitted in your first post that it's not clear if all those figures stand for new investigations.
If you cut out federal and state officials, and look at local ones, which is where the 7:1 ratio comes from, you'll see that there were only about 1400 indictments of both elected and unelected officials during the Bush Admin to date.
I don't know that 375 investigations represents all or most of the investigations of local officials under Bush DoJ. It simply seemed plausible, and I had no reason to discount it. Your contrary numbers do not clearly enough represent what we're talking about to convince me that it is implausible now.
I'll have to concede you whatever further points you wish to make.
Posted by: glasnost | March 14, 2007 at 07:52 PM
Pat, a final point.
You seem prepared to admit that the extent of the study may well be flawed, that the number is not 7 to 1 as claimed, but instead wish to reclassify its basic point as being that there is some bias. Well, that's not the claim the authors make. They claim it's 7 to 1, not "some." Their conclusion is defeated if the ratio is only 6 to 1, or 5 to 1. Your conclusion of bias may or may not be correct, but it's not made by the study. You've asked me to disprove not the study but your own conclusion of some bias.
Of course, without knowing the methodology, I can't rule out with certainty that some bias factors - in the sample selection could possibly.
My problem with your whole point of view and PoV is not that you brought up ways in which the sample could possibly be flawed, but that you prevented your concerns as definitive. You treated and (and, to some extent, continue to treat) the study as certainly flawed, and you don't know that it is so.
To be more specific, your link on Instapundit leads hundreds of thousands of people to willfully and without cause blow the concept of bias off completely. A study showing 7-1 bias? Oh, wait. Here's some speculation as to some things that might be wrong. Ergo, the authors are quacks and the study is baseless. Ergo, nothing to see here.
The Lancet is a picture-perfect example. Anyone with half a brain knows that the official Iraqi government counts were way understated, but trashing the cluster selection method of a survey suggesting 600K deaths lets people pretend that the Iraqi government's pulled-out-of-thin-air numbers are the real thing, when they're really off by orders of magnitude, and unscientific in more wildly obvious way than the point of comparison.
I don't know beyond certainty that the study 's methodology isn't flawed. But you don't know that it is flawed. And you act like you do. We both think it's very likely that there is relevant, correct information from the study as follows - in one form or another, that the Bush Admin is probably investigating more local democrats than republicans. No one here thinks any biases sort of outright falsification could bring 7:1 down to something close to even. The most important finding of the study - and I'm paraphrasing their specific statement - was that the Admin investigates more Dem than Repub local officials, to a statistically significant extent. 7 to 1 is a more specific accounting of that fundamental point.
You lead people away from that fundamental point. Findings that extreme are very unlikely to be entirely the result of accidental bias. That's my belief. I'm sticking to it.
Glasnost, my final point, responding to yours.
As to misleading people, Paul Krugman's column is read by many more people than my little blog. For that matter, Obsidian Wings and this post by Hilzoy have probably been read by far more people than read my post. Both Krugman and Hilzoy used this study as conclusive proof of a massive bias against Democrats. I felt compelled to shed a little light on that subject, and I didn't notice anybody who found the report supportive of their own political positions being overly worried about misleading the public with shoddy "scholarship." Krguman and others seemed only to happy to try to bolster their claims against the Bush Administration with a little academic authority.
As to the study itself, I do not by any stretch concede what you call its "fundamental point," which is a much lesser claim than that made by its authors. You are wrong when you say "no one here things any biases sort of outright falsification could bring 7:1 down to something close to even." I do think that. I said that I felt that 375 was in the right order of magnitude, meaning that I agree it is more than 100 and less than 1000. There's plenty of room in that less than 1000 to either find a couple hundred overlooked Republicans (the study found no "investigations" of elected officials in 8 states, something I find exceedingly unlikely). In another hour of work yesterday, I found 3 or 4 more Republican elected officials who were investigated but not included in the study, bringing the total up to 11, with just 2 hours work. I think there's also a reasonable possibility that scrutinizing the 375 cases listed would remove some of the Democrats from the list, too. I don't think it's accurate to say that the entire Baltimore City Council was "under investigation" simply because they all received a subpoena for some of their records.
As for the definitive nature of my criticism, it is warranted. My suspicion about their "sampling" method was confirmed by the Philadelphia Inquirer reporter who e-mailed Shields. Beyond that, I will reiterate that the burden of establishing methodology is on the persons conducting it. Had they disclosed the methodology, then it might be my burden to show how any flaws affected it. But they've put slanderous accusations out there, claiming to be scientific about it, with no supporting basis at all. The report proves absolutely nothing, and it's entirely appropriate of me to say so.
Posted by: PatHMV | March 15, 2007 at 12:24 PM
Sorry about that. Forgot to close a tag. Should've used preview.
It bears repeating: Both Paul Krugman and Hilzoy should be ashamed to have relied on such a shoddy study. Neither one would cite this kind of unsubstantiated and non-scientific baloney in their own academic work (at least I hope not). Why is it good enough to use here?
I don't see anything in that link to remotely substantiate the claim that it's a "shoddy" study. All I see is a lot of rhetorical questions which don't come close to explaining away the huge mathematical disparity. In fact, most of the column simply serves to suggest that the authors of the study could have examined a different question instead.
Posted by: Steve | March 15, 2007 at 02:26 PM
Shorter Michael Smerconish: "But-but-but they're Democrats. Did you hear me? DEMOCRATS!!1 'Nuff said."
(Earnestly quoting low-rent O'Reilly wannabes counts as a Fonzie moment in my books. Hey, look - Dan Rather dry-humping Jamil Hussein!)
Posted by: matttbastard | March 15, 2007 at 02:46 PM
Mattt,
While I am not going to dispute that characterization of Mr. Smerconish in general, is there anything in particular you have in mind?
Did I cite it as conclusive proof? No. Did I rely on it? No. Do I think it's shoddy? Not enough to call its conclusions into question.
To repeat myself: if whoever was guest posting at Instapundit chose to characterize my post as being "about" the study, that's his business. But the post was not about the study. It did not rely on the study. The study is not the point. It is ancillary to an ancillary point.
To clarify, my 'shorter...' referred to the portion of the linked column Smerconish inquires about the political leanings of one of the study's authors; the parenthetical 'Fonzie' aside was me cryptically stating my opinion (via hypertext) that the thread had jumped the shark; the Hussein/Rather coital encounter was (again) a cryptic (if not crass) reference to Rathergate, Jamilgate, and other examples of instances where some on the right believe that dissecting a red herring counts as debunking.
I'm sorry you (apparently) feel my post not sufficiently wonkish, DTM. Next time I'll try to include more footnotes (and perhaps a Foucault quote).
And now, I bid adieu.
All I see is a lot of rhetorical questions which don't come close to explaining away the huge mathematical disparity.
Sigh. The authors apparently went out and did some Google searches and then threw together a chart of all the relevant results (or a cherry-picked selection of the results? Who knows). This is an absolutely shoddy methodology. Which means that there may NOT BE any "huge mathematical disparity" in the first place.
Why is it a shoddy methodology? Well, basics first:
1. Not all newspapers put their stories online in the first place. Particularly small-town newspapers.
2. Even when newspapers do put their stories online, it's very rare to find news stories from 2001, 2002, 2003, etc., that are still available. By far, most news stories expire after a limited period of time.
3. Both 1 and 2 mean that the authors would have missed many news stories in any search of Google.
4. Beyond that, the authors' reported searches turn up 126,000 results ("public corruption" and "elected") and 223,000 results ("federal grand jury" and elected) respectively. How the heck did the authors winnow through these results, most of which are irrelevant? More importantly, how in the world would you come up with a non-bogus random sample from these search results?
5. Without a random sample (and so far no one has come up with ANY reason to believe that the sample is random), the study is meaningless. If you don't understand this point, please return to Statistics 101.
The link is to his biography.
John Doe alreadylinked to the Smerconish column I was referring to.
The bio was included because I assumed a lot of non-Philly folks (like myself) wouldn't know Smerconish from Adam (eg, that he was an O'Reilly fill-in and Bernie Goldberg-approved, thus putting his objectivity into question.)
Apologies for the confusion.
Do I think it's shoddy? Not enough to call its conclusions into question.
This is unbelievable. Cite for me any legitimate social science study that:
1) does not discuss its methodology at all;
2) does not even claim that its sample was random (outside of ethnographies that are admittedly focused on a single institution and don't make claims about the nationwide proportion of something);
3) is apparently based on Google results that, as everyone knows, don't give full coverage and cannot be used to create a random sample; and
4) doesn't even bother to mention the possibility of controlling for other factors (which here would include greater Democratic dominance of large urban cities where the incentives for corruption are greater and the frequency of news coverage is also greater).
I'm pretty sure that you'll never find any such thing. Compared to any serious social science study, this looks like the equivalent of the Sokal hoax.
But the post was not about the study. It did not rely on the study. The study is not the point. It is ancillary to an ancillary point.
Well, this double ancillary point struck me as quite a bit more serious than anything that has been said about the 8 fired USAs. I guess I have to repeat myself:
1. 8 fired USAs -- troubling, at least in a few of the cases, but not obviously troubling in a few other cases, and in any event, very limited in scope.
2. 6 years of politicized prosecutions on a nationwide scope, either targetting innocent Democrats or failing to prosecute guilty Republicans -- a much more significant problem, IF it's true.
So Mattt, do I have this right:
1. Michael Smerconish has filled in for Bill O'Reilly on his radio show.
2. Therefore, when Smerconish reports that the study's authors told him the specifics of their Google searches, he's lying. And with amazing brazenness, too, given that the authors could easily point out that they did a different Google search or that they didn't rely on Google at all.
3. Therefore . . . what? What are you trying to suggest? That the methodology is fine and peachy?
Reply to: Anarch's comment| March 13, 2007 at 12:51 PM
You are right on about Mayor Xochilt Ruvalcaba not being a target of Bush's DOJ investigation
1. The investigation was started by Cooley, LA District Atty prompted by the DEMOCRATIC LATINO CACUS as political retaliation for her opposition to their money cow "The Neava Azela Power Plant" - check the facts LA Weekly Sarah Catania exposes how Martha Escutia, Marco Firebaugh and the Dem Latino Cacus received large campaign contributions from The Power Plant's owners SunLaw. In addition Martha's husband Leo Briones was the project manager of the proposed power plant who btw made in excess of $150,000 for one year of service!
2. Xochilt Ruvalcaba was investigated throughly and came out crystal clean!
3. The checks that were signed before leaving office were for fees already incurred by attorneys and were due. Her council was being sued left and right and they had a responsibility to defend the city from frivolous lawsuits!
4. The employees that were laid off were student workers and community services department (established community clean ups, free tutoring and assistance in reporting potholes and sidewalk repairs, etc.)established by the Mayor Ruvalcaba. therfore the new council saw those employees as former allies of the outgoing council.
5. Has anyone driven by that city?!?! It is trashy! Mayor Ruvalcaba whas been out since 2003. you want to tell me that in 4 years the new council cannot manage to clean and repair public property!
You are so right it wasn't Bush - BULLSHIT is definately bipartisian!!!!
F%$k the Dems as well!!!
Posted by: an informed citizen | May 21, 2007 at 04:59 AM
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Lectures on Modern India
"So you want to marry my daughter?"
The IK Foundation Lectures 2002
Professor M Narasimhachary
Examining issues of caste, its origins,history and how we live it today.
Related: Modern India, Society
Advaita Vedanta and the Kerala renaissance of the 19th century
Professor K. Maheswaran Nair
Related: Modern India, Vedanta
Rationalism, atheism and Hinduism in dravidian India, c.1920-90
Majewski Lecture
Dr David Washbrook
Dr. David Washbrook (St Antony's College, University of Oxford.)
Related: Modern India, Philosophy
Maps, mother goddess, and martyrdom in modern India
Professor Sumathi Ramaswamy
Related: Iconography, Modern India, Politics
Visual piety and bazaar Hinduism
Related: Iconography, Modern India
Of gods and globes: The territorialisation of Hindu deities in popular visual culture
The "Hindu" Goddess and Indian modernity
Related: Gender, Goddesses, Grammarians, Hindu Theology, Iconography, Modern India
Hinduism, non-violence and the costs of terrorism: towards an Indian mediation service?
Dr Thomas Daffern
This talk will address research into the history and philosophy of non-violence in Indian religious traditions, including Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. It will ask whether the stress on ahimsa in the Indian philosophical tradition is something worth preserving, even in the face of terrorist attacks such as most recently in Mumbai, and if so, how can that be done? The proposal to launch an Indian Union Mediation Service will be presented as one intelligent way to square this ethical circle of idealism versus realpolitik.
Dr Thomas C. Daffern is a specialist in peace studies, comparative philosophy and the history of ideas who has taught at the Universities of London and Oxford and also works in the secondary school sector as a religious studies teacher. He founded and directs the International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy, as a unique international academic network for thinkers interested in research into peace, conflict prevention and global philosophical and intellectual discourse between different cultures and civilisations. A former educational coordinator of the Gandhi Foundation, he has travelled extensively in India and taught at the Jain University in Rajasthan. See www.lulu.com/iipsgp or www.educationaid.net or for further details.
Related: Modern India, Politics
Mahatma Gandhi at the OCHS 1: The Death of Gandhi (lecture)
Dr Makarand Paranjape
These four, interrelated talks on Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1969-1948) may be considered as an attempt to understand and articulate the coherence of an exemplary life. Given how he regarded it himself—“My life is my message”—Gandhi invites to be read in terms of a consistency in his anubhav (original experience), vichar (thought and ideas), and achaar (conduct and action). To that extent, his is a life which sets itself up almost in opposition to modernity—almost, because it might be reductive to see Gandhi merely as an opponent of modernity. But if the primary tendency of modernity, as Gandhi himself described it in Hind Swaraj (1909), is centrifugal, then Gandhi’s lifework was contrary to modernity in being centripetal. The 100th anniversary of Hind Swaraj, then, affords us a special occasion to re-examine key facets of Gandhi’s life in an integral, rather than fragmentary fashion, asking what he has to say to our own times.
In all, these four presentations are not merely academic explorations of Gandhi’s life and thought, but also investigations into what it may mean to be (neo)-Gandhian in our times.
The first of the four presentations, on “The Death of Gandhi,” is a way of recuperating his life through the traces of its violent termination. Such a methodology involves us in a reading of the two sites in New Delhi which have come to memorialize that fatality, Raj Ghat and Gandhi Smriti. Delhi, itself a city of tombs, lends itself well to such a semiology of cenotaphs and sepulchres. Raj Ghat and Gandhi Smriti—the one a state mausoleum, the other a monument to the Mahatma’s martyrdom—might thus yield special insights as texts of national self-constitution and interrogation. However differently they make meaning of the catastrophe, both places beg the same question, “Who killed Gandhi?” And the answers that emerge are, to say the least, somewhat surprising in that they reveal the different kinds of demise that Gandhi has suffered at the hands of a multiplicity of actors.
Makarand Paranjape is a Professor of English at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. A critic, poet, fiction writer, and literary columnist with over thirty books and 100 published academic papers to his credit, he is also the author of more 250 reviews, notes, and popular articles. His latest book is Another Canon: Indian Texts and Traditions in English (Anthem Press, forthcoming).
Related: Gandhi, Modern India
Mahatma Gandhi at the OCHS 2: Hind Swaraj in Our Times (seminar)
Shivdasani Seminar
The second seminar rehearses the significance of Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, a booklet that Gandhi wrote on board the steamship Kildonen Castle in November 1909, on his return from England to South Africa. The book has acquired the status of a classic to the extent of being dubbed ‘the Bible of non-violent revolution’. Yet, it is also an extremely difficult book to stomach, with its uncompromising attacks on the British parliament, on machinery, on railways, doctors, lawyers, and English educated elites. Though some have called it a post-modern text, it shares none of the anti-foundationalism of post-modernism nor the latter’s premium on indeterminacy. Instead, Hind Swaraj seems to be a last-ditch stand in favour of a pre-modern, traditional civilizational ethos, which exalts manual labour, self-restraint, and the pursuit of virtue and sacrifice, instead of pleasure and profit. What kinds of demands does the text make on us a 100 years after its publication? More importantly, what hermeneutical strategies can we bring to bear on it to make it more palatable?
Mahatma Gandhi at the OCHS 3: The "Sanatani" Mahatma (lecture)
The third lecture is on the “Sanatani” Mahatma. Sanatani here may be taken as both the perennial Gandhi, but also the Hindu, in the sense of Sanatana Dharma, Gandhi. This lecture, thus, attempts to ask what aspects of Gandhi outlive him, but also in what ways he was the quintessential, perhaps the greatest, Hindu of his times. Such questions, understandably, assume greater urgency in a post-Hindutva India. If we closely examine his life, we notice not just how radically Gandhi modified and reformed the Hinduism that he had inherited, but also how deeply he renewed and burnished it. Some of the most challenging tensions in Gandhi’s thought, including his critique of modernity, may be better understood, if not resolved, if we see his key ideas in a sanatani perspective. It is such a non-exclusive reading of Gandhi that can help us move beyond both the reductionism of Hindutva and of a self-constitutively secular academic discourse itself.
Makarand Paranjape is a Professor of English at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. A critic, poet, fiction writer, and literary columnist with over thirty books and 100 published academic papers to his credit, he is also the author of more 250 reviews, notes, and popular articles. His latest book is Another Canon: Indian Texts and Traditions in English (Anthem Press, forthcoming).The third lecture is on the “Sanatani” Mahatma. Sanatani here may be taken as both the perennial Gandhi, but also the Hindu, in the sense of Sanatana Dharma, Gandhi. This lecture, thus, attempts to ask what aspects of Gandhi outlive him, but also in what ways he was the quintessential, perhaps the greatest, Hindu of his times. Such questions, understandably, assume greater urgency in a post-Hindutva India. If we closely examine his life, we notice not just how radically Gandhi modified and reformed the Hinduism that he had inherited, but also how deeply he renewed and burnished it. Some of the most challenging tensions in Gandhi’s thought, including his critique of modernity, may be better understood, if not resolved, if we see his key ideas in a sanatani perspective. It is such a non-exclusive reading of Gandhi that can help us move beyond both the reductionism of Hindutva and of a self-constitutively secular academic discourse itself.
Mahatma Gandhi at the OCHS 4: Gandhigiri vs. Gandhiism: The Afterlife of the Mahatma in Lage Raho Munna Bhai (seminar)
The last seminar is as much a celebration of Bollywood as of Gandhi. It is to the former that the credit for most effectively resurrecting the Mahatma should go, certainly much more so than to Gandhians or academics. For Bollywood literally revives the spirit of Gandhi by showing how irresistibly he continues to haunt India today. Not just in giving us Gandhigiri—a totally new way of doing Gandhi in the world—but in its perceptive representation of the threat that modernity poses to Gandhian thought is Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006) remarkable (film to be shown Monday morning). What is more, it also draws out the distinction between Gandhi as hallucination and the real afterlife of the Mahatma. The film’s enormous popularity at the box office—it grossed close to a billion rupees—is not just an index of its commercial success, but also proof of the responsive cord it struck in Indian audiences. But it is not just the genius and inventiveness of Bollywood cinema that is demonstrated in the film as much as the persistence and potency of Gandhi’s own ideas, which have the capacity to adapt themselves to unusual circumstances and times. Both Richard Attenborough’s Oscar-winning epic, and Rajkumar Hirani’s Lage Raho Munna Bhai show that Gandhi remains as media-savvy after his death as he was during his life.
Indian Foreign Policy: Shifting Roles and Challenges in the New Decade
Ford Lecture
HE Nalin Surie
A review of principal foreign policy development in the first decade of the 21st century and implications for the second decade.
Nalin Surie is the High Commissioner for India in the UK. He is an expert on India-China relations.
Hinduism I: Themes and Textual Sources Lecture 8: Hinduism and Modernity
This course offers a thematic and historical introduction to Hinduism for students of theology and religious studies. Focusing on the brahmanical tradition we will explore the textual sources, categories, practices and social institutions that formed that tradition. Primary texts in translation will provide the basis for reflection on issues such as dharma, renunciation, caste, and concepts of deity. We then move on to some of the major philosophical developments of the tradition, with particular emphasis on the Vedanta. The course will raise theological and cultural questions about the relation between reason and practice, person and world, and society and gender. We will conclude with a consideration of Hinduism and
Related: General, Modern India
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Cathode Tubes (HS: 8540) Product Trade, Exporters and Importers
Cathode Tubes
8540 (Harmonized System 1992 for 4-digit)
World Trade (2018): $1.75B, Rnk 773 / 1225
Top Exporter (2018): $276M, Japan
Top Importer (2018): $277M, United States
Product Complexity (2018): 0.66, Rnk 302 / 1018
Export Growth (CAGR)(2017 - 2018): 18.4%, Rnk 378 / 1225
Mean Tariff (2018): 5.32%, Rnk 772 / 1259
Share of World Trade (2018): 0.0095%, Rnk 773 / 1225
dotExporters and Importers
dotMarket Dynamics
dotMarket Concentration
dotNet Trade
dotImport Tariffs
Product Complexity
dotRelated Products
Overview: This page contains the latest trade data of Cathode Tubes. In 2018, Cathode Tubes were the world's 773rd most traded product, with a total trade of $1.75B. Between 2017 and 2018 the exports of Cathode Tubes grew by 18.4%, from $1.48B to $1.75B. Trade in Cathode Tubes represent 0.0095% of total world trade.
Exports: In 2018 the top exporters of Cathode Tubes were Japan ($276M), United States ($275M), France ($220M), China ($179M), and United Kingdom ($149M).
Imports: In 2018 the top importers of Cathode Tubes were United States ($277M), Germany ($172M), China ($161M), Japan ($93.1M), and Netherlands ($79.7M).
Tariffs: In 2018 the average tariff for Cathode Tubes was 5.32%, been the 772 lowest tariff using the HS4 product classification.
The countries with the highest import tariffs for Cathode Tubes are Bahamas (40.2%), Bermuda (25%), Samoa (20%), Cameroon (19.6%), and Gabon (19.6%). The countries with the lowest tariffs are Mauritius (0%), Hong Kong (0%), Japan (0%), Lebanon (0%), and Sri Lanka (0%).
Ranking: Cathode Tubes ranks 302nd in the Product Complexity Index (PCI).
Exporters and Importers
Trade By Country
Yearcaret-down 201820172016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995
Top Origin (2018): Japan, $276M
Top Destination (2018): United States, $277M
Cathode Tubes are the world's 773rd most traded product.
In 2018, the top exporters of Cathode Tubes were Japan ($276M), United States ($275M), France ($220M), China ($179M), and United Kingdom ($149M).
In 2018, the top importers of Cathode Tubes were United States ($277M), Germany ($172M), China ($161M), Japan ($93.1M), and Netherlands ($79.7M).
Initial Yearcaret-down 20172016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995 Final Yearcaret-down 201820172016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995
Growth %
Top Origin Growth (2017 - 2018): United States, $38.7M
Top Destination Growth (2017 - 2018): China, $60.3M
Between 2017 and 2018, the exports of Cathode Tubes grew the fastest in United States ($38.7M), Netherlands ($32.2M), France ($28.9M), Singapore ($22.9M), and United Kingdom ($21M).
Between 2017 and 2018, the fastest growing importers of Cathode Tubes were China ($60.3M), Germany ($42.7M), United States ($37.9M), Philippines ($24.4M), and Japan ($23.6M).
Market Concentration
Cumulative market share
This chart shows the evolution of the market concentration of exports of Cathode Tubes.
In 2018, market concentration measured using Shannon Entropy, was 3.92. This means that most of the exports of Cathode Tubes are explained by 15 countries.
Net Trade
TOP NET EXPORTER (2018): Japan, $183M
TOP NET IMPORTER (2018): Germany, $57.9M
This map shows which countries export or import more of Cathode Tubes. Each country is colored based on the difference in exports and imports of Cathode Tubes during 2018.
In 2018, the countries that had a largest trade value in exports than in imports of Cathode Tubes were Japan ($183M), France ($156M), United Kingdom ($87.9M), Netherlands ($40.3M), and Russia ($39.3M).
In 2018, the countries that had a largest trade value in imports than in exports of Cathode Tubes were Germany ($57.9M), South Korea ($40.4M), Turkey ($40M), Philippines ($39.6M), and Canada ($32.8M).
Import Tariffs
In 2018, the average tariff for importing Cathode Tubes was 5.32%. The countries with the highest tariffs for importing Cathode Tubes were Bahamas (40.2%), Bermuda (25%), Samoa (20%), Cameroon (19.6%), and Gabon (19.6%).
The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk and the strategic value of a product's potential export opportunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth potential, lower income inequality, and lower emissions.
This visualization shows products that are likely to be exported by countries that export Cathode Tubes.
Electrical Power Accessories
Electric Filament
Semiconductor Devices
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JPMorgan Chase Announces New Glasgow Home
Press Releases Banking, Finance, JPMorganChase
Firm celebrates 20th anniversary with new, long-term commitment to the city
Glasgow, U.K. September 17, 2019 — JPMorgan Chase & Co. today announces plans to build a new state-of-the-art technology home in Glasgow, coinciding with the firm’s 20th anniversary in the city. The building will be located on Argyle Street in the heart of Glasgow’s International Finance District, giving the firm the capacity to further grow in the city, with space for up to 2,700 employees. It is scheduled to open its doors in 2022.
The 270,000 sq ft building will contain large open plan office floors across 13 storeys and the project will be developed by Osborne+Co. The development will be one of the first buildings constructed under Planning Policy CDP 5 (Resource Efficiency) of the Glasgow City Development Plan, which sets energy efficiency and CO2 emission performance standards and goes further than other U.K. cities.
The building is targeting BREEAM Excellent certification, the leading sustainability assessment method, in line with JPMorgan Chase’s global commitment to source renewable energy for 100% of its global power needs by 2020. To achieve this, it will include a number of sustainability-focussed features including efficient LED lights, responsibly sourced materials and minimized water consumption. There will be over 350 bicycle spaces but only 12 car parking spaces.
JPMorgan Chase currently employs around 2,000 people in Glasgow and is the largest technology employer and recruiter in Scotland. The city has been home to the firm’s strategic and award winning Technology Centre for 20 years this week. With a 100% focus on technology, it provides vital software development facilities to the firm and its clients. Consequently, Glasgow is a key part of the global technology network that services the full range of JPMorgan Chase’s operations.
Lori Beer, Global Chief Information Officer, JPMorgan Chase & Co, said: “This investment is just the next step in our unwavering commitment to the city of Glasgow. We have enjoyed 20 years of success in the city and this has helped build our global reputation of technology innovation for our clients. JPMorgan Chase is proud to have a site as dynamic as Glasgow, which is testament to the expertise and hard work of our employees there.”
Investing to Create Economic Opportunity in Glasgow
JPMorgan Chase is passionate about driving inclusive growth in its local communities. In Glasgow, the firm helps connect more people with economic opportunity by preparing individuals from across the city, particularly those from underserved communities, for the future of work. Since 2017, the firm has committed over £1 million to connect 2,000 people in Glasgow with the skills that they need to qualify for in-demand jobs.
Alongside a number of current partnerships, over the last six months, the firm has made two major philanthropic commitments:
The firm is collaborating with Glasgow Science Centre, one of the most active organizations providing Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) career guidance in Scotland, to improve the connections of low income youth interested in STEM to employers through a series of workshops and work placements.
JPMorgan Chase, with Good Things Foundation, in June launched Power Up, a pioneering £1.3 million initiative to help individuals, businesses and communities, including in Glasgow, to participate by helping people in underserved communities build the digital skills that they need to qualify for in-demand jobs.
Stephen Flaherty, Managing Director of J.P Morgan’s Glasgow Technology Centre said: “Our new home in Glasgow and our continued investment in jobs, training and development reflects the huge amount of talent available in the city. The technology capabilities being developed by our team here are playing a key role in enabling and supporting our customers and communities worldwide. Our commitment to Glasgow goes deeper still through the work we do with local schools and universities, as well as our recently announced partnership with the Glasgow Science Centre.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I welcome JPMorgan Chase’s continued investment in Scotland through the building of these new and sustainable Glasgow headquarters. With a focus on renewable energy and active travel, the company’s plans are an example to other businesses of how we can move towards a cleaner, greener economy. This commitment sends a strong message that even in these uncertain times, we remain open for business and shows great confidence in Scotland as a centre of excellence for financial services.”
Commenting on behalf of Glasgow’s International Financial Services District (IFSD), Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “JPMorgan Chase’s decision to establish its Technology Centre in Glasgow 20 years ago was an important stage in the development of the IFSD. Over the past two decades, the spectacular growth of the firm in Glasgow has mirrored the overall growth of the city’s financial services community and its status as one of Europe’s top financial centres. We are hugely encouraged by the impressive scale of JPMorgan Chase’s new Glasgow office which offers significant scope for further expansion of its workforce in the city, creating new jobs for our residents, while regenerating a key city centre site. We very much welcome the company’s positive comments and current programs to nurture the talent pipeline emerging from our schools, colleges and universities and look forward to continuing to work closely with them in the years ahead.”
Fostering a Culture of Diversity
In Glasgow, JPMorgan Chase is currently the largest technology employer and recruiter in Scotland, taking in around 130 interns and 80-90 graduates every year. The firm is passionate about developing strong links with schools, universities and networking bodies across Scotland, helping to attract top female technologists and historically underrepresented groups in the tech field, strengthening the firm’s position as a ‘non-traditional’ technology organization. In recognition of that focus, the firm was twice voted Employer of the Year by Scottish Women in Technology.
JPMorgan Chase also runs a range of programs to boost awareness of technology as a viable career path amongst young people, and to encourage diverse candidates from all different backgrounds and experiences to apply to work for the firm. Two examples are:
The Tech Connect program provides an application pathway for graduates from non-technical backgrounds by offering a specialized training bootcamp alongside mentoring from senior technologists.
Generation Tech targets 14-17 year old female maths students from local high schools, setting a task challenging the students to discover how technology can be used for social good.
About JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.7 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of customers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.
SOURCE: JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Citi Ranked Best in Overall U.S. Fixed Income Market Share, Quality
MetLife Named to the 2019 Dow Jones Sustainability Index
American Express and Parley for the Oceans Announce First-Ever Card Made Primarily with Reclaimed Plastic from Parley and Launch a Global Campaign to #BackOurOceans
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I Hope No One Puts Das Kapital in the Toilet!
By andyo Aug 13, 2008 8:26 AM ET
While protesters of the far left are not known for their intelligence, it does appear they have a knack for hyperbole.
DENVER (CBS4) ― CBS4 News has learned if mass arrests happen at the Democratic Convention, those taken into custody will be jailed in a warehouse owned by the City of Denver…
Inside are dozens [of] metal cages. They are made out of chain link fence material and topped by rolls of barbed wire…
The protesters have already given this place a name: “Gitmo on the Platte.”
At least they didn’t bring down the wrath of Godwin by calling it the Auschwitz of the Rockies.
CBS4 showed its video to leaders of groups that plan to demonstrate during the convention.
“Very bare bones and very reminiscent of a political prisoner camp or a concentration camp,” said Zoe Williams of Code Pink.
Or reminiscent of, you know, a jail, as opposed to – say – a Holiday Inn. A place where large numbers of law-breakers can be quickly and securely held until they can be properly processed…into Soylent Green!
“That’s how you treat cattle,” said Adam Jung of the group Tent State University. “You showed the sign where it said stun gun in use and you just change the word gun for bolt and it’s a meat processing plant.”
Change the word “gun” into “-ning dress” and you have Project Runway.
Do these people actually stop to wonder why most people don’t take their causes seriously?
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