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Mentoring scheme
About SGAN
The Sub-Global Assessment Network is open to all who are conducting or have an interest in ecosystem assessments. The SGAN supports around 500 members involved in undertaking or using ecosystem assessments, including practitioners, researchers and policy makers.
The SGAN through its activities and community of practice:
Offers opportunities for training in specific tools and approaches related to ecosystem assessments (e.g. training workshops on valuation, scenarios, mainstreaming etc.);
Captures, synthesizes and disseminates examples of best practices and lessons learnt in undertaking ecosystem assessments;
Develops e-learning tools which are of interest to ecosystem assessment practitioners;
Encourages and supports ongoing exchanges between and amongst SGAs, either through virtual or face-to-face means (e.g. sharing of expertise);
Establishes and maintains a website devoted to the SGAN to allow access to relevant materials and information; and
Links SGAs to the scientific community and to relevant information and data sources which are useful for undertaking ecosystem assessment work.
Being a member of the network has been a great opportunity to better understand and position our work on ecosystem assessments within a global context.
Fernando Santos-Martín, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Please contact us if you would like to join the network to:
Share and benefit from the experiences of other members conducting ecosystem assessments within the Network; and
Receive updates about SGAN activities, such as webinars and other training events.
JOIN SGAN
Please contact us if you would like to join the Sub-Global Assessment Network
The Network supports around 500 members involved in ecosystem assessments, including practitioners, researchers and policy makers. Please contact us if you would like to join the network.
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I want to do MBA from a leading B-School, which are the
Top 10 MBA Institutes in India and their admission procedur
Asked by 2655 days ago- by Prasanth Kumar Mannem
IIMs are considered the most prestigious B-Schools of the country. Most of the IIMs are ranked among the top B-Schools and among the top 10 B-Schools of the country in various ranking surveys. Here is the list of the top 10 B-Schools of the country from where you can pursue you MBA programme:
1. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA)
2. Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta
3. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore
4. Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow
5. Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI)
6. Faculty of Management Studies (FMS)
7. Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode
8. Indian Institute of Management (IIM) - Indore
9. S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research
10. Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT)
To get admission in these reputed B-Schools you need to clear CAT entrance exam. Apart from this these institute ask for at least 50% or 60% marks in graduation which vary from institute to institute. Once you get a valid CAT score you need to appear in Group Discussion & Personal Interview round. The overall ranking will be declared on the basis of all these three procudures and aspirnats will be offered admission.
Response by Expert , 2655 days ago
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nbn (formerly NBN Co) has advised the CWU that it has sent copies of its proposed nbn and CEPU Technical Employees Agreement 2015 – 2018 out to employees. It has also advised them of the time, place and method of voting on the proposed agreement.
It has done this despite the fact that the parties were still engaged in negotiations.
The vote on the agreement will open at midday Thursday 21 May and close on 5pm Tuesday 26 May (AEST). Voting will occur by way of an electronic ballot which nbn says will be conducted by Elections Australia Pty Ltd.
Members should be clear that this proposed agreement has not been agreed to by CWU negotiators and cannot be recommended to members for approval.
Although it contains no major changes to conditions, the pay offer it contains is well below that sought by your union representatives. The total 4.5% rise over three years will almost certainly end up being below inflation and so would represent an actual wage reduction over the life of the agreement.
It is obviously less than nbn employees deserve.
The CWU is disappointed that nbn has chosen to end negotiations unilaterally and put out this sub-standard offer for a vote. Members should now know, however, that the larger culprit here is the Abbott government which is hell bent on implementing a destructive and punitive industrial relations policy at the expense of its own employees.
The CWU negotiating team has advised nbn that they would not be able to endorse an agreement with such a low pay rise. It will now be up to employees as to whether the agreement is accepted or rejected.
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The Moon Under Water
Discover the history of Colindale’s famous air races.
10 Varley Parade, The Hyde, Colindale, London, NW9 6RR
Several Wetherspoon pubs have ‘moon’ in their name, linking them with the ideal pub described in detail by George Orwell. The highly regarded author named his fictional pub ‘Moon Under Water’. This one was purpose built as a branch of the Woolworths chain. It opened in early summer of 1939, serving a fast-growing suburb. Woolworths traded here at Varley Parade for 45 years, closing in 1984.
Photographs of crowds gathering in Colindale to watch the air races.
Photographs and text about flying at Colindale.
The text reads: Flying began at the Hendon Aerodrome in Colindale in 1910, just seven years after the Wright Brothers made the first powered flight. Louis Bleriot, the first man to fly across the British Channel, started a flying school here in the same year.
In 1911 Grahame-White began to develop the Aerodrome and established the Grahame-White School of Aviation. He also inaugurated displays that brought in thousands of spectators.
A photograph and text about Claude Grahame White, c1879.
The text reads: In 1908 he learned to fly in France, and became one of the first Englishman to qualify as a pilot. In 1911 he established a teaching school at Hendon, which quickly became Hendon Aerodrome.
A photograph of Edgware Road, Colindale, c1917. Aircraft factories can be seen on both sides of the road.
A photograph of workers leaving the Aircraft Manufacturing Company’s factory, in 1917.
A photograph of crowds at Colindale station for an air show on the Aerodrome, in June 1935.
A photograph of crowds at Hendon Aerodrome, c1910.
A photograph of King George V and Queen Mary, at Hendon Aerodrome.
Photographs of Colindale in the early days.
A photograph of Edgware Road, Colindale, c1920.
Photographs of Edgware Road, Colindale.
A collection of photographs of Colindale in the past.
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Driving, Mass Transit
Traffic lights coming to 210 FWY in Far East LA
February 25, 2008 frazgo 5 Comments
For anyone driving on the 210 know that at the 57 and 605 interchanges it be tough on a good day making those transitions. In an experiment to smooth out the flow of traffic entering the 210 from either of those freeways traffic lights have been installed and will be fully operational in 2 weeks. Yes, traffic lights on a freeway. That sort of light system has been at the 91/605 and 105/605 junctions for a while to smooth out the traffic getting onto the 605 so they do help smooth out the flow onto the ungoverned freeway. Full story here on KNBC
What this does illustrate is that more time and energy needs to be devoted to looking at rail alternatives for both the 605 and 57 freeways since so much of the traffic on the 210 comes from them. Maybe instead of the Gold Line that will in part duplicate what is in place with the metrorail we look at providing mass transit alternatives for that huge group of communters in lieu of the Gold Line that the local governments formed a PAC to promote?
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5 thoughts on “Traffic lights coming to 210 FWY in Far East LA”
Fred Camino says:
Ahh traffic lights on a freeway. Is there any denying that these things have been a MASSIVE failure as a mode of transportation. The New York Subway system has been around for over twice as long as the LA freeway system and yet it still moves people in its intended way, it may be more crowded, but it hasn’t turned into a bus. The freeways on the other hand have turned into arterial streets.
Mass Rapid T says:
Yes, there is denying.
The freeway system would be efficient for our area had the original designs and plans been followed.
To compare NYC to LA (Southern California) and the subway system to the freeway system shows a gross misunderstanding of the mathematical relationship between distance and population density.
Uhh no, there’s no denying. Ifs and buts and what-ifs don’t matter. The freeways do not work. Bottom line.
I compare both freeways and subways because they are both grade-separated modes of transportation. Grade separation is meant to be more efficient than at-grade transportation.
The NYC subway system is a grade-separated transportation mode that has handled a population growth from 942,292 in 1870 (the first urban rail in NYC open in 1868) to 8 million in 2000. It may be more crowded now, but it is still as efficient at moving people around. And no, it hasn’t lived up to the original plans and designs – the Second Street line was supposed to be built 50 years ago. It still does not exist.
The Los Angeles County freeways (all 650 miles of them) have failed to handle a population growth from 2,785,643 in 1940 (when the first freeway was opened) to 9,519,338 in 2000. Freeways for the most part (as evidenced by plans to install traffic lights on them) offer very little advantage over surface streets for much travel. They are crowded and slow. What they did manage to do was encourage sprawl and automobile dependency, which of course begat more automobiles, which of course begat more traffic on the freeways, which of course begat their failure.
Had more freeways been built, they would surely suffer the same fate.
Mass transit handles and allocates population growth much more efficiently. A train holds X amount of people in Y amount of space. A freeway holds X amount of cars (which hold Z amount of people) in Y amount of space. Since cars (the delivery mechanism) take up a lot more room than people, a freeway (the pipeline) gets crowded very quickly with the addition of relatively few people. A train (the delivery mechanism) on the other hand can hold a lot more people than cars, but the the tracks (the pipeline) remains uncrowded because the people are in the train. The addition of a single train to the pipeline allows many more people without adding too much to the pipeline. This is why things like ride-sharing, car-pooling, and van-pooling are encouraged for the freeways because they carry more people down the pipeline while taking up less space. This is the mathematical relationship you need to understand.
frazgo says:
You know Fred you raise many good points. The problem is that the freeways only suck a couple of hours a day absent some horrific goof up during the rest of the day. Last night at 6PM I went to a friends house in Silverlake, 20 miles in 25 minutes. So they do work off peak and that is generally when I have a need for them.
The problem remains peak times and you accurately point out that the “pipeline” fills and then we have problems. I don’t disagree with the need for rail and expanding Metro. We have needed it desperately for the 20 years I have lived here. I would have killed to have had a functioning rail to get me downtown when I had to go down there several times a month a few years back.
The hurdles that keep us from getting a rail that works lies with NIMBY’s and local govt’s taking a me-me approach and to hell with the greater good of the whole metro area. IT’s a huge SoCal problem and we need to address the major routes of movement daily.
Rapid Mass T says:
Simply making the connection based on one factor, grade separation, is severely myopic.
LA County Freeways cover 650 miles, in a 4081 square mile area (Pop. 9.5 Million). New York City Subways cover 660 miles in 322 square miles (Pop. 8.2 million). LA has 1.2 times the population in 12.6 times the area. That’s the mathematical and geographical relationship that you need to understand.
Those miles of LA County Highways include two lane highways (some not grade separated) such as the PCH to Malibu (Hwy 1) and to the top of the Angeles Crest (Hwy 2) over an altitude of 7,000 feet. You can’t do that in the subway.
Consider the fact that the freeways in question continue into Orange and San Bernardino counties, and the NYC – LA transportation comparison becomes far more tenuous.
I’m not arguing the freeways are crowded, and too crowded. Personally I stay off them at those times, as Frazgo mentioned.
I’m not here to get into some NYC LA shouting match, both cities, and both cities transportation systems, have their flaws. The freeways, Mass Transit and Rapid Transit systems in Los Angeles, could all be better.
But at this point in time, you are not going to solve the transporation problems of Los Angeles by using a model from New York City, the equations are not the same.
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2020 the First Online Conference of Belt & Road Alliance for Intelligent Sensing and IoT Collaboration (BRASIC) Successfully Held
2020 Academic Conference of China Instrument and Control Society
The 5th-International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring and Integrity Management (ICSHMIM2020)
MICONEX will open on November 25 (International Conference and Fair for Measurement, Instrumantation and Automation )
International Coalition of Intelligent Manufacturing
International Forum on Engineering Education
The International Forum on Engineering Education is a biennial international academic event co-organized by the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Tsinghua University and UNESCO. The Inaugural International Forum on Engineering Education was held at the Tsinghua University campus in Beijing on 24-25 September, 2018.
Engineering education is now facing unprecedented opportunities and challenges as a result of accelerating scientific and technological development and industrial reform. The Forum will bring together renowned scholars and leaders in the field of engineering education, engineering technology and technology management from all over the world, to have profound discussions of the innovation and development of engineering education, promoting the world's frontier scientific and technological innovation and taking the initiative to meet the major global scientific and technological challenges.
The 2nd International Forum on Engineering Education will be held at the Tsinghua University campus in Beijing on 2-4 December, 2020. With the theme of " Environment and Sustainable Development ", the Forum will launch a vigorous, on-going global dialogue that will bring constructive insights and practical answers on engineering education in the new era, including water environment and water ecology, climate change and blue sky action, environment and health, sustainable chemical engineering and the future, engineering education for sustainable development.
Opening Ceremony （December 2, 2020 20:00-23:00 UTC+8 ） (Online Meeting)
Hosted by：YOU Zheng (Member of CAE; Vice President, Tsinghua University)
LI Xiaohong (Member of CAE; President, Chinese Academy of Engineering)
Marielza OLIVERIA (Director, UNESCO Beijing Office)
Plenary Speech
Arthur P.J. MOL（Rector Magnificus, Wageningen University & Research）
Inger ANDERSEN (Under-Secretary-General, United Nations; Executive Director, the United Nations Environment Programme)
QIU Yong (Member of CAS; President, Tsinghua University)
Invited Speech (Online Meeting)
XIE Zhenhua (Special Advisor, Climate Change Affairs of China Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the PRC; President, the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development)
Edward CRAWLEY (Member of NAE; Foreign Member of CAE; Co-chairperson, Advisory Board of ICEE)
HOU Feng (Chairman, China Water Environment Group)
HUANG Xiaojun (Vice President/Managing Director, Veolia China)
Day 1 Remark（22:50-23:00）
YOU Zheng (Member of CAE; Vice President, Tsinghua University)
Panel A3: Sustainable Technologies and Global Engagement
20:00-23:00 UTC+8, December 3, 2020
Department of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua University
China Instrument and Control Society (CIS)
Belt & Road Alliance for Sensing and IoT Collaboration (BRASIC)
Panel Introduction
The global economy is facing unprecedented challenges and profound changes. It is imperative to reshape the global engagement for promoting sustainable development. Societies from all countries should uphold the vision of a community sharing a same future for mankind and further strengthen the cooperation in international development. Defending multilateralism, initiating new international cooperation, jointly protecting the global public health system, safeguarding human life and health, and valuing the concept of sustainable development should become the global consensus. It is important to take the advantage of the functions by governments, markets and international organizations in processes responding to the crisis, to increase the investment to developments related to people's livelihood, and to strengthen the international cooperation in technical exchanges and professional training in various fields. However, how to combine technological upgrade with cross-professional, cross-field and cross-industry collaborative has become an important issue. In order to facing this challenge, there is an urgent demand for high-level engineers and technicians, which poses a huge challenge to the global engineering education.
As part of the effort to promote the concept, we are organizing the forum "Sustainable Technologies and Global Engagement" and inviting well-known scholars and leaders in the field of engineering education to participate, introducing new sustainable technologies, sharing their thoughts about future engineering education, and discussing how to strengthen the cooperation in the field of engineering education, with an aim to benefit the world with a joint effort in sustainable development.
Host by: Zheng Ouyang, Professor and Chairman, Department of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua University
Panel Speakers:
1) Kenneth T V Grattan，OBE FREng, Royal Academy of Engineering-George Daniels Professor of Scientific Instrumentation, City, University of London)
2) Bhawani Shankar Chowdhry, Former Dean, Department of Telecommunication Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, Pakistan
3) Ahmed Al-Shamma’a, The Dean, College of Engineering, University of Sharjah, UAE.
4) Elfed Lewis, Director, Optical Fibre Sensors Research Centre of University of Limerick (Ireland)
5) Professor Andy Augousti, Professor of Applied Physics and Instrumentation, Kingston University
6) Professor Pablo Otero, Head of the Oceanic Engineering Research Institute of the University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain.
7) Jian Liu, Prof and Dean of School of Instrumentation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, China
Chair and Panel Speakers (in chronological order of the speeches)
ZHENG Ouyang
Professor and Chairman Department of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua University
Professor Zheng Ouyang received his BE and ME in Automatic Control from Tsinghua University in China, his MS in Physical Chemistry from West Virginia University in USA, and his Ph D. in Analytical Chemistry from Purdue University in USA. He had been a professor at the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University before he joined Tsinghua University in 2016 and served as the Chairman of the Department of Precision Instrument and the Deputy Dean of the School of Mechanical Engineering. Professor Ouyang’s research is focused on the development of mass spectrometry instrumentation and related applications in biomedical field. Currently, he is the Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, Editor of the International Journal of Mass Spectrometry, Associate Editor of Research, Associate Editor of Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry, and member of editorial board for Trends in Analytical Chemistry and Journal of The American Society for Mass Spectrometry
Kenneth TV Grattan
OBE FREng, Royal Academy of Engineering - George Daniels Professor of Scientific Instrumentation, City, University of London
KENNETH T.V. GRATTAN received the B.Sc. (Hons.) degree in physics in 1974 and the Ph.D. degree from Queen’s University, Belfast, UK in 1978 and the D.Sc. degree from City University in 1992 for his work in sensor systems. In 1978, he became a Research Fellow at the Imperial College of Science and Technology. In 1983, he joined City, University of London as a “new blood” Lecturer in physics, where he appointed as a Professor of Measurement and Instrumentation in 1991 and the Head of the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering. From 2001 to 2008, he was the Associate Dean and then the Deputy Dean of the School of Engineering and from 2008 to 2012, he was the first Conjoint Dean of the School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences and the School of Informatics. In 2013, he was appointed as the Inaugural Dean of the City Graduate School. He was appointed as a George Daniels Professor of Scientific Instrumentation in 2013 and to the Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in 2014.
Prof Grattan is extensively involved with the work of the professional bodies having been Chairman of the Science, Education and Technology of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (now IET) and the Applied Optics Division, Institute of Physics and was the President of the Institute of Measurement and Control during 2000. He was elected as the President of the International Measurement Confederation in 2014, serving from 2015 to 2018. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Engineering, the U.K. National Academy of Engineering, in 2008 and received the national honour of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2018 from Her Majesty the Queen.
Bhawani Shankar Chowdhry
Former Dean, Department of Telecommunication Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, Pakistan
Professor Bhawani Shankar Chowdhry did PhD from UK in 1990. Presently he is Chair Karachi Section. He is a Distinguished National Professor, and Former Dean and Professor Emeritus Faculty of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering & Technology, Jamshoro, Pakistan. He is also a Member BOG Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. He has remained visiting Guest Scientist/Associate of the Abdus Salam ICTP (under umbrella of UNESCO/UNU), Trieste (Italy) for Twelve (12) Years and three times European Union Erasmus Mundus visiting Fellow. He is Fellow of IEEEP, Fellow of Institute of Engineers Pakistan and Senior Member IEEE.
He is having the credit of being editor/coeditor of books “Wireless Networks, Information Processing and Systems”, CCIS 20, and “Emerging Trends and Applications in Information Communication Technologies”, CCIS 281, and “Wireless Sensor Networks for Developing Countries”, CCIS 366 published by Springer Verlag, Germany.
Ahmed Al-Shamma'a
The Dean, College of Engineering, University of Sharjah, UAE
Professor Ahmed Al-Shamma’a (BEng, MSc, PhD), The Dean - College of Engineering, University of Sharjah, Obtained his MSc and PhD degree from the University of Liverpool, UK in 1990 and 1993 respectively and he is a member of many Professional bodies. He was the Pro Vice Chancellor-Executive Dean (Teaching, Research and Enterprise) at Liverpool John Moores University, UK for 5 years before joining the University of Sharjah in Nov 2019.
Prof Ahmed main areas of expertise are, Non-invasive sensing for industrial applications, Microwave devices, Industry 4.0 complete system integration and Telecommunications. His academic contributions Impact through professional practice is illustrated by the long list of publications over; 300 refereed journal and conference papers; 70 technical papers and reports; 17 patents; 1 book joint; 18 book Chapters; 45 Keynote speeches in national and international conferences and workshops; 40 conference presentations, 30 conference chair sessions; Organized 4 international conferences and summer schools. Prof Ahmed have supervised 33 PhD students who successfully have completed their studies.
Elfed Lewis
Director, Optical Fibre Sensors Research Centre of University of Limerick (Ireland)
Elfed Lewis graduated with BEng (Hons) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Liverpool University in 1978 and was awarded his PhD from the same institution in 1987. He is Associate Professor and Director of the Optical Fibre Sensors Research Centre at University of Limerick, which he founded in 1996. He is Fellow of Institute of Physics, IET and Senior member IEEE. He has authored and co-authored more than 180 journal papers and made in excess of 300 contributions to international conferences. He currently holds 9 patents on Optical Fibre Sensor Devices. In 2005 he was recipient of the University of Limerick Special Achievement in Research Award and was a Fulbright Scholar with CREOL (University of Central Florida) in 2008. He was Distinguished Lecturer for IEEE Sensors Council for the period July 2013-June 2015 and General Co-Chair of the recent IEEE 2019 World Forum on IoT held at University of Limerick, Ireland.
Andy Augousti
Professor of Applied Physics and Instrumentation, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing, Kinston University London
Andy Augousti is a professor of Applied Physics and Instrumentation, and was the founding Director of the Doctoral School of the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing at Kingston University. He published nearly 150 refereed journal and conference publications, 3 patents, 5 volumes of edited conference proceedings, and a laboratory manual for Physics students with international colleagues. He is also a Series Editor for a book series on Sensors and Instrumentation published by Kluwer Academic Publishers.
He organized over 50 conferences and meetings, chaired four national conferences, and organized and delivered over 50 short courses in the UK, France and China. He has international research links in China, India, Ireland, Poland, the USA, Japan and Brazil and my work has been funded by the EPSRC, the former DTI, the EU, the British Council, the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering. He is a Chartered Physicist, a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, the Institute of Engineering and Technology and the Institute of Measurement and Control. He have been a recipient of the President's Award of Tianjin University, and both the Honeywell International Medal and the Callendar Medal of the Institute of Measurement and Control.
Pablo Otero
Associate Professor, Head of the Oceanic Engineering Research Institute of the University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain
P. Otero (S’84–M’93) received the M.Eng. degree in Telecommunications Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain, in 1983, and the Ph.D. degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1998.
From 1983 to 1995, he was with Spanish Companies Standard Electrica, EN Bazan, Telefonica, and also with the University of Seville, Seville, Spain, where he was involved with and lectured on communications and radar systems. In 1996, he joined the Laboratory of Electromagnetism and Acoustics, EPFL, granted by the Spanish Government. In 1998, he joined the University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain, where he is Associate Professor and Head of the Oceanic Engineering Research Institute. P. Otero is IEEE Member.
LIU Jian
Prof and Dean of School of Instrumentation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, China
Jian Liu, Prof and Dean of School of Instrumentation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, China. His academic interests lie in the theories and implementations of optical microscopes, in particular the development of optical microscopes, applied optics and optical metrology. He is of membership of Discipline Evaluation Group of the 8th Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, Council Committee of China Instrument and Control Society, ISO/TC213 and China SAC/TC240 as well which are both served for geometrical products specifications, and board membership of Journal of Microscopy, Optics Communications, etc..
Founded in 1932, the Department of Precision Instrument of Tsinghua University is one of the engineering departments with the longest history in China. The Department has two divisions, the instrument science and technology and optical engineering, both highly regarded nationwide. It has a state key laboratory and multiple research centers, which constitute an advanced platform for interdisciplinary training and innovative scientific research.
China Instrument and Control Society (CIS) is a leading academic organization in measurement, instrumentation, control, and automation in China. Founded in 1979, located in Beijing, China’s capital, CIS serves as the bridge and contact link for scientific and technical professionals. With 46,647 individual members, 1406 group members, 44 subordinate professional branches, 29 local sections, and 15 Specialized working Committees, CIS play an important role in build bridges between Chinese governmental administrations, industries, scientists, engineers, researchers, and manufacturers.
Belt & Road Alliance for Sensing and IoT Collaboration (BRASIC) is an international non-government and non-profit organization that aims to promote international cooperation among nations in the fields of sensing and IoT for the benefit of the coordinated development of the world. BRASIC is an open and win-win collaborative platform to share knowledge and experience by holding international conferences, publications reports, and professional education programs to achieving the goal to support the sustainable development of sensing and IoT industrial.
Contact us: Stephanie Shan
Stephanie-shan@hotmail.com
shm@cis.org.cn
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About VASS
Major tasks from now to 2020
Research Institutes Website
Typical scientists
The Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) is heading into an exciting new phase of development and I am proud to be working with you at this prestigious institution. Being a part of the Vietnamese Government, VASS always plays an essential role in every historic moment of the nation’s development process. Under strong leadership, VASS has made remarkable progress in carrying out the tasks of scientific research, post-graduate training, policy advisory and active participation in the policy making process of the Party and the Government
From the heart of Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital city, we are spreading avant-garde ideas about the development of the society, the nation and the people of Vietnam. We believe that together human capital and knowledge capital form our strongest and most valuable resources, and that their efficient utilization is key to achieving a prosperous society. Research and creative work are our foci and VASS is in a unique position to mobilize experts from various sectors to think and work together toward achieving key national objectives
By connecting with national and international partners, we are also in the center of a working network that promotes academic exchange in the social sciences. We make every effort to ensure that VASS, with its talents and skills, is a reliable partner in the global network. Together, we can encourage partnership across disciplines. Today, VASS stands out as Vietnam’s top governmental academic institution focusing on the social sciences and humanities. To maintain this position, we are committed to innovation as an important part of an ongoing mission to advance public knowledge and address pressing societal needs.
You are all welcome to join us and share your ideas.
VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Thuan
About VASS|
Conferences|
Trainning|
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COPYRIGHT © 2012 VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
License No. 197/GP-BC by Ministry of Culture and Information, dated 27/10/2005
Address: No. 1 - Lieu Giai - Ba Đinh - Ha Noi
Mobile: 024.62750277 - 024.62730408
Email: banbientap@vass.gov.vn
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At a meeting of technology and innovation coordination council of Yazd Province, Sorena Sattari said:
A meeting of the technology and innovation coordination council of Yazd Province was held on May 14, 2019 at the Eqbal technology center with the participation of Sorena Sattari, vice president for science and technology affairs; Mohammad Ali Talebi, Yazd’s governor; Darioush Pourserajian, director of Yazd Science and Technology Park; Mohammad Saleh Owlia, president of Yazd University; and CEOs of some knowledge-based and tech companies.
Innovation factories, a good space for realization of innovative ideas of creative youth
At this meeting, which was held on the sidelines of Sattari’s visit to Yazd Province, Sattari talked about the support provided by the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology for the establishment of innovation factories, the public relations office of Yazd Science and Technology Park reported. He said, “Such factories provide a good space for turning the innovative ideas of educated and creative youth into knowledge-based and creative businesses, and in fact, many of the knowledge-based companies that emerge out of startups leave the factories after acceleration and enter the market.”
Creating an ecosystem conducive to activities of knowledge-based and startup businesses
The vice president said promoting domestic knowledge-based products and making the country self-sufficient in the production of the most important commodities, particularly the sanctioned goods, are two of the important priorities of these businesses in the current year. “The Vice Presidency for Science and Technology is trying to create an ecosystem conducive to the activities of knowledge-based and startup companies through developing the infrastructure and software and financial support under the law of supporting knowledge-based companies.”
Sattari said, “A science and technology park is not a physical space but rather is a strategic concept and serve all parts of the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem in an unlimited manner.”
Growth of startups and knowledge-based companies in current year
Sattari said there are 4,300 knowledge-based companies and 6,000 startups working in the country, noting, “Last year, the sales of knowledge-based firms amounted to 90,000 billion tomans, and this trend will accelerate this year.”
He added, “The amount and quality of the activities of these businesses have now reached an important and influential point in the economy.”
Later on, Mohammad Ali Talebi, Yazd’s governor, welcomed the guests and thanked the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology for its approach and useful measures.
He said, “Paying attention to knowledge-based economy is the only solution in the country under current conditions.”
In addition, Darioush Pourserajian, director of Yazd Science and Technology Park, briefed the participants on the measures and macro-projects of Yazd Science and Technology Park to develop the technology and innovation ecosystem.
Sorena Sattari, vice president for science and technology affairs, who had traveled to Yazd Province on May 14, visited innovation, acceleration, and incubation centers of the tech university units in the province as well as the abandoned spinning mill factory. This factory will be turned into a place to host startups and launch the production line of tech products and services with the infrastructure support of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology.
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2020 Warehouse/DC Operations Survey: COVID-19 pandemic hits, operations respond
Just when it seemed that the pace of change for warehouses and distribution centers (DCs) couldn’t get any faster than it has been over the past few years, COVID-19 came along to show us just how fast that pace of change can be.
Not only does our annual “Warehouse and DC Operations Center Survey” show that the pandemic has made a significant impact on operations when it comes to worker safety and e-commerce responsibilities, but it also indicates that, despite some struggles, most companies are making adjustments.
The annual survey always asks about key operational factors, such as facility size, number of employees, and capital expenditure levels; but this year, we added questions geared around the effects of COVID-19, including e-commerce growth since March and practices such as social distancing, mask use, and sanitizing equipment. Overwhelmingly, respondents are taking action via steps like social distancing in areas like break rooms and use of protective masks.
What’s more, 87% plan to continue at least some of these health-related practices after the pandemic subsides, and most respondents also report that, since March 2020, they’ve taken actions to improve warehouse processes and inventory management.
While COVID-19 has caused pain and disruption in many ways, for more than a few DCs, it has meant an increase in e-commerce fulfillment activity. When we asked about e-commerce growth since the pandemic began, 10% of respondents say it has grown their e-commerce channel by 60% or more, and a combined 34% say e-commerce has grown by 30% or greater since the beginning of the pandemic.
The survey, conducted annually by Peerless Research Group (PRG) on behalf of Logistics Management and sister publication Modern Materials Handling, drew 122 responses this year from professionals in logistics and warehouse operations across multiple verticals.
According to Norm Saenz, Jr., a managing director with St. Onge Company, and Don Derewecki, a senior consultant with St. Onge Company, a supply chain engineering consulting company and our partner for the annual survey, DC operational change driven largely by e-commerce has been ongoing for several years, but the pandemic has put that pace of change into overdrive.
“This year’s findings are in many ways a continuation of the trends we’ve been seeing for years, but some of these outliers are what I’d call a ‘pandemic effect’ on DC operations,” says Derewecki. “These not only include steps taken for social distancing, but also changes with the size and number of facilities in the DC network, or in having to lease more space, to better service customers.”
According to Saenz, the impact of e-commerce has grown over the years, but now the pandemic has fast-forwarded the trends expected within the next few years down to a few months. “Findings including growth in SKU counts, greater use of radio-frequency-based picking, more evaluation of automation, as well as the increased emphasis on inventory management, can all be seen as evidence of the rapid growth of e-commerce activity that we’ve seen during the pandemic as well as how that’s driving operational change,” he says.
Operations snapshot
In terms of channels serviced, wholesale remains the most common channel, addressed by 62% (up from 58% last year). However, retail dropped from a 60% response last year to 37% this year, while 30% now say that they have an omni-channel operation, up from 20% in 2019.
The percentage saying that they service e-commerce was down slightly compared to last year, but in new questions this year about micro-fulfillment—the trend of small fulfillment sites within stores or other locations very close to customer concentrations—21% are now engaged in micro-fulfillment customer pickup, and 22% are involved with micro-fulfillment-based deliveries.
Given the COVID-19 situation over the course of this year, we asked about e-commerce channel growth since the pandemic began. While 38% say it caused less than 10% e-commerce growth for them, 10% say it had triggered a surge of greater than 60%, and a combined 28% say it caused e-commerce growth of 40% or more.
The nature of respondents’ inbound and outbound operations is changing in ways consistent with e-commerce growth. In particular, on the outbound side, split-case only reached 8%, up from 3% last year, while a combined 70% have outbound split-case only, case and split-case, or full pallet, case and split-case. On the inbound side, full pallet only dropped by 5% to 14% this year.
When asked how multiple channels are being fulfilled, 36% say they self-distribute from separate DCs for different channels, up from 20% last year. There was an 8% drop in respondents saying that they use a 3PL partner for all channels, while 11% say they only service one channel, down 2% from 2019.
In terms of total square feet in the overall DC network, the average square footage reached 609,325 square feet for 2020, up from 545,860 square feet last year. The most common square footage for each DC also moved up, from 183,750 square feet last year to 191,670 for 2020. For networks with four or more buildings, average square footage reached 452,940—considerably larger than the 285,000 square feet last year.
The number of buildings in the DC network was on the upswing for 2020 as well, with 46% having more than three buildings, compared to 36% in 2019. Additionally, of respondents with three or more buildings, 30% have six-plus buildings, up from 26% last year. Buildings also trended upward in common clear height. The average common clear height in 2020 reached 32 feet, one foot higher than last year’s 31 feet, and more in line with 2018’s 32 feet. For 2020, 14% of respondents indicated the most common DC clear height was 40 feet or higher.
Average annual inventory turns for 2020 respondents came in at 8.2 turns, which is the same as in 2019. SKU counts did rise significantly, up to an average of 12,922 SKUs from 10,615 last year, constituting an increase of 21.7%.
Most of the facility profile findings were consistent with the rapid rise of e-commerce, although, in terms of geographic scope, a smaller percentage of respondents were servicing one metro area. However, 2020 findings such as “more buildings” and “taller/greater clear heights” can be seen as companies trying to better service customers by having more DCs, with some DCs with greater size and clear height suitable for automation and dense storage.
Our finding of more SKU counts in DCs also reflects rising e-commerce activity, notes Saenz. However, one troubling trend is that many respondents still lack a firm grip of item master weights and dimensional (dim) data on their SKUs, he adds. More specifically, while 45% have 100% SKU weight and “dims” in the item master record, 55% lack complete weight and dim data.
Lack of this data makes it difficult to do things like properly size storage and pick locations, determine the amount of inventory that fits in a location, as well as enabling the system to recommend the right size shipping carton. “Lack of accurate item master data is going to negatively impact operations just as they start to become more efficient,” says Saenz. “Operations managers need to establish methods to capture item master data and maintain it over time, especially with the rapid rise of e-commerce.”
Respondent answers on expansion plans were encouraging, indicating corporate willingness to invest in facilities and resources in the face of accelerated challenges and channel disruption. For 2020, 80% plan some type of expansion, 1% more than last year, and the highest in the last four years for this question. In terms of different areas of expansion, 41% of respondents anticipate the need for more employees, up from 30% last year, while 43% anticipate more SKUs, up from 39% last year.
Perhaps due to many respondents being from smaller-sized companies, the average number of employees in respondents’ main DC contracted from 175 people last year to 125 in 2020. This decline in staffing could be an effect of the pandemic. However, a combined 14% of respondents had more than 200 employees in the main DC and another 11% had 100 to 199 people.
The most congested area of DCs continues to be the shipping dock area, cited by 29% of respondents as the most congested area. For the first time this year, we asked about congestion in e-commerce processing areas and value-added services (VAS) areas, with 8% saying VAS are the most congested areas, and 5% naming e-commerce processing as the most congested.
Some findings suggest a space crunch, with a combined 60% of respondents reporting peak warehouse space utilization of greater than 85%, and a rise in the need to lease additional space during peak season. This year, only 36% report “no need to lease more space” during peak, which is down from 52% last year, while conversely, respondents saying “they did lease more space” are up.
COVID adjustments
One positive finding is the strong level of action on pandemic related health measures, such as instituting social distancing practices and wearing masks.
In fact, 100% of respondents say social distances practices were in use at DCs in work areas that would normally put people in close proximity, such as break rooms. Additionally, 94% say employees are wearing masks, 94% say they’re sanitizing equipment on a regular basis, and 73% are doing temperature screening of employees.
The annual survey has long asked about actions taken to improve operations, but this year, we added a question about operational adjustments since March to cope with new or accelerated challenges. Most (65%) are improving warehouse processes, while 42% have changed layout configurations or rearranged workstations to support to social distancing.
Many respondents (42%) have increased wages since March to retain and attract staff, 35% have increased staff, 27% have developed different or additional delivery capacities, and 23% have trained staff on new e-commerce fulfillment tasks. Such findings show that for DCs, the COVID-19 challenge isn’t about pondering what the “new normal” may turn out to be, it’s about adjusting for the problematic present, which involves keeping workers safe while fulfilling more e-commerce orders.
To some extent, some steps have been absolutely necessary to prevent infections that could close down a facility. What’s more progressive, Derewecki and Saenz agree, is that 30% of respondents plan to continue new health and safety practices post-pandemic, and 57% plan to continue at least some of the new practices.
“Close to 90% of respondents are going to maintain at least some level of these new practices to improve the level of cleanliness in facilities and help keep workers safe and healthy,” says Saenz. “It’s great to see respondents realizing many of these practices will be helpful long-term in maintaining a stronger, healthier workforce, even post pandemic.”
In their consulting work, Derewecki and Saenz are seeing operations add shifts to lessen the number of workers in a facility at one time to improve health and safety. This is perhaps more common than major changes to facility equipment and layouts.
Another way to keep workers distanced is to adjust the dispatching of work, or to adjust the slotting and zoning of an operation, explains Derewecki and Saenz. Such changes using software and systems not only can help keep workers physically distanced, it can improve efficiencies in tasks like picking.
Our annual survey has always asked about actions taken to lower operating costs. For 2020, the survey found that 98% have taken some form of action to lower costs, which is higher than 2019’s 95%. Among the more specific actions taken to lower costs, 69% are looking to improve inventory control, up from 50% last year.
It’s quite likely that many respondents experienced a big swing in inventory levels related to pandemic consumer buying surges on certain products, and are now looking to rethink what the right stocking levels should be, explains Saenz. “Moving into 2021, being better at inventory control and planning is shaping up as a key concern,” he says. “People are realizing they need to be better at analyzing what they keep on hand and how much of it.”
Given the considerable challenges facing DCs, it’s fortunate that budgets remain healthy. The average capital expenditure (capex) budget for equipment and technology reached $1.45 million in 2020, up from $1.27 million last year. The median capex figure did decline slightly, but 5% say they have a budget of $10 million or more.
Another sign of continued investment is that 85% use some type of warehouse management system (WMS) software solution. Furthermore, legacy WMS use declined from 35% last year to 24% this year, while use of WMS modules from enterprise system vendor increased, while use of best of breed WMS solutions stayed fairly level.
This year’s survey also found a fairly steep drop in paper-based picking methods, with 46% using paper, down from 55% last year, which is the lowest level in the past four years. Conversely, use of RF-based handhelds to help automate picking reached 61%, up from 41% last year, and constituting the highest percentage for RF-based picking in the last four surveys. Reported use of voice picking was down for 2020, but in the first year of asking about pick-to-light as a pick technology, 14% were using light-driven picking.
When asked about data collection methods used to gauge productivity, the survey also found that 63% use data gleaned automatically from a WMS, up by 7% from last year, while manual data collection, used by 58% last year, dropped to 43% this year.
Continued technology investment should help DCs leverage metrics to help manage operations. Overall, 98% are using metrics, up from 94% last year. Use of all metric types asked about were on the rise for 2020, with use of on-time shipments up by 10%, for example, and use of order- or line-fill rate metrics jumping up by 18% to reach 61%.
“The increased use of all metrics indicates that top management is pressing operational managers for improved controls and productivity,” says Derewecki.
Tough challenges
When it comes to major issues making an impact on DCs, once again in 2020, the inability to attract and retain a qualified hourly workforce was the top issue, cited by 53% of respondents this year. Difficulty in finding qualified supervisors was also cited by 33% of respondents, just below last year’s 35% who ranked this as a tough issue.
For the first time this year, we asked if challenges tied to a surge in e-commerce constituted a major operational issue, with 37% affirming that it did. This tied with insufficient space at 37% as the second most frequently cited major issue making an impact on current operations. Lack of SKU weight and dim data also climbed slightly, with 24% calling it a major issue.
The survey annually asks whether respondents’ supply chains had experienced a catastrophic event in the last two years—such as hurricanes, other extreme weather events, hackers, strikes, or supplier failures. While 77% say “no,” 23% did say they have experienced such an event.
Again, when it comes to taking actions to lower costs, a net 98% say they have taken some type of action. While improving warehouse information technology and software systems declined, there was a slight (2%) increase in “adding automation equipment to processes.” Given other findings such as greater use of RF-based picking and WMS-generated metrics, it appears respondents see the use of automation as a necessary means of keeping pace with change while holding down costs.
Still deep in flux
Overall, the 2020 survey shows an industry in deep flux driven by the pandemic and the sharp rise of e-commerce fulfillment pressure.
Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of respondents are taking steps to safeguard workers and many plan to maintain some or all of these measures long term while continuing to invest in facilities, automation, and systems to support the operational challenges that stem from the 2020 surge in e-commerce.
“The rapid rate of operational change and requirements brought about by the pandemic is the central focus this year,” concludes Derewecki. “The need to sanitize and keep employees a safe distance apart are priorities most operations weren’t thinking about a year ago, but they are now. Additionally, the acceleration in e-commerce this year is furthering the trend toward higher levels of automation and information systems support, as a means of being able to fulfill orders efficiently and meet the rapid order delivery expectations customers are demanding.”
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Born Ruffians Talk New Album Plans
By Alex Hudson
Last year, Born Ruffians landed on Exclaim!'s cover with their album Birthmarks. Having more recently released a deluxe edition of the record, they're now eyeing the follow-up, which may break away from the more pop-leaning approach of Birthmarks.
Speaking to Kreative Kontrol with Vish Khanna, frontman Luke Lalonde said of the as-yet-untitled new album, "This next record, I really want it to be fun and somewhere between that live-off-the-floor and that calculated Birthmarks studio vibe. It's a little more instinctual, but it's really locked down in its concept and what we're saying and doing but the music, I want it to be more free. I'm very excited for it."
To go along with this more free-spirited approach, Lalonde also explained that the band are taking a looser approach to membership. While still featuring core members Lalonde (guitar/vocals) and Mitch Deroiser (bass), drummer Steve Hamelin has been in and out of the band by his own choice, and he's currently not a touring member.
"The band has become this elusive concept to us where it's me and Mitch and, outside of that, that's it. Born Ruffians is me and Mitch now," Lalonde said. "Steve is part of that sound so we want him to play on this next record."
He added, "The songs have to go through this filter of me, Mitch, and Steve for it to be Born Ruffians."
That being said, they're moving into an "experimental phase" in which the band is more "open-concept," and there are likely to be a number of different players on the next album.
Stay tuned for more updates from the band. They have some festival dates this summer, and you can see those below.
07/02 Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern (TURF club series)
07/04 Toronto, ON - TURF (Fort York)
07/25-27 Guelph, ON - Hillside Festival
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Exploring a New Kind of Religious Folk Horror: A Chat with Andres Rovira
Film, Interview
By thepaintedman December 5, 2018
Come, Said the Night is a faith based folk horror that sets itself apart from other films in its genre. I was lucky enough to talk to Andres Rovira about his film, his personal faith journey, and why he chose Greek mythology as the backdrop of this unique, strong debut from this up and coming genre director.
Without further ado, here’s the interview:
Hey, thanks for taking a few minutes to chat Andres. I just finished watching the film and was immediately interested in talking to you about it. Let’s start with brief intros for the readers. Who is Andres Rovira?
I’m a cinephile, whiskey lover, theme park enthusiast and storyteller. I’ve been writing since I was a child, from prose to screenplays. I also like to turn those written works into living, breathing things on the big screen and I don’t plan to stop.
This is your feature debut, correct? What else have you worked on prior to this project?
It was a gradual climb from short film to short film, each getting longer and more expensive. I played with each genre up until my last short film No Stranger Pilgrims, a sci-fi drama that changed my life. It was that film that opened the door for me to direct my first feature. I owe a lot to that weird 30 minute film about inter-dimensional travelers.
Come, Said the Night is a unique film with a unique voice. What inspired this vision?
I tend to gravitate toward coming of age films. I attribute that to Spielberg, who crafted my childhood experience through his films. I also attribute that to my own childhood that I often look back upon to answer questions about my life now. Our childhoods are the foundation that built who we are today. For this reason, I am drawn to child protagonists and the harrowing challenges, the fear, the anxiety and the discovery of being a kid. With “Come, Said the Night,” I wanted to capture a pivotal moment of development — the moment when a young girl transitions from kid to woman. In the case of young Sprout, she was forced to come-of-age quicker than usual because of the horrific circumstances that befall her family. Kids see monsters in all types of anxieties and fears. In this case, I wanted the monster to represent the confusing anxiety that accompanies puberty and shifting hormones, while also acting as a metaphor for coping with the loss of a loved one. Toss religious dogma into the picture and a secluded location in the woods, and the result is a fascinating childhood that I think all audiences will relate to. No matter the creed, or background, we were all children once.
Having a penchant for folk horror and religious horror, I was certainly drawn to several aspects of this film. I found your choice to steep the film in Greek Pantheism a really interesting choice. We see Pagan religions and “old gods” in folk horror a good bit, but I can’t think of even a single other horror film with Greek mythology/religion at its base. How’d this come about for you?
I’ve always been fascinated by Greek mythology and was glad to finally integrate the mythos into a film. It was important for religious dogma to play a role in the story because a belief system can often be manipulative and used to justify dark deeds. In the film, Roy Grady instills polytheism within his family through homeschooling of many gods and monsters. He believes in them and so do his children. But like all religious beliefs, there is always the radical side that misinterprets the core beliefs and skews the original teachings. As we see with the Westboro Baptist Church, who misinterpret the teachings of Jesus for that of hate and anger. So is the case with Greek mythology, which is used by Roy Grady to shelter his children from “the otherness,” a concept that refers to a progressive society. He lives in his own little reality, his sanctuary of gods and mythical creatures, as a misguided way to keep his children safe. We often see Catholicism and Christianity used in horror films, painting the religion in a negative light. I wanted to do something different. Greek mythology also gave me a bigger sand box to play in with that of monsters and dark gods which was perfect for a horror film.
You got to work with genre stalwarts Lew Temple and Danielle Harris in this one. How’d you get hooked up with them and what were they like to work with?
I thank a great man for introducing me to Lew Temple. That man is Robert Zuckerman, a brilliant set photographer who has worked with the likes of Ridley Scott and Michael Bay. I highly believe in the power of relationships and this is one relationship that changed my life. I will thank Zuckerman in my Oscar speech for introducing me to actor Kenny Johnson for my last short and Lew Temple this time around, a chain reaction that has led be to becoming a feature film director. Lew was an absolute joy to work with. The best actors hijack a character written by somebody else and turn them into their own. Lew did just that with Roy Grady. As soon as he got his hands on the role, he brought Roy to life through a layered backstory, character quirks, and even chose his own wardrobe to make the character totally his. A liberating experience for a writer is to relinquish their character to a person that gives it a pulse. What Lew delivered on the screen was beyond anything I ever imagined when I wrote his character. And it helps that Lew is a patient, thoughtful, kind and stand up gentlemen who collaborates and has fun doing it. Due to the low budget and tight schedule, we made Lew undergo a rollercoaster of emotions, from sweet to salty with no preparation time and monologues constantly interrupted by noisy elements in the background. It was a lot to ask out of a professional, but he handled it with class and grace.
For Danielle Harris, we went the traditional route of reaching out to her manager, Judy Fox, in order to bring Danielle on board. Because of our tight schedule, we could only have Danielle for one day. We called it “Danielle Day,” one of the most challenging days of my life because we had to fit in so many different scenes from different locations into a 9 hour shooting day. We had to make night look like day. We had to jump through hurdles to ensure we got every Danielle shot in our chaotic schedule and we couldn’t have asked for a better actress to embark on that madness with us. Danielle was zen, patient and a consummate professional. While we scrambled and brainstormed and shifted scenes around last minute, Danielle waited patiently and when the time came to deliver, she delivered all her lines in a natural, likable and relatable way that brought a much needed tenderness and maternal energy to the story. Danielle has been working on set since she was a kid. You don’t need to direct an actress like that. You just sit back, watch, and smile.
Nicole Moorea Sherman as Sprout Grady is the true standout here. She delivers a truly great breakout performance from a young actor many of us had never seen before. What was her process like? Is she as natural as she seems on screen?
I wrote the role of Sprout Grady specifically for Nicole. Knowing her level of talent, her sensibilities, how mature she is for her age, her intelligence, her sense of humor — all of these factors helped me write a character just for her. In many ways, Nicole is very similar to Sprout. She’s silly, playful, has a way with words, she’s active and genuinely a good person. It was a role that came naturally to her. Beyond playfulness, the role demanded some physical performances, stunts, and acting out sleep paralysis. It’s difficult to act out this very unusual condition. Because it’s something that I struggle with, I was able to coach her into the proper positioning and breathing patterns and together with her research, she nailed the paralysis. When I watch her, I get chills because it reminds me of my own chilling experiences with the condition. What blew me away about Nicole was her ability to juggle school time on set with acting. She’d have to shut off from panic mode in order to take a math test, switch on her academic brain, then instantly re-activate her running from monsters mode. That takes a special skill.
Returning to the religious themes a bit, this website was created with one of the goals being to explore faith in arts and culture. This films shows some really interesting tensions between the faith of the Grady family and the beliefs of the outside world. How has faith played a part in your life? Were you brought up in some form of faith? And, how has that morphed and grown into where you are today?
I was brought up Catholic. I went to a Catholic elementary school and was taught by nuns. Then I went on to a Jesuit middle school and high school where I was taught by Jesuit priests. I never felt that I truly connected to the Catholic faith. I prayed every night, not because I wanted to, but because I was told to. I went to Church every Sunday and rather than paying attention, I was brainstorming my next novel or short story. I think perhaps I was turned off by religion and chased away from it due to the aggressive nature in which it was taught to me. As I felt with a lot of my peers, too much religious teachings backfired and resulted in many atheists. I was turned off by the rules, the guidelines, the incessant voice that kept telling me I had to pray or that I had to confess or the outdated and inherently unnatural rule that forbids priests and nuns of engaging in sex or being able to partake in the beautiful sacrament of holy matrimony and then giving marital advice to those in their community. I grew up in a religious bubble and then I moved out and leaped into the real world, where I met other people with different outlooks on life. It wasn’t until I was free of the institution of religion, that I really felt that I became the man I wanted to become and live life by the values that I find to be important. The truth is, I am a very spiritual person. I believe in a God, a creator, whether that be another word for physics and matter that we can’t explain yet, or an actual divine energy. There’s enough evidence to suggest that there are energies and powers that are beyond us. What’s to say that very energy is not God? So I would say that I am very spiritual, but I am not religious. I believe in the basic teachings of Jesus Christ, which are to be a good person and I believe in the teachings of the Jesuits which are to be a “Man for Others.” I just don’t feel I have to be a part of an institution to do these things. I’ll use Joshua Tree National Park as a place for prayer and spiritual fulfillment over a Church any day.
How do you think your personal journeys in faith and spirituality have shaped your art and how do you think you art has challenged your beliefs or worldview?
I am always on a hungry quest for knowledge and the world as we know it, has so many unsolved mysteries. To me, fear of the unknown is the greatest fear and an unsolved mystery will eat at me. So these themes will always appear in my films. I made a film about alternate universes, in my quest to understand the very real possibility that multiverse theory is not just a theory, but a shocking truth that they are other versions of us out there making alternate decisions. Themes of the afterlife pop up in my art often because I am a strong believer in the energy that takes residence in our bodies and how in death, that energy remains. I’ve had enough paranormal occurrences in my life that leave me gasping with questions about the afterlife. My art has challenged these very ideas because I paint them in a made up and fictional manner for the sake of entertainment. The question always remains however…are these fictional and imaginary things that I’m writing about actually real?
Thanks for indulging me with those questions. I find looking at the intersection of faith and art to be fascinating. I grew up in the Christian church and was exposed to a lot of “Christian” music and film, as well as “secular” forms of this art. From an early age I found the art in the “secular” world that tackled faith and spirituality far more interesting and complex. I really love looking at how religious, faith, and spirituality are depicted in film, particularly. Your film was a really interesting look at a different type of faith, so I appreciate your willingness to share a bit about your personal faith and life, as it sheds an interesting light on your film. Before I veer this conversation away from faith, is there anything else you’d want to add about how the film uses faith or explores faith?
It’s important to note how the film uses Greek mythology in the form of patron gods. The Grady kids are tasked with choosing a patron god that represents their values and personalities. Sprout is thinking about Artemis, goddess of hunt, because she loves the outdoors and considers herself part of the wild. Roy chose Harpocrates, the god of silence, as a way to reflect. Magda chose Aphrodite, the god of sexuality, because of her repression and sexuality that is begging to be unleashed. This should ring true in real life. There are so many different gods out there and some might choose Buddha over Jesus, even after being raised Christian, because that’s the god that speaks to their values and beliefs. God is who you make Him or Her to be. The God that gets you through the day and allows you to live the life you want to live, not the one other people tell you to worship. We should all search deep within ourselves and find out what we truly want out of life, what belief system, if any, is true to ourselves and not just the one our parents told us to worship.
As we wrap up our chat, let’s talk about how folks can see your film… when and where it is available, etc.
Our sales agent is currently taking the film to market, trying to find a distributor. In the meantime, we are working on securing a theatrical deal in select theaters in NY and LA. We hope that within the next couple of months it can be shown on movie theater screens. As for the rest of the distribution (online, VOD, DVD, Blu-ray), that will all depend on the distribution deal that we secure. We are all confident that it will get the best possible deal and become available on platforms everywhere.
Thanks again, really appreciate you taking some time out to talk. Any final thoughts about the film and the experience you had making it?
Making Come Said the Night was the best experience of my life. It was ten fast paced days on set where I was challenged in every way possible, then 5 months of hardcore post production which came with its own challenges. I made it out alive and I delivered on making the film I set out to make. I learned that no matter how stressful and chaotic, no matter how many obstacles are thrown your way, if you stick to your guns, stay true to your vision and keep your head in the game, there will be a happy ending. Your story will live and breathe on a screen and it’ll be the most rewarding feeling of your life.
thepaintedman
Founder / Professional Nerd
Justin has been running websites since his first Geocities site in 1994, but only did he ever start covering anything of substance years later. After he stopped regularly running local concerts in Northern NJ and the greater Philly area, he knew he needed to step up his writing game if he expected to continue to get free music to listen to. He writes regularly here and at Cinapse, as well as contributing to a few other sites on occasion. He likes music, film, the Philadelphia Eagles, the 76ers, talking about Criminal Justice, reading Intelligence Report, and his family... not in that order. His beautiful wife is far more talented than he is and his kids far more adorable... and crazy.
Tags: Andres Rovira, Come Said the Night, Danielle Harris, Faith, Folk, Folk Horror, Greek, Greek Mythology, Greek Pantheism, Horror, Interview, Lew Temple, Nicole Moorea Sherman, Old Gods, Religion, Religious Horror, Spirituality
Mill Creek Releases Retro VHS Collection Edition of Chuck Norris Horror Mashup SILENT RAGE
DEATH HOUSE is Released from Production Purgatory
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Guest Column | Road to Power
The Border Roads Organisation needs to pull up its socks in the interest of national security
Lt Gen. Vinod Bhatia (retd)
To get rich, one must build roads
-An ancient Chinese Proverb
The 73-day Doklam standoff has been apparently resolved at the politico-diplomatic level. The peaceful resolution should be attributed to a firm and resolute stand by the Indian Army at the face-off site. The tactical level demonstration of strength was possible as the Indian Army deployment at Doka La dominates the Doklam Plateau fortunately duly supported by a functional road constructed by the Army Engineers through what is commonly known as an operational works. This sort of an infrastructural advantage along the 3,488 km India-China border and the Line of Actual control (LAC) is lacking in most areas.
It is also reported that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has constructed a road joining Merug La (north of Doklam) to South Doklam extending to Jampheri Ridge about four to five kilometre east of Doka La or the earlier face-off site, creating certain strategic vulnerabilities for India. China has once again demonstrated that roads are the key to military domination along the Himalayan borders. It will be prudent to analyse the infrastructure along the border areas to deduce relevant lessons and chart out an implementable and pragmatic action plan to ensure continued peace and tranquillity along the LAC. On account of differing perceptions of the LAC, an assertive and aggressive China and a growing new India, the peace and tranquillity along the LAC will be constantly and continuously under stress, with increase in frequency, intensity and depth of transgressions, leading to more and more ‘stand-offs’. The Doklam is likely to be the new normal. The critical question is does India have relevant and future ready organisations and structures to meet the challenges and construct the requisite infrastructure especially along the LAC in an acceptable time-frame.
The 1962 war was undoubtedly a debacle for India. Wars always bring out certain lessons, both for the victor and the vanquished. Though the Henderson Brooks report stays buried in secrecy, one lesson that India learned was that the nation needs an effective and professional armed forces capable of defending its frontiers. China, on the other hand, having crossed the high Himalayas and reached the foothills in certain areas, unilaterally withdrew, having realised the enormity of the task of sustaining a force without an adequate road network. The PLA on 20 November 1962 was staring at a long and harsh winter, without the means to survive and sustain in the underdeveloped high altitude captured Indian territories. China learned its lesson well and has gainfully applied its energy and ample resources to create a world class, state-of-the-art, multi modal, multi-dimensional infrastructure in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). This includes a vast road and rail network, airfields, oil pipelines, logistic installations, habitat and warehousing. The infrastructure developed has also helped China integrate Tibet and settle its Han majority, thus changing the demographic pattern in this remote and generally hostile region.
India, on the other hand, shied away from constructing roads and building infrastructure along the Tibet border in a mistaken belief that lack of roads will degrade the China threat, and deter deep incursions in the event of another war. As a misplaced strategy, India did not construct any roads along the India-China Border. In 2010, defence minister A.K. Antony while addressing a function organised by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) said, “Earlier the thinking was that inaccessibility in far-flung areas would be a deterrent to the enemy”. He acknowledged that this was an ‘incorrect approach’ and stated that the government has decided to upgrade roads, tunnels and airfields in the border areas. The China Study Group approved 73 roads to be constructed in 2005 and to be completed by 2012. As per July 2017 update to Lok Sabha, construction of 73 strategic roads was revised with deadlines extended to 2019-2020, this includes 43 by the ministry of defence (MoD) and 27 by the ministry of home affairs (MHA), of which only 21 roads by March 2017 and 30 roads by July 2017 have been completed and remaining are under construction as progress was retarded. BRO is constructing 63 out of these 73 roads. The delays are attributed to multiple reasons like wildlife conservation and environmental approval, insurgency related security hurdles, delay in land acquisition by the states, inaccessible terrain, inclement weather, poor planning, construction capacities, lack of will to take hard decisions, funding and more importantly, a now inefficient and ineffective BRO. The fact remains that the much-needed road connectivity along India-China border is either non-existent or woefully inadequate even for development of the region, leave aside defence needs. A brief analysis of roads along the India-China border is indicative of a long period of neglect as also the inference that BRO, which was once an effective organisation, has outlived its utility.
Ladakh is connected by two major passes, Zojila which remains open for approximate five months a year and Rohtang which remains open for even a lesser duration. This limited period of road days available are just about adequate to meet the ever-increasing material demands of the people of Ladakh and the army for their sustenance during the winters.
The Old Tibet road is the single road axis leading to Puh from Shimla in Himachal Pradesh. This Axis is prone to major disruptions during monsoons and closes in part during the winters. Similarly, the roads leading to Harsil, Joshimath, and Tawaghat are no better and no closer to the LAC. The Uttarakhand floods of June 2013 are a stark reminder of the state of road connectivity and susceptibility to weather. Sikkim, too, remains connected from Siliguri with a single road axis prone to disruptions during monsoons and winters. The 319 km road from Tezpur to Tawang remains in a poor state and takes over 10 to 12 hours.
In the middle sector, Indian roads are 30 to 70 km from the LAC vis-a-vis five km of China, whereas in Sikkim and Tawang sectors Indian roads are 10-15 km wherein China has last mile connectivity to the passes. In the areas of east Arunachal Pradesh, the state of roads on our side is dismal with the LAC being 20-70 km from the road-head whereas Chinese roads are mostly up to the LAC and in a few places about 20 km away. To summarise, road-heads in India are five to 50 km from the LAC whereas China has constructed roads right up to its perception of the LAC in most areas. With an anticipated increase in the frequency and intensity of transgressions by China, it is an imperative that requisite infrastructure be developed in the fastest possible time-frame.
There is a need to analyse and review the structure, organisation and effectiveness of the BRO. There is no doubt that the BRO has done an exceedingly excellent work under the most challenging and difficult situations in construction and maintenance of roads and other infrastructure along our vast and mostly troubled borders. The key question is whether the BRO is optimally configured to meet the growing demands of the armed forces and the aspirations of the people residing in the border areas.
The BRO, formed on 7 May 1960, was tasked to secure India’s borders and develop infrastructure in remote areas of the north and north-east states of the country. The BRO develops and maintains road networks in India’s border areas and friendly neighbouring countries. It is staffed by officers and troops drawn from the Indian Army. Officers from the Border Roads Engineering Service and personnel from the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) form the parent cadre. Currently, the organisation maintains operations in 21 states, one UT (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), and neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan and Myanmar. The BRO operates and maintains over 32,885 kilometres of roads and about 12,200 metres of permanent bridges in the country. The BRO comprises 18 projects, nine each for east and west.
In order to ensure coordination and expeditious execution of projects, the government set-up the Border Roads Development Board (BRDB) with the Prime Minister as chairman of the board and defence minister as deputy chairman. Today, the board exercises financial and other powers but is now chaired by the minister of state for defence, a dilution which needs correction. The BRO, though manned by personnel from the MoD and raised to ensure infrastructure for security concerns was functioning under the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH); a not very neat arrangement as the funds were allocated by MoRTH. In a bid to boost border connectivity, the BRO has now been entirely brought under the MoD. The BRO’s budget is approximately a thousand crore with a manpower of 35,000 including 1,300 officers.
According to wikipedia, to provide connectivity to the army and border guarding forces, BRO is building 410 two-lane class-70 (heavy load bearing including tanks) road bridges along the China border which includes 144 in Arunachal Pradesh (75 already under construction and will be completed by 2020), 100 under construction in Jammu and Kashmir, 55 under construction in Uttarakhand, 40 in Sikkim and another 25 in Himachal Pradesh. The concern is that the annual capacity and plan of construction by the BRO as per their own claims and targets is 3 km of bridges.
In November 2017, BRO also announced the plan to construct 17 road and rail tunnels, with a total length of 100 km, on some of the 73 strategic roads on Sino-Indian border to provide year-round all-weather rail and road surface connectivity. The fixation with 73 General Staff (for military use) roads envisaged in 2005 continues, though a review is long overdue. As the roads are nowhere near completion it is not considered prudent and pragmatic to plan for more. Even the 73 planned roads are too little too late.
The yawning gap in the quantity and quality of India and China’s infrastructure near the LAC has multiple implications. Militarily, these implications for India are far reaching. C. Raja Mohan, a leading expert on China and strategic affairs, contends that China’s road-building is unlikely to lead to a military confrontation between the two countries, he believes that the current expansion of Chinese infrastructure in Tibet confronts India with a different set of challenges. For one, it brutally exposes the poor state of transportation networks on the sub-continental side — the southern slopes of the Himalayas. Raja Mohan states that the message from China is clear: on the frontiers, infrastructure is power in its broadest sense. China has concentrated on the three ‘R’s along the LAC i.e. Roads, Radars and Reserves. PLA troops are located on road heads and have the ability for quick reaction/ action given the mobility provided by the road connectivity and early warning by the surveillance radars which have been liberally deployed all along the LAC. In addition to an effective and efficient border management this facilitates China’s claims to the disputed territories and brings civil settlements closer to the LAC.
The roads are the first basic need, the airfields, ALGs and logistics installations can only be constructed once the road communication network is in place. India needs to revamp the BRO which has in effect become a dysfunctional organisation on account of human resource issues of status equivalence and a large number of low medical personnel who cannot be deployed in mountain and high-altitude region in addition to other factors. During a visit the Parliamentary Standing Committee on defence was appalled to see the progress of work on the road to Tawang. The Chinese on the other side of the Himalayas have constructed over 60,000 km of road, five air strips besides the railway line of 1,956 km length to Lhasa, which is under extension to Nepal and Yatung close to Sikkim and the Doklam standoff site.
It is time the government takes immediate and urgent measures to build the requisite infrastructure to address the security needs as also facilitate mainstreaming of the border people and ensure development of the region. Some of the initiatives which the government needs to take on priority in a time bound manner are enumerated.
Amend the land acquisition bill 2014 to exclude 100 km along our northern borders and 50 km along our western borders, required for defence needs i.e. national security.
There is also a need to evolve an integrated infrastructure development plan wherein the NHAI is responsible for constructing the main arteries, a revamped BRO mandated to construct the feeder roads and the army to ensure last mile connectivity through its integral resources of operational works. In addition to the plan, the government should constitute a National Infrastructure Development Board under the Niti Aayog comprising all relevant ministries including representatives from the army and Indian Air Force (IAF), fully empowered and accountable to execute and monitor time-bound development.
The BRO should be reconstituted and reorganised from a work charge organisation to a corporation on the lines of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. Reforms in established systems and organisations which have failed to deliver are a must to enable them to perform. BRO must restrict itself to only GS road construction. GS works constitute 65 per cent of BROs total expenditure which is approximately Rs 6,000 crore.
The HR management of the BRO has been severely affected post acceptance of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendation of NFU to members of the GREF. The overall command being generally and nominally exercised by army officers as existed prior to that stage was affected due to a disparity in relative ranks to create a situation that has aggravated further to cause unfortunate and unprecedented management issues. If the BRO is to serve its stated mission with any modicum of efficiency and professionalism, the imbalance in rank and status issues between the military and civil officers of the organisation require to be settled foremost. The grant of NFU to civilian GREF officers has adversely impacted the traditional primacy of the command and control of the BRO and its projects being with military personnel. The grant of NFU to services officers is an imperative to rectify the anomaly.
Fortunately for India the airfields located in the plains are in the proximity of the borders. Additional air bases are being planned to be constructed and others made operational close to the border. As these bases are located in the plains, the air assets can be fully exploited. However, there remains an urgent need to construct ALGs and aviation bases for helicopters and UAVs.
China respects strength and exploits the weak. It is imperative that India builds capabilities and enhances existing capacities. The BRO needs to be reorganised and the infrastructure development integrated and adequate funds sanctioned. Paucity of funds cannot be allowed to jeopardise national security.
(The writer, a former DGMO, is director, Centre for Joint Warfare Studies)
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Home Science and Orthodoxy Around the World
Science and Orthodoxy Around the World
By Chris Mulherin
News from ISCAST fellow Doru Costache about the "science and Orthodoxy" project and documentary.
The Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation (Athens) ran a project Science and Orthodoxy around the World/SOW from 2016 to 2019. Funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation, the project brought together engineers, historians, medical doctors, philosophers, psychologists, scientists, and theologians from Australia, Europe, and North America.
The project focused on three main activities:
1. Gathering of as many Orthodox Christian sources as possible, relevant to science and religion, resulting in a comprehensive, multilingual archive;
2. Organising three international conferences in Athens and a series of local workshops, in various countries, including Sydney, Australia;
3. Research and publications, whose primary outcome is the establishment of a new series at Brepols Publishers, Science and Orthodox Christianity, with one volume published in 2019 and two more in the pipeline. Additionally, the research component included a number of small grants for writers of relevant articles and books; I was the happy recipient of two such small grants for a journal article published in 2019 and a forthcoming book.
Another outcome of SOW Project is the recently released documentary, Science and Orthodoxy around the World, which runs for 52 minutes. The film showcases opinions of a number of participants, Orthodox and otherwise, from various countries and in a number of languages. Don’t worry though, English subtitles are available from the film’s settings. The subtitles will allow viewers to meet, perhaps for the first time, positions on science and religion coming from the most intriguing player at the table, Orthodox Christianity (true, in conversation with some of its friends). Among the interviewees you will find great names of the contemporary field of science and religion, as well as lesser known researchers. You will also catch glimpses of two ISCAST Fellows, Professor Petter Harrison and me.
Currently, the SOW Project is running its second instalment under the competent leadership of Professor Efthymios Nicolaides and his energetic team. The work unfolds through eight international groups of experts. I have the honour of co-chairing the "Cosmology" group of the project, with two Australian cosmologists contributing (Professor Richard de Grijs, Macquarie, and Professor Geraint Lewis, Sydney).
Dr Doru Costache is an Orthodox Australian clergyman and academic born in Bucharest, Romania. His ISCAST page can be found here.
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Home/YOKO ONO/Words/Written work/What is the relationship between The World and The Artist? (Yoko Ono, May 1971)
What is the relationship between The World and The Artist? (Yoko Ono, May 1971)
What is the relationship between The World and The Artist?
Yoko Ono, May 1971
Many people believe that in this age, art is dead. They despise the artists who show in galleries and are caught up in the traditional art world. Artists themselves are beginning to lose their confidence. They don’t know whether they are doing something that still has value in this day and age where the social problems are so vital and critical. I wondered myself about this. Why am I still an artist? And why am I not joining the violent revolutionaries? Then I realized that destruction is not my game. Violent revolutionaries are trying to destroy the establishment. That is good. But how? By killing? Killing is such an artless thing. All you need is a coke bottle in your hand and you can kill. But people who kill that way most often become the next establishment after they’ve killed the old. Because they are using the same method that the old establishment used to destroy. Violent revolutionaries’ thinking is very close to establishment-type thinking and ways of solving problems.
I like to fight the establishment by using methods that are so far removed from establishment-type thinking that the establishment doesn’t know how to fight back. For instance, they cannot stamp out the John and Yoko events Two Virgins, Bed Peace, Acorn Peace and the WAR IS OVER! poster event.
Artists are not here to destroy or to create. Creating is just as simple and artless a thing to do as destroying. Everyone on Earth has creativity. Even a housewife can create a baby. Children are just as creative as the people whom society considers artists. Creative artists are just good enough to be considered children. Artists must not create more objects, the world is full of everything it needs. I’m bored with artists who make big lumps of sculpture and occupy a big space with them and think they have done something creative and allow people nothing but to applaud the lump. That is sheer narcissism. Why don’t they at least let people touch them? Money and space are wasted on such projects when there are people starving and people who don’t have enough space to sleep or breathe.
The job of an artist is not to destroy but to change the value of things. And by doing that, artists can change the world into a Utopia where there is total freedom for everybody. That can be achieved only when there is total communication in the world, Total communication equals peace. That is our aim. That is what artists can do for the world! In order to change the value of things, you’ve got to know about life and the situation of the world. You have to be more than a child. That is the difference between a child’s work and an artist’s work. That is the difference between an artist’s work and a murderer’s work. We are artists. Artist is just a frame of mind. Anybody can be an artist. It doesn’t involve having a talent. It involves only having a certain frame of mind, an attitude, determination, and imagination that springs naturally out of the necessity of the situation.
Examples of today’s living artists:
There was a temple in Japan called the Golden Temple. A man loved it very much as it was, and he couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to it. He felt the only way he could stop anything from happening to it was to burn it down, and he did. Now, the image of the temple was able to stay forever in his mind as a perfect form.
There was a man who made a counterfeit one thousand yen. It circulated with no trouble at all. The man travelled to another city and circulated another counterfeit one thousand yen. If he had made lots of counterfeit money he could have been discovered right away. But he wasn’t interested in making lots of money. He wanted to have fun and play a subtle game. The police went wild and announced that if anybody found a counterfeit one thousand yen they would get two thousand yen as a reward if they came to the police station. This man changed the value of money by his actions.
In this very same sense, we have artists today whose works move beyond the gallery space and help change the world: Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Paul Krassner, for instance, and many others. They radiate something that is sensitive and artistic in a very renaissance sense, when the majority of so-called artists these days are hardcore businessmen. Message is the medium. There are only two classes left in our society. The class who communicates and the class who doesn’t. Tomorrow I hope there will be just one. Total communication equals peace.
Men can destroy/Women can create/Artists revalue.
Yoko Ono, Cannes Film Festival, May, 1971
Published in This Is Not Here, exhibition catalogue (Syracuse: Everson Museum of Art, 1971)
Reprinted In Museum of Modern [F]art (New York, 1971)
Photo of John & Yoko at Cannes Film Festival, 15 May 1971, by Claude Azoulay.
IMAGINE PEACE2010-03-01T07:43:45-05:00March 1st, 2010|Written work|
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By Kandi Burruss | May 4, 2020
If it’s a hit, Kandi Burruss-Tucker may have had something to do with it. Some know her as the multifaceted mogul from Bravo’s hit show, The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Others have followed her work as a decades-long singer-songwriter, whose pen has produced hits for the likes of TLC, Destiny’s Child, Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande, P!nk, and more. Tune in to our latest episode of #SongAssociation where #KandiBurruss sings some of her biggest hits, and lets us in on her latest venture: the beauty business!
Shop Kandi Koated Cosmetics: https://www.kandikoated.com
Watch Kandi on #RHOA, Sunday nights at 8:00 p.m. EST.
Related Itemsellekandi burruss
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Inspiring Latina: Nicole Reyes Is Busy 'Giving Light' To The Youth
by Yeri NunezJuly 14, 2017
Nicole Reyes
Nicole Reyes is the definition of an altruistic soul. A true boss, who launched her own non-profit organization with the hopes of aspiring change in the world. Dando Luz are gearing up for their second annual back to school drive this year and we caught up with the young philanthropist to find out more about her organization and what inspired her to take action.
MORE: Latinas Giving Back: Stars Who Are Making A Difference
What is Dando Luz?
Dando Luz is a non-profit organization named after my grandmother Luz Azcona and the main focus of my non-profit is working with teens and kids, enlightening them and empowering them in the best way that I can.
What made you start your own non-profit organization?
There’s a lot of things really that inspired me, or that inspired me to finally start it. It was last year when I went to Cuba and on that trip, it was a grateful moment for me because – first I was grateful to be there. I think when you work so hard and you’re on a vacation, you’re in such a gratifying moment and then I was also reading this book and in the book, it stated that you don’t have to wait till you have a successful career or a lot of money to do what you want to do. So, me being able to motivate kids, inspire them, work with them, is something that I always wanted to do. When I came back from Cuba I came back determined to start it and to make it a legal non-profit.
Did you face any challenges in starting up your own non-profit organization?
The challenges are still there, it’s a huge challenge because for anybody that has started a non-profit there’s a lot of money that goes into it. Legalizing the name of your non-profit cost money, there’s just a lot of things that go into it. When I started my non-profit, there wasn’t a lot of people contributing, and it’s still not a well-known non-profit organization. There isn’t a lot of people that donate or support. So, even when I started it a lot of the things came from my hard work and a few friends, and family, friends of family, and friends of friends, who have donated. Having a non-profit is a lot, from doing the events and contacting people, trying to get it together, the events itself there’s a lot of things that come before it. It continues to – I’m not going to say it’s a challenge – in order to grow whether it’s my non-profit or events that I do it’s always going to be a little harder to reach people and even when I’m talking to the kids to being able to reach them in an effective way. There are different challenges whether its money wise or just being effective in my message or in what I’m intending to teach to whoever I’m speaking to.
What message do you hope to send to the youth, and people in general?
The message that I want to send is that we were created to communicate love and there is absolutely no way that we are going to heal as a nation, as a community, or as a person if we don’t love one another. There are so many people in pain, there so many people who need it and I want everybody to know that we were created to communicate love. I hope that I’m able more so with my actions and with the love that I’m trying to communicate to inspire these kids and teenagers not only to be successful but to be kind hearted because a lot of times we do teach these kids academically but we don’t teach them mentally , we don’t teach them emotionally, we don’t help them in that aspect and a lot of times when kids fail academically is because there not well emotionally or mentally and we must empower one another in order for us to grow and to be able to move forward.
How can people get involved?
Definitely, by visiting my website Dando Luz, anyone can get involved, donate, and they can see any upcoming or past projects that I’ve done. For example, I don’t have any events right now but we do have the book back drive. But in May I had a girl empowerment seminar that I host for girls here in my hometown, East Orange. There I had volunteers but every time that I have an event I always post something so that people can get involve and volunteer. There’s been a lot of people reaching out to me from other organizations that want to team up with me through my website.
For others that want to start their own non-profit organization, what advice and tips would you give to them?
Well just like in everything I think that you must really want to do it and you must really be willing to work. Personally me, I just started my own non-profit organization so there’s just so much more I have to learn. The first main thing if you want to start a nonprofit is, what is your goal? I knew from the moment I started my own non-profit that I wanted to focus on kids and teens. Second, you have to put love first because obviously if you’re doing this is because you want to help so you have to be able to have a lot of love and have a lot of patience, because if it’s an organization to help people you must be willing to work hard and like anything else, like a career you have to love it in order to enjoy it. One of the things that I didn’t know before starting my nonprofit is that there’s a lot of money that goes behind it, legalizing the name, legalizing the non-profit, it’s a whole process.
PLUS: 12 Inspiring Latinas Under 25
Let's all help give some light to the youth, check out the clip below for more details on Dando Luz.
How the Latina Vote Can Sway the Presidential Election
Latinas Who Eat Processed Meats Face Higher Risk of Developing Breast Cancer
Postpartum Depression & Latinas: What You Need To Know
7 Body Image Struggles Only Latinas Understand
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Polly J. Price
Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law, Professor of Global Health
Law in Action | Emory University School of Law
Emailpprice@emory.edu
Assistant: Carondelet (Ronnie) Price
Location Pin
Office: G502
DocumentCurriculum Vitae
GlobePersonal Website
Immigration and Citizenship, Legal History, Legislation and Regulation, Public Health Law
American Legal History, Citizenship and Immigration Law, Global Public Health Law, Legislation and Regulation, Torts
Polly J. Price, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law, is also Professor of Global Health in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. A public health law scholar as well as a legal historian and citizenship and immigration law expert, she has published, lectured, and taught widely about immigration and citizenship, public health law and regulatory policy, federalism, property rights, and the judiciary.
In 2017, Price was named an Andrew Carnegie Fellow, a distinction awarded to a small group of scholars, journalists, and authors whose work addresses the most pressing issues of our day and serves to strengthen US democracy. Her fellowship-supported project will result in a book, Plagues in the Nation (forthcoming from Beacon Press), about the ways epidemics have shaped US law and continue to pose challenges for disease control in democratic societies.
Price’s scholarship has been recognized most recently with the 2019 Hughes-Gossett Award from the US Supreme Court Historical Society, and in 2016 she was invited to deliver the Leon Silverman Lecture at the US Supreme Court. Previous awards include a 2013 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for work in public-health law and the Ben F. Johnson Faculty Excellence Award, presented triennially by Emory Law.
Price is the author of two books and dozens of journal articles, book chapters, editorials, and reviews. Her most recent book, Judge Richard S. Arnold: A Legacy of Justice on the Federal Bench (Prometheus Books, 2009), includes a foreword by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and a front-cover endorsement by former President Bill Clinton.
Beyond the academy, Price has been honored by election to both the American Law Institute and the American Bar Foundation. Since 2013 she has worked with public health agencies along the US–Mexico border, including the United States–México Border Health Commission and the US–Mexico Binational TB-ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) at the University of New Mexico.
Before joining the Emory Law faculty in 1995, Price clerked for Judge Richard S. Arnold of the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals and then practiced law for several years at King & Spalding in Atlanta and Washington, DC. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Emory College, where she earned both BA and MA degrees with highest honors, including a year of study at St. Andrews University on the prestigious Bobby Jones scholarship. Price attended Harvard Law School, where she graduated with honors in 1989. While at Harvard, Price was a senior editor on the Harvard Women’s Law Journal and served as a teaching fellow in an undergraduate history course.
At Emory, Price teaches Citizenship and Immigration Law, Legislation and Regulation, American Legal History, Global Public Health Law, and Latin American Legal Systems. Through Coursera, she has taught a MOOC on Citizenship and US Immigration, drawing a worldwide enrollment of 24,000 students. Her visiting appointments have taken her to the University of Alabama College of Law, Vanderbilt Law School, the Technische Universität in Dresden, and New Mexico State University.
She has delivered invited lectures throughout the United States and at the Free University of Berlin, and she was an invited speaker at the first Global Forum on Statelessness, held at The Hague in 2014. Under the auspices of the Rule of Law Project of the US State Department, Price was the US representative to the first Equality Law Conference for South African Judges and Magistrates, in Pretoria, South Africa. At Emory she collaborates with faculty colleagues in the Emory Antibiotic Resistance Center and a multi-school tuberculosis consortium.
Select Publications: “Immigration Policy and Public Health,” Indiana Health Law Review (2019); “A ‘Chinese Wall’ at the Nation’s Borders: Justice Stephen Field and The Chinese Exclusion Case,” Journal of Supreme Court History (2018); “Epidemics, Outsiders, and Local Protection: Federalism Theater in the Era of the Shotgun Quarantine,” University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law (2016); “Infecting the Body Politic: Observations on Health Security and the ‘Undesirable’ Immigrant,” Immigration and Nationality Law Journal (2016; reprint—selected as a seminal article of 2015); “If Tuberculosis Spreads ...,” The New York Times (July 8, 2014); “Mapp v. Ohio Revisited: A Law Clerk’s Diary,” Journal of Supreme Court History (2010); “Stateless in the United States: Current Reality and a Future Prediction,” Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law (2013); and Property Rights: Rights and Liberties Under the Law (ABC–CLIO, 2003).
Education: JD, Harvard Law School, 1989; BA/MA, Emory University, 1986.
Judge Richard S. Arnold: A Legacy of Justice on the Federal Bench (Prometheus Books, 2009).
Property Rights: Rights and Liberties under the Law (ABC-Clio, 2003).
Jus Soli and Statelessness: A Comparative Perspective from the Americas, in Benjamin N. Lawrance and Jacqueline Stevens, eds., Citizenship in Question: Evidentiary Birthright and Statelessness (Duke University Press 2017) (lead chapter)
United States-Mexico Border Health Commission, Legal Guide to Continuity of Care for Tuberculosis [produced through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation] (2014).
Teaching Comparative Legal History: Latin American Legal Systems, in Robert M. Jarvis, ed., Teaching Legal History: Comparative Perspectives (London: Wildy & Sons 2014).
Stability and Change in Antebellum Property Law: Stare Decisis in Judicial Rhetoric, in Alfred L. Brophy and Daniel W. Hamilton, eds., The Transformation of Legal History: Essays in Honor of Professor Morton J. Horwitz (Harvard University Press 2008).
“Immigration Policy and Public Health,” Indiana Health Law Review (2019)
“A ‘Chinese Wall’ at the Nation’s Borders: Justice Stephen Field and The Chinese Exclusion Case,” Journal of Supreme Court History (2018)
“Infecting the Body Politic: Observations on Health Security and the ‘Undesirable’ Immigrant,” Immigration and Nationality Law Journal (2016; reprint—selected as a seminal article of 2015)
"Epidemics, Outsiders, and Local Protection: Federalism Theater in the Era of the Shotgun Quarantine", 19 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law 369 (2016)
"Quarantines and Liability in the Context of Ebola", 131(3) Public Health Reports 500 (2016)
"Infecting the Body Politic: Observations on Health Security and the “Undesirable” Immigrant", 63 Kan. L. Rev. 916 (2015) (symposium issue)
"Public Health Control Measures in Response to Global Pandemics and Drug Resistance", 43 Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 49 (2015)
"Sovereignty, Citizenship, and Public Health in the United States", 17 New York University Journal of Legislation & Public Policy 919 (2014).
"Toward Proportional Deportation", 63 Emory Law Journal Online (2014).
"Stateless in the United States: Current Reality and a Future Prediction", 46 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 443 (2013); Immigration and Nationality Law Journal (Reprint Selection) (2014).
"Federalization of the Mosquito: Structural Innovation in the New Deal Administrative State", 60 Emory Law Journal 325 (2010).
"Mapp v. Ohio Revisited: A Law Clerk’s Diary", 35 Journal of Supreme Court History 54-70 (2010).
"Full Faith and Credit and the Equity Conflict", 84 Virginia Law Review 747-842 (1998).
"Natural Law and Birthright Citizenship in Calvin’s Case (1608)", 9 Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities 73-145 (1997).
“If Tuberculosis Spreads ...,” The New York Times (July 8, 2014)
Other Scholarship
Travel ban case may go to US Supreme Court »
A Question of Authority: President Obama and Immigration »
"Emory Ethos Response to Ebola: Wiseheart Society ‘Celebrating Your Generosity,’" at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights , March 26, 2015 »
Point Nine »
Birthright Citizenship in the U. S. Constitution »
Arkansas public television broadcast, 30 minutes »
C-Span Book TV presentation (1 hour) »
Minnesota public radio program (audio only) »
Opinions and Essays
Book Review: Saving the Soul of Georgia: Donald L. Hollowell and the Struggle for Civil Rights, in Journal of American History, by Maurice C. Daniels (forthcoming 2015).
"If Tuberculosis Spreads ...," The New York Times, July 8, 2014.
"Tuberculosis is Back, and Nastier than Ever," Newsweek, November 26, 2013.
"Dodson v. Arkansas Activities Association," in The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture (Butler Center for Arkansas Studies 2014).
Book Review: Common Law, History, and Democracy in America, 1790- 1900: Legal Thought before Modernism, in Journal of American History 98: 1152-53 (2012).
"The Classical Foundations of David Bederman" (reviewing The Classical Foundations of the American Constitution: Prevailing Wisdom), 61 Emory Law Journal (2012).
“Courageous Leadership,” for Emory University’s Wise Heart Society, National Center for Civil and Human Rights (March 26, 2015).
"Ebola and the Law in the US and West Africa: Treatment, Vaccine Development, and Ethics," at the Emory Ebola Faculty and Community Discussion Forum (February 23, 2015).
“Pandemic Disease and Quarantine: Legal and Ethical Considerations,” at Emory Alumni Association “Back to Class,” Miami, Florida (January 24, 2015).
“International Law and Pandemic Disease,” (panelist) at “Domestic and International Issues Relating to the Ebola Virus,” held at the University of Georgia School of Law (January 21, 2015).
“Patient Data, Confidentiality, and Jurisdictional Constraints: Lessons Learned from Tuberculosis Control Measures,” at Radiology Grand Rounds, Emory University Hospital (January 14, 2015).
“Law in the Hot Zone: Legal Responses to Infectious Disease,” (co-presenter) at Lamar Inn of Court, King & Spalding (January 13, 2015).
“Immigration and Family Law,” at the 15th Annual Legal Ethics and Professionalism Symposium, Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Emory University (November 14, 2014).
“Reimagining Asylum: Alternative Narratives of Flight in Sacred Scripture,” at the American Academy of Religion Annual Conference, San Diego, California (November 24, 2014).
“Statelessness in the Americas,” at the First Global Forum on Statelessness, The Hague, the Netherlands (September 17, 2014).
Judge Richard S. Arnold: A Legacy of Justice on the Federal Bench
Polly Price is the author of two books and numerous articles in American legal history, citizenship, property rights, and the judiciary. Her most recent book, Judge Richard S. Arnold: A Legacy of Justice on the Federal Bench, includes a Foreword by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and a front cover blurb by former President Bill Clinton. C-SPAN2’s Book TV featured Price’s book in 2009.
Table of Contents and Introduction on SSRN »
Prometheus Books book page »
C-Span book discussion »
Arkansas Education Television Network presentation »
Amazon.com summary »
Legal History Blog post »
♦ Arkansas Lawyer, page 26 »
♦ Emory’s Center for Faculty Development and Excellence lists recent authors and projects in their writing and research program »
♦ “The Best and Worst of 2009 in Politics and Blogging,” the Arkansas News listed Judge Richard S. Arnold: A Legacy of Justice on the Federal Bench as its “Favorite Arkansas Political Book” for 2009 »
♦ The July 2009 issue of Trial, the monthly publication of the American Association of Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, ATLA), features a book review of Judge Richard S. Arnold by Kevin Shehan. The full citation is vol. 45, pp. 62-63 (July 2009). I am grateful to the publisher for permission to post the review here:
JUDGE RICHARD S. ARNOLD by POLLY J. PRICE
PROMETHEUS BOOKS WWW.PROMETHEUSBOOKS.COM 480 PP., $25.98 CLOTH
Kevin Shehan
Copyright © 2009 by the American Association for Justice; Kevin Shehan
Emory University School of Law Professor and Associate Dean Polly Price presents the life of a preeminent modern jurist in her biography Judge Richard S. Arnold: A Legacy of Justice on the Federal Bench. In this, her second book, Price shows the late Judge Arnold to be worthy of the superlative praise he has received from an impressive chorus: presidents, members of Congress, justices and jurists, and former legal and political opponents.
Richard Sheppard Arnold, who at his death in 2004 was a senior judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and Price’s former employer (she was his law clerk from 1989 to 1991), is probably most noted for his First Amendment jurisprudence. Perhaps he will be most remembered as the modern-day Learned Hand, as editorialist Paul Greenberg wrote, calling Arnold “the greatest American jurist of his time not to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.”
But Price reminds us what may be most prized about Arnold. He was a brilliant jurist and paragon of judicial temperament who thoughtfully addressed the concerns of the parties who came before him through carefully dispensed, legally sound justice.
A Legacy of Justice begins with an elegantly succinct foreword by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She writes that her “generation knew no finer federal judge.”
Price then masterfully marshals the knowledge she gained from Arnold’s private papers, internal court documents, interviews (including interviews with Arnold himself), and other sources both public and private. Through a historical and forensic review of his work, Price shows us Arnold’s contributions to environmental law as a lawyer; to individual rights jurisprudence as a jurist; and to the federal judiciary itself, as the chairman of the Judicial Conference’s budget committee and the judiciary’s emissary to Congress.
Price also presents a candid look at the inner workings of the federal judiciary itself, through the lens of Arnold’s work. And she reveals the politics that drive judicial appointments, through a review of the realities of Arnold’s own appointments–and later his omission from the Supreme Court of the United States for health reasons. When President Clinton chose Justice Stephen Breyer as his final appointee to the Court, he cited Arnold’s lymphoma as the reason Arnold was not selected.
What is most striking about A Legacy of Justice is Price’s use of the details of Arnold’s personal and political life to explain his work. For example, Arnold was a devout Christian. Price hypothesizes that this may have inspired his much-lauded temperament as a jurist.
Price also hypothesizes that, perhaps, Arnold’s personal politics softened as a result of his Supreme Court clerkship for and continuing friendship with Justice William Brennan, whom Price acknowledges as a notable liberal justice. While Arnold was an undergraduate at Yale, before being exposed to Brennan’s influence, he opposed as a matter of states’ rights the desegregation holding of Brown v. Board of Education. But after years of mentoring by Brennan, Arnold championed civil rights and individual liberties.
For instance, in Dodson v. Arkansas Activities Association, Arnold, sitting on the federal district court in Little Rock, held that the half-court high school basketball that Diana Lee Dodson and other girls in Arkansas were required to play violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Women’s college basketball was played full-court nationwide, so these half-court-playing women were at a disadvantage in competing for basketball scholarships against their full-court-playing counterparts. And the only reason for the disadvantage was sex; no boys played half-court basketball.
Members of the trial bar who seek greater understanding of how appellate court decisions are made would do well to read Price’s revelations in A Legacy of Justice. Through compelling descriptions of Arnold’s notable appellate decisions, Price makes good on her promise to provide special insight into the “other court,” the federal circuit courts of appeal. Moreover, her description of the Supreme Court’s decision-making process in Mapp v. Ohio is particularly mesmerizing. That landmark decision, which applied the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule to state prosecutions, was decided while Arnold was Brennan’s law clerk. Price illuminates the tumult and politics involved in majority-making on the Court by presenting it through the eyes of a young but brilliant Arnold.
Price acknowledges that reasonable minds would differ on her presentation based on what she calls the “record” of Arnold’s life. But Price’s work winningly surpasses her modest goal of fairly presenting that record. All told, A Legacy of Justice is a meticulous recitation of Arnold’s life and achievements. It stands firmly as an appropriate tribute to him.
KEVIN SHEHAN is an attorney-adviser in the Office of the Assistant General Counsel for General Law at the U.S. Department of Energy. He is also an adjunct professor in the Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis Department of George Mason University School of Law."
Blog court-o-rama.org, billed as “the least dangerous blog” Click here for books »
♦ Presentation of signed book to University of Havana for its library »
♦ Eighth Circuit Bar Association and Eighth Circuit Historical Association book talk and reception honoring the publication of Judge Richard S. Arnold, A Legacy of Justice on the Federal Bench. Audio presentation is here »
♦ Professor Price addressed the Eighth Circuit bench and bar in St. Louis’ Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse during the Court of Appeals’ court week. Left Bank Books in St. Louis hosted the book signing, www.left-bank.com »
♦ Panel discussion at the 2009 DC Circuit Judicial Conference about preservation of non-official judicial records. (Report by sponsor the DC Circuit Historical society reproduced below, with thanks to George W. Jones of Sidley Austin:
"Preservation of Non-Official Judicial Papers
On Friday, June 5, 2009, members of the DC Circuit Historical Society Committee on Archival Preservation and Historical Research participated in a lively two-hour panel presentation on the preservation of judges’ non-official papers at the DC Circuit Judicial Conference at the Bedford Springs Resort in Bedford, Pennsylvania.
Committee members Maeva Marcus, Director, Institute for Constitutional Studies, The George Washington University Law School, and Daun van Ee, Historical Specialist, Library of Congress, joined Professor Polly Price, Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor of Law, Emory Law School and author of Richard Arnold: A Legacy of Justice on the Federal Bench, and Bruce Ragsdale, Chief Historian, Federal Judicial Center (“FJC”), on the panel. Committee chair George W. Jones, Jr., Sidley Austin LLP served as moderator.
Not surprisingly, one of the most hotly debated topics was the age-old question of whether judges should make any of their work product or communications about cases other than final opinions available to the public. Whether judges should preserve electronic correspondence with colleagues presented this issue in 21st Century garb. Points of view all along the spectrum of opinion were ably represented at the conference. Suffice to say, the historians on the panel had a very different view than some of the judges.
The key “takeaways” from the presentation are:
the non-official papers of federal judges may constitute indispensable supplemental material for historians and scholars trying to understand and describe the history of the United States, the operations of the federal judiciary, and the role that individual judges played in the great events of our times; it is impossible to determine today what will be relevant and important to the questions that will be studied 50 years from today;
as participating witnesses to the history of the United States, all federal judges – not just those who have established national reputations or who have participated in cases of national import — should consider preserving their non-official papers; it is never too early for a judge to begin thinking about preserving his or her non-official papers;
preserving non-official papers is not nearly as burdensome as some may fear;
the first step is to identify those repositories that may be most interested in taking a particular judge’s non-official papers; judges who have national reputations or who have handled cases of national significance should consider the Library of Congress; others should consider repository institutions the judge attended or with which the judge has some other relationship, institutions that already have the papers of other judges from the judge’s court, or institutions that have an interest in a particular subject matter that makes up a portion of the judge’s work;
some institutions want everything; others may be more selective and can provide useful guidance as to what should be preserved; and
concerns about confidentiality or sensitive materials can be addressed by restricting access to the papers for some specified time or limiting access to particular scholars or appointing one or more trustees with authority to determine access to the papers.
The FJC recently completed work on a second edition of A Guide to the Preservation of Federal Judges’ Papers, its useful primer on what types of papers should be preserved and how to go about preserving them. Copies of the recently released second edition were distributed at the conference."
♦ Podcast of panel discussion on judicial biography held at the London School of Economics in 2007 » The panel featured Neil Duxbury (author of “Jurists and Judges: An Essay on Influence” (Oxford 2001), and “Patterns of American Jurisprudence” (Oxford 1995)), Lisa Jardine, Nicola Lacey, and Geoffrey Lewis.
♦ October 8, 2009: A video link is available to a recent interview by Steve Barnes, aired on the Arkansas Educational Television Network. This 30-minute conversation, from the series “Steve Barnes and…”, discusses Judge Richard S. Arnold: A Legacy of Justice on the Federal Bench. Click here »
♦ August 8, 2009: A segment on the Judge Richard S. Arnold biography won CSPAN II’s Book TV. For more details and full schedule, click here »
♦ July 2, 2009: C-SPAN’s Book TV - 45-minute program taped at the Clinton School in May »
♦ June 7, 2009: Constitutional Law Professor blog »
♦ May 25, 2009: Clinton School of Public Service » Distinguished Speakers series.
♦ May 17, 2009: Paul Greenberg, a Pulitzer prize-winning columnist, published an editorial about Judge Richard Arnold in connection with my talk at the Clinton School of Public Service last week. It appeared in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and at townhall.com » The editorial is titled “Ironies Abound” in the ADG, and “The Lost Light” at www.townhall.com
♦ April 10, 2009: The Legal History Blog featured the Arnold biography »
The Art of Judging
March 11, 2011 The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made available via YouTube a speech given by Judge Richard S. Arnold in 2002 titled “The Art of Judging" »
May 20, 2009: At his farewell address at Georgetown, Justice Souter quoted Judge Richard S. Arnold on the qualities of judging, as reported by Tony Mauro on The BLT: Blog of Legal Times » Scroll down to the final paragraph below:
Souter: Republic is Lost Unless Civic Education Improves
In a speech at Georgetown University Law Center today, retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter made a powerful plea for re-educating the American public about the fundamentals of how government works.
The republic, Souter said, “can be lost, it is being lost, it is lost, if it is not understood.” He cited surveys showing large majorities of the public cannot name the three branches of government, something he said would have been unheard of when he was growing up in rural Weare, N.H. What is needed, Souter said, is nothing less than “the restoration of the self-identity of the American people.”
Souter closed by recalling the late Judge Richard Arnold’s statement about why judicial independence is so important to the nation. He said that at a Philadelphia conference several years ago Arnold, an acclaimed judge on the 8th Circuit who died in 2004, said a strong and independent judiciary was needed because, “There has to be a safe place. There has to be a safe place. That’s all he said.”
Unpublished Opinions: The Debate Continues
January 15, 2009: The debate over citation to unpublished judicial opinions and their precedential value has been prominent in academic literature since Richard Arnold’s panel opinion inAnastasoff v. United States.
The debate has spread from the federal circuits to some state judiciaries. Here is a link to a bill proposed in the Arkansas legislature on the subject of unpublished opinions:
http://www.ardigest.com/www/AR/87R/pdf/AR87RSB00033FIL.pdf
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Sticky Post By user Posted in Uncategorized Permalink
November 22, 2020 user
Southampton Inn Owner Dede Gotthelf Named to Long Island Business News’ 2020 Top 50 Women in Business
Sticky Post By user On November 22, 2020
Dede Gotthelf, Owner of the Southampton Inn ©Standart
With a storied career in banking, real estate, and hospitality, Dede Gotthelf has been named one of Long Island Business News’ Top Women in Business for 2020. In usual self-deprecating fashion, Dede (as she prefers) attributes her success to early education at The Brearley School (all girls) Williams College (at the time almost all boys), a fantastic first job at Chase Bank (training and travel), and a strong foundation in finance.
Over the past four decades, Dede has taken on unique out-of-the-box challenges such as purchasing the Brooklyn Bridge from the City of New York; being a co-general partner in the development of one of the first waterfront condominiums (The Regatta) at Battery Park City; assembling the land and site planning for the first Planned Development District (PDD) in Southampton Town that included a new King Kullen grocery store on seven plus acres in downtown Hampton Bays; and repositioning the Southampton Inn, International Plaza, and Claude’s Restaurant in the historic Village of Southampton.
Southampton Inn
Other accolades received over the years are; Top 100 Women in Real Estate from the Association of Real Estate Women (AREW); Certificate of Appreciation from the Flanders Northampton Riverside Community Association (FRNCA); A certificate of Special Achievement from Governor Carey for urban planning and renewal at the New York State Urban Development Corporation; one of the top CFOs from Long Island Business News, and Employee of the Month from her staff at the Southampton Inn!
Dede is on the Board of the Southampton History Museum, Pianofest of the Hamptons, Southampton Village Business Revitalization Committee. She also opens her business and home to support local charities such as Peconic Land Trust, Southampton Cultural Center, and The Southampton Animal Shelter (where she recently adopted the Inn’s Concierge Cat, Rupert Clyde).
During the early days of COVID-19, she closed the Inn to all outside guests to house essential workers from Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. After reopening in accordance with CDC guidelines, (and with several Sterile-Light UVC sanitizing lights to protect guests and employees), the Southampton Inn continues to offer a family and pet friendly, romantic, sustainable and idyllic Hamptons getaway which attracts countless locals and visitors alike who come to explore the beautiful nature and culture of the East End all year long.www.southamptoninn.com
Southampton Inn Owner Dede Gotthelf Named to Long Island Business News’ 2020 Top 50 Women in Business January 13th, 2021user
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Business and Professions Code - BPC
DIVISION 3. PROFESSIONS AND VOCATIONS GENERALLY [5000 - 9998.11]
( Heading of Division 3 added by Stats. 1939, Ch. 30. )
CHAPTER 4. Attorneys [6000 - 6243]
( Chapter 4 added by Stats. 1939, Ch. 34. )
ARTICLE 4.7. Contracts For Legal Services [6072- 6072.]
( Article 4.7 added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 880, Sec. 3. )
(a) A contract with the state for legal services that exceeds fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) shall include a certification by the contracting law firm that the firm agrees to make a good faith effort to provide, during the duration of the contract, a minimum number of hours of pro bono legal services, or an equivalent amount of financial contributions to qualified legal services projects and support centers, as defined in Section 6213, during each year of the contract equal to the lesser of either (1) 30 multiplied by the number of full-time attorneys in the firm’s offices in the state, with the number of hours prorated on an actual day basis for any contract period of less than a full year or (2) 10 percent of its contract with the state. “Ten percent of the contract” shall mean the number of hours equal to 10 percent of the contract amount divided by the average billing rate of the firm.
(b) Failure to make a good faith effort may be cause for nonrenewal of a state contract for legal services, and may be taken into account when determining the award of future contracts with the state for legal services. If a firm fails to provide the hours of pro bono legal services set forth in its certification, the following factors shall be considered in determining whether the firm made a good faith effort:
(1) The actual number of hours of pro bono legal services or the amount of financial contributions provided by the firm during the term of the contract.
(2) The firm’s efforts to obtain pro bono legal work from legal services programs, pro bono programs, and other relevant communities or groups.
(3) The firm’s history of providing pro bono legal services or financial contributions, or other activities of the firm that evidence a good faith effort to provide pro bono legal services or financial contributions, such as the adoption of a pro bono policy or the creation of a pro bono committee.
(4) The types of pro bono legal services provided, including the quantity and complexity of cases as well as the nature of the relief sought.
(5) The extent to which the failure to provide the hours of pro bono legal services or financial contributions set forth in the certification is the result of extenuating circumstances unforeseen at the time of the certification.
(c) In awarding a contract with the state for legal services that exceeds fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), the awarding department shall consider the efforts of a potential contracting law firm to provide, during the 12-month period prior to award of the contract, the minimum number of hours of pro bono legal services described in subdivision (a). Other things being equal, the awarding department shall award a contract for legal services to firms that have provided, during the 12-month period prior to award of the contract, the minimum number of hours of pro bono legal services described in subdivision (a).
(d) As used in this section, “pro bono legal services” means the provision of legal services either:
(1) Without fee or expectation of fee to either:
(A) Persons who are indigent or of limited means.
(B) Charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental, and educational organizations in matters designed primarily to address the economic, health, and social needs of persons who are indigent or of limited means.
(2) At no fee or substantially reduced fee to groups or organizations seeking to secure or protect civil rights, civil liberties, or public rights.
(e) Nothing in this section shall subject a contracting law firm that fails to provide the minimum number of hours of pro bono legal services described in subdivision (a) to civil or criminal liability, nor shall that failure be grounds for invalidating an existing contract for legal services.
(f) This article shall not apply to state contracts with, or appointments made by the judiciary of, an attorney, law firm, or organization for the purposes of providing legal representation to low- or middle-income persons, in either civil, criminal, or administrative matters.
(g) This article shall not apply to contracts entered into between the state and an attorney or law firm if the legal services contracted for are to be performed outside the State of California.
(h) The provisions of this article shall become operative on January 1, 2003.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 758, Sec. 1. (AB 2684) Effective January 1, 2013.)
BPCBusiness and Professions Code - BPC4.7
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Moorfields Eye Hospital shares one million patients’ eye scans with Google DeepMind
5th July 2016 Health 33816
Google’s AI division aims to speed up analysis of common eye conditions to prevent blindness… Moorfields Eye Hospital is sharing one million people’s eye scan data with Google Deepmind in an attempt to detect common eye diseases much earlier.
DeepMind will apply its AI algorithms to the anonymised scans to see if it can help research into detecting wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
Together, these conditions affect 625,000 people in the UK, while two million people in the UK have sight loss, 360,000 of whom are registered as blind or partially sighted. Diabetic retinopathy affects around 350 million people worldwide.
Doctors rely on digital scans to diagnose these common eye conditions, and also use them to decide what form of treatment best suits the patient. However, the scans are complex and existing analysis tools have not been able to fully explore the data they contain.
Meanwhile, the length of time needed to properly analyse the scans means patients must wait longer to discuss the diagnosis and proposed treatments with their doctors.
DeepMind and Moorfields are working on a research project that aims to solve this problem by seeing whether artificial intelligence can act as a better analysis tool for eye scans, in the hope it will speed up diagnoses and treatment decisions.
Professor Sir Peng Tee Khaw, director of the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre in Ophthalmology at Moorfields Eye Hospital, said: “Our research with DeepMind has the potential to revolutionise the way professionals carry out eye tests and could lead to earlier detection and treatment of common eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration.
“With sight loss predicted to double by the year 2050 it is vital we explore the use of cutting-edge technology to prevent eye disease.”
Moorfields is sharing one million anonymised scans that have been collected over time with DeepMind, as well as anonymous clinical diagnoses and demographic data.
DeepMind will feed this data into a machine learning algorithm, along with information on the treatment of eye diseases and a model of the machine that took the images, to see whether it can improve on the hospital’s own methods of analysis.
Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind, said: “We set up DeepMind because we wanted to use AI to help solve some of society’s biggest challenges, and diabetic retinopathy is the fastest growing cause of blindness worldwide. I’m really excited to announce this collaboration with leading researchers at Moorfields.
“Detecting eye diseases as early as possible gives patients the best possible chance of getting the right treatments. I really believe that one day this work will be a great benefit to patients across the NHS.”
The NHS previously caused controversy when it emerged in May that the Royal Free NHS Trust had signed a deal with DeepMind to share 1.6 million records of patients attending its hospitals.
The data was fuelling the design of an app called Streams, meant to help staff monitor patients with kidney disease.
This time around, Moorfields was clear the data is anonymised, saying: “This [data] has been collected over time through routine care, which means it’s not possible to identify any individual patients from the scans. And they’re also historic scans, meaning that while the results of our research may be used to improve future care, they won’t affect the care any of our patients receive today.”
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McLaren Reveals First Dealer Locations in 35 Cities Around the World Photos
May 25th, 2010 Editorial Team
The brand-new MP4-12C supercar from McLaren Automotive will be sold next spring (2011) by a network of dealers in 35 cities in 19 countries across the world, with more to follow in 2012, the British company announced.
McLaren Automotive’s initial network will include eight retailers in North America (USA, Canada), 12 in Europe (UK, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland), two in the Middle-East, and one in Africa (South Africa).
Here’s the official list with the cities that will be represented by McLaren retailers:
Europe: Birmingham, London, Manchester; Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich; Brussels; Monaco, Paris; Milan; Barcelona/Madrid; Zurich
North America: Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Orange County, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tampa; Toronto
Middle-East / South Africa: Manama; Doha; Jeddah, Riyadh; Dubai, Abu Dhabi; Kuwait; Johannesburg
Asia-Pacific: Hong Kong; Singapore; Sydney; Tokyo
The company said that it will reveal more details on its first 23 retailers ahead of the MP4-12C’s global debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed.
According to McLaren, between 300 and 400 cars are planned for North America, 400 to 500 for Europe, and 100 to 200 each for the Middle-East/South Africa and Asia-Pacific regions.
Posted in McLAREN
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One Extremely Lucky Guy Avoids Oncoming Car Photos Videos »
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Evaluation of Sustainable Mobility Measures Using Fuzzy COPRAS Method
Tanja Parezanović University of Belgrade, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering
Nataša Bojković University of Belgrade, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering
Marijana Petrović University of Belgrade, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering
Snežana Pejčić Tarle University of Belgrade, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering
The process of decision making in a complex system such as transport is often conducted in the presence of a large number of criteria that are often conflicting and whose values are expressed in different units. This paper presents a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approach for evaluating sustainable mobility measures based on qualitative information. The usage of both types of criteria (or only qualitative) in the process of evaluation of sustainable mobility measures is possible thanks to the fuzzy expansion of the multi-criteria decision making methods. The proposed procedure for the evaluation of sustainable mobility measures encompasses selection of measures, criteria and ranking selected measures using the fuzzy COPRAS method. The aim of the proposed method is ranking sustainable mobility measures on the basis of previous experiences. The method enables cities that have not yet implemented these measures to gain an insight into what to expect and establish priorities. The paper demonstrates the potentials and suitability of fuzzy COPRAS in making decisions on mobility measures. Accordingly, twenty six measures are evaluated and the most promising ones have been obtained.
Tanja Parezanović, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering
Tanja Parezanović is a research and teaching assistant and a PhD student at the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, the University of Belgrade, Serbia. She is the author or co-author of a number of scientific papers. Her research area is sustainable transportation systems and measures for achieving them.
Nataša Bojković, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering
Dr Nataša Bojković is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, the University of Belgrade, Serbia. She is the author or co-author of a number of papers in peer-reviewed international and national journals, including invited papers as well as conference proceedings. Her research area is decision making models in transport and communications, especially in the field of economics and policy.
Marijana Petrović, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering
Dr Marijana Petrović is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, the University of Belgrade, Serbia. She is the author or co-author of a number of scientific papers. Her research area is engineering management and policy in transport and communications, with special interest in policy modelling with the application of mathematical models and software solutions.
Snežana Pejčić Tarle, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering
Dr Snežana Pejčić Tarle is an associate professor at the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, the University of Belgrade, Serbia. She is the author or co-author of a number of scientific papers and books in the field of engineering management, policy analysis and sustainable development. She is especially interested in designing innovative tools and methods for policy monitoring and evaluation.
Parezanović, T., Bojković, N., Petrović, M., & Pejčić Tarle, S. (2016). Evaluation of Sustainable Mobility Measures Using Fuzzy COPRAS Method. Management:Journal Of Sustainable Business And Management Solutions In Emerging Economies, 21(78), 53-62. Retrieved from http://management.fon.bg.ac.rs/index.php/mng/article/view/46/38
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Vietnam, UK sign free trade deal ahead of Brexit – VnExpress International
The Vietnam – U.K. Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) was signed in London at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Hanoi time.
Because of Covid-19, the Vietnamese government representatives and the Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh had not been able to be present to sign the deal, and the two governments have authorized the ambassadors for the mission.
The bilateral deal will take effect from 11 p.m., December 31.
It locks in the benefits of both countries’ existing trading relationship under the EU-Vietnam FTA that took effect August 1, eliminating 99 percent of import duties for both parties after seven years.
With the U.K. leaving the European Union, its rights and obligations under the EVFTA will cease to apply after December 31, 2020.
Under the UKVFTA, the U.K. will abolish import taxes on 99.2 percent of tariff lines within six years, equivalent to 99.7 percent of export turnover of Vietnam to the country.
While the EU has committed to giving Vietnam a tariff rate quota (TRQ) with an import tax of 0 percent for some products, the U.K. said it will consult EU statistics on bilateral trade between Vietnam and the U.K. in the 2014-2016 period to come up with a similar policy. The U.K. also commits to review and increase the TRQ amount for Vietnam’s rice products after three years from the day the UKVFTA takes effect.
Export industries expected to benefit greatly from this agreement include seafood, rice, textiles, wood, vegetables and footwear.
In return, Vietnam will remove 48.5 percent of tariff lines, accounting for 64.5 percent of import turnover as soon as the agreement comes into effect. After six years, 91.8 percent of tariff lines will have been abolished, equivalent to 97.1 percent of the import turnover, and this will further increase to 98.3 percent of the tariff lines (accounting for 99.8 percent of the turnover).
In addition, the agreement also includes commitments on rules of origin, customs and trade facilitation, food hygiene and safety measures, and on technical barriers to trade and services, investment, trade defense, competition, state-owned firms, government procurement, and intellectual property.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade said earlier this month that Vietnam will have more competitive advantages compared to countries like China, India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, who are not likely to conclude trade agreements with the U.K. for years to come.
Vietnam will also have more opportunities for cooperation, investment, technology transfer, and attracting British tourists as the Covid-19 pandemic is contained. The conclusion of negotiations today also sends a positive message about the relationship between Vietnam and the U.K. as the two countries celebrating 10 years of their Strategic Partnership Agreement, it said.
Industry-Trade Minister Anh and U.K. International Trade Secretary Elizabeth Truss had signed a joint ministerial statement on the conclusion of the free trade pact negotiations on December 11 after two years of discussion.
The U.K. is currently Vietnam’s third largest trading partner in Europe after Germany and the Netherlands.
Data from the General Department of Customs showed that the total import-export turnover of the two countries reached $6.6 billion last year, of which exports stood at $5.8 billion and imports $857 million. In the period 2011-2019, the growth rate of Vietnam – U.K. bilateral import and export turnover increased by an average of 12.1 percent each year.
UK sign free trade deal ahead of Brexit - VnExpress InternationalVietnam
The beauty of Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s first island city
Vietnam’s SofM wins China LoL of the year MVP award – VnExpress International
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Sex, Lies, and Videotape Blu-ray Review + Screen Caps
Sex, Lies, and Videotape is a strong feature film debut for Steven Soderbergh and features some great performances, primarily Andie MacDowell and James Spader. This is well worth watching for anyone who appreciates a well written character drama.
Criterion Collection | R – 100 min. – $39.98 | July 17, 2018
Date Published: 07/17/2018 | Author: The Movieman
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Writer(s): Steven Soderbergh (written by)
Cast: James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher, Laura San Giacomo
Features: Commentary, Featurettes, Deletes Scenes, Trailers
Digital Copy: No
Formats Included: Blu-ray
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.85
Disc Size: 45.6 GB
Codecs: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A
The Criterion Collection provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3.75/5
Plot Synopsis: Housewife Ann (ANDIE MACDOWELL) feels distant from her lawyer husband, John (PETER GALLAGHER), who is sleeping with her sister, Cynthia (LAURA SAN GIACOMO). When John’s old friend Graham (JAMES SPADER) comes to town, Ann is drawn to the soft-spoken outsider, eventually uncovering his startling private obsession: videotaping women as they confess their deepest desires.
Quick Hit Review: Sex, Lies, and Videotape is a tremendous 1989 feature film debut from prolific and stylistic filmmaker Stephen Soderbergh. The film works on every level from the sharp writing, and in particular, dialogue in combination with amazing performances from all around, most notably Andie MacDowell and James Spader, with Spader receiving a Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Sex, Lies, and Videotape is a pleasantly quiet drama that doesn’t aim to shock an audience but instead introspective on each of the four main characters, though I’d say Gallagher’s John came across far more one-note compared to the others, with absolutely nothing about the character worthy of any sympathy, more of the stereotypical all around asshole person as both a husband and a friend; even Cynthia, played by Laura San Giacomo of Just Shoot Me fame, was more of a likeable character despite having an affair with her sister’s husband with very little, if any, guilt.
In the end, while I wasn’t madly in love with the movie, and find it to be only my fourth favorite film in Steven Soderbergh’s illustrious career (behind Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven and Out of Sight), Sex, Lies, and Videotape is textbook case of fine independent filmmaking for its strong performances and tight scriptwriting.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.75/5
The single-disc release comes inside a foldout case and a clear plastic slip cover which does a good job attracting fingerprints. Neat looking but give me the usual HD keep case…
Inside is a booklet featuring an essay by critic Amy Taubin and excerpts from Soderbergh’s 1990 book about the film.
Audio Commentary – This track from 1998 with Writer/Director Steven Soderbergh with filmmaker Neil LaBute serving as a moderator of sorts, asking questions and keeps the track flowing.
Stephen Soderbergh Interviews from 1990 (9:05), 1992 (13:31), an appearance on “The Dick Cavett Show” and a new one from 2018 (6:17) finds the filmmaker discussing various aspects of the project and each one is very interesting.
Something in the Air: Making Sex, Lies, and Videotape (28:55) is a new featurette and features actors Peter Gallagher, Andie MacDowell, and Laura San Giacomo discussing working with Soderbergh and the impact the movie had on their careers.
James Spader Interview (5:13) is an excerpt from an appearance on NBC’s Today from September 1989.
Cliff and Larry: Beginning (19:38) is an interview with sound editor/re-recording mixer Larry Blake and composer Cliff Martinez talk about working with Soderbergh since the beginning and the challenges of his debut film.
Deleted Scene (3:20) – As described in the notes on the menu, this scene between Ann and her therapist was ultimately cut because Soderbergh felt it made Ann appear too pliable. Included is an optional commentary with him.
Generators, Noise Reduction, and Multitrack Audiotape (11:58) is an interview with Blake recounting his time working on Sex, Lies, and Videotape and fixing the audio issues back then and today for this release. Comes with archival photographs serving as the background.
Trailers – Soderbergh Cut (1:33) and Miramax Cut (1:37)
Rounding things out is a text about the new transfer by Larry Blake.
VIDEO – 5.0/5
There are only a few number of studios that I trust when it comes to restoring older movies, one is Arrow and the other, Criterion Collection. In spite of already having been released on Blu-ray before, Sex, Lies, and Videotape got a new digital transfer, created in 4K resolution from the 35 mm original camera negative where upon thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches and other film damage were removed. The detail level was incredibly sharp and grain was thankfully intact while colors are vivid without seeming oversaturated.
AUDIO – 5.0/5
Where this release really got some much needed attention is with the audio. The included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track underwent a full restoration by the film’s sound editor/re-recording mixer Larry Blake. As described, the original dialogue-edit elements were located and the dialogue remixed by Blake and Steven Soderbergh, and attention was placed on noise reduction, due to the generator used on the set and locations.
OVERALL – 4.25/5
Overall, Sex, Lies, and Videotape is a strong feature film debut for Steven Soderbergh and features some great performances, primarily Andie MacDowell and James Spader. While it might not be my favorite of Soderbergh’s mostly impressive filmography, this is well worth watching for anyone who appreciates a well written character drama. This Blu-ray release from The Criterion Collection has amazing remastered video/audio transfers and a good selection of bonus features.
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.
07/18/2018 Blu-ray Reviews, Featured Review, Screen Caps Tagged with: Andie MacDowell, Criterion Collection, James Spader, Laura San Giacomo, Peter Gallagher, Steven Soderbergh
The Equalizer 4K Ultra HD Review + BD Screen Caps Chappaquiddick Blu-ray Review + Screen Caps
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Why Artificial Intelligences Will Never Be Like Us and Aliens Will Be Just Like Us.
"Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsym-pathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us."
cosmicorigins.com
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the great memes of science fiction and as our lives come to resemble scifi stories ever more, we can't help by speculate what an AI will be like. Hollywood aside seem to imagine that AIs will be more or less like us because we aim to make them like us. And as part of that we will make them with affection for, or at least obedience to us. Asimov's Laws of Robotics are the most well known expression of this. And even if they end up turning against us, it will be for understandable reasons.
Extra-terrestrial aliens on the other hand will be incomprehensible. "It's like Jim, but not at we know it." We're not even sure that we'll recognise alien life when we see it. Not even sure that we have a definition of life that will cover aliens. It goes without saying that aliens will behave in unpredictable ways and will almost certainly be hostile to humanity. We won't understand them minds or bodies and we will survive only by accident (War of the Worlds, Alien) or through Promethean cunning (Footfall, Independence Day). Aliens will surprise us, baffle us, and confuse us (though hidden in this narrative is a projection of fears both rational and irrational).
In this essay I will argue that we have this backwards: in fact AI will be incomprehensible to us, while aliens will be hauntingly familiar. This essay started off as a thought experiment I was conducting about aliens and a comment on a newspaper story on AI. Since then it's become a bit more topical as a computer program known as a chatbot was trumpeted as having "passed the Turing Test for the first time". This turned out to be a rather inflated version of events. In reality a chatbot largely failed to convince the majority of people that it was a person despite a minor cheat that lowered the bar. The chatbot was presented as a foreigner with poor English and was still mostly unconvincing.
But here's the thing. Why do we expect AI to be able to imitate a human being? What points of reference would a computer program ever have to enable it to do so?
Robots Will Never Be Like Us.
There are some fundamental errors in the way that AI people think about intelligence that will begin to put limits on their progress if they haven't already. The main one being that they don't see that human consciousness is embodied. Current AI models tacitly subscribe to a strong form of Cartesian mind/body dualism: they believe that they can create a mind without a body. There's now a good deal of research to show that our minds are not separable from our bodies. I've probably cited four names more than any other when considering consciousness: George Lakoff, Mark Johnson, Antonio Damasio, and Thomas Metzinger. What these thinkers collectively show is that our minds are very much tied to our bodies. Our abstract thoughts are voiced using on metaphors drawn from how we physically interact with the world. Their way of understanding consciousness posits the modelling of our physical states as the basis for simple consciousness. How does a disembodied mind do that? We can only suppose that it cannot.
One may argue that a robot body is like a human body. And that an embodied robot might be able to build a mind that is like ours through it's robot body. But the robot is not using it's brain primarily to sustain homoeostasis mainly because it does not rely on homoeostasis for continued existence. But even other mammals don't have minds like ours. Because of shared evolutionary history we might share some basic physiological responses to gross stimuli that are good adaptations for survival, but their thoughts are very different because their bodies and particularly their sensory apparatus are different. An arboreal creature is just not going to structure their world the way a plains dweller or an aquatic animal does. Is there any reason to suppose that a dolphin constructs the same kind of world as we do? And if not then what about a mind with no body at all? Maybe we could communicate with dolphin with difficulty and a great deal of imagination on out part. But with a machine? It will be "Shaka, when the walls fell." For the uninitiated this is a reference to a classic of first-contact scifi story. The aliens in question communicate in metaphors drawn exclusively from their own mythology, making them incomprehensible to outsiders, except Picard and his crew of course (there is a long, very nerdy article about this on The Atlantic Website). Compare Dan Everett's story of learning to communicate with the Pirahã people of Amazonia in his book Don't Sleep There Are Snakes.
Although Alan Turing was a mathematical genius he was not a genius of psychology. And he made a fundamental error in his Turing Test in my opinion. Our Theory of Mind is tuned to assume that other minds are like ours. If we can conceive any kind of mind independent of us, then we assume that it is like us. This has survival value, but it also means we invent anthropomorphic gods, for example. A machine mind is not going to be at all like us, but that doesn't stop us unconsciously projecting human qualities onto it. Hypersensitive Agency Detection (as described by Justin L Barrett) is likely to mean that even if a machine does pass the Turing Test then we will have over estimated the extent to which it is an agent.
The Turing Test is thus a flawed model for evaluating another mind because of limitations in our equipment for assessing other minds. The Turing Test assumes that all humans are good judges of intelligence, but we aren't. We are the beings who see faces everywhere, and can get caught up in the lives of soap opera characters and treat rain clouds as intentional agents. We are the people who already suspect that GIGO computers have minds of their own because they breakdown in incomprehensible ways at inconvenient times and that looks like agency to us! (Is there a good time for a computer to break?). The fact that any inanimate object can seem like an intentional agent to us, disqualifies us as judges of the Turing Test.
AI's, even those with robot bodies, will sense themselves and the world in ways that will always fundamentally different to us. We learn about cause and effect from the experience of bringing our limbs under conscious control, by grabbing and pushing objects. We learn about the physical parameters of our universe the same way. Will a robot really understand in the same way? Even if we set them up to learn heuristically through electronic senses and a computer simulation of a brain, they will learn about the world in a way that is entirely different to the way we learned about it. They will never experience the world as we do. AIs will always be alien to us.
All life on the planet is the product of 3.5 billion years of evolution. Good luck simulating that in a way that is not detectable as a simulation. At present we can't even convincingly simulate a single celled organism. Life is incredibly complex as this 1:1 million scale model of a synapse (right) demonstrates.
Aliens Will Be Just Like Us.
Scifi stories like to make aliens as alien as possible, usually by making them irrational and unpredictable (though this is usually underlain by a more comprehensible premise - see below).
In fact we live in a universe with limitations: 96 naturally occurring elements, with predictable chemistry; four fundamental forces; and so on. Yes, there might we weird quantum stuff going on, but in bodies made of septillions (1023) of atoms we'd never know about it without incredibly sophisticated technology. On the human scale we live in a more or less Newtonian universe.
Life as we know it involves exploiting energy gradients and using chemical reactions to move stuff where it wouldn't go on its own. While the gaps in our knowledge still technically allow for vitalistic readings of nature, it does remove the limitations imposed on life by chemistry: elements have strictly limited behaviour the basics of which can be studied and understood in a few years. It takes a few more years to understand all the ways that chemistry can be exploited, and we'll never exhausted all of the possibilities of combining atoms in novel ways. But the possibilities are comprehensible and new combinations have predictable behaviour. Many new drugs are now modelled on computers as a first step.
So the materials and tools available to solve problems, and in fact most of the problems themselves, are the same everywhere in the universe. A spaceship is likely to be made of metals. Ceramics is another option, but they require even higher temperatures to produced and tend to be brittle. Ceramics sophisticated enough to do the job suggest a sophisticated metal-working culture in the background. Metal technology is so much easier to develop. Iron is one of the most versatile and abundant metals: other mid-periodic table metallic elements (aluminium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, etc) make a huge variety of chemical combinations, but for pure metal and useful alloys, iron is king. Iron alloys give the combination of chemical stability, strength to weight ratio, ductility, and melting point to make a space ship. So our aliens are most likely going to come from a planet with abundant metals, probably iron, and their space ship is going to make extensive use of metals. The metals aliens use will be completely pervious to our analytical techniques.
Now in the early stages of working iron one needs a fairly robust body: one has to work a bellows, wield tongs and hammer, and generally be pretty strong. That puts a lower limit on the kind of body that an alien will have, though strength of gravity on the alien planet will vary this parameter. Very gracile or very small aliens probably wouldn't make it into space because they could not have got through the blacksmithing phase to more sophisticated metal working techniques. A metal working culture also means an ability to work together over long periods of time for quite abstract goals like the creation of alloys composed of metals extracted from ores buried in the ground. Thus our aliens will be social animals by necessity. Simple herd animals lack the kind of initiative that it takes to develop tools, so they won't be as social as cows or horses. Too little social organisation and the complex tasks of mining and smelting enough metal would be impossible. So no solitary predators in space either.
The big problem with any budding space program is getting off the ground. Gravity and the possibilities of converting energy put more practical limitations on the possibilities. Since chemical reactions are going to be the main source of energy and these are fixed, gravity will be the limiting factor. The mass of the payload has to be not too large to be to costly or just too heavy, and it must be large enough to fit a being in (a being at least the size of a blacksmith). If the gravity of a n alien planet was much higher than ours it would make getting into space impractical - advanced technology might theoretically overcome this, but with technology one usually works through stages. No early stage means no later stages. If the gravity of a planet was much lower than ours then the density would make large concentrations of metals unlikely. It would be easier to get into space, but without the materials available to make it possible and sustainable. Also the planet would struggle to hold enough atmosphere to make it long-term liveable (like Mars). So alien visitors are going to come from a planet similar to ours and will have solved similar engineering problems with similar materials.
Scifi writers and enthusiasts have imagined all kinds of other possibilities. Silicon creatures were a favourite for a while. Silicon (Si) sits immediately below carbon in the periodic table and has similar chemistry: it forms molecules with a similar fourfold symmetry. I've made the silicon analogue (SiH4) of methane (CH4) in a lab: it's highly unstable and burns quickly in the presence of oxygen or any other moderately strong oxidising agent (and such agents are pretty common). The potential for life using chemical reactions in a silicon substrate is many orders of magnitude less flexible than that based on carbon and would of necessity require the absolute elimination of oxygen and other oxidising agents from the chemical environment. Silicon tends to oxidise to silicon-dioxide SiO2 and then become extremely inert. Breaking down silicon-dioxide requires heating to melting point (2,300°C) in the presence of a powerful reducing agent, like pure carbon. In fact silicon-dioxide, or silica, is one of the most common substances on earth partly because silicon and oxygen themselves are so common. The ratio of these two is related to the fusion processes that precede a supernova and again are dictated by physics. Where there is silicon, there will be oxygen in large amounts and they will form sand, not bugs. CO2 is also quite inert, but does undergo chemical reactions, which is lucky for us as plants rely on this to create sugars and oxygen.
One of the other main memes is beings of "pure energy", which are of course beings of pure fantasy. Again we have the Cartesian idea of disembodied consciousness at play. Just because we can imagine it, does not make it possible. But even if we accept that the term "pure energy" is meaningful, the problem is entropy. It is the large scale chemical structures of living organisms that prevent the energy held in the system from dissipating out into the universe. The structures of living things, particularly cells, hold matter and energy together against the demands of the laws of thermodynamics. That's partly what makes life interesting. "Pure energy" is free to dissipate and thus could not form the structures that make life interesting.
When NASA scientists were trying to design experiments to detect life on Mars for the Viking mission, they invited James Lovelock to advise them. He realised that one didn't even need to leave home. All one needed to so was measure the composition of gases in a planet's atmosphere, which one could do with a telescope and a spectrometer. If life is going to be recognisable, then it will do what it does here on earth: shift the composition of gases away from the thermodynamic and chemical equilibrium. In our case the levels of atmospheric oxygen require constant replenishment to stay so high. It's a dead give away! And the atmosphere of Mars is at thermal and chemical equilibrium. Nothing is perturbing it from below. Of course NASA went to Mars anyway, and went back, hoping to find vestigial life or fossilised signs of life that had died out. But the atmosphere tells us everything we need to know.
The Nerdist
So where are all the aliens visitors? (This question is known as the Fermi Paradox after the Enrico Fermi who first asked it). Recall that as far as we know the limit of the speed of light invariably applies to macro objects like spacecraft - yes, theoretically, tachyons are possible, but you can't build a spacecraft out of them! Recently some physicists have been exploring an idea that would allow us to warp space and travel faster than light, but it involves "exotic" matter than no one has ever seen and is unlikely to exist. Aliens are going to have to travel at sub-light speeds. And this would take subjective decades. And because of Relativity time passes slower on a fast moving object, centuries would pass on their home planet. Physics is a harsh mistress.
These are some of the limitations that have occurred to me. There are others. What this points to are a very limited set of circumstances in which an alien species could take to space and come to visit us. The more likely an alien is to get into space, the more like us they are likely to be. The universality of physics and the similarity of the problems that need solving would inevitably lead to parallelism in evolution, just as it has done on earth.
Who is More Like Us?
Unlike scifi, the technology that allows us to meet aliens will be strictly limited by physics. There will be no magic action at a distance on the macro scale (though, yes, individual subatomic particles can subvert this); there will be no time travel, no faster than light travel; no materials impervious to analysis; no cloaking devices, no matter transporters, and no handheld disintegrators. Getting into space involves a set of problems that are common to any being on any planet that will support life, and there are a limited set of solutions to those problems. Any being that evolves to be capable of solving those problems will be somewhat familiar to us. Aliens will mostly be comprehensible and recognisable, and do things on more or less the same scale that we do. As boring as that sounds, or perhaps as frightening depending on your view of humanity.
And AI will forever be a simulation that might seem like us superficially, but won't be anything like us fundamentally. When we imagine that machine intelligences will be like us, we are telling the Pinocchio story (and believing it). This tells us more about our own minds, than it does about the minds of our creations. If only we would realise that we're looking in a mirror and not through a window. All these budding creators of disembodied consciousness ought to read Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelly. Of course many other dystopic or even apocalyptic stories have been created around this theme, some of my favourite science fiction movies revolve around what goes wrong when machines become sentient. But Shelly set the standard before computers were even conceived of; even before Charles Babbage invented his Difference Engine. She grasped many of the essential problems involved in creating life and in dealing with otherness (she was arguably a lot more insightful than her ne'er-do-well husband).
Lurking in the background of the story of AI is always some version of Vitalism: the idea that matter is animated by some élan vital which exists apart from it; mind apart from body; spirit as opposed to matter. This is the dualism that haunts virtually everyone I know. And we seem to believe that if we manage to inject this vital spirit into a machine that the substrate will be inconsequential, that matter itself is of no consequence (which is why silicon might look viable despite it's extremely limited chemistry; or a computer might seem a viable place for consciousness to exist). It is the spirit that makes all the difference. AI researchers are effectively saying that they can simulate the presence of spirit in matter with no reference to the body's role in our living being. And this is bunk. It's not simply a matter of animating dead matter, because matter is not dead in the way that Vitalists think it is; and nor is life consistent with spirit in the way they think it is.
The fact that such Vitalist myths and Cartesian Duality still haunt modern attempts at knowledge gathering (and AI is nothing if not modern) let alone modern religions, suggests that the need for an ongoing critique. And it means there is still a role for philosophers in society despite what Stephen Hawking and some scientists say (see also Sean Carroll's essay "Physicists Should Stop Saying Silly Things about Philosophy"). If we can fall into such elementary fallacies at the high-end of science then scientists ought to be employing philosophers on their teams to dig out their unspoken assumptions and expose their fallacious thinking.
Labels: AI , Dualism , Physics , Science , Vitalism
Spiritual III: Demesnes of Power
Caged or Fleeced?
from right-wing journal The Spectator,
arguing for more individualism.
So far we've looked only at what the word spiritual means and what frames it is associated with. In other words we've been focussed on the conceptual space delimited by attaching the adjective spiritual to various nouns and verbs. Now we need to think about who is using the adjective to make their nouns and verbs special. And how those people operate within the conceptual space. In other words we need to look at the politics of spiritual. As a first step this essay will outline a view of contemporary Western politics in which modern ideas of identity play an active role in shaping individuals into subjects. This leads into a consideration of the impact of Romanticism on the political landscape and Foucault's view of the subject as a construct whose purpose is subjugation.
Politically spiritual is tied up with notions of authority, and authority is an expression of power. The essay will argue that spirituality is concerned with channelling power in religious communities. In the Buddhist context we take on to surveil and police our own inner life as a service to the community, and as long as we are seen to be doing so, the community repays us in belonging.
Apologies, but this essay is long. I hope not too long that people won't read it, but I can't see how to split my treatment of spritual into any more parts. And in any case I want to move on to other subjects. So to begin with we need to look at the modern idea of selfhood and identity and to see how it is shaped by the discourses of power which have dominated the Western World for some centuries now.
The Modern Self.
"... history is read narcissistically to reconfirm one's present sense of identity and any potentially disruptive awareness of alterity is suppressed." - Lois McNay. Foucault: A Critical Introduction. (p89)
Individualism is one of the guiding lights of modern Western Society. Philosophically it seems to stem from 18th century Utilitarianism and the associated attitudes of Mercantilism. It is epitomised in the trade-fuelled Libertarian governments of the 18th and 19th centuries and more recently in the Neolibertarian governments (conservative and progressive) that have dominated the Western world since at least the 1970s. It's the mentality that, for example, enslaved Indian peasants to grow opium and then went to war with China to make certain of continued profits by ensuring that Chinese peasants consumed the dangerous drug. These days the East India Company has been replaced by the IMF and World Bank, but the bottom line is still profit.
Present-day individualism benefits the rich and powerful in two main ways. Firstly by telling everyone to pursue their own good (their own desires) it divides the population and prevents effective opposition to Neolibertarian aims of creating the perfect conditions for businessmen to become rich and powerful. Secondly it justifies the means used by businessmen to become more rich and more powerful (e.g. political economies based on mythological "market forces"; use of ultra-cheap labour abroad; evasion of taxes; etc.). Individualism gives the illusion of freedom. We are more free to choose our religion in the West than at perhaps any time in history. We have greater choice of breakfast cereals or TV channels too. But we are enslaved to an economic system that regards us as units of production, that characterises every human being as perfectly self-centred, manipulative and ruthless in pursuit of their own best interests. From the point of view of those in power, the religion of the masses and their breakfast cereal have the same value, or at least the same kind of value.
The more we exercise our individual choice, the more society fragments. And the more society fragments the less effective we are as a collective. We out-number the rich and powerful by at least 100 to 1. So we could stop them if we wanted to, just by acting in concert. We've seen a number of successful revolutions in the last few decades where the people simply gathered and demanded change in sufficient numbers that they could not be ignored. Former Soviet Eastern Europe went this way. But because we feel free we don't resist our slavery. "Spiritual but not religious" is one of the most exquisite examples of this pseudo-freedom. We have complete freedom of religious belief because it has no longer has any economic implications. We are encouraged to have our own individualised religion, partly because organised religion is what bound communities together for centuries (perhaps forever). If being spiritual was a real threat to profits, it would be illegal. Where collective action is perceived as a threat, as ironically it is in communist China, then religion is tightly controlled and rouge groups persecuted.
© Tom Toles
Meanwhile we work hard for minimum wage and 2 or 3 weeks of holiday a year, in a world of absolutely astounding productivity and unimaginable wealth. And yet we never have enough. This is a deeply rooted feature of Merchantilism: the poor only work hard enough to meet their needs, so the rich make it almost impossible for them to meet their needs, despite vast surpluses and enormous waste. Think, for example, of all the food going to waste! Estimates in the UK are that 30% of food produced is wasted. All that wasted food helps to keep food prices high, while those who grow it over-supply and cannot earn a living on the prices they get. House prices (in the UK at least) are kept artificially high to hoover up any extra wealth we might accrue. The point at which we might feel we have enough, and might thus stop working so hard, is kept out of our reach.
Merchantilism is predicated on everyone working as hard as they can all the time in the knowledge that worn out workers can easily be replaced. When you accept payment for work, you are expected to give everything you have in return, however low the wage. Of course the system is imperfect, but measurement techniques have become ever more intrusive in recent decades. In addition one of the main messages of the school system is conformity: "do as authority tells you". Schools are able to enact and enforce arbitrary rules such as dress codes and to exclude pupils from eduction is they refuse to conform. In Britain school children routinely wear ties (I still find this shocking). University education is gradually changing for the worst as well, becoming more and more oriented to the demands of Merchantilism.
In addition, government policy consistently encourages high unemployment levels (unemployment is an invention of the Merchantilist system) in order to keep wages down. And while real wages continue to fall, executive salaries rise exponentially. An executive may earn more in a single year than the average employee earns in a lifetime. Of course governments regularly promise full-employment, but they simply cannot afford anything like it. Without high unemployment wages would sky-rocket and severely impact profit. In addition we are constantly encouraged to want more, to buy more by the representatives of companies than make things we don't even need. Thus the goal is always moving, and the game is rigged so that we could never reach it if it was. And yet few of us consider quitting the game. Most of us are not equipped to function outside of society, even the outcasts depend on society.
Many of the gains won by a century of concerted action by labour unions have been eroded or completely lost. The adversarial relationship between labour and capital led to excesses where labour was able to seize power. The UK seems to be firmly on the road back to Dickensian relationship between capital and labour in which all power in the relationship is held by capitalists. Only this time the capitalists are vastly more wealthy than they were in Dickens's time. Wealth has certainly been destroyed by the repeated economic crises since 1973, but the 1% are wealthier than ever.
Most Western states have implemented some kind of "safety net" that were initially conceived of as offsetting the damaging social effects of Merchantilism. The impulse behind the welfare state grew out of humanitarian urges of the late Victorian period and a recognition of the hardship caused by industrialisation and the unemployment that was built into the economy to keep wages low. But in the UK it has grown into a vast control mechanism. The economy is structured so that whole sections of society must rely on welfare payments - which are called benefits. The benefit being the up side of an economy which can simply shut down the industries that provided employment for whole towns and industries, creating long-term, generational unemployment for which the poor are blamed. To take the state pound nowadays is to invite the state to surveil and scrutinise one's life to a degree that would make Catholic priests envious. The state can for example, examine one's bank accounts and engages in regular interrogation of recipients and draconian examinations of "fitness". Despite endemic unemployment the unemployed are seen as morally reprehensible. Taking money from the state is seen in moral terms as incurring a debt, especially by conservatives (the reasoning behind the "moral accounting" metaphor is explored by George Lakoff in Metaphor, Morality, and Politics).
For an alternate view on the modern self see Adam Curtis's documentary The Century of the Self. Curtis explores Freudianism in relation to the rise of democracy. Democracy is seen as releasing the primitive Id of the masses producing the horrors of WWI. The irrational masses required control via the manipulation of their unconscious via propaganda (rebranded as "public relations").
But it's not only the unemployed who are tempted with "benefits". Housing is now so expensive in the UK that a clear majority of new claimants of Housing Benefit (a welfare payment provided specifically for housing costs) are in work. Housing Benefit is a £17 billion annual subsidy to landlords to allow them continue to gouge unreasonable profits from the market and to restrict the supply of housing to keep prices high. At the same time British society promotes the ideal of home-ownership as the acme of individual identity. The agony the average British wage earner is going through is exquisite, and many of them are convinced it is because of bogus reasons such as immigration.
Meanwhile the media don't just sell us things we don't need. Apart tax payer funded broadcasting, all media is paid for by advertising, including most internet content. The media has a vested interest in shaping our behaviour towards consumerism, towards views which promote the goals of Merchantilism. The media began employing psychologists to make their presentations more effective back in the 1920s. (See the Adam Curtis documentary for an account of this). They use subtle techniques to "nudge" our behaviour in a direction that is good for business. For them it was a problem that social conventions were against women smoking for example. So Edward Bernays cooked up a publicity stunt which linked smoking to the suffragette movement and painted cigarettes as "torches of freedom". Great result. Women felt more free by becoming addicted to a harmful poison, and began to die in their millions from tobacco related illnesses. Again the illusion of freedom disguises the reality of bondage.
This is not a conspiracy theory. I don't think that dark cabals are meeting behind closed doors to arrange it. I think its a dynamic of civilisation, an emergent property of the kind of social system we have based on a huge number of factors. And for the most part it's happening in the open. Governments are open about their beliefs and about their methods. The media are less open, but investigations like Noam Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent (a book and a film) have left us in no doubt about how they operate.
So individual identity in modern times is shaped to fit into this worldview, not simply Vitalist and Dualist, but Utilitarian, Merchantilist and (pseudo) Libertarian. Spirituality is no threat to this because it is focussed on the spirit and the immaterial and leaves the body emeshed in the world and subject to market forces.
The Curse of Romanticism
If we look more closely at the referrants of "spiritual" we see a considerable overlap with the concerns of Romanticism. A concern with the immaterial over the material; with the unseen over the seen; with nature over culture; with experience over reason; with eternal life, even eternal childhood conceived of terms of in spontaneity and innocence, over death and the loss of naivete. The material world is less interesting than the afterlife; human beings less interesting than spirits (the higher and less material the better). According to French mystic, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin:
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.
The goal of the spiritual is escape from the material world where we inevitably die and, in the Indian worldview, die repeatedly. We escape (even if only in imagination) the material, relative, contingent world—i.e. saṃsāra—for an immaterial (outside space and time), absolute, eternal world—i.e. nirvāṇa. And when someone like Nāgārjuna tries to point out that the dichotomy is meaningless, we simply invent some new transcendental escape route: e.g. the dharmakāya.
By the beginning of the 20th century most Westerners were politically aware enough to have good reason to distrust authority figures, both spiritual and secular. The wealthy and powerful collude against the poor and oppressed to keep them divided, poor and oppressed. This was made easier by the rise of the middle-class, the administrators and facilitators of the rich and powerful, aspirational with respect to security and comfort and instilled with aristocratic contempt for working people. The popularity of Romanticism also worked to the advantage of business people. A few drug-addled, spoiled brats from the upper-classes who wrote sentimental poetry that made individualism seem desirable for the masses. The kind of freedom from responsibility or the need to work for a living, the kind of freedom that only comes with inherited wealth and privilege, became a thing for everyone to aspire to. Partly as a result of this, people have drowned their awareness in intoxicants and particularly the middle-classes have Romanticised this as a kind of freedom, though as before it leaves their bodies in bondage to profit. After a weekend "on the lash" as the Brits so eloquently call it, Monday morning means a return to bondage. Or after a lifetime of bondage we retire to freedom in old age. Except old age has been consistently redefined to make it less accessible.
At it's worst the hippy movement encouraged everyone, though in effect mainly the newly wealthy middle-class progeny of the post-war baby-boom, to disengage from politics and society. Like their Romantic heroes, the baby-boomers were sexually promiscuous, leading to a huge upsurge in sexually transmitted diseases. They were intoxicated, leading to drug and alcohol addiction with massive impact on families and society, and many new cases of psychosis and early death. And they were free of social conventions which boiled down to political disengagement, allowing conservatives to set the social and political agenda by exploiting the subsequent breakdown in the value of collectivity. Conservatives simply acted in concert and over-whelmed the divided progressives.
After decades of letting conservative business interests set the public agenda, we've got to the point where even the Left implement Neolibertarian economic policies. Sometimes the Left are even more assiduous in pursuing these policies, because they are trying to prove themselves on terms set by conservatives.
Romanticism might have started off as a necessary correction to the mechanistic views of scientists flushed with success as the beginning of the Victorian Era. But it has simply become another way in which we play into the hands of those who would economically enslave us. SBNR is the perfect religious view for a Neoliberal ideology. The political disengagement that typically goes along with individualistic spirituality is perfect for the powerful. Escapism relieves the frustration and tedium of modern work, leaving us resigned to wasting our best years for men who earn more in a year than we will in a lifetime. Contemporary spirituality is escapism. By focussing on the immaterial it denies the value of the material, and this plays into the hands of those who control the material world. We end up fighting Māra's battle for him.
Michel Foucault argued that to be a subject is to be subjected - thus providing an important counter-weight to Romanticism. The self we identify with is, in fact, mostly shaped by external forces. Reflecting on my own life I see that my self-view has been shaped by many institutions: schools, church, medical clinics, hospitals, government departments, workplaces, unions, clubs, secret societies, professional associations, the news/entertainment media; by people playing their own social roles: family, in-laws, friends, peers, colleagues, romantic and sexual partners; by people playing various official roles such as doctor, psychiatrist, teacher, priest, politician, police, lawyer, accountant, psychologist, guru; by abstract institutions such as time, wealth, money, wages, taxes, property; by abstract issues such as gender politics, sexual politics, national and international politics, national identity, post-colonialism, multiculturalism; by the fact that I emigrated twelve years ago and had to retrain in many of these areas and add class awareness. The list goes on and on. My personal input into who I am is rather minimal. Virtually every I feel myself to be is inherited or imposed on me rather than emerging out of my being. Sure, my basic psychology is broadly speaking nature; but my identity is almost pure nurture.
Almost all of these institutions aim to subject, to subjugate, me through shaping my subjectivity so that I subjugate myself. That is, for me to see myself as naturally subject to the limits, controls and definitions of society. For me to unthinkingly obey prohibitions and taboos. The constant threat is that failure to conform redefines the transgressor as other. And for the other the rules are different, less optimal, less conducive to well being, often harsh. To be other is to be sanctioned and excluded. The veneer of civilisation on how we treat others is very thin indeed. One sees all this play out in simpler forms in primate societies. It's well worth reading Jane Goodall's book In the Shadow of Man, in order to get a sense of how human society is an extension of basic primate society. The fundamentals are all similar.
Our very subjectivity is a construct which we have built in concert with society from birth. Forget the metaphysics of self, we don't even understand the politics of self. And Buddhism also plays it part in creating an acceptable subjectivity. We use "precepts" as a way of reminding other Buddhists about what is acceptable behaviour: we surveil and police each other. We emphasise that a Buddhist must take on to be ethical, rather than allow ethics to be imposed on us (with explicit comparisons to other ethical systems). When we criticise each other, it is often not for the act itself, but for the failure of self-control, the failure to conform. We explicitly invite others to subject themselves to Buddhist values which we extol as the most sublime set of moral values ever enunciated. Who would not want to subject themselves to sublime taboos, especially when part of the narrative is that no evil thought goes unpunished? Buddhism channels the power inherent in social groups in a particular kind of way, with particular kinds of narratives. It is not exempt or outside this social dynamic, despite all the transcendental narratives, Buddhist humans and still just humans.
Buddhism uses carrots to make obedience seem attractive, and sticks to make disobedience seem frightful. Just like every other primate group. This is how primate groups ensure collective survival. But it is open to exploitation. Even amongst chimps, as the story of monstrous Frodo of Gombe Stream suggests. Frodo used his size and aggression to cow the Gombe stream group and to terrorise neighbouring groups. The usual social controls, often operating through the "person" of the alpha-female, failed with Frodo.
Along with conceptions of subjectivity which are aimed at controlling individuals, Foucault points out the role of institutions which institutionalise social forms of control. We are shaped, but imperfectly and so society creates conditions in which it can exert control over any stray desires and urges that pop up. Religion is a partly a formalisation of certain social controls, aimed at subjecting and controlling the tribe. This has clear survival value. For Buddhists this manifests as belief in karma and enforcing of precepts. Karma is, like God Almighty, a supernatural surveillance agency that knows whether you've been bad or good. Karma makes the Panopticon seem an amateurish fumble. Be good or go to hell, has always been religion's trump card.
Today we don't see ourselves as dependent on friends and neighbours. We see them as accessories, as optional. The average person has just enough individual wealth, and is so steeped in the rhetoric of individualism that they are convinced they can go it alone, or at least with their mate and children in tow. Communities are bound by mutual need. If we assume that we don't need anyone, then we are not part of the community. And divided we are conquered by the more powerful. These days they make our captivity pretty comfortable, and a lot of the time we can forget we live in bondage. We lap up the narratives of virtuality—virtual friends, virtual pets, virtual communities—without seeming to notice that they are virtually useless compared to the real thing.
Authorities and Adepts
Despite rampant individualism, we cannot override the fact that we are a social species. We arrange our society in a uniquely human way, but still retain some features in common with other primates. And I think this insight may point to a weakness in Foucault's attempts to problematise society. We can't really live without it. Which is why we accept virtuality as ersatz society.
Many of us accept authority figures (alpha-individuals) and feel more secure having one around. In effect we like someone to tell us how to be individualistic, like teenagers who dress alike to symbolise their rebellion against conformity. Some of us prefer to try to unseat authority figures whether in an attempt at wresting actual power from them (pretty rare) or in a kind of impotent passive rage against authority generally (pretty common). Some of us have an ideology which is against authority figures on principle, like eternal teenagers. There's a lot of pressure on us to be neotonous, to remain childish because, like children, people with childish ideologies are easy to manipulate. A surprising number of Buddhists seem to be against any authority figure and any form of collectivity.
Every domain has it's authorities and adepts. And the spiritual domain is no exception. Spiritual long referred to that which pertained to the church. 200 years ago adding the adjective spiritual to nouns and verbs was how the Church marked out its demesne. In that tradition becoming an authority in the church was relatively arduous. Priests were often the only educated people in their milieu. The great universities were founded to educate priests during the so-called Dark Ages. However with the modern decline of the power of the church to impose standards and the rise of religious alternatives (particularly the freelance gurus of India), the adjective spiritual has been co-opted by non-church groups. The demesne of spiritual and all it's power and resources is now hotly contested. Anyone can become a spiritual authority or a spiritual adept with no effort or qualification. The demesne is haunted by frauds and hoaxes, but this seems not to slow down the commerce in all things spiritual.
In Buddhism we have a great deal of anxiety over authenticity and authority. We see a lot of ink spilt over whether our scriptures are authentic while modern scholarship, including my own, is constantly casting doubts. If the texts are authentic, then just what authentically are they? Similarly Buddhists enunciate lineages at great length in the hope that this guarantees the authoritativeness of authorities. However, Sangharakshita has shown that lineage is no guarantee of anything: see Forty-Three Years Ago.
This is not a new priority, but visible at all stages of Buddhist literature. The question of who is a spiritual authority and who is a spiritual adept, and just what that entitles them to say and do are constantly under review. It's always difficult to tell. (See How To Spot an Arahant). And of course Western Buddhism has been more or less constantly dealing with the problem of authority figures who defy norms and break rules. It is notable that commentators seem to fall back on Judeo-Christian notions of justice when this happens. A crisis of behaviour almost always becomes a crisis of faith and the faith we grew up with very often shapes our opinions more than our convert beliefs.
Even the individualist tends to have a "spiritual teacher" someone who is both spiritual themselves in some exemplary fashion and who who is an expert in spiritual practice and thus able to oversee the practice of others. This relationship may be personal or be at arm's length through books and videos. And we may hedge our bets by picking and choosing from spiritual teachers of various kinds. But we still look to someone to define what is spiritual: what we should believe, and what we should do about it. And this gives those who play the role of teacher considerable power. Indeed with direct disciples who abdicate personal authority and decision making to a guru, the problem is even more acute. It's interested that despite early flirtations with spiritual masters, we now tend to follow teachers instead. The obedience implicit in the disciple/master relationship doesn't sit well with individualism and has been famously disastrous on a number of occasions. Being a celibate teacher in a sexually promiscuous society seems to be an especially fraught situation.
I've already touched on the Foucaldian critique of the inner self as envisaged by the Enlightenment. My take on this is that the Enlightenment self, characterised especially by rationality, is a feature of Neolibertarianism via its Utilitarian roots. Utilitarianism is caught up in the Victorian over-emphasis on a particular kind of rationality. We see it in the "rational choice" models of economics, which let the developed world's economies fall into a major recession with (almost) no warning in 2008. I've been critical of this view of rationality in my writing e.g. Reasoning and Beliefs; or Facts and Feelings. Foucault's study of the fate of the irrational person in post-Enlightenment society traces the ascendency of this view. and particularly examines the power exercised over those who seem to be unreasonable or irrational. We can contrast this with the Romanticisation of spirit and the self in reaction to an overly mechanical view of the universe.
The political side of spiritual can be seen in this light: that it represents an exertion of power to control the individual, and that individual consents to be controlled. By obeying norms we find belonging. Belonging is essential to the well-being of human beings, and has always provided one of the strongest levers against the individual: conform or be excluded. In a hunter-gatherer society conformity conveys benefits that outweigh the costs, but in a settled society (with cities etc) the dynamic is far more complex.
In Libertarian ideology this is turned on it's head. In the Libertarian view no benefit can outweigh the cost of conformity. The Neolibertarian ideology is one adopted by the 1% of rich and powerful. It says that everyone is free to make a profit. The fine print however is pure Mercantilism: the person only has value to the extent that they contribute to profit making. Self-employment is fine, even admirable, but unemployment is immoral. In this ideology arguing for more taxation on profit is irrational since it interferes with profit making; in the jargon it's anti-business. The purest form of profit making is the effortless increase in wealth obtained from owning land that goes up in value due to external factors. Profit without effort. It's almost a religion in the UK and almost completely exempt from taxation (compared to wages and profits). To some extent the individualism of SBNR partakes of this ideology. Let no one interfere with my spirituality. Magazines are full of ads promising spiritual attainment with no effort. And there is a spiritual 1% living in relative luxury on the proceeds of this economy.
Attempts to break out of this thought control often take the form of what we in the Triratna Order call therapeutic blasphemy, where one deliberately breaks taboos, such as prohibitions against blasphemy, in order to loosen the grip of a lifetime of conditioning in Christian values. Sangharakshita used this example of positive blasphemy in his 1978 essay Buddhism and Blasphemy (Reprinted in The Priceless Jewel [pdf], 1978), written in response to conviction of the editor and publishers of the Gay News for "blasphemous libel" in 1977 (see BBC summary of the case). The use of antinomian and transgressive practices in Buddhist tantra dating from perhaps the 8th century onwards appears to have a similar purpose.
One might think that Buddhism at least would inform a better kind of government, that countries where Buddhism is the state religion would tend to exemplify Buddhist values. However, the opposite is more often true.
Buddhist Politics
Think for a moment about the forms of government associated with nominally Buddhist countries. Traditional Asian Kingdoms and Empires have been, like their Occidental counterparts, harshly repressive, imperialistic, racist and rigidly hierarchical. There is nothing particularly attractive about the forms of government that have developed in the Buddhist world.
Today the three main Theravāda countries, Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand, are all run by authoritarian, repressive governments. Either military governments as in Burma, or militaristic. Thailand declared martial law last month.
Mahāyāna countries have not produced more compassionate forms of government on the whole: China, North Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Tibet. Bhutan might be the only exception, but the peasants there really are brainwashed into seeing their royal family as deities to whom they owe fealty, obedience and obeisance. A form of political control once employed by the Tibetans as well. There's nothing particularly admirable about virtually enslaving the peasant population in order to support a huge number of unproductive men. A system that produced a major shortage of marriageable men, and yet such poverty than brothers often clubbed together to share one wife. Of course one cannot condone the Chinese invasion of Tibet on those grounds. The brutal repression of the Tibetans and the widespread destruction of their culture has been heartbreaking. But pre-invasion Tibet is Romanticised by Westerners (this is the theme of Don Lopez's Prisoners of Shangrila which is worth reading).
For those who hope to implement Buddhist control of Western countries the question is this: based on which historical precedent do you see religious government of our countries as a good thing? Churchill did say:
"Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."
The governments of nominally Buddhist countries are amongst the most repressive in the world, no matter what period in history we look at. In fact Buddhism makes for poor politics precisely because it is traditionally disengaged. And the engaged part of engaged-Buddhism is coming from external sources. A Green government might be a good thing, but one that values the natural world would mostly likely be better than any form of Buddhist government. No one who denies the reality of people or suffering should have access to power over people.
We'll probably never get rid of spiritual in Buddhist circles, certainly not on my say so. Religious people use the religious jargon of the day, just as the authors of the early Buddhist texts used Brahmanical and Jain jargon. Some times the re-purposing of a word works out, sometimes not. Brāhmaṇa retained its Vedic meaning and caste associations despite attempts to assimilate it, while karman or dharman became naturalised and have now even been Anglicised. The argument over whether or not Buddhism is a religion, or a philosophy, or a spiritual tradition, or whatever, goes on.
And old habits die hard. Spiritual is a word we use partly as a lure, a familiar term for those who are dissatisfied with ordinary life. "Mundane life sucks? Try our all new/old spiritual life, guaranteed 25% more satisfying! We're so confident that you don't get your money back." Spiritual is a handle on what we do that outsiders can grasp and given the jargon laden claptrap some of us come out with, something familiar comes as a relief. It provides what Frank Zappa used to call Conceptual Continuity.
But all of this goes on in an economy of power. Spiritual discourses aim to shape a particular kind of subject for a particular kind of purpose. And the explicit purpose, spiritual liberation, may mislead us into thinking that by taking on the discourses of spirituality we are becoming more free. In fact very few people achieve liberation and most of us are in bondage. Unfortunately the politics of the day is easily able to exploit the myth of liberation to better enslave us. Power exploits our naive dualism and over-concern with the mental or immaterial, to enslave our bodies.
To some extent we suffer from "the world that has been pulled over our eyes to distract us from the truth." This line from The Matrix draws on Gnostic ideas about the world. In fact the rampant escapism of spirituality does make it easier to create compliant, obedient subjects who work hard to create obscene profits for the 1%. Like the middle-classes who facilitated Merchantilism, the cadre of disciples channel power within communities.
But it's not the end of the world. There are benefits to being religious and a member of a religious organisation. Buddhism's lessons on life are actually pretty helpful a lot of the time. The practices are worth pursuing in their own right. It's just that ideally we'd all think about our lives a bit more. And especially reflect on where our views come from.
Labels: Foucault , Identity , Individual , Modernity , Self , Spirit , Vitalism
Spiritual II: Frames.
In order to better understand the word spiritual I want to try to look at it in terms of frames. George Lakoff defines frames as "mental structures that shape the way we see the world." (2004, p. xv). Frames unconsciously structure of our thoughts, our intentions, and our memories. We each have thousands of frames. We develop them partly through exploring our physical environment and partly through interacting with our social environment. So my frames will be similar to yours to the extent that our physical and social environments are similar. The resulting structures are encoded in physical structures in the brain.
Words are defined with respect to frames. A word like "mother" doesn't just just refer to the woman who gave birth to us, but invokes the frames of all the attributes we associate with all mothers and mothering: birth, nurture, fertility, gestation and so on. But the particular associations are based on social conventions. When we use a word we automatically invoke frames associated with it.
"Don't think of an elephant"
Most people can't see or hear this statement and help thinking of an elephant and associated images and ideas. The words we use in a discussion or debate are not neutral. Because of frames. There is an ongoing discussion over how to define Buddhism which is largely concerned with marketing. Typically the argument is quite one dimensional.
Buddhism is a religion and thus offers solutions to traditional religious problems, i.e. "Where did we come from?" or "What happens after we die?" or "Why is life unfair?"
Buddhism is a philosophy and concerned with traditional philosophical questions, i.e. "What is there?" or "What can we know about what is there?" or "What should we do in hypothetical situations?"
Buddhism is a way of life and concerned largely with moral questions, i.e. "How should we live?"
Frames also make it possible to sum up arguments in slogans. And it's against this background that I want to look at the word spiritual. What would it mean, for example, to say that Buddhism is a form of spirituality.
I've shown that spiritual is historically rooted in the Vitalist idea of the 'breath of life'. However, it's safe to say that spiritual invokes a large number of frames, of which 'breath of life' is now relatively unimportant. So if we say that we are spiritual beings, living spiritual lives, doing spiritual practices, from a spiritual tradition, in order to have spiritual experiences that culminate in a spiritual awakening, just what are we saying? What frames do we invoke? Obviously we can't deal with every detail of thousands of frames, so I want to cover some of the main ones.
In an exchange with me on one of his blogs Bhikkhu Sujato recently expressed the view that for him "spirituality" referred to wholeness and integration for example. I think that this frame comes from thinking of human beings as having three parts: body, mind, and soul. (Hence the bookshop classification). Soul, or spirit, completes the trilogy. The Catholic Encyclopedia argues this heretical tri-partite view of the human being is partly due to a clarification of the distinction between psychē and pneuma by St Paul:
"Body and soul come by natural generation; spirit is given to the regenerate Christian alone. Thus, the "newness of life", of which St. Paul speaks, was conceived by some as a superadded entity, a kind of oversoul sublimating the "natural man" into a higher species." (Catholic Encyclopedia sv Soul)
This is related, I think, to the Pentecost, which was originally a Jewish harvest festival. In the Book of Acts the followers of Jesus are assembled for the Pentecost Festival when something miraculous happens and in the famous line:
"And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:4. (Bible Hub)
Here the New Testament Greek word translated as both "Ghost" and "Spirit" is pneuma (see previous essay for the etymology). People with bodies and souls were completed by the descent of pneuma into them. In this day and age where the two basic divisions of the person are mind and body, many people feel that something is missing. They feel that we are more than either mind or body, more than a combination of the two. And what is missing is spirit and part of the spiritual province. This feeling comes about because of a conviction about the truth of Vitalism.
Wholeness might have another sense that derives from psychoanalysis. We all know that rather than having a single "will" we are in fact usually in a state of conflicting desires and urges that battle for our attention and often move us in unexpected directions (what Harold Bloom has mockingly called "the Hamlet Complex"). At worst we suffer from what early psychologists conceived of as schizo-phrenia 'a divided mind' (schizo is from Greek skhizein 'to split'). In the psychoanalytic view we integrate our disparate inner parts by gaining knowledge of our own unconscious. This is achieved indirectly through analysis of dreams, slips of the tongue, associations and so on; or directly (in psychodynamic approaches) through introspection and confessional reporting of thoughts and emotions. Our unconscious is revealed through analysis of patterns over the long term.
Some Buddhists argue that meditation achieves this psychological goal of resolving psychological tensions without the need for introspection or analysis. However in the Buddhist process, outlined in the Spiral Path, integration (samādhi) precedes knowledge (jñāna) rather than the other way around.
Buddhists also divide the person up into parts: body, speech and mind; five skandhas, six elements. And we mostly do this to try to show that we are simply the sum of our parts. Unlike Christians who believe that we are more than the sum of our parts because we have an immaterial, immortal soul. Thus "wholeness" for Buddhists ought to have something of an empty ring to it. Yes, it is good to be a whole person, with our faculties intact and our will undivided, but there is nothing beyond that, nothing more. As the Buddha says to Bāhiya: "in the seen, only the seen". Some take this to be a reference to the Upaniṣadic teaching about the ātman as the seer behind the seeing as found in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. As always Buddhists are keen to deny any kind of metaphysical self or soul.
Sujato also says: “Religion promises us a higher way of being, a way that is in alignment with a sense of the highest good.” This frame is linked with the metaphor GOOD IS UP/BAD IS DOWN, which itself has a number of entailments that I've already explored at some length with respect to religious language in my essay Metaphors and Materialism. This spatial metaphor is perhaps the most important in the context of spirit and spirituality.
If "ways of being" and "goods" can be higher and lower, then there is a hierarchy of being and goodness. Christians, following influence from Neoplatonism, refer to this hierarchy as the Great Chain of Being. Pure being is entirely immaterial, the realm of pure spirit, in later Buddhism the dharmakāya. Because it is a frame, we know transparently and unconsciously, that spirit, being immaterial is not weighed down by the earth, it naturally floats up (the Jains invoke precisely this metaphor in their version of the soul). Good spirits go UP to heaven to be with the Sky Father (in Biblical Greek 'Heaven' is ouranus = Ancient Greek Uranus, the Sky Father and husband of Gaia, the Earth Mother).
The association of highest good with the highest way of being is important. In the Great Chain of Being, God is at the pinnacle: the highest being is infinitely good. In Buddhist cosmology the highest state of being is an absolute disconnection from the worlds in which one can be reborn, even the pleasant ones. One cannot say anything about the state of being of a Tathāgata after death; the post-mortem Tathāgata defies the very categories of being and non-being and even the most refined gods, in states of beings almost off the scale, cannot compare.
Kūkai had a great deal of difficulty getting his 9th century Māhāyānika colleagues to believe that the dharmakāya teaches, because in their view the dharmakāya is absolutely abstract and disconnected from realms of rebirth. This reality, lying beyond any kind of knowledge, is sometimes referred to using terminology drawn from German Idealist philosophy, such as "the Absolute," or "the Transcendental" (with capitals and the definite article). Later Buddhist philosophy swings between a transcendent ultimate reality and an immanent realisation of reality (though early Buddhism is not concerned with reality at all).
In this view it's axiomatic that rebirth is bad. Rebirth is what we are seeking to escape from. This means that the world one is born into cannot have any absolute value. All that seems valuable about the world is simply a product of our ignorance. The best things a spiritual person can do is renounce the world and focus on religious practices that temporarily take one higher in pursuit of a permanently higher state of being. As with many of forms of mind/body dualism, this detachment from the world does make us rather ineffective in the world. At a time when we see the environment being destroyed for example and need to mobilise feelings of engagement, Buddhism councils disengagement. Despite this some Buddhists are engaged in social and environmental projects. But this is a new departure for Buddhism, a product of Buddhist Modernism, and more Modernist than Buddhist. And given the consequences of disengagement it must be seen as a highly positive move, albeit not fully integrated yet.
The vertical spatial metaphor can work in another way. Above ground HIGHER IS MORE, but below ground DEEPER IS MORE/SHALLOWER IS LESS. Verticality is with reference to the (flat) surface of the earth. Early Buddhists used reductive analysis, i.e. they went deeper, to end the rumour of ātman and to show that human beings are simply the sum of their parts, though this includes physical (kāyika) and mental (cetasika) parts. There is no soul, spirit or anything resembling them lurking inside us as other religions would have us believe. Reflection on the skandhas is probably the representative practice for deconstructing satkāyadṛṣṭi (the idea of a true substance, aka 'personality view'), but the foundations of recollection (satipaṭṭhāna) or recollection of the elements (dhātvanusati) perform a similar function.
Deeper also invokes psychoanalytic ideas. After Freud we understand that much of our thought goes on in an unconscious realm. We may delve into our own unconscious with difficulty, but at times shine light on it's workings in order to gain in-sight. In those areas of knowledge where a literal spirit was not entirely credible, this dark inner-world began to take it's place. Of course the fact that we have inner-lives was not lost on the pre-Freudian world. Harold Bloom has made much of the fact that Freud read Shakespeare incessantly and appeared to be jealous of the Bard's greater insights into the Human psyche, especially in the story of Hamlet (See the Freud Chapter in The Western Canon). But recall that the word psyche itself meant something like 'soul'. C. G. Jung also chose words from this domain, i.e. anima/animus in his account of our inner life.
Michael Witzel has shown that Jung's ideas about a collective unconscious are less good at explaining common themes in myth than the idea that story telling is much older and more conservative than we thought possible. Widely dispersed people have the same stories because once they lived closer together and shared a common storyline. In Witzel's mythological scheme the "Laurasian" story arc involves a first generation of humans who are heroic and perform miraculous deeds aimed at benefiting human-kind rather than the gods. Again Prometheus is the archetype.
Freud, Romanticism and burgeoning Spiritualism (see below) made common cause. In The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell reminded us that the new Western story of a dark inner realm visited to gain truths that set us free or make us whole, was tapping into the re-occurring myth epitomised by Orpheus who defies the gods by journeying to Hades realm to reclaim his wife. We are intended to equate the psychological unconscious with the mythic underworld, and process of psycho. The implication being that we will find treasures in dark aspects of our own minds. Thus in psychoanalysis Vitalism found another dark corner in which it could continue to exist. Introspection became one of the chief tools gaining access to this "underworld". The Romantic hero explores their own depths like Orpheus seeking Eurydice.
By the time Westerners dropped their early prejudices against heathen religion and came into more substantial contact with Buddhism, some Buddhists had come to a similar belief about their inner self. This theme is more apposite in the USA since it was there that Zen took root. In Europe Theravāda Buddhism, with it's strong emphasis on anattā, was influential earlier and for longer. Zen can be problematic because it embraces tathāgatagarbha doctrine and in English expresses it in terms like "Original Mind" or "True Self" (with capitals). Without the sophisticated critique of tathāgatagarbha that is contained in Madhyamaka thought, and lacking in popular presentations of Zen (the kind that people dip rather than take seriously), it is easy to tip over into Vitalism without the help of psychoanalysis. The two combined make it almost inevitable.
The word spiritual also invokes the idea of sacredness, though these days "sacred" is a rather degraded idea despite attempts to rehabilitate it. Nothing is sacred any more. That said, for many people the loss of a sense of sacredness is a serious problem and they are busy trying to install Sacredness 2.0™. Very often the target domain for modern sacredness is "nature". Not the "red in tooth and claw" nature, but the more tranquil nature typically associated with the English countryside (a giant landscaped garden). Not wilderness, which can easily kill the unwary, but the tame versions of nature that are non-threatening and easily accessible. Old trees are sacred. Certain hills. Stone henge and other archaeological sites that are presumed to have been religious in nature are rebooted as modern sacred sites, even though no one really knows what makes them sacred.
We're not quite sure what sacredness means, but the tribal people our ancestors colonised put a lot of store by it. Our word taboo comes from the Pacific Islands (tapu in Māori). A tapu is a restriction placed on a person, place or object that prevents every day interactions and allows only specialised ritual interactions. Similarly sacredness puts the labelled thing outside the grasping of Utilitarianism and this can only be a good thing. The value associated with sacredness is nothing to do with money or utility. It's important in this banal age to be reminded that some things cannot be valued in economic terms. Often it is not nature per se that we value, but how we feel when we are in a natural as opposed to an artificial setting.
The sacred designation, if plausible, can help to protect "natural resources" (an economic term) from exploitation and destruction. Given the destructive effects of large scale industrialisation on the environment across the planet, it might not be a bad idea to extend the sense of sacredness to all living things. However invoking the sacred via the word "spiritual" is problematic because of the other associations, particularly with organised religion and paranormal hoaxes. By confusing sacredness, in terms of non-utilitarian values, with spirituality, we in fact make it a little more difficult to defend those values.
For Buddhists the world accessible to the senses is not sacred. It's not until we get fed-up with the world and turn away from it that we are liberated. Thus for Buddhists something is sacred only to the extent that it points, and leads, away from the world. A stupa, for example, might be a sacred monument, but only because it reminds us of the Buddha who transcended the world. At the level of popular religion or superstition Buddhism is happy to acknowledge that sacred sites have some value, but they are not seen as a true refuge. We see this sentiment expressed for example in Dhammapada (188-189)
Many people seek refuge from fear;
In mountains, forests, gardens, trees and shrines
This is not a secure refuge, not the ultimate refuge;
Going to this refuge, they aren't delivered from all misery.
Nature is not sacred in early Buddhist thought. So, as with engaged Buddhism, what we seem to be seeing is a new departure. A necessary, but quite a radical departure.
Spiritualism is a complex of ideas that particularly involve interacting with the spirits of the dead in the afterlife. The movement owes a great deal to the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) which communicate his visions of the afterlife. In turn his version of the afterlife seems to owe a great deal to Dante. In fact Dante's Inferno and Milton's Paradise Lost, especially via art inspired by them, are two of the most influential religious works in the Western World.
Unfortunately spiritualism has always been rife with hoaxes. Early and prominent hoaxers were the Fox sisters who claimed to be able to communicate with the dead, but one of them later confessed to having faked it. However, like the admission of the crop-circle hoaxers, the repeated exposure of fakery and fraud does not dampen enthusiasm for spiritualism. We want to believe that the dead are still with us, and not simply metaphorically.
Most of mediumship depends on a technique called cold reading. This skill can be extremely effective and yet entirely fake. One modern master of the technique is Derren Brown, who openly acknowledges that he is using cold reading techniques, but is able to seemingly evince information that he could not have access to except through psychic powers. It's possible to be entirely convincing to even a sceptical audience. (See e.g. this video explaining cold reading). Brown's performance in Messiah is a remarkable display of how to dupe an audience.
One spin off from Spiritualism and its interaction with Eastern religion is the phenomenon of past life regression and mundane memories of past lives. Ancient Buddhist texts suggest that if we develop certain psychic powers through spending a lot of time in the fourth dhyāna, we ought to be able to remember past lives. This ability to remember past lives gradually declines in importance over time in Buddhist texts and is hardly mentioned in Mahāyāna texts. I've dealt with this aspect of spirituality in an earlier essay: Rebirth and the Scientific Method. So I won't dwell on it here. The Skeptic's Dictionary response to "research" into this field is a useful counterpoint. One very important point for Buddhists is that all this past-life research confirms the Hindu view of reincarnation, not the Buddhist view of rebirth. So we ought to be marshalling all our criticisms of it, not embracing it. It's spiritual in the best sense of the word, i.e. concerned with spirits and eternal souls.
The success of Spiritualism, despite the exposure of so many frauds, forms part of the background against which modern Buddhists assess the relevance of Buddhist ideas. Modern Buddhists are almost all converts from Christian societies, even if the converts themselves were not Christian. Beliefs like rebirth and universal fairness (karma), subtle bodies, and the life's breath (prāṇa) are easy to assimilate if we already believe in ghosts, communication with the spirits of the dead and the other phenomena associated with Spiritualism. In fact for some people it's almost as if the Enlightenment never happened.
Certain relatively uncommon experiences are referred to as spiritual or mystical. These include so-called out-of-body experiences, or near death experiences and other experiences that seem to point to a clear mind/body dualism or more precisely to a consciousness that is able to exist independently of the body. This taps into the idea of the spirit as distinct from the body and thus points to a strong version of mind/body duality. Thomas Metzinger has decisively showed, in The Ego Tunnel, that the out-of-body experience is not what it seems. In fact a better explanation can be found in the way that the brain constructs our sense of self and how that process can breakdown. I've also dealt with this in Origin of the Idea of the Soul.
Another kind of experience often associated with meditation is important (though also associated with potent hallucinogens like LSD). It seems to have two poles. At one pole the subject-object distinction breaks down and leaves one with a sense of nothingness or no-thing-ness. In the traditional Hindu description there is just saccidānanda 'being, consciousness and bliss'. One is entirely disconnected from the world of sense experience, from mental activity as normally understood. There is no sense of self, nor of being located in space or time and thus no other, no world. In Buddhist terms experiences of this kind are referred to as the arūpa or formless dhyānas. At the other pole the subject-object distinction breaks down leaving one feeling connected to everything. One feels that one is the universe, that there are no distinctions between self and other. Again there is no sense of self, but one feels located everywhere in time and space, one feels one is the world. and the world is oneself. It is the feeling that "all is one". Both of these seem to have a profound impact on the person experiencing them and can radically alter one's perspective on everyday waking experience.
Almost inevitably the person who has this experience believes there is "more". More to life; more than meets the eye; "more than is dreamt of in your philosophy". And the "more" is spiritual. It can also be associated with the idea of a transcendental, ineffable reality. This hard-to-reach reality is higher, better, deeper, etc than everyday life. In fact compared to reality, everyday life is hardly worth living. Some people get a glimpse of this kind of experience and spend the rest of their lives trying to get back to there. This kind of story is high reminiscent of the story of the Holy Grail, particularly as it is outlined by Emma Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz in The Grail Legend . Often what Buddhists seek is the Holy Grail, the transformative experience that will leave them in a state of grace.
Visions of "higher" beings are also sought-after mystical experiences, especially if they are accompanied by a sense that the vision is more real than reality. Often visions are of human figures, anthropomorphisms of values we hold dear, or saints. Usually visions are culturally specific. Hindu's see Śiva, Viṣṇu or Kāli or one of the 33 million other deities; Christians see Christ, Mary or angels; Buddhists see Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. And so on. It's not unusual for Western convert Buddhists to see visions of Christ, simply because they grew up Christian and our culture is saturated with images of a Westernised Christ. We notice this with imagery, visions and icons take on the regional characteristics of the people they appear to. Monastics have often used extreme techniques to achieve such visions: starvation, sleep deprivation, extremes of heat and cold, flesh wounds (from self-flagellation) that become infected, and other painful austerities. Meditative techniques are a more humane way of approaching having a mystical experience, but still require considerable dedication to repetition and duration of practice.
What is interesting about mystical experiences is that the individual phenomena can now be reproduced in the laboratory using a variety of techniques that physically affect the brain (be it accidental damage, surgery, drugs or electro-magnetic stimulation). Thus the arrow of causality points from brain to experience. There is no doubt that the experiences are significant to those who have them, but also little doubt that the significance is imposed on the experience by the experiencer. Mystical experiences are not what they seem. On face value they are what the mystics have always said they are; but we can look beyond the face value now. And we see that the value we place on such experiences is a human value. And this is not to say that the experiences are not valuable or transformative. But they do not always mean what they are said to mean in a pre-scientific worldview.
Another caveat on discussing such experiences is that they are difficult to distinguish from hallucinations. An hallucination is when someone sees, hears, smells, tastes or feels things that don't exist outside their mind, but which nonetheless have a vivid realness about them and are mistaken for things which do exist. Hallucinations and spiritual experiences have very different valuations, but how we determine which is which may be entirely context dependent.
In 2009 the Pew Research Group reported at about half of all Americans had had a "religious or mystical experience. This is more than double the number recorded in a 1976 Gallup Poll. In their analysis the bulk of the increase seems to come from Christians and those who regularly attend religious services, with as many of 70% of some evangelicals claiming some kind of experience and a clear correlation with frequency of attendance at a religious service. The level is also fairly high (30%) amongst unaffiliated religious people (SNBR?). About 18% of people with no religious inclinations report experiences of this time.
Mystical experiences are much more likely amongst people who expect to have them: people with strong religious beliefs, who regularly participate in religious activities. But even non-religious people appear to have mystical or religious experiences fairly commonly (one in five adults).
In an essay like this, one can only touch on the main points of a complex argument. Clearly the frames that help to define the word spiritual are many and varied. Each of us works with thousands of frames. We can see that some of the main frames activated by the word spiritual involve a Vitalist worldview or mind/body dualism. There is a possible defence against this charge which is similar to the one that sparked this analysis. One may argue that even when, for example, the higher frame is invoked (along with the various associated metaphors like GOOD IS HIGHER) that one is not intending to invoke religious ideas from Christianity. However we don't have a lot of control over the frames we use. Frames structure our thoughts, but do so unconsciously. And even if we ourselves use words with more than average deliberation (and as a writer let me assure you that this is much more difficult than it might appear) we have no control over what happens in the minds of our readers/listeners.
The question of whether Buddhism is or is not a religion is moot, though if it is not a religion then what is it? The idea that Buddhism is spiritual or concerned with spirit is just wrong. Most of the main frames invoked by spiritual just don't fit very well if at all. In some cases, as in the revaluing of nature are helpful and in other cases not so much.
When Nixon went on TV and said "I am not a crook" it was probably the first time most people thought of him in terms of being a crook. But from that time on, most people thought of Nixon as a crook. For the group of people who believe that Buddhism is not a religion, the statement "Buddhism is not a religion" only reinforces the Buddhism/religion connection in the minds of hearers because the word invokes the frame. As "spiritual but not religious" simply reinforces the connection between spiritual and religion. The desire to contradict an argument in yes/no terms is strong, but if one wants to define Buddhism in a certain way, then one can only use words that are consistent with that definition else the message is mixed.
People who invoke spiritual when referring to Buddhism probably do so because it's familiar. It taps into centuries of religious ideology. I see it rationalised in a variety of ways. But my view is that the choice of words lends advantages to certain sections of society. The next essay will shift the focus from how the word is used to who uses the word; the politics of spirituality. Who wins by linking Buddhism to the various spiritual frames? Who loses?
George Lakoff on frames and framing.
(1990) Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things.
(1995) Metaphor, Morality, and Politics, Or, Why Conservatives Have Left Liberals In the Dust. Online: http://www.wwcd.org/issues/Lakoff.html
(2003) Metaphors We Live By. New Ed. [Originally published 1981]
(2004) Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate.
Labels: Frames , Lakoff , Metaphor , Spirit , Vitalism
Why Artificial Intelligences Will Never Be Like Us...
Spiritual I: The Life's Breath
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This article refers to the main sights of Turkey. Namely, the city of Troy. Connected with it many legends, but the main can be considered poems of Homer “Iliad” and “Odyssey”. It is believed that the events described by this author, date back to the Mycenaean era.
The history of Troy
Troy itself is quite unremarkable town, which is also sometimes called Ilion. It is an ancient settlement, with a fairly powerful defensive wall, located in Asia Minor near the Aegean sea. Residents who lived on the territory of this city, was called tikrai. Archaeologists have determined that a great influence on architectural buildings had a Western Anatolian civilization. In those days. This city was called Taruishi. Previously it was thought that such terms “Troy” or “Ilion” could mean a completely different city same ancient state. Well what else can I say… Archaeologists claim that the first stone was laid in 3000 – 2600 BCE And at that time even the city was not considered. This settlement had a round shape, and the size was only in diameter 100 – 150 m. as it was not large, and was guarded only by two towers and perimeter walls. In this old Troy walked through the main gate. Now,archeologists can assume that this settlement burned down.
After this incident this place was erected the town. He was not much more than the previous and had a diameter of about 150 – 170 m. In the heart of this city there was a Palace, surrounded by a large garden. All other space was occupied by warehouses and residential buildings. And it is to this stage of the history of this city include, archaeologists found a treasure, which included weapons and gems. Therefore, this city was rich and over time it began to expand its borders. It lasted a very long time, scientists suggest that this period lasted from 2300-1900 BCE And expanded it with the help of new homes and warehouses. So there are new small streets. Gaining more and more power and territory, the town gradually began to develop and become richer and more powerful. It is from 1900 to 1300 BC has done the biggest leap in the development of Troy. In diameter it was about 200 – 230 m, and the thickness of the walls that protected the city of Troy exceeded 5 meters. Four main entrances with large gates and three watchtowers, for that time this was considered a sufficient defense. At the same time were built large palaces, terraces, gardens… the City grew rapidly, but in one day everything was destroyed large, powerful earthquake. Apparently nature didn’t want to see the city. Did not receive from Troy to linger in this place, but soon it again began building. It lasted from 1300-900 BC Builders used rare remaining columns, blocks, and sometimes even walls of former palaces and residential buildings. If previously tried to cost on a large scale, over large areas, but now the houses were set close together, narrow streets, and the palaces not so elegant as before. Apparently the builders were afraid of a new earthquake. Most historians believe that this is Troy’s attitude to the events, which he described in his poem Homer. The same archaeologists suggest that this is the architecture and structure of the city could confront Greece in the Trojan war. Then as history tells, this town was captured by the Phrygians.
In 900-350 BC the city, which belonged at that time to the Greeks, was considered quite comfortable, large, cultural (in terms of temples and palaces) and, accordingly, are beautiful, but special strategic and political value it had. Because of this Troy has left the majority of the population, and the city gradually began to decline, to go bankrupt. Although on its territory stood the famous temple of Athena and the sanctuary for sacrifice. And in 350 B. C. — A. D. 400, the city government decided to rename the town. And of Troy the great, the city became known as Iliana. At the same time the Roman rulers of the dynasty of the Julio – Klavdiya started to think: “if we do not start to rebuild this city?” And their decision is not made to wait long. During these 50 years, until reconstruction of the city was levelled with the top of the hill near the temple of Athena. Now there was a sacred site for the worship of this goddess. In the city began to build theatres and public buildings. In the government started talking about how not to make Ilion the capital of the state. But after the elevation of Constantinople, Constantine the Great had left this idea, never implemented it.
The value in history.
In the first place, scientists, archaeologists and literary scholars are provided opportunities in the survey plan of the Trojan war, the confirmation of the veracity of Homer’s poems and a study of the architecture of the time. Secondly, Troy fell around 1260 BC this is a large time span and very interesting for research. Thirdly, the city was on the way from the black sea to the Mediterranean and controlled it for almost 2000 years. In – fourth, half a century after the fall of Troy, Palo Hittite state. Scientists interested in this pattern. Troy is a historical and architectural monument. Thousands and thousands of tourists come to see the ruins of the ancient city, which is known to adults and children. Not even paying attention to the fact that in the vicinity there are no restaurants, no cafes. Travelers take water, a small snack and go to look at what is left of the ancient city. It’s so amazing… to walk the narrow, barely recognizable streets and imagine that 2000 years ago there was a war, the description of which has been preserved to our days. This historical ensemble is one of the most visited in Turkey.
Just recently completed the restoration of the famous Trojan horse, which played a decisive role in the Trojan war. Tourists have a unique opportunity to see this exhibit firsthand. He created exact copies with the words of Homer in his poem. These excavations can be visited while in Turkey. It is an amazing place just over 100 km from Istanbul and Bursa. The tour takes place in the form of a maze. Entry and exit in about the same place. In the center of Troy is the legendary Trojan horse, and nearby there is a building where you can see all of Troy in a full-scale, classical form. To get to Troy’s best with a guided tour in advance or ask your travel company about what You organized there arrival and departure. If You decided to go there by yourself, make sure you find out the address of his hotel in the Turkish language, and ask that you noted the point on the map. In order to show the address and map to the taxi driver to take You back.
A few tips for tourists:
As the excavations themselves, there is no cafe, then water is better to take with you. Chocolate bars do not take advise, they can easily melt in the heat. But a couple of apples or bananas to take, but it is best to eat well in advance. Bring sunglasses if the sun will Shine in the eyes, You will not be able to see anything. Be sure to keep your head covered, otherwise you will bake your head and happen sunstroke. A good look at the place where You want to go, what would walking, so historical architectural monument is not to be missed. If You go with a guided tour, try not to deviate from the guide. Troy is like a maze, and you can easily get lost. But if you are lost, don’t panic. There are signs that will lead You to the exit. In conclusion we can add that to walk in different old towns, ancient ruins very interesting. Walking in Troy is easy to imagine how 2000 years ago there used to be other people with other problems. As the soldiers marched on the Trojan war, hoping to win it. More travel to different countries and expand your horizons. A journey to the ancient city of Troy You will remember for a long time.
Posted in ancient, archaeologist, excavation, history, king, new, people, place, search, story, time, year
Discoveries of ancient Greece
The city of Tiryns, built in the XIII century BC, is a unique sample of fortification architecture. About him can say the words of Homer: "a city with strong walls".…
On the eve of the day of archaeologist, celebrated on 15 August, the head of the Department of archaeology of the Moscow Russia of the Institute of archaeology Russian Academy…
When we lived Adam and eve – before the dinosaurs or after them?
The oldest city of the world
The legendary ruins of Troy.
Inappropriate artifacts
Ancient Civilizations and Prophets
The Museum of archaeology and Ethnography
Unrecognized archaeology “WHEN the MOUNDS start TALKING…”
Archaeological heritage in the Museum–reserve “Kizhi”
The ancient city of Arkaim
“The law against diggers”: not looking in the right place!
Mysterious archaeological finds come under the ban
An international expedition discovered new archaeological finds in the cave
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From the woodshed: On learning, week of 3/17/14
When I first started this blog a few years ago, I was talking almost exclusively about the technical and mental aspects of the guitar. Since then, it's turned into a little bit of everything, and I get a kick out of that. I hope you do, too. However, it's been a while since I've written about the learning of music, something that's turning into a lifelong endeavor for me. So, welcome to a new occasional series designed primarily for guitar players, but hey, everyone is welcome to join in the From the Woodshed posts.
On the Turntable
One of my teachers told me once "make sure your music library is as extensive as your usual library." Sounds like a great philosophy to me - especially if I can get some competitions going between those two libraries of mine! Vinyl records are the new preferred format for me, and here's four records that I can't stop listening to this week. Hopefully they'll manifest in my playing. If you haven't heard them, give 'em a listen. They rock!
Check out Miles' tone on the first trumpet solo - how focused, careful, and breathtaking it is. Then when Coltrane jumps in with the tenor sax, I'm struck with how open his heart sounds.
Thelonious Monk - Monk's Dream
I got this old and scratchy record for a buck in Richmond, VA. Wired on Mountain Dew and up way past my bedtime, I returned home, put it on the turntable, and was blown away. It's like the rules of music are a sidewalk, and we all walk blindly down it. Monk laughs, steps off to the side, picks up the sidewalk, twists it like a pretzel, and puts it back down. It's very surreal. Check out his cover of the jazz standard Body and Soul to see what I mean.
Johnny Cash - American VI -Ain't No Grave
Cash's last album of Rick Rubin's American series, released posthumously, has been called Rubin's eulogy to Cash. It's spooky, moving, and addictive. The title track is one of the heaviest things I've ever heard.
Johnny Cash - American V - A Hundred Highways
Like Ain't No Grave, this album is also part of Rubin's brilliant series. It seems like they've both managed to capture the essence of what it must be like to be old, tired, somber, and well aware of the reaper. Another traditional is my favorite on the track, and it's right scary.
On the bookshelf
The power of habit.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/081298160X
Got me thinking about how practice is more than just about acquiring skill - it's also to build discipline and willpower.
On the music stand
One of my comrades has been learning the solo to Dream Theater's Under a Glass Moon, and I've jumped in and joined the fun. Check out measure 148. It's a great position-shifting exercise! http://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/dream-theater-under-a-glass-moon-tab-s6280t0
Just saw this on Facebook, via my mom. It seems like this encapsulates the songwriting process for me right now:
Tear off the mask. Your face is glorious. - Rumi
Till next time, comrades! That's what I've been working on. Feel free to join the conversation in the comments below. I'd love to get some ideas from what you've been working on! Keep on rockin'!
Posted by Josh Urban at 12:11 PM 2 comments
A quick update
Comrades! I hope you're having a great Thursday! OK, no heavy stuff today, just a quick update to shout out to the army and give you a quick behind-the-scenes look at Revolution HQ!
In the works: Stay tuned for the JURT III rail tour announcement soon! I'm SO CLOSE to having everything set, and of course, this one is going to be the coolest tour yet. And, you're invited. DUH! Can't wait to tour with you!
On the stage: I've been jammin' hard over here, working on the opener of the concert season this Saturday in DC. I'll be cheering runners on at the Rock 'n Roll Marathon at mile 18. One thing that just makes me cackle with delight - I'll be joined by my buddy Allison Shapira, self-described as a "recovering opera singer." Allison couldn't be much more opposite: she's calm, collected, and sings pretty songs. My favorite anecdote about her: Last year, after hearing me play "Three Little Pigs" with the line earned his masters' degree from Harvard College, built his house with his architect knowledge, she said to me quite seriously "actually, the graduate program is called Harvard University." (By the way, she's taught at the Harvard School of Business...or whatever it's called - now I'm paranoid.)
Well, she requested that we do a duet of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters." So, should be fun. Hope you can make it! It's at the Titanic Memorial, near 4th and P streets Southwest, nine till noon.
On the turntable:
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue. Been listening to a lot of Miles Davis lately. I got "Kind of Blue" on a brand new 182-gram reissue vinyl record (in mono!), and am just blown away by it. I've heard the album for years, but I really LISTENED recently. I've been trying to find a parallel in the music world for impressionist art, something that plays life as it appears, capturing the light and movement of a moment. Sure, sure, there's Debussy, but looking for a non-classical one. It seems as if the music I write and listen to usually involves symbolism, much like some of the more classical paintings. So, where's the impressionism? "Kind of Blue" strikes me as this. Looking forward to figuring out how to put that into my music!
On my mind: Hey guitar players, when I talk about tone, I usually think "downstream", that is, what kind of guitar, cables, amps, picks, effects, etc, I use. Listening to Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard over these last few days has really gotten me thinking about the tone at the source - both the heart and the hands.
On the paper: Just went to Best Buy to grab some guitar strings, and my poetic side was struck with the vastness of consumer land later in the evening, when the unseen fluorescent lights bathe the aisles of promised happiness with a sinister noon never-ending, and people drifted, alone. OK, gotta pare that down a bit and dial it back a notch, but perhaps there will be a song about it.
See ya soon! - Josh
Iron and War - a Remarkable Conversation with a WWII Nurse
Sunday: “WWII”.
I forgot about it. So the next week, I wrote on my dry erase planner “WWII.”
I also forgot about that.
I read the stories in the morning about old men getting a long overdue purple heart, or their daughters remembering a father they'd never met.
And each week, I wrote “WWII” on my calendar. I wanted to talk to some of these men who had fought with guns and tanks, planes and skill, in distant lands in distant times.
I hadn't thought of the women. Like many young people, my mind had stopped at the story conveyed in black and white, and like the colors presented in the glamourized documentaries, I had viewed the conflict in those monotones.
Then one day I met Tharon.
Sitting at my DJ table, I had finished up a set of big band music at a veteran's home. She approached, thanked me for the show, and we struck up a conversation about classical music. I asked her what her story was. She had been a nurse in WWII, fighting stateside with penicillin and cotton, bandages and skill. She painted a much more complex picture of the war for me – with many colors, and insight that only a woman would have – and one I had never heard before. This is just a small part of her life story, and bit of a Remarkable Conversation.
Undated photo of Tharon and her husband
I had asked if I could return later in the day to sit down and really talk. Stopping by that Saturday evening, we chatted while the Red Sox battled the Tigers during the playoff games on the TV. “I love baseball” she said. “So do I!” But our mutual love of America's past time was sacrificed for the sake of story telling. The TV was unplugged to provide power for the recording devices, and our walk down memory lane had begun.
“I grew up in upstate New York. I loved the piano. I played it all the time. Then my house burned down, and the piano with it. No more piano lessons...”
“Then I got another piano. The middle keys didn't work, so I didn't play it a lot. One day I came home from school, and my mother took me aside in the yard. “Tharon, your father is going to chop up the piano for wood.” He was a carpenter, you see, and he had been eying the piano for quite some time. He built a cabinet out of it.”
Did you mind?
“Well...” she paused.
“It wasn't my piano – it belonged to the family – and it was good wood.”
We talked and talked, and later in the evening, she told the another story from her early years.
“My older sister always used to beat me. I don't know why, but she always did. One day, I was in the shed, ironing clothes. I saw my mother and father get in the car and drive away. I said to myself “Tharon, she's going to come beat you.” Sure enough, five minutes later, she walks through the door, fist in the air, ready to hit me. As she walked up to me, I held the hot iron up right next to her face. We stared at each other, not saying a word. She lowered her fist, and walked away – never to beat me again.”
What were you feeling?
“I was scared. What if I had burned her face? It would have been a lifetime scar. But I had to stand up for myself. And ever since then, I always have.”
“There's a quote from my mother – it reminds me of you” I said. “she took her power back – without permission.” (terri st. cloud/bonesigharts.com)
Tharon enlisted in the Army during the last six months of WWII. Once out of nursing school, she shipped to Virginia Beach, working at a hotel that had been converted to a hospital. Earlier in the day I had asked her the rather indelicate question: “Did you lose any friends in the war?” Her eyes suddenly brimmed with tears. “Yes – my two next door neighbors. They were twins, and they were like brothers to me. We grew up together. One was lost over land, when his plane went down in northern Europe, the other at sea. The military asked the family if they would like the bodies recovered, but the family said no - “they're together, just like they always were.” As the gray sky of the present day filtered light into the community room of the VA home, she choked up, her eyes brimming with tears. I, too, suddenly felt the pain of a loss of two men I had never met – and the war's shadow continued to reach across the years, almost as if adding to the clouds on that already overcast day.
We begin to speak of her service as a nurse. “The men had been lying wounded in pastures, sometimes for days. They were infected with all sorts of things. We would clean them up as best as we could. We'd start off each day with a shot of penicillin right in the Gluteus Maximus” she said, laughing.
She told me quietly “all of my guys died when they went home. I didn't lose any at the hospital – except for one man. He had been shot in the neck, and was paralyzed. He was very hoarse – but we could communicate with him. He had so much infection. All of the patients needed so much care – they would all have chill. That's how sick they were. They were just a couple of steps away from being gone themselves. They were bedridden, but I did get that one up into a chair, and one day, he wanted to go on the porch. I was about to go to lunch, and I asked him if he wanted to go back inside, because there was no one to take care of him while I was gone. “No, I'm fine! I want to stay here!” he said Well, when I got back from lunch, the Chill had come over him again, and there he is, mad at me. He never got over it...because I was gone. Of course, I understood him, and I wasn't there when he got the Chill. He eventually died, because he had so much infection in his body. He couldn't manage with less care.”
The conversation turned to what happened after the war. “They just shut the hospital right down, and sent everyone home. It's not like it is now. The families didn't know how to care for their wounded, and many probably couldn't afford the medication.”
“What did you think when you heard the hospital was shutting down – were you worried for these men?”
“No, not at first. The thought didn't occur to me at that time. Then, when I had heard what had happened to them at that time, I could see that the Army Medical Corps had just sustained them. We never cured them. We couldn't cure them. We just sustained this level of health that required a registered nurse and all of this medication and care that they got. And when they didn't get it, their body couldn't deal with it. So, I think there's a lot to be said for the Army Medical Corps......and also, they (the families) couldn't keep it up because of the expense. Everybody, if they could cut something out, they had to do it. There was no tomorrow.”
Was it difficult to work there?
“No, no, the patients were always pleasant, polite, and cooperative. If they were ever angry at us, well, we got over it. I thought they were very good patients.”
How about seeing these young men return from the battlefields with these serious injuries? Was that difficult to see?
“It bothered me later on...” she said, her voice trailing off huskily. “It's bothered me to this day....A waste of our young men....it's a waste of our young me....that's what war is. And I hate it.”
The Late 40's
“You mentioned earlier that while there was a victory overall, each person didn't feel directly responsible for it.”
“That's true – we were such a miniscule part of it, but in the whole, everyone did our job, and we won, because every little person did their job. Even a big general, he did his job.”
“Walking down the street in 1947, what was your mindset towards the war?”
“ I was very happy it was over with, we were anxious to get back into civilian life – we got out right away.”
I asked her about the post war time.
“You cannot...cannot imagine it. The movies glorify it.”
“Was it a feeling of pride? Of sadness? A mix?” I asked.
“Not that deep. It wasn't that deep. Our immediate lives changed, we were glad to get out, we had no regrets that way, but we no longer had a job, and it was hard for a lot of people to find them. It was easy for me, but hard for other people, especially to find a job that paid a living wage. You didn't have an automobile, you walked everywhere. Automobiles were expensive, and scarce during the war. They didn't manufacture them, they made guns instead. And the cars were older, and always broke down.” Here she chuckled, remembering the mechanical difficulties that plagued post war American drivers.
“What did you think when the Korean War broke out?”
“I didn't know where Korea was. I didn't give it much thought. It seemed so far away, who's going there? It was such a small country, what were we doing in there? Leave those people alone, we don't have any business being in there. That was I thought then, and I still think that today.”
“What did you think when you heard about a new conflict, from a nurses' point of view? We've had quite a few conflicts since then.”
Here she became extra animated.
“We've constantly been at war! Cut it out! Talk it out – you don't have to fight it out! You don't have to fight. Never, never, to put young mens' lives there, to kill them for your satisfaction...Talk it out.”
Did you think that before you went in to the army and saw all the carnage?
“I had no experience – I didn't know what I was getting into. I was always peaceful. I had never any guns around me, never heard a gunshot. I feel for those people who went through all that noise. It ruined a lot of hearing...a lot of hearing. And especially kids – kids are traumatized by war. It's with 'em all their life. And they don't get over it. They think they do, but...but it influences them a lot...”
The time had grown late, and it was time for me to drive back, two hours to the north on that autumn evening. I thanked her for the time, stories, and sharing. I walked through the quiet halls with the occasional warriors sitting peacefully musing in wheelchairs, out into the orange glow of the sodium vapor lights of the VA home parking lot. When I was little, I used to pretend the moon followed me home on car trips back from my grandparents. Now that I'm older, I haven't completely given up on that idea. But, sometimes the light takes a different form. That night it was the orange street lamp - washing the parking lot with it's glow, twinkling in the seemingly deserted heavy industry of the cigarette plant down the street amid a maze of pipes and railroad tracks, flickering in my face as I sped north on I-95, waving from the distance as my little car sped past sleepy houses with their security lights on the quiet byways...They were like earthly stars, for sometimes the night, like it was then, is cloudy-a fine metaphor for how the passing of the years can sometimes wear us down, and obscure the stars that once shone so clearly on our younger days.
Maybe those lights are like the quiet people like Tharon, and unlike some planet in the sky that only shines on clear nights, they're here on the ground with the rest of us, despite the clouds, quietly helping, healing, standing strong in the darkness, guiding..and seeing us home safely.
Here's to the lights...
Copyright 2014 Josh Urban and Tharon B. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material with the express and written permission of the authors is strictly prohibited.
A semi-imaginary conversation
"People never die on schedule." - Theodore Lorei
Unfortunately, he was right. My grandpa Ted passed away when I was just twenty years old. I wish his love of schedules, stemming from his German farmer heritage, would have kept him around a little longer so I could have had a real conversation with him. The last time I talked with him was a spontaneous visit that will remain a fond memory, yet sometimes I wish I hadn't been so young and intent on talking instead of listening.
He had a wonderful (ooops, lazy writing - he wouldn't stand for that) - he had an intriguing tradition of birthday wisdom. Every time is was somebody's birthday, him included, they would be required to share some philosophy from where they stood on the road of life. He would usually stand up from the spaghetti dinner, wander to his bookshelf in the other room...and read the driest, most academic point that was probably quite deep, but always went over my head as a grumbling kid.
Now, time has passed, and again, people never die on schedule. As I sit here on what would be his 81st birthday, eating spaghetti with a few of his books on my shelf, listening to another German musician (J.S. Bach, to be precise, and one should always be precise), I think back to a few dreams I've had. There he is, suddenly returned from the afterlife, just hanging out at a family gathering.
My mom wrote a blog today about what birthday wisdom he might give today if he could return. I'd like to put my own words to the idea if I may. I'm not sure if he'd even say these things, but I've taken what I know of him, mixed it with the shadow of mortality (a bird looking over my left shoulder, if you're into the Carlos Casteneda sort of thing), and applied it to what I know of me.
I picture the two of us sitting in his living room, the freezing March day's gray sky filtering through the sheer curtains. There he is, in a scratchy flannel shirt, sitting with one leg crossed over the other. "Would you like a beer, Joshua?" Walking to the kitchen, he reaches to the bottom shelf on the door of the fridge, where they always used to be.
"Sure."
I don't drink, but this seems like a good time to break that rule. The smell of the Milwaukee's Best brew rises to greet my nose, as my thumb cracks open the can, and I settle back into the blue rocking chair, ready for a quick conversation - this time, to listen.
"Grandpa, it's your birthday. That means it's time for birthday wisdom."
We talk and talk, and he laughs that glorious hissing laugh I was so fascinated with as a four year old. A few sentences stand out.
On goals: "The small stuff will get done. Some people won't, but look, you'll pay your bills. What's the point of what you're trying to do? Seriously, what's the point? You need to ask yourself that. Does it stand up to the bigger plan? Does it fit in? How much time do you think you have? Are you wasting it? What is your bigger plan? Does it matter?"
On money: "It's almost irrelevant. Once you have an adequate amount, it makes such little difference. Has it ever brought you lasting happiness? The pursuit of it can ruin you. Pursue something else."
On fear: "How much is fear distracting you from your plan? Does it really help? I used to be sure of it. Now, not so much."
On control. "Dale Carnegie told me personally in the afterlife that the energy spent on control can be channeled towards productive means that actually accomplish something - the irony is that letting go and refocusing actually empowers one more than trying to control."
On change: "It happens. Look what happened to me. I see now that it can't be avoided. And it's not so bad, after all."
On worry: "Stop it. Immediately." He walked over to an electrical socket, and stuck a match in it. "The ignition source has failed to ignite. I've spent too long worrying about imaginary fires." I sat, mouth slightly agape, rocked back in my rocking chair, and stopped swirling the half-empty beer can around.
On work: "It seems that we were made to try and work as hard as possible, not for money, but for the sake of reaching potential." "You mean like Bruce Springsteen Born to Run?"" "Bruce who? "Uhhh...never mind."
"Look, anything less than full effort means less than full potential, and potential doesn't equal money. It's what we can do. What can you do? Again, how much time do you think we have here? One must run at ...what's it called in mechanics, full throttle?" "Yeah - yeah, I like that idea."
I had never had a conversation like this, although I can recall the uneasy feeling of being asked a question that I probably knew the answer to, but didn't like. I had avoided it - and that one time I honestly didn't know where Afghanistan was when I was 7. (To be fair, he wasn't seriously asking, just joking around.) But as I've grown older, I've realized that these are the questions to stand in the presence of, their light illuminating any weakness of ideas presented. The substance that snuffs out the light is denial, and it snuffs out pretty much any chance for a real life, too.
My mind had grown too busy with my own thoughts, and I reluctantly bid him good-bye. We shook hands - and then I pulled him in for a hug, his shirt scratching my face and smelling like a warm car in the summer one last time. I drove away, and suddenly smacked the steering wheel. "Man, I didn't tell him about all the stuff I've been doing!" Glancing in the rear-view mirror, I saw him waving with one hand, standing in his slippers in the cold. That's funny - it's almost as if he was waving me forward. Not away, mind you (although I'm sure he had a schedule to keep), but forward.
And it's forward we must all go - forward with the lessons, mistakes, triumphs, and experiments our ancestors make in this thing called life - forward we must go, to make our own. I wonder what my grandson will blog about. How about yours? What would you say? And most importantly - why aren't we right now?
Thanks, grandpa. Happy Birthday.
- Josh(ua)
Iron and War - a Remarkable Conversation with a WW...
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COVID-19 OPA Stakeholder Update 3
Minimise the spread of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of social distancing measures has meant significant changes to the way people interact.The Office of the Public Advocate has received a number of calls seeking advice on how these measures may impact a protected person’s movements.Everyone’s circumstances will be different and there is no one size fits all approach that can be taken in the current environment.Legislative change has been needed to help ensure supported accommodation facilities and guardians can take the necessary steps to keep protected persons safe from COVID-19.
What are the changes?
The Government has introduced the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act 2020 to allow for aged care, mental health and disability service providers to apply for temporary approval to restrict the movement of a protected person.Applications should be made where there is concern that a protected person does not have the capacity to adhere to public health measures (such as social distancing) that are designed to minimise the risk of transmitting COVID-19.These measures will help keep both the community and the protected person safe from the potential spread of COVID-19.Applications can be made to the guardian or, where there is no guardian, to the newly-created Authorising Officer. Leading disability advocate Professor Richard Bruggemann has been appointed to this position, and will endeavour to implement measures that do not unduly restrict a protected person’s movements, but still ensure appropriate public health measures are adhered to.
What do the orders do?
A supported accommodation facility can apply to the Authorising Officer or the person’s Guardian for authorisation to detain a protected person that can last up to 28 days.Authorisation will allow persons to take such steps as may be reasonably necessary to detain a protected person.The goal will be to implement the least restrictive approach that balances the protected person’s freedom with both the person and the broader community’s right to be protected from the possible spread of COVID-19.
Factors that will be considered
When authorisation is sought, the Public Advocate or the Authorising Officer will consider all relevant background information.This would include:
A protected person’s history
How their capacity may impact on their interactions with others in public
The health risk this might pose to the protected person or other people
Any other mitigation measures providers have introduced to try and address any concerns.
Extensions to orders
Where an order extending beyond the initial 28 days is sought, an application must be made to the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT).
We appreciate there is a delicate balance between restricting an individual’s movements and allowing activities that may pose a risk to both the individual and the broader community. We will work to reach solutions that involve the least restrictive approach, while ensuring all appropriate public health measures are met. More information is available at https://covid-19.sa.gov.au/restrictions-and-responsibilities/at-risk-facility-residents
Legislative changes to minimise the spread of COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of social distancing measures has meant...
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HELPLESSNESS AND CONFUSION
Pravda No. 115, May 21, 1913
Signed: V. Ilyin
the Pravda text
First printing 1963
Translated from the Russian by George Hanna
Edited by Robert Daglish
Prepared © for the Internet by David J. Romagnolo,
djr@marx2mao.org (June 2002)
(NOTE)
The reasons for the chaos and confusion among modern Social-Democrats and "near Social-Democrats" are not only external (persecutions, etc.), but also internal. A huge number of old "prominent Party people" are completely confused, they have understood absolutely nothing about the new state of affairs (the counter-revolution of the June Third system), and their helpless "dithering" -- today to the left, tomorrow to the right -- has caused hopeless confusion in everything they undertake.
A perfect example of this embarrassment, helplessness and confusion is to be found in the article by A. Vlasov in Luch No. 109 (195).
There is not a single idea, a single sound word in the whole of Vlasov's article. It is all confusion and helpless limping after the liquidators combined with futile efforts to disassociate himself from them. It is not true that "formerly" our Party was sometimes built up "without the workers themselves", or that "the activities of tbe underground amounted largely (!!?) to abstract (!?) propaganda of the ideas of socialism". The history of the old Iskra (1900-03). which created the Party programme and the fundamentals of Party tactics, fully refutes this. It is not true that the Party's task today is "open work (!!?), but the secret organisation of it". A. Vlasov has completely failed to understand the liquidationist content of the slogan "struggle for an open party", although it was explained in Pravda No. 108 (312), popularly and not for the first time.
It is not true that Pravda advises "adopting the work of the old Party organisation as an example". "It is essential
to outline, even if briefly, the nature of the activity of this (new) underground, i.e., its tactics," says A. Vlasov with amusing pomposity ("we, the practical workers"). As far back as December 1908[42] the Party "outlined" its tactics (and in 1912[43] and 1913[44] confirmed and explained them) and its organisation, giving a clear "example" of old tasks and new forms of preparation. If A. Vlasov has not yet understood this he has only himself to blame: it is his fate to repeat fragments of liquidationism, the dispute with which, incidentally, has nothing to do with the "organisation question".
[42] Lenin here refers to the decisions passed by the Fifth (All-Russian) Conference of the R.S.D.L.P. held in Paris between December 21 and December 27, 1908 (January 3-9, 1909). The Conference was attended by 16 delegates with full powers: five Bolsheviks, three Mensheviks, five Polish Social-Democrats and three Bundists. Lenin represented the Central Committee of the R.S.D.L.P.; he delivered a report on "The Tasks of the Party in the Present Situation" [Transcriber's Note: See Lenin's The Fifth (All-Russian) Conference of the R.S.D.L.P. -- DJR]; he also spoke on the Social-Democratic Duma group and on organisational and other questions. At the Conference the Bolsheviks fought two opportunist trends in the Party -- liquidationism
and otzovism. On Lenin's proposal the Conference condemned liquidationism and called upon all Party organisations to struggle resolutely against all attempts to liquidate the Party. Bolshevik resolutions on all questions were adopted. [p. 109]
[43] "In 1912" refers to the decisions of the Sixth (Prague) All-Russian Conference of the R.S.D.L.P. held from January 5 (18) to January 17 (30), 1912, which actually fulfilled the functions of a Party congress. Lenin guided the work of the Conference. [Transcriber's Note: See Lenin's The Sixth (Prague) All-Russian Conference of the R.S.D.L.P. -- DJR]
The important business of the Conference was that of purging the Party of opportunists. The resolutions adopted on "Liquidationism and the Group of Liquidators" and on "The Party Organisation Abroad" were of great importance both from the theoretical and from the practical points of view. The liquidators grouped around two legal publications, Nasha Zarya (Our Dawn ) and Dyelo Zhizni (Life's Cause ). The Conference put on record "that by its conduct the Nasha Zarya and Dyelo Zhizni group had definitely placed itself outside the Party". The liquidators were expelled from the R.S.D.L.P. The Conference condemned the activities of anti-Party groups abroad -- the Golos group of Mensheviks, the Vperyod group and Trotsky's group. It recognised the absolute necessity for a single Party organisation abroad promoting Party interests under the guidance and control of the Central Committee and resolved that groups abroad "which refuse to submit to the Russian centre of Social-Democratic activity, i.e., to the Central Committee, and which cause disorganisation by communicating with Russia independently and ignoring the Central Committee, have no right to use the name of the R.S.D.L.P." These resolutions played an important part in strengthening tho unity of the Marxist party in Russia.
The Prague Conference played an outstanding part in the organisation of the Bolshevik Party a party of a new type. It summed up a whole historical epoch of the struggle of the Bolsheviks against the Mensheviks and strengthened the victory of the Bolsheviks. Party organisations in all localities were consolidated on the basis of the Conference decisions; the Conference also strengthened the Party as an all-Russian organisation, and outlined the political line and tactics of the Party under conditions of the new revolutionary upsurge. The Bolshevik Party, purged of the opportunists, headed a mighty new upsurgence of the revolutionary mass struggle.
The Prague Conference was of great international significance. It offered revolutionary elements in the parties of the Second International a model of determined struggle against opportunism, pursuing the struggle as far as complete organisational rupture with the opportunists. [p. 109]
[44] "In 1913" refers to the Joint Conference of the Central Committee of the R.S.D.L.P. and Party officials held in Cracow from December 26, 1912 to January 1, 1913 (January 8-14, 1913). Underground Party organisations in St. Petersburg, Moscow Region, the South, the Urals and the Caucasus were represented. Lenin presided over
the Conference and spoke on "The Revolutionary Upsurge, Strikes and the Party's Tasks" and on "The Attitude to Liquidationism, and Unity" (the texts of these speeches have been lost); Lenin also compiled or edited all the Conference resolutions and wrote the "Notification" of the Central Committee of the R.S.D.L.P. on the Conference. [Transcriber's Note: See Lenin's Notification and Resolutions of the Cracow Meeting of the Central Committee of the R.S.D.L.P. and Party Functionaries. -- DJR]
The Conference took decisions on the most important questions of the working-class movement -- the tasks of the Party in connection with the new revolutionary upsurge and the growth of the strike movement, the building of the underground organisation, the work of the Social-Democratic Duma group, the insurance campaign, the Party press, the national Social-Democratic organisations, the struggle against liquidationism and the unity of the party of the proletariat.
The decisions of the Conference played an important part in strengthening the Party and its unity, in extending and consolidating the Party's contacts with the masses, and in the elaboration of new forms of Party work fitted to the mounting activity of the working-class movement. The Resolutions of the Cracow Conference were confirmed by the Central Committee of the R.S.D.L.P. [p. 109]
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Webinar - Public Health Ethics in Practice: Applying Frameworks to Cases
In this webinar, participants practised applying public health ethics frameworks to cases that were developed for discussion.
October 2015. Description.
Presenters: Michael Keeling and Olivier Bellefleur (NCCHPP)
Date: October 1 in English; September 24, 2015 in French.
Time: 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. (EDT) .
During this webinar, we introduced participants to:
The general nature and role of ethics frameworks in public health,
Summary versions of two public health ethics frameworks, and
Cases (drawn from public health and related to healthy public policy) for deliberation using those frameworks.
Public Health Ethics in Practice: Applying Frameworks to Cases
A big part of this webinar was focused on a more in-depth application of a framework to a case. Participants had the opportunity to both see and contribute to applying a framework to identify the ethical implications that arise, and to deliberate towards a decision about what to do.
For participants who are less familiar with public health ethics, we recommended watching this 15-minute narrated web presentation before the PowerPoint or the recording of the webinar. In it, we introduce and contextualize public health ethics.
Post-script:
During the webinar participants posed several excellent questions, more than we could address during the hour. We think that they may be of general interest so we have selected five and written short responses below. Two of these are translated from the original questions in French. All of questions and comments made during the webinar are accessible in the chat box in the recorded version, available through the link above. Thanks to everyone for your active engagement.
“Sometimes situations arise that demand relatively quick responses. Developing a logic model often takes too long so instead we quickly use our usual ethical decision making tool. Is this appropriate?” [Translation from Fr.]
The decision-making context and the time that is available for ethical reflection and deliberation will clearly influence the type of tools that will be chosen for use in a particular situation. During our presentation, we used a very simple logic model in an effort to make our understanding of the intervention's intended functioning more explicit. We used it to help us to think about the intervention's efficacy as well as to see what ethical issues might arise during the different steps of the intervention. The logic model is a complementary tool that we find useful, even when we develop it very rapidly and in a rudimentary way to show the basic chain of events leading to the intended effects. That said, we do not know of any ethics frameworks that require one to use such a logic model, and we certainly do not want to give anyone the impression that it is necessary to construct a logic model to analyze the ethical issues in a case. Thus, to respond more directly to your question, if your decision-making aid or tool helps you arrive at the most informed decision possible in a time-constrained situation, we would say use it and don't cut short the time you have available for thinking and deliberating by adding another tool or element to the decision-making process.
“When considering this framework, it has a strong ‘flowchart-y' aspect to it, quite similar to that of an algorithm. Can you really argue that a framework is not an algorithm?” [translation]
On different occasions during the webinar we mentioned that frameworks are not algorithms and that they must not be treated as such. That said, frameworks can certainly give one that impression when they propose a series of questions or principles to consider, often highly structured in order or as a series of steps. Some are still more directive as to how one is to resolve tensions that arise between principles or values. But – unlike an algorithm, a framework does not show you, by itself, the “right” decision to make. Frameworks are just tools that can serve as ethical guides to highlight issues, to help with thinking and debate. Our position is that what is most necessary is a critical perspective that can serve as a lens to thinking and deliberation, as well as a broad sense of why you are conducting an ethical analysis in order to drive the process; frameworks can help with these but cannot replace them.
“I found the 6th question in the framework [proposed by Kass] quite interesting. Would you agree that defining the benefits and burdens of the program would require much community input? If so how would you use this framework to balance diverging perspectives from the community?”
The 6th question of Kass' 2001 ethics framework is: “How can the benefits and burdens of a program be fairly balanced?” Within the framework, community input is explicitly called for when it comes to determining if the program presents a balance of benefits for the burdens imposed that is right for, and according to, the community affected by the program. Balancing benefits and burdens is certainly a difficult task, but it is crucial. Since the right balance may vary according to the values held by the community, the framework calls for equitable and democratic processes to answer this question. But, interestingly, the framework does not (at least not explicitly) call for community input when it comes to determining what those benefits are burdens are. The benefits are described in terms of “public health goals” and are assessed primarily in terms of the effectiveness of the program (questions 1 and 2). The burdens are mostly characterized as four types of risks (privacy/confidentiality, liberty/self-determination, justice, and individuals' health) that should be minimized (questions 3 and 4). Benefits and burdens should also be fairly distributed (question 5). If time and resources allow, the framework could be used to find out how the members of the community would answer all of those questions. There do not seem to be any theoretical reasons against doing this. It would probably help to identify unintended benefits and burdens, as well as differing or conflicting perspectives within the community. This, in turn, could help find ways to maximize the benefits and minimize the burdens, as well as to evaluate and improve the fairness of the program.
“If we evaluate a program based on its ability to advance the community's conception of well-being, does public health have a role in changing that conception (leadership role of public health)?”
This question was raised while we were presenting Baum et al.'s (2007) ethics framework which uses the community's own conception of well-being as the criterion for evaluating the program's main result instead of a more objective criterion like health. This question is asking us to consider, for example, what the role of public health practitioners would be in promoting health as a value in a community where health was not that highly valued? How do we assess their advocacy role? There is no doubt that advocating for social norms and value changes can be an highly important role, but it could also raise specific ethical issues that would be discussed in what Gostin (2001)* called ethics for public health. In this paper, he distinguished the ethics in, of, and for public health. The kind of practical ethics that we did in the webinar would fall more under the category of ethics in public health, that is, applied ethics relating to issues that arise in practice. The ethics of public health, related to professionalism and professional conduct, concerns codes of ethics specific to public health professions. Ethics for public health deals with the ethical issues raised in advocating for the values or the moral aims of public health, like healthy communities and social justice. To our knowledge, no framework has been developed specifically for advocacy in public health ethics, or the ethics for public health.
*Gostin, L. O. (2001). Public health, ethics and human rights: A tribute to the late Jonathan Mann. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 29, 121- 130.
“Do you have examples where it is required that a public health oriented ethical framework be applied to decision making?”
No, we don't. We are not aware of examples outside of ethics committees or ethics review boards in the domain of research, and we cannot think of any specifically mandated use of an ethics framework for decision-making in public health. If anyone has an example of this to share, we would sure like to hear about it. It would be interesting to hear if there are contexts similar to mandated environmental reviews or mandated health impact assessments, but relating to ethical review of a public health program, policy or legislation.
Should you have any questions, please contact us at: olivier.bellefleur@inspq.qc.ca or michael.keeling@inspq.qc.ca .
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Court Theatre design to move to next stage
Central city | 3 Dec 2020
The design of The Court Theatre’s new central city home will move to the next stage early next year.
At today’s Finance and Performance Committee, councillors agreed to begin preliminary design – the second stage of the design process – in January.
It comes after Christchurch City Council and The Court Theatre last week revealed the concept design of the new theatre, in the city’s Performing Arts Precinct. Concept design is the first stage of the design process and began in July this year.
The new Court Theatre will be built on the corner of Colombo and Gloucester streets. It will include a 360-seat main playhouse auditorium; a 130-seat studio theatre, where children’s and family shows can be held; and front-of-house facilities.
Construction of the new Court Theatre is expected to begin in early 2022 and it is due to open in late 2023.
Design revealed for The Court Theatre
Facilities | 27 Nov 2020
Court Theatre set to stage central city comeback
Art & creativity | 8 Jul 2020
Plans for Court Theatre's new central city home move forward
Central city , Facilities | 28 Mar 2019
Design unveiled for The Court Theatre
Central city, Facilities | 28 Mar 2019
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megan@michaelhughesconsulting.com
Group Courses Update
We are offering group courses which are designed for those who wish to set up a business on eBay or have recently set up a business on eBay. To view course content of our 3 day group course please click here.
Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 4 people per course at a cost of £750 per person for the full three days. Lunch and refreshments will be provided throughout the course. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
For more information or to book a place please phone Darach on 028 7083 4600 or email megan@michaelhughesconsulting.com
Michael Hughes Consulting
49 The Promenade
Michael Hughes, our CEO and Founder, was the first eBay trained and accredited Education Specialist on the island of Ireland, the first 5 star instructor (the highest ranking possible) in the UK or Ireland and has been an eBay “Instructor of the Week worldwide”. He has helped a number of NI companies achieve turnover of over £1 million per year on eBay with some turning over more than £5 million per year. He also mentors companies trading on Amazon and provides strategic assistance to them.
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Pete Drummond
BBC RADIO 2 August 26th 2003
The Radio Revolutionaries was a BBC Radio 2 special programme.
Former pirate DJ Pete Drummond presents part 1 of a two-part tribute to pirate radio, which broadcast its first threat to mainstream radio from the continent in the 30s.
The documentary was broadcast at 8.30pm on August 26th 2003 and was recorded via the Astra satellite.
BBC RADIO 2 September 2nd 2003
Pirate DJ Pete Drummond presents the second in a two-part tribute to pirate radio. Finally outlawed in 1967, the golden age seemed to be over. But the pirates’ legacy was the establishment of Radio 1 and the birth of independent local radio.
Producer Nick St George
The documentary was broadcast at 8.30pm on September 2nd 2003 and was recorded via the Astra satellite.
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Tag: Friday the 13th The Final Chapter
Seven Long Nights At Camp Blood: Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
There probably should have been “My ass!” after the final chapter subtitle, as I don’t know anyone who believed the cash cow was being taken to the slaughter house. Like every good exploitation flick, the F13 movies were cheap and made a good profit. Who would want to stop that? Bueller?
With Steve Miner off to do other things, it was time for a new director, and exploitation movie director extraordinaire, Joseph Zito was brought in. Fresh off The Prowler, an underrated grindsploitation classic, Zito does the best he can, and while Final Chapter is a cut above (see what I did there?) the third entry, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily great, or even good. It is however different, and certainly the best looking of the four. It also sports some well known names, including Peter Barton (who had completed work on Nightmare with Linda Blair), Corey Feldman (who would go on to film The Goonies the following year, thus keeping him from appearing in the sequel as the main character), and of course Crispi Glover, the Deney Terrio of the F13 franchise.
Much like Part 3, the fourth movie starts almost immediately after the previous. In fact the film opens on the investigation at the cabins, and the ambulances carrying away the dead bodies, and Jason. I should mention, prior to that, is a catching up of what has occurred in the previous movies, you know, because the back story is so rich and detailed it’s easy to get confused. It’s pointless filler, but with the running time at just about 90 minutes, can see why they threw it in. Regardless, we arrive at the morgue with Jason’s body, and the morgue attendant, a horny and serial sexual harasser tries to convince a nurse to spend some time in the cold room. She does this initially, however when Jason’s arm falls off the table, she loses her interest in boning the doc and heads off to do her job. Sadly for the doc, Jason rises and nearly decapitates him with a bone saw. I couldn’t think of a nicer guy to deserve such treatment.
Obviously the nurse is next to get it, and Jason takes off again for the woods. We then meet this installments fresh meat for the grinder. On the way to Crystal Lake, they see the headstone for Mrs. Voorhees on the side of the road-because where else would you bury the mother of a serial killer? It should have one of those natio0nal park, Views of Interest next to it. If you thought Peter Barton and Crispin Glover would be part of this group, you’re correct. Crispin’s character Jimmy is sort of an awkward loner (totally against type), who hangs with his best friend Ted (played by Larry Monoson of Last American Virgin infamy). Ted is the joker of the group, Barton is the jock, and there’s another guy who is so boring, I forget he’s even in the movie.
Once they get to the cabin, we then meet their neighbors a family of three, Mom, daughter and son. Corey Feldman is the son who has a keen interest in horror movies and makeup. The next day, the teens next door decide to go skinny dipping because, really, we haven’t seen enough boobs yet. While that is going on Tommy and his sister breakdown in their old POS which is mandatory for living in the woods. They run into a hiker that sis gets the hots for and they bring him back to the house. And what’s Jason doing during all this? I don’t know, they never show what he does in his downtime. (aside from the awful remake in 2009 which I will not review, I love you all but not that much.) Needless to say that since there’s going to be a party that night, you know Jason’s gonna be there to bust a move, furniture, bones, pretty much everything.
At this party Crispin Glover proves he isn’t a dead fuck as his friend referred to him on the trip to the cabin. Ted, said friend, ends up getting high, and acquires a case of blue balls while watching some early 20th century porn. In all honesty I think that would have been more interesting to watch. One by one everyone gets killed, save for Tommy and his sister,
Part four has perhaps my favorite way of Jason being killed. It is so gruesome that even today it makes me squirm, despite the fact iut looks fake as hell. He gets a machete in the head, and when he falls it hits the handle and we see it sliding through his skull, nearly cutting it off. It’s a fantastic effect marred only by the fact that Jason’s makeup looks more like a pull over mask than anything else. Yes it’s suitably deformed, that doesn’t make it scary though
In spite of the subtitle, and as I said in the beginning, there was no way this would have been the final movie, as the series was way too profitable for Paramount. The ending was setting up Tommy to take over for Freddy, and that could have happened had Corey Feldman not had to film The Goonies and Gremlins. Let’s be thankful to the powers that be that, that never happened. What came next was so, so much worse, but that’s getting ahead of myself.
The parts of F13 Part 4 are greater than the sum. There are some good scenes, such as Jason’s kill, and of course Crispin Glover’s spastic dancing. Yet the layout of Camp Crystal changes as much as Jason’s makeup-there’s no continuity in either of them really, and where did the second house come from all of a sudden? The world may never know. Needless nitpicking aside, Part 4 isn’t the worst of the bunch to this point, but that’s really not saying much.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter get’s 5/10 machetes
Continue reading October 25, 2017 by secolbertLeave a comment
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Stabbing During Attempted Robbery Leaves Man With Life-Threatening Injuries
by Bay City News | April 11, 2016 11:41 am | 4
A man was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries Friday evening after he was stabbed during an attempted robbery in the San Francisco’s Mission District. At 6:44…
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The San Francisco medical examiner’s office has identified a British tourist who died last week from stab wounds he suffered during a robbery as 48-year-old…
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A man was stabbed with a kitchen knife in San Francisco’s Mission District Wednesday afternoon when he tried to help a woman who was being…
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Homicide Victim Stabbed While Trying to Break Up Fight
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A man was stabbed Thursday afternoon during an attempted robbery in San Francisco’s Portola neighborhood. At 2:11 p.m., police responded to a stabbing near the…
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A woman suffered major injuries when a man stabbed her Monday night in San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza, police said. At 8:45 p.m., police responded…
Tenderloin Resident Beat When He Intervenes In Tenant-Landlord Dispute
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Man Stabbed In Tenderloin Fight Dies Of Injuries
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A San Francisco man stabbed in the Tenderloin last week has died and homicide investigators are looking for witnesses to the fight that led to…
Police Identify Suspect Who Allegedly Slashed CHP Officer’s Throat
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Police have identified the suspect who allegedly slashed a California Highway Patrol officer’s throat in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood this morning as Noel…
Man Stabbed During Mission District Fight
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Two Injured in Mission District Bus Stop Stabbing
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Man Stabbed In Mission District Wednesday Morning
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A man was arrested for stabbing another man Wednesday morning in San Francisco’s Mission District, police said. Around 11 a.m., the 51-year old victim was…
Woman Stabbed Inside Church By Transient Wednesday Night
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Man Stabbed In The Neck While Sleeping At Mission District Gas Station
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Suspect Arrested After Woman in Wheelchair Attacked and Stabbed
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Man Suffers Life-Threatening Injuries Following Mission District Stabbing
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Woman Suspected of Stabbing Boy on Muni Pleads Not Guilty
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A 27-year-old woman suspected of stabbing a 10-year-old boy on a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus traveling through the city’s Bayview District on Thursday afternoon…
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Man Stabbed with Screwdriver in Mission District
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A man requested money from another man and then stabbed him with a screwdriver when he refused in San Francisco’s Mission District late Tuesday night,…
Man Stabbed in Leg, Cut in Hand, Head in Tenderloin
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A man was stabbed in his leg and cut on his head and hand early this morning in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, police said. Shortly…
SFPD Arrest Suspect Accused of Stabbing Neighbors
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A male neighbor accused of stabbing a 70-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man early Wednesday morning in San Francisco’s Silver Terrace neighborhood has been arrested,…
BART Station Agent Stabbed Outside Powell Station, Suspect Arrested
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A BART station agent was stabbed in the abdomen on Friday afternoon outside the Powell Street BART Station in San Francisco, according to BART officials….
Bayview Stabbing Victim Refuses to Cooperate With Investigation
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A man who was stabbed in the abdomen and thigh on Thursday night in San Francisco’s Bayview District refused to cooperate with the investigation, police…
Man Injured in SoMa Box Cutter Stabbing
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Man Stabbed on Muni Bus Refuses to Cooperate with Investigators
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A man who was stabbed in the neck while riding a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus in the city’s South of Market neighborhood on Saturday…
Man on Van Ness Stabbed Multiple Times, Suspect at Large
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A man was stabbed multiple times during an altercation early this morning on Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco’s Civic Center, a police spokesman said….
Oakland Man Arrested on Suspicion of Stabbing Man During Tenderloin Fight
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A man suffered a punctured lung and wounds to his arms and back during a stabbing Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, police said….
Woman Stabs Man With Scissors at Mexican Restaurant in Tenderloin
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Woman With Box Cutter Stabs Woman in Bayview
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A woman with a box cutter stabbed another woman on Monday afternoon in San Francisco’s Bayview District, police said. At about 3 p.m., two women…
Woman Stabbed in Stomach Expected to Survive
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A woman who was stabbed in the stomach in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood Sunday night was recovering in the hospital this afternoon, a police officer…
Woman Stabs Man Several Times Aboard Muni Bus
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A man was critically injured when he was stabbed in a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus in the city’s Mission District this morning, according to…
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A man who allegedly stabbed a woman in an apartment in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood Thursday evening was later arrested in the community…
Man Stabbed in Leg During Tenderloin Fight
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Man Stabbed, Robbed Outside Bar in Mission District
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A man was stabbed in the chest and robbed by a group of male suspects after leaving a bar in San Francisco’s Mission District early…
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Solange On Theater
Covering a rainbow of theater from Broadway to the classroom.
Drunk with theater
A quick stay in London and a stop with the 16-year-old (Flo) and her 18-year-old best guy friend (Max) to see another production by the Punchdrunk Theatre Company -- The Drowned Man:A Hollywood Fable.
Last December, we'd seen Punchdrunk's Sleep No More in New York and were wildly enthusiastic (as you can read here) about it. This time, Max and I had a more tepid reaction, while Flo had a better experience, which is a kind of validation of Punchdrunk's approach.
Like last time, we audience members were masked and followed various story lines throughout a large building (an unused mail sorting facility) decorated according to the story setting. This one was the fictional Temple Studios, a film facility that mysteriously closed in the early 1960s.
We were handed cards with storylines involving two couples plagued by infidelity - in one, the man kills the woman, in the other, it's the opposite. Our group of three split up and we each witnessed scenes that were generally wordless, using dance and atmospheric music to play out the deadly shadowbox of love, lust, jealousy and fame-chasing.
Living in a trailer on the outskirts of Hollywood.
On a California beach near the sign of an abandoned motel.
Later, at a pub, Max and I said we thought Sleep No More, based primarily on Macbeth, was more effective -- more variety in the scenes, a stronger sense of plot, better identification of the characters, less confusion for the audience.
But Flo, while agreeing that character identification could have been better, had seen some scenes we had missed and had a much more positive view of the production.
Five hundred audience members - 500 different plays. Still a brilliant concept.
Posted by Solange De Santis at 7:47 PM No comments:
A universe of grace
It's spring dance recital time again. The following was originally published in the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper:
At first, to my shame, I thought it was a joke.
I was sitting in a high school auditorium on a Saturday morning with a cup of takeout coffee and the newspaper, half-watching as one class after another of little girls pranced around on stage, rehearsing their ballet, tap or jazz routines for the yearend dance recital a week hence. Waiting for the caffeine to kick in, I glanced at my watch, waiting for my daughter's group to appear.
Then, amidst the swirl of sparkly white tutus and pink satin hair scrunchies, a class of about eight girls entered from stage left dressed as nuns. The costumes were quite clever – black tights, black habits ending at the knees, black wimples with white inserts on the foreheads – and one of them was pushing another in a wheelchair. “Oh, how amusing; she’s going to hop up and dance at some point,” I thought. A split second and I realized she really was a kid in a wheelchair.
The music started and, again, it was fun – the old Little Peggy March hit "I Will Follow Him," an ode to a boyfriend given a new twist by the good “sisters,” similar to the number in the film Sister Act. The choreography was a little bit ballet, a little bit Broadway, but not disrespectful of anything, sincerely performed with just a twinkle in the eye.
Of course, the kid I couldn’t take my eyes off was the one in the wheelchair. She seemed to have a normal-sized torso (the girls looked to be around 11 or 12) and clearly was of normal intelligence (you could see it in her face), but her legs had not grown and were tiny things in her chair.
How could this be, in a dance class? Even in an age of wheelchair basketball, Paralympics and access ramps, what I was seeing exploded any conventional idea of what a dance class is or should be. I couldn’t imagine such a kid participating when I took ballet lessons as a child in the early 1960s. I don’t think it would have occurred to anyone and if it did occur to the parents, they probably would have been discouraged, been told it just “wasn’t appropriate” or would “hold the other kids back” or, worse, “hold the poor child up to ridicule.”
The newspaper forgotten, I watched in wonder. When the girls did arm movements, she moved her arms with theirs. They delicately folded hands over hearts on the line “I will follow him;” she did the same. They did an arabesque, one arm reaching heavenward, the other back and down, on “wherever he may be;” she did also. When their line turned, she turned her chair.
They moved toward the center of the stage; she wheeled to be with them. They treated her no differently and gave no sign there was anything unusual about their group.
Since I’m a journalist, I thought about how I would report it as a newspaper story. I would have done the usual things. I would have talked to the kid in the wheelchair, made sure of the correct spelling of her name, the exact term for her disorder. I would have talked to her about what it felt like to be onstage, about whose idea it was for her to join a dance class, how the experience was going for her.
I would have talked to the class teacher, asking her how she choreographed for eight pairs of legs and two wheels. I would have interviewed the dance school director, asking whether this was the first time she’d had a disabled kid in a class and how she thought about it. I would have talked to the parents and a couple of other girls in the class.
But I didn’t. I was content to let it unfold, to experience the courage of the kid in the chair, the dignity of the entire group.
They ended downstage in typical Broadway pose, several down in front, the others ranged behind them, arms out. She wheeled her way into the finale, right on the beat, and it was over. Desultory applause from the parents scattered around the auditorium and off they went.
She wheeled herself offstage, leaving me to wonder how it is that we skim along in life unawares and suddenly in the midst of the most utterly ordinary event, there it is – a universe of love and mercy, a planet of grace and an expansion of all the possibilities of being human.
Posted by Solange De Santis at 9:39 AM No comments:
Riding a Broadway 'Bullet'
Armonk, N.Y.’s fledgling Broadway producers, Jed and Bronna Canaan, apparently still haven’t learned that if you’re going to invest in a show, you need to see the show first. For their second venture, Bullets Over Broadway, based on the Woody Allen movie, Jed saw a read-through of the musical, but only after parting with their funds.
However, this model seems to be working for them, as their first adventure in producing, Matilda, is a nightly sellout at the Shubert Theatre since opening last April. Bullets Over Broadway opens on April 10 and is currently in previews. While Matilda had already been playing in London before its Broadway opening, Bullets was developed in New York under the direction and choreography of five-time Tony-winner Susan Stroman.
It’s the story of young playwright David Shayne (played by Zach Braff) who hires a mobster’s actress girlfriend (Heléne York) in order to get financing for his play. He’s soon involved with alcoholic leading lady Helen Sinclair (Marin Mazzie, in the role for which Dianne Wiest won an Oscar) and finds Cheech the gangster (Nick Cordero) an unsung but talented writer.
Jed and Bronna Canaan at the Tony Awards
For the rest of this story, please click here: AllAboutArmonk.
Solange De Santis
I am an arts journalist who takes blog readers into a wide variety of theater - from Broadway to schools, from off-Broadway to play readings. I also write plays, direct, design sound and play the piano. I have been hopelessly, absurdly, illogically in love with theater since my first Broadway show, the original production of My Fair Lady. And yes, I was a mere child at the time. From this blog, I hope you will gain news, insight, smiles, food for thought, opinions and a sense of why theater is one of the glories of being alive.
Simple theme. Theme images by rami_ba. Powered by Blogger.
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TOWARDS UNITY FOR HEALTH IN MEDICAL EDUCATION: a case from the Philippines
The call for “Health for All” articulated in the Alma Ata Charter is a formidable goal but with great potential for triggering convergence towards “Unity for Health”. But 20 years after this charter’s inception, the need for health reforms convergence bringing medical schools on board is still in want. Although medical schools have been highly criticized as isolated “ivory towers”, lacking in proactive contributions to society’s health needs, academic institutions actually have the potential to address the complex issues of health unity and therefore can create synergies between the community, health professionals, health managers, and policy makers towards ‘Unity for Health”. We report here, the convergence of various stakeholders in establishing an innovative medical school in the Southern Philippines.
Health in our Region:
Nearly one third of the Philippines 72 million people live on Mindanao Island. Zamboanga City (pop.0.5 million) is the hub for services in Western Mindanao and Sulu Archipelago (pop.3.5million), one of the most under served areas of the Southern Pacific. Seventy percent of the people live in rural densely populated shorelines of the islands. Travel is predominantly by boat, access to inland areas is mostly by foot.
Neonatal tetanus, measles, typhoid, cholera, dengue fever, tuberculosis, malaria, diarrhea and respiratory infections are major problems. The fertility rate is about 5 and infant mortality is more than 75 per 1000 births. Safe water, balanced nutrition, prenatal care and full immunization remain long term health goals. There are 28 medical schools in the Philippines but none in this region and few physicians are willing to move to this under resourced area.
Planning a Medical school for unity of health and development:
Against this background and aware of the challenge of starting a new school with very limited resource, consultations between the community, the health professionals, and the academic stakeholders were initiated. As a result of these series of intensive intersectoral meeting, a new, private, not for profit medical school was proposed. This was to be a
collaborative efforts between a local university to share the use of teaching facilities (library, modular rooms) for free; the local doctors as volunteer faculty; the community for the student’s community based experiential learning including their entry selection; the local businessmen to do fund raising support; the local Health Department for financial assistance on countryside health researches. A board of 15 members composed of 3 academicians, 5 civic leaders, 7 doctors was established to oversee its governance.
The next issues was to develop an educational program to select and train a new kind of professional: proficient in advanced methods of managing disease, but also with competence to improve the health in the community. We contacted leaders in medical education at WHO (Dr. Charles Boelen), in the U.K. (Dr. Charles Engels), USA (Dr. Arthur Kauffman), Canada (Dr. Clarence Guenter), New Zealand (Dr. John F. Smith) and (Dr. Reynaldo Joson) Philippines. We heard a common call for medical education reform.
Most schools emphasized learning the disciplinary subjects rather than improved health in a community. Students in teaching hospitals worked with patients suffering from complex medical problems. Clinical instruction emphasized complex disorders more than common community health problems. This prepared students to be specialists and to practice hospital medicine in urban centers. (We perform kidney/heart transplants in Manila, but 80% of the rural people of Western Mindanao have no health services). This emphasis on the sick largely ignored disease prevention, health promotion, community development and the social and economic determinants of health. We did not find a model that was ideally suited to our situation, so we crated one.
The Beginnings:
In 1993, we held development seminars on weekends for volunteer faculty, discussing the psychology of learning, problem solving, new methods of evaluating students and curriculum design. The school opened in June 1994 and since then students and faculty learned and modified our new programs together. Mentors from Canada and New Zealand assisted with the faculty development, curriculum planning and some students learning experiences.
Piece by piece we developed an integrated curriculum, with problem based learning, community oriented and based education and competency based evaluations. All basic science and clinical learning is integrated into the problem based approach. Three educational strands are intertwined: a working problem strand, a population strand, and a professional skills strand.
As early as first year, students are exposed to patients both in clinics and communities where the focus on the practice of medicine as applied to a group or population is emphasized (community based). About 18 months are spent studying and working under some supervision in remote rural communities.
As we progressed, two additional dimensions became central in our planning:
i) Faculty Development. We recognized the need to train our faculty , graduates of traditional medical schools, with the tools for this new curriculum. This led to a faculty development program with the option of earning the Master of Medical Educational Degree.
ii) Career Options. Our students needed a career option to medical specialties, which could equip and qualify them to field positions in the Department of Health. This lead to an optional Master of Public Health tract for the fifth (first post graduate) year. This MD-MPH has also become attractive to some members of faculty.
We have enrolled about 15-25 students each year depending on the quality of the applicants. We have seen many changes in some communities where the students work. Ten graduates of the first class (1998) passed the examinations of the Philippine Medical Board in 1999, and majority are now working as physicians in remote regions, equipped in skills of community development.
Dr. Fortunato Cristobal, a Pediatrician, is the founding Dean of Zamboanga Medical School Foundation; ADZ, LRC Bldg, La Purisima Street, Zamboanga City, Philippines 7000.
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A Conversation with Mayor Curtatone
Posted on April 17 2013 by Elyse Andrews
The Beat is nearly a year old and since I started it, I’ve interviewed dozens of people around Somerville from all walks of life. And though they may be very different, almost every one has something in common: they love Somerville and they love Mayor Joe Curtatone.
When people first started bringing his name up in interviews without any prompting, I didn’t think much of it. But then it happened again and again and again and, well, you get the idea. I’ve been a fan of the mayor as long as I’ve lived here, but hearing how important he is from so many different people made me really want to meet him.
I’d seen Mayor Curtatone at various events around the city and he is just as energetic, warm and genuine one-on-one as I expected. He’s a busy man, no doubt, yet he took a good chuck of time out of a recent Monday to chat with me about all things Somerville. I really wanted to know what he thinks about Somerville, how it’s grown and changed since he was a boy here and what his hopes are for the city’s future.
“Somerville had become a place you just pass through, now people are buying houses here,” Mayor Curtatone said. “The people living here make it a great place to live, work, play and raise a family.”
Mayor Curtatone grew up in the Prospect Hill neighborhood and has seen the city transform during the last few decades.
“We were proud of who we were, but people wanted to get out. It’s been quite an evolution,” Mayor Curtatone said. “We had a complex about ourselves. We thought Somerville couldn’t be more than what it was.”
His chief of staff, Janice Delory, also grew up in Somerville and echoed the mayor’s sentiment. “We’ve come a long way. We had a terrible inferiority complex. There was a time when it wasn’t a safe place, but it had its pluses for sure.”
Mayor Curtatone has held Somerville’s highest office for a decade and was an alderman for eight years before that. It was his experience as an alderman, as a youth athletics coach and working for his family’s nursing home that led him to run for mayor. He wanted to do more for the both the youth and elderly populations in Somerville.
“It’s the most meaingful work I’ve ever done or will ever do,” Mayor Curtatone said. “You know you can make an impact. You can participate in some way in making [the city] better.”
During his time as mayor, Curtatone has worked to reduce the rates of childhood obesity in Somerville through the Shape Up program. And he’s encouraged the urban agriculture boom through new ordinances and programs that allow people to keep backyard chickens and train others to grow food in small spaces.
Mayor Curtatone believes in putting new systems in place that affect change, like making it safer to walk and bike in Somerville and making sure that everyone in the city has access to healthy food.
“We took a community-based approach,” Mayor Curtatone said of tackling the issue of childhood obesity. “It’s an exercise in social change. We’ve changed the environment to drive the outcomes we want.”
Somerville has undergone many changes since Mayor Curtatone grew up here and the evolution continues today, with many new restaurants and businesses popping up in all corners of the city. And while it’s clear the mayor wants the city to grow, he wants the change to be beneficial to residents.
“As we grow, we grow in a sustainable way and thrive. We do not want to push out our soul and lose who we are,” Mayor Curtatone said. “When we grow, we grow together.”
To that end, the mayor has worked to bring back and maintain some Somerville traditions, like the Fourth of July fireworks, the Memorial Day parade and the Sunsetters performances, while encouraging new events throughout the city, like PorchFest, the Fluff Festival and ArtBeat.
“We want to continue to create opportunities to express ourselves,” Mayor Curtatone said. “There’s so much energy and such a positive vibe. There’s a small town feel to it.”
Images in post courtesy of the city of Somerville.
This entry was posted in Community, Features and tagged Artbeat, City Hall, City of Somerville, fireworks, Fluff Festival, Mayor Joe Curtatone, Memorial Day parade, PorchFest, Shape Up Somerville, SLF, Somerville Local First, urban agriculture. Bookmark the permalink.
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Schwarzesbrett » run late in the fourth quarter lifted the Sherbrooke V
Spiegelwelt » Lobby » Schwarzesbrett » run late in the fourth quarter lifted the Sherbrooke V
#1 | run late in the fourth quarter lifted the Sherbrooke V 12.11.2019 09:48
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Tampa, Florida and Ottawa – Carlyle responded, “I just w » « Gomez had reached after getting hit by a pitch
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Julia Alvarez By (author)
FICTION / Hispanic & Latino
FICTION / Family Life / General
- Release: 2021/04/06
A Time Magazine Must-Read Book of 2020
A Most-Anticipated Book of the Year: O, The Oprah Magazine * The New York Times * The Washington Post *Vogue * Bustle * BuzzFeed * Ms. magazine * The Millions * Huffington Post * PopSugar * The Lily * Goodreads * Library Journal * LitHub * Electric Literature
The first adult novel in almost fifteen years by the internationally bestselling author of In the Time of the Butterflies and How the García Girls Lost Their Accents
“A stunning work of art that reminds readers Alvarez is, and always has been, in a class of her own.” —Elizabeth Acevedo, National Book Award-winning author of the New York Times bestseller The Poet X
Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of Afterlife, has had the rug pulled out from under her. She has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts: her bighearted but unstable sister disappears, and Antonia returns home one evening to find a pregnant, undocumented teenager on her doorstep. Antonia has always sought direction in the literature she loves—lines from her favorite authors play in her head like a soundtrack—but now she finds that the world demands more of her than words.
Afterlife is a compact, nimble, and sharply droll novel. Set in this political moment of tribalism and distrust, it asks: What do we owe those in crisis in our families, including—maybe especially—members of our human family? How do we live in a broken world without losing faith in one another or ourselves? And how do we stay true to those glorious souls we have lost?
A Best Book of 2020: Kirkus Reviews * BookPage * Washington Independent Review of Books * Chicago Public Library
A Kirkus Reviews Best 2020 Fiction To Get Your Book Club Talking
A Latinidad Best Latinx Book of 2020
An AudioFile Magazine Best Audiobook of 2020
“A gorgeously intimate portrait of an immigrant writer and recent widow carving out hope in the face of personal and political grief.”
"[Alvarez] reaps the fruits of her earlier literary efforts . . . Afterlife is anchored not just in easy humor and sharp observation, but in her fine-tuned sense for the intimacies of immigrant sisterhood.”
“Resonant . . . The novel, set in 2019, poses questions about American immigration and mental-health policies, and it is a moving exploration of the ways we inadvertently fail the people we love."
“A sweeping tour de force . . . One of the most significant Latina writers of her time.”
“A beautifully written novel with a timely theme.”
"Alvarez probes the contours of private moral decisions that echo our national conversation, which excludes migrant communities from claiming their contributions to our country. Afterlife will resonate with many readers in this era of social distance and anticipatory mourning."
"Alvarez crafts a moving portrait of the lengths people will go to help one another in moments of uncertainty."
“More than a few of Julia Alvarez’s peers must be shaking their heads that she can take almost 15 years off from writing adult fiction and come back with a novel as striking and lovely as Afterlife . . . [A] stunning novel.”
"Full of unexpected delights . . . [a] sunburst of a novel about family, immigration, love and moral choices.”
—The San Francisco Chronicle
“Skillfully executed, Afterlife is a compassionately political look at how we view the workers whom we gladly exploit, the immigration crisis, what we owe ourselves, and what we owe each other as a community. [Afterlife] displays Alvarez's poetic hyper-awareness of lyricism and word choice, and her ability to create moments that are simultaneously poignant and hilarious showcase this mastery.”
"The bestselling Dominican American author of In the Time of the Butterflies tackles weighty issues with a nice touch of humor in her new novel (which is on the shorter side, for anyone not in the mood for a big read)."
“A stunning work of art that reminds readers Alvarez is, and always has been, in a class of her own.”
—Elizabeth Acevedo, National Book Award-winning author of the New York Times bestseller The Poet X
“First, let’s acknowledge the fact that a new novel by Julia Alvarez . . .is major news. Second, and more importantly, her new adult novel is really good!
—BuzzFeed, "24 New Books We Couldn't Put Down"
"[A] remarkable and nuanced novel exploring immigration, humanity and compassion in a bitter and fractured world.”
“Afterlife is a succinct and powerful novel about human connection. Alvarez is a writer in full command of her form, reminding the world of her vast and venerable talent.”
—Shelf Awareness, starred review
“Alvarez’s prose is magnetic as she delves into the intricacies of sisterhood, immigration, and grief, once again proving her mastery as a storyteller. This stirring novel reminds readers that actions (big and small) have a lasting impact—so they should always act with love.”
—Library Journal, starred review
“A funny, moving novel of loss and love . . . Alvarez writes with knowing warmth about how well sisters know how to push on each other's bruises and how powerfully they can lift each other up. In this bighearted novel, family bonds heal a woman's grief.”
"A charming novel of immigration, loss, and love."
—Booklist, starred review
“In one moving scene after another, Alvarez dramatizes the sustaining power of stories, whether for immigrants in search of a better life or for widows surviving a spouse’s death. True to its title, Afterlife cannily explores what it means to go on after a loss . . .This is a beautiful book.”
—BookPage, starred review
“Alvarez’s poignant return to adult fiction . . . raises powerful questions about the care people owe themselves and others . . . Alvarez blends light humor with deep empathy toward her characters, offering a convincing portrait of an older woman’s self discovery. This will satisfy her fans and earn new ones.”
“The In the Time of the Butterflies icon makes a satisfying and long-awaited return to adult fiction with this kind tale of grief and sisterhood. …deeply poignant."
“A tart, lovely book about rising to the challenge of understanding and accepting others.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Spring 2020’s Best Books"
"This timely novel explores how we’re all responsible for the world we live in, and how our lives can and must begin again."
—St. Louis Magazine
"It’s a slim book that begins in tragedy and searches for a way out."
—The San Antonio Express-News
“The queen is back with the exact novel we need in this fraught era. A powerful testament of witness and humanity written with audacity and authority.”
—Luis Alberto Urrea, bestselling author of The House of Broken Angels
“Ravishing and heartfelt, Afterlife explores the complexities of familial devotion and tragedy against a backdrop of a world in crisis, and the ways in which we struggle to maintain hope, faith, compassion and love. This is Julia Alvarez at her best and most personal.”
—Jonathan Santlofer, author of The Widower's Notebook
“From the very beginning, Julia Alvarez has proven herself a wise and funny writer with a sharp eye and ear for the joys and obligations of love and family. Now, in Afterlife, she applies her gifts to last things, as her Antonia struggles to move beyond the consolations of poetry and embrace the buzzing, blooming confusion of the world again.”
—Stewart O’Nan, author of Emily, Alone and Henry, Himself
“This novel gives the immigration debate a deeply human face, chronicling the story of a recently bereaved retiree who takes in a pregnant and undocumented teenager.”
—Vogue, "41 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2020"
"A book that strives to elevate from the anger and tribalism of our times, Afterlife wonders aloud about the obligations we owe to our human family."
—Goodreads, "33 Highly Anticipated Books of 2020"
Julia Alvarez left the Dominican Republic for the United States in 1960 at the age of ten. She is the author of six novels, three books of nonfiction, three collections of poetry, and eleven books for children and young adults. She has taught and mentored writers in schools and communities across America and, until her retirement in 2016, was a writer in residence at Middlebury College. Her work has garnered wide recognition, including a Latina Leader Award in Literature from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the Hispanic Heritage Award in Literature, the Woman of the Year by Latina magazine, and inclusion in the New York Public Library’s program “The Hand of the Poet: Original Manuscripts by 100 Masters, from John Donne to Julia Alvarez.” In the Time of the Butterflies, with over one million copies in print, was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts for its national Big Read program, and in 2013 President Obama awarded Alvarez the National Medal of Arts in recognition of her extraordinary storytelling.
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Long Island Nets Have Dzanan Musa in Lineup With Brooklyn Out West
When the Long Island Nets opened their NBA G League season with a 114-105 win over the Westchester Knicks last Saturday, the influence of the Brooklyn Nets parent club was strongly in evidence.
Four Brooklyn roster members — two-way players Alan Williams and Theo Pinson, plus G League assigned rookies Dzanan Musa and Rodions Kurucs — were in the starting lineup. Brooklyn’s Caris LeVert, coaches Pablo Prigioni and Travon Bryant, and GM Sean Marks were on hand as spectators.
“Long Island is a valuable, valuable resource for us, and we’re going to use it,” said Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson. “We’re going to use it consistently, especially when we can’t practice or we have a full roster and those guys (Musa and Kurucs) can’t get playing time. We’ll send them to Long Island because it’s an invaluable tool for us. It’s a good opportunity for those guys to get better.”
Under the direction of first-year head coach Will Weaver, in his third year in the Brooklyn organization, the Long Island Nets play their second game of the season Thursday night at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum against the Capital City Go-Go, the affiliate of the Washington Wizards. The game will be broadcast live on YES Network.
With Brooklyn in the midst of a four-game road trip through its Tuesday, November 12 game at Minnesota, Musa is expected to be with Long Island at least through then. The 19-year-old scored 23 points on 10-of-22 shooting with five rebounds in his G League debut. The first-round draft pick also appeared in four games for Brooklyn before the Long Island season began.
“His game is really unique, which is why I think he’s a first-round draft pick,” said Weaver. “He’s massively versatile. At his size, his skill-set and vision are pretty unique. We’re trying to fit that into our team and help put him in position where he can be really successful, but every day you learn a new position where he can be really successful.”
Kurucs is traveling with Brooklyn, but Pinson and Williams are currently with Long Island. Pinson, the third rookie on the Brooklyn roster, is a 6-6 swingman out of North Carolina who brings a versatile skill set. He had 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists against Westchester.
The 6-foot-8, 265-pound Williams, who has an NBA career per 36 rebounding rate of 15.0 in 62 games over three seasons, had a monster game with 27 points and 21 rebounds, shooting 12-of-21 in 29 minutes.
“He’s physically dominating,” said Weaver. “He could be putting up 30 and 30. You watch the tape right now, a lot of the stuff he gets is just overpowering people. He’s got incredible touch. He’s got a motor that doesn’t stop and he’s got a real intellect that helps us on defense. He’s one of the best communicators on the team.
“On the offensive end, I think he’s going to grow like crazy. Right now he can score the ball and rebound the ball, but I think he can be one of the best passing big guys, not in the G League, but in the NBA.”
Aside from the two-way players or any other Brooklyn players on assignment, Long Island has a base roster of 10 players that had about a week of training camp on its own before beginning to integrate Williams and Pinson. Five of those are returning players — Kendall Gray, Tahjere McCall, Kamari Murphy, Thomas Wimbush, and point guard Shannon Scott, who was the fifth starter on opening night.
“The best part about them is their intellect and their willingness to share their experience of navigating G League travel, interacting with the game-day environment, how to forge relationships with the referees, how to get the most out of training environments,” said Weaver. “That is endlessly valuable and I lean on them all the time.”
The five newcomers are Ismael Sanogo, Nuni Omot, Drew Gordon, Mitch Creek, and Jordan McLaughlin, who joined Pinson on the Nets Summer League squad in Las Vegas.
Creek is a 26-year-old forward who played eight seasons professionally in Australia, where Weaver has been an assistant for the country’s national team for the last several years.
“He pops physically, with not only his tools but the way he plays the game,” said Weaver. “Classic Aussie. You pair that with what he does for your team separate from just the stuff that can be counted. He’s the most talkative, team-oriented, brave communicator. Three days into practice, there’s no doubt for anybody on the team how much wisdom he had to share, just being a pro for eight years.”
Weaver is also high on McLaughlin, a rookie out of USC, where he was a three-year starter at point guard. He had five assists in 23 minutes in the opener.
“Jordan got a lot out of the Summer League experience,” said Weaver. “Was able to get his feet wet running a team. What he has to offer is a great deal more than what he showed in Summer League. I think he was still adjusting to the speed of the game. Since then he has showed himself to be a very savvy, not only point guard, but scorer and an intellect that makes him a pretty interesting defender.”
Count Weaver among the new arrivals too. After beginning his coaching career at the University of Texas and then making the jump to the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers, the 34-year-old is in his third year in the Nets organization, but making his head coaching debut.
“I’m enjoying it a ton,” said Weaver. “In particular just because I feel so much equity in our broader program. Three years, coming in relatively early when Sean and Kenny signed on, I just really believed in the vision of the program. Although the role’s a little more visible than my previous one, I’m just gratified that I can be doing something important.”
B.I.G. makeover: Brooklyn Nets debuting Biggie-inspired jerseys
Brooklyn Nets Morning Dish: Another day, another homecoming
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The Common Parlance
An erudite discussion about the proper usage of words in the English language.
Welcome to The Common Parlance. To learn more about me and what inspired this discussion forum, please peruse my introductory welcome message.
Pertinent v. Relevant
Have a Word you want defined?
Sometimes wotd just doesn't inspire me. On those days, I look to others for good words. So, if you have a word or comparison of words that you would like defined, please post a note on my guestbook, and I will try to accommodate your interest.
This particular comparison has bothered me for quite some time. I actually began this post 7.5 years ago, and never completed it because the etymology and current usage of basically a required legal word (relevant) didn't match. I don't know that it makes any more sense to me now, but here's what I have.
Pertinent comes from the Latin "per" meaning "through, by" and "tenire" for "to hold". OED adds that the Latin "pertenere" means "to extend, stretch, tend (to), belong (to)". By c. 1350, the Old French "partenir" for "to belong or have a connection to" emerged through the Middle English "pertenen" then to our current "to be applicable". Of course, like all bad dictionary definitions, Dictionary.com (née Doctor Dictionary) has defined pertinent as relevant, and even OED has a tertiary but current definition that "pertinent" is "pertaining to the matter at hand, relevant, to the point".
Meanwhile, relevant comes from the Latin "re" for "again" and "levare" for "to raise up" a derivative of "levis" for "light in weight", and is related to the word "relieve" meaning "to lessen the effect of something" as from physically and then metaphorically lifting the burden and "levity" for "lightness". So, how this came to have any meaning or relationship to either things or ideas is still a mystery. OED adds an interpretation of "relieve" of "to assist", and perhaps from there, we can grasp that something that is relevant is intended to assist the person and later, the reader/listener. However, even OED defines "relevance" as "pertinent important to current issues", and "relevant" as "bearing upon, connected with, pertinent to the matter in hand" which only muddies the waters, and provides a specific legal meaning of "relevant" as "legally pertinent or sufficient". At this, I throw my hands up and cry 'tautology'.
Back to OED. Obsolete definitions of pertinent included "pertaining or belonging to as a possession, dependency or appendage, or as a part, constituent or function" and "appropriate, suitable in nature or character". The former definitely derives from the "holding" of something physical, while the latter begins the slide into the intangible as we go from the nature and character of something physical to the nature and character of something abstract, and ultimately to a definition which includes "relevant" to a specific issue (to a matter at hand or a point). Whereas, there are no significant obsolete definitions of relevant, which has, therefore, been as to a specific issue (to current issues or a matter at hand) since c. 1560. This leads to an inference as each word began with a physical application (holding, raising) that, as the word's usage drifted into intangibles and abstract concepts, the application got narrower to allow for the lack of obvious identification of the relationship between the subjects being related. Great. Both words now relate to intangibles and abstract concepts with narrow applications.
Back to the etymologies. Pertinent with "belonging" has a element that the thing or idea is part of a greater group or whole, while relevant with "lessening" as of weight is not part of a group, but merely assists the group or whole. Pertinent might even be integral, without which the greater group or whole is incomplete, while relevant is helpful, but without which the group or whole will go on. Finally!!! A distinction. But it does also suggest that pertinent is a subset of relevant.
So, hold on. It is going to be a bumpy ride while I try to use these.
Bob was pertinent to the discussion. Probably not, since Bob alone, without more description, does not necessarily connote a person who is intrinsic or required for the discussion. Bob, the CEO of BigCorp, was pertinent to the discussion of the merger with SmallCorp. Bob is now more critical to the discussion because of his title/position. Bob, the mailroom attendant was pertinent to the discussion of the merger. No. No one expects that someone from the mailroom is important enough to be involved such a discussion, unless this is Undercover Boss. Bob was relevant to the discussion. Rather generic, and therefore, arguably true. Bob, the CEO of BigCorp, was relevant to the discussion of the merger with SmallCorp. Now, we disparage Bob's position which is obviously important to any significant business dealings, and possibly engage in a degree of sarcasm about Bob's relative lack of importance. Bob, the mailroom attendant was relevant to the discussion of the merger. Possibly, but only if Bob had certain helpful information as result of his work in the mailroom. Let's see what happens when we stop using "to be". The pertinent teacher discussed Bob's poor math scores. A little esoteric. Why wouldn't you just say the math teacher. The pertinent teacher discussed Bob's behavior issues. Better, because pertinent is modifying teacher, it presumes that there is more than one teacher dealing with Bob, and therefore, suggests that there is one teacher from this group who had knowledge of these specific issues to be able to discuss. The pertinent janitor discussed Bob's...anything. This makes no sense. One would not expect a janitor to be in a group of people who had any connection to Bob to be elevated to this level of discussion. However, the relevant teacher discussed Bob's poor math scores. Still odd because one would presume the math teacher would have this distinction, and not anyone else. The relevant teacher discussed Bob's behavior issues. Yes, but this sounds like there are a pool of teachers who could have discussed the issue, but one was better. The relevant janitor discussed Bob's math scores. No. The relevant janitor discussed Bob's behavior issues. Possibly, if the janitor had information which could be helpful. Now, just to be cute: The pertinent Sith Lord dealt with the transgression. Well, since we all know there are only ever two, a master and an apprentice, and pertinent separates one or more from a group, this is contradictory, and therefore, wrong. Similarly, relevant doesn't work either. As long as there could be sufficient specificity of the person or job description, but not absolute uniqueness in context (pertinent president v. pertinent president at the G8 summit), pertinent can be used. Relevant being broader works in all cases, except when the uniqueness is inherent and/or obvious and therefore, diminishes that quality.
Now, that we have exhausted people, let's try other sentient beings. The kitten was pertinent to the litter. Not really. To parallel the previous sentences, the kitten must do something for the group. The litter was pertinent to the kitten. Ooh, well, yes, because if we rewrite it out of passive voice it becomes something like: the kitten found the litter pertinent. And the kitten would need or want to be part of the litter. But is uniqueness or specificity implicated? Not really, but it still works perhaps because the importance is so high for the kitten relative to the litter. The kitten was relevant to the litter. Probably, still generic that it could mean anything. The litter was relevant to the kitten. Same. Even if we rewrite it, the kitten found the litter relevant. Yep. Moving on. The cat was pertinent to the mouse population in the area. Ok. Was this a super-mouser? The cat was relevant to the mouse population in the area. Yes. The worker ant was pertinent to the colony. No, too vague. The worker ant was pertinent to the queen's well-being. Still no, because we know the worker ant does not have a specific enough job. I'm not sure there is anything the worker ant could do that would be pertinent. The worker ant was relevant to the colony. Vague, and therefore, probably true. The worker ant was relevant to the queen's well-being. Still vague, and therefore, probably still true. The seeing-eye dog was pertinent to Bob's well-being. Yes. The seeing-eye dog was relevant to Bob's well being. Also, yes, but given the inference that Bob is blind, and knowing the unique relationship between a seeing-eye dog and its owner, the specificity of the task raises it to a level of pertinent. This is not dissimilar to multiple CEOs of a corporation over the life of the corporation.
On to the inanimate. The pertinent bolt was missing from the gate and thus, it would not stay closed. Yes, without this bolt, the gate does not function, although the usage is a little esoteric. The relevant bolt was missing from the gate, and thus, it would not stay closed. Also yes, but for a different reason, inasmuch as multiple bolts could fill the function. The puzzle was missing a pertinent piece. Yes, because a puzzle is comprised of set of unique pieces without which the puzzle is incomplete. The puzzle was missing a relevant piece. Yes, technically, but not as good because while the missing piece would be helpful to finishing the puzzle, really helpful, and there might be other ways to finish it (trace the missing piece and request a replacement), the piece is a critical element. So, we can see by usage that pertinent works for a thing obviously comprised of other component parts--decks of cards, games, Ikea furniture, computers, cars, houses--where any part or parts are required for the completion of the whole. Having assembled the pertinent ingredients, the chef began to make the recipe. Yes. Having assembled the relevant ingredients, the chef began to make the recipe. Also, yes, but without the gravitas that these ingredients are necessary to the recipe. Without all the pertinent ingredients, the chef could not make the his signature omelette. Without all the pertinent ingredients, the omelette was just scrambled eggs. Yes. And just for completeness: Eggs are a pertinent ingredient to an omelette. But all these sentences are still varying degrees of correct. One can only know the range by exploring the fringes, which means seeing when usage fails. However, writing bad sentences which demonstrate this failure is actually hard.
The pertinent apple was missing from the tree. Grammatically correct, but utterly nonsensical for usage. What makes this apple special, or the absence of the apple makes the group of apples on the tree, or even the tree itself, incomplete? Was this the only one which had a worm? We can't tell that from context, and with any context, this is just silly. The relevant apple was missing from the tree. Again, grammatically correct, but also useless without any context. So, by themselves, these words have an inherent comparison of what they do for the other noun(s) in the sentence. If the pertinent apple were missing from the fruit bowl. Again, what makes this apple special that its absence from the fruit bowl makes the latter incomplete? Was it the only apple? But if it were the only apple, we wouldn't use pertinent; we would use only and be discussing apple thieves or hungry artists. The relevant apple was missing from the fruit bowl. Same. There still isn't enough specificity to the group. Tree was too generic, and especially with the overtone of it being an apple tree, there were too many equal apple substitutes. Fruit bowl suggested a smaller group, but not enough that the apple was critical. And relevant in each instance was just too broad to be useful to the generic apple and the group. She found the pertinent book in the library. Ok, this may have legs inasmuch as a library does not usually have more than one volume of the same book so each book is presumptively unique and part of the greater collection of the library. She found the relevant book in the library. No. Because of the uniqueness of the collection of books in a library, pertinent should be used. I will note, however, that our ear hears relevant in this sentence as correct. She found a pertinent book in the library. Awkward and bizarre because each book would be unique, and therefore, every book she found would technically be pertinent to the library, otherwise, why was it there??? She found a relevant book in the library. Correct. She found a pertinent book on the history of cats in the library. Yes. This book has answered all the questions she had about the topic, noting there may be more than one pertinent book, but you wouldn't have to read more than one. She found a relevant book on the history of cats in the library. Yes. But this one is merely helpful on the subject. A Google search may give you a lot of relevant articles, one or more of which may be pertinent. Yes, of course. In short, pertinent connotes that the thing is a necessary element, while relevant may be optional.
Intangibles/abstracts: The debate ended when she researched the subject in a pertinent Wikipedia entry. Yes, although I note that since one page stopped the argument, it would probably be "the pertinent Wikipedia entry", as "a" implies that there might be more than one pertinent Wikipedia entry, which may be true, but you would never know because you would stop looking. The debate ended when she researched the subject in a relevant Wikipedia entry. Yes, more or less, but it does not have the gravitas that this research was dispositive on the issue; it was merely helpful enough to end the debate, at least for now. The debate ended when she researched the actor's name on the pertinent IMDb movie link. Technically yes, but pertinent here is utterly unnecessary as the movie link itself is unique and doesn't need any qualification that it would be a definitive source of this information. Similarly, the word's definition was found in the pertinent entry of the dictionary. Yep. The debate ended when she researched the actor's name on the relevant IMDb movie link. Now, because relevant is broad/vague in this context, it allows for the possibility that more than one movie link could be helpful. The word's definition was found in the relevant entry of the dictionary. Seriously? Why qualify the entry in any way? It just is. He gave the pertinent details to the sketch artist. Yes, absolutely. He gave the relevant details to the sketch artist. Pertinent is better because of the uniqueness of the details which would be communicated, while relevant, having heard pertinent used, sounds like he was deciding which details to give, and not just giving the sketch artist everything he could remember. However, relevant would more likely be used because pertinent is not as well known a word. The actor struggled to display the pertinent emotion in the love scene. Grammatically correct, but only the director can say it. Pertinent suggests that there is a correct emotion, where there might be more than one emotion which could be applicable. The actor struggled to display the relevant emotion in the love scene. Better but only marginally because relevant is broader. The actor struggled to display a pertinent emotion in the love scene. Yes. What a difference an article makes, because now there is subset of applicable emotions that perhaps the director and/or the text suggests, and the actor is not acting within that subset. The actor struggled to display a relevant emotion in the love scene. This would be a scathing review.
So, just going back a few sentences, let's examine "a" versus "the" with these words. A pertinent teacher discussed Bob's behavior issues. This still works, but now the teacher is one of a subset of teachers who can discuss Bob's issues. A relevant teacher discussed Bob's behavior issues. Still part of a subset of teachers, but with less gravitas than pertinent, but only if we hear them in comparison. Otherwise, relevant would probably be used. The same is true with cats: Mnemosyne is a pertinent cat to the mouse population versus Mnemosyne is the pertinent cat to the mouse population. The former makes her one of the subgroup known as mousers, and the latter makes her super-kitty, unless we limit her scope of activity to the house, in which case it is absolutely correct as Metis doesn't want to get her white paws dirty. Mnemosyne is a relevant cat to the mouse population. Mnemosyne is the relevant cat to the mouse population. Yes, and yes, but without as much impact if one understands the inherent contribution connoted by pertinent. Otherwise, all cats are relevant to mice, even as observers. A pertinent apple was missing from the tree. Now, it could be the only ripe one, or the only one with the worm, or some other unique characteristic. The pertinent apples were missing from the tree. One might suspect this could be said after all the ripe apples were picked. A relevant apple was missing from the tree. Still grammatically correct, but useless without any context. I already did the book in the library and the actor. However, if the man had only given a pertinent detail to the sketch artist, that would be accurate, and suggest that it was a very important detail (a tattoo or a scar), as opposed to the man giving a relevant detail (height, weight, hair color).
Now, I know I have gone into extreme detail on this particular entry, but I need to add one more detail. As I mentioned, there is a specific legal meaning of relevant, and which is why I have deliberately avoided any sentences with Plaintiff's counsel. Legally speaking, relevant is used as a catchall. The relevant documents. The relevant testimony. The relevant cases. This isn't just what would be helpful or optional. These are required and often unique in nature, for which pertinent would otherwise be used. Additionally, the use of relevant in law breeds the use of relevant. We track the language of the case/statute in writing for the most persuasion (briefs) or best future enforceability (contracts). I would suggest that the pervasive introduction of legalese into the mainstream has contributed to the increased non-use of pertinent. So, for sake of completeness: Plaintiff's counsel provided the relevant documents in response to her discovery requests. Yes, absolutely. Plaintiff's counsel disclosed the pertinent witness. In law, no, otherwise, yes. This is always relevant. Now, keep in mind that the use of relevant instead of pertinent is only when actually used in law. Otherwise: The pertinent parties were present in court, while the relevant witnesses gave testimony. Yes, since this is an outsider's narration of the events. The pertinent vote of the board ratified the new member. Yes. The vote was required to allow the new member to join and become part of the whole. The relevant vote of the board ratified the new member. Also yes, but doesn't have the gravity that the vote was required. Maybe now, maybe later. As a lawyer, however, I would get the requirement from the use of the word ratified, but if this is being documented in the minutes which are legally required or described later to prove that the vote was appropriately conducted, then it would be the relevant vote simply because of the legal context.
So, in summary, people are pertinent in what they contribute to the group. Things are pertinent for their being in the group, a different kind of contribution. Animates are a hybrid if they have a job function. Intangibles and abstracts are pertinent for uniqueness, another different kind of contribution. Relevant is just helpful no matter the function. And ultimately, we must work to reign the overuse (not misuse) of relevant to make room again for pertinent.
Posted by Lauren at 1:02 PM 2 comments:
Hiatus v. lacuna
I expected that my return after nearly 9 months of silence would be with the word hiatus. An appropriate word. But I got inspired by the previous comparison of explain v. define. However, not to miss my return word, I give you:
Hiatus comes from the Latin for "hiare" for "to gape open". Of course, this began with a physical opening, but from clefts and fissures in organs and body parts to missing pages in manuscript, it came to be applied to the intangible c. 1613 as an interruption of an event or missing information in a sequence to just something anticipated which is missing. Meanwhile, its obvious comparison is lacuna, coming from the Latin "lacuna" for "a ditch, pit or hole", and although it also came to be applied to missing information in a sequence, this is an existing deficiency, of something that was never present.
There has been a hiatus in my regular blog definitions due to my overwhelming rehearsal schedule and the needs of two kittens. Yes in usage and yes in context. I apologize for the latter. Note that this is written in third-person, because I am not the gap but rather that the gap occurs to things relative to a sequence that I create. Arguably, I have been on sabbatical, but that's another word for another time when I've been away. There has not been a lacuna in my regular blog entries as that would imply that something was supposed to be there which was not. I try to write these as often as I can, but that does not presuppose that I am required to write them; therefore, it is only an anticipated lacking, not an actual lacking or deficiency. The third-party perspective is also required for lacuna, as I am not the deficiency, but the event or thing has the deficiency. Plaintiff's counsel's opposition to my motion had a lacuna in his argument which caused the Court to rule in my favor. Yes. Here the missing thing was required and therefore, the fictional argument was deficient. Perhaps the lacuna was due to a hiatus in his concentration? Yes, since there is no requirement that he has to continue to concentrate in order to write the motion--he could just be incompetent. So, hiatus is missing something hoped for and lacuna is missing something which should have been there.
Of course, both words apply to sentient activities (e.g., argument, thinking) and not just intangible activites of people (e.g., music, sleeping) or information created by people (e.g., pages in a book, assembly lines). There was a lacuna in the production line at the widget plant due to the daydreaming, a veritable hiatus of thought, by the worker. Ok, simple and easy, although it does appear that lacuna is applied more to the tangibles and hiatus to the intangibles. Let's try to flip them. An unexpected hiatus in the music occurred when the concert master broke a string. Ok. And, a lacuna in her acceptance speech was due to an uncontrollable emotional outburst. Ok, so they do work both ways, even if I did stretch the lacuna usage a bit. Was it really a deficiency, of something missing, or just a big pause? Maybe it is better stated that there was a lacuna in her acceptance speech due to censoring or a sudden interruption by the Emergency Testing System? Yeah, that works. This does tend imply that in a lacuna situation you don't get the missing part back, whereas in a hiatus, it resumes where it left off after the delay. A cliffhanger ending of a television series which is renewed next season is on hiatus, while the movie missing the second reel is a lacuna. A rain delay after the 5th inning is a hiatus when the game resumes; but a game ended by rain before the 5th inning had a lacuna until it was rescheduled (since, for those of you who are not baseball fans, the game could not have been a complete game, and will, therefore, be replayed). I remember when I learned this word in high school I used it to apply to the space on a page while you were waiting for the white out to dry, but kept writing the rest of the sentence after it. It was a lacuna in the text in the one truest sense. And although there is no formal requirement from the definition for there to be a sequence, the implied current usage seems to require continuity interrupted, rather than mere abstract existence of the missing element.
Can we use these words without superimposing continuity? She fell into the lacuna at the construction site and sued for her broken ankle. This is completely accurate from its Latin meaning and just dumb. The real question should be how do we know that something is missing unless we can see the stuff around it to infer where the thing should have been? Doesn't that require a degree of continuity? How else do you define the hole? The dentist discovered a lacuna in her tooth. Yep, again, just dumb. This word is "cavity", which is technically a lacuna, but would be absurd to use this way. So, I would venture that lacuna would require some degree of continuity. I have less of a problem requiring continuity of hiatus since that word comes from "to gape open" which itself implies action that changes, as opposed to a pre-existing condition.
So, now, let's see where the edges of usage are. We know the words apply to sequences created by people; can they be applied to sequences created by cats or computers. There was a hiatus in her drinking when I entered the room. Possibly, but only if my cat starts drinking again regardless of my standing there. This is a still a stretch to use this word, when the real word is "pause". So let's really have fun and see how absurd lacuna is with my cat... Yeah, I give. My cat had a lacuna in her bathing which left a bit of ungroomed hair behind her left ear. Bizarre, but technically correct. If a caterpillar could metamorphose into a butterfly without going through the chrysalis stage, would that be a lacuna? Theoretically speaking, maybe, but is it really a deficiency in an expected progression or just a different type of progression. The problem may be that I can't really expect anything out of my cat that a lacuna would arise. Does my cat have some responsibility that she could be deficient? She is starting to come when I call her, but it is not a duty; just a convenience for her for petting. So, if it is an activity, there must be sentience ascribed to the completion of that activity for the lacuna to have deficiency. Now, as for hiatus, anticipation inherently requires sentience, to hope for the activity to resume, which through a degree of anthropomorphism, I can ascribe more readily. She hopes to resume bathing/eating/sleeping after the brief hiatus caused by my presence. I get that scowl all the time, so I know that thought is there.
As for computers, since these activities are merely extensions of activities of people, there's more play with lacuna. The computer had a lacuna when compiling the computer code. Essentially, the computer is only doing the work it was programed to do, much like the production line at the widget factory, which could have just as easily been a malfunctioning robotic arm as a daydreaming assembly worker. There was a hiatus in the computer's processing due to a brown out. It still feels like an object rather than ascribing artificial intelligence or anthropomorphism. Anyway, no harm, no foul on either word.
So, let there be no lacunas to my blog--I don't want that kind of responsibility--and may the next hiatus be shorter!
Posted by Lauren at 10:46 PM 8 comments:
Explain v. define
I am enjoying my time with the daughter of a friend, Julie, and we came upon this comparison.
Explain derives from the Latin "ex" for "out or from" and "planarum" for "a flat surface". So how does this get us to anything making sense, whether figuratively or literally? Well, perhaps, when we explain, we "flatten" out a problem so that both sides understand. Works for me. Define comes from the Latin "de" for "of or out of" and "finire" for "to finish", which is to say that define is the final thought on a word while this gives the implication that to explain is open-ended.
She tried to explain to her sister why she read her diary. Yes. Absolutely. Of course this would be something that would require lots of further explanation, and not be the end of the discussion. Many different reasons, possibly even evolving reasons as the discussion continues. She will be explaining reading her sister's diary for quite a while, as I doubt her sister will ever understand. Also, correct, both usage and in substance. As a result of reading her sister's diary, her sister stated the definition for what is private. Yes, because the definition is concrete and not subjection to interpretation. Plaintiff's counsel explained to the Court why the opposition to the motion was late, but the definition of the rule for timely filing was clear. Obviously, people can explain and define as well as other animates such as these beings exhibit human characteristics and certain tangibles such as these are activities of people. Inanimates do not explain or define. The wind does not explain the weather, nor does it define the air. Not even metaphorically. The wind may portend weather and describe the air, but even "define" is pretty sketchy. DD does a poor job of defining words, and leaves many usages for outside explanation. My kittens cannot explain their needs to me, except by scratching, mewing and purring, and even then, I don't have a definition of what these signals mean. Yes.
I am looking forward to explaining the usage of more words as I define the difference of various alleged synonyms. Thank you for your patience!
Posted by Lauren at 10:10 PM No comments:
This Thursday, I will be performing in the world premiere of William Bolcum's Eighth Symphony, a work commissioned for the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It is a contemporary setting of selections of William Blake's Prophetic Books (The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, Jerusalem and America: A Prophecy). What does this have to do with "unctuous". In Part 1, "Rintrah roars", the tenors sing the line: Now the sneaking serpent walks in mild humility. The marking for that is "unctuous". I don't pretend to be a Blake scholar, nor do I really grasp a tenth of all the symbolism in these selections, but I do find this particular marking to be a riot. So, on that note (pun intended), I bring you: unctuous.
Unctuous derives from the Latin "unctus" for the act of anointing or smearing. It is related to "unguent", the thing that is smeared. And since this word developed c. 1350, its etymology is not so disjointed. From the oily or soapy feeling of the unguent, to having similar characteristics of a unguent generally (greasy or oily), to general characteristics which may be construed as slippery, and from there is just an easy leap to smug or suave, as a form of a slippery attitude.
Oatmeal soap is less unctuous owing to to the rougher texture of whole oats in the bar. Ok, but I don't think we commonly use unctuous to describe things that are actually slippery. Oil unlike ice is unctuous. Ice can't be unctuous since it isn't viscous, nor does it feel slippery until you are slipping. Oil is always slippery. And, sorry for the graphic reference, so is mucus. More often, now, unctuous is used negatively to describe people. Car salesmen have a reputation for being unctuous. Plaintiff's counsel's unctuous courtroom demeanor detracted from his credibility. Too easy. So, let's go back to the Blake excerpt. I think the serpent is a direct reference to the serpent from the Garden of Eden, and that this character would be "walking in mild humility", belies a certain slick character to try to seduce the listener. Whether the tenors can pull that off, I let you know after Thursday.
Mnemonic; metronomic
In honor of the newest additions to my household, Mnemosyne and Metis, two adorable kittens that I rescued from a local shelter last week, I offer mnemonic and metronomic.
Mnemonic derives from the Greek "mnemon" for "of or relating to memory" and the adjectival suffix "ikos". By mid 1700s it emerged in its current form, so having successful made it through the Dark Ages, it still retains it original etymological meaning as a noun for "of or relating to memory" and as an adjective, for "something assisting in memory".
For those familiar with ABC's Schoolhouse Rock, mnemonic is easy to use. A catchy short song is an excellent mnemonic for learning odd lyrics about parts of speech and the evolution of a bill into law--and commercial ads! Accordingly, music is the mnemonic device of the previous example. It should come as no surprise, then, that Mnemosyne, the Titaness of memory, is the mother of the muses, and that music is one of the great mnemonics. And mnemonic is not just something that you remember or can remember, like a scene of graphic violence or nudity in a movie, but something that is intended to help you remember something. Every Good Boy Does Fine was a mnemonic sentence I was taught to remember the keys of the lines on treble clef. FACE was the equivalent mnemonic for the spaces on the treble clef. Fortunately, I don't need those anymore... Lists are an obvious mnemonic for all kinds of things, but aren't nearly as much fun as something set to music or with a cute rhyme.
Now metronomic comes from the Greek "metron", a combinative form of the pre-Indo-European "me" for "measure" and "nomos" for "rule or law". This is the same "me" which is the root of Metis, the goddess of wisdom, skill and cleverness, and mother of Athena, who took on those characteristics subsequently. It isn't quite a stretch that the "measure" of a person would also be these characteristics. So, metronomic, then, is the adjective of metronome, a mechanical (or electrical) instrument which clacks out a measured tempo (Italian for time), and therefore, having such a audible measured tempo as if my such mechanical (or electrical) instrument. Being a musician, I have a variety of metronomes, although I still prefer my original Seth Thomas from when I was 5. My electrical one once scared me in an airport when it got accidentally switched on and did sound quite a bit like a ticking bomb.
Although I practice certain passages with a metronome, my objective is to make my performance of the piece convey the meter without sounding rigid and metronomic. Bored pencil tapping can have inadvertent metronomic qualities. So can certain alarm clocks and kitten mewing, which may or may not occur at the same time. It does, however, come down to a simple fact that the metronome is an audible mechanism, even though my electronic one has a flashing light only option. [Ed note: this is not as useful as the clacking sound to force you to pay attention to the beat.] And a metronome is supposed to measure a rate of time, not time itself. Therefore, metronomic should be audibly and consistently repetitive. After a long family drive, "This Old Man" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" become so metronomic, it gave both parents (metronomic?) headaches. Tiresome and tedious also work just as well, but the idea is that the song became monotonous and overly accented to just those repetitive beats. The metronomic opening statement by Plaintiff's counsel nearly put the jury to sleep. Ok. That's accurate, if a little opaque on the meaning. But most people know what a metronome is, so that makes it easy to get from context that it wasn't the content of the speech, but the manner of delivery. Think incessantly droning but with a clipped tendency as from the pendulum suddenly swinging in the opposite direction.
Well, neither of the kittens is particularly metronomic, even if they do wake me at 5:00am, and neither are they prone to mnemonics, or even really quite remembering from their mistakes as they are only just 3 months old. But they are exhibiting some of the qualities of their namesakes, and that's good enough for me! Welcome to my home. I'll work on your vocabulary later... :-)
Posted by Lauren at 8:37 AM No comments:
Labels: Q1
Imprimatur; Indicia
A few days ago this word came up on DD, and it remedially tickled my fancy. Obviously, not too much, or I would have done this entry sooner, but what do you expect? I'm a busy person like everyone else, and not everything is immediately fascinating.
Imprimatur comes from the Latin "in" "primere" for "press in" as in to print by pressing. It shares a common etymological root to the word "impress" and therefore to the word "press", for quite literally to print by pressing or imprint. When we finally get to the command form of the verb c. 1650, the word took on the derivative meaning of "let it be printed", and retained that meaning through to the present, although now as a noun for an official printing, and therefore, a sanction or approval as for the printing or something that could be printed.
The securing of license of a copyright is an imprimatur. Ding. Technically correct. Idiotic to say. What it doesn't tell you about the word is redundant in the licensing reference so the sentence sounds unnatural, almost forced, which in fact it was because the first sense of the word, the approval to print, is not how it is most frequently used. As I've discussed with other words, the fun is in taking it out of the literal element. That the corporate president personally typed the plan gave it the imprimatur to implement immediately. Plaintiff's counsel frequently believes that because he asks for evidence to be admitted in a motion that the judge will give it her imprimatur. Doesn't even need to be in writing to have the usage work, although the writing would be a better inference from the word. So, the word works with things that actually are in writing, or could have been in writing (e.g., theories, ideas, hopes, dreams). When a dictator remarks on his desire this is as good as an imprimatur to make the desire a reality.
Ok, now that I've exhausted imprimatur, it occurs to me that truly interesting word is indicia. This is really just Latin borrowed into English without modification, like alumni, but at least in my circles, indicia gets inappropriately used for imprimatur, and so although I have my rules against defining foreign words, I'll make an exception for clarification.
Indicia is the combinative form of "in" and "dic" for "to show or declare" from the Indo-European root "deik", and gives us common words like indicate and index, and even the reference to index finger. Therefore, indicia is a sign that shows or declares something. A dog tag is an indicia of ownership of the pet on your leash. And herein lies the rub. Indicia is plural, indicium (like datum and memorandum) is singular. Therefore, technically, it should be a dog tag is an indicium of ownership of the pet on your leash, but now we've become overly erudite. It is Latin, and as such, we should observe its gender and number forms accordingly, however, I don't hear many people use datum correctly, either among scientists or lawyers, so to avoid being corrected, make sure your signs are always plural. The judge's frequent nods were indicia of agreement with the arguments I was making. Whew. Her groans were indicia that the masseusse had found the right tension points in her shoulders. Sometimes you might hear someone speak of an imprimatur of approval, and this is the misuse that I referenced. Obviously, we know that imprimatur is itself an approval so this usage is inherently redundant, and makes imprimatur into a sign, which as we know is indicia. Indicia of approval is the correct phrase. Signatures on the contract were indicia that the parties approved the terms. I will note that indicia are acts, not specific words, which show or declare, so the terms of the contract themselves are not indicia of the intent of the parties, but rather the signing of the contract which are indicia of the intent to abide by the terms. The negative can also be a sign. Her mother's unwillingness to sign the permission form for the field trip to go rock climbing was an indicium of her fear that her daughter would get hurt. Hyper correct and very odd sounding, indeed.
Personally, I like the word indicia much more than imprimatur, but I'm going to be especially vigilant to use imprimatur as the approval and not the sign and to see how the singular of indicia plays among my friends.
Posted by Lauren at 11:21 AM 1 comment:
Friable v. Frangible
This is perhaps not the most auspicious post to mark my first post of 2008, but these words came up recently on DD, and I enjoy using them. Since, they're not interchangeable, and it's about time I learned the real difference! Call me inspired. I'll take it where I can.
Friable comes from the Latin "friare" for "to rub, break, or crumble into small pieces". Pretty straightforward to the current usage of "easily crumbled or reduced to powder". Must be because this word originated c. 1560, and not in the Middle Ages. What I find interesting is that it is related to "fricare" for "to rub", which gives us friction, but I'll save that for another time. Unfortunately, unlike the common word friction, friable doesn't have an easy association. Instead, it sounds like a word used to describe a cooking style or something having to do with the clergy, and not something which is broken through friction into small pieces.
Now, frangible comes from the Latin "frangere" for simply "to break", and is just as straightforward for its current usage of "easily broken, capable of being broken, brittle or fragile", even though it originated in the Middle Ages c. 1400. And just like friable, frangible doesn't give it's meaning away too quickly. Sounds like a pastry, even though I know with the "ible" suffix it is an adjective. Oh, well. Sometimes good words just need to be memorized.
So, with two straightforward etymologies to usage, the distinction is also blessedly straightforward. Even though friable has as part of its meaning "to break", in common with frangible, the difference is breaking due to the activity (rubbing) versus breaking due to the composition of the item (brittle). It becomes more obvious with usage.
Dry cookies are friable such that even milk can't revive them, but the glass the milk is served in is frangible. Children's toys are engineered to break in a frangible, not friable manner so that the child doesn't have an opportunity to ingest small pieces. Salt erodes concrete with friable results, back to it original sand and rock components. Snapping a pencil demonstrates its frangible qualities as well as the writer's total frustration. Ok, now that we've gotten the obvious usages out of the way. Because we have activity and composition at issue in the etymology of the words, the common usage is with tangible things. Forced to live in the South for too long, even her steely composure could be rendered friable. Perhaps a little too evocative and esoteric at the same time. You have to know that friable implies a rubbing element to understand that her composure was rubbed away. Not sure this works. Lashing out at a 4 year old may be a frangible result of holiday stress. Unfortunately, this usage also only makes sense if you know the brittle implication of frangible to understand that under the stress, the person snapped. Again, not sure this works, since no one would really understand what you meant to say. Plaintiff's counsel rubbed me all the wrong way with his friable personality. Ok, so it's a pun and it uses Plaintiff's counsel. Yeah, alright, next time I'll keep that one to myself. Plaintiff's counsel's friable client of the case crumbled under cross-examination. That's really just fragile, as well as requiring a colloquialism to get the point across, so, no. Whereas my frangible witness was subject to be treated as a hostile witness. Either that, or he'd be removed by a court officer. Yeah. Still not getting the meaning of this word from context, and my usages probably wouldn't motivate my listener to look up the word either. Friable ideas eventually yield to reason. Maybe, but just barely. Frangible ideas don't withstand even basic scrutiny. Also, maybe, but it leads me to believe that friable is a more versatile word. But I think it comes down to these words must be used with physically broken things in order to give your listener an opportunity to understand the word from context. If your listener is erudite enough to understand some nonstandard usages, then have fun!
Posted by Lauren at 7:08 AM 1 comment:
Ultimate; penultimate
These two words aren't intended to be interchangeable as much as they are misused that way, so this one is just fun for me.
Ultimate has a circuitous etymology. It derives its meaning from the Latin "ultima" for "the last syllable of a word", a feminine derivation of "ultimus", the superlative comparative of "ulterior" which means "more distant or farther", and which is itself related to the prefix "ultra" for "located beyond" or "on the far side of" and the comparative derivation "ulter" for "beyond". I'll save "ulterior" for another day, and leave this one with the understanding that the use of "ult-" implies distance. Now, by applying it to a "last syllable", it goes from being a great distance beyond what can be observed or perhaps even comprehended (I'll foreshadow "ulterior") to simply last, where the distance is still present, but not required to be great. And from there, the physical distance requirement was dropped, leaving only the connotation that the thing had come to an end. It has to be the last by whatever distinction of last you choose to employ (e.g., maximum, highest, total, final)
Scientists have hypothesized on the ultimate boundary of the universe. A bit esoteric, but if you've ever studied astronomy, you may understand that the universe is expanding, and at some point, it may stop expanding. It should be noted that this is a mixed usage of time and space, so not quite a pure distance application. The ultimate loser of the marathon was the last person to cross the line, or arguably, the first person to quit running. Don't confuse the distance in the example of the footrace for a physical distance attached to ultimate. The "last" element of this example is time. Still trying for just distance. So much easier with the abstracts. Many believe the ultimate measure of power is money. Correct, but not necessarily true. Plaintiff's counsel's ultimate goal is to settle the case fast, even at the cost of getting more money for his client, therefore, the ultimate outcome of his incompetence was being fired. Note that a goal is not necessarily an end, so there is no redundancy, whereas saying "the ultimate end" would be. The ultimate point in the climb was the top of the mountain. Ok, it's distance, but you still have to get down the mountain, so shouldn't the ultimate point of any trip be to get back home? The term "ultimate destinations" is bandied about so freely as euphemisms for luxury destinations, but a true ultimate destination is really the ICU ward, or the hospice! Yeah, abstracts are much easier.
Meanwhile, penultimate is an odd little word that isn't used enough. So, now that we've been through "ultimate", the only difference is the Latin prefix "paene" meaning "almost", which, of course, gives us the word for "the next to the last" because what is "almost last" must be so close to last as to be the next to last.
Plaintiff's counsel's penultimate goal is to make his client happy, or perhaps not be reported for his ethical violations, while the ultimate goal is to make millions for himself. The penultimate point of my trip when I pass through U.S. Customs & Immigration successfully with all my international purchases. Ok, so I've gotten distance out of the way, but it doesn't sound quite right. Penultimate seems to have become solely attached to abstracts. Y is the penultimate letter of the alphabet. Pedantic and uninspired. Students whose last names start with Y were frequently the ultimate victim of Socratic method, but occasionally could be granted a reprieve to penultimate status if a Z last name enrolled. Italian is distinguished from French by the abundance of penultimate versus ultimate stresses. Try it. You'll see. Well, I think you get the picture. Basically, if it can end, it can be just before the end, and subject to myriad interpretations and usages.
So, I hope this is not the ultimate posting for this year, but as I have less than 24 hours and a small party to host, which will still require grocery shopping and cooking, it may well be. At best, if I can scrounge another easy comparison, one that doesn't go through the Middle Ages or require the magnifying glass with OED, this may be the penultimate post. But in any event, Happy New Year!!!
Posted by Lauren at 11:54 PM 1 comment:
Remiss (remit)
I've frequently enjoyed this word, and now I have more cause to use it, given my recent lapse in posts.
Remiss is a derivation of remit from the Latin "mittere", which means "to send", and with "re" means "to send again", or more colloquially, "to send back". From there, to went from the tangible, of sending back something, to putting something back to its original condition as an extension of if the thing never needed to be sent back, applied to both physical and mental conditions, and then to pardoning as the ultimate way of putting a mental condition back to its original state. So, what does this have to do with being slack or relaxed or finally to "being neglectful of a duty"? Must have occurred in the Middle Ages... Yes, of course! Somewhere c. 1400, late Middle English created the word remiss from "remissus", the past participle of remittere, and as with so many words from this time, gave it some random attribution. Well, in the spirit of not being remiss, in any definition or etymological derivation, I'll give it a shot to reconcile this meaning.
When last we left the etymology of remit, it was to put something back to its original condition as if it had never occurred. And as long as we're going to pretend that something never occurred, let's just say that we're not being too strict in the application of the thing sent. From there, it is just natural extension to say that the failure to strictly apply the force or effect is carelessness or laziness. The requirement that there be a duty derives from the intent to have a force or effect from the thing sent. By a second route, there is the natural inference that the thing which was theoretically "sent back" had no force or effect. Now, of course, that requires a change in perspective from the recipient to the object being received, but from the lack of force or effect, which is a latent definition for remiss, it is an easy step to not having enough force or effect when such was expected, to simply being careless or lazy. In both cases, the lazy inherent meaning also gives rise to a sluggish or slow meaning, but the speed of the force or effect, or lack thereof, has no bearing on the etymology of remit or remiss, and is an inappropriate extension. Remiss is just about a failure to act when there is a duty to do so, at whatever pace that may be. That a failure to have force or effect may not be observed or acknowledged for some time is what gives the appearance of being slow or sluggish, but that's a relative perception based on context. In litigation, Plaintiff's counsel's failure to answer the emergency motion the day that it is received is just as remiss as his failure to complete discovery within the nine months provided by the tracking order.
So, in other usages... Her electricity will be turned off if she is remiss in paying her bill. My cat will meow at me if I have been remiss in feeding her enough roasted chicken. And finally, I have been remiss in posting entries to this forum. I fear that with my rehearsal schedule in the Spring, remiss may bleed into egregious. Bear with me, please!
Posted by Lauren at 10:24 AM No comments:
Extirpate
Having just finished a major weeding project in anticipation of winter, this word seemed especially appropriate.
Extirpate comes from the Latin "ex" for "without" and "stirp" for "stem". I'll take a brief moment to discuss the suffix "ate", which originally in Latin was used with adjectives (making a verb into an adjective), but in English, "ate" is used to make other forms of words into verbs. Go figure. Must have occurred in the Dark Ages when everything seemed to be backward. So, literally, the word means "to make or cause to be without a stem", as something is pulled out by the root.
So, back to my weeding project... Extirpating weeds from a brick walk nearly impossible, so I prefer to burn the weed to the root. When you see a grey hair, do you extirpate it, or leave it be? Ok, while that's correct, it just sounds too funny. It's up there with extirpating the unwanted hair in your ear or between your eye brows. Waxing is just a fancy form of extirpation (and perhaps exfoliation as a side benefit). Anything that can be pulled out by the root. Weeds. Check. Hair. Check. It's easier to apply with things that have physical roots, but it could be just as easily extended to the intangible. Can we extirpate the root of all evil? Grammatically, yes. Theoretically, no. Now, could Plaintiff's counsel extirpate the lies his client tells him? Again, grammatically, yes. Theoretically, no.
Let us work to extirpate poor word usage wherever possible.
Deipnosophist
Finally! A word from DD that I couldn't resist! So, in honor of Thanksgiving, we have:
Deipnosophist. Well, clearly, this word comes from the Greek "deipnon" for "meal" and "sophos" for "clever or wise". A "sophiste" then was a clever or wise man, who in ancient Greece was paid to give instruction. The term was derogatory as their arguments we often specious. This contextual meaning was retained in the idea that a deipnosophist was good at table talk, which carries with it some connotation of worthlesness or insignificance. The word was first used c. 200 AD as a title of a work by Athanaios, a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, Deipnosophiste, as it presented a first person account of a banquet and the conversation which occurred on a range of subjects from the dishes to literary issues to points of grammar and the esoteric. Then, apparently, the word wasn't used again until c. 1650 (at least it was past the Dark Ages!), as one who is skilled in the affairs of a kitchen, where the meal occurred, to one who adept at table talk, where the meal really occurs, since there is no further presumption that the meal is eaten in the kitchen.
Ok, so once we understand the evolution of the word, and that it derives from a partially derogatory root, usage is fairly straightforward. Her husband was a brilliant deipnosophist, able to engage in polite chit chat at any business lunch. Hopefully, I will not be accused of being merely a deipnosophist at the holiday feast, but remembered for something useful I contributed to the discussion. I will probably never have occasion to determine if Plaintiff's counsel could have been a deipnosophist, since I find his company barely tolerable just in court.
May you all be better than a deipnosophist today--Happy Thanksgiving!
Regardless v. Irrespective; Regard v. Respect
This one is by request, but it does intrigue me, and no, I will not be attempting to define "irregardless".
In fact, this comparison is really regard v. respect, since both words contain modifiers for the negative ("ir" and "less"). Regard has a complicated etymology. Regard originally derives from Indo-Europen "wer", through Middle English "warde" (and its variant spellings) through German "warten" to Old French "garder" for "to watch". Regard, then, literally means "to watch again", however, figuratively, it means "to pay attention to" as it derives from to the idea of watching again and again being that you don't stop watching, or paying attention. The word evolved into "to think highly of and/or with a particular feeling" as if when you are truly paying attention it is because you would think highly of the person or have a particular feeling that would inspire the attention. Therefore, regardless naturally means inattentive or unmindful.
In contrast, respect comes from the Latin "specere" for "to look", and thus, respect means "to look at or consider again" and by extension, finally, to mean "deference". Therefore, irrespective means without a second look or thought.
So, the real issue is given the closeness of the etymologies, how does respect differ from regard? Regard has its origin from watching with a purpose, hence the evolution through guarding and paying attention and imbuing the watching with a higher sense of worth, while respect is just looking with no purpose, and then as a result of what you see, paying closer attention and giving the look higher worth. The intent of the initial observation is different, leading to a different purpose for observing, although quite probably leading to the same type of ultimate observation. However, there is a separate distinction through the implied usage. Regard looks at the physical characteristics, again, the reason for guarding or watching. Respect looks at a quality of a person, the reason for giving a second look. Now, a quality of a person may be a physical characteristic (a pretty smile, a scar), but it was not the reason for having to watch the person. Therefore, we give regard to pedestrians at a crosswalk, and we give respect to the police car stopped on the side of the road. The pedestrians are a group of people who need protection against traffic and therefore give continual watching to, while we have no particular interest in the police car except for what the officer may subsequently decide to do which could affect us, therefore, we pay more attention until its relevance is moot. We regard beauty as an asset, and at some point we hope that others will respect the person for more than pretty looks. To take some common and easy ones, we are told to respect our elders, implying that we would not give such notice on first glance, but we should look deeper to find something worthwhile and therefore, worthy of deference. We don't regard our elders. That just sounds odd (like a malapropism), unless they are feebleminded and need elder care. Then, it's appropriate.
When we return to regardless v. irrespective, however, these words are generally used on a meta-level to regard v. respect, as in the fact or quality of what should be regarded or respected. Regardless of the fact that it was physics exam, the student answered the essay questions with dissertations on economic philosophy. True story. Irrespective of his desire to maintain his 4.0 GPA in economics, he submitted the essay for the physic professor to grade. Regardless has the idea of ignoring something to which you should have paid attention, while irrespective is dismissing something to which you had no need to pay attention. Regardless of the weather, my friend and I go walking every morning (almost true, but not due to the weather). Irrespective of his 7 y.o. daughter's whining, he goes to work every day. Ok, that might be a little harsh. Depending on the parent, it could just as easily have read, regardless of his 7 y.o. daughter's whining, he goes to work every day. So, depending on the person and the societal norms of what we should "regard", and even just cautious politeness, regardless has a broader usage. Irrespective, then, is almost flippant, as well, the lawyer in me prefers "notwithstanding" as a more generic, and perhaps obscure substitute. Irrespective of the judge's counseling, Plaintiff's counsel proceeded to attack the witness's credibility on his extra-marital affair. Only Plaintiff's counsel would actually presume to defy a judge so blatantly. For the rest, it would be regardless of the judge's counseling, the attorney continued to zealously represent her client by cross-examining the witness on his extra-marital affair to attack his loss of consortium damages.
So, irrespective (or perhaps regardless, as you see fit) of what you think of my analysis, perhaps we should work to err more on the side of regardless.
Ed note: I started this comparison over a month ago, but it took some time to really process the subtle differences, and I couldn't extract myself to work on any other words until I finished it, hence the extreme delay. Again, thank you for your patience. Hopefully, other words will not create such obstacles...
Posted by Lauren at 1:39 AM 15 comments:
Seep v. Percolate; Steep
I think someone has been drinking too much coffee, but by request we have seep and percolate, and I'll add steep for the tea drinkers out there.
Seep comes from the Dutch "sijpelen" for "to ooze". Then through the German "sifen" to Old English "sipian", until finally, c. 1500, "sipe" by way of a diatectic variant became seep. Still meaning to ooze, though. Whew. Meanwhile, percolate came solely from the Latin "per" meaning "through" and "colare" meaning "to filter" (from "colum" for a "sieve"). Now, both mean that some liquid passes through small openings, but seep has the liquid coming through on its own and at it own rate, while in percolate, the liquid is forced by something (usually thought of as heat). That's it. I will make one observation that percolate tends to have a connotation from certain usage that the liquid has to go through the porous material more than once, but the etymology and derivation only require that the liquid be forced. The number of times, even as few as once, is irrelevant. Now, steep, as a verb, has a questionable etymology from the Old Teutonic "staupjan" for the vessel storing liquor OR from the Danish "stope" or the Norwegian "stoypa" for "to steep" when used in reference to malting, although OED opines that these Scandanavian reconciliations have a basis in "cast down" relative to metals into molds. I suppose its not a great leap to derive that molten metal might have a tendency like other liquids to earn this definition, but steep is more akin to the process of diffusion as may be involved in fermentation. Regardless, steep, in contrast to seep and percolate, simply involves dunking or soaking in a liquid for the process of extracting impurities or flavor.
So, the usages are fairly straightforward. If I were to drink coffee, I would percolate water through the grounds, whereas since I usually drink tea, I just steep the teabag in nearly boiled water. If my cup is broken, either drink might seep onto the table. Ok, those are the obvious sentences. A hot bath does wonders to steep the tension from my shoulders. Possibly, although it would be more acceptable with something that could actually be leached from your system. A hot bath does wonders to steep toxins from my skin. After a long performance, sweat practically seeps from my body. Hmm. Perhaps overly graphic, and seep has the connotation of being a little thicker in proportion to the size of the porous material to account for the slow rate. Sweat isn't ever thick, and skin is really quite porous, so the better physical usage would be after a pricking my finger, blood seeps from the wound. However, sweat might percolate from my body in a sauna. The forced aspect has no relation to the size of the porous material; only that the liquid is coming out at a faster rate than normal. Now one might argue that in a sauna, the liquid is coming out at a rate commensurate with the temperature, and there is no "forcing", but why else does one go into the sauna if not to force sweat?
Now, this wouldn't be a regular post if I didn't try to expand the usage. So, these words all derive from liquids, so anything that could act like a liquid is also fair game. Mice seep from a hole in the wall or percolate through the walls? Maybe, but not likely. Animates (even a stream of animals) and tangibles are hard to analogize like liquids. But intangibles are fair game. While writing my opposition to Plaintiff's counsel's motion for summary judgment, a myriad of arguments and ideas percolated from my mind, and seeped onto the page. And then, after losing his ridiculous motion for summary judgment, Plaintiff's counsel steeped in his own humiliation and anger.
The problem is, though, that, aside from intangible usages, percolate has taken on a very specific identity with coffee, while seep and steep have broader usages more generally. Although technically correct that when I squeeze my teabag before removing it from my cup that I am percolating the tea, that just conjures vile tastes in my mind of mixing coffee and tea, and no self-respecting tea drinker would do that. Meanwhile, steep can be used to describe infusing flavors (the pineapple was steeped in vodka), and seep for anything that is leaking (milk is seeping from the carton).
Hopefully, you will find that your vocabulary is steeped with good words, which may percolate to others and seep into better usage.
Incite v. Inspire
I've been grading some Moot Court briefs, and this one came up.
Incite comes from the Latin "in" for "in" or more realistically, "to cause a person to be in" and "ciere" for "to set in motion" through a Late Latin derivation "citare" for to summon to a church court (related to citation). So it is not a big leap to get to the current usage of "to cause a person to be set in motion" or "to stir, encourage, or urge on; stimulate or prompt to action". Meanwhile, inspire comes from the same Latin "in" and "spirare" for "to breath", so quite literally, "to breathe into". It was originally meant as to breath life into, and then "to give rise to" like breathing life not just into a physical body, but into activities, and then their ideas, and then all intangibles. The initial usage has been abandoned mostly, but all the others remain in varying degrees. So pretty much, you can inspire anything.
So, what is the difference. Motion v. breath (life). Hmm. Well, incite can only be used with an activity as from the etymology, whereas, inspire is broader. English teachers incite reading with summer reading lists. English teachers inspire reading? Maybe, but not really. English teachers inspire writing novels. Incite requires an impetus--a deadline or an adjudication or guilt to motivate the action. Waiting for the opposition to my motion, my call to Plaintiff's counsel finally incited him to send it to me. Having promised his mother that he would clean his room, the threat of being grounded incited him to actually do the work. Inspire requires a new thing come from the action. While writing my opposition to Plaintiff's counsel's motion, I was inspired not just to attack it on the substance, but also on issues of bad faith. While cleaning his room, he was inspired to wash the car and take out the trash as well. Yeah, like that would ever happen. As for things beyond activities, the rousing cheer of the fans inspired the rookie with confidence to hit yet another double. In am not infrequently uninspired with any ideas for sentences using the wotd. I may be inspired to incite Plaintiff's counsel to be a better lawyer. However, I cannot incite Plaintiff's counsel to inspire his client to settle.
Consort v. Valet (vassal)
By request we have this analysis.
Consort comes from the Latin "con" for "with or through" and "sors" for "lot" as status or class, with some Indo-European roots in "sers" for the same. Then through the French "consort" to Middle English, it came to mean "to associate" and then the noun as of one who associates with another. It is now used predominantly to describe a spouse of a monarch.
Meanwhile, valet is a Old French derivative, c. 1560, of vassal which is a Middle Latin derivative ("vassallus"), c. 1300, of the Welsh "gwas" for "a young man" and Celtic/Irish "foss" for "servant". Of course, vassal still retains the meaning of a servant (a squire or a page to a nobleman), but c. 1600 came to be used exclusively with one who was tied to the land from the Feudal system. It's an interesting bifurcation of the word, needing one for the man and the land (vassal), and one for the man and the person (valet) generally inside the home. Today, valet is typically used for someone who takes care of clothing or your car. Odd division of labor, but both functions are still relative to the personal property of the "lord", and now the "lady".
Now the interesting comparison is that valet in the technical etymological sense would accompany the noble, much as the consort in the literal etymological meaning would, however, a consort had no particular gender associated with the position, and was frequently applied to women (that the reigning monarch was almost always a man until modern times), whereas a valet was only a manservant to a gentleman. There is also an inherent usage with consort that the individual is not a servant, although not an equal, but more of a companion. We can make all kinds of disparaging observations about the role of women relative to men in society, but there is no reason to give such a companion a different title when the word servant (or it's equivalent) already exists if his/her sole function were just as a servant.
That said, these words have fairly limited and specific usages. When I arrive at the hotel, I send my dress to the hotel valet to be pressed before the concert. Her husband has often extolled the virtues of having a personal valet, but the best she did was send his shirt out to be laundered. Since watching Ferris' Bueller's Day Off, I don't like having my car parked by the valet--never know what they do with it while I'm having dinner. Boring. After the Trojan War, the women of Troy were apportioned to the victorious Greeks as consorts (some may say concubines, but we'll deal with that word later). Prince Philip is the consort of Queen Elizabeth. Ok, you get the picture. The unequal spouse.
Posted by Lauren at 5:01 PM No comments:
Abscond
Another of my favorites that rarely gets used.
Abscond derives from the Latin "ab" for "away", "con" for "with or together" or alternately, "completely", and "dere" for "to put or place". From there, it took form as the Latin "abscondere" for "to conceal". And finally c. 1605, abscond emerged for "to depart in a sudden or secret manner" particularly so as to avoid capture. This is beginning to feel like a steeple chase with these hurdles. So, "to put away completely" becomes "to conceal". Ok, perhaps not such a great leap. But from to innocently "put away" to the neutral or borderline secretive, we get the nefarious overtones to stealing and withdrawing with the booty. Something that needs to be kept hidden. But of course, because the word did not originate in the Middle Ages, at least the meaning is linear to the tone of the evolution.
So, why do I like this word so much? No, I am not a cleptomaniac. I like to use it completely for the sarcastic value. I will not infrequently abscond with Plaintiff's counsel's brief before my boss "loses" is in the paperwork on his desk. Or I will abscond with the DVD that I loaned to my friend when I asked her if she done with it since I saw her using it as a coaster. Of course, there is nothing illegal or even remotely wrong with what I am doing, but the idea that I need to "steal" the brief or the DVD before worse things happen to these things, and withdraw before I am caught is the real merit of the word and its humor value. I probably would even tell my boss that I am "absconding" with the document--so he'll know where to find it later--which of course, defeats the implied usage of the word, but it still sounds funny.
As for correct usage, which is not nearly so much fun... She should have absconded with her grandmother's necklace before it became part of the estate and was given to her sister. On New Year's Eve, the employees frequently absconded from the store with a bottle of good cheer. People who fail to abscond with their unpaid goods are prosecuted for shoplifting. Since it derives from to put an object away, abscond must be used with a tangible. You can't really abscond with an idea. That's stealing or plagarism or just plain theft. Plaintiff's counsel absconded my theory of the case for his closing? Well, that sounds stupid for several reasons, not the least of which is that we're on opposite sides of the case, so my theory could never help him. She absconded the tractor from the farm. No. Abscond is an intransitive verb, so it doesn't take a direct object. She absconded from the gang my moving to Utah. Maybe. She absconded from the farm with the tractor. Better, although not sure how secretly you can depart with a tractor, but you get the idea. The word requires surreptitious behavior to leave and usually taking something which is the basis for the need to leave. The inside man on the bank job absconded with the money. Yes. Now, how often do you have need to use this word? Hopefully not that often, which is why I so seldom hear it, but it has so much possibility, I'll hope it can get more humorous use.
Inane
Well, I absolutely love this word. It does not roll trippingly off the tongue, so it must be said with intent and clear diction. I don't think people use it enough, and I certainly don't think that those who do, use it correctly, so, let's dig in...
Inane simply enough comes directly from the Latin "inanis" for "empty, void or worthless" through the French "inanité". From c. 1400 to c. 1800, the word went from empty in a physical sense (including as a technical term for the void between dominant realities or the space between atoms) to empty-headed in an conceptional sense to silly in a behavioral or connotative sense. Ok, natural extensions. Nothing in space, nothing in your head, nothing worth hearing. So, of course, while it still retains a probably archaic usage about space from its etymological origins, now it refers to the things that empty-headed people would say. Which segues nicely into my first usage.
Plaintiff's counsel's inane arguments did not persuade anyone. This should draw the natural comparison to "insipid", which I analyzed earlier this week, and which means basically uninteresting. Certainly, Plaintiff's counsel's arguments could be both inane and insipid--silly and uninspiring--but I would probably lean towards inane. Although along the lines of rhombus and square, something which is inane could be insipid as the thing which is silly may also not inspire. But the articulable difference between inane and insipid is that insipid generally refers to intangibles which have "taste" from it origins in the taste of food, while inane may refer to anything which should have intellectual value. His thesis was filled with inane theories. Ok, if this was an astrophysical thesis, it could be a double entendre, but as a medieval literature thesis, it should be implied to be only the "modern" meaning. Her new novel had an inane plot where the dog did it. Blondes have a bad reputation for being inane. It doesn't work as well with people, as with their thoughts, but since this reputation is based on vacuousness and/or ditziness, the empty-headed and silliness works particularly well. Plaintiff's counsel is inane? possibly if he didn't study hard in law school and barely passed the bar exam. He would be technically devoid of knowledge. She gave him an insipid look indicating that she did not understand his discussion of the nuances of binary coding. I prefer vacant here. I still like inane better as a modifier of the intellectual thought, not a modifier of the alleged intellectual, but it has raised for me a number of words which may describe the void as well. Ah, well, as I said, I love this word, but I think I use is exclusively with Plaintiff's counsel. That I have so much occasion to use it just indicates the state of tort law. You'll need to find your own group of incompetents to apply this word (e.g., teachers, bosses/supervisors, coworkers, customers, relatives). Hmm. Maybe I need to use this word more...
In keeping with the words that "do not...mean[] what you think[] it means", this is a classic. When you get the reference, you'll understand why.
Like many words starting with "in" for "not", their given etymologies make you hunt all over a dozen other words to find what is really means. Conceivable comes from Latin "con" for "with or together" and "capere" for "to take" as the latter was derived from the Indo-European "kap". The Latin derivative was "concipere" which then became "conceivre" in Old French. Add a little suffix, "able" meaning "capable of", e voilà, we have "incapable of being taken with or together". Inconceivable. Yep. That does it for me. Not. Back to conceivable. Conceive generally refers to pregnancy, with a secondary meaning of creating an idea, not just life. [Ed. note: conception is not a related word, but there is the similar pair of concept, as an idea, and conception, as an creation of life which is interesting.] So, by extension, inconceivable should mean incapable making life. But inconceivable has no element of "life" associated with its usage. Somehow, c. 1631 when this word originated, creating life wasn't as important as stating what couldn't be understood. So the implication of creating an idea from conceivable became not being able to understand the idea for inconceivable, which is an incorrect negation of conceivable, which should instead be unable to create the idea. And we are left with the usage of "unimaginable, unthinkable and unbelievable". Oh, well, it wouldn't be the first word which etymology to usage is slightly askew.
That said, the usages of inconceivable, notwithstanding the movie, are pretty straightforward. It is inconceivable to me that people would not use the subjunctive tense, while it may be inconceivable to many more that the subjunctive tense still exists. The jury found Plaintiff's counsel's theory of the case inconceivable and awarded a defense verdict. I'd probably just go with unbelievable, but inconceivable adds a meta level to the unbelievability. Not just that the theory was unbelievable, but you can't imagine how anyone else could believe it. It is completely incapable of being grasped by anyone. Quantum physics, black holes, and imaginary numbers should be inconceivable, and once were. The homecoming queen found it inconceivable that she would not be admired by the entire school. A bit banal, but it does the trick.
Suasion v. Persuasion
Here's another archival post of mine.
Suasion. I remember this word raising my hackles a couple of years ago when it was the wotd on DD. Merriam-Webster defines both "suasion" and "persuasion" as "the act of persuading". Now, normally, I would reiterate that there are no true synonyms and distinguish the etymologies on each, except the etymologies are a little fuzzy. Suasion says it comes from Latin "suadere" for "persuasion" or "to advise", while persuasion says it comes from--wait for it--"per" and "suasion",so these are unhelpful. The mere addition of the "per" meaning through, doesn't add anything to the etymology or the meaning. Persuasion does not really mean through suasion, because the definition of suasion is backward to that construction. Suasion means through persuasion and therefore should actually be "perpersuasion" (Or do the “per”s cancel?) So, I think we have an issue of lazy usage being justified retroactively, since these words both originated in the late Middle Ages, c. 1380. But, I'll make one last stab at a distinction, just for old times sake. The usage of suasion from the examples from DD is non-specific, to a general perspective (e.g., moral or cultural norms), while persuasion is for a definite idea or opinion. I regularly persuade the judge to my argument, or try to persuade people to order different things off the menu so we can share and sample, but I might try to suade a child to be kind to animals or to always say please and thank you. Still not much use for suasion. Perhaps suasion is just insipid.
Posted by Lauren at 10:10 AM 12 comments:
Insipid
I'm on a roll... This was not a DD wotd, but it sparks my interest as another word which may be both underutilized and misused.
Insipid derives from "in" meaning "not" and "sapidus" meaning "tasty". Cute. So "not tasty" becomes "flavorless" (not a big stretch there) to "without distinctive, interesting or stimulating qualities" generally. Ok. It's part of the natural shift to broaden the usage. At least it isn't a complete reversal of the word's etymology. Probably because this word evolved c. 1650, and not in the Middle Ages, either (see facetious and sarcastic). Was civilization smarter then? I'll leave that for someone else's discussion forum.
So, this insipid soup needs more herbs and definitely more salt. Poaching tenderloin makes great soup, but insipid steaks. After having found a recipe for pie crust that uses vodka, no one will claim that my apple pie is insipid. Alright, so that's the classic usage of the word that no one really uses. We just say bland. Now, the real fun begins with the expanded usage. Some words that DD proposes on wotd are just insipid. Jeremiad, pukka and mulct just don't inspire me. [Ed. note: These are words I do not intend to discuss on this forum. Look elsewhere if you want to know about them.] As a rule now, since I don't have time to deal with wotd on the daily basis that DD intends, I just skip the truly insipid ones and swoop for the most interesting (to me). Plaintiff's counsel's arguments are insipid. Insipid applies to intangibles and tangibles that rouse the taste element. The table is not insipid. The design scheme is insipid. Plaintiff's counsel may even be insipid, but I have some reservations about using this word with people or animates. I think since the modern definition comes from tasting, it has to be something that we perceive like a taste. I can "taste" the design scheme or the argument. I don't taste the furniture or the person. So I would use it sparingly with inedible tangibles, unless you're going for the sarcasm. I am diminishing Plaintiff's counsel to a bowl of soup. Sounds good to me. That's a double entendre of sarcasm!
Posted by Lauren at 9:57 PM 1 comment:
Facetious v. Sarcastic
Facetious popped up a few days ago, while I was too busy to deal with it, but I think I'll go on a kick to discuss words that we hear all too commonly and wonder whether they are being used correctly. So...
Facetious comes from the Latin "facetus" for "witty" through the French "facetie" for "jest". It is a rare word, indeed, that maintains it etymological roots. Probably because the word didn't originate in English until after the Middle Ages, c. 1590. And today, it still means "not to be taken seriously or literally" or "amusing or frivolous" as from lacking serious content. Contemporaneous to the evolution of frivolous, sarcasm came into being, from the Greek "sarx" or "sarkos" for "a piece of meat" and pre-Indo-European base "twerk" or "thwares" for "to cut", and by a further Greek derivative through "sarkasmos" for "to sneer" and then the late Latin "sarcasmos". Approximately 100 years later, sarcastic came into being. Why it took 100 years to get the adjective from the noun, we may never know. Now, this may seem odd, to get from rending flesh to sneering, but the idea of the sneer is the biting comment, harsh or bitter derision, akin to rending flesh not with an instrument, but with words. So, the difference appears to be that facetious is a comment that is cute and not hurtful, while sarcasm is irony intended to taunt. Of course, many mask sarcasm in the guise of facetiousness, so as not to offend (as much).
When he whistled at the girls on the street while leering from his convertible, it was easy to make a facetious comment that he was acting like a dog. When he whistled at the girls on the street while leering from his convertible, it was easy to make a sarcastic comment that he was acting like an angel. Too easy, and going to get boring quickly. Facetious and sarcastic both refer to speech. Since these words refer to the witty or biting remarks of people, it doesn't work with acts of people. Plaintiff's counsel's facetious conduct to twirl his pencil while in Court just doesn't make sense. Plaintiff's counsel's facetious remark about the witness' disheveled appearance as indicative of whether the witness cared about his testimony was not appreciated by the jury. I make sarcastic remarks about Plaintiff's counsel's lack of competence repeatedly in these posts. Again, much too easy. The only thing I will add is that the type of speech to which facetious and sarcasm apply is usually not formal. It's not a facetious statement or a sarcastic order. Both are off the cuff, not formulated or memorialized. Sarcastic has a sotto voce or behind one's back connotation to its usage since you should not be inclined to make hurtful statements deliberately to someone. Telling your adversary that she is your best friend is sarcasm. Telling your friend that the big pink bow she is wearing in her hair makes her look 10 years younger is facetious, and borderline sarcasm.
Both great words. Use them well. Use the comments which are the basis of the words sparingly.
Posted by Lauren at 8:38 PM 57 comments:
Sempiternal v. Eternal
Well, this comparison came up quite sporadically from a book I wasn't reading, but got dragged into discussing notwithstanding. Apparently, the word sempiternal required just slightly less than forever to process...you'll get the joke later.
Sempiternal comes from the Latin contraction of semperaeternus for "semper" meaning "always" and "aeternus" for "eternal" from "aeviternus" meaning "of great age". This might seem redundant on first blush. Of course the immediate question is what could be less than eternal that it would require a modifier of always, and then if sempiternal means always eternal, what does mere eternal mean? Eternal, like all the crazy connotations, evolved in the Middle Ages, c. 1350. Sempiternal came about 100 years later, c. 1450. If the connotations are to be believed, sempiternal refers to an enduring thing which came from a known beginning, while eternal refers to something which had neither a beginning nor an end. But the definition of sempiternal is hazy, at best, and doesn't make the distinction as clearly as the definition of eternal implies. Moreover, sempiternal notes that the definition if "literary", as if to imply that only if you are a published writer/author could you possibly use this word. Perhaps the real intention was only if you were a published writer/author would you possibly use this word...
I have to confess that, as of late, my tolerance for idiotic and obtuse etymological evolutions has become strained. And OED is just so heavy and awkward. But, OED confirms that sempiternal is to "endure without end", implying that it had a beginning, and eternal is "infinite in past and future duration". Pretty clear now, although still potentially useless.
Diamonds are not forever; they are merely sempiternal. Yeah, that's romantic. Many arguments by Plaintiff's counsel seem sempiternal. There are rules requiring cases be disposed of within a prescribed period so they do not take on the appearance of sempiternality. A postings to the internet automatically becomes sempiternal. Ok, you get the picture. Meanwhile, very simply, a concept that has no known beginning as well as no known end would be eternal. Love is eternal, even if the diamond isn't. Arguably, murder is sempiternal from Cain and Abel, but revenge according to the ancient Greeks was eternal. And of course, there is the eternal line at the Registry of Motor Vehicles. yes, that one was sarcastic. But while the difference is definable and clear, use sempiternal in causal, non-literary circles, and you will draw more blank stares than using animadversion. I'll save an analysis of "forever" for later to see if that word may be used as a catch all.
After all that antiquare/antiquate nonsense, I just needed a simple happy word: Egregious.
Egregious derives from Latin "ex" and "grege" for literally "out of the flock", or poetically, "rising above the flock" or pre-eminent, outstanding. Of course that has good overtones, but a mere swing of the pendulum and some time later during the Middle Ages (of course!) we get the exact opposite meaning. That standing out is a bad thing, a glaring or conspicuous in its error. Archaically, it still retains the original meaning of exceptional, but no one would believe that usage as anything more than irony, so the the negative connotation it is.
Failure to use the subjunctive tense is no longer the egregious grammatical error that it once was, although it should be. While sight-reading the new piece, she mispronounced all the Latin, breathed in the middle of words, and didn't observe the subito piano marking in time to refrain from being the unintended soloist, evidencing her egregious musicianship. Never me! Plaintiff's counsel's arguments contained egregious misstatements of the law. Too easy. Enjoy!
Antiquarian v. Antiquated
I've always liked the word antiquated, largely because I am not chattel, but I am not infrequently reminded of those old laws, and antiquarian reminded me of that.
Antiquarian derives from the Latin "anti" for "before" and pre-Indo-European "-okw" for "appearance". Of course, during Medieval times, it started taking on other forms and meanings. First, the Latin derivative "antiquus" came to mean "former, ancient", then antiquity meaning "olden times", then c. 1550, "antiquarius" for "a student of the past" (antiquary in modern usage). And finally, antiquarian for "pertaining to antiquaries or their studies". It should be noted that antiquities was just the adjectival form of "old", but has come to mean from the period of time before the Middle Ages (a.k.a. really old). Meanwhile on a separate etymological vein, and just for sake of completeness, c. 1700, antiquated sprang into existence for "obsolete". Somehow the idea of old evolved into simply outdated. Another 100 years later, and we have antique proper, for an old and collectible thing, although that's not necessarily outdated (e.g. furniture and china). It isn't until the early 1920s that we get antique as a verb for "to give an antique appearance to" when we return to the worn out concept, an adjective to describe something that is old and collectible, and finally, another verb for the activity of collecting these old collectibles. It's all so confusing, but basically there are two threads: antiquarian and all the "r" derivatives for really old and antiquated and all the "t" derivatives for outdated.
Ok, so I guess I'm not as enamored of antiquarian as I am of antiquated. It's so easy to say that Plaintiff's counsel's calling me "little lady" was an antiquated sentiment from a chauvinist era. Blue light laws prohibiting coin operated laundry on Sundays are similarly antiquated. But there are few examples of antiquarian music. Hmm. that's not quite right, or at least, it shouldn't be. Antiquarian relates to those who study the past or their study of the past, not the past itself. An early musicologist is an antiquarian pendant. Oh yeah, that's clear, as well as a double entendre. Who would even say such a thing? And I know some early musicologists! The Magna Carta is technically not old enough to be of antiquarian interest. ugh. It's correct, but dumb. Can I just give up on this word, and condemn it as esoterically useless. Why does DD continue to do this? Antiquated has so much more possibility. Perhaps antiquarian is an antiquated word. I'm going to treat it as such.
Evince v. Evidence
As part of my backlog of words, evince roused the lawyer in me today.
Evince comes from the Latin "e" meaning "out of, from, or thoroughly" and "vincere" meaning "to conquer". And somehow "to conquer thoroughly" now means "to show clearly". More trial by combat. Compare evidence which comes from the Latin "e" and "videre" meaning "to see". So in this instance, "to see thoroughly" means "to show clearly". This is just the blind leading the blind. Amazing how two completely different etymologicial roots can come to the same alleged usage. Well, almost. Say it with me: there are no true synonyms.
Ok, so what is the difference. Since evince comes from to conquer, it is a personal activity, therefore, the things shown are personal traits or qualities, not impersonal facts. And while it expresses the traits and qualities of humans, it may expand to animals or inanimate objects as these may exemplify human traits or qualities. The miscreant youths evince their low aspirations by loitering in the mall. I evince sympathy with my eyes alone. I evince cold. No. I evince that I am cold. Yes. As a result of his last favorable jury verdict, Plaintiff's counsel evinces haughtiness. My cat evinces her distaste for her food by ignoring it. Yes, because she has such personality. Lions evinces their superiority in the jungle with a loud roar. Yes, because we ascribe human qualities to "the king of the jungle". My stereo evinces life-like sound. Probably as it mirrors human sound, but the better word would probably be evoke. Meanwhile, evidence demonstrates a fact, but is employed solely from the non-human perspective. My cat evidences that she is hungry by sitting at her bowl and yowling. Yes. He evidences that he is annoyed by scowling. No. The bills in the box evidences that the mailman delivered the mail today. Yes, although as an issue of circumstantial evidence, the better word is indicates. Plaintiff's counsel's haughtiness evidences his last favorable jury verdict. Yes, but it it's not likely that he won against me.
The trouble with this pair is that evince has been roughly subsumed by other words that don't sound like evidence, and evidence is rarely used as a verb, since when evidence is used, even as a noun, is suggests a legal meaning. Therefore, evidence supplants evince, perhaps as evince may be a malapropism for evidence, and everyone just uses it as a noun to make things clear. The evidence will show that my cat is hungry, that I was was cold, and that Plaintiff's counsel is haughty.
Posted by Lauren at 9:43 AM 5 comments:
Roué
As long as I'm in a French mood, I'll delve into another French word...
First of all, roue, as DD spells it, is misspelled. Roué has an accent. Otherwise, you wouldn't pronounce the "e". It would just be roue (pronounced roo), which rhymes with roux, which is the white sauce.
Now, etymologically, roué derives from the Latin "rota" for a wheel, and evolved from the past participle of the French "rouer" for "to break upon a wheel". The insinuation is that the individual is so sinful as to require the punishment of being broken upon the wheel, a throwback to a torture predominantly of the Middle Ages (the Catherine Wheel) designed for execution. As I continue to analyze the etymologies and uses of words, and I am more and more intrigued by the sharp shift in the evolution and derivation of words which occurred between 900 and 1600. I'll have to explore that more, and augment my postings with my findings. So the crimes of a man who was to be broken on the wheel were so morally repugnant that he was not eligible to be execute by the gallows, normally reserved for common crimes like theft. But now we just think of the roué as someone who is devoted to sensual pleasure, which may or may not have been actionable on the wheel in 1450. Whether our tolerance for these crimes has abated, or whether our connotation of its has evolved, it seems that the meaning is debauchery, and not a capital crime, like leading a riot or a gang of brigands.
An admitted roué, he drank all the wine in the cellars and cleaned out the stores in less than a week. Too easy. Oscar Wilde wrote of the prototypical roué in An Ideal Husband. Also too easy. Plaintiff's counsel wined and dined his soon to be divorced client and cleaned out her bank account in the process as only a roué could. Still too easy. As I try to formulate these sentences, I am struck with the overwhelming feeling that roué and effete belong in the same sentence. A gluttonous roué at Thanksgiving and Christmas, he lay on the couch, effete from trytophan overdose and watching football. Yes, I note all my roué are men, but the definition was "a man devoted to a life of sensual pleasure." A woman knows better!
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DVDs & CDs from bands playing at the Live 8 Concerts: Buy the Live 8 (Four) DVD Box Set here
Home � Live 8 Locations � Live 8 Japan
Live 8 Japan - Tokyo, Makuhari Messe Stadium
The Japanese contribution to the Live 8 concerts was hosted at the futuristic Makuhari Messe Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. (The Makuhari Messe Stadium is located in Chiba; a suburb of Tokyo.)
Also known as the Nippon Convention Center, Makuhari Messe opened in 1989 and covers 210,000 square meters. It is built around three major facilities - the International Conference Hall, the International Exhibition Halls, and the Makuhari Event Hall. Located almost exactly mid-way between the heart of Tokyo and Narita City, Makuhari Messe has become known as a focal gathering point for foreigner visitors, making it Japan's leading convention center in terms of prestige and success.
Makuhari Messe is home to key international trade fairs such as the Tokyo Motor Show, and international conferences like ASEM. Additional events include the World Judo Championships, outdoor concerts by popular music groups The Makuhari Messe can hold crowds of up to 200,000 people, and other diverse, large-scale gatherings.
The fun kicked off at the Live 8 Japan concert where the headline act Bjork gave her first live musical performance in two years. The pint-size star told the crowd of 10,000 concert goers of her sense of vulnerability in the face of tremendous poverty in poor countries. �I look at the news, I see people starving, I am crying, I�m a total mess,� she said. Also performing at Live 8 Japan, were boyband McFly, Def Tech, Do As Infinity, Dreams Come True, Good Charlotte, McFly and Rize. It is rumored that the complete Japan event may not be available on DVD, but highlights of the Japan Live 8 event can be seen on the official Live 8 DVD.
Buy the Live 8 DVD. Now available to pre-order.
Def Tech
Do As Infinity
Dreams Come True Good Charlotte
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f Pathogenesis of a North American hantavirus, Black Creek Canal virus, in experimentally infected Sigmodon hispidus.
K L Hutchinson, P E Rollin, C J Peters
Affiliations: 1 Special Pathogens Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA.
Source: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Volume 59, Issue 1, 1 Jul 1998, p. 58 - 65
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.1998.59.58
This report describes the first detailed analysis of the replication, persistence, and excretion of a North American hantavirus in its natural rodent reservoir. Black Creek Canal virus was isolated from Sigmodon hispidus (cotton rat) shortly after the identification of a hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) case occurring in southern Florida. Six-week-old male cotton rats were inoculated subcutaneously with 1,000 tissue culture infectious doses. Viral complementary RNA (vcRNA) was quantified as a means of determining the site(s) of viral activity (transcription and replication). In the first few weeks post inoculation (pi), vcRNA was detectable in every tissue examined except blood. The quantities of vcRNA decreased over time, and by five months pi it could be detected only in the brain. In addition to using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) as a means of measuring viral replication/transcription, attempts were made to reisolate virus from all tissue samples taken. Virus could be isolated from every solid tissue examined, and the titers appeared to decrease over time, similar to the QPCR results. However, in contrast to the QPCR results, infectious virus was still routinely detectable at low levels in adrenal gland, liver, kidney, and testicle 150 days pi. Although results of testing for vcRNA in the blood were uniformly negative, infectious virus was detected at one week pi, reached highest titers at two weeks, and decreased dramatically by three weeks. After three weeks pi, infectious virus could only be detected sporadically in blood. Virus was isolated from urine collected during the first 70 days pi and throughout the entire study period in feces and wet bedding. These data indicate that the viral infection can be separated into an acute phase associated with high virus titers, and a chronic or persistent phase associated with lower virus titers and continued shedding of virus in excreta.
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http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.4269/ajtmh.1998.59.58
10.4269/ajtmh.1998.59.58
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Vincent Price, Roger Corman, and Edgar Allan Poe
By the early 1950's, Universal Studios had largely given up on its tradition of Gothic horror films. Arguably the last of the line was 1948's Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein, the greatest of the horror-comedies but nevertheless a farce on the petrified iconography of their classic monsters. Universal's immediate future belonged to Atomic Age Sci-Fi, including the last great monster, The Creature from the Black Lagoon in 1954. The following year, Universal went to colour with This Island Earth, but by 1960 these sorts of "genre" offerings were naught but schlocky drive-in movie fare.
Yet at just that same time, hideous things were brewing in England. Hammer Films began production of their own line of horror films that were widely seen as inheriting Universal's mantle. Produced in colour and staring legendary actors Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, films like The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Horror of Dracula and The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), The Mummy (1959), and The Brides of Dracula (1960) proved that there was still interest in well-made, well-acted, well-scripted Gothic horror films. At the time, American International Pictures was a low-grade B-movie house that was known for giving minuscule shooting schedules and shoestring budgets to films like I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), Teenage Cave Man (1958), High School Hellcats (1958), and Reform School Girl (1957). However, when one of their most prolific and reliable directors, Roger Corman, approached them to make their own series of Hammer-style horror films, they gave him the green light. Not only that, but they upped his budget and gave him a whole 15 days to shoot his first, on the gamble that this was just the sort of thing that would raise AIP's standing, not to mention their profit margins.
As source material, Corman deviated from the tradition of European writers to go with an American original: Edgar Allan Poe. Richard Matheson, one of the greatest horror writers that ever lived, supplied the script based on Poe's 1839 story The Fall of the House of Usher. Then came the inspired choice to cast Vincent Price as Roderick Usher. To this point, Price was already an established actor with 20 years experience and over 80 roles in his filmography. He originally entered the craft as a dramatic character actor who took on a number of historical dramas, then transitioning into Noir thrillers for a while. In the Fifties he really began his career in horror, in such films as House of Wax (1953), The Fly (1958) and Return of the Fly (1959), The House on Haunted Hill and The Tingler (both 1959). Over the course of his career, less than a third of Price's films were horror, but they were the ones with the most enduring popularity. By the 1980's, he was guest-starring on The Muppet Show and doing voice-overs for Michael Jackson's Thriller as an all-time horror icon. This was due in no small part to AIP's "Poe Cycle." Together, they created House of Usher (1960) and charted a new course in American horror film.
Presented by Cory Gross No comments:
Subjects: Edgar Allan Poe, Horror, Post-War Film, Scientific Romance
Fall of the House of Usher: the 1928 Silent Films
Amidst his bibliography of classic tales, The Fall of the House of Usher is one of Edgar Allan Poe's best known and most frequently adapted. First published in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine in September of 1839, it is a masterful Gothic short story about a sinister house and its woe-begotten inhabitants. Poe's narrator introduces us to Roderick and Madeline Usher, last in the long line of the Usher family.... A venerable clan beset with the maladies of aristocracy: physical, mental, and moral degeneracies. Madeline is seen but once before her apparent death by cataleptic seizure. It is Roderick who must live with the constant deterioration of his body and spirit within the confines of the oppressive manor that imprisons him. The titular house is a bleak one, crumbling from centuries of mold and decay in an unrelentingly melancholy swamp. Such visually and psychologically arresting subject matter begs for cinematic adaptation. The Fall of the House of Usher has been brought to film over a dozen times, not counting crypto-adaptations like Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak (2015). Perhaps the best known of these is the 1960 version directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price, which kicked off an entire series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations. The earliest were two films released in the same year of the silent era, one in France and the other in the United States.
Subjects: Edgar Allan Poe, Horror, Silent Film
The Great Moon Hoax
Of all the giants of scientific endeavour, perhaps none are as significant to history as Sir John Herschel. Already an accomplished astronomer and natural philosopher - having written A preliminary discourse on the study of natural philosophy in 1831, which in turn inspired many scientists including a young Charles Darwin - Herschel departed for South Africa in 1833 in order to chart the courses of the southern stars. It was there that he developed his greatest invention and made the greatest discovery in the history of the human race.
The report delivered by the New York Sun on Tuesday, August 25th, 1835. Its announcement read:
In this unusual addition to our Journal, we have the happiness of making known to the British publick, and thence to the whole civilized world, recent discoveries in Astronomy which will build an imperishable monument to the age in which we live, and confer upon the present generation of the human race a proud distinction through all future time. It has been poetically said, that the stars of heaven are the hereditary regalia of man, as the intellectual sovereign of the animal creation. He may now fold the Zodiack around him with a loftier conscientiousness of his mental supremacy.
It is impossible to contemplate any great Astronomical discovery without feelings closely allied to a sensation of awe, and nearly akin to those with which a departed spirit may be supposed to discover the realities of a future state. Bound by the irrevocable laws of nature to the globe on which we live, creatures "close shut up in infinite expanse," it seems like acquiring a fearful supernatural power when any remote mysterious works of the Creator yield tribute to our curiosity. It seems almost a presumptious assumption of powers denied to us by divine will, when man, in the pride and confidence of his skill, steps forth, far beyond the apparently natural boundary of his privileges, and demands the secrets and familiar fellowship of other worlds.
We are assured that when the immortal philosopher to whom mankind is indebted for the thrilling wonders now first made known, had at length adjusted his new and stupendous apparatus with the certainty of success, he solemnly paused several hours before he commenced his observations, that he might prepare his own mind for discoveries which he knew would fill the minds of myriads of his fellow-men with astonishment, and secure his name a bright, if not transcendent conjunction with that of his venerable father to all posterity.
And well he might pause! From the hour the first human pair opened their eyes to the glories of the blue firmament above them, there has been no accession to human knowledge at all comparable in sublime interest to that which he has been the honored agent in supplying; and we are taught to believe that, when a work, already preparing for the press, in which his discoveries are embodied in detail, shall be laid before the public, they will be found of incomparable importance to some of the grandest operations of civilized life.
Well might he pause! He was about the become the sole depository of wondrous secrets which had been hid from the eyes of all men that had lived since the birth of time. He was about to crown himself with a diadem of knowledge which would give him a conscientious pre-eminence above every individual of his species who then lives, or who had lived in the generations that are passed away. He paused ere he broke the seal of the casket which contained it.
To render our enthusiasm intelligible, we will state at once, that by means of a telescope of vast dimensions and entirely new principle, the younger Herschel, at his observatory in the Southern Hemisphere, has already made the most extraordinary discoveries in every planet of our solar system; has discovered planets in other solar systems; has obtained a distinct view of objects in the moon, fully equal to that which the naked eye commands of terrestrial objects at the distance of a hundred yards; has affirmatively settled the question whether this satellite be inhabited, and by what order of things; has firmly established a new theory of cometary phenomena; and has solved or corrected nearly every leading problem of mathematical astronomy.
This understandably florid prose led to the news of the greatest discovery by the accomplished Herschel: life on the moon!
An illustration of Herschel's discoveries.
These fantastic revelations by advanced telescope technology were, of course, a hoax. The perpetrator seems to have been reporter Richard Adams Locke, in a publicity stunt for the Sun. By the sixth and final installment on August 31, 1835, the public was inflamed, Edgar Allan Poe was incensed, Jules Verne was inspired, and the Sun's readership was permanently inflated. Herschel was said to have been amused by the whole thing. The Great Moon Hoax was to the 19th century what Orson Welles' War of the Worlds broadcast was to the 20th, and what the entire "fake news" dilemma is to the 21st.
Subjects: Edgar Allan Poe, Halley's Comet, Hoaxes, Literature, Outer Space, The Moon, The Regency
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A Controversial Indianapolis Board Appointment: Perception and the Dilemma Between Competence and Conflicts of Interest
Monday, February 4th, 2008
The new mayor of Indianapolis, Greg Ballard, who ran as a candidate who would bring ethics to city government, is already embroiled in a controversial ethics issue. He has appointed Robert T. Grand as chair of the Capital Improvement Board (CIB), which manages the city’s convention center and sports stadiums, including that of the Indiana Pacers, a basketball team owned by the Simon family. There is a good chance that the Pacers' lease will be renegotiated next year.
Grand, an attorney, represents the Simon family’s principal business, the Simon Property Group. His law firm lobbies for the Pacers and held a big fundraiser for Mayor Ballard. Grand was a leader of Mayor Ballard’s transition team. And he is also a lobbyist for many businesses and organizations.
According to the firm’s website, Grand “is a member of the Governmental Services & Finance Department. He concentrates his practice in the areas of public finance and governmental regulation. In the public finance area, he counsels state officials, county officials, and mayors on various aspects of bond financing issues and also assists them with many aspects of economic development initiatives. ... His governmental regulation practice includes the representation of public and private clients before state agencies and the Indiana General Assembly. He also represents public and private clients before federal agencies and the U.S. Congress.”
It’s hard to imagine someone more qualified to be on a municipal board. It’s also hard to imagine someone with more actual and potential conflicts.
When Grand was approached, he recognized these actual and potential conflicts, and created a number of protections to solve the problem.
According to an article in the Indianapolis Star and the Advance Indiana blog, Grand and his law firm promised to:
• Notify the CIB any time a client of the firm is involved in "matters with or become adverse to the CIB."
• Abstain from taking part in deliberations or votes on such matters.
• Establish an "ethical screen" that precludes Grand's involvement in matters in which the firm represents the Pacers.
• Bar Grand's access to the firm's files on the Pacers.
• Bar access by firm attorneys to any materials Grand receives in his role as a member of the CIB.
• Deduct from Grand's compensation any share of firm income derived from representing the Pacers.
The same article quotes a politics professor and Common Cause policy director questioning this solution. The professor questions whether Grand would be able to fully participate in board matters, and the Common Cause policy director says that there is still the perception of conflict and of doing business as usual. “Couldn’t they just pick someone else?”
Mayor Ballard ran on a platform emphasizing ethics, but he just doesn’t get it. He doesn’t understand the central place of perception in ethics (in fact, the limitations on Grand and his firm do not appear to have been his idea). He doesn’t understand how important it is for people to see an ethical leader question his own decision and say, “You know, even though I think the man would make a great board chair, his perceived conflict of interest isn’t good for this city. I really meant what I said when I was running for office. I’m not going to do business as usual. I can find someone else to do the job. In fact, maybe the mayor shouldn’t even be appointing people to this board. Why should someone identified with the mayor be controlling the $74 million budget of an independent board? I’d prefer it if community organizations appointed CIB members, and if the board chose it own chair.”
Mayor Ballard should recognize this essential ethical dilemma: the most competent potential appointee is usually the one with the most conflicts. Competence is incredibly important, but one with less specific competence – a lawyer who works in a different field for unrelated clients – can be just as competent without the conflicts. Skills, whether they be legal or financial or managerial, are more easily applied to unknown areas than most people recognize. People on citizen boards are expected to take some time to get adjusted. That’s why most boards have staggered appointment schedules: so that there are always experienced people on the board to held break in the new members.
City Related, In the news
An Ethics Officer Worth Emulating
Regular Review of Ethics Codes
A Problematic Baltimore Legislative Immunity Decision
Self-Promotion in Maricopa, A Police County
Dealing Responsibly with Conflicts in College Towns
Harassment and Intimidation by Government Officials — Another Visit to Maricopa County
Trust and the Us-Them Mentality
Legal Advice and Government Accountability
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People use sunshine laws to retaliate against political opponents (it’s easy to find technical violations and use them to show an opponent is not being open; and you don’t even have to find them: newspapers write up baseless allegations just the same).
But it is rare that sunshine laws lead to fisticuffs. According to the Star Press of East Central Indiana, this did happen last Wednesday in Delaware County, Indiana, home of Muncie.
An appointed county voter registration office worker was arrested for having attacked not someone he felt broke the state’s sunshine law, but a reporter who did not challenge the legality of a county election board meeting due to allegedly insufficient notice. The board chair considered it an “emergency meeting.”
The alleged assailant also happened to be secretary of a Delaware County party committee.
This makes one wonder whether party people should be appointed to voter registration jobs. It’s typical for registrars to be political appointments, but isn’t there a conflict of interest here? Shouldn’t such employees be seen as neutral and fair? And shouldn’t they see themselves not as someone entitled to his position, but rather as just another county employee or, even better, as someone who has to look fair?
Would an employee who didn’t feel somehow entitled ever think of striking a reporter, especially one who had written nothing bad about the employee?
Here’s how he defended his actions:
“It wouldn’t have happened if you [the newspaper] hadn’t promoted it. When you promote illegal activities, there are ramifications. ... I was wrong in what I did, but at some point there’s got to be an attention-getter.”
You see, a party committee secretary is incapable of getting his committee to file a complaint, or writing a letter to the editor, or making a public statement at the next meeting. A party committee secretary is entitled to take the law in his own hands and get immediate attention for his cause. And he succeeded.
But he also got immediate attention for another cause: the cause of having neutral voter registration employees. I realize that this is like asking for neutral sports fans, but it should be like asking for neutral referees.
City Related, County Related, In the news
donmc says:
Upon reading the article at the Star, I found what I considered to be the most egregious aspect of the incident to be in the comments - to have a worker in the electoral system with such grossly bigoted views is appalling.
See the text of the specific comment below:
[quote=Comment Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 7:43 pm]“Statom said the Ball State registrations should not be a concern because the students wouldn’t vote anyway. Then he focused on the African American community members in attendance and said, "I don’t have to sit here and listen to THESE people." It was the way that the words came out and all in attendance knew what he was actually saying. I was so offended by his tone and remarks that I spontaneously stood up along with many others in objection and disgust. Statom said the forms would probably all be sloppy and illegible and that this was a big to do over nothing.”
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/4/11/141541/838/455/493809
Statom has to go. He should not represent any political party. When a person serves on any political board, they understand they are representing the masses. Statom's take on it is personal.[/quote]
Carla Miller, Founder - CityEthics.org
Legislative Involvement in Administration: Problems in Broward County, FL
A Contentious Conflict Situation in Kansas City, KS
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Industry sector intelligence
Canadian space industry
Space Advisory Board
SAB Communications
On October 17, 2016, the Government of Canada initiated plans to renew the Space Advisory Board, and the Department launched an open, merit-based application process for the selection of members.
The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, announced on April 18, 2017 the renewed board. These talented and diverse individuals from industry, the academic and research communities, and the not-for-profit sector have been appointed based on their significant knowledge of, and expertise in, the space sector.
The Board is chaired by Dr. Marie Lucy Stojak, Director of the School on Management of Creativity and Innovation at HEC Montréal. The members of the board are:
Dr. James Drummond, Professor, Dalhousie University
William MacDonald Evans, President, W. MacDonald Evans Consulting Inc.
Stéphane Germain, President and CEO, GHGSat Inc.
Dr. Douglas Hamilton, Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Calgary
Kate Howells, Global Community Outreach Consultant, The Planetary Society
Michelle Mendes, Executive Director, Canadian Space Commerce Association
Dr. Gordon Osinski, Associate Professor, Western University and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Chair in Earth and Space Exploration
Michael Pley, President, Pley Consulting Inc. and Chair of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada's Space Committee
Dr. Afzal Suleman, Canada Research Chair in Computational and Experimental Mechanics and Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Centre for Aerospace Research, University of Victoria
Christine Tovee, independent consultant
Complete biographies
The Space Advisory Board was renewed to advise the Government of Canada on long-term objectives for space and to engage with Canadians. This initiative is part of the Government’s Innovation and Skills Plan , a multi-year strategy to create well-paying jobs for the middle class.
As a part of the Government's Innovation and Skills Plan, the Space Advisory Board has been engaging with Canadians to help support the development of a new vision for Canada's space sector and to define key elements of a space strategy. The Board's input will inform a strategy, which will focus on using space to drive broader economic growth and innovation, while inspiring the next generation of space scientists.
Consultation Paper for the Space Advisory Board: Driving Canada's Future in Space - HTML version or PDF version (1.6MB)
The Space Advisory Board conducted a series of roundtables by invitation only, to engage stakeholders on Canada's space sector. Summaries of each roundtable will be posted to this page as they become available.
Ontario Region - Ottawa, April 21, 2017
Atlantic Region - Halifax, April 28, 2017
Quebec Region - St. Hubert, May 5, 2017
Prairie and the Northern Region - Calgary, May 10, 2017
Pacific Region - Vancouver, May 12, 2017
Ontario Region - Toronto, May 16 and May 17, 2017
Virtual event - Canada’s Youth and Next Generation Space Leaders, May 18, 2017
Virtual event - The North and Canada’s Future in Space, May 19, 2017
On behalf of the Space Advisory Board, we thank you for participating in the roundtable events and for sharing your ideas.
A Report on Consultations
The Space Advisory Board’s report, titled Consultations on Canada’s Future in Space: What We Heard summarizes the feedback board members received from stakeholders during the public consultations.
Interested in providing input?
We invited Canadians to contribute their views and to participate in the consultation process, led by the Space Advisory Board. Both individuals and groups were encouraged to contribute their views. This initial consultation period is now closed. We thank you for your input.
The Government of Canada is committed to stakeholder engagement and wants to hear your views. If you would like to provide input to the Space Advisory Board on Canada’s future and long-term priorities for space, please send correspondence in electronic format to the following email address: ic.sab-cce.ic@canada.ca.
Page: E082-H03983
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Literary Destinations Around the World
Travel Features >> Literary Destinations Around the World
Perhaps the most important thing that books do is transport the reader to a place and a thought that is removed from her immediate location. There’s nothing better than a good read to ignore the drip-drip of a grey London or the scorching heat of a Delhi summer. But, amazingly enough while books may be an avenue of escape they are equally great when we’re in quite a happy situation, not looking to escape at all. (For instance, is there any better way to enjoy a Parisian café than with a book?)
Here we pay tribute to some great books that, even while they don’t really tell us about a ‘destination’, certainly tell us more about a place than any travel guide. Four are about journeys and the other two, one about the tales of an Indian jungle and the other set on a Greek island, are located in well-travelled yet off beat places. All of them without exception have one thing in common: they’re all classics of their times.
Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Jules Verne – Snæfellsjökull, Iceland
Adventure thriller meets science fiction in Jules Verne’s 1864 classic Journey to the Centre of the Earth. The book, quite a voluminous tome, takes the reader along on an eventful journey to the centre of the earth with the three adventurers – the eccentric Professor Hardwigg, his nephew and the Icelander Hans, their guide. The point of takeoff in this wild adventure is a volcanic shaft in remote Iceland. While the encounters, the journey and the events are obviously fictional, the place that leads to them is actually not.
Characterised by wild terrain, a coastline that is marked by fjords, Iceland’s cold northwestern ‘dragon’s head’ peninsula is inhabited mainly by seabirds – Arctic tern, gulls, razorbills, cormorants that sweep past stunning cliffs and fill the air with their calls. Of similar atmosphere is the Snæfellsness Peninsula, further south along the western coast from ‘dragon’s head’. The highest point here is the awesome Snæfellsjökull, a glacial strato volcano where Jules Verne situated the entrance to the depths of the Earth in the Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
The most important town in northwestern peninsula, one with decent tourist facilities, is Ísafjörður. In Snæfellsness there is accommodation at the base of Snæfellsjökull where the sands are black and gold, and at Ólafsvík. A small town perched on the northern shoulder of the Snæfellsjökull, it is ideally situated for hikes up this great glacier.
Learn more on Iceland
A Town like Alice, Neville Shute – Alice Springs, Australia
In 1950 came the Neville Shute novel that of all his others has stood the test of time. A Town like Alice stamped on the English reader’s imagination the horrors of war and brought into public consciousness what has come to be known as the Bataan Death March, but most importantly it made famous a place in the barren wilderness of Australia called Alice Springs.
Since this isn’t a literary critique we’ll leave aside such finer points of debate that a discussion of the novel may give rise to: occidental vs oriental, the romanticising of the ringer’s life, the romanticising of enterprise… At its very basic level the story is one of love. It’s 1942 and the Second World War is still 3 years shy of being over. 19-year-old Jean Paget from Southampton meets Aussie POW Joe Harmon in the Philippines. The Japanese are fighting the Filipino – US coalition here and at this stage are on their way to victory. Captives of the Japanese, Jean is on the 600 mile-long abysmal ‘Death March’ and Joe has been commandeered to drive supply trucks. A chance meeting on the road between Joe and Jean in the Philippines becomes the mainstay of the later section of the novel. 8 years later, the war over, Jean travels all the way to Northern Territory in search of the man who she had met all those years back, who had described his home as “Great red ranges against the blue sky. And in the evenings they go purple and all sorts of colours. And silvery-white in the dry. And after the wet, they're green all over. I guess everybody loves his own place best. And all around the Alice is my place.”
Somewhere between Adelaide and Darwin, in the middle of nowhere for all practical purposes, lies the town of Alice Springs. It took about 62 years - between 1871 (when a repeater station of the telegraph was set up here) and 1933 (when the town was actually established) – for the population to reach 200. Today the population is around 30,000 people. Still small. Still beautiful in its wilderness.
Read on to learn more about Australia
Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling – Bandhavgarh, India
In 1894 Rudyard Kipling, the infamous apologist of the colonial enterprise but nonetheless a man of imagination and rhythm rare wrote the first of his Jungle Books. A year later the Second Jungle Book appeared on bookshelves. Kipling’s books chronicled the adventures of Mowgli the man-child who grows up in the Seeonee Hills in the jungles of Madhya Pradesh. Found by a Bageera, a black panther, an abandoned babe in the woods, Mowgli is handed over to the family of wolves because the mother has just littered.
The story of Kaa the snake, Balloo the bear, Tabaqui the scavenging jackal, the Bandarlog (troop of langurs) and Shere Khan the tiger who’s feared by all was inspired by Kipling’s childhood in India. Kipling, the son of a teacher at the Jeejeebhoy School of Art, loved the noise and liveliness of his adopted home and missed it terribly when his parents left him at a foster home in Southsea, England at the age of six. Kipling did return to India in 1882 at the age of 17 to pursue a career in the papers.
Rudyard Kipling won the Nobel for Literature in 1907, the first Englishman to do so. He wrote prolifically but among his more enduring works (thanks in part to Walt Disney) is the children’s classic, Jungle Book. Jungle Book is a delightful tome but perhaps even more delightful is the firsthand experience of its setting.
The forests of The Jungle Book are in the heart of India, in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Fairly accurately referred to as tiger country, in Madhya Pradesh lie the densely forested grounds of the Bandhavgarh National Park. This is where the white tiger is from, though none roam the wilds anymore. What you will get a chance to see are the Royal Bengal Tiger, deer, the sloth bear, gaur, over 250 bird species, the old fort in the environs of the park, and the famous Indian life that so captured Kipling’s imagination.
For more information on India, click here
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres – Cephalonia, Greece
Louis de Bernieres’ book is almost a modern classic only a few years since it was published. Located in the Second World War, set in the idyllic Greek island of Cephalonia, the book is not simply a war love story, as the movie version would have you believe. It is a finely crafted lyrical novel that tells its many stories at a leisurely pace.
But of Cephalonia there’s plenty. This Greek island with its population of interesting characters, the leftists and the conservatives, the local strong man, the doctor and his daughter, the beautiful Pelagia and her fisherman fiancé who returns from his war experience scarred beyond recognition. The island is all white sands and blue seas, a little town that would charm even the most cynical reader simply because its inhabitants have been etched with the pen of empathetic writer. The book works all the better because it devotes much space to the war too, in the same even pace as it uses for Cephalonia.
Many people are surprised that Cephalonia actually exists. It does and it is a beautiful island. Probably named after the Greek hero Kefalos, Cephalonia had ancient maritime connections with Ithaca and perhaps even the Cyclades. In more modern times, Cephalonia has developed as an important centre for transit trade on the Ionian Sea. In the most recent of times of course, it has come to be sought out by tourists peeking out of whose bags is often a copy of de Bernieres’ Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.
The tourist infrastructure is good. And any time of the year is a good time to be touring Pelagia’s homeland. The climate is Mediterranean, the seas Are blue and while one side of the island is palm-fringed-silver-sands-little-cottages perfection, there’s another side where the water crashes in white waves against craggy cliffs. The 53 nautical miles between Patras, the largest city in the Peloponnese Islands, and Cephalonia can be covered by ferry.
Read on to learn more about Greece
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad – The Democratic Republic of Congo
By the end of the 19th century the continental powers ruled the world. Britain had already amassed an empire large enough for the claim ‘The sun never sets on the British Empire’ to be a geographically verifiable fact and not jingoist hyperbole. Not as successful as the British but not far behind in the race were France, Portugal, Spain and Belgium. Set in these times, in this situation, is the one of the greatest novellas in English literature – ‘Heart of Darkness’ by Joseph Conrad. When it was first published in 1902 Conrad was already fairly well known. Born in Polish Russia, Conrad lost his parents in the revolution there at a young age. Subsequently, when he was seventeen he arrived at Marseilles, France and became an apprentice at the merchant marine.
Whether ‘Lord Jim’ or ‘Almayer’s Folly’ most of Conrad’s stories were based on sea adventures, seafarers, voyage and discovery. So too Heart of Darkness, which in its brevity and incisiveness is perhaps the best (and most difficult to understand) of Conrad’s works. A principal part of Conrad’s value lies in the fact that while the rest of Europe was writing patronising little ditties about the ‘white man’s burden’ he had the wit to see and the courage to criticise the colonial enterprise, albeit with a focus on how it spoiled the power-drunk coloniser rather than what it did to the colonised.
‘Heart of Darkness’ begins its journey on the Thames. The narrative takes the reader via Brussels, the heart of the Belgian colonial structure, down the length of the River Congo to the very deepest part of what was Belgian Congo then and is the Democratic Republic of Congo now.
Zaire or DROC is certainly not among the easiest travel destinations in the world. But to make a river voyage along the mighty Congo is the travel dream of many a voyager but only the most daring will attempt it. The purpose like that of Marlow, Conrad’s chief protagonist and narrator, would be a journey of discovery. While parts of Africa like Kenya and South Africa are well traversed, there are parts of the continent that are still virgin territory.
Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway – Cuba
In 1954 Ernest Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for literature for a novel that is actually pretty difficult to wade through, the text’s pace pretty accurately matching the dreariness of being at sea just waiting and waiting for a bite. The novel was Old Man and the Sea, and the tale it told was precisely about that. The old man, a fisherman sets out one day in search of the perfect catch. And he finds it, a marlin that defies all reasonable expectations in size and what becomes increasingly important, in spirit. But as the fighting spirit of the marlin comes into play (it drags the old man and his boat through three days and nights of salt spray, unbearable sunshine and little food or drinking water) so does that of the man. In the end, just as it’s beginning to dawn on us that the man and the marlin are equal players of this classic tale of courage, the sea reasserts itself. Because besides these two central characters there are others to that it holds – a shark in the waters consumes the fish just when it’s beginning to show signs of giving up the struggle.
The Cuban fisherman that the old man is thought to have been modelled on was none other than the captain of Hemingway’s boat, Pilar. Hemingway spent 20 years in Cuba, in the village of Cojimar, just across the bay from Havana. He returned to the US only about a year before he ended his life in 1961. Gregorio Fuentes, the ‘old man’, died a really old man at the age of 104 in 2001. He left the Pilar to the Cuban government and the people, people to whom Hemingway is as dear today as he was when he was actually around, drinking his rum at the Zaragozana or supping at the La Terazza. Hemingway left his Cuban home (the whitewashed cottage in Cojimar is called Finca Vigia) in 1959 after Batista’s soldiers gunned down his dog. It was just a few months later that led by Castro and Che Guevara swept through Havana and dethroned the corrupt Batista regime.
While much of Hemingway’s Cuba has changed, there is much that remains. From the 50s American fin-tailed gas guzzling beauties to the many places he patronised. His house remains, in much the same condition as it was in when he lived there. The seas are blue as ever and on some sunny days, ‘the fish are really biting!’
Read on for more information on Cuba and what travelling there involves
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Drones spotted near Charleston airport part of growing national trend, Federal Aviation Administration says
Drones are a growing concern among pilots and regulators nationwide as more encounters with “unmanned aerial systems” around airports or as high as 11,000 feet are reported, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Nearly all of the hundreds of documented drone encounters listed in a new FAA report were sightings that did not require quick action to avoid a collision. However, some pilots said that a drone passed too quickly to react. One pilot described putting his plane into a 35-degree bank to create more distance between his aircraft and a nearby drone.
Charleston International Airport made the latest list of places where a drone encounter was reported. There were two such events, both described as minor.
Nonetheless, the airport takes the issue seriously.
Paul Campbell, the Charleston County Aviation Authority’s executive director, said a drone can pose a safety hazard around the airport.
“It’s an issue that’s going to continue to grow and become larger,” said Campbell, who also is a Republican state senator from Charleston. “Some of the drones, especially some of the larger drones, are metal and they can be sucked into a jet engine and cause an issue.”
In March, a helicopter pilot reported a drone about 2 miles east of the airport flying at about 100 feet. In July, the pilot of a six-passenger business jet traveling at 4,000 feet said there was an object that could have been a drone off his right wing about 16 miles southwest of the airport, the FAA report states.
In Greenville, a much closer brush with a drone was reported when a pilot told authorities that the remotely controlled aircraft was flying only 200 feet below his plane, which was traveling at an altitude of 7,500 feet.
Joe Bustos of Mount Pleasant, a pilot and flight instructor, said that if a drone were to hit the small Cessna that he flies, it would go right through the windshield. A drone sucked into a jet engine could prove catastrophic, he said.
“It’s something that I think is going to have to be regulated for the safety of airplanes and people on the ground,” he said.
Bustos said he has seen only one drone while flying, and that was in Florida.
Campbell said he favored restrictions on drone use to protect air safety but did not want to unduly limit them for recreation or business uses, such as aerial photography or surveying.
“I do think that the folks who want to use drones either commercially or privately need to be aware of air traffic control and keep them away from any area where you might encounter an aircraft,” he said.
On Friday night, the FAA released its list of pilot, air traffic controller and citizen reports of possible encounters with drones for the time period from November to August.
“Because pilot reports of unmanned aircraft have increased dramatically over the past year, the FAA wants to send a clear message that operating drones around airplanes and helicopters is dangerous and illegal,” the FAA said in a statement.
“Unauthorized operators may be subject to stiff fines and criminal charges, including possible jail time,” the agency said.
In addition to air travel concerns, the news has been buzzing with drone stories, ranging from people who shoot them to towns that ban them. The U.S. Forest Service has tallied 13 wildfires in which suspected drones interfered with firefighting aircraft this year — 11 since late June — up from four fires last year and only scattered incidents before. A California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection helicopter pilot told The Associated Press in a story earlier this month that he narrowly avoided a collision with a drone.
The FAA is evaluating more than 4,500 comments it has received on proposed rules for unmanned aircraft, or drones, weighing less than 55 pounds. The agency expects to complete its review and issue the new drone regulations early next year, said spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen.
In the meantime, more than 1,000 FAA Section 333 exemption requests have been approved for companies that want to use drones. Government and nonprofit organizations are not subject to the FAA rules for commercial drone use. Charleston County has a drone.
The FAA reported more than 500 drone encounters. Most involved pilots, but sometimes a concerned citizen contacted authorities about a drone hovering nearby. The pilot of an inbound airliner at New York’s LaGuardia Airport reported seeing a drone pass under the nose of the plane. The same thing happened to another commercial flight making its final runway approach in Boston, the FAA said.
One airline captain told authorities that a drone passed 100 feet above his aircraft, which was traveling at an altitude of 7,000 feet. Another said that a drone was 200 feet above during a 2-mile final approach at landing. A cargo plane reported a drone 60 feet away while the aircraft was in the midst of a climb to 11,000 feet.
The pilot of a small private plane reported a near-collision with a drone “orbiting” at 8,000 feet in altitude. In another instance, a pilot reported that a drone “passed across his windshield.” A medical helicopter service told authorities that a person flying a drone nearby kept it from taking off.
Source: http://www.postandcourier.com
Labels: Drones
Chowchilla Airport (2O6) warehouse location causes angst
Federal Aviation Administration doesn’t like the location of building
Warehouse was built near runway in a safety zone for airplane takeoffs
Madera County planning director said the building shouldn’t have been allowed
Chowchilla Municipal Airport is drawing some scrutiny by the Madera County Board of Supervisors as it works toward updating its plan for aviation facilities.
The Madera County Airport Land Use Commission is in the process of updating land use plans for Madera County airports. Madera County Planning Director Norm Allinder, who is also a commission member, informed the supervisors of the status of the proposed update earlier this month. During the presentation it was revealed that a warehouse building, apparently not approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, was placed near the Chowchilla airport’s runway.
In a telephone interview, District 2 Supervisor David Rogers said he expressed concerns about the building more than a year ago.
“This was brought to my attention as the building was being built and the former city administrator (Mark Lewis) insisted that the FAA had approved it,” Rogers said. “The FAA doesn’t approve.”
The warehouse is in the safety zone for take-offs. Rogers said he has written a letter to the Chowchilla City Council informing them of his concern.
“The main thing is that public safety is a priority,” Rogers said.
Allinder said the building should not have been allowed.
“It wasn’t discussed with us,” Allinder said. “That should have come to us and we would have said, ‘no, that’s not an appropriate building on that site.’”
Allinder said Lewis also told him the FAA approved the building.
“When I approached the city (administrator) at that time, he was defensive and said, ‘oh no, the FAA said it was goood.’ My response to that was, ‘I don’t care what the FAA said. I have an Airport Land Use Plan I have to implement.’”
Allinder said he spoke with FAA officials who did not want the building there.
Rogers said Chowchilla’s leadership needs to rectify the issue.
“We had a city administrator pushing stuff through and I just don’t think that was appropriate. We need some kind of assurances as a community that somebody’s watching the store,” Rogers said.
Source: http://www.mercedsunstar.com
Prescott, Arizona: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University student killed in vehicle crash
Khrystyna Gavryushenko in 2013 at the Youth Aviation Academy at the Camarillo Airport.
An Oxnard High School graduate from Crimea was killed Tuesday in a six-car accident in Prescott, Arizona, authorities said.
Khrystyna Gavryushenko, 19, was identified by Prescott police as the victim of Tuesday morning’s crash. Gavryushenko, a 2014 graduate of Oxnard High, was a student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott.
Embry-Riddle officials said she was entering her sophomore year and majoring in aviation business administration.
Investigators said the car driven by Gavryushenko collided with another vehicle traveling in the same direction in an adjacent lane. The two cars veered into oncoming traffic, with Gavryushenko’s vehicle colliding head-on with a sedan and then getting hit by a pickup.
Police said Gavryushenko was pronounced dead at the scene.
The drivers of two other vehicles were taken to different hospitals for treatment of serious injuries.
Police believe excessive speed may have played a role in the crash.
Gavryushenko was born in the Crimean city of Yalta, and she and her mother moved to the United States in 2009, according to a Web page she developed before college. She wrote that her goal was to become a commercial airline pilot, and she attended the Youth Aviation Academy at the Camarillo Airport in summer 2013.
Gavryushenko played junior varsity volleyball for Oxnard High in her freshman and sophomore years, but after realizing she wasn’t going to be a starter on the team, she decided to quit to focus on her studies, said Pat Casey, Oxnard’s volleyball team coach.
Casey said Gavryushenko was a “smart, nice young woman” and a “good athlete.”
He repeated those sentiments to students in his freshman English class last year when Gavryushenko visited her alma mater to say hello to some former teachers. During the visit, Casey joked that Gavryushenko was probably the most popular person at Embry-Riddle by then, he said
“She was very well-liked,” Casey said.
At Embry-Riddle, Gavryushenko was president of an archery club and a member of the Air Line Pilots Association’s collegiate club, the university said in a news release on its website.
“Khrystyna was a bright student and a very popular young lady on campus,” Dean of Students Larry Stephan said in the release. “Her tragic accident is a tremendous loss to our students and our faculty and staff who knew and respected Khrystyna. Our deepest sympathy goes out to her family and friends.”
Embry-Riddle is planning a campus memorial service, the release said.
Source: http://www.vcstar.com
On Tuesday August 25th, 2015 at approximately 0730 Prescott Police Officers and emergency medical personnel responded to the 2500 block of Willow Creek Road for a report of a collision involving several vehicles.
Officers learned that a total of six vehicles were involved in the accident. Based on witness statements and evidence on scene, investigators determined that a Mazda Sedan, driven by 19 year old Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Student Khrystyna Gavryushenko of California was traveling northbound on Willow Creek Road when it collided with a Volkswagen Jetta traveling in the same direction in the adjacent lane. As they collided, both vehicles entered into the oncoming (southbound) lanes of traffic. Gavryushenko’s vehicle collided head on with a white Honda Sedan driven by a 28-year-old Prescott man. He sustained serious injuries and was flown from the scene to a Flagstaff hospital for treatment. His current condition is unknown.
[Editor's note: According to verified information, the victim flown to the Flagstaff hospital is a Prescott High School teacher. He has a severely broken leg, but no life-threatening injuries. It was expected that he will need surgery today.]
Gavryushenko’s vehicle was then struck on the driver’s side by a Chevy pick-up truck. The driver of the pick-up truck was transported to Yavapai Regional Medical Center West in Prescott with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries. His current condition is unknown.
Unfortunately, Gavryushenko sustained major injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene as a result of the collision.
Related: Embry-Riddle Prescott Mourns Loss Of Student Following Accident
After the initial impact, the Jetta continued to travel northbound in opposing traffic, striking several other vehicles in the roadway. None of the drivers or occupants of the other vehicles sustained major injuries that were reported at the time.
Willow Creek Road was closed in both directions immediately following the crash while the incident is under investigation. At this time the roadway remains closed and will be closed for at least several more hours.
Members of the Prescott Police Department Traffic Safety Section are investigating the collision and will study the scene and the evidence to determine the cause and contributing factors of the collision. However at this time, it is believed that excessive speed may have played a role in the cause and severity of the crash.
Source: http://www.prescottenews.com
Timestamp 8/25/2015 09:51:00 PM
United flight lands safely in Austin after fuel emergency
2:10 p.m. update: A United flight has landed safely after calling in a fuel emergency to the Austin airport.
The flight triggered an alert after the pilot notified the airport that the plane only had about 30 minutes of fuel remaining as it approached, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport spokesman Jim Halbrook said. The airplane was 30 miles from the airport when the pilot made the report, which was easily close enough for the plane to land safely.
The plane landed on runway 35 Right, approaching from the southeast. All other recent take offs and landings were using the airport’s other runway, Halbrook said.
Earlier: Austin firefighters are responding to an aircraft emergency near the airport, officials said Tuesday afternoon.
The incident was reported around 1:50 p.m. at 10185 Hotel Drive, a few blocks from the Hilton Austin Airport hotel, officials said.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
State sells surplus planes
SPRINGFIELD - More than a year after former Gov. Pat Quinn floated the idea as a populist cost-cutting move, Illinois has sold the last of its surplus aircraft.
In an announcement Tuesday, Gov. Bruce Rauner announced four planes and one helicopter were sold at a price reduced from last year's failed attempt to sell part of the fleet.
The total take of more than $2.5 million was lower what had been sought during Quinn's tenure, but Rauner said the state would save an estimated $1 million by avoiding the cost of inspections and repairs.
"The successful sale of the state's surplus aircraft is some much needed good news for taxpayers," Rauner said in a statement.
Under Quinn, nine of the state's aircraft were ordered to be sold. But, after three auctions, five of the aircraft remained unsold.
Although Rauner credited the latest sale to improved marketing of the aircraft, the lower price tag on some of them also may have helped.
For example, a 2000 Beechcraft King Air was sold for $1.7 million, down from the $2.49 million is was being offered for in 2014.
A 1991 Sikorsky helicopter sold for $515,161, down from last year's minimum bid of $933,000.
"The new sales plan helped maximize the return on investment for Illinois taxpayers, pushing total revenues from the sales of the aircraft to more than 90% of the estimated average value, for a total value of more than $2.5 million," a statement noted.
Other planes sold include: a 1979 Cessna C337H for $56,000.00; a 1986 Cessna C182R for $54,161.00; and, a 1985 Cessna C421C for $181,140.00.
Source: http://herald-review.com
Plane Crash in Christiana was just a rumor
A rumor of an unfounded plane crash in Rutherford County was just that, a rumor.
News Channel 5 reported that a call was made to 9-1-1 on Tuesday morning that led authorities to Christiana where someone reported seeing two small ultra-light aircraft's flying side by side. Channel 5 said the caller reported one of the two planes spiraled to the ground, but could not tell dispatch exactly where it crashed.
WGNS confirmed with Lisa Marchesoni at the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office that the incident was only a rumor. No plane crash actually occurred.
Source: http://wgnsradio.com
CHRISTIANA, Tenn. – An investigation is underway in Rutherford County after a witness reported seeing a small plane crash over the weekend. So far, no wreckage has been found.
An eye witness told NewsChannel 5 that he was driving along Highway 231 near Christiana, when he spotted two small aircraft flying closely to one another.
He said it appeared they bumped into one another and then one spiraled down out of control in a plume of smoke. At that point, he called 911.
Deputies responded to the general area, but have not yet found any wreckage.
The official dispatch report indicated the aircraft could have originated in Shelbyville. However, air control has not reported any missing planes.
It's possible some pilots may have taken off without filing any flight plans. Investigators are working to piece together what may have happened.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office.
Story and video: http://www.scrippsmedia.com
Tullahoma Regional (KTHA), Tennessee: Airport Authority Well Prepared
(L to R): TAA Chairman Sam Crimm, Commissioner Randy Boyd, TAA Member Col. Jim Apple at the Clayton-American City Bank Terminal at the Tullahoma Municipal Airport
Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd made a brief site visit to the Tullahoma Municipal Airport last week to discuss with airport officials and economic and community development staff the impact of recent legislation affecting Tennessee’s airports and their capital improvement programs.
Airport Authority Chairman Sam Crimm and Authority member Jim Apple briefed the commissioner on the progress that had been made at the Tullahoma airport in the area of economic development and Apple stressed the importance of maintaining a strong facility improvement program for Tennessee’s general aviation airports.
Tullahoma Area Economic Development Corporation (TAEDC), Executive Director Thom Robinson gave an overview of aviation and aerospace projects and facilities in Tullahoma.
“We have one of the top 5 general-aviation airports in the state,” said Airport Authority Chairman, Sam Crimm. “It’s a facility we are extremely proud of, and gives the city an edge in recruiting businesses.”
Commissioner Boyd noted the many improvements that had been made in Tullahoma and stated that the Tullahoma Airport Authority was very well prepared.
Source: http://www.thunder1320.com
A New (Cheaper) Frontier Airlines, With More Fees and Less Legroom: Carrier’s money-saving tactics pay off, but customers aren’t happy
By Jack Nicas
Updated Aug. 24, 2015 9:46 p.m. ET
DENVER—Executives behind the rise of ultradiscounter Spirit Airlines Inc. are now transforming this city’s hometown carrier—Frontier Airlines Inc.—into a Spirit copycat, part of the rapid expansion of a business model that is introducing millions of U.S. fliers to lower fares, more fees and less legroom.
Since the investment firm of Bill Franke, Spirit’s former owner and chairman, bought troubled Frontier in late 2013, the new owners have ousted Frontier’s chief executive, outsourced more than a quarter of its workforce, packed more seats onto planes, removed seat-back TVs, and started charging for carry-on bags, seat reservations and soft drinks. This month, Frontier jettisoned its toll-free number to save money.
The moves have paid off. Boosted in part by cheap fuel, the closely held carrier earned more last year—$129 million—than in the entire decade prior. Now Frontier is embarking on an expansion that aims to more than double its fleet to at least 114 jets by 2022. Mr. Franke is also weighing a public offering for the carrier next year.
But the airline’s customers aren’t happy. This year through June, nearly one-third of Frontier flights were at least 15 minutes late and almost 1% were canceled, its worst first-half rates in at least a decade. One of every 10,000 Frontier customers has complained to the Transportation Department this year for issues including customer service, baggage handling and refunds, 10 times Frontier’s rate in 2012. Only one U.S. carrier’s delays and complaint rates have been worse this year: Spirit.
In Denver, where the Frontier brand was founded in the 1950s, the backlash has been sharp. The hometown carrier had been known for friendly service, leather seats and animal mascots painted on its planes. Flight attendants sometimes handed out warm cookies in the coach cabin.
David Hubbard, a software consultant from Highlands Ranch, Colo., who has flown Frontier for decades, said the new management is ruining the carrier with unreliable operations, uncomfortable seats and a paltry loyalty program. “They’ve already lost the loyal business travelers like myself,” said Mr. Hubbard, who recently stopped flying the carrier. “They bring in people on their reputation and then they’re burning them so badly that they don’t ever want to hear the word Frontier again.”
Barry Biffle, the former No. 2 executive at Spirit whom Mr. Franke hired to ultimately run Frontier, said the carrier recently removed elite-flier perks like complimentary checked bags and free alcohol because “customers were receiving more than they were paying for.” Frontier was losing tens of millions of dollars and was nearing liquidation before Mr. Franke bought the airline, current and former executives said.
Customers are upset, but many are starting to understand, said Mr. Biffle about the changes. “It’s like the stages of grief: there’s shock, denial, and so forth. You eventually move to acceptance, and we’re pretty close,” he said.
Don Moore, a Frontier flight attendant since 2010, said he is still unsure about all the changes. Tighter seating and more outsourced workers are upsetting fliers, but he enjoyed the profit-sharing check he recently received as a veteran employee. “I want to take management’s side but I also want to understand customers,” he said. “As an employee, who am I to say don’t turn a profit?”
In two years, Frontier has pulled about two-fifths of its flights from Denver, which once accounted for half its network, because the market is highly competitive. Frontier is using those planes to expand in cities such as Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago and Cleveland.
The moves set up a face-off between Frontier and Spirit, pitting two friends against one another: Mr. Biffle and Spirit Chief Executive Ben Baldanza. They joined Spirit from US Airways in 2005 and became ultradiscount protégés of Mr. Franke after he bought Spirit a year later.
Messrs. Baldanza and Biffle cut costs and fares at Spirit, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing and most profitable airlines, by adding denser seating, flying more each day and selling tickets that include little more than a seat on the plane. In the process, Spirit gained notoriety for irreverent ads, garish yellow planes, seats that don’t recline and a $3 fee for water.
But now Messrs. Franke and Biffle say their thinking on the ultradiscount model has evolved. The men are trying to position Frontier as a mainstream alternative—with friendly service, free cups of water and slightly wider, more cushioned seats—in a bid to attract a broader set of customers who can spend more than the bare minimum.
“You can charge for bags, but you would like people to actually have bags,” said Mr. Biffle, a 43-year-old Texas native who drives a Ford F-150 truck to Frontier’s one-story headquarters.
Mr. Baldanza has long criticized Frontier’s aim to be an ultradiscounter, and he is skeptical of its attempts to adapt the model. In a June interview, he said that Spirit cuts costs ruthlessly to offer cheap fares and that spending more to please customers “is a slippery slope.”
In an interview earlier this month, Mr. Franke, his former boss, said, “I can accept the fact that Ben would disagree because I trained Ben to disagree with what I’m telling you. But that said, I now think there is a kinder, gentler way.”
Mr. Biffle, Frontier’s president, spends a lot of time making that pitch. In a recent meeting at Frontier headquarters, he strategized on how to explain to local reporters a new discounted bundle of extras, including two bags, extra legroom and no change fees.
He compares the extras to toppings on a pizza—the bundle is officially called “the works”—so he hand-delivered two dozen supreme pizzas to local news organizations. “If you only sell cheese pizzas, you can’t make as much money as if you sell a lot of toppings,” he said.
One of every 10,000 Frontier Airlines Inc. customers has complained to the Transportation Department this year for issues including customer service, baggage handling and refunds. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said one of every 100 Frontier customers has complained.
Original article can be found here: http://www.wsj.com
Drone danger: Analysis reveals four near-misses in Las Vegas skies
In February, a Robinson R44 helicopter observed a drone flying 100 feet underneath it near the Bank of America building in Downtown Las Vegas. A few months later, in July, a Eurocopter EC35 traveling at 3,000 feet nearly collided with a drone flying 1,000 feet away about a mile north of the Rio.
These incidents represent two of the four reported incidents in the valley in which drone aircraft nearly crashed with manned aircraft, according to an analysis of FAA data since November.
The reports include sightings in which manned aircraft came into close proximity of a drone or were at risk of colliding with one.
Last Friday, the FAA released data about the time, place and location of sightings since November. The Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College analyzed that information, finding that there were 295 incidents in which there was a risk of collision across the country.
In the Las Vegas Valley, there were four near misses, all with helicopters, and one sighting from a small plane. The one sighting in the valley occurred this May, when a light-sport Flight Design CTLS observed a small black drone operating at about 3,650 feet near the North Las Vegas Airport.
As the FAA has loosened its restrictions on drones in recent months, the agency has reported that the number of close calls with manned aircraft has soared across the country. In 2014, manned pilots reported 238 sightings to the FAA. By Aug. 9 of 2015, that number had nearly tripled to about 650.
Unmanned aircraft collisions, particularly if the drone collides with a helicopter rotor, could be fatal for pilots and their passengers.
Source: http://lasvegassun.com
Drones spotted near Charleston airport part of gro...
Chowchilla Airport (2O6) warehouse location cau...
Prescott, Arizona: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ...
United flight lands safely in Austin after fuel em...
Tullahoma Regional (KTHA), Tennessee: Airport...
A New (Cheaper) Frontier Airlines, With More Fees ...
Drone danger: Analysis reveals four near-misses in...
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Title XXVI
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION Chapter 334
TRANSPORTATION ADMINISTRATION View Entire Chapter
334.03 Definitions.—When used in the Florida Transportation Code, the term:
(1) “Arterial road” means a route providing service which is relatively continuous and of relatively high traffic volume, long average trip length, high operating speed, and high mobility importance. In addition, every United States numbered highway is an arterial road.
(2) “Bridge” means a structure, including supports, erected over a depression or an obstruction, such as water or a highway or railway, and having a track or passageway for carrying traffic as defined in chapter 316 or other moving loads.
(3) “City street system” means all local roads within a municipality, and all collector roads inside that municipality, which are not in the county road system.
(4) “Collector road” means a route providing service which is of relatively moderate average traffic volume, moderately average trip length, and moderately average operating speed. Such a route also collects and distributes traffic between local roads or arterial roads and serves as a linkage between land access and mobility needs.
(5) “Commissioners” means the governing body of a county.
(6) “Consolidated metropolitan statistical area” means two or more metropolitan statistical areas that are socially and economically interrelated as defined by the United States Bureau of the Census.
(7) “Controlled access facility” means a street or highway to which the right of access is highly regulated by the governmental entity having jurisdiction over the facility in order to maximize the operational efficiency and safety of the high-volume through traffic utilizing the facility. Owners or occupants of abutting lands and other persons have a right of access to or from such facility at such points only and in such manner as may be determined by the governmental entity.
(8) “County road system” means all collector roads in the unincorporated areas of a county and all extensions of such collector roads into and through any incorporated areas, all local roads in the unincorporated areas, and all urban minor arterial roads not in the State Highway System.
(9) “Department” means the Department of Transportation.
(10) “Functional classification” means the assignment of roads into systems according to the character of service they provide in relation to the total road network using procedures developed by the Federal Highway Administration.
(11) “Governmental entity” means a unit of government, or any officially designated public agency or authority of a unit of government, that has the responsibility for planning, construction, operation, or maintenance or jurisdiction over transportation facilities; the term includes the Federal Government, the state government, a county, an incorporated municipality, a metropolitan planning organization, an expressway or transportation authority, a road and bridge district, a special road and bridge district, and a regional governmental unit.
(12) “Limited access facility” means a street or highway especially designed for through traffic, and over, from, or to which owners or occupants of abutting land or other persons have no right or easement of access, light, air, or view by reason of the fact that their property abuts upon such limited access facility or for any other reason. Such highways or streets may be facilities from which trucks, buses, and other commercial vehicles are excluded; or they may be facilities open to use by all customary forms of street and highway traffic.
(13) “Local governmental entity” means a unit of government with less than statewide jurisdiction, or any officially designated public agency or authority of such a unit of government, that has the responsibility for planning, construction, operation, or maintenance of, or jurisdiction over, a transportation facility; the term includes, but is not limited to, a county, an incorporated municipality, a metropolitan planning organization, an expressway or transportation authority, a road and bridge district, a special road and bridge district, and a regional governmental unit.
(14) “Local road” means a route providing service which is of relatively low average traffic volume, short average trip length or minimal through-traffic movements, and high land access for abutting property.
(15) “Metropolitan area” means a geographic region comprising as a minimum the existing urbanized area and the contiguous area projected to become urbanized within a 20-year forecast period. The boundaries of a metropolitan area may be designated so as to encompass a metropolitan statistical area or a consolidated metropolitan statistical area. If a metropolitan area, or any part thereof, is located within a nonattainment area, the boundaries of the metropolitan area must be designated so as to include the boundaries of the entire nonattainment area, unless otherwise provided by agreement between the applicable metropolitan planning organization and the Governor.
(16) “Metropolitan statistical area” means an area that includes a municipality of 50,000 persons or more, or an urbanized area of at least 50,000 persons as defined by the United States Bureau of the Census, provided that the component county or counties have a total population of at least 100,000.
(17) “Nonattainment area” means an area designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, pursuant to federal law, as exceeding national primary or secondary ambient air quality standards for the pollutants carbon monoxide or ozone.
(18) “Periodic maintenance” means activities that are large in scope and require a major work effort to restore deteriorated components of the transportation system to a safe and serviceable condition, including, but not limited to, the repair of large bridge structures, major repairs to bridges and bridge systems, and the mineral sealing of lengthy sections of roadway.
(19) “Person” means any person described in s. 1.01 or any unit of government in or outside the state.
(20) “Right of access” means the right of ingress to a highway from abutting land and egress from a highway to abutting land.
(21) “Right-of-way” means land in which the state, the department, a county, or a municipality owns the fee or has an easement devoted to or required for use as a transportation facility.
(22) “Road” means a way open to travel by the public, including, but not limited to, a street, highway, or alley. The term includes associated sidewalks, the roadbed, the right-of-way, and all culverts, drains, sluices, ditches, water storage areas, waterways, embankments, slopes, retaining walls, bridges, tunnels, and viaducts necessary for the maintenance of travel and all ferries used in connection therewith.
(23) “Routine maintenance” means minor repairs and associated tasks necessary to maintain a safe and efficient transportation system. The term includes: pavement patching; shoulder repair; cleaning and repair of drainage ditches, traffic signs, and structures; mowing; bridge inspection and maintenance; pavement striping; litter cleanup; and other similar activities.
(24) “State Highway System” means the interstate system and all other roads within the state which were under the jurisdiction of the state on June 10, 1995, and roads constructed by an agency of the state for the State Highway System, plus roads transferred to the state’s jurisdiction after that date by mutual consent with another governmental entity, but not including roads so transferred from the state’s jurisdiction. These facilities shall be facilities to which access is regulated.
(25) “State Park Road System” means roads embraced within the boundaries of state parks and state roads leading to state parks, other than roads of the State Highway System, the county road systems, or the city street systems.
(26) “State road” means a street, road, highway, or other way open to travel by the public generally and dedicated to the public use according to law or by prescription and designated by the department, as provided by law, as part of the State Highway System.
(27) “Structure” means a bridge, viaduct, tunnel, causeway, approach, ferry slip, culvert, toll plaza, gate, or other similar facility used in connection with a transportation facility.
(28) “Sufficiency rating” means the objective rating of a road or section of a road for the purpose of determining its capability to serve properly the actual or anticipated volume of traffic using the road.
(29) “Transportation corridor” means any land area designated by the state, a county, or a municipality which is between two geographic points and which area is used or suitable for the movement of people and goods by one or more modes of transportation, including areas necessary for management of access and securing applicable approvals and permits. Transportation corridors shall contain, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) Existing publicly owned rights-of-way;
(b) All property or property interests necessary for future transportation facilities, including rights of access, air, view, and light, whether public or private, for the purpose of securing and utilizing future transportation rights-of-way, including, but not limited to, any lands reasonably necessary now or in the future for securing applicable approvals and permits, borrow pits, drainage ditches, water retention areas, rest areas, replacement access for landowners whose access could be impaired due to the construction of a future facility, and replacement rights-of-way for relocation of rail and utility facilities.
(30) “Transportation facility” means any means for the transportation of people or property from place to place which is constructed, operated, or maintained in whole or in part from public funds. The term includes the property or property rights, both real and personal, which have been or may be established by public bodies for the transportation of people or property from place to place.
(31) “Urban area” means a geographic region comprising as a minimum the area inside the United States Bureau of the Census boundary of an urban place with a population of 5,000 or more persons, expanded to include adjacent developed areas as provided for by Federal Highway Administration regulations.
(32) “Urban minor arterial road” means a route that generally interconnects with and augments an urban principal arterial road and provides service to trips of shorter length and a lower level of travel mobility. The term includes all arterials not classified as “principal” and contain facilities that place more emphasis on land access than the higher system.
(33) “Urban place” means a geographic region composed of one or more contiguous census tracts that have been found by the United States Bureau of the Census to contain a population density of at least 1,000 persons per square mile.
(34) “Urban principal arterial road” means a route that generally serves the major centers of activity of an urban area, the highest traffic volume corridors, and the longest trip purpose and carries a high proportion of the total urban area travel on a minimum of mileage. Such roads are integrated, both internally and between major rural connections.
(35) “Urbanized area” means a geographic region comprising as a minimum the area inside an urban place of 50,000 or more persons, as designated by the United States Bureau of the Census, expanded to include adjacent developed areas as provided for by Federal Highway Administration regulations. Urban areas with a population of fewer than 50,000 persons which are located within the expanded boundary of an urbanized area are not separately recognized.
(36) “511” or “511 services” means three-digit telecommunications dialing to access interactive voice response telephone traveler information services provided in the state as defined by the Federal Communications Commission in FCC Order No. 00-256, July 31, 2000.
(37) “Interactive voice response” means a software application that accepts a combination of voice telephone input and touch-tone keypad selection and provides appropriate responses in the form of voice, fax, callback, e-mail, and other media.
History.—s. 2, ch. 29965, 1955; ss. 1, 2, ch. 57-318; ss. 1, 2, ch. 63-27; s. 1, ch. 67-43; ss. 23, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 105, ch. 71-377; ss. 5, 17, ch. 77-165; s. 1, ch. 79-357; s. 136, ch. 79-400; s. 1, ch. 83-52; s. 9, ch. 84-309; s. 6, ch. 85-180; s. 9, ch. 88-168; s. 1, ch. 88-224; s. 3, ch. 90-136; s. 2, ch. 93-164; s. 52, ch. 94-237; s. 119, ch. 99-13; s. 6, ch. 99-256; s. 76, ch. 99-385; s. 38, ch. 2003-286; s. 22, ch. 2012-174.
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Officer Elections
DOUBLE REED FESTIVAL
EVYAC Entry Form 2021
EVYAC Renaming
IDRS Conference Sponsorship
All State Information
Double Reed Suppliers >
Reeds and Cane
Double Reed Websites
Other Double Reed Societies
Competitions >
2020 Officer Elections - Candidates
1st Vice President - Courtney Miller
Dr. Courtney Miller is the oboe professor at University of Iowa where she teaches oboe, chamber music, and reed classes. Prior to her position at the University of Iowa, she served on faculty at Boston College in Massachusetts and Ashland University in Ohio. During the summers Dr. Miller performs and teaches at Lutheran Summer Music in Indiana. A highly regarded performer and pedagogue, Dr. Miller tours as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America. Dr. Miller is a core member of the internationally established chamber ensemble, Virtuoso Soloists and is a founding member of the Voxman Reed Trio with University of Iowa colleagues Benjamin Coelho and Jorge Montilla. An experienced orchestral musician, Miller has performed in many orchestras up-and-down the east coast of the United States from the Jacksonville Symphony in Florida to the Portland Symphony in Maine. She now performs regularly with Orchestra Iowa, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, Waterloo-Cedar Falls
Symphony, and the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Miller is a versatile artist devoted to performing both established repertoire as well as new compositions and lesser-known works. Her 2019 album Portuguese Perspectives introduces a collection of world-premiere recordings for the oboe by Portuguese composers and includes several new commissions by Miller. This album and her 2015 release Modern Fairy Tales are readily available on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify. American Record Guide praises her “seamless consistency in the various registers of the oboe…and sensitive phrasing and articulation.” Fanfare Magazine hails Courtney Miller as “a performer of considerable skill, with an unfailingly lovely sound, abundant technical ability, and a special gift for turning notes into poetry.”
Statement of Interest
I am interested in this position to continue to support and help opportunities and activities for double players in the Midwest.
Secretary - Andrew Parker
Dr. Andrew W. Parker is currently the Assistant Professor of Oboe, Graduate Coordinator, and Director of Summer Music Camps at the Oklahoma State University Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music. He has performed throughout the United States and internationally at some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kimmel Center, and the Seoul Performing Arts Center. Dr. Parker was previously the Lecturer in Oboe and Music Technology at Brevard College, Artistic Administrator at the Brevard Music Center and Manager of the Yale Philharmonia and New Music New Haven Ensemble. He has held orchestral positions with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, Spartanburg Philharmonic, Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra, and the Brevard Philharmonic. He has also performed regularly with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, Austin Symphony Orchestra, Round Rock Symphony Orchestra, Temple Symphony, Atlantic Music Festival Orchestra, Symphony Space All-Star Orchestra, Le Train Blue New Music Ensemble, along with performances in Seoul, Korea with Symphony S.O.N.G. Dr. Parker received his Bachelor of Music from the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music, Master of Music from the Yale School of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Texas at Austin.
As a member of the Midwest Double Reed Society and recently appointed Newsletter Editor, I would love to help in continuing our reach to double reed students, teachers, and performers throughout the region. Being a part of the double reed world is like joining a very special family where we all support one another, show compassion, and share a bond for the love of creating beautiful music. With the recent global pandemic, it is even more important now that we think outside the box and continue to find ways to reach one another not just on a musical level but a personal one as well. We can do this through the amazing language of music. As the Graduate Coordinator and Director of Summer Music Camps at Oklahoma State University as well as my previous artistic administration experience at the Brevard Music Center and the Yale School of Music, I would love to share my knowledge and experience of social media marketing, website design, arts administration, and concerto/solo competition coordination to help create a unified and strong double reed presence in our local and regional music community. I hope that as Secretary of the Midwest Double Reed Society, I may be able to assist in supporting the goals and mission of this fantastic organization.
© Midwest Double Reed Society | 2020
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The National Bowel Screening Programme is back in action after coming to a halt during the COVID-19 lockdown period.
Dr Nick Tindle, Clinical Lead for the MidCentral DHB National Bowel Screening Programme, said having bowel screening back up and running again will mean early intervention for the community.
“Now that screening is happening again those aged between 60 and 74 in the MidCentral region will continue to be invited to take part. It’s important that anyone who receives a test kit in the mail sends it back so that we can identify any issues. Bowel screening will save lives.”
Since screening began in the MidCentral region in November 2019, 7314 people have received test kits, and 3710 test kits have been returned. One hundred and ninety one people have returned a positive test kit, and 106 of these have had a follow-up colonoscopy. Five cancers have been diagnosed.
The screening test detects traces of blood in a bowel motion (poo), which can be caused by polyps (growths) or haemorrhoids (piles), as well as cancer.
Bowel screening is being offered to 29,000 people aged between 60 and 74 in the MDHB region over the next two years. People aged 60-74 should get their test kit in the post within four months of their birthday in year one (2020) or year two (2021) of the Programme starting in the MidCentral region. People who will turn 75 before they are scheduled to be invited will receive a kit prior to their 75th birthday to ensure they can participate in at least one round of screening.
The national Bowel Screening programme started in July 2017, with MidCentral DHB being the 10th DHB to roll out the programme. Once the national programme is fully implemented across the whole country, more than 700,000 people aged between 60-74 years will be invited to take part in screening every two years.
For more information of the National Bowel Screening Programme, go to www.timetoscreen.nz or to talk to someone about the bowel screening programme call freephone 0800 924 432.
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Tag: athletic wearables
Wearable technology is the “Next Big Opportunity”, says 49ers CEO
BWild | March 12, 2015
Jed York has stepped well beyond simply being curious about this tech and is prepared to broaden its use.
CEO of the San Francisco 49ers, Jed York, has said that wearable technology is a great deal more than simply being intriguing, and he is now prepared to use it as a more important part of his strategy for the players.
York has expressed that the data collected through wearables can be invaluable for several goals.
He stated that wearable technology may be great for helping to enhance the performance of athletes, but that this is only the beginning of its potential. He also believes that these gadgets can help to lengthen the careers of the players. Wearables are already being widely used by players as a tool to assist them in the preparations for their NFL careers, but it is York’s belief that adopting these devices for safety purposes and to help to prevent injuries are the areas in which there is the most to gain.
York is hoping to be able to use wearable technology to keep players off the injured list and in the game.
When speaking, recently, he asked “How do you get a guy to play 18 years in the league?… Or keep someone healthy for 16 games or an entire basketball season? I think you’re going to see analytics work for health and safety more so than calling better plays or drafting better players.”
The NFL has been placing an ever growing focus on player safety, to the point that it is now considered to be an extremely important issue. When taking into consideration the fact that the average NFL player’s career will last only just over three seasons, it doesn’t take long to figure out why this has been taken very seriously. Moreover, it is also becoming widely known that retired players are regularly having to cope with major health issues later on in their lives. League-wide changes to the rules have had to take place as a result of the prevalence of concussions in the game.
Many companies, such as Under Armour and Nike, are now pouring millions of dollars into the development of wearable technology devices that will help to keep players from becoming injured through techniques such as tracking the frequency and severity of hits, particularly when they involve the head.
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18/08/14 Opening of multi-level motorway interchange near Ulitsa Akademika Yangelya metro station
Sergei Sobyanin attends the opening of a new interchange on the Varshavskoye Motorway.
21/07/14 Overpass on Dmitrovskoye Motorway opens to traffic
It is the first renovation project between the intersection of Dolgoprudnenskoye Motorway and the border of Moscow.
04/06/14 Yamal and "The Corporation of Development" are ready to build the bridge across the Ob River
The executive session of the board of trustees of the joint-stock company "Corporation of Development" took place in Nadym.
20/05/14 Construction to Begin on Amur Bridge to Connect Russia, China
The construction of a new railway bridge connecting Russia with China and other countries of the Asia-Pacific region is due to start soon.
28/02/11 Russia aims for 700 bln rbl investments in highways in 2011
Investments in Russian highway construction and modernization are expected to total an estimated 700 billion rubles in 2011...
17/02/11 High-speed rail for 2018 World Cup to cost 5.5 trln rbl
15/02/11 Transport ministry to earmark $54bn for Moscow subway development
Russia's Transportation Ministry will allocate 1.6 trillion rubles ($54.6bn) for the development of Moscow's subway within the next nine years, a business daily quoted the transport program for the Russian capital and its surrounding region until 2020.
15/02/11 Governor sees Russia’s Belkomur railway launched in 2017
The Belkomur railway line running across the European part of Russia is expected to be launched in 2017, the Komi RepublicŐs Governor Vyacheslav Gaizer said, the press service of the regional government reported Tuesday.
10/02/11 Kaluga region to spend $103m on road works in 2011
Authorities in Kaluga region have announced plans to invest almost $103m in road works in 2011, up 2.1 times on 2010.
10/02/11 St. Petersburg eyes $1.2bn bypass city highway by 2015
Authorities in St. Petersburg have announced plans to build a $1-$1.2bn city highway with non-stop traffic to link Primorsky district with Obvodny Canal, as well as the future Western speed diameter.
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New Post About Karen Hudes and "The Rule of Law"
This is November 9, 2015. For those who don't know, I had a major league donnybrook right here on Facebook with Karen Hudes two years ago in July. I told her that we, the living American people, are the primary creditors, that the gold her banker bosses received as their part of the 1933 bankruptcy fraud belongs to the American people.
She didn't like it, but World Bank and IBRD are in the same position as a Pawn Shop Broker in knowing receipt of stolen goods----she and they are just fudging around for a means to give it back to the people they schemed to defraud without admitting to the crime. Their primary concern is to avoid criminal convictions and public dishonor.
Well, too bad. Better not to practice to deceive and manipulate and defraud people in the first place, no?
It is what it is---- blatant as a manure pile behind a barn. The Big Picture of the fraud that has been practiced against us is becoming clearer and more damning by the minute, so of course, everyone concerned is claiming "immunity" and trying to cover their rumps with whatever fig leaves they can find.
Now Karen is claiming that it is precisely this need for immunity that is two-blocking remedy. The rats are copping a plea bargain, in other words, but they aren't finding anyone with both the authority and the willingness to absolve them.
Indeed, the disclosure of MORE deliberate long term fraud on the part of those fronting the "United States, Inc." has left the entire Federal Court System on its back, all four legs in the air and twitching.
Those who read our affidavit, "You Know Something Is Wrong When.....An American Affidavit of Probable Cause" (available on Amazon, get it here) already learned how the "Corporate Congress" conspired to change the meaning of a crucial word--- the word "person" to mean "corporation". Researchers in the Lufkin Case discovered another Motherlode of evidence involving more deliberate corporate semantic deceit and fraud. (Southern District of Texas, Houston Division No. 4:14-CV-0027 and Eastern District of Texas, Lufkin Division No. 9:14-CV-138 ---the “Lufkin Case”).
I am not sure who to credit for this snippet of case analysis, so will just point out that the next three paragraphs are quotes from a discussion of the case and they present the source of an absolutely crucial bit of information:
In Congress on June 30, 1864 (described in detail in both the Houston and Lufkin Record):
On that date, Congress quietly decreed that the word “state” (and shortly thereafter “State” and “United States”) means “the territories and the District of Columbia” (13 Stat. 223, 306, ch. 173, sec. 182, June 30, 1864 [Go to “Turn to image” 306])—but ultimately translates to the District of Columbia only and excludes by design all commonwealths united by and under authority of the Constitution and admitted into the Union .
Since June 30, 1864, any Joint Tenant in the Sovereignty (you) who innocently believes or admits that he resides in a state, State, or the United States, unwittingly confesses or concedes that he is a resident of the District of Columbia—and subject to the absolute, exclusive legislative power of Congress and jurisdiction of District of Columbia executive and bench officers (Department of Justice attorneys and United States District Judges and Magistrates)."
The upshot of all this is that no "US District Court" has jurisdiction outside the actual District of Columbia. And never did. And, by corollary, if the "federal courts" at the district level are limited in this way, so are the "federal state" courts and "federal county" courts. It is just a matter of time before the entire "federal" court system is recognized as a crime syndicate and liquidated.
All the millions of people jailed over income taxes? All the millions foreclosed upon? All those who have been kidnapped and kept under false arrest for "victimless crimes"? All those who have lost custody of their children? All the billions upon billions of dollars charged each year against our public purse to keep innocent Americans incarcerated?
And it is all based on semantic deceit fraud that began in 1864.....
The "Judges" and "Attorneys" who have used this venal system to protect the perpetrators are now under pressure themselves. All their secrets are being dug out of that giant manure pile mentioned earlier and not only do they and their buddies the bankers NOT have immunity, their friends in Congress are going to be held accountable, too.
What does all this have to do with my beef with Karen Hudes?
It's simply this---- these banks and the Bar Associations---- ALL of them worldwide----are at the bottom of the dogpile, the root cause of all the destruction, theft, criminality, and misery we and many other nations have suffered for over a hundred years. The Congress has functioned as their handmaiden and the Vatican has been their concubine. Now the jig is up and the facts are rolling in like ocean breakers.
Those who have had no mercy on any of us, are now demanding mercy, exoneration, and a Get Out Of Jail Free Card.
These people have a million excuses for their behavior: they didn't know, the dog ate it, it was necessary for the war effort.... They stand around like cows waggling their ears at us, uh, gee, Boss, I don't know anything about the manure pile out back....
Generations of Congressional Delegations have sold Americans into slavery---literally--- then come home and smiled and led the Fourth of July Parade.
Generations of bankers have advertised "personal" bank accounts under false pretenses, advertised "home loans" that don't exist, land "sales" that don't exist, "securities" that don't exist.
Generations of lawyers have defended and perpetuated and profited from all this abusive bunko and all the while, claimed to be among the educated and elite members of our society, responsible for maintaining "The Rule of Law."
How can anyone in their right mind look at what has gone on here and still babble about "the rule of law"?
Karen Hudes is now advocating "The Rule of Law" and claiming that failure to maintain "The Rule of Law" will land us back "in the Dark Ages".
Where in Heaven's name does she think we have been?
Americans have clearly and forever stated that we don't live under "The Rule of Law". We live under the Rule of the People---of the people, by the people, and for people. Someone--seriously-- needs to inform Ms. Hudes of this fact.
Labels: Anna von Reitz, Karen Hudes, rule of law
Feed up in Oregon November 10, 2015 at 10:32 PM
My research in Oregon has found evidence of these 'federal' courts in the 36 counties in Oregon. Their jurisdiction is 'this state' which is not Oregon, the 33 nation in the Union, founded on February 14, 1859. Proper english dictates that when referring to the proper noun Oregon by using the terms 'this State', 'said State' and 'the State' the 'S' is always capitalized. When you go into the Governor's office you see a flag on a pole, just like the flag on a pole in the Oval Office of the President of the United States. Need I say more
Paul Stramer November 10, 2015 at 11:40 PM
If that flag in their office has the gold fringe it denotes the jurisdiction of the sea, and they are operating in Admiralty/Maritime law.
Christopher Earl Strunk November 11, 2015 at 1:03 PM
Karen is my student
http://associationforsovereignhomerulewithin.org/
At page 6 " In [...] October class of 2014, a student was present that had been an FBI agent for over thirty years. The agent confided to [...] in confidence that as a result of the 2008 mortgage crisis, he/she was assigned to conduct an investigation as to the collateral of all derivatives traded on the Stock Market. It was discovered that the collateral, the source of all credit extension to the major banks, were private, Treasury trust fund accounts represented by the Certificates of Live Births filed with the fifty states and Washington, D.C."
the 48 star civilian flag of the Republic of the United States of America (4 USC 1), representing its nation under a republican form of government, does not display gold fringe and/or gold cords with gold tassels as military colors defined in US Army Regulation at 840-10, section 2-3b, c(4) by the Commanders-in-chief of the United States of America by Executive Order No. 10834, signed on August 21, 1959 and printed in the Federal Register at 24 F.R. 6865, pursuant to law, stated that: "A military flag is a flag that resembles the regular flag of the United States, except that it has a yellow fringe border on three sides." The once sovereign nation is occupied by the creditors for the debt by an occupying armed force. under 12 USC 95(a) : 50 USC App. 5(b) starting March 9, 1933 and every act of the commander-in-chief and Treasury secretary is the law of the land according to 12 USC 95(b)
Restoration of Righteousness November 17, 2015 at 6:57 PM
Executive order 10834 does not anywhere say "A military flag is a flag that resembles the regular flag of the United States, except that it has a yellow fringe border on three sides." See https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Executive_Order_10834, or http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/10834.html or http://www.usps.org/national/fecom/exord10834.html
military colors defined in US Army Regulation at 840-10, section 2-3b, c(4) by the Commanders-in-chief
Christopher Earl Strunk November 12, 2015 at 10:56 AM
scott in fla November 12, 2015 at 9:59 PM
When can we expect to see our courts restored? I offer to be a witness to Fraud. They stole my land, as soon as They realized I was days away from the completion of obtaining a Patent on my land they rushed the foreclosure of my land. I did NOT have a mortgage! They created one and foreclosed on it. I do have every scrap of paper used to defraud me of my land and would love to be a witness against the Administrator (judge) who stole my land and sold it. The patent is still affixed to the four sides of the home/land.
R.S. Bruneau
https://www.scribd.com/doc/282654718/THE-EMERGENCY-MOTION-FOR-EXPEDITED-HEARING-OF-APPEAL-15-3199-UNDER-SEAL-WITH-PRELIMINARY-INJUNCTION-PENDING-DECLARATORY-JUDGMENT-ON-LAW-AND-PARTY-STAT
D-Day November 14, 2015 at 7:10 PM
In regard to this post:
What "land" is the question. Turns out the only land that the Federal Corporation had was the ten square miles of the District of Columbia and all other claims were made in fraud.
DC is occupied by the creditors for the debt by an occupying armed force. under 12 USC 95(a) : 50 USC App. 5(b) starting March 9, 1933 and every act of the commander-in-chief and Treasury secretary is the law of the land according to 12 USC 95(b). There is no Federal gov , it no longer exists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eSXoRoxLLc&spfreload=10
Please, let all be aware, that there is a huge war...
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John Lipski--bio sketch
How to pronounce my name
John M. Lipski is Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Spanish Linguistics in the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese and director of the Program in Linguistics at the Pennsylvania State University, where he served as department head from 2000 to 2005 and director of the Linguistics Program from 2015 to 2020. He received his B. A. from Rice University, and his M. A. and Ph. D. from the University of Alberta. He has taught at Newark State College/Kean College of New Jersey, Michigan State University, The University of Houston, The University of Florida, and The University of New Mexico; at the latter university he served as department chair from 1996 to 2000. He has also served as graduate advisor (University of Houston, University of New Mexico), undergraduate advisor (University of Florida), and honors advisor (Pennsylvania State University). His research interests include Spanish phonology, Spanish and Portuguese dialectology and language variation, the linguistic aspects of bilingualism, creole languages, and the contribution of the African diaspora to Spanish and Portuguese. He has done fieldwork in Spain (including the Canary Islands), Africa, Brazil and all Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, the Philippines, Guam, and many Spanish-speaking communities within the United States. His research has been funded by two Fulbright research fellowships, the National Endowment for the Humanities, a Guggenheim fellowship, two National Science Foundation research grants, two grants from Penn State’s Africana Research Center, and numerous university-internal grants. His books include Linguistic aspects of Spanish-English language switching; The Spanish of Equatorial Guinea; Fonética y fonología del español de Honduras; El español de Malabo; Latin American Spanish; The language of the Isleños of Louisiana; The speech of the Negros Congos of Panama; El español de América; El español en síntesis [with the late Eduardo Neale-Silva]; A history of Afro-Hispanic language; Varieties of Spanish in the United States, Afro-Bolivian Spanish, El habla de los Congos de Panamá en el contexto de la lingüística afrohispánica, Palenquero and Spanish in contact: exploring the interface. He is the author of more than 300 articles on all aspects of linguistics, language, and literature, and has taught Spanish, Romance, and general linguistics, translation, language acquisition and methodology, Latin American literature, and a variety of language courses. He has served as editor of the journal Hispanic Linguistics, served for six years as associate editor of Hispania for Theoretical Linguistics, and is currently editor of a Georgetown University Press series on Hispanic linguistics.
Very short alternative bio
John M. Lipski es catedrático de lingüística en el Departamento de Español, Italiano y Portugués en la Universidad del Estado de Pennsylvania (Penn State), Estados Unidos. Ha desempeñado la docencia en las universidades de Nuevo México, Florida, Houston, y el estado de Michigan. Es especialista en dialectología, contacto de lenguas, los aspectos formales del bilingüismo, lenguas criollas y los elementos africanos en el español y el portugués. Ha realizado investigaciones en España, en todos los países de Hispanoamérica, Brasil, África, Filipinas y varias comunidades hispanoparlantes dentro de los Estados Unidos. Además de mas de 300 artículos, ha publicado los siguientes libros: Linguistic aspects of Spanish-English language switching; The Spanish of Equatorial Guinea; Fonética y fonología del español de Honduras; El español de Malabo; Latin American Spanish; The language of the Isleños of Louisiana; The speech of the Negros Congos of Panama; El español de América; El español en síntesis [con Eduardo Neale-Silva]; Varieties of Spanish in the United States; A history of Afro-Hispanic language; Afro-Bolivian Spanish, El habla de los Congos de Panamá en el contexto de la lingüística afrohispánica, Palenquero and Spanish in contact: exploring the interface.
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Former Mohawk Tosses No-Hitter
Dykstra (PC: Winston-Salem Dash)
A former Amsterdam Mohawk has tossed a no-hitter.
James Dykstra, who pitched for the Mohawks in 2011, threw a no-hitter for Class A Advanced Winston-Salem Wednesday afternoon, the 15th no-hitter in Winston-Salem history.
Dykstra faced off against the Potomac Nationals and 2012 Glens Falls Golden Eagle Nick Pivetta. Pivetta tossed five scoreless innings in the game before being lifted for a reliever.
Not a single ball left the infield against Dykstra and he needed just 71 pitches to complete the gem. The only base runner he allowed was a walk to begin the fourth inning, but Dykstra promptly picked the runner off before the next pitch.
Dykstra’s No-Hitter Box Score
In two starts this season, Dykstra has allowed just one hit and has yet to allow an earned run. His seven-inning no-hitter is the first Winston-Salem no-no since Levi Maxwell accomplished the feat on June 19, 2009.
Winston-Salem Dash Game Recap
During the 2011 summer with the Amsterdam Mohawks, Dykstra went 2-2 with a 2.61 ERA in six appearances. He allowed just nine earned runs all summer and walked a mere five batters. No player homered off the right-hander.
The last no-hitter thrown by a player in the PGCBL was by Amsterdam’s Taylor Blatch on July 27, 2014. That game was also a seven-inning affair. The right-hander struck out five batters and allowed six to reach base, one on an error in the fifth inning.
For more information on the PGCBL, follow the league on Twitter, @PGCBLBaseball.
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Strategy (2): Machiavelli, The Pragmatist
Most contemporary politicians hold the view that ends can only be achieved by negotiation and by a Pragmatic take on 'what works'. Consensus leads to the best results for the majority. If that doesn't specifically specifies what is the Good, that is not an accident of nature.
Five Part docu and audio book about Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527), an Italian historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. (Wiki)
Officially Pragmatism is rooted in 19th Century America. Unofficially its principles are much older. Machiavelli was a typical Pragmatist. The philosophy of Pragmatism is a rejection of the idea that the function of thought is knowledge of objective reality. Instead, pragmatists consider thought to be a product of the interaction between organism and environment. The function of thought is a tool for prediction, action, and problem solving, not for knowledge of reality as such. According to Pragmatism, philosophical topics—such as the nature of knowledge, language, concepts, meaning, belief, and science—must be seen in terms of their practical uses and successes rather than in terms of accuracy. It leads to a very curious, irrational and amoral world view. This makes it very dangerous.
Pragmatism rejects the claim that reality and truth are knowable: most Pragmatists view that there is more than one sound way to conceptualize the world and its content. Therefore truth statements are personal interpretations and a subjective, personal preference.
Many pragmatists are epistemological relativists and see this to be an important facet of their philosopy (e.g. the Postmodernist Richard Rorty), but this is controversial and other Pragmatists argue such relativism to be seriously misguided.
The uptake of Pragmatists on language is very peculiar and is called Nominalism: words are mere convention and do not refer to percepts, concepts, objects or abstracts in the real world. Rather they refer to more words and subjective meanings, leading to postmodern text analysis known as close readings.
Like the Left, Pragmatism holds that man is a social animal whose acts are determined by a combination of his innate character and social environment (nature and nurture). Founding fathers of postmodern Pragmatism are Charles Sanders Peirce, William James and John Dewey.
Machiavelli in his time still held medieval views of God, the Universe, and the place of man in it. He may have been a Deist or an Agnostic. But his moral standard of expediency sounds particularly apt today: the Good is whatever 'works'.
Audiobook The Prince
Machiavelli Quotes
« There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others. » Machiavelli http://t.co/7YEdINgkYk
— Philosophers quotes (@philo_quotes) November 9, 2014
Strategy (1): Sun Tzu, The Art of War (Full Documentary)
Just War Theory
John Kerry's New Belief in 'Moralism' in Foreign Policy
DC UNDER SIEGE: WAR CORRESPONDENT ANALYSES ANTIFA TACTICS
Strategy (1): Sun Szu, The Art of War
The Bitter Fruits of Immoral Monetary Policies
Strategy (3): Special War
How Our Monetary System Works and Why It Must Fail
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A philosopher making a living as a portrait painter
Elizabeth Vigee le Brun, the famous portrait painter of the late eighteenth century, was married to a man who saw her art as his private source of income. Finding that what she earned from painting portraits was not enough, he decided that she ought to teach.
She recorded her reaction in her memoirs:
"I agreed to his request without taking the time to think about it, and soon, a number of young ladies came to me, to whom I shewed how to make eyes, and noses and ovals, which I had to correct all the time. This took me away from my work and was a tremendous bore".
One of her students, according to Guillois, was Sophie de Grouchy. Her biographer doesn't say when she had these lessons, but looking at the dates when Vigee le Brun was teaching, it must have been during the early years of Sophie's marriage to Condorcet, before the Revolution, when the couple were living in the Hotel des Monnaies in Paris and Sophie was attending lectures at the Lyceum, a school for the public set up by Condorcet and La Harpe. Although Sophie may have been one of Vigee Le Brun's irritating students, having to have her eyes and noses redone by the master, she nonetheless became a very decent miniaturist herself. We have several of her self portraits (including one in the nude).
Sophie was in fact such a successful miniaturist that during the Terror she supported herself, her daughter, sister and her nurse by going around the prisons of Paris and painting the portrait of prisoners for their families. On two occasions, Guillois tells us, she avoided arrest by drawing the soldiers come for her for free.
Looking through some documents, I came across a pastel miniature portrait of Manon Roland, drawn, apparently, at the Conciergerie. There is no signature, and I have not been able to trace any information about it. But doesn't it just look like one of Sophie's?
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Powerful Colours
^Fig1 The White House, Washington DC
Let’s admit it, architects are suspicious—if not a little scared—of colour. How else to explain the default contemporary architect’s preference for exposed finishes such as concrete, brick, COR-TEN steel, stone, and wood? Perhaps this is because an architect’s choice of applied colour may often seem one of the most subjective—and hence least defensible—decisions to be made over the course of a project.* Indeed, applied colour seldom performs from a technical standpoint, and it is the architect’s taste, pure and simple, which is often on the line whenever a specific colour is proposed to the client. Or perhaps architects’ mistrust of applied colour owes something to the profession’s well-known controlling tendencies and the fact that colour is one of the most mutable aspects of a building; better, we architects are instructed, to focus on “important” and “architectural” decisions such as form, space, materials, program, and organization. Indeed, it is far easier for a future owner to repaint a wall than it is to move it.
Nevertheless, the power of paint cannot be ignored. In fact, under the right circumstances architectural color can prove strikingly effective, trumping architectural style and form in its ability to communicate through clear and simple terms. This phenomenon is demonstrated by three official residences of heads of state: the White House in Washington, D.C, the Pink House (La Casa Rosada) in Buenos Aires, and the Blue House (Cheongwadae) in Seoul—three iconic projects popularly defined far more by their exterior color than by any formal or stylistic architectural characteristics.
The oldest and probably best-known example of these is America’s White House (Figure 1). Initially completed in 1800 following a revolution that cast off British colonial rule, the White House was originally referred to in more grandly descriptive terms as the “President’s Palace,” “Presidential Mansion,” “Executive Mansion,” and “President’s House,” though by 1811 the public had begun to refer to the building by its distinctive exterior paint finish, a white mixture of lime, rice glue, casein, and lead over a sandstone façade. In 1901 President Theodore Roosevelt had “White House—Washington” engraved on the President’s stationery, thus making the name official.
There are at least two prevailing explanations for the choice of white paint, one with overt political and symbolic overtones and the other focusing on technical performance. The former claims that after the 1814 burning of Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812 and the subsequent repair and completion of the White House, the gray President’s house was painted white to mask—and, presumably, to erase the memory of—fire damage caused by British troops. While the inherent themes of erasure and renewal are no doubt appealing, this story is little more than a myth as the building had been referred to in writing before the war as the “White House”.
The performative explanation, on the other hand, is that the White House was given its distinctive exterior whitewash in 1798 to protect the sandstone façade from winter freezing. While perhaps more likely from a chronological standpoint, this explanation remains somewhat unsatisfying in its framing of the choice of colour as a purely technical decision. Perhaps a third hybrid explanation is therefore worth considering. In the late 18th century the polychromy of ancient Greek and Roman architecture was not yet widely known, and Classical architecture was imagined to have been marked by a platonic whiteness. In post-Revolution America at the birth of a new Republic that modeled itself on Classical Rome and Greece, white buildings would have carried a particularly potent associative power. Thus, if the sandstone President’s house had to be painted to protect its exterior—and even if it didn’t—what better choice of colour than white?
^Fig2, Casa Rosada, Buenos Aires
Competing symbolic and technical explanations for the choice of paint accompany another famous executive residence, Argentina’s Pink House (Figure 2). Today, the Pink House serves as the official executive mansion and office of Argentina’s President, though the President typically lives elsewhere. As a building, the Pink House’s history is a complicated one, with origins going back to a fortification built during the colonial period. The fortification was largely demolished and replaced by a Customs House by the mid-19th century, which was in turn adopted as the Government House and Presidential offices by President Bartolomé Mitre in the 1860s. Under Mitre’s successor, Domingo Sarmiento, the building’s exterior was significantly modified and painted pink, and a grand central Post Office was built next door. The new Post Office so overshadowed the older Government House, however, that in the 1880s President Julio Roca had the latter redesigned and rebuilt to match the former in appearance and scale. These two buildings were joined together in 1898 by a central arch and the whole collection was again painted pink to match the original Government House.
As with the White House, the stories for why President Sarmiento—an advocate of democracy in a nation with a recent history of colonial and autocratic rule—originally had the former Customs House painted pink fall into two categories, political/symbolic and technical. Perhaps the most appealing though likely apocryphal version is the political one, that pink paint was chosen by Sarmiento to symbolically unify Argentina’s two competing political factions at the time, whose colors were respectively red and white. The somewhat less appealing technical explanation is that the original paint mixture contained ox blood to improve durability. Ultimately, it is difficult to say what the true reason was for the choice of colour. However, perhaps any explanation matters less than the fact that when the later President Roca significantly redesigned and expanded the executive residence and offices in the 1880s, so iconic had been the initial selection of pink that the entire new building was painted the same colour.
^Fig3, Blue House, Seoul
Probably one of the least well-known of these projects is the Blue House, a collection of buildings which comprise the headquarters for South Korea’s executive branch and official Presidential residence (Figure 3). The site of the Blue House has been associated with Korea’s leaders since at least the 10th century, and by the 14th century it had become the rear garden of the Royal Palace (Gyeongbokgung). Most of the historic Palace buildings were demolished during the Japanese occupation in the first half of the 20th century, and in 1939 the Japanese built a residence and office for the colonial Governor-General on the site of rear garden, named the “Presidential Residence” (Gyeongmudae).
Following the Second World War and Korean liberation, President Syngman Rhee of the new Republic of Korea adopted the Presidential Residence as his official executive residence and office. With the ouster of the autocratic Rhee and establishment of a more democratic government in 1960, however, the newly-elected President Yun Bo-seon changed the name of the Presidential complex to Cheongwadae—“pavilion of blue tiles” or simply “the blue house”—in reference to the 150,000 traditional azure tiles covering the roof of one of the few existing pre-Japanese buildings on-site. This constituted an official effort to disassociate the President’s offices and residence from both the era of Japanese colonial rule and the autocratic Rhee regime. Like the American and Argentine precedents, this anecdote demonstrates colour’s ability to neutralize power associations and to strive for more general, enduring associations, in the Korean case even transcending any particular party or form of government.
Unlike the White House or the Pink House however, the Blue Houses’s eponymous roof—a hallmark feature of traditional Korean architecture—had long been in existence without warranting public notice or name. It would appear the Blue House therefore illustrates a different association between color and architectural identity when compared to the White House or Pink House, which both gradually acquired popular and later official names in response to their bold colors, as in the Korean example the name was officially constructed. Could it be that by the mid-20th century a new convention had emerged for naming executive residences?
^Fig4, White House In Various Colours, The Iconic Potency of Pigment
In any event, the three case studies above demonstrate colour’s ability to communicate at a level more basic and universal than architectural form or style. Nevertheless, a certain anxiety still accompanies the painting of buildings. In the case of the White House and Pink House, this anxiety manifests itself in the need to either retroactively explain and justify the choice of color through a symbolic/political story or a seemingly rational technical requirement, neither of which can alone satisfactorily and fully answer the question. Interestingly, in the case of the Blue House any reason for the initial choice of color seems largely unimportant, and instead it is the decision to associate the executive office with a colour in the first place that is the issue. It is also worth noting that all three executive residences acquired their identities—and popular names derived from these identities—during periods of strongly democratic leadership. In the case of the United States this occurred following a war for liberation and the emergence of a new nation. In the case of both Argentina and South Korea, this coincided with the rise of democracy-leaning leaders following successive periods of colonial and autocratic rule. In all three cases, there was a need to clear the slate and start anew, and in a new democracy without the unifying symbolism and trappings of a single monarch, party, or religion, it would seem that color itself assumes a particular potency. Given the demonstrated ability of colour to supplant architectural form as a communicator of power, perhaps architects are right to fear the paintbrush. However, by doing so they relinquish an effective yet simple tool. After all, what better way to establish a new order than by quite literally painting (or re-painting) the house?
* In this sense, for contemporary architects applied colour oftentimes falls under a similar category as ornament, incompatible with a design approach that equates structural and material expression (or “honesty”) with morality.
Post by Jacob Reidel, Architect and Editor of CLOG Magazine
S. Tague 6 July 2012 at 11:55
Nice article. I had long forgotten about the paint on the White House and knew nothing of the other two buildings at all. A clever, if quick, way to examine the use of color in architecture. I would be interested to hear further development of the original thesis that architects are afraid of color. A quick mental tour of any of the major cities of this country and who could deny the truth of what you say. But I don't understand the disctinction you make when you say that color is a matter of taste. Is it more a matter of taste than the other elements? Isn't it all taste? More evident perhaps. More mutable to be sure and as you say less controllable. But I would still be interested to hear more reasons why color is shunned. Thanks for provoking thoughts.
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The Colour Purple in Ancient Rome
^Purple Blood, by Kurt Cobain
Exclusively for Saturated Space, Mark Bradley tells the story of Roman attitudes to authenticity and wealth through the colour purple...
Purple was, in a number of ways, the most important colour of classical antiquity. It was the colour of one of the fastest and most expensive dyes available to Rome, and for the imaginative Roman observer it could also describe the sea, blood, flowers, gems and marbles, even swans and rainbows. During the Roman Empire, it became increasingly associated with imperial authority, and politicians, poets and historians developed a sophisticated and versatile language for distinguishing and describing the various shades and patterns of purple that were available. This paper explores how one colour evolved as a marker of political, social and religious authority from the early Empire through to late antiquity, and discusses its development as an aesthetic category that qualified and distinguished a wide range of objects and phenomena. By examining the transformation of purple in ancient Rome, this paper puts to the test the axiom that the senses, and the way they are used, are shaped by the social and cultural preoccupations of the time.
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The Other Immigration Idiocy
By Will Offensicht | February 19, 2008
In its email update of Feb. 10, the New York Times said:
"Universities Rush to Set Up Outposts Abroad. The American system of higher education, long the envy of the world, is starting to become an important export."
The article explains how New York University received a $50 million grant to set up a branch college in Abu Dhabi:
In a kind of educational gold rush, American universities are competing to set up outposts in countries with limited higher education opportunities. American universities - not to mention Australian and British ones, which also offer instruction in English, the lingua franca of academia - are starting, or expanding, hundreds of programs and partnerships in booming markets like China, India and Singapore.
This is imbecilic from the American point of view. Although our government-mandated elementary education system is really bad by international standards, our free-market, highly competitive university system has long been the envy of the world. For years and years, the best and the brightest students came from all over the world to study in America.
This offered America a number of benefits:
Foreign students' tuition and living expenses helped with our balance of payments.
Foreigners formed friendships with American students. Having contacts abroad helps Americans do business overseas.
Foreigners developed business contacts in America which helped them do business in America.
Foreign students learned a great deal about our way of life.
Many became so enamored with American freedoms that they decided to stay. When that happened, we avoided the public cost of their K-12 education -- they became taxpayers with much less public investment than citizens whom we had to educate from birth.
The last point is particularly important. Very few college graduates have whatever it takes to start new businesses. You'll find that a disproportionate share of the businesses in Silicon Valley were founded by foreigners who decided to stay and prosper.
By recruiting students from among the best other nations could offer to found businesses here, we generate a great deal of income tax revenue for our government along with prosperity and economic growth for the rest of us.
It's vital to recruit the best students from every nation to come to the US and found businesses. When I was in college, a disproportionate number of engineering students were from Taiwan or mainland China. When they graduated, they went to work for HP, RCA, IBM, and other techno-giants; some such as Dr. An Wang founded businesses. Wang Labs generated major revenue until Dr. Wang died and his successors couldn't carry on, but our economy benefited hugely from his business and technical genius while he was alive. There's a Wang building at Mass General Hospital, for example.
Countries such as Taiwan which lost their best people to us didn't like the situation very much. When they asked their graduates to come back and found businesses, however, they received a polite raspberry -- "too many bureaucratic horsefeathers" was the general sentiment.
In 1973, Taiwan lost its seat on the UN Security Council in favor of mainland China. The Kuomintang government realized that world politics was running against them.
The UN is made up of many small nations each of which has the same vote as the bigger nations. The Taiwanese government realized that if they could accumulate enough foreign exchange to bribe, oops, encourage, smallish governments to support their positions, they could preserve their power and influence for a time. The problem was how to get the foreign exchange; bribing an entire nation usually costs more than bribing a US Senator.
The simplest solution to was to persuade their high-level engineering graduates to come back and start businesses, so they asked them again. "We said, too many horsefeathers," they were told. "How about a bit less government red tape? What if we give you special zones where there's less licensing, fewer permits, and so on?"
"Not good enough," the entrepreneurs replied. "In the US, we can start a business for $500 and a few hours filling out forms. We need special trade zones, that's a non-negotiable, but the only way we'll do it is if there's no red tape at all. We can do anything we like. Import anything, export anything. Set up our own phone systems, electrical generation, port facilities, whatever we want. We'll pay taxes, we'll make you lots of money, but you gotta get out of the way!"
The only thing governments hate more than giving up power is being conquered by another country and losing it all. Kuomintang officials knew that the mainland government knew their names and would remember various unpleasantries of the Chinese civil war.
The mere threat of being hanged in the morning concentrates the mind wonderfully. The certainty of being put in labor camps unless they could buy enough friendships to keep the mainland from invading persuaded the bureaucracy to be reasonable. It took considerable nifnawwing, but the government finally caved in and said, "OK, no horsefeathers."
Not being stupid, the expats sent a few Taiwanese who held US citizenship -- an important "get out of jail free" card in case the government turned out to have been lying. Amazingly, the government kept its promises.
With the bureaucracy out of the way, businesses prospered mightily. Taiwanese flocked back to the old country and founded more and more businesses. After a short while, all the PC components which had been made in the US were being made in Taiwan. At one time, the Taiwanese government held more foreign exchange per capita than any country on the face of the earth, all because they got out of the way in order to entice their US-trained expats to come home.
We'd have lost the PC business to the Chinese mainland at some point, but we'd have kept it in the US for a long time if the Kuomintang hadn't been so afraid of being "reeducated" by the mainland Chinese that they agreed to make business conditions so attractive that their citizens gave up US residency and came home. In a similar fashion, though for different reasons, the Irish government prospered by reducing taxes and red tape.
Having a government voluntarily cut taxes and red table simultaneously is rare enough that we don't have to worry about too many other governments doing that. We should clearly continue our policy of educating the best and brightest the world has to offer so that the start businesses here instead of educating them in their native countries so that they can start businesses over there which compete with our businesses over here.
Our universities know this; they understand how well our system worked for many years. Why, then, are they setting up separate campuses to teach overseas students how to compete with us without trying to plug them into the US economy?
For the same reason that IBM and Microsoft set up development laboratories in foreign countries where they teach the best and brightest how to compete with us in the future -- our government is too stupid to let us hire them to come work in the US.
Our educational system has never given us enough engineering graduates to support our economy; my clients were hiring programmers from England back in the early 1980s. IBM, Microsoft, and the others can't operate with hiring foreign workers. Our government is too stupid to let these companies move the foreigners here where they can pay US income tax; our government forces our high-tech companies to hire foreigners in their own countries where they pay income tax to foreign governments and learn how to compete with us from over there.
Similarly, our government is so brain-dead that it won't to give foreign students visas to come to the US to study. Since our government won't let their customers come to them, our universities are setting up foreign branches so they get at least some of the business.
Not only do we lose the benefits of having foreign students learn our way of life and get some understanding of how democracy really works, we lose all the income, all the jobs, all the tax revenue, all the economic growth that they'd produce if they founded businesses in the US. How dumb can we get?
Our government should want to make it possible for businesses to prosper if only as sources of tax revenue. Keeping students and high-value employees out of the US while admitting millions of uneducated, undocumented workers who sneak into the country is just plain imbecilic.
It's a Dragnet decision. You remember the opening music, dumb, dumb dumb dumb, DUMB! How dumb can we get? REAL dumb!
The Downward Slide
When government gets so complex and so cumbersome that it can no longer discern what's in the national interest, we're getting near the tipping point where we slide down into the abyss at the bottom of the Confucian cycle.
Government is supposed to look out for the national interest. As a very wise businessman said many years ago, "May God preserve me from my friends; my enemies I can handle."
The problems caused by unfettered illegal immigration of the uneducated can be seen in practically every Home Depot parking lot and maternity ward in the country. The problems caused by preventing the immigration of the highly skilled may not be so obvious, but will cost us a lot more.
Will Offensicht is a staff writer for Scragged.com and an internationally published author by a different name. Read other Scragged.com articles by Will Offensicht or other articles on Foreign Affairs.
Cynicism and the Confucian Cycle
How to Get a New Immigration Law
U.S. Universities Rush to Set Up Outposts Abroad
An Wang
Sir David Von Mudkip III said:
The only purpose of a University is to expand its endowment. Education is a veil they use. They gouge us with tuition increasing at more than twice the rate of inflation. They've milked the American market dry - they're just moving on to the gullible Saudis now. I'm not surprised. You shouldn't be either.
Bob Goddard said:
This circumstance of American universities entering new markets in a number of countries is just the natural outcome of:
1. Our new tight imigration policies
2. Online universities operating overseas
3. The poor university systems in many countries
4. Industrialization and Information Age progress in many formally agricultural or subsistance countries
5. Normal and natural expansion of education when the local market becomes tight
6. Change from oil to hydrogen economy - before money flow stops to petroleum rich countries
I have been expecting this to happen since I started thinking about it in the early 1970s when I enrolled in a nontraditional bachelors degree program in Hawaii. I went on to earn two doctorates, two related earned masters degrees, and earned a variety of graduate credits beyond the degree programs. I have been a professor and a dean in more than one nontraditional universities.
I think the real innovation will come when we start employing new research in how our brain reacts to a learning environment. We really need to get away from the industrial or factory model used today in almost all educational settings.
A year goes by and they're still keeping foreign students out. Government never learns.
Scientists Fear Visa Trouble Will Drive Foreign Students Away
By CORNELIA DEAN
Foreign students are having a difficult time obtaining permission to study in the United States.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/science/03visa.html
March 3, 2009 10:06 AM
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Pandemic curbs set tourism back three decades, according to UN body – dpa international
DUBLIN — International arrivals have likely dropped by over 70 per cent in 2020 due to pandemic-related restrictions, taking overall tourism and travel numbers back to 1990 levels. The United Nations’ World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said on Thursday that it “expects international arrivals to decline by 70% to 75% for the whole of 2020,” after the January-October period showed “900 million fewer international tourists when compared with the same period of 2019.” Such an outcome would mean that “global tourism will have returned to levels of 30 years ago,” according to the UNWTO, when the world’s population was over 2 billion less than it is now. The travel collapse could mean “a loss of some 1.1 trillion dollars in international tourism receipts,” according to the UNWTO.
Posted on 17 December 2020 by Simon | Read More... Business & Economics, dpa international, Travel & Tourism
Ryanair loses court challenge to Ireland’s pandemic travel rules – dpa international
DUBLIN — Ryanair has endorsed a Friday ruling by Ireland’s High Court that the government’s pandemic-related travel measures are advisory rather than mandatory. Despite losing the case, the said airline it “welcomes” the decision as it “confirms there is no legal requirement for the current travel restrictions.” Backed by Aer Lingus, formerly Ireland’s state carrier, Ryanair sued the government in July over the guidelines, which it claimed were presented as “mandatory” and were imposed without parliamentary oversight. Opining that the measures are neither compulsory nor an abuse of power, Justice Garrett Simons said on Friday that “advice to avoid non-essential travel and to restrict movement on entry to the state is just that: advice.”
Posted on 2 October 2020 by Simon | Read More... Business & Economics, dpa international, Health & Medical, Ireland, Legal & Rights, Reporting from Ireland, Travel & Tourism
UN agency data suggest Asia worst-hit by pandemic curbs – dpa international
DUBLIN — International travel has plummeted during the novel coronavirus pandemic, with nowhere worse affected than the Asia-Pacific region, according to United Nations tourism body data.International arrivals across the region have dropped 72 per cent so far in 2020, according to the data, which was compiled for the Madrid-based World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) new Tourism Recovery Tracker.International arrivals in the Asia-Pacific were down 99 per cent year-on-year, a standstill that came after countries imposed strict lockdowns and holiday bans aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. China, Japan and South Korea were among the worst affected, with the UNWTO tracker showing an 83-per-cent drop in tourist arrivals across northeast Asia as most countries prohibited all but essential travel.
Posted on 24 September 2020 by Simon | Read More... Asia-Regional, Business & Economics, dpa international, Health & Medical, Travel & Tourism
Ryanair to cut capacity by 20 per cent, blames pandemic travel rules – dpa international
DUBLIN — Ryanair said on Friday that it will slash capacity by 20 per cent in October, blaming coronavirus travel curbs introduced at short notice. The Dublin-based airline said that “EU government travel restrictions and policies” aimed at stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus “undermine consumers’ willingness to make forward bookings.” Announcing its second 20 per cent capacity reduction since August, Ryanair accused the Irish government of keeping the country “locked up like North Korea” and of operating “a defective” quarantine system that means arrivals from most countries, some with lower infection rates than Ireland, are expected to self-isolate for 14 days. Supported by Aer Lingus, Ireland’s flag carrier airline, Ryanair has taken the government to court over the curbs, which will not be aligned with EU guidelines until mid-October.
Posted on 18 September 2020 by Simon | Read More... Business & Economics, dpa international, Europe, Health & Medical, Ireland, Reporting from Ireland, Travel & Tourism
UN tourism agency knocks ‘timid’ leaders, says safe travel possible – dpa international
LIMERICK — The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), a United Nations agency, on Tuesday criticized governments for being “overly focused” on health and described as “not enough” the “re-opening of borders to tourism” seen to date. The agency wants governments “to do everything they can to get people travelling again,” citing the “the sudden and rapid fall in tourist arrivals” caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Governments have a “responsibility to protect businesses and livelihoods,” the Madrid-based agency said, pointing to estimates published in July that showed the collapse in travel between January and May as having cost up to 320 billion dollars – three times the losses to tourism incurred during the 2007-09 financial crisis and equivalent to Colombia’s gross domestic product.
Posted on 18 August 2020 by Simon | Read More... Business & Economics, dpa international, Health & Medical, Travel & Tourism
Singapore and China to reopen some travel in June – dpa international
KUALA LUMPUR — A “fast lane” for business and “essential” travel between Singapore and China will open next week, allowing some flights to resume between the two countries after a four-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to officials. A Singapore Foreign Ministry statement released late Friday said that travel will initially be allowed between Singapore and six Chinese cities and regions, including Shanghai and Guangdong. Though the two countries have reported the most coronavirus cases in East Asia, Singapore believes “the prevention and control of Covid-19 and the economic and social recovery” in both to have “entered a new phase.” While the majority of China’s 84,160 reported coronavirus cases were diagnosed early in the year – after the virus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan before spreading around the world – Singapore’s caseload has increased 33-fold since April 1, with thousands of foreign workers infected.
Posted on 29 May 2020 by Simon | Read More... Business & Economics, China, dpa international, Singapore, Travel & Tourism
Singapore shuts another airport terminal due to coronavirus – dpa international
KUALA LUMPUR — Citing “the sharp decline in flight movements because of the global Covid-19 pandemic,” Changi Airport in Singapore said on Tuesday that it will temporarily close its Terminal 4 from May 16. Flights from the hub will be restricted to Terminals 1 and 3 – as well as Jewel Changi Airport, effectively a fifth terminal. Airport authorities had earlier suspended use of Terminal 2. One of the world’s busiest airports and usually a busy waystation for travellers en route from the Asia-Pacific region to Europe, Changi was on Monday was voted “World’s Best Airport” for the eighth consecutive year in the Skytrax World Airport Awards.
Posted on 12 May 2020 by Simon | Read More... Business & Economics, dpa international, Singapore, Travel & Tourism
Malaysia’s coronavirus case number nearly doubles as Singapore adds new travel curbs – dpa interntional
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s Health Ministry declared a near-doubling of its confirmed cases of coronavirus, recording a jump of 190 positive diagnoses for a region-high total of 428 as of Sunday evening. The ministry stated that “most of the new cases” are linked to an Islamic ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur’s outskirts in late February that was attended by an estimated 15,000 people. Cases linked to the event first emerged in Brunei last week and then in Singapore, which as of Saturday night had reported 212 cases of coronavirus. The three countries’ health ministries have appealed for people who attended the event to come forward for testing and to provide information about contacts and travel. Sunday’s surge in coronavirus cases in Malaysia was by far the biggest daily increase seen across the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since the outbreak began.
Posted on 15 March 2020 by Simon | Read More... dpa international, Legal & Rights, Malaysia, Reporting from Malaysia, Singapore, Travel & Tourism
Singapore airshow has wings clipped by virus scare – dpa international
KUALA LUMPUR — The Singapore Airshow, billed Asia’s biggest aviation event, started on Tuesday with attendances set to be down on previous years due to coronavirus concerns. Citing worries about the virus, whoch has killed over a thousand people in China and has infected over 40 people in Singapore, airshow organizers said ticket numbers were being “scaled down for the well-being and safety of all visitors.” The event will run until February 16 and will feature daredevil flying displays by fighter jets from the United States and the Chinese air force. An airshow conference featuring speeches from sector leaders, including the head of the US Federal Aviation Administration, was cancelled due to the concerns.
Posted on 11 February 2020 by Simon | Read More... Business & Economics, China, dpa international, Health & Medical, Singapore, Travel & Tourism
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WEST VIRGINIA CODE
‹ Back | Print
CHAPTER 9. HUMAN SERVICES.
ARTICLE 5. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
§9-5-9. Direct cremation or direct burial expenses for indigent persons.
(a) For the purposes of this section:
“Direct burial” means the removal of the remains from the place of death; casket for the deceased and transportation to a West Virginia cemetery.
“Direct cremation” includes the removal of the remains from the place of death; container; and crematory fees.
“Spouse” means the person to whom the decedent was legally married and who survived the decedent: Provided, That a petition for divorce had not been filed by either the decedent or the spouse prior to the decedent’s death.
(b) The Department of Health and Human Resources shall pay for direct cremation or direct burial for indigent persons in an amount not to exceed the actual cost of the direct cremation or direct burial service provided, or $1000 whichever is less.
(c) Prior to paying for direct cremation or direct burial, the department shall determine the financial assets of a deceased person and whether or not the deceased’s estate or any of his or her relatives who are liable for the direct cremation or direct burial expenses pursuant to subsection (d) of this section is financially able to pay, alone or in conjunction, for the direct cremation or direct burial expenses. The Department of Health and Human Resources shall require that an affidavit be filed with the department, in a form provided by and determined in accordance with the income guidelines as set forth by the department, as well as any other supporting financial information the department may require, including, but not limited to, bank statements and income tax information of the deceased person and the relatives of the deceased person who are liable for the direct cremation or direct burial expenses pursuant to section nine of this article. The affidavit must be:
(1) Signed by the heir or heirs-at-law and state that the estate of the deceased person is unable to pay the costs associated with direct cremation or direct burial and that the sole or combined assets of the heir or heirs-at-law are not sufficient to pay for the direct cremation or direct burial of the deceased person; or
(2) Signed by the county coroner or the county health officer, the attending physician or other person signing the death certificate or the state medical examiner stating that the deceased person has no heirs or that heirs have not been located after a reasonable search and that the deceased person had no estate or the estate is pecuniarily unable to pay the costs associated with direct cremation or direct burial.
(d) The relatives of an indigent person, who are of sufficient ability, shall be liable to pay the direct cremation or direct burial expenses in the following order:
(1) The spouse.
(2) The children.
(3) The parents.
(4) The brothers and sisters.
(e) The Department of Health and Human Resources may proceed by motion in the circuit court of the county in which the indigent person may be, against one or more of the relatives liable.
(f) If a relative so liable does not reside in this state and has no estate or debts due him or her within the state by means of which the liability can be enforced against him or her, the other relatives shall be liable as provided by this section.
(g) The liability of the relative of an indigent person for funeral service expenses is limited to the amount paid by the Department of Health and Human Resources.
(h) Payment for direct burials or direct cremations for indigents shall be made by the Department of Health and Human Resources to the West Virginia funeral director licensed pursuant to §30-6-9 of this code or a crematory operator certificated pursuant to §30-6-11 of this code that provided the direct burial or direct cremation, as the department may determine, pursuant to appropriations for expenditures made by the Legislature. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a family from holding a memorial service for the indigent person: Provided, That payment under this section is limited to direct burial and direct cremation and may not include payment for a memorial service.
(i) In the event that no family members can be found, or refuse to participate, an application for payment of direct cremation or direct burial for indigent persons may be submitted to the Department of Health and Human Resources by the provider of such services.
(j) A direct cremation may not be made of the decedent if objectionable pursuant to decedent’s religion or otherwise prohibited by federal law, state law or regulation, in which case, alternate funeral service expenses shall be substituted. In the absence of a religious objection or prohibition by federal law, state law or regulation, an indigent for which payment under this section is authorized shall be cremated.
(k) A person who knowingly swears falsely in an affidavit required by this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or confined in jail for a period of not more than six months, or both fined and confined.
Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2020 Regular Session
The West Virginia Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.
This Web site is maintained by the West Virginia Legislature's Office of Reference & Information. | Terms of Use | Web Administrator | © 2021 West Virginia Legislature ****
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Overcast. High 49F. Winds light and variable..
Showers this evening becoming a steady light rain overnight. Low 42F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.
The Capitol Building is seen on the night of Monday, Jan. 8, 2018 in Olympia.
Jared Wenzelburger / jwenzelburger@chronline.com
Publisher's Notes: Legislature’s Aim in 2021 Should Be to Do No Harm
By Chad Taylor
A pandemic is no time to raise taxes.
While Republicans in the state Legislature would respond to such a statement with an affirmative nod, their colleagues across the aisle will face pressure to create new revenue sources as the Legislature looks to counter the impacts of the coronavirus recession.
Look no further than Gov. Jay Inslee’s budget plan for confirmation of that.
The Democratic executive entering his third term in office has proposed $1.3 billion in new taxes for Washingtonians.
“The state does need new, additional revenue to continue to strengthen our state’s economy,” he said last month. “This we know.”
Inslee dismissed a reduction in the state’s budget through cuts to staff and services as impractical, a suggestion that rightly angers businesses that have been forced to cut their own staffs and budgets amid government-ordered restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19.
The largest new revenue proposal is Inslee’s tax on capital gains, a plan that has been called out as an income tax by critics of the governor. The new tax on profits from selling stocks and bonds would collect $1.1 billion annually beginning next year. While supporters of the plan note that it will only impact the wealthiest 2 percent of residents, it also in the process — if it makes it through the courts — opens the door for an expansion of an income tax in the future.
Additionally, Inslee is also pursuing a tax on health care policies to pay for public health needs, a carbon cap-and-trade policy and a low-carbon fuel standard, which analysts have said will lead to an increase in fuel costs across the board.
In short, state lawmakers, many of whom have their own tax proposals, should instead focus on the essentials in 2021, and the overarching message should be to do no harm.
Business owners have been through hell this past year, many being ordered to close for months at a time. Many citizens of Washington have endured heart-wrenching hardships, whether it was the loss of employment or the loss of a loved one. Landlords are in many cases having a difficult time paying mortgages as renters likewise feel the financial pinch.
The last thing any of them need is another hit to their bank account.
While there are many reasons to avoid any new taxation this session, among the most convincing is the relative financial health of the state.
Last spring, as the effects of the pandemic on the state’s coffers were just beginning to come into focus, there were dire predictions of the economic pain ahead. In May, preliminary numbers produced by the Washington Economic and Revenue Forecast Council predicted a $7 billion loss in revenue through 2023. That broke down to a loss of $3.8 billion in revenue in the 2019-2020 budget cycle and an additional $3.27 billion in the 2021-23 budget cycle.
Such a gap would have likely led to even louder calls from the left for additional tax revenue met by equally loud calls from the right for deep cuts to state government.
Fortunately for everyone, that prediction has not come true. The economy of Washington, though rattled and damaged from the changes in spending and restrictions on businesses, proved to be more resilient than predicted.
The November update from the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council — on which local lawmakers Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, and Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, both serve — showed a drastically improved picture more than $900 million above what had been originally forecasted.
In an interview with The Chronicle last week, Braun, the Senate minority leader, said information that has poured in since November continues to show an ever-improving outlook, though financial challenges brought on by the pandemic remain.
Inslee’s proposals aren’t all bad. His plan to reduce what businesses have to pay in unemployment taxes by $790 million this year and $1.1 billion from 2022 to 2023 represents an admirable attempt at providing much-needed aid. Likewise, his calls for providing assistance to renters so they can pay their landlords amid an ongoing moratorium on evictions could yield positive results if done correctly.
But save the tax increases for another session.
A pandemic is no time to expand the size of the government’s share of the peoples’ money.
Chad Taylor is owner of Nisqually Valley News and CT Publishing.
Jay Inslee
John Braun
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Another in the series of letters home from the files at The Elgin Military Museum. Those on the homefront were desperate for news. Many of the letters found their way into the local newspaper - in this case the St. Thomas Journal so the community could share the apprehension, joy or sorrow.
Pte Tweed Tells of Capture
of Trench and His Wounding
St. Thomas Journal June 26, 1915
Writing from a hospital in France, Bomb Thrower Charles Tweed, who is reported suffering from concussion, tells his mother, Mrs. Annie Tweed, 20 Weldon Avenue, a graphic story of a charge on a German trench in which he figured. He was wounded by the explosion of a German bomb and removed to a dressing station. The letter follows:
Dear Mother and Brother –
A few lines to let you know that I am getting along all right. I am a great deal better now and expect to be back at the front again in two or three weeks. I was not seriously wounded so I am not being sent to England. I am somewhere in France, in a hospital and being treated like a prince. We have a good lot of doctors and nurses looking after us and we get a lot of cigarettes and tobacco from the parson. He has brought up a gramophone to our ward last night and it is playing all kinds of tunes just now. So you may see we are having some time.
Bomb Throwers to the Front
I had better tell you how I was wounded. There was an attack coming off but the 1st Battalion was not taking part in it. However the regiment attacking lost nearly all its bomb throwers and the bomb throwers of the 1st Battalion were sent in their place. There are only two St. Thomas bomb throwers, Corp. Freeman and myself so we were the only boys from home in this particular charge, the rest being in reserve. We got up to where the charge was to be made and all got a good supply of bombs. Then came the order “Bomb throwers to the front.”
God Help the Germans
We led the charge and when we got close enough to the German trenches we threw the bombs into them. It prevented them from charging or shooting at our men when they charged. Well, I got out of the trench and started crawling towards the German trench with rifle loaded, bayonet fixed and a bag full of bobs. It was ‘God help the Germans’ if we get close to them.
Only Twenty-five Yards Apart
It was very hard to advance for the Germans were but twenty five yards from us but we got by all right and the order came to charge. We were all excited and you should have heard the yells as we started on the run. It was like a hell for a minute. Machine guns were sweeping all around us and the Germans kept up a rapid fire on us as we went along. But we had only a short distance to go and were soon in the German trenches. The Germans “beat it” as hard as they could go. They are poor fighters when it comes to bayonet work but I “got” one and I have his helmet as a souvenir.
Well, we had taken that part of the trench so we started to go along to drive the out of another portion that they still held. It was there that I was hit. One of the German bomb throwers threw a bomb at us and it exploded right at my feet. I received a little cut over my right eye and my back was bruised and hurt so I had to quit fighting and was carried back to the dressing station. I am much better now. I can hobble around the ward and my eye is nearly all right so don’t worry.
Right: German 'bomb' (aka grenade)
Sidney Gilbert went to the hospital about two weeks ago but is getting along fine.
Your loving son,
More About Charlie
Charles Tweed was born in Bathgate, Scotland on October 8th 1892. He served for 5 years with the 10th Royal Scots before emigrating to Canada either with or after his mother and siblings. They lived at 127 Alma Street and Charlie worked as a machinist at the time of his attestation. He enlisted in the 1st Division, Canadian Expeditionary Force on September 23, 1914 and was discharged in January of 2018 with the rank of Sergeant.
The caption in the newspaper which accompanied this photo is as follows:
A telegram from headquarters has been received by Mrs. Weir, 74 Balaclava Street notifying her of the wounding of her son, Private Charles Tweed, No. 6749, who enlisted here with the First Battalion as bugler. Pte Tweed was employed in the machine department of the M.C.R. [Michigan Central Railroad] previous to his enlisting. He came to St. Thomas from
Montreal and was employed in the city about four months. This is the third time Pte Tweed has been reported wounded. The late Lieut. George Metcalfe in one of his letters reported Pte Tweed as being sprayed with vitriol [sulfuric acid] and splintered in the face with shrapnel. He was officially wounded a year ago, on May 22, 1915, suffering from concussion. A message today received by Mrs. Weir, stated that he had been wounded in the hip and admitted to No. 5 General Hospital, Leicester.
Pte Tweed on reaching the front took a bomb thrower’s course and has since been performing these duties.
He has an adopted brother now in France with the Pioneers and two brothers and his father in the 91st Battalion. The picture taken in France some months ago, shows Pte Tweed and Sergt. Hall in the trenches. Pte Tweed is watching Sergt. Hall shoot.
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Acquisition #135: Professor Layton and the Last Specter (DS)
Can you believe I recently picked up the North American, rather than the European, version of Professor Layton and the Last Specter?
I ask that because, as some of you may remember, I bought the Euro releases of the professor's previous puzzling adventures. (Photos of these purchases can be seen here, here and here.)
This time around, though, I went with the North American iteration because it contains the "Professor Layton's London Life" side attraction that, sadly, is nowhere to be found in its foreign counterpart.
Speaking of "London Life," that's the only part of Last Specter I've spent time with thus far.
Why? Well, because its graphics look a lot like those of Mother 3 (a very good thing, obviously) and because I've heard that its gameplay calls to mind Animal Crossing. How could I resist, right?
Despite the fact that, on paper, it sounds like something that would suck up all of my time, "London Life" has me feeling a bit conflicted at the moment.
Oh, I absolutely adore its aesthetics, and the soundtrack is, quite literally, music to my ears, but I can already sense--after spending just a few hours with it--that "London Life" is going to transition from "charming time-waster" to "tedious fetch-quest-athon" sooner rather than later.
Still, I'm enjoying it right now. And it's not like I only bought the Last Specter for this retro-tinged piece of bonus content.
So, I'll keep at it until it's squeezed me dry and then switch over to the main mode, which I'm sure will both entice and confound me much like its predecessors did.
See also: Previous 'Acquisition #123' posts
Labels: Acquisition #123, acquisitions, ds, Flickr, Level-5, nintendo, photos, Professor Layton, Professor Layton and the Last Specter, Professor Layton and the Spectre's Call
chaosyoshimage said...
Yeah, that US only thing for London Life is so lame. My brother is crazy obsessed with the series to the point where he manages a wiki for it. A lot of his friends on there are from Europe so he couldn't play it with them.
Also, you can do multiple characters so I can't play it either...
I guess I can understand their reasoning behind not including London Life in EU versions, CYM, but it still sucks for EU gamers.
That said, at this point I can't say you're missing out on a ton by not having access to London Life. Don't get me wrong, it's adorable, and it's fun *enough*, but it's not amazing. Kind of reminds me of a cellphone game, honestly.
GameOverYeah said...
It's called London Life yet not available in the UK. Like releasing New York Nights everywhere but the US, anyway...
I picked up Lost Future today for less than an English fiver which was very pleasing.
dste: Yes, it is a touch ... troll-ish that 'London Life' isn't available in the UK version, especially.
Congrats on finding such a cheap version of Lost Future, BTW!
I can't believe you're only picking this up now, Bryan! I played about an hour of London Life but honestly, like you mentioned, it just felt a bit too fetch quest-y and though it was cute, it didn't really hold my attention that long. Maybe I'll try it again!
Funny you mention in the comments that it feels like a cell phone game... That's because it originally was! (in Japan)
Hey there, Anne! Well, to be honest, I actually picked it up earlier this year. I'm only now getting around to playing it and writing about it :)
'London Life' started out as a cellphone game? Was it actually released as such in Japan? That's too funny, if true, as it really does feel like that sort of 'superficial' game.
As for the game being too fetch-quest-y and not holding your attention for long: That's really too bad, isn't it? A few changes here and there and the game could have been much more interesting.
Oh, well, at least there's still the 'main campaign' to deal with. I'm sure that'll be more of the same, but that's OK with me.
Oh, okay! It's always hard to tell when you actually pick up a game vs when you get around to writing about it ;)
As for whether or not the game was actually released as a mobile phone game, I'm pretty sure it was on Level-5's ROID service: http://andriasang.com/com84u/roid_service_preview/ You can see a screen there... Some sites indicated that it was in development but then they didn't actually release it and kept it for the DS game release, but I'm under the impression it was/is available on iMode phones in Japan (did you know there was a Ni no Kuni tie-in and an Inazuma Eleven game, too?! I didn't!).
Yeah, it is a shame, especially since I love Bobbie Brown's designs and the overall feel is just so cute! But it didn't hook me like Animal Crossing did.
I know, I know. I try to do my best with these 'acquisition' posts, but it's hard. I mean, I don't want to deluge people with them, so I tend to sit on some of them for a bit.
Anyway, in your defense, I did say that I bought it 'recently.' Sorry to trick you like that :)
As for 'London Life' first appearing on Level-5's ROID service: I remember reading that, too, now that you reminded me! How interesting...
Really, it's too bad they couldn't have changed it up a bit and made it more like Animal Crossing -- you know, where you could do errands and stuff now and then if you wanted to, but also kind of allowed you to just life your life in various ways if you so chose.
BTW, I think the company name is Brownie Brown, not Bobbie Brown. Were you thinking of the make-up maven or Whitney Houston's ex-husband? ;)
Ahaha, you're right! It's definitely Brownie Brown... I don't know why I have issues remembering that name
It's OK. We all do it! That said, I got a good laugh (or at least chuckle) out of it :)
That's exactly what I did, Bryan. I played it until the charm wore off, sadly. And then I jumped into the main event, which captivated me until the credit rolled. It's wonderful!
Well, at least the main event captivated you all the way through, Justin. We'll see if the same happens to me, although I think it will.
Are you looking forward to and/or planning to pick up the 3DS sequel, Justin?
You really can't have too much Mario-inspired art,...
Let's Play: 'Which Portable Looks Best?'
Acquisition #135: Professor Layton and the Last Sp...
One more reason to pick up Kirby's Dream Collectio...
Donkey Kong x Japanese Ukiyo-e
I enjoyed this 3DS XL unboxing video a lot more th...
Surprise of surprises: I dislike the packaging pro...
A new trailer for one of the million or so 3DS gam...
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Between Monsters and Gods
Column by Bob Wallace [1], posted on December 17, 2010
War and Peace [2]
Society/Culture [3]
Religion [4]
Column by Bob Wallace.
"Mankind is poised midway between the gods and the beasts," wrote Plotinus. A similar theme runs through most of the older mythologies: Did we come from the beasts or from the gods? Are we merely more evolved animals or fallen angels?
The answer, refined through millennia, is this: We're part beast, but far better than they are (though we often sink to their level or even worse), because we are the children of God, made in His image, no matter how much we pervert it. It's the meaning of a fairy tale like Beauty and the Beast, in which the Beast becomes human through love.
When I say we can sink lower than the beasts, it's because we're part devil, which animals aren't. Only people have self-consciousness, and are therefore capable of doing – and rationalizing – evil. Only man is part devil, and rationalizes it as being god-like. It's why we get popular Christian leaders claiming God is pro-war. Of course, they mean God is pro-their war.
Animals exist in nearly all myths and fairy tales. They're symbols of our animal nature. In the story of the Garden of Eden, for example, the serpent is a symbol of our envy, and how envious people can be subtle and clever and backstabbing in their attempts to bring people down. These stories would be more accurate if they didn't consider people halfway between beasts and gods; it's better to say they are midpoint between monsters and gods.
That concept is something horror writers have always understood: The fight is not between Pan or the Minotaur and God; it's between Satan (a human monster) and God, with people oftentimes unable to figure out which side is which.
We share with other social animals, such as dogs, traits such as forming ourselves into hierarchical packs (only we call them tribes, or if big enough, nations) with leaders at the top. Only no animal has ever claimed God favored its pack over every other pack, or claimed He personally installed its alpha dog, or blamed its problems on another pack while completely ignoring what it's done to that other pack, or claimed the other pack's top dog was an insane, evil, homicidal maniac bent on murder and destruction, or went to war, slaughtering puppies and elderly dogs, and justifying it as a utilitarian necessity. Neither do they believe in spells and talismans and magic, as we do.
Our animal nature is not paid as much attention as it should be. We understand social animals like dogs run in packs, and that "primitive" people form tribes, yet we often seem to be clueless that nation-states are just tribes writ large. I seriously doubt there is anydifference between the nature of people today and those of 30,000 years ago, except that we have advanced technology. Yet we still believe in magic and spells and talismans, as they did, even if we laugh at the idea and insist we don't.
When people say "God bless America" or "God bless our troops," aren't they really trying to cast a spell? Do they really believe words can change reality? Or that a bumper sticker that reads, "Support our troops" is nothing more than a talisman ("A trinket or piece of jewelry thought to be a protection against evil")? Isn't this exactly what magic is? The belief that mere words, in the correct incantation, can alter reality to suit your tastes?
Is God supposed to support all the troops, no matter how many bad apples are in the bunch, the ones who only want to kill people for fun? Or no matter what mass murder ("collateral damage") the troops engage in? Aren't the innocent people on the other side supposed to have a protective spell cast on them, too?
I get the impression people don't realize when they pray, they're actually assuming their prayers travel up to God, who sorts them out and decides which ones He wants to use, then sends them down to various recipients. Instead of using shamans or witches to cast spells, people now try to use God as an intermediary. They call this Christian, when they use prayers for murder and destruction, and to support their tribe's soldiers over the innocent people of another's? Mark Twain surely got their number when he wrote "The War Prayer": hey, God, protect our troops, but blow the innocent of our "enemy" to shreds.
These people are also ignoring, if they ever understood, the Commandment that reads, "Do not use God's name for vain causes." It's usually mistranslated as, "Do not use God's name in vain." It's got nothing to do with saying bad words if you hit your thumb with a hammer; it has everything to do with people claiming God gave the thumbs up for their tribe to rub out another.
For the life of me, I cannot figure out how humans turned out like they are. One explanation, both mythologically and religiously, is that when people's eyes opened to all the badness in life, they'd tried to turn themselves into gods to fix it. In the 20th Century, the two worst diseases of we're-gods-and-let's-eradicate-evil-and-bring-heaven-to-earth were Nazism and Communism, which together killed about 177 million people.
The United States seems to be going through a similar phase. Richard Perle and David Frum, two extraordinarily deluded messianic neo-con nutcases, actually wrote a book titled, An End to Evil, a concept not only profoundly anti-Christian, but anti-human. Because to get rid of all evil, you have to get rid of all people.
All religions agree people are inherently imperfect, fallen. Personally, I like C.S. Lewis' term: "bent." People are in some ways born bent, crooked. It's true. I do know a lot of it has to do with people rationalizing and justifying their most awful conduct and lying to themselves that it is, in the long run, a good thing. To do bad things, most people have to con themselves they're doing good things. All tyrants call themselves benefactors, a fact noticed by both Aesop and Jesus.
The story of the Garden of Eden has many interpretations. One of them, of course, is evil being brought into the world through people blaming their problems on others because of envy. Another interpretation is people going from an animal unconsciousness of evil to a human consciousness of it – with most of it being caused by envy and rationalization. It's why animals, having no self-consciousness, cannot do evil. Only people can.
People have lost their animal unconsciousness and instead replaced it with being part human, part monster, and oftentimes claiming the monstrous part is a good thing approved by God. Legitimate religious people in the past – and sometimes even now – claimed many people have a hard time telling the difference between God and the Devil. There was a time when that didn't make much sense to me. It does now.
I suppose when the day comes, if it ever does, when people stop blaming their problems on other people, and envying, and rationalizing their evil as good, and believing they have the god-like ability to get rid of evil in other people while ignoring their own flaws, that is the day people will be closer to God than Satan, closer to what people are supposed to be instead of the monsters they often are.
I can guarantee you one thing, though: That day will not come through politics.
Bob Wallace [1]
Columns on STR: 89
Bob Wallace is the author of I Write What I See [5]. Please visit his Shameless Book Promotion Page [6]. And here is his Page Full o' Fun [7]. And this is where he blogs [8].
Source URL: http://www.strike-the-root.com/between-monsters-and-gods
[2] http://www.strike-the-root.com/topics/war-and-peace
[3] http://www.strike-the-root.com/topics/society/culture
[4] http://www.strike-the-root.com/topics/religion
[5] http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?isbn=0%2D595%2D27090%2D5
[6] http://home.att.net/%7Ebob.wallace/mybookpage.html
[7] http://rmwallace.tripod.com/pagefun.html
[8] http://tonova.typepad.com/thesuddencurve/
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General Stream Adjudication
Arizona General Stream Adjudication Bulletin
Welcome to the Arizona General Stream Adjudication Bulletin
The Office of the Special Master publishes the Bulletin three times a year to provide information about proceedings in the Gila River Adjudication and the Little Colorado River Adjudication.
Editor: Barbara K. Brown
Office of the Special Master
Maricopa Superior Court
Central Court Building 5B
201 West Jefferson
The Bulletin relies on links so the entire document is available to our readers. Always check our What's New page for up-to-date notices and documents.
Meeting of the Court and Arizona Department of Water Resources
Judge Ballinger and Special Master Schade met with the Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources and other representatives on November 9, 2010, to discuss the current and prospective resources available for adjudication projects and other matters related to insuring that pending proceedings move forward expeditiously. The Court and the Department meet at least annually.
During the past year, the Department has suffered a significant reduction in staff and resources in line with other state agencies. The Department has been implementing ways to deal with the reduction. It is not expected that the adjudications work will be greatly affected although adjustments may have to be made.
In re State Trust Lands Contested Case
The Court granted the Special Master's motion to approve his report concerning the existence of claimed reserved water rights on State of Arizona school trust lands. The Court held that the "trust lands at issue here were not withdrawn from the public domain and reserved for a federal purpose and, therefore, as a matter of law, cannot be deemed to possess federal implied reserved water rights." The Court's approval of the report was limited to the findings of fact and conclusions of law that addressed withdrawal and reservation. The Special Master considered other issues raised by the litigants, but the Court ruled that those "matters need not be addressed in light of the ruling that an implied reserved water right does not exist for Arizona state trust lands." The Court's ruling agrees with a decision of the New Mexico Court of Appeals for which the United States Supreme Court denied a petition for review on April 27, 2009. The ruling determines a significant legal issue for Arizona's general stream adjudication.
White Mountain Apache Water Rights Settlement Agreement
On December 8, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 approving the White Mountain Apache water rights settlement. On November 30, 2010, the United States Senate passed the Act, which also involved water rights settlements in Montana and New Mexico and resolved pending claims against the United States. It is anticipated that the Court will consider the agreement for approval later this year.
The Western States Water Council reported that:
"Title III of the bill authorizes $292 million for the White Mountain Apache settlement in Arizona, including the construction of a rural water system as its centerpiece. Of this amount, the bill includes 'mandatory appropriations' of $126 million to plan, design, and construct the water system. It would also recognize a tribal entitlement to 23,782 acre feet per year of Central Arizona Project water, which the Tribe could lease to cities in the Phoenix metro area. . Of note, the package immediately provides $180 million to the Reclamation Water Settlements Fund to implement the Navajo Nation's settlement with New Mexico, which Congress authorized as part of the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009. The funds will be used to construct the Navajo-Gallup pipeline. . [Arizona] Senator Jon Kyl, who introduced authorizing legislation for the White Mountain Apache settlement, said it will provide certainty to Arizona water users and will provide the tribe with a '... clean, reliable source of drinking water'."
Little Colorado River Adjudication
In re Hopi Tribe Priority: The Special Master held a telephonic conference on October 14, 2010, concerning the status of the proposed water rights settlement agreement involving the claims of the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation. Based upon the comments made, the Special Master suspended the remaining deadlines in the current briefing schedule until further ordered and requested the Navajo Nation to file a report by December 15, 2010, concerning the status of the agreement.
The Navajo Nation reported that on November 4, 2010, the Navajo Nation Council approved the version of the settlement agreement dated June 29, 2010. The Council authorized the President of the Nation to execute the agreement in the form of or substantially similar to the form of that version. The parties and legal counsel continue to meet every other week and work to complete various exhibits to the agreement and to draft authorizing legislation. The Hopi Tribe Council will consider the agreement next followed by the non-tribal parties.
The Special Master requested comments concerning the completion of the Final Hopi Indian Reservation Hydrographic Survey Report. Both the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation favor continuing work on the Final HSR. The Catalyst Paper (Snowflake) Inc. company suggested that it be determined what work the Arizona Department of Water Resources can complete in light of its budget situation.
Gila River Adjudication
Subflow Zone Map of the San Pedro River Watershed: On March 15, 2011, the Court will hear the objections of several claimants that present substantive legal and technical issues. The Court directed the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) to submit a report by December 31, 2010, identifying the objections and comments with which ADWR agrees or does not take issue and providing information in response to a specific objection or comment. On December 8, 2010, the Court extended this deadline to January 31, 2011. On December 16, 2010, the Court invited comments from parties concerning the time allotment and procedures for the hearing to be held in March 2011.
The Court referred to the Special Master the task of proceeding in the best manner to determine the remaining objections and comments. The Special Master held a conference on December 14, 2010, in Sierra Vista, to begin the process of resolving the objections referred to him. On December 20, 2010, the Special Master provided an opportunity for the objectors to supplement their objections, granted the motion of the San Carlos Apache Tribe to intervene, and added several parties to the Court approved mailing list of the case.
In re Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness Area: This contested case is going through its initial round of briefing designated legal issues. The Special Master granted the unopposed request of the United States for an additional two weeks to complete discovery. On December 28, 2010, the Special Master granted the unopposed request of the United States to extend by six weeks the deadlines for filing motions, responses, and replies.
In re Powers Garden Administrative Site: The Special Master heard argument on the issue whether the United States is entitled to a federal reserved water right that includes the use of water for irrigation and stock watering purposes at the Powers Garden Administrative Site. He determined that the United States does not have separate primary reserved water rights for irrigation and stock watering. The reserved water rights of the site must serve the primary purposes of preserving timber and securing favorable water flows, but a portion of those water rights can be allocated for domestic, irrigation, stock watering, and firefighting uses as long as the water is used only by Forest Service employees, volunteers, and independent contractors, and the water uses are directly related to and consistent with the primary purposes of national forests. These conditions do not limit or substitute any other requirements imposed by the law of reserved water rights. The amounts of each water use will be determined in the quantification phase of this case.
In re Applications of Salt River Project for Injunctive Relief: Five separate matters are proceeding in the Verde River Watershed. The matter involving NBJ Ranch L.P. continues to await the efforts of the parties to reach a mutual resolution. The Court has not entered a judgment.
Wiertzema Family Trust: The Wiertzema Family Trust requested an award of attorney's fees, expert witness and consultant fees. The Salt River Project opposed the motion. Following a hearing held on June 21, 2010, on October 21, 2010, the Court denied the fees award requests.
Henry, Kasper, Ray, and Stryker: The Salt River Project filed a motion for summary judgment. On August 16, 2010, at the request of the parties, the Court extended until January 24, 2011, the time to respond to the Project's motion.
Robinson and Chester-Campbell, L.L.C: The parties are discussing a mutual resolution. On November 8, 2010, at the request of the parties, the Court granted the respondents until July 15, 2011, to file a response to the Salt River Project's motion for summary judgment.
Link here to the calendar of proceedings.
January 2009 - December 2010
From the first issue in April 1993, through 1997, the Bulletin was published 10 times each year (monthly, except July and December). From January 1998 to July 2000, the Bulletin was published quarterly. After that time, printed editions were published for August-December 2000 and January-May 2001. The first online edition was dated June-August 2001. Subsequent issues will be published only online in January, May, and September (or more frequently as events warrant). All issues since October 1996 are available on our Web site; contact the Office of the Special Master for earlier issues.
Previous indexes are in the following issues: April 1995, April 1996, April-May 1997, April-July 1998, March-April 1999, April-July 2000, September-December 2001, September-December 2003, January-April 2005, May-August 2007, and September-December 2008.
Arizona Supreme Court Interlocutory Appeals
In re Proposed Gila River Indian Community Water Rights Settlement, Interlocutory
Appeals No. WC-07-0001-1R and WC-07-0003-1R (Contested Case No. W1-207),
January-April 2009; September-December 2009; January-April 2010;
May-August 2010
Contacts and Assistance
Court Approved Mailing Lists
January-April 2009; May-August 2010
January-April 2010; May-August 2010; September-December 2010
Letter to the Editor of the Arizona Attorney Magazine
January-April 2009; May-August 2009; May-August 2010; September-December 2010
The Gila Appellate Opinions
The Special Master's Letter to Legislators
Hopi Indian Reservation Legal Issues for Resolution
May-August 2009; September-December 2009
Hopi Tribe Claimed Rights to Off-Reservation Surface Water
In re Hopi Tribe Priority
January-April 2009; September-December 2009; January-April 2010
Little Colorado River Adjudication Briefing Issues
September-December 2009; May-August 2010
Preliminary Hydrographic Survey Report for the Hopi Indian Reservation
The Arizona Department of Water Resources Preliminary Catalog of Non-Exempt
Registered Wells
January-April 2009; September-December 2009
Subflow Zone Map of the San Pedro River Watershed
In re Sands Group of Cases
September-December 2009; January-April 2010
In re San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area
In re Fort Huachuca
September-December 2009; January-April 2010; May-August 2010
In re PWR 107 Claims
In re Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness Area
In re Powers Garden Administrative Site
January-April 2009; May-August 2009; September-December 2009;
In re Applications of Salt River Project for Injunctive Relief
Gila River Adjudication Steering Committee
May-August 2009; January-April 2010
Mailing Addresses with Arizona Department of Water Resources
Online Archive of Indian Water Rights Settlements
Orr Ditch Decree Litigation
Records Retention and Disposition
The Maricopa Lawyer Magazine
William D. Baker
Thomas G. Carr
Mary G. Davidson
Scott M. Deeny
Lin Fehlmann
Gregg A. Houtz
W. Patrick Schiffer
Lee Storey
Michael B. Whiting
This site requires a PDF reader (such as Adobe Reader or another PDF reader) to view and print the prepared documents.
Interlocutory Appeals
Arizona Supreme Court Decisions and Orders
Overview of General Stream Adjudication
Rules for Proceedings
Settled, Decided and Inactive Cases
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Title: Fruška Gora
Subject: Novi Sad, Geography of Vojvodina, Vojvodina, Syrmia, Budovar
Collection: Geography of Vojvodina, Mountains of Serbia, National Parks of Serbia, Protected Areas Established in 1960, Spatial Cultural-Historical Units of Exceptional Importance, Syrmia, Wine Regions of Serbia
Фрушка Гора
539 m (1,768 ft)[1]
Location in Serbia (includes the now-independent Republic of Kosovo)
Syrmia / Serbia
Pannonian island mountains
IUCN category II (national park)
Fruška Gora National Park
255 km²
Fruška Gora is a mountain in north Srem. Most of it is located within Srem, Serbia, but a smaller part on its western side overlaps the territory of Croatia. Sometimes, it is also referred to as jewel of Serbia, due to its beautiful landscape protection area, nature and its picturesque countryside.
Population and settlements 4
Monasteries 5
In Serbian, it is known as Фрушка гора or Fruška gora (pronounced ), in Croatian as Fruška gora, in Hungarian as Tarcal (also Almus-hegy or Árpataró), in German as Frankenwald, and in Latin as Alma Mons.
The mountain's name originates in the old Serbian word "Fruzi" of which singular form is "Frug"; and its adjective is Fruški, which was used for naming the Frankish people. The name of "Fruška Gora" is "Frankish mountain" in English whose meaning is based on describing a historical event, viz, the mountain served as a natural border when Frankish campaigns were set up in the area. In the time of the Roman Empire, its name was Alma Mons "fertile mount".
To the north, the mountain is bordered by the Danube river. Lengthwise, it is approximately 80 km from east to west and is 15 km from north to south. Its highest peak is Crveni Čot at 539 m.
The slopes of Fruška Gora are perfectly suited for growing grape arbors on there, and there are many wine-makers producing Traminer, Riesling and other wines in the region. Many people have been captivated by its picturesque beauty, due to its outstanding location which is famous for the peaceful and lucrative lifestyles of its inhabitants, and a perfect destination for sightseeing where tourists can relax and enjoy themselves in the spectacular natural environment.
Since 1960, there has been a large national park in the Fruška Gora that attracts a lot of visitors every year. After the fall of communism, the Serbian Orthodox Church got 10,000 hectares restitution in the area of their nationalized properties.[2]
There are traces of human habitation in this area that date from neolithic times. Before the Roman conquest, Illyrians and Celts inhabited this region. In 31 AD, this area was conquered by the Romans and was included into Pannonia province. The Danube river was a border of the Roman Empire (Limes), and on the northern side of the mountain several Roman border fortresses were built.
In the Middle Ages, this area was settled by Quadi, Huns, Goths, Gepids, Slavs, Avars, Bulgarians, Pechenegs and Hungarians. In the 11th century, when Christianity was split between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, both communities had their churches in this region. A very important group of Serb medieval monasteries was formed on the mountain.
During the time, the area was part of the Hun Empire, the Ostrogothic Kingdom, the Gepid Kingdom, the Lombard state, the Byzantine Empire, the Avar Khaganate, the Frankish Empire, the Bulgarian Empire, Pannonian Croatia, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire, Austria-Hungary, the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, the Kingdom of Serbia, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro, and now is within the Republic of Serbia.
During World War II, this area was occupied by the Axis Powers, and Fruška Gora was an important center of partisan resistance movement. A liberated partisan territory was formed in this region.
Population and settlements
In 1991, population of Fruška Gora region numbered 114,263 people. Settlements in the area are including 23 villages, as well as several towns, which are located on the edge of the mountain. These towns are: Šid, Beočin, Petrovaradin, Sremska Kamenica, Sremski Karlovci, Irig and Ilok.
Map showing monasteries of Serbian Orthodox Church in Fruška Gora
Krušedol monastery.
Thanks to its hospitable environment, there are also over a dozen Serbian Orthodox monasteries located on Fruška Gora. According to historical data, these monastic communities were historically recorded since the first decades of the 16th century. Legends, however, place their founding to the period between the 12th and 15th centuries. The monasteries are concentrated in an area 50 kilometers long, and 10 kilometers wide. In the course of centuries of their existence, these monasteries sustained the spiritual and political life of the Serbian nation. In the eighteenth century the monasteries became the home of monks from Rača monastery in the Bajina Bašta municipality by the Drina River. These monks were writers famous for their illuminated manuscripts.
Fruška Gora Monasteries were declared Monuments of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1990, and are protected by Serbia.
List of monasteries:
Beočin - The time of founding is unknown. It is first mentioned in Turkish records dated in 1566/1567.
Bešenovo - According to the legend, the Bešenovo monastery was founded by Serbian King Dragutin at the end of the 13th century. The earliest historical records about the monastery date from 1545.
Velika Remeta - Traditionally, its founding is linked to King Dragutin. The earliest historical records about the monastery date to 1562.
Vrdnik-Ravanica - The exact date of its founding is unknown. The records indicate that the church was built at the time of Metropolitan Serafim, in the second half of the 16th century.
Grgeteg - According to tradition the monastery was founded by Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk (Despot Vuk Grgurević) in 1471. The earliest historical records about the monastery date to 1545/1546.
Divša - It is believed to have been founded by Despot Jovan Branković in the late 15th century. The earliest historical records about the monastery date to the second half of the 16th century.
Jazak - The monastery was founded in 1736.
Krušedol - The monastery was founded between 1509 and 1516, by Bishop Maksim (Despot Đorđe Branković) and his mother Angelina.
Kuveždin - Traditionally, its foundation is ascribed to Stefan Štiljanović. The first reliable records of it are dated in 1566/1569.
Mala Remeta - The foundation is traditionally ascribed to the Serbian King Dragutin. The earliest historical records relating to the monastery are dated to the middle of the 16th century.
Novo Hopovo - According to tradition, the monastery was built by the Despots of the Branković dynasty. The first reliable mention of the monastery is dated to 1641.
Privina Glava - According to the legends, Privina Glava was founded by a man named Priva, in the 12th century. The earliest historical records about the monastery are dated in 1566/1567.
Petkovica - According to the tradition, it was founded by the widow of Stefan Štiljanović, Despotess Jelena. The earliest historical records mentioning the monastery are dated to 1566/1567.
Rakovac - According to a legend written in 1704, Rakovac was founded by a certain man, Raka, courtier of Despot Jovan Branković. The legend states that Raka erected the monastery in 1498. The earliest historical records mentioning the monastery are dated to 1545/1546.
Staro Hopovo - According to the tradition, the monastery was founded by Bishop Maksim (Despot Đorđe Branković). The first reliable mention of the monastery dates back to 1545/1546.
Šišatovac - The foundation of the monastery is ascribed to the refugee monks from the Serbian monastery of Žiča. The reliable facts illustrating the life of the monastery date back from the mid 16th century.
Fruškogorski maraton
Lake Ledinci
List of mountains in Serbia
Spatial Cultural-Historical Units of Great Importance
^ Jovan Đokić. "Katalog planina Srbije". PSD Kopaonik Beograd.
^ Crkva neće novac za šume
Slobodan Ćurčić - Olivera Dobrivojević - Gordana Stojaković, Fruška gora: turistički vodič, Novi Sad - Beograd, 2002.
Milorad Grujić, Vodič kroz Novi Sad i okolinu, Novi Sad, 2004.
Gvozden Perković, Verski objekti na tlu Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 2006.
The monasteries of Fruška Gora
Photo Gallery of Fruška Gora on www.wild-serbia.com
Ranč Platan
Fruška Gora, a view from the south.
Satellite view of Fruška Gora.
Ledinci Lake.
Fruška Gora, a view from Subotica Boulevard (Boulevard of Europe) in Novi Sad.
Fruška Gora mountain.
National parks of Serbia
Šar Mountains
Cultural Heritage of Serbia
Exceptional Importance
Great Importance
Monuments of Culture
Spatial Cultural-Historical Units
Seven Wonders of Serbia
Seven Serbian Wonders of Construction
Belgrade Fortress
Šargan Eight
Studenica monastery
Gamzigrad
Visoki Dečani
Cathedral of Saint Sava
Subotica Town Hall
Seven Serbian Wonders of Nature
Drina with spring
Uvac
Đavolja Varoš
Tara National Park
Iron Gates (Đerdap)
Vratna Gates
IUCN Category II
Mountains of Serbia
Geography of Vojvodina
Syrmia
Protected areas established in 1960
Spatial Cultural-Historical Units of Exceptional Importance
Wine regions of Serbia
Serbia geography stubs
Belgrade, Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Romania, Albania
Serbian language
Serbia, Croatian language, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Macedonia, Romania
Byzantine Empire, Roman Republic, Crisis of the Third Century, Pompeii, Tacitus
Huns
Attila, Caucasus, Central Asia, Black Sea, Xiongnu
Serbia, Petrovaradin, Serbian language, Association football, Belgrade
Vojvodina, Serbia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia
Serbia, Novi Sad, Subotica, Serbian language, Sremska Mitrovica
Serbia, Ilok, Šid, Croatia, Mačva
Budovar
Serbia, Danube, Vojvodina, Serbian language, Belgrade
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12.19.2016 Day in History
December 19, 2016 Daily Links
Half a decade more than eighteen centuries ago, Publius Septimius Geta foretold Machiavelli, when with at least some collusion from his family, he faced assassins, having left his bodyguard behind; a half decade shy of fourteen centuries forward in spacetime, in 1606, the three oceangoing vessels that inaugurated England’s presence and profit and plunder in North America disgorged their inhabitants and cargo to establish the outpost of empire at Jamestown; precisely sixty-nine years later, in 1675, to the North in New England, the soldiers of said plunder, and defenders of their new homes in their new land, managed to slaughter enough of the previous inhabitants to win the conflict at the Great Swamp Fight; a hundred one years past that bloody passage, in 1776, another upshot of that epic looting and imperial imprimatur, the sublime genius of Thomas Paine, expressed itself in the publication of the first essays that would serially delineate The American Crisis; two hundred three years back, the estimable founder of McGill University delivered his final lecture; fifteen years thereafter, in 1828, slaveocrat defenders of the genocidal trade in and draconian exploitation of flesh in South Carolina initiated a conflict that might easily have ‘dissolved the Union,’ the so-called ‘Nullification Crisis,’ an imbroglio that in substance predicted the coming war between the states in all of its bloody horror and glory; two additional decades en route to now, in 1848, part of a trio of creative sisters, Emily Brontë, lived out
CC BY by Yuri Fassio
her final day; exactly thirteen years subsequent to that exit, in 1861, the baby boy opened his eyes who would rise as in some senses the ‘poet laureate’ of the new Italian nation, Italo Svevo; fourteen years onward from that, in 1875, another male child bounced into the world on the other side of the Atlantic who would grow up as the thinker and incisive social critic, Carter G. Woodson; thirty-two years henceforth, in 1907, in nearby Pennsylvania, the mine at Darr experienced a catastrophic explosion and accident that killed close to 250 colliers and consigned over 70 of them to a common grave, contributing to the deadliest month in the deadly primitive accumulation of capital that mine owners willingly accepted; a thousand ninety-six days more in the direction of today, in 1910, the baby male started out life who would soon enough transform himself into critic, writer, and playwright Jean Genet; half a decade past that fortunate entry, in 2015, the German thinker and
By Allan Ajifo
neurology genius Alois Alzheimer, after whom we named a prevalent disorder of the present pass, breathed his last, and in next-door France, a baby girl was born who would sing for her supper and her nation as Edith Piaf; a mere five years yet nearer to the here and now, in 1920, the infant boy first cried out who would grow up to be the crooner and lyrical country star Little Jimmy Dickens; seven years afterward, in 1927, Britain’s imperial rulers in the subcontinent oversaw the execution of a trio of rebellious activists for the ‘crime’ of wanting radically to liberate their homeland; in a telling choice of a title of entitlement, five years further along, in 1932, the British Broadcasting Corporation began the production and distribution of the BBC Empire Service, which in time evolved into the more politically correct BBC World Service; exactly eight years more proximate to the present point, in 1940, the baby boy entered the world in standard fashion who would grow up to sing and write as the beloved and tragic Phil Ochs; half a dozen additional years on time’s relentless march, in 1946, the Indochinese conflict assumed the form of a war that would over the course of three decades unify and liberate Vietnam; fifteen years hence, in 1961, India also further deconstructed, albeit without anything like the same bloodshed, imperial oversight of the subcontinent when Delhi annexed the former Portuguese possessions of Daman and Diu; eleven years more on the approach to today, in 1972, the final contingent of extraterrestrial travelers in the National Aeronautics Space Administration Apollo program, who had just been to the moon, returned to Earth; seven hundred thirty days further down the pike, in 1974, an equally dramatic if less exemplary development in American history transpired as the scion of oil and plutocracy, Nelson Rockefeller, became the Vice President of the United States, under Gerald Ford, in the morass of ‘regime change’ that ended Richard Nixon’s sitting as prime potentate of capital; nine years subsequently, in 1983, striking Greyhound bus drivers across America accepted steep cuts in wages and benefits in order to retain their jobs in a strike that included the death of a picketing transport worker union member whom a scab trainee ran down with his car; the very next year, in 1984, the United Kingdom and the People’s Republic of China set the date for the transfer of control of Hong Kong back to the Chinese, and a mine disaster in Utah killed thirty-six hewers of coal in that state’s worst instance of a mining accident that as always would’ve been much less likely if not preventable if human lives were as important as profits; eleven years yet later on, in 1995, the United States belatedly restored some rights and perquisites of status and ownership to the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi tribe in the upper Midwest part of the country; three years even closer to the current context, in 1997, the Chicago blues crooner and songwriter Jimmy Rogers sang a swan song; a single year forward on the trek to the here and now, in 1998, the House of Representatives mustered the votes necessary to impeach the President Bill Clinton for perjury; a thousand four hundred sixty-one days in even greater proximity to the present moment, in 2001, hundreds of thousands of Argentinians noisily and staunchly protested the neoliberal austerity that their countries ‘leaders’ agreed to impose on the Argentine people for the benefit of international finance capital; one more year later still, in 2002, the aged witness to Nagasaki and chronicler of modern America George Weller lived out his final scene; a decade past that in 2012, voters in the Republic of Korea elected a former president’s daughter as that nation’s first female president, who is now grappling with the legislature’s impeachment.
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Home › Features › Film and Christian Preaching: Toward a Cinemate Homiletic (Part II)
By AATF Admin on June 10, 2017 • ( 0 )
V. Scene #4: Introduction to a Cinemate Homiletic
Now, what exactly is a cinemate homiletic? What kind of preaching is that? How are we going to approach film in creating a cinemate homiletic and how are we going to make preaching cinematic? Answering these questions using a methodological construction for the cinemate homiletic, this section contains three main parts:
Previous approaches to preaching and film
A new theoretical cinemate approach to preaching and film
The practical application of the new approach
a. Previous Approaches to Preaching and Film
In the last couple of decades, there have been three major homiletical streams that have tried to benefit from the critical relation between film and preaching. Here, the article briefly summarizes each of the three in terms of their strengths and weaknesses.
The Movie Illustration Approach
As a handy approach already anticipated by Rev. Jump in 1911, this is still the most common practice utilized among preachers throughout the past decades. Basically, this approach suggests using a key theme of an entire movie or a short episode in it as a sermon illustration. Most recently, Peter Lamone, MSC with Rose Pacatte, FSP took this approach in a very creative way and published A Movie Lectionary: Cycles A, B, and C (2001-3). This lectionary book provides one selected movie, including the movie’s synopsis, cultural commentary, the movie’s dialogue with the Gospel, key scenes and themes, suggestions for reflection and conversation and a short prayer for each Sunday of the cycle. This kind of illustrative approach has its strong merits, obviously. Above all, a quick movie illustration in the sermon can easily catch the audience’s attention by the illustration’s “pop familiarity” and its entertaining character. Plus, a movie illustration, by its natural imaginative quality, can invoke in the listener’s mind the creative, real-life application of the sermon point illuminated by the illustration.
An unavoidable, critical problem with this approach is, as Timothy Cargal points out in Hearing a Film, Seeing a Sermon, that the preacher often distorts the message of the whole movie.[1] The preacher tends to squeeze the complicated message of a complex movie plot into a handy key theme, in order to hastily illustrate the often irrelevant sermon point. This eventually disrupts the whole sermonic message and ruins its credibility as well when the listener later discovers the illustration’s original irrelevance to the sermon point. Another related issue is that when the movie or the portion of it is used in this “surrogate” sense, we do not do full justice to the full integrity of the movie itself. In other words, we do not initiate any solemn dialogue with the film as a critical cultural, spiritual, or revelatory conversation partner. We just happen to have the film as a cheap illustrative servant inaptly exploited for a sermon point.
The illustration approach is still favorably and widely practiced in the pulpit, despite the critical problems above. This is not the place to discuss that matter further. It would suffice instead to remark that in order to do full justice to the film for its cultural, spiritual and revelatory integrity, we need a different and more articulated approach beyond the simple illustrative approach that eventually deforms both the sermon’s credibility and the film’s reliability.
The Message-Filming Approach
The following sentence might explain this approach as plainly as possible: “Preach like a movie director shooting a film.” This methodology, strongly advocated by Paul Scott Wilson, which focuses on the attractive sermon plotting and creative imagination of the text, has been adopted widely in the North American context for the past several decades, although in different ways by different homileticians.[2] Wilson especially wants the sermon or the actual delivery of it to be as “visual and sensory”[3] as possible by the effective (or filmic) application of images, actions, sounds, and vivid cultural contexts found in the text and today’s world.[4] He believes that this will render the preaching activity an effective communication event for the media-saturated people of today. Overall, this approach is a technical or communicative approach, using filming as a key metaphor for sermon composition. In other words, at its best the approach primarily focuses on the development of the communicative effectiveness of the cinematic preaching event.
Since filming is a metaphor in this approach, the use of actual movies in the sermon is not necessary. Thus, adopting movie illustrations or applying a key theme of a movie in the sermon is not essential here. Rather, how to make the whole sermon an effective filmic communication becomes the main focus. Doubtless, this technical or media-oriented approach offers strong advantages to the people visiting the filmic “cathedral” on a regular basis. They may find that the sermon sounds “pop-familiar” and thus communicates well.
A major disadvantage or weakness that Wilson is not conscious of in this approach is that it lacks a cultural hermeneutic which is the essential flipside of the filmic communication. Wilson only wants to adopt filmic narrative “techniques” fitting for the sermon composition for the effectiveness of the sermonic communication, but he has no concerns about the filmic cultural contents or ideologies that those techniques are supposed to convey in and of themselves (e.g., the five-dimensional technique appearing in Interstellar [2014], which seems to suggest that the spiritual world is indeed not really “spiritual” but just a multiply dimensional one we can reach or even “use” freely one day). Those two sides of the same coin, however, can never be separated. The point is that the simple adoption of filmic techniques into preaching does not guarantee the successful gain of a cinematic people’s attention, because that simple adoption is very ignorant of what almost always comes with the filmic techniques. When cinematic church-goers sense filmic techniques applied to the sermon, they will also naturally want to hear how the sermon deals with the filmic or media culture (and its message) per se that those techniques always bring into the sermon. To summarize, filmic preaching should address filmic cultural phenomenon as well. The next approach is better, though not complete, in this aspect.
The Dialogical Approach
This methodology is both thematic and dialogical. The approach, supported by Timothy Cargal in Hearing a Film, Seeing a Sermon, encourages the preacher throughout the sermon to parallel the movie theme and the sermon theme, the latter growing out of the biblical passage. Then, he asks the preacher to produce the actual sermon content by placing the movie theme and actual movie scenes, often side-by-side, with the sermon theme and sermonic meaning sequences. He calls this approach critical “dialogue” with a film in preaching. He specifically wants the dialogue to happen between Scripture and film toward a common thematic ground around which that dialogue is actively engaged and intensified.[5]
As indicated, this third approach supplements the previous two approaches, first by actually using the movie as a whole or short episodes in it as sermon illustrations, and second by rendering the sermon as “visual and sensory” as possible by incorporation of the lively film narrative parallel to the sermon flow. Plus, this methodology demonstrates its strength by the intense dialogue between Scripture and film, which we can call a cultural hermeneutical approach to Scripture. This approach is exactly what is lacking in the message-filming approach above.
The only decisive problem with this approach is that it is not always easy to find a particular pop movie for a given Sunday as a dialogical partner that parallels a specific (lectionary) biblical text. It is not that there are no movies dealing with critical themes of human life; indeed, there are many. It is just that those great themes often do not exactly match the scriptural texts or their meanings. Hence, in this approach, there is a great deal of danger that the preacher either distorts the film’s theme or narrative to abnormally parallel the text or, even worse, alters the biblical text’s meaning to fit the movie’s topic. In either case, the mistreatment of film and Scripture is unavoidable.
A related critical hermeneutical problem is that since a single movie will have a dialogue with one sermon text at a time, there is a considerable risk of narrowing down the wide range of interpretations of a biblical passage; in short, a danger that a single movie’s particular agenda would dictate the text’s interpretation. Obviously, we will need a broader filmic-cultural hermeneutic that can fully explore the wide interpretive spectrum of a given passage.
This methodology obviously would work well for a set of sermons designed for special occasions that would fit particular film’s relevancy to carefully chosen texts. However, due to the reasons above, we can imagine that it would not work well for a general preaching practice on regular Sundays. In particular, the cinematic congregation today brings their full range of pop cultural experiences, concerns, problems, questions (and answers), ideologies and inquires to the Sunday pews and wants their preacher to address those pop cultural issues as faithfully, effectively and widely as possible. The dialogical approach cannot perform this complex pop cultural hermeneutical business. Thus, we now turn to a more sophisticated cinemate methodology that can carry out this particular hermeneutical business and others as well.
b. A New Cinemate Approach to Preaching and Film: In Theory
Specifically, this is the cinematic narrative-hermeneutical approach.[6] As we will see, this methodology combines the previous three approaches to make a sort of hybrid methodology, while going much beyond them all. Briefly speaking, this new cinemate approach has three essential methodological rules of thumb.
The narrative structure of the sermon should be cinematic-narrative.
The actual content of the sermon should be guided by the five filmic narrative codes borrowed and adapted from Roland Barthes’ narrative theory[7]: Enigma [hermeneutic] code; Action [proairetic] code; Semic code; Symbolic code; and Cultural [referential] code.
Finally, the five cinematic socio-spiritual codes should be utilized as a particular interpretive hermeneutic vis-à-vis the Bible:
The Code of Gender & Sex
The Code of Power, Good (Grace) & Evil
The Code of Humanity & Divinity
The Code of Money & Material
The Code of Nature & Violence
At its most basic, therefore, this approach first provides a cinematic biblical hermeneutic represented by the five cinematic socio-spiritual codes. The five codes, articulated in the next segment in detail as a socio-spiritual phenomenon, arise from the critical analysis and interpretation of pop movies and eventually function as the preacher’s continuing dialogical partner with Scripture. That socio-spiritual dialogue ultimately guides the formulation of the core cinemate sermon theme and eventually the sermon’s entire composition. These five codes are important in the sermon listener’s life because they represent the essential cinematic socio-spirituality that the listener confronts, participates in or resists every day, living in the film-saturated media culture. The preacher would take this particular cinematic hermeneutic to the given text and have critical dialogue, confrontation, confirmation, negotiation or even negation between the two. Here, to be clear, we do not simply mean that the preacher would bring particular cultural-ideological frameworks to each Sunday’s text in order to interpret it within those frames. Rather, it only means that the preacher takes to the text the congregation’s real life (cinematic) situation, or cinematic Sitz im Leben, as the pastoral lens when it comes to the sermonic biblical interpretation. That is, as Thomas Long argues, the preacher, arising from the congregation, goes to the text with all her pastoral concerns rooted in the everyday congregational situation, for the sake of the people’s spiritual transformation.[8] The five cinematic socio-spiritual codes rightly specify that congregation’s present situation.
This new cinemate approach then, as the second stage, suggests using each unique filmic-narrative flow to structure the sermon, the flow borrowed from a befitting movie of the preacher’s own choice. This second stage indeed supplements and further develops Wilson’s message-filming approach discussed above. While Wilson argues for the visual and sensory composition of the sermon content and dramatic sermon flow through the “Four Pages,”[9] the new cinematic approach takes a more radical step in enriching the visual and sensory composition and the dramatic sermon flow by adopting the actual filmic narrative structure as the sermon structure itself. This approach is also more radical than Cargal’s dialogical approach in which the sermon theme and sequences are just laid parallel with the movie theme and scenes. The new approach attempts to render the flow of a sermon in the same way a movie is directed, so that the sermon listener, during and at the end of the preaching event, might feel like they have been “hearing a film, seeing a sermon.”[10] This task is not easy in any way, yet a practical example of it, with a quick guide to how to choose a particular movie for a sermon, will be provided in the next segment.
Lastly, in order to ensure the genuine filmic-narrative quality of the sermon, the new approach proposes adopting the five filmic narrative codes into the actual sermon content composition, the literary codes borrowed and adapted from Barthes’ narrative theory. According to Nick Lacey in Introduction to Film, Roland Barthes articulates five key narrative codes by which not only the story-teller (or the movie director) hooks an audience into the narrative, but also through the reading of which the audience itself actively engages in the narrative with their own understanding and creative interpretation.[11] The new cinematic approach uses the same double effects through the adoption of the five codes; 1) hooking the listener’s attention throughout the sermon and 2) invoking the listener’s active involvement in the cinemate sermon narrative. A detailed explanation and practical usage of the fives codes appear in the next segment.
In summary, this new cinemate approach is both cinematic hermeneutical and cinematic narrative. First, since this approach is cinematic hermeneutical, it enables the preacher to put herself in a critical sermonic dialogue between the cinematic congregation, Scripture, and the film-saturated culture itself. Second, since this is also cinematic narrative, it helps the preacher to come up with an effective communication tool well-suited to the media-oriented psychology of the congregation today. This new cinemate methodology is a challenging task, indeed. Yet, it is not impossible. The next segment shows how we can make this happen step by step.
c. A New Cinemate Approach to Preaching and Film: In Practice
Before more closely exploring the practice of the cinemate homiletic methodology, we need to be reminded of the key theological argument discussed earlier: that both preaching and film share two essential theological qualities: communication and communion. We have already realized that both preaching and film can be an effective communicative medium for a revelatory message, while they also make possible the sacred communion between the audience/listener and the divine. The practice of the new cinemate approach is indeed possible and achievable only based on this theological understanding. This reminder is important at this point, since from now on, the theological boundary between preaching and film is so blurred that the preaching event itself becomes filmic storytelling and vice versa. For the purpose of this project, we will need to remember how and why this theological blurring is possible. Yet, our primary focus still remains on preaching practice, not on film directing. This segment of the article aims at the exploration of that cinemate preaching practice.
In accordance with the three key rules of thumb introduced above, the practice of the cinemate homiletic methodology takes three distinct yet interconnected steps: 1) application of the cinematic socio-spiritual hermeneutic, 2) identification of cinematic sermon structure, and 3) the detailed composition of the sermon content by using Barthes’ five narrative codes.
c-1. The application of the cinematic socio-spiritual hermeneutic
We first need to figure out what this cinematic socio-spiritual hermeneutic really is. The definition of it, even though the complicated terminology itself sounds quite byzantine, is simple enough. Earlier in the article, we already acknowledged that film is aesthetic and spiritual enough to be revelatory of the divine presence in its secular realm. And we also realized that the church-goers, as a social group (thus, socio-spiritual), bring that specific cinematic spiritual acknowledgement to the Sunday pews, in order to either interpret, investigate, confirm, verify or discard it vis-à-vis the message of Scripture or the church’s message, especially that from the preacher. In this respect, the cinematic spiritual acknowledgement by the movie-goers is nothing but a particular cinematic socio-spiritual hermeneutic; that is, a specific hermeneutical lens for today’s cinematic-biblical interpretation. Now, the question is, how do we actually execute the cinematic socio-spiritual hermeneutic for a homiletic biblical interpretation?
The article identifies the five cinematic socio-spiritual codes as the core practical constituents of the cinematic-biblical hermeneutic. Various writings on film and faith have already touched on these five and other related codes, subjects or themes, (depending on each author’s terminological preference) as major pop cultural topics appearing in film,[12] even though some authors have more specific interests in two or three particular codes. Yet, overall, all their discussion remains within the scope of these five codes. At this point, we need a brief survey of each code.
A great number of movies throughout the past century have dealt with gender or sex issues, directly or indirectly. To name a few: The Seventh Veil (1945), Brief Encounter (1946), East of Eden (1955), The Graduate (1967), Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), The Color Purple (1985), The Scarlet Letter (1995), The First Wives Club (1996), What Women Want (2000), Something’s Gotta Give (2003), and most recently, Sex and the City I and II (2008, 2010). A variety of issues came up with these movies, including LGBTQI concerns, gender inequality, gender roles, pro-life or pro-choice, contraception or birth control, sexual violence, women’s health, women and politics, women’s liberation, women of racial minority, cultural gender prejudices, etc. A key concern for this project, meanwhile, is that movies are doing a better job of opening up these issues to the public realm than the church. And now the cinematic congregation has started bringing these women’s issues from the “cinematic-enlightened” outside to the ignorant church pulpit for advice, encouragement, confirmation or disapproval. As is well known, even movies like The Scarlet Letter wittingly entangle women’s issues with the church authority and faith tradition, for better or worse. The people of media culture have now come to investigate gender and sex issues, in the context of religion, interlocked with the gender and sex code. In summary, gender and sex concerns have become one of the key cinematic socio-spiritual codes. Cinematic church-goers then bring a particular gender and sex approach to both the church’s texts and the preacher’s message rising from the text.
The Code of Power, Good & Evil
Today, the Bible is not the only place that seriously questions the problem of evil. Film, through various genres (e.g., Film Noir and the Gangster Movie) and creative stories (e.g., the famous The Lord of Rings trilogy [2001-3] and Harry Potter series I-VIII), examines and challenges the same problem, often more vigorously than any other pop cultural mediums. Also, often times, the problem of evil in film is deeply associated with the problem of power, as in the Bible. For instance, as seen in The Lord of the Rings, evil, the destroyer of innocent people and the world, wants more power, either physical or spiritual, to gain more control of the world. The Devil’s Advocate (1997) also poses a similar evil-power problem, this time at the individual level. Whether at the cosmic level or at the individual, the evil-power problem is always hard to untangle, due to its complexity. The problem of evil and power is almost always confronted and challenged by the question of good. The well-directed and well-acted movie, The Verdict (1982), is the best representation of this case. Against a giant law firm’s malevolent practice of judicial justice, an ambulance-chasing individual lawyer of “no name” stands alone with good intention and his religious belief in a sound humanity. He is in many respects a person with whom very few people—if any—in society would like to be associated. He is divorced, in debt, often drunk, has no sexual charm and is a lawyer with no clients. Still, he has a good conscience and opposes the evil practice of law. Here, life gets complex enough with the question of evil, power, and good. Once again, the cinematic congregation brings this problem of evil, power, and good, tangled and complex enough, to the pulpit-listening pew for theological investigation, negotiation or negation. And it is the preacher’s sacred duty to take that cinematic socio-spiritual question from the people to Scripture for a serious hermeneutical task.
The topics of love and hatred, freedom, sincerity, compassion, friendship, good memory, adventure, family values, mental health, coming of age, maturing, relationships, disability and human dignity, vocation, integrity, mythic imagination, spirituality, etc., have been the favored staples of most fine pop movies from the film industry’s inception about a century ago. We can anticipate that the same topics will continue to appear in future films since they are the most profound experiences of a sound humanity or divinely-sanctioned human souls. Meanwhile, our special attention goes to the film’s peculiarity in its cinematic portrait of the fundamentals of humanity and divinity. Two things immediately come into our consideration regarding their cinematic portrayals.
First, films are as honest as possible in narrating and showing sound or disrupted (or distorted) humanity. The great merit of film is that it does not have to tell white lies about real life situations for the purpose of consolation. It just shows what is out there, leaving the responsibility for critical judgment to its audience. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) is one of the best presentations of the case. In the movie, we confront a quadriplegic patient, whose mind is sound enough for fine reasoning, yet whose left eye is his only communication outlet. He blinks his left eye at a certain letter when a communication partner reads an alphabet chart to him, and the partner gathers up each letter to make a word, phrase, or sentence after reading the chart over and over again to him. (In the movie, he eventually ends up writing a book by that blinking.) Watching the movie is not easy. Yet, the after-feeling is profound. We have met and witnessed a middle-aged quadriplegic man whose ceaseless human endeavors at communication wind up as great heartfelt communion with other human beings, including his own children. Because the movie is honest and cruel enough in the portrait of the quadriplegic’s life, we can also believe that our feeling and judgment over his life and the movie itself is honest and thorough.
Second, in most cases when the film wants to handle the matter of sound humanity seriously, it does not simply look into the matter of humanity, but also it goes deep into the matter of divinity carved within human souls. Amistad (1997), directed by Steven Spielberg, is one such case. On the surface, the movie is about profound human dignity and the historical call to repentance over the evil practice of slavery. However, in its depth, the movie is also about “God’s Spirit at work in and through [humanity]”[13] represented by vigorous abolitionists and their Christian sincerity. At the end, the theological boundary between humanity and divinity is blurred enough for us to see the divinely sanctioned human nature in the characters. Divinity is still divinity, not humanity. But, we start seeing divinity in and through humanity.
In summary, the code of humanity & divinity helps the cinematic congregation find and foster the divine presence not only in the church, but also in everyday life or in historical witness. This is in fact a great merit of using good pop movies for theological edification. By carefully watching and interpreting the movies, we start seeing the Spirit of God working in and through human beings and human history, freed from possible dogmatized and institutionalized bondage of God within the church’s ecclesial boundaries. The cinematic congregation now brings back the “God-out-of-bounds”—whom they confront in the pop film and bring to the church pew. What is the preacher going to say to them?
This code is specifically about the hostile social environment of modern American neo-capitalism, consumerism, materialism and the related poverty and economic injustice. In spite of the gravity of these matters in pop movies, strangely enough it is very hard to find any film studies that handle them with acuity. It is not that there are not many good pop movies that straightforwardly address this code of money and material. Movies, like The Color of Money (1986), The Money Pit (1986), Wall Street (1987) and its sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), Other People’s Money (1991), Indecent Proposal (1993), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Two for the Money (2005), Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005), Boiler Room (2000), and Mad Money (2008) are upfront analyses and critiques of neo-capitalistic consumerist society. What is notable in these movies is that the matter of money (or the restless pursuit of money) is almost always entwined with the matters of either material or distorted human nature. First, as seen in The Godfather trilogy (1972, ’74, ’90), the issue of money is also the issue of who is going to get more economic and political control over the limited material resources of the world (e.g., casino ownership or control of the Italian oil export market). In this kind of money and material movie, indeed, there is no clear distinction between money and material. They are interchangeable and both become the source of social or individual evil.
The second related point is that the money problem also becomes a problem of distorted human nature. As the cases of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) and The Devil Wears Prada (2006) show, life revolving around illegitimate money or love of monetary success becomes a vivid representation of fallen human nature in the forms of greed, lust, loss of self-control, selfishness, jealousy, betrayal, aversion, unreasonable self-elevation and the like. The movies do not say that money is the source of such fallen human nature, yet they still seem to contend that money could be the origin of it in modern society.
It is unfortunate that in pop movies money or pursuit of material is often portrayed in a negative, if not disapproving, tone. This probably might be the cinematic projection of how modern society perceives its own relation with neo-capitalistic money and related material issues. Now, the cinematic congregation whose conception of money and material is under the influence of that cinematic projection wants to hear what Scripture or at least the preacher can say about it.
The Code of Nature and Violence
This code is specifically about violence in or against human life and also human hostility against nature, the Mother earth. Often, these two kinds of violence go together since one kind of violence can end up executing the other kind of violence, escalating the cruelty of the world (e.g., consider the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in which cases violence against humanity caused a devastating effect on nature). Movies like A Civil Action (1998) and Erin Brockovich (2000) also effectively demonstrate the fact of the double jeopardy of violence and propose comprehensive possible resolutions for their own cases, though not complete ones.
Pop movies also acknowledge that the issue of violence is not simple at all; e.g., we cannot simply say “violence is always wrong!” War-oriented movies like Apocalypse Now (1979), Platoon (1986), The Thin Red Line (1998), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and An Act of Valor (2012), always challenge that simple notion about violence. In those movies, we are often asked, “Who really commits violence, a good person or a villain? Whose violence is worse? Is violence at times necessary or even good? Which is better, an innocent honorable death or committing violence against others for survival? And more fundamentally, who defines what is violent?”
While pop movies do a good job of informing us of the complexness of the problem of violence, at times, as Bryan Stone notices, violence in pop movies becomes a vehicle for the “entertainment of comfortable spectators.”[14] To put it bluntly, people sitting in the movie seats are not scared any more by cinematic violence; rather, they are much entertained by and even enjoying watching it (e.g., violent scenes including war, drugs, homicide, racism, bombing, shooting, rape, sexist language, etc.). This shows, to borrow Stone’s observation again, that we are now being increasingly desensitized to violence in film.[15] Even worse, when a notion of so-called redemptive violence is, directly or indirectly, introduced and enhanced in films (e.g., as in the cases of Die Hard I and II [1988, 1990] and The Passion of the Christ [2004]), there is a good chance for the audience to come to advocate seemingly “legitimate violence.” Here, we do not say that all kinds of violence in film should be banned because of their negative impact on human psychology and spirituality. That ignorant practice just betrays what human life really is; violence is part of human nature and the world, whether we like it or not. And film is here to genuinely describe what human life is as it has been. Thus, what is actually needed vis-à-vis the violence in film is the cinematic people’s careful, balanced discretion; no absolute disapproval, yet no blind-minded embrace.
It is our hope that Scripture or the church’s message helps the cinematic congregation deepen and widen their careful discretion over the matter of violence in film. In particular, we hope that the preacher figures out a certain Scriptural guide for the sake of the cinematic congregation when she diligently goes to the text with the code of nature and violence in her own discrete cinematic mind.
Summary and Suggestion[16]
The cinematic congregation today brings to the church pews all these five codes growing out of their everyday watching of pop movies and their unconscious cultural analysis of them. What should be noted here again is that these codes are not simple cultural vogues or trends that come and disappear quickly as people’s cultural appetites change. These five codes are rather the vivid representation of the cinematic public’s general socio-spiritual psychology and context that have been formed throughout the pop film watching of the past century. We anticipate, in light of the century-old enthusiasm toward film, that this particular cinematic socio-spiritual psychology will continue in the time ahead.[17] This means that the cinematic congregation naturally will utilize as their unique hermeneutic lens these five codes as they listen to the Scriptural reading and the preacher’s message rooted in the former. This is why the article urges the preacher to take the five codes to the Scriptural text as she embarks each week on biblical exegesis and interpretation. As discussed earlier, by this practice, she is not simply taking a particular cultural ideology or ideologies to the text as a predisposed theological lens, but she is initiating a critical socio-spiritual dialogue between Scripture and the cinematic people whom she represents and cares for enough to prepare and deliver a faithful message for them each Sunday.
Sunggu Yang, PhD
[1]Cargal, Hearing a Film, 6.
[2] For a dramatic “plot” structure of the sermon, see Eugene Lowry The Homiletical Plot: The Sermon as Narrative Art Form (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001 [1980]); for the power of imagination in and for preaching, Thomas Troeger, Imagining a Sermon (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1990); and
for the homiletic “move” discussion for the post-modern, more dialogical congregation, David Buttrick, Homiletic: Moves and Structures (Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1987).
[3] Paul Scott Wilson, The Four Pages of the Sermon: A Guide to Biblical Preaching (Nashville, TN.: Abingdon Press, 1999), 83.
[4] Ibid., 87-88.
[5] Cargal, Hearing a Film, 62.
[6] From this point on, the term, “cinemate,” is used in a more theoretic sense or when pointing to the overall methodology, while “cinematic” appears in a more practical sense or when indicating certain detailed aspects of the methodology.
[7] Found in Lacey’s cinematic articulation of his narrative theory in Nick Lacey, Introduction to Film (New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), 88-90.
[8] Tomas G. Long, The Witness of Preaching (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005 [1989]), 16.
[9] Each Page representing “Trouble in the Bible,” “Trouble in the World,” “God’s Action in the Bible,” and “God’s Grace in the World.” Wilson, The Four Pages, 15-17.
[10] The book title of Cargal’s Hearing a Film, Seeing a Movie: Preaching and Popular Movies.
[11] Lacey, Introduction, 88.
[12] Gender, environment, violence, and justice issues dealt with in Christopher Deacy
Gaye Williams Ortiz, Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide (Malden, MA.:; Oxford, Blackwell Pub., 2008), esp., chaps. 3-6.; issues of evil, good, sin, redemption, justice, and peace in Greg Garrett, The Gospel According to Hollywood (Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 2007); subjects of metaphysical evil, violence and redemption, humanity, morality and the divine revelation in Roy M. Anker, Catching Light: Looking for God in the Movies (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2004); topics of humanity, beauty and creativity, reconciliation, community and friendship and faith in Catherine M. Barsotti and Robert K. Johnston, Finding God in the Movies: 33 Films of Reel Faith (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2004); and many others.
[13] Barsotti and Johnston, Finding God in the Movies, 53.
[14] Stone, Bryan (1999) “Religion and Violence in Popular Film.”Journal of Religion and Film, 3/1, April, http://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/Violence.htm.
[16] Two side notes are needed here. First, some might complain that the five codes try to include all human issues that other cultural artifacts also (can) handle seriously. Put simply, why do we need these five codes after all if 1) they are just all about human life (why do we really need five distinctions?) and 2) other cultural artifacts can do the same? This critique is half right and half wrong. First, it is half right, since the five codes indeed cover the whole socio-spiritual range of human life. Yet, it is also entirely wrong. The film is now a very unique sweeping phenomenon in the general public. Discussed in detail earlier, we are now living in a film or image culture. Film and image can say everything about human life at ease and in depth to the whole public, while other cultural products are limited in that capacity. This is why the article’s specific interest goes to pop movies. Further, we need five distinctive codes since those five represent how the film handles each movie topic or theme in a unique cinematic way. Even though the five codes often overlap with each other in a single movie, it is not always the case that a single movie can touch on each of all the five codes; often it touches on just one or two. Besides, each code contains a very specific socio-spiritual aspect of human life that other codes cannot represent. Second, these five codes and their analysis are not exhaustive. Each preacher through their own watching and “reading” of movies, is encouraged to come up with their own creative codes and analyses. Here, the article suggests only the five, while it could be more for other preachers. Yet, in terms of the argument appearing in current faith-based film study publications, the five seem to be the foundation upon which each preacher can build her own code set. What is more important here is that the preacher figures out how pop movies represent, interpret, apply or even (socio-spiritually) distort the codes they have found.
[17] Johnston, Reel Spirituality, 53.
‹ Film and Christian Preaching: Toward a Cinemate Homiletic (Part I)
Film and Christian Preaching: Toward a Cinemate Homiletic (Part III) ›
Categories: Features
Sermon: "Prosperity & Success"
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Ozzy Osbourne Says He Isn’t Worried About Death
Ozzy Osbourne says he doesn't dwell on his own mortality, despite numerous health issues including a recently revealed Parkinson's diagnosis.
"Do I ever think about when my time’s gonna come? I think about it; I don’t worry about it," the longtime Black Sabbath singer tells Kerrang. "I won't be here in another 15 years or whatever, not that much longer, but I don't dwell on it. It's gonna happen to us all."
Osbourne, 71, postponed all of his 2019 tour dates after falling and injuring himself while recovering from pneumonia. The accident dislodged metal rods that were inserted in his body following a near-fatal 2003 quad-bike accident, leading to further damage in his back, neck and shoulders. He recently shared that he was diagnosed with PRKN 2, a form of Parkinson's, in February.
"Am I happy now? No. I haven’t got my health," Osbourne continued. "That thing knocked the shit out of me, man, but I'm still here. In fact, I worried about [death] more when I was younger than I do now. I just try to enjoy things as much as possible, even though that’s so fucking hard sometimes."
Osbourne has used music to rejuvenate his spirits. His 12th studio album, Ordinary Man is due Feb. 21, and includes a title-track collaboration with Elton John and Slash.
"If you saw me at the beginning of last year you'd think I was fucked," he told Kerrang. "But I honestly think making this album is the best medicine I could have had. I was doing something, something I like to do. I wish I could do more, but it just felt great."
The North American leg of his farewell "No More Tours II" trek then kicks off May 27 in Atlanta, Ga. (Before the 2020 Grammys, where he presented the Best Rap Album award, Osbourne noted that he plans to keep that schedule "if [he's] well enough.") A new documentary, Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy, also premieres in March at the South By Southwest film festival.
Ozzy Osbourne Through the Years
Source: Ozzy Osbourne Says He Isn’t Worried About Death
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Countries Buying the Most Weapons From the US Government
Michael B. Sauter, Samuel Stebbins
Last Updated: January 12, 2020 2:32 pm
Source: Thinkstock
13. United Kingdom
> 2016 arms imports from U.S.: $217 million
> 2016 total arms imports: $260 million
> U.S. as % total arms imports: 83.5%
> 2015 GDP: $2.7 trillion
About 84% of the U.K.’s total arms imports come from the United States. The remainder comes either from Israel or Germany. Over 75% of the country’s total arms imports between 2015 and 2016 were military aircraft. While it is not on par with the United States, Great Britain is one of the biggest arms dealers in the world in its own right, sending nearly $1.4 billion in weapons to other countries in 2016. One of the United States’ closest military partners, the U.K. was a key participant in the U.S. war in Iraq, committing about 46,000 troops at the height of the conflict. The U.K. also committed thousands of troops to the U.S. offensive in Afghanistan.
12. Egypt
> 2016 total arms imports: $1.5 billion
Egypt has one of the largest armies in the world, with just under 500,000 active troops and several hundred thousand additional troops in reserve. The country went through major political upheaval in 2011, after long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak stepped down following a popular uprising. Perhaps because of the increased political tension, Egypt’s total arms imports over the five years through 2016 increased by about 70% from the previous five-year period, and imports from the United States increased by 46%. Over the last decade, the nation’s largest category of weapons imports were military aircraft. Egypt’s military arsenal also includes over 1,000 M1A1 Abrams tanks, a U.S. military staple manufactured by Virginia-based General Dynamics.
ALSO READ: Countries Buying the Most Weapons From the US Government
11. Morocco
> 2015 GDP: $274 billion
More than 40 nations have larger economies than Morocco, but only 10 import more weapons from the United States. This is likely in part due to the fact that the North African nation spends over 3% of its GDP on its military, one of the higher shares in the world. The nation has a military of over 200,000 soldiers, a greater standing force than much larger nations such as Germany and the United Kingdom. Last year, Morocco imported roughly a quarter of a billion dollars worth of armaments, and the U.S. accounted for 96.1% of those weapons. The previous year, the United States was the sole supplier of weapons Morocco imported.
Read more: Special Report, featured
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David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust vs. Aladdin Sane
in Music Features, Rock
by Neil Gray January 8, 2021, 12:01 am
It may come as a surprise to some of you, but I’m not just about Rock and Metal. In fact, if you name a genre, there’s a pretty good chance I can talk about it for hours. Unless it’s Pop Music, I really hate that s*it. Jazz, soul, funk, blues, even classical music has a place in the Gray household. It’s just that sitting at the head of the table will always be loud guitars and Marshall stacks.
This is down to the fact that I’m a child of the ’70s and, as everybody knows, that was the decade that music attained perfection. So many fantastic albums saw the light of day during this period. Exile on Main Street, Highway to Hell, Bomber, Physical Graffiti, the list goes on and on, and right at the start of this 10 year period, a certain Mr David Bowie dropped the two best albums of his career. Ziggy Stardust in ’72 which was swiftly followed a year later by Aladdin Sane.
Both records are concept albums, of a sort, that look at fame and the many pitfalls that come with it. Even if Ziggy does it to a sci-fi backdrop of an alien rock God coming to Earth just as it’s about to end, they’re Bowie at his best. With the first, he took the Glam Rock stylings of Marc Bolan and cranked them up to 11, and with the second he did it all again, this time just in America.
According to Bowie himself;
I guess what I was doing on Aladdin Sane, I was trying to move into the next area—but using a rather pale imitation of Ziggy as a secondary device. In my mind, it was Ziggy Goes to Washington: Ziggy under the influence of America.”
Now, far be it for me to argue with a Legend, but that “…pale imitation of Ziggy” line has always stuck in my craw. I’ve always considered Aladdin Sane the superior of the two records, but normally when I make such a claim, the other people in the discussion are already on the phone to the men in the white coats.
“Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust – David Bowie 1972” by Oddsock is licensed under CC BY 2.0
So, how to prove it?
Initially, I was going to do a piece explaining how I’m right, and everybody else is wrong, but after I actually put some thought into it, I’ve decided that the best way forward is to do a track by track comparison to see which comes out on top.
This means that I could quite easily disprove my own theory on the subject, but live by the keyboard, die by the keyboard as they say (and if they don’t then they should), so join me as I take a walk through the worlds of Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane and pray to the Rock ‘n’ Roll heavens that I come out of this smelling of roses.
“Five Years” vs. “Watch That Man”
If both of these albums tell a story, then their opening tracks are the journey’s jumping-off point. “Five Years” is pretty self-explanatory as it focuses on the news that the Earth is dying and we’ve got half a decade before the whole place goes boom. As you can imagine, this isn’t greeted with great enthusiasm from the general populace. As the lyrics progress, we see Cops kissing the feet of Priests, Mothers crying their eyes out at the thought of their children perishing, and people reacting to the news the way the character did in The Simpsons to the fire-drill. The music is a slow, gentle burn of sound punctuated by an almost anthemic, if somewhat morbid, chorus.
“Watch That Man”, on the other hand, is as upbeat as “Five Years” is depressing. But it’s also a lot more difficult to figure out who the titular “Man” actually is. This is down to the fact that most of Bowie’s lyrics are nonsense, but it could have one of two meanings. Either, the man is a dealer that Aladdin Sane is being warned about or, as I like to think, the song is split, and the verses are from his perspective where the chorus is sung from an outsider’s view, warning anyone who’s listening to watch out for Aladdin Sane as he is crazy.
Either way, it’s a better opening track as it grabs you by the face and slaps you about. And as far as I’m concerned that’s what I want from my rock music.
Better Track: “Watch That Man”
“Soul Love” vs. “Aladdin Sane”
This is a no-brainer. Though I’m a huge fan of the groovy that runs through “Soul Love”, the sweeping landscape that is “Aladdin Sane” is on another level. Mike Garson’s piano work here is sublime. Dreamlike one moment, nightmarish the next, especially at the end where his solo sounds like a descent into madness.
Wow, that was very arty of me.
Nonetheless, a simple set of lyrics accompany this musical masterpiece. Though most people assume it’s just a song about war, I’ve always thought that it had a double meaning and that Bowie was comparing live performances to a battlefield while basking in the glow of the after-show high as he walks the streets, waiting for the sun to rise.
Okay, enough high school philosophy, time to get back on with the nob jokes.
Better Track: “Aladdin Sane”
“Moonage Daydream” vs. “Drive-In Saturday”
Where the previous entry was easy for me to figure out, this was the most difficult. I adore both of these songs and really didn’t want to have to Sophie’s Choice them, but I’m nothing if not a professional, so here we go.
The reason I love “Drive-In Saturday” so much is that I’ve never heard anything like it, but it sounds like every song I’ve ever known. I can’t really explain it any better than that. It’s the most familiar unfamiliar track ever recorded, and that chorus blows me away every time. If it were up against any other track off of Ziggy Stardust, it would’ve won without a second thought, but “Moonage Daydream” is an entity unto itself and is my favourite Bowie track of all-time.
That riff, those opening lyrics, all building towards a hook that could catch a 400 pound Great White without breaking a sweat. “Moonage Daydream” is the definition of Rock ‘n’ Roll as far as I’m concerned.
Better Track: “Moonage Daydream” (but only bloody just)
“Starman” vs. “Panic In Detroit”
Everyone and their grandma knows “Starman”. It’s quintessential Bowie, and he lays his Sci-Fi fantasy at the door, Ziggy is coming and we all need to buy some aftershave. There is no doubting that it’s a classic, but there’s just something about “Panic In Detroit” that appeals to the madman in me.
For a start, it’s claustrophobic as hell. The salsa leanings of the rhythm, along with the all-around heavy feeling of the guitar, seem to sit on shoulders like a ton of lead weight and the lyrical content offers no relief.
Based on stories that Iggy Pop told his friend of revolutionaries, villains, and rogues that he’d known in his home town, he also shared his experiences of the Detroit riots of ’67, giving Bowie more than enough material with which to weave a tale of full-blown anarchy, with Aladdin Sane right in the middle.
Better Track: “Panic In Detroit”
“It Ain’t Easy” vs. “Cracked Actor”
Bowie would’ve been the first to tell you that the real blood that ran through the veins of these records was Mick Ronson, and nowhere is that more on show than these two tracks. “It Ain’t Easy” is almost a country track right up to the chorus when Mick’s guitar kicks in, giving the whole thing a completely different feel. It’s catchy as can be, and though I’m a fan of it, “Cracked Actor” is on another plane altogether.
From the moment it kicks off, it sets out its stall as to what it is, and that’s a hard rock riff-fest. Ronson’s playing is never dirtier or louder anywhere throughout his career and “Cracked Actor” is still the greatest piece of axe-wielding he ever did.
Bowie’s word-smithing is pretty decent as well. “It Ain’t Easy” is told from the viewpoint of a Preacher, at least in my opinion, warning of the perils of stardom and all the trappings that come with it. Basically, don’t have fun, ever, or you’re going to Hell. “Cracked Actor” deals with a faded movie star who picks up a hooker and has sex with them while taking a ton of drugs. So, y’know, true sex, drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Better Track: “Cracked Actor”
“Lady Stardust” vs. “Time”
“Time” is a masterpiece that shows how fragile and fleeting the whole concept of fame is, with Aladdin Sane falling apart to a musical background that was Dark Cabaret three years before Amanda Palmer was even an itch in her daddy’s pants.
“Lady Stardust” looks at how Ziggy is perceived by his fans, and possibly the press, as he tries to be the Rock Star with a heart of gold.
Both are brilliant, making this a tough one.
Better Track: “Time”
“Star” vs. “Prettiest Star”
Two songs, both with “star” in the title, but unlike the previous entry, it’s easy to choose a winner here.
“Star” is a good old-fashioned honky-tonk Rock ‘n’ Roll song while “Prettiest Star” is the kind of tune that wouldn’t be out of place on a Michael Bublé Christmas album.
Better Track: “Star”
“Hang On To Yourself” vs. “Let’s Spend The Night Together”
Straightforward. I hate this version of The Stones song with a passion. Bowie shouldn’t have been doing covers, he wasn’t a f*cking tribute act and the only reason I can imagine that this found its way onto Aladdin Sane is that he was friends with Jagger. Or he was too lazy to write any more than nine songs.
Doesn’t matter that “Hang On To Yourself” is a handy little tune, it could’ve been the aforementioned “Prettiest Star” and it would’ve still gotten the nod.
Better Track: “Hang On To Yourself”
“Ziggy Stardust” vs. “The Jean Genie”
And here is where I expect most of the abuse to come from down in the comments section. “The Jean Genie” is a better song than “Ziggy Stardust” and I’ll die on that hill. It’s grittier, it’s nastier, and it’s the kind of song that captures the seedier side of life so expertly that it’s how I’d expect New York or LA to look like as soon as I stepped off the plane.
Don’t get me wrong. “Ziggy Stardust” is anthemic beyond belief and will always be, to many people, the track that defined this era of his career more than any other. Still, if I had to take one with me to a desert island, I’d take the chain-smoking, hard-living, “Jean Genie” over the androgynous space alien every time.
Mainly because he’d have some cracking stories to help pass the mindless hours while we awaited rescue.
Better Track: “The Jean Genie”
“Suffragette City” vs. “Lady Grinning Soul”
Wham! Bam! Thank You, Ma’am!
Enough said really.
Better Track: “Suffragette City”
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” vs. Er…Nothing.
Well, this is the easiest thing I’ve ever had to do. Aladdin Sane only ran for 10 tracks where Ziggy Stardust had 11, meaning that “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” wins by default. This is a shame, as it’s not my favourite track. It does cap the album off quite well, and if you take it as the final word in the narrative of Ziggy Stardust, then Bowie is telling the listener not to fear, he will always be with you, and you are not alone.
Better Track: “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide”
I went into this little experiment, hoping that I could prove once and for all that my theory that Aladdin Sane was the superior of the two records wasn’t as bat-s*it crazy as it sounded. And I have, kind of. If it hadn’t been for “Moonage Daydream”, then the first six side by side comparisons would’ve been a lightning coloured wash. It isn’t until we get into the latter stages of the album that Bowie kind of falters, knocking out a couple of half-arsed tracks in “Prettiest Star” and an unwanted cover version.
The fact remains; however you feel about me and my preposterous propositions, that when David Bowie passed away just two days after his 69th birthday, the world became a much less interesting place. Fortunately, he left a body of work that has a little something for everyone and a back catalogue that covers nearly all forms of music.
For me though, I’ll stick to those years he wasn’t afraid to plug in an electric guitar and jam out some tunes and no matter what guise he was under, be it Ziggy or Sane, he made enough of noise that rock fans will never forget the boy from Brixton anytime soon.
Help us keep the conversation alive! We publish new content daily that can easily be found by following us on Twitter, Instagram, by joining our Facebook Page, or becoming an email subscriber here on the site. Thank you as always for your support of 25YL!
If you would like to write for 25YL leave us a message on our website here or send an email to: andrew@25YearsLaterSite.com
Written by Neil Gray
25YL's resident old bastard of Metal.
Aladdin SaneBowieDavid BowieZiggy Stardust
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Contact us: info@agmsolutions.net
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Home > Journals > Affiliated Journals > SJIS > Vol. 11 (1999)
Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems
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All Issues Vol. 32, Iss. 2 Vol. 32, Iss. 1 Vol. 31, Iss. 2 Vol. 31, Iss. 1 Vol. 30, Iss. 2 Vol. 30, Iss. 1 Vol. 29, Iss. 2 Vol. 29, Iss. 1 Vol. 28, Iss. 2 Vol. 28, Iss. 1 Vol. 27, Iss. 2 Vol. 27, Iss. 1 Vol. 26, Iss. 2 Vol. 26, Iss. 1 Vol. 25, Iss. 2 Vol. 25, Iss. 1 Vol. 24, Iss. 2 Vol. 24, Iss. 1 Vol. 23, Iss. 2 Vol. 23, Iss. 1 Vol. 22, Iss. 2 Vol. 22, Iss. 1 Vol. 21, Iss. 2 Vol. 21, Iss. 1 Vol. 20, Iss. 2 Vol. 20, Iss. 1 Vol. 19, Iss. 2 Vol. 19, Iss. 1 Vol. 18, Iss. 2 Vol. 18, Iss. 1 Vol. 17, Iss. 2 Vol. 17, Iss. 1 Vol. 16, Iss. 1 Vol. 15, Iss. 1 Vol. 14, Iss. 2 Vol. 14, Iss. 1 Vol. 13, Iss. 1 Vol. 12, Iss. 1 Vol. 11, Iss. 1 Vol. 10, Iss. 1 Vol. 9, Iss. 2 Vol. 9, Iss. 1 Vol. 8, Iss. 2 Vol. 8, Iss. 1 Vol. 7, Iss. 2 Vol. 7, Iss. 1 Vol. 6, Iss. 2 Vol. 6, Iss. 1 Vol. 5, Iss. 1 Vol. 4, Iss. 1 Vol. 3, Iss. 1 Vol. 2, Iss. 1 Vol. 1, Iss. 1
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Science alone won’t change climate opinions, but it matters
Blog / June 5, 2014 June 5, 2014
I’ve often highlighted useful articles about cognitive and behavioural insights that I believe are useful for unions and progressive campaigners.
This time, I’ve decided to republish an entire article by Ben Newell from The Conversation, because I want to draw it to the attention of my readers.
It ties strongly to my earlier article, asking whether progressives should listen to George Lakoff, who argues that we should give up using “fact based arguments” to change minds. In my ongoing debate with a certain Matt Cowgill, I make the point that facts and evidence-based arguments have a place, predominantly in my view, to correct mis-perceptions, rather than to “change minds”.
I think Newell’s argument, which makes the case for a “middle ground” is good contribution.
Does scientific knowledge matter in the climate debate? Recent research suggests that it is not “what you know” but “who you are” that counts in making up your mind about climate change.
What are the implications for the climate debate? Does it mean that initiatives to educate the public are fundamentally flawed and destined to fail? Not necessarily.
World views and scientific literacy
Dan Kahan and colleagues reported a small negative correlation between scientific literacy and concern about climate change – but not for everyone in their sample. Specifically, those participants identified as “hierarchical individualists” (HI) showed the negative trend, but those who were “egalitarian communitarian” (EC) showed the opposite pattern – more literate, more concern.
Put crudely, HIs are opposed to government intervention and restrictions on industry, whereas ECs favour intervention and are suspicious of industry and commerce. The argument then is that each group adopts a position on the scientific information that fits with their personal view and interests. It is not the knowledge per se that is important but how it is incorporated into the way you see the world.
HIs see the societal upheavals necessitated by climate change as threatening their values and thus while “understanding” the science downplay the concern. ECs see action on climate change as important. The more they understand the science the more concerned they become.
So does this mean we should be abandoning attempts to communicate the science? If scientific understanding only “works” for the ECs, then are we just preaching to the choir?
This question is particularly pertinent for bodies like the Australian Climate Commission. Additional research shows Australia also has its share of HIs and ECs and that their respective beliefs about climate change follow the predicted pattern. Communitarians are four times more likely than their individualists cousins to believe that climate change is already happening.
Ditching the science?
Commentators have been quick to point out that there are serious risks in getting carried away with a “ditch the science” argument. Babies and bathwater spring to mind.
One important point is that Kahan et al did not measure scientific knowledge about climate change, but rather some basic scientific concepts (for example, is an electron smaller than an atom?). This information may or may not correlate with an understanding of how and why human activities affect the climate.
Large scale studies that have examined detailed knowledge of the causes and consequences of climate change do indeed find positive relationships between understanding, concern and intentions to behave pro-environmentally.
As noted by another commentator on the Kahan study, the Yale Six Americas Study found that 97% of respondents who identified themselves as “alarmed” about climate change received a “pass” on a test of climate knowledge compared to only 56% of those who were “dismissive”.
Others have argued strongly for the importance of getting the “mental model” right before people will be willing to adopt policies or agitate for legislation that will address global warming. For example, if your understanding of global warming leads you to think that stabilising (rather than reducing) CO2 emissions is sufficient for stabilising the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere – (as many people do)– then you might be less willing to support carbon reduction policies.
These studies all suggest that knowledge of the science can help. Indeed, one recent study found that just reading a simple 400-word description of the mechanism of global warming led to increased acceptance that climate change is real and happening.
So where does this leave us? Scientific knowledge certainly isn’t irrelevant to the debate – and it is clear that this was not the intended message of Kahan’s study (despite that spin being taken up by some in the media. But equally knowledge alone is not enough.
The Six Americas study mentioned above found that although the “alarmed” outscored the “dismissives” overall on tests of climate knowledge, for some questions performance levels reversed.
For example, only 66% of the “alarmed” correctly understood that the greenhouse effect refers to gases in the atmosphere that trap heat, compared to 79% of the “dismissives”. Despite this knowledge difference, the “alarmed” were much more likely to (correctly) say that switching from fossil fuels to renewables would do a lot to reduce global warming (89% alarmists vs 7% dismissives).
Finding the middle ground
The picture that emerges from these various findings is that at one end of the spectrum there is a section of the public who will be “on board” with action on climate change almost regardless of how much science they know. At the other end there is a group who will never be on board, again regardless of how much or how little they know. For these groups, perhaps, the science doesn’t really matter.
But by definition there are lots of people in the middle of the spectrum. By far the largest group in the Six Americas study comprise the “concerned and cautious” (54% of the sample) – those who are neither rampant “alarmists” (or ECs) nor head-in-the-sand “dismissives” (or HIs).
In Australia a similar group has been identified in CSIRO surveys as the 40-50% who think climate change is happening but is mainly due to natural fluctuation, and thus presumably less of a concern. For this large middle ground – the people who are not sure about what is happening or about what they should do, and want to know more – simple, targeted science about the mechanisms, causes and consequences of global warming could prove invaluable.
Scientific knowledge is not a panacea. Science alone will not eliminate the debate between the polarised ends of the spectrum, but along with many other factors – (not least personal experience) – it can help swing the pendulum of public opinion towards supporting policy that will slow the quickening pace of climate change.
Ben Newell receives funding from the Australian Research Council inlcuding a Linkage Project in partnership with the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.
This article was originally published on The Conversation.
Read the original article.
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2 thoughts on “Science alone won’t change climate opinions, but it matters”
I’m not sure where people get the idea that George Lakoff is anti facts. His point is that facts need to be interpreted by values, so it is only when people agree on both facts and values that they will reach the same conclusions. His problem with the Left is not that it argues for facts, but that it doesn’t argue for its values, that it presents just the facts and excepts everybody to agree with it’s own interpretation of them. At least that’s what I got from reading George Lakoff.
Thanks for the comment Stephen. I think that over time, Lakoff has become more strident in his language, e.g. emphasis to make a point. I agree that he does not say that facts should be abandoned, but rather, “argument by fact” has failed and fundamentally ignores how the mind works and attitudes formed.
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Home » Books » Collections of Essays » The Dreaming Swimmer » News Fantasy
OUR REVIEW of the year is supposed to be a fantasy, but no fantasy could be more fantastic than the facts. This morning one of the tabloid newspapers tells me that a Taiwanese woman tourist, visiting an outlying church in the Ely area, was ravished by a curate on the floor of the sacristy. It transpires that the Taiwanese tourist, although her virtue had, in the final analysis, undoubtedly been compromised against her wishes, gave herself willingly in the first instance, the curate having led her to believe that he was personally related to the Everly Brothers. When you read something like that you realise how far even the most fertile imagination falls short of reality.
But if fantasy can’t improve on the facts, it can hope to make some kind of sense of them. Our programme treats the year as a drama, with the world’s leaders, celebrities, saints, frauds and cranks all featuring as characters. It’s a departure from reality, but in the direction of the truth. Take, for example, that bit of film we screened last year in which Lech Wałesa, after being embraced by the Pope, went away patting his pockets. We said that the Pope, an accomplished amateur conjurer, had nicked Mr Wałesa’s watch. A lot of people told me afterwards that they had found this to be a satisfactory gag, but couldn’t quite figure out why. Agreeing with them that it was a satisfactory gag — at my age you grab whatever praise is going — I set out to explain it, to myself at least. After much wrinkle-browed analysis I came up with a partial answer. The Pope and Mr Walesa are both good men, but Mr Walesa is the more innocent. One of the reasons we admire the Pope is that he gives an air of having been around. He is a man who has lived. To acknowledge this is to strike a chord. He is in character.
Mrs Thatcher’s character never showed more strikingly than on the day she resigned herself to the inevitable. In the House of Commons she slugged it out like a defeated champion who rises after the count of nine to beat up the referee. She is an historic national asset like the long bow or the tin helmet. Even her enemies are proud of her. In our version of the year, she is not only a star, she is a specific kind of star. We can call her a villainess or even a witch, but to call her a coward would not work. The audience wouldn’t get it. The fantasy has to fit the character.
With President Bush this becomes a genuine problem. If you suggested that President Reagan was vague, everybody laughed, because they knew he was. Even those who admired his intelligence and endorsed his principles knew that the word ‘vague’ was invented for him. But President Bush, although every sentence he manages to utter scatters its component parts like pond water from a verb chasing its own tail, is not vague. The only really funny thing about President Bush is Vice President Quayle.
There again, though, the would-be fantasist must face the fact that the facts can’t be beaten. We love making up things for our characters to say — the things they should have said — but Mr Quayle actually speaks, in real life, dialogue that no writer would dare submit to a script conference. When Mr Quayle says things like ‘there are a lot of uncharted waters in space’ we are hard put to keep up. Our latest review of the year is but a humble attempt.
Radio Times, 22 December, 1990 – 4 January, 1991
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Advancing precision engineering through idea sharing, networking, education, and training.
Session Description:
Thermal effects represent the largest source of systematic error and apparent non-repeatability in precision systems. Minimizing and controlling these effects offers the largest single source of improvement in a precision system and at a fraction of the overall system cost. As precision systems continue to evolve and become more precise, the importance of understanding and controlling thermal effects becomes even more important since thermal properties of materials that make up these systems do not change.
Starting with the four basic approaches to managing thermal effects, this tutorial will present the sources of static and dynamic thermal errors and key design principles that have been developed to address these errors. Concepts such as isolation, energy flow, athermalization, and error budgeting will be presented to show how to think about thermal effects and develop ways to address them during design and testing. The fundamentals of temperature measurement will be presented along with descriptions of various probes and signal conditioning methods that are typically used in precision systems along with some newer electronics now available. Methods and systems to control temperature in and around precision equipment will be presented along with many examples from the past.
Mr. Luttrell has been working over 30 years in the Precision Engineering field for small companies and large corporations in technical positions and functional management positions. His technology focus has been the design, manufacture, and application of ultra-precision machine tools and measurement systems. In particular, he has extensive experience in the development of diamond turning machines, ultra-precision grinding machines, very high-precision thermal control systems, and optical metrology systems.
Dan has held senior management positions in large and small companies. He was part of the startup of Precitech, Inc. in Keene, NH as its first Technical Director in the early 90s. From there he held a position of Senior Technical Specialist, 3M Company St. Paul, Minnesota, and then as the Core Technology Manager for Machine Research & Process Technology, Science & Technology Division, Corning Inc. More recently he was Vice President of Engineering, Moore Tool Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He is currently involved with the startup of Kriterion, LLC, which is a new company developing innovative products for thermal management of precision systems and new ultra-precision measurement systems.
Mr. Luttrell is a charter member of the ASPE and has twice served on the board of directors. He was conference chairman of the ASPE annual meeting in 1998, chaired the Business Forum for several years, has taught the Thermal Effects tutorial for more than 10 years, and developed the Project Management for Precision Engineers tutorial which he has taught for many years. He has also been a member of ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and IDSA (Industrial Design Society of America). Dan holds a BS Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, and an MS Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University where he was a research assistant in the Precision Engineering Lab under the direction of Dr. Tom Dow.
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Action/Adventure Romance
If your life is giving you some family time, you and your kids can together enjoy a rollicking tale of derring do set in Merry Olde England: 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood. Famous as the film that made swashbuckling Errol Flynn a household name, it’s also historically important as Warner Brothers’ first foray into glorious Technicolor.
The plot is of course familiar and has been adapted dozens of times: When King Richard the Lionhearted leaves the country, his heartless brother John begins terrorizing the peasantry. The courageous noble Robin of Locksley voluntarily leaves his comfortable life to fight for the oppressed, becoming a daring outlaw who along with his Merry Men takes a personalized approach to progressive taxation. Along the way Robin wins the love of Lady Marian, who becomes a brave advocate for the downtrodden despite her blue blood.
This was a big budget film, with lavish costumes and sets designed to show off the possibilities of Technicolor photography. It’s also big in other ways: Huge battles, extended sword fights, heroic stunt work and full-blooded performances by the whole cast. For raw entertainment value alone, this is a Hollywood studio system classic, and was deservedly selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Despite being wracked with numerous health problems in real life (He died at 50 with the body of an old man), on screen Flynn is the apotheosis of the virile, roguishly charming man of action. He was working with his frequent director Michael Curtiz (Who also directed him in my recommendations Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk), who clearly knew how to get the most out of Flynn. Flynn gets outstanding support from the rest of the cast, including Claude Rains as a fey Prince John and Basil Rathbone as the dastardly Sir Guy of Gisbourne. Olivia de Havilland, who worked with Flynn on eight films, was cast more for her looks than talent in her early career, but she became a better actress over time. She’s good enough here at portraying Marian’s growing awareness of the plight of the poor and her own love of Robin. The actors in the smaller parts also do well, especially Eugene Pallette as Friar Tuck.
This is a particularly good film for kids, not only because the exciting story is easy to follow but also because it embodies admirable values. I love all the ethical shading of film noir, but there is also a place for movies that teach uncomplicated moral lessons: The rich have an obligation to the poor, and good people must fight back when the strong exploit the weak. Roger Ebert, who loved this movie, said it beautifully: “In these cynical days when swashbucklers cannot be presented without an ironic subtext, this great 1938 film exists in an eternal summer of bravery and romance”.
Before closing my recommendation of this rousing classic, I leave you with two notes of trivia (1) The 1922 Douglas Fairbanks Sr. version of Robin Hood was filmed in Bidwell Park in Chico, California, and the Flynn version returned there for some of its shoot. (2) Much of the film was hilariously parodied in another of my recommendations, The Court Jester, with Rathbone sending up his own performance.
Tags Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Errol Flynn, Eugene Pallette, Michael Curtiz, Olivia de Haviland
← Män Som Hatar Kvinnor → Bonnie and Clyde
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Graph Of The Day: The Appalling Facts Behind Modern Slavery
By Nickolaus Hines
On December 18, 1865, slavery officially ended in the United States. Secretary of State William Seward verified the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, stating “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
On December 2, 1949, the United Nations adopted a resolution seeking to eradicate contemporary forms of slavery, including human trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labor, forced marriage, and so on. That day then became known as the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.
These two historic events both give us the impression that slavery is a thing of the past, only to be found in history books. Sadly, it’s not.
The Realities Of Modern Slavery
Modern slavery–in all the various forms enumerated by the U.N.–is one of the world’s most lucrative crimes, and the U.N. International Labor Organization estimates that forced labor generates $150 billion in illegal profits per year. Because modern slavery doesn’t always look like it did in the history books, the first step to fixing it is simply understanding it–but even that has proven difficult.
“Now that slavery has been outlawed, it is hidden,” said Terry FitzPatrick, communications director of Free the Slaves, a U.S.-based NGO that has been fighting modern slavery since 2000. “Researchers must base their global slavery estimates on sampling methodology, using the tools of social science to measure slavery in a sample population and then extrapolate.”
Different numbers come up depending on which organization published them, but “we don’t need to know the exact number of people enslaved worldwide in order to mobilize a global response,” FitzPatrick said. It’s not just sex slaves either. From African mines to Thai fishing fleets to Indian textile mills, slavery can be found nearly everywhere and in many of our most used products. It’s not as if world leaders aren’t aware of the problem – the UN in September passed Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 with the hope of ending modern slavery by 2030.
How To Eliminate Modern Slavery
Slavery is a hydra that will require the coordination of many different entities to solve. Free the Slaves and other organizations like it are taking important steps toward building awareness and combating slavery on a local level. Governments are starting to take notice. Even large corporations are starting to be held accountable.
California enacted a law called the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act in 2012. Under this law, companies that earn more than $100 million a year must report to the Securities and Exchange Commission with what they are doing to keep products made with slave labor from their products or services. The many facets involved in getting a finished product to a consumer–from extracting materials to making the product to delivering the product–make tracing slavery in a finished consumer good extremely difficult. KnowTheChain.org is taking actions to change that.
“Think about it: right now a CEO can be prosecuted if he bribes a foreign government official, but he faces no legal sanction if he enslaves foreign citizens to make his products,” FitzPatrick said. “That needs to change.”
“Even though more people are enslaved now than ever before in human history, it’s the smallest percentage of the world’s population that has ever been enslaved,” FitzPatrick continued. “And even though slavery profits are huge, up there with gun running and drug trafficking, it’s a tiny percentage of the multi-trillion dollar global economy. So, there is reason for hope.”
Nickolaus Hines
Nickolaus Hines is a freelance writer in New York City. He graduated from Auburn University, and his recent bylines can be found at Men's Journal, Inverse, and Grape Collective.
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15 Things You Didn't Know About Steven Spielberg
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(479) 424-8108 jordon@aralarm.org
AT&T Leaving the Alarm Biz?
Early to the home security market among ISPs, AT&T may now be looking to exit the business. A report by Reuters states that AT&T is exploring a sale of its Digital Life division as part of an effort to reduce debt following the presumed closure of the telco’s $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner. Reuters posits that the business could sell for close to $1 billion. That would do little to touch AT&T’s debt load, which reached $143.7 billion mid-year even before any Time Warner transaction, but reportedly the sale could be only the first of several as the operator looks to mitigate the impact of yet another mega merger.
Why does the potential sale of the Digital Life business matter? There are several reasons. First, AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has invested heavily in home security and monitoring over the years, but now appears not to like the payoff. The telco partnered with home automation company Xanboo to offer service way back in 2006 before ultimately acquiring that startup in 2010. It then teamed up with Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) in early 2013, rebooting its home security efforts with the launch of Digital Life in April of that year. (See AT&T Dives Deeper Into the Smart Home and AT&T Launches Digital Life Service in 15 Markets.)
Second, home security and automation should fall under the same umbrella as other Internet of Things initiatives, but (to this editor’s knowledge) there’s never been any indication of crossover between Digital Life and AT&T’s IoT ambitions. That may mean that a divestiture of Digital Life would be a good thing, but on the other hand, AT&T may be giving up on a platform and a stake in the home that it could have merged with other IoT technology efforts.
Third, if AT&T is indeed getting out of the home security business, it’s doing so just as rival Comcast is starting to demonstrate serious traction in the space. Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) announced last month that it now has more than 1 million subscribers to its Xfinity Home service (AT&T is estimated to have about half that), and the cable company closed on its acquisition of critical home automation technology from Icontrol earlier this year, setting the stage for further service development. (See Comcast Lines Up Fall Launch for ‘Instant TV’ and Comcast Gets Its IoT On With Icontrol Close.)
Fourth and finally, if AT&T drops Digital Life, there’s likely to be an effect on Cisco, which helps power the service platform. It’s unclear how invested Cisco is in the home automation industry, but AT&T has always been the vendor’s prime case study reference for smart home services. If that goes away, the question is whether any new owner of Digital Life would boost Cisco’s position in the space, or whether Cisco would slowly melt away from the home monitoring and control market altogether.
AT&T isn’t the only operator to try its hand at smart home services only to later consider an exit. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) dropped the hammer on its own offering back in 2014. There were hints that Verizon would re-enter the market shortly afterward, but whatever those plans were, they haven’t materialized publicly to date. (See Verizon Pulls Plug on Smart-Home Service.)
More recently, Verizon launched a 4G-based home automation hub, but that product works more like a traditional mobile device with consumers given the option of buying a data plan to go with the hardware. The hub supports a small number of smart home devices from Nest and Honeywell.
http://www.lightreading.com/services/smart-home/why-atandt-may-dump-home-security-biz/d/d-id/735601
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Brick company sues City of Little Rock over false alarm ordinance November 6, 2017
Arkansas Security Alarm Association is a proud member of the National Electronic Security Alliance
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Robert Palmer’s Lost Oeuvre Part II: Pressure Drop (1976)
Pressure Drop, the follow-up to 1974’s Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley would find Robert Palmer at an interesting crossroads in his career as despite the great craftsmanship on his previous LP he was still vastly unknown outside of the NYC music scene. As a result, Pressure Drop was not as cohesive as an album due to the desire to be more commercial. Unfortunately for Palmer, 1976 was a time where schmaltzy and breezy arrangements were in high demand and despite his best efforts this makes the album quite dated. However, the highlights on here stand up along with the best of Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley, from the title track (a cover of the famous Toots & The Maytals tune), to the slow burn of “Fine Time” as well as the rollicking “Riverboat” and “Trouble”,it’s quite clear (even from the album cover) that Palmer and his crack session band of Little Feat and the Muscle Shoals Horn Section and even James Jamerson (the bassist of Motown fame) have a whole lot of fun.
https://dupes34.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/01-give-me-an-inch.mp3
The album begins with “Give Me an Inch”, a title worked around the phrase “give them an inch and they’ll take a mile” and the intro is pure 70’s strings and flutes, but Jamerson’s excellent bass line and Palmer’s vocal arrangement keep the song from delving into pure schmaltz.
https://dupes34.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/02-work-to-make-it-work.mp3
“Work To Make It Work” is a rather fun number that follows, with a propulsive vocal round for an intro before the band drops into pure funk mode with clavinets and horns filling out the arrangement and Palmer putting on his best James Brown impression. Proof in the pudding that all the work Palmer and the band puts here truly does make it work.
https://dupes34.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/03-back-in-my-arms.mp3
“Back in My Arms” returns to the “Give Me an Inch” formula, but again Palmer’s sheer enthusiasm and energy keeps the song lively along with some great guitar work by Paul Barrere and Lowell George anchored by James Jamerson’s deftly plucked bass lines.
https://dupes34.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/04-riverboat.mp3
“Riverboat” finds Palmer returning to an Allen Toussaint cover while Little Feat is given full reign over the arrangement, the guitars burn, the piano shines and the rhythm section is full of the dynamics that made Little Feat such a great live band, and it’s a welcome change of pace to the record.
https://dupes34.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/05-pressure-drop.mp3
“Pressure Drop” comes up next, and boy do Palmer and Little Feat own this cover with warm vocal harmonies and a great off-kilter popping rhythm. Palmer’s vocal talents are on full display here, his talent for propelling a band to get in the zone and having great fun tearing into a cover (the piano solo here is a must), an absolute highlight.
On the original vinyl, “Pressure Drop” ends Side One, and the next track would begin Side Two.
https://dupes34.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/06-here-with-you-tonight.mp3
“Here With You Tonight” starts off with a motoring hum of guitar as the arrangement takes off, anchored by a strong horn section and features Palmer’s great vocal work. Little Feat’s guitar section once again shines, the warm production suiting their burning tones perfectly and the pocket drumming and bass interplay is fantastic.
https://dupes34.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/07-trouble.mp3
“Trouble” begins with a tuba and piano of all things, but one thing’s for sure in that it’s clearly a Little Feat number but it’s no mistake that Palmer hooked up with this band because their chemistry is fantastic and it’s always fun to follow along with Lowell George’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics.
https://dupes34.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/08-fine-time.mp3
“Fine Time” is the album’s steller track (only because “Pressure Drop” is a cover) with a false start and Palmer’s vocal count in starting this absolutely burning groove. While the tempo may be slower, the band matches the intensity of the arrangement on “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley” with every player in top form, like coals on the fire, constantly smoldering, the organ coming to a peak with a great solo while the funky rhythm section (the drums are a highlight here) never trying to steal the spotlight. It’s truly Palmer’s vocal performance however, that turns this song into a classic, swooping in and out of the arrangement, not only holding down the groove but taking it to new heights. If you loved Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley, this is a must have.
https://dupes34.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/09-which-of-us-is-the-fool.mp3
“Which of Us Is The Fool” brings the album to a close, which is really unfortunate because the end of Side One and the beginning of Side Two were really kicking things into high gear and despite the immaculate arrangement here, the return to the smooth sound sounds out of place. Don’t let that detract from the actual song, James Jamerson is in top form here with his indelible bass line leading the way and Palmer’s vocals showcase his ability being able to handle both gritty and soft numbers, even the strings here don’t sound schmaltzy. Despite the initial shock from the change of pace, it’s a great album ender.
Vocals: 9.5/10
Production: 10/10
Lyrics: 8/10
Overall: 9.2/10
Top Tracks:
Work to Make It Work- Robert Palmer
Pressure Drop- Robert Palmer
Here With You Tonight- Robert Palmer
Fine Time- Robert Palmer
Despite the missteps in the overall album cohesion, “Riverboat” to “Fine Time” present Robert Palmer and company as a band at their best, the energy apparent, and the glowing production really makes these songs stand out, even on computer speakers. It’s also great to see James Jamerson getting credit for once, especially on an album outside of Motown (The much maligned Motown band gets a great profile in Standing in the Shadows of Motown, which chronicles how Berry Gordy wouldn’t give the band credit on arrangements and didn’t allow the band to play on outside labels).
Pressure Drop is where we really start to see Palmer’s eclectic try to mesh together on an album, but to his credit only “Back in My Arms” (due to the lyrical content) really falls victim to the schmaltz (and just barely) that typifies the arrangements on “Give Me an Inch” and “Which Of Us Is The Fool”. It also begs the question what if Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley and Pressure Drop had been more successful?(Some People Can Do What They Like would follow, but would prove to be the nail in the coffin after little financial success) Sadly it’s little more than a footnote now as Palmer would be transformed by “Bad Case of Loving You”, “Simply Irresistible”, and “Addicted To Love” none of which would feature a band as talented as The Meters or Little Feat (Though Double Fun‘s “Every Kinda People” would be an under-looked Robert Palmer highlight). Yet Pressure Drop still remains as proof of a great band in action.
Album Credits:
Unfortunately, the liner notes are not nearly as specific in terms of song to song but never the less:
Give Me An Inch
(Palmer)
Work To Make It Work
(Toussaint)
Pressure Drop
(Hibbert)
Here With You Tonight
(Palmer/Gage)
(Lowell George)
Fine Time
Which of Us is the Fool
Produced by: Steve Smith
Engineered and mixed by: Phil Brown
Guitar: Paul Barrere and Lowell George
Bass: Kenny Gradney and James Jamerson
Drums: Richie Hayward and Ed Greene
Keyboards: Bill Payne
Clavinet: Jean Rousseau and Gordon Dewitte
Congas: Sam Clayton and Ed Greene
Percussion: Richie Hayward, Ed Greene and Robert Palmer
Strings: Gene Page
Horns: Muscle Shoals Horns, Mel Collins, Mongezi Feza and Ray Allen
Voices: Paul Barrere, Sam Clayton, Richie Hayward, Vicki Brown, Robert Palmer and Fran Tate
Harp: David Snell
Flageolet: Mongezi Feza
Banjo: Joe Brown
Harmonica: Steve York
Tuba: Martin Frye
Posted on January 20, 2012 January 20, 2012 Author h.willettCategories Classic Albums SeriesTags Classic Albums, James Jamerson, Little Feat, mp3's, Muscle Shoals Horns, Pressure Drop, Robert Palmer
One thought on “Robert Palmer’s Lost Oeuvre Part II: Pressure Drop (1976)”
anonmint says:
Another lovely review, keep it up.
I love all of Palmer’s early work while everyone else seems to covet his later, weaker post-Power Station output. Pressure Drop is one of my absolute favorites because of the rawness of the production.
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Infrastructure for Innovation: Why Legacy to Cloud Native (L2CN) is the New Architecture for Digital Transformation
|In Insights, Resources
|By Amihan
This post is the first part of a series on The Cloud Native Enterprise.
It took some time, but it seems digital disruption has finally broken through the barriers and arrived in the Philippines full force.
Everyone is realizing the need to transform: Last month, Summit Media, the nation’s largest print magazine publisher, rebranded itself as a digital media company and subsequently launched a Content Lab for branded storytelling across physical and digital channels. Last year, PLDT began a massive pivot away from its dwindling long-distance revenue, prompting PhilStar to spell out its (and soon every giant’s) unofficial mantra: “adapt or perish.”
So it’s safe to say that the pressure is on for corporations to innovate and go digital. The question is how — how to transition culture, systems, and processes in institutions that employ tens of thousands and serve tens of millions of people.
The IT Dilemma
The initial barriers to digital transformation are often strategic and cultural: making a commitment to adapt, and then getting the organization to see and buy into that new direction.
But even the most determined and aligned companies are held back by the infrastructure and IT systems that their companies are built upon. 9 out of 10 IT decision-makers report that they are held back by their outdated IT systems, and it was found that 80% of IT workers spend over half of their time troubleshooting and maintaining legacy systems . These old systems keep companies from adopting new technology due to incompatibilities or difficulties in integration.
People have increasingly looked to the cloud for an answer. Cloud computing, in plain terms, is a service that allows you to rent remote server space rather than own it. This allows you to pay for server space as you use it, which in turn enables companies to scale up new services that work and scale down services that don’t with little risk.
Cloud-native apps, which are optimized for the cloud environment, employ elements like microservices, which break down complicated apps into small functions that can be upgraded and deployed independently, and containers, which allows software to work with different forms of hardware. These characteristics allow apps, services, and systems built on the cloud to be modified, adapted, changed, deployed, and scaled rapidly in the spirit of experimentation.
But the cloud comes with its own risks: cloud security has improved significantly, but will never be on par with a well-managed private server. It requires a massive shift in culture: from siloes and long production timelines to maximum collaboration and once-a-week updates. Furthermore, leaving the legacy system altogether isn’t really an option: old IT systems often contain wells of valuable information, are informed by many years of troubleshooting and experience, and are connected to countless business and operational processes that would be thrown into chaos without it.
So what’s the CTO of a large bank to do in the face of this dilemma? Waiting around isn’t an option either: upstarts with little to lose are starting from scratch and harnessing the cloud to grow and carve out market share seemingly in warp speed. Incumbents must figure out a way to keep pace, launch their own breakthroughs, while minimizing their exposure to risk.
Why not have it both ways?
When we first spoke to the team of the largest bank in the Philippines, they were puzzling through this very challenge.
Though they were committed to reinventing themselves for the digital world, they were feeling constrained by their legacy IT systems, which made it difficult to try new technologies without exposing themselves to security risks. On the other hand, they had seen banks diving completely into the cloud — something that, for them, could be a recipe for disaster. This was the banking sector, one of the most high-stakes of them all, and as the bank’s CEO put it: “People don’t like to be told that you’re experimenting with their money.”
When we asked, “Why not do both?” it felt like a dozen lightbulbs going off across the room. What we’ve found with our clients from banking, retail, healthcare, and beyond is that moving to the cloud isn’t a binary decision or an on/off switch. It’s a process. That process hinges on a hybrid cloud which connects public cloud servers, private cloud servers, and privately-owned, often legacy, servers and systems.
More than just a hybrid cloud, we at Amihan believe in a Legacy to Cloud-Native (L2CN) Enterprise Architecture which merges the best of both the cloud ecosystem and your own legacy IT systems.
The idea behind L2CN is to minimize risk and maximize the opportunity for innovation. In an L2CN enterprise, the company invests in extending and strengthening their legacy system — while at the same time building new services and products for the cloud, where they can be deployed, modified, and scaled with ease.
Over time, as breakthrough services scale up and become more central to the whole enterprise, the balance of the company’s operations will naturally shift towards the cloud. But this migration happens gradually, not all at once.
To learn more about how to build a Legacy to Cloud Native (L2CN) Enterprise Architecture, join us at our April 25 event or download our 1-page guide:
DOWNLOAD: Legacy to Cloud Native Enterprise Architecture (PDF)
How do you merge your legacy systems, the private cloud, and the public cloud in order to achieve breakthrough innovation?
Amihan Posts [Insights & Work with Us]
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Inexperienced Audiences
Seeing Bad Theatre, Reading Good Reviews, & An Audience In the Dark
One thing I find frustrating about being a director with an MFA and two other theatre degrees, and over 30 years of experience in the field, is accepting the assumption that the audience is always right. I know that may sound bad, but it’s really not as harsh as it sounds. You see, I accept that an audience can enjoy whatever they want, and that is their right. I simply question whether an audience always knows exactly what they’re seeing, and what the alternative might be. You see, in some areas, more often than not, an audience enjoys what we put in front of them, and they generally come away satisfied. That’s great! Every theatre company from big to small can feel good about themselves, and have their work praised and validated, and an audience leaves happy! And on its face, there shouldn’t be anything wrong with a theatre group feeling rewarded for their hard work. Because, let’s face it, every production takes tremendous time and effort, and everybody works hard. I don’t deny any theatre company that, no matter how poor I think a production is. But is hard work enough? The truth is, you can work extra hard, and still produce a failure of a show. If a show is terrible, but the audience enjoys it, is it possible the audience is wrong? Is quality determined by popularity? Surely there’s plenty of Oscar winning films out there that flopped, and movies like The Fast and the Furious franchise that have raked in over a billion dollars. Few people could argue the latter is worth calling high art, but it is very popular. Is it patronizing to think that an audience doesn’t know any better? If they like a show, isn’t that enough to call it a success? It’s not that I don’t think it’s valid an audience enjoy a play I think most would consider poor, only that I think if they knew how better choices could make it great, they would be blown away and enjoy it a hundred times more. I think we owe it to an audience to show them the difference between good theatre and poor, and demonstrate that both can happen at any level, whether amateur or professional. Great shows can come from anywhere…and so can bad.
Regardless of what level a play or film is at, we must hold it to high standards, and take responsibility for educating our audiences and holding critics accountable. We can’t rest on our laurels and accolades. True artists are never satisfied with their work, and continually challenge themselves to get better and refine their process. Many amateurs don’t possess that level of self-evaluation and labor intensive self-improvement. For some, the craft is a fun hobby, and nothing more. But no matter what level you are at, we can all benefit from evaluating our process and final product.
The thing is, an audience’s default is pleasure and satisfaction, but that’s often because they don’t always know the alternative. Most viewers aren’t savvy in filmmaking or play production, and don’t understand how movies and plays are crafted. They may be impressed with bad choices, because they don’t know what good ones look like. More informed choices often come with seeing a lot of different types of theatre, and being exposed to high quality work on Broadway and various regional theatres. It means being exposed to a lot of good and bad productions, and learning to tell the difference. Many have only seen bad shows though, and they literally may not know what they’re missing.
Imagine an art lover who had only seen the amateur oil paintings of George W. Bush and stick figure sketches. To him, Bush must seem like a Picasso, but compared to Rembrandt or Vermeer, Bush might as well be painting fences. I would argue that many audiences eat up inferior shows because they don’t know what a good production of those plays would look like. It’s easier to accept what is in front of you, than compare it to a theoretical production in your mind, or even a wonderful production of a different play you saw in New York last year. People in an audience see what’s in front of them, and take it at face value, failing to compare it to other shows they’ve seen, even far superior professional ones. People generally want to be kind, and look for the best in what they see. Since they don’t know how to evaluate or articulate the bad, it’s easiest to latch onto the good. People are very forgiving, and easily dismiss things that might have been confusing or bothersome. The fact is only compounded by the fact that many amateur or small town professional theatre audiences are made up of family and friends. As one might expect, these people are built in fans, and they’re most likely going to enjoy whatever they’re watching. Yet, audiences that have seen high quality plays AND poor plays should not hesitate to compare the two. Although they’re at totally different levels, audiences should be weighing the pros and cons of both productions. What worked about the professional show that isn’t working in the amateur one? What makes the one more effective than the other? How is this amateur show better than the last professional show you saw? It works both ways.
If I find the sometimes hollow enthusiasm of audiences to be frustrating, I find local theatre critics to be even more infuriating. Often, they surrender all credibility when they enthusiastically recommend every show, and haven’t a bad or critical note to give. Every review is glowing and serves the theatre company and ticket sales, but does a disservice to the viewer and the artists. Audiences go in having read wonderful reviews, and their expectations are fulfilled. They are primed and prepared to enjoy the show, and they are exempted from having to think about it critically. The overly generous reviewer doesn’t want to offend anyone, and chooses to applaud every choice he or she may see. In small towns or big cities with tight theatre communities, everyone is friends, and they all travel in the same circles. They may think it’s best not to rock the boat, but it’s unfair and dishonest, and it does more harm than good. An actor needs to hear what didn’t work in their performance. A set designer needs to hear why the set wasn’t functional. A director needs to read why certain choices they made come off silly and ineffective. Critics are the people that keep us theatre people honest. I’m not going to lie and tell you it was always easy to read bad reviews, but they were almost always helpful in some ways. It holds artists accountable for their work, and allows them to change their mistakes, and make better choices next time. Art doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and theatre critics are part of the final phase in creating a work of art. They are the evaluative phase, and are often overlooked, at the artists own peril. We need critics and reviewers who have the courage to stand up and give honest evaluations. Not cruel or unhelpful ones, but honest constructive criticism and valuable feedback. This false praise is everywhere, and I’ve found it in small towns and big cities all across this country. It does a disservice to the work, the artists, and the audience.
I rarely go to see shows or films I’m uncertain of these days, for the very fact that I’m often disappointed. Sadly, having enthusiasm, passion, and dedication aren’t enough to make good plays. You also have to have talent, technique, training, skill, and ability. It actually takes a lot to produce a good play, or to direct a high quality film. It means making risky and artistic decisions, and not just settling for childish and amateur choices. Great art pushes the boundaries and asks questions of its audience, and doesn’t seek easy answers. It attempts to look at the world in new and unusual ways, and always aspires to be new and original, while also paying homage to everything that came before. Amateur shows can often be about saying lines, getting the blocking right, and having fun. And there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s what most school and community theatre is all about. But filmmakers claiming they’re creating high art, while making cheap and disingenuous hack jobs, and theatre troupes lavished with praise for mediocrity, do a disservice to those of doing quality work, and with years of training and experience. Why? Because many people will accept that a mediocre play is as high quality as a good one, and not be able to recognize the difference. Naturally, if the two were compared side by side, anyone could tell the difference. As it is, amateurs are sometimes lumped in with professionals, and the high quality work is seen as no better than the inferior work. This is insulting to those of us with degrees and decades of experience in the field. There is a difference in the work. There’s nothing wrong with a community theatre doing amateur work, and being proud of that. It’s when they think that it’s more than that, or critics and audiences praise them as being at a level perhaps higher than they’re at. If they’re doing high quality work as good as a professional company, then they should absolutely be praised for it. They should also consider going professional, if they’re that good. But it’s important to keep things in perspective. We can watch our kid’s Little League game and think he did a great job, but nobody thinks his team could play the Red Sox at Fenway next week. It’s important to praise all the good we see, but always put it in context of all that we’ve seen before. The important thing to remember, is that the professional theatres aren’t always doing the best plays and the amateur companies aren’t always doing the worst. Sometimes they will surprise you. Some of the best plays I’ve seen in the past five years have been community theatre shows. Great art comes from great artists, wherever they may be.
In some ways, the audience isn’t always right, and it’s not their fault. If all that they’d ever eaten was chuck steak, they wouldn’t have any idea how much better filet mignon is. I don’t necessarily blame an audience for that. If more people want to see some mindless action movie over a more artistic and well written drama, I understand. My argument is that that action film doesn’t have to be mindless. It could be like the Bond film Skyfall or the thriller, The Usual Suspects. Both films are action packed and thrilling, but also artsy, intelligent, and moving. We can show the audience that there is a better way. Unless an audience has the experience and savvy to be able to tell good theatre from bad, we must hold even the most intermediate artists up to higher standards. That doesn’t mean hold a community theatre play to the same high standard as a Broadway show, but recognize that the amateur show is just that, and try and evaluate it more appropriately. That also means that reviewers need to actually do their job, and honestly evaluate the effective and poor choices the company made. That’s the only way they’ll grow and learn. When we permit bad theatre to remain unchallenged and celebrate its mediocrity and amateur choices, we are doing it a disservice, and not raising the stakes for them to improve and get any better. With the exception of maybe a grade school play, no show should be exempt from constructive criticism and honest feedback. Sometimes it’s hard to hear, but that’s how artists grow and evolve.
Just as actors and theatre people need to learn how to make better choices and more artistically viable decisions, an audience needs to learn how to be a discriminating audience. Sure, the number one goal of any show should be to entertain. By that measure, most any play performed succeeds in that. But a piece of art should be so much more. They may find a play amusing, but are they seeing a play at the funniest it could be? The scariest? The most thought provoking? We’ll never know, because art is subjective, and it’s not always easy to choose what makes one show the “best” if that’s even possible. However, it is pretty easy to put two shows next to each other, and choose which one is better, because one makes better and more effective choices. You can compare the show Breaking Bad with the some other poor quality show about drug abuse, and instantaneously see that BB is artistic and clever, whereas the other is contrived, cliched, and tired. You can see all the design choices in BB are inventive and improve the overall quality of the show. Every choice seems to be cohesive and serve the overall vision of the show. A good play does that too. Having a serious play interrupted by a silly or ridiculous costume or prop completely erases all the good will you had built with the audience, and wipes away any prior good choices. Inexperienced or inferior companies will make random and arbitrary choices, which often conflict and don’t serve the cohesion of the play. This is often because they don’t know any better. Audiences need to be educated in what makes a good play or movie, and it’s helpful for us professional theatre artists to help them by leading talk backs, publishing articles, giving backstage tours, promoting critical reviews, leading panel discussions, providing lecture series, offering classes, and generally producing high quality shows so that there is a proper measuring stick.
No matter what level of theatre you are at, we can all benefit from better theatre and more accountability. No one deserves a free pass, and we can only make theatre more enjoyable and credible, when every production is held to high standards.
Posted in Art & Culture, Film & Television Reviews, Theatre Criticism & Commentary and tagged Amateur Theatre, Bad Films, Bad Theatre, Community Theatre, Glowing Reviews, Inexperienced Audiences, Mediocrity, Nice Critics, Poor Theatre Choices, Unsophisticated Audiences, Untrained Theatre People on August 25, 2015 by Amuseofire. Leave a comment
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March 26, 2020 9:41AM
Watch Jason Isbell Cover Drive-By Truckers’ ‘Heathens’ for Patterson Hood’s Birthday
Song appeared on DBT’s 2003 album, ‘Decoration Day,’ the band’s first LP with Isbell as a member
By JONATHAN BERNSTEIN
Jason Isbell covered "Heathens" by his former band Drive-By Truckers in an intimate Instagram video.
Amy Harris/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
In honor of his former bandmate Patterson Hood’s 56th birthday, Jason Isbell posted a homemade recording of “Heathens,” a fan favorite from his former band Drive-By Truckers’ 2003 album, Decoration Day.
Isbell has long professed his love for the ballad, describing it as a “monster of a song” in his Instagram post and calling it out as one of his all-time favorite Truckers’ track earlier this year.
“I’m not going to say it’s my favorite,” Isbell said in 2011 about the song, both written and sung by Hood. “But it’s the one I wind up singing to myself the most.”
He’s performed “Heathens” with Drive-By Truckers, and with Hood solo, several times in the past, including a memorable 2017 appearance with the band during their tour stop at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. But, as far as we know, Isbell has never sung lead vocals on it before, generally adding guitar and harmonies when performing the song with the Truckers.
Isbell’s new album with his band the 400 Unit, Reunions, is out May 15th. Drive-By Truckers released their latest effort, The Unraveling, in late January.
Hood, meanwhile, is immersing himself in a lot of music while the industry is on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic. “I’ve been listening to a little bit of everything, from old favorites to new stuff that has been knocking me out,” he told Rolling Stone. “I’m loving the new Lilly Hiatt and Caroline Rose albums, and the King Krule album Man Alive!, and Gil Scott Heron’s We’re New Again (A Reimagining By Makaya McCraven), which I‘ve been playing every day.”
In This Article: Drive-By Truckers, Jason Isbell
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About Us Staff Privacy Policy
Partnerships Links Contact Us
There is a great deal of work being done within the Columbia Basin to present various aspects of our collective history. As well, there are many wonderful sites in other parts of the world that support portions of our research interests. The purpose of the Links page is to present the sites we have found useful to a greater understanding of this region we call home, and to introduce them in a meaningful fashion. We hope, by doing this, to assist your own research and to open the way for researchers to find others who are working seriously at building an understanding of Basin culture.
Nelson & District Museum
The web site for the Nelson & District Museum is home to a number of interesting virtual tours. "Nelson's Sacred Spaces" explores several of Nelson's heritage churches. "The Silver King" investigates the discovery of the Silver King mine and the establishment of the community of Nelson. "The Dewdney Trail" virtual exhibit offers an opportunity to explore one of the early attempts to link East and West Kootenay with the BC mainland.
Castlegar & District Heritage Society CPR Station Museum
This site is an excellent introduction to the history of the City of Castlegar and the transportation links that made it central to development in the Columbia Basin. There is also a delightful discussion of Tolstoyan Alexander Zuckerberg and the magical island he inhabited on the Columbia River just below the confluence of the Kootenay River.
Kootenay Lake
This site is a delightful personal exploration of Kootenay Lake, the largest freshwater lake in the Columbia Basin. The author, without explicitly attempting to, makes the case for why natural history is indivisible from human history. This is a site for those who love good photography, appreciate the quirkiness of individual exploration, and have a respect for digital intervention.
Trail Historical Society
The site to go to when beginning research on the City of Trail or the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada Limited and smelting history in British Columbia. This site also contains an introduction to Trail's "Sports Hall of Memories", the "Home of Champions" registry and the Trail City Archives.
The Kootenay Gallery
The Kootenay Gallery of Art, History and Science is a public art gallery that serves the entire West Kootenay region. The Kootenay Gallery's rotating exhibitions feature established Canadian and International artists as well as the work of local and regional emerging artists.
Columbia River Basin Ethnic History Project
This is the home of the "Columbia River Basin Ethnic History Project". The site combines the resources of Washington State University at Vancouver and Pullman with the holdings of the Idaho State Historical Society, Oregon Historical Society and the Washington State Historical Society. It has a great search engine that allows a user to explore primary research resources in the above institutions. The site is designed to encourage research and public discussion of the ethnic history of the Columbia Basin.
Virtual Museum of the Kootenays
The "Virtual Museum of the Kootenays" is an ambitious project designed to bring museum collections out of the galleries and to the web. The focus is West Kootenay and the site does serve to introduce a number of historical themes and figures that visitors may wish to follow up on elsewhere. The "Kootenay Chronology" section affords budding historians a place to start when constructing their own investigative time line.
History Matters
Created by the American Social History Project, this site serves as a gateway to web resources on United States history. "History Matters" makes primary resources available and facilitates the exploration of how to use primary sources most effectively. This is a useful resource for all students, teachers, and those writing historical pieces.
Sandon Historical Society
Put up by the Sandon Historical Society, this site shows the historic town of Sandon as the "Capital City of the Silvery Slocan". It gives visitors a good history of the resources remaining in Sandon and offers excellent presentations of both social and cultural history as well as the mining history of the area. This is a good preliminary site for investigating the development of the West Kootenay mineral resources in the 1890s.
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BATTLESPACE BOOK CLUB
30 Jun 06. Strategic Nuclear Deterrent: Defence Committee Report
The Defence Committee published (30 Jun 06) a Report on The Future of the UK’s Strategic Nuclear Deterrent: the Strategic Context. The Report “seeks to encourage and inform the public debate by examining the strategic context and timetable for decision making”.
Comment: The Report is a comprehensive analysis of the arguments for and against replacing the Trident systems. The Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary have confirmed that a White Paper about the retention of the nuclear deterrent is to be published by the end of 2006. Whatever the White Paper or future Defence Committee Reports may say, the UK will continue to retain a nuclear deterrent (at any cost). The Report is available from TSO and from The Parliamentary Bookshop (Tel: 020-7219 3890), as HC 986, for £22:00. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0626, 10 Jul 06)
02 Jul 06. ‘War Against Terrorism’: Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) Report
The FAC published (2 Jul 06) its seventh Report on Foreign Policy Aspects of the War against Terrorism. One of the Committee’s main conclusions is that the threat from international terrorism “has not diminished and may well have increased” and that the situation in Iraq has provided “a powerful source of propaganda” for extremists and a “crucial training ground” for terrorists. The Committee also expresses concern about the “blurring” of the UK’s counter-insurgency and counter-narcotics objectives in Afghanistan.
Comment: In future the FAC is seeking an alternative title to this Inquiry in order to reflect better the complex issues raised by efforts to thwart global terrorism. The Report is available from TSO and from
The Parliamentary Bookshop (Tel: 020-7219 3890), as HC 573, for £26:00. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0626, 10 Jul 06)
07 Jul 06. Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS): Government Response. The Defence Committee published a Report on the DIS on 10 May 06, as HC 824. The Government’s Response to the Report was received by the Committee on 7 Jul 06 and published on 14 Jul 06. Comment: Anyone with an interest in the DIS, which was published on 15 Dec 05, will need this additional document which brings matters up to date. The Response is available from TSO and from The Parliamentary Bookshop (Tel: 020-7219 3890), as HC 1488, for £8:00. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0627, 17 Jul 06)
TRIAL BY DECEIT
By Julian Nettlefold, Family Practice Press
15 Jul 06. Our readers in the U.K. in particular will have noticed the heightened media coverage given to the opening up of the secret British Family Court system in recent weeks. This was spurred in particular by Sarah Harman, Harriet Harman M.P.’s lawyer sister, who was suspended for three months for describing what she considered to be a Miscarriage of Justice in the Family Courts.
Last week saw the provisional launch of my Book TRIAL BY DECEIT that describes the disgraceful manner by which my family was treated by the Courts and lawyers alike over a 16 year period, ignoring any possibility that my son was being abused or that the lawyer, Hodders, we had employed, had failed in their task to protect him, in spite of advertising an expertise in childcare.
The book not only describes lamentable gender biased practices within the Family Court system it also describes a complete lack of understanding of developments in medical technology and procedures available to prevent child abuse and indeed Domestic Violence by both parties.
At present the Family Courts rely on Expert Witnesses who tailor their ‘Expertise’ to suit the case not to solve the problem or indeed protect children. Current thinking within the GMC and NHS is looking for these Experts to be challenged and pilloried in the event of bad evidence. Indeed news today that the GMC is to lose its ability to protect rogue doctors is a huge step.
I have used my knowledge of defence electronics technology, radar
Previous PostEXHIBITIONS AND CONFERENCESNext PostBRITISH TROOPS BEING STRETCHED TO THE LIMIT
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'We want people to know what's going on': Convoy in Victoria rallies for Indian farmers
Bhinder Sajan Multi-media journalist, CTV News Vancouver
@bhindersajan Contact
Published Tuesday, December 1, 2020 7:09PM PST
VANCOUVER -- A convoy took to the streets of Victoria, B.C. Tuesday to highlight what participants call the mistreatment of farmers peacefully protesting new agriculture rules in India.
Gurinderpal Singh Banwait of Sikh Youth Victoria is one of the organizers. He has family in Punjab and is worried by the police response he’s seen. Banwait believes tear gas and water cannons aren’t needed to deal with a peaceful protest that also has a large number of older people participating.
“The major concern we have is safety of the farmers,” he told CTV News.
Dozens of vehicles, many carrying signs, drove to the legislature in the B.C. capital, as thousands of protesters continued demonstrating in the Indian capital of New Delhi.
This weekend, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the situation “concerning."
“We’ve reached out through multiple means to Indian authorities to voice our concerns,” he added in a video posted to his Facebook page.
John Horgan also tweeted Monday night that “we stand in solidarity with #punjabfarmers calling for meaningful dialogue and peace.”
Indian officials fired back that Canadian politicians were “ill-informed.” The Indian government also says farmers are the victim of misinformation.
It’s estimated hundreds of thousands of people are taking to the street. They say a recently passed law will undercut the prices they get for produce – prices they argue are already too low to pay off loans.
The impact of climate change on crops has already been blamed for many farmer suicides in Punjab.
Satwinder Kaur Bains, the director of the South Asian Studies Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley says she’s not surprised at the level of interest British Columbians are showing. The 2016 Census showed a population of nearly 2 million South Asians living in Canada.
“Because of that lineage and the old history of being farmers, I think they're very attached to what's going on in India," she said.
Previously, the Indian government set minimum prices and would purchase grains and rice from farmers and then ration them to those who couldn’t afford the staples, Bains explained. She said the changes will mean that minimum price is gone.
“If (corporations) got in there, bought all the rice – they may not pay the right price – but what happens to the people who can't afford the food?” she told CTV News by Zoom
For those like Banwait rallying on the other side of the world, the hope is to shine some light on what’s happening.
“I have family members and their situation was already horrible before this.”
A convoy drives through Victoria, B.C. on Dec. 1, 2020 to protest the Indian government's response to a massive demonstration of farmers.
Indian politicians slam Trudeau for 'unwelcome' remarks on farmers' protest
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Posts Tagged ‘Virginia’
Right-Wing Americans Campaign Against Lockdown
Last night the Beeb reported that there were demonstrations in America against the Coronavirus lockdown, encouraged by presidential clown, Donald Trump, against the advice and desires of his own administration and its medical advisers.
The Beeb interviewed some of them. One was a man dressed in protective gear, holding up a sign saying ‘American worker’. He objected to the lockdown because he wanted to work. Other placards declared that ‘Liberty is God-Given’, and that ‘Health Is My Choice, Not the Governments’. The Beeb’s reported stated that the demonstrators felt that the lockdown was unconstitutional and was an attempt by the government to expand its powers. Meanwhile, Trump had been supporting the protesters by issuing a series of Tweets demanding that Virginia, Idaho and a number of other states should lift their lockdowns. This naturally did not go down too well with those states’ governors, such as Cuomo in New York, who was particularly scathing. It was leading to a constitutional crisis over just who had the right to lift the lockdown. And the states were insistent that it wasn’t Trump.
It’s easy to sympathise with them up to a certain extent. People in this country are worried about their businesses and jobs. We have a larger welfare state than America, which means we’re better cushioned against poverty. Even so, thanks to the Tory dismantlement of our welfare system and the gross inadequacies of their emergency legislation, millions of people are still wondering how they’ll feed and clothe themselves and their families, as well as pay the rent or mortgage. America has a much smaller welfare system, which does far less to stop people falling into destitution and poverty. There’s also a psychological dimension to this. Americans have more of the work ethic. If you’re on welfare, it’s through some fault of yours. You’re a moocher and a loser. And so the fear of unemployment, which is very much present in the UK, is much greater over the Pond.
But it also shows how the bonkers libertarian right have also created an extreme fear about the state. Any expansion of state power, even it is beneficial, is seen as a dangerous threat to American freedom, a threat that will eventually lead to the establishment of a Nazi-Communist-Atheist-Muslim dictatorship. A few years ago, when Alex Jones and Infowars were in full flood all over the internet and Obama was in the White House, Jones was screaming about emergency legislation that had been passed. Obama, he announced, would declare a state of emergency and force the American people into FEMA camps in order to deprive them of their freedom and establish the one-world Satanic state for the globalists. Or something like that. Others on the right said the same. The pastors on one right-wing church radio station blithely told their listeners that Obama was infused with a hatred of Whites, and was set on creating a dictatorship which would kill more people than Chairman Mao. Others considered that he was going to start a genocide of White Americans. Well, Obama has come and gone, and showed himself to be none of these things, and committed none of the predicted horrors. But that clearly has left a deep-seated terror of the state.
The emergency legislation would be a threat to liberty, if it wasn’t framed within the context of constitutional, democratic government. When governments enact, or activate such legislation, they do so with provisions that limit its duration and provide for its lifting. There were worries about legislation passed by Boris which gave him, the police and armed forces extraordinary powers for two years. But the legislation now in place, passed in the 1980s, which demands that the state of emergency be reviewed every so many weeks, strikes a far better balance in favour of personal freedom.
As for it being a personal choice what someone does about their health, in most cases that’s true. But not here. Because it’s not just the person that’s choosing whether or not to expose themselves to the virus who’s affected. Their choice affects the lives of others, and in too many cases it’s a matter of life and death. So for their sake the issue is taken out of the hands of the private citizen.
Human lives are more important than the economy, and a properly functioning welfare state enhances personal freedom, not detracts from it. The libertarians and organisations like the Freedom Association over here are flat wrong in their attacks on the welfare state and their demands for absolute privatisation and a minimal state.
Lives, and people’s businesses and jobs, are at threat from the lockdown, but this can be ameliorated by state aid and a properly functioning welfare state.
Unfortunately, this is what Trump, Murdoch and other right-wing media loudmouths, want to prevent. Because it’ll stop them getting richer.
Tags:Alex Jones, Barack Obama, BBC, Boris Johnson, Businesses, Chairman Mao, Conspiracy Theories, Coronavirus, Cuomo, Demonstrations, Donald Trump, Freedom Association, Genocide, Idaho, Infowars, New York, Rupert Murdoch, Virginia, Welfare State, Whites
Posted in America, Atheism, China, communism, Democracy, Economics, Industry, Islam, Law, Libertarianism, Medicine, Nazis, Persecution, Politics, Poverty, Radio, Television, The Press, Unemployment, Welfare Benefits | 6 Comments »
PoliticalJOE Shocks Brits with the Cost of Healthcare in America
From their name, I should think that PoliticalJOE are a branch of JOE, those merry funsters responsible for the videos in which they poke fun at politicos and other celebs by editing their speeches and public appearances to make them look stupid. In this video an interviewer simply walks around a street asking ordinary Brits what they think is the cost of certain services and items we get free with the National Health Service. He then leaves them shocked and horrified when he tells them the real prices. They are:
Ambulance call out – $2,500
Inhaler – $250-350
2 Epi pens – $600
Cost of childbirth – $10,000-30,000
If you give birth by Caesarian section and want to hold your baby, it’s another $40
The contraceptive coil – $1,300.
He then concludes the video by asking the people answering his questions what they think of the NHS. One woman describes it as ‘the gift that keeps on giving’ and that she doesn’t want it to change. A young Black man agrees with him when he asks him ‘how grateful are you for the NHS’. He says he didn’t know just how much free healthcare we have, that $30,000 for a baby is outrageous and thanks the NHS. A young woman states that she’s speechless, and had no idea how expensive healthcare was in the US. She says ‘If you don’t have money, you’re fudged’. When the interviewer asks her what she thinks of the people, who are profiting off the sale of these medicines, she replies , ‘Ya bastards!… I think they should be stopped. Fuck Trump!’
One of those spoken to is a young Black American, who’s aware we get everything free over here. Well, not quite – we still have to pay for prescriptions. But he says that he’s fortunate to have health coverage through his parents’ insurance. He has to use an epi pen, but even with insurance it’s a couple of hundred dollars. And his condition is severe, but not quite life threatening. When he’s asked why the pens are so expensive, he replies that he doesn’t know, but there are only a few companies making them, so they can charge what they like.
The video’s been discussed on the American left-wing news sites Secular Talk and the Ring of Fire, because it’s such an indictment of the current American healthcare system based on private insurance. Those sites back the awesome Bernie Sanders and his campaign to give America Medicare for All, so that all Americans have free healthcare. Bernie describes some of the horrors of the American healthcare system in his book, Our Revolution. 40,000 people in the US die annually because they can’t afford medicine. In Virginia, people sleep over in the cars for that weekend in the month when the dentists offer free treatment.
A few years ago, the American private healthcare system nearly collapsed entirely. But the American public is still told that their healthcare system is the best in the world.
This is the system that Johnson and Trump wish to introduce to the UK.
Don’t be deceived by the lies. They do. Trump actually said that he wanted it on the table when negotiations started under Tweezer. And even without Trump, the Tories and the Blairites in the Labour party have been privatising the NHS by ensuring that more and more services are given to private healthcare providers. Johnson even made a speech in 2003 denouncing the monopolistic NHS, because of the way it discouraged private health insurance and refused to admit private healthcare. And he is’t the only one. Margaret Thatcher wanted the complete privatisation of the NHS. Daniel Hannan, the Tory MEP for Dorset, would like it privatised. And the Tory right has several times tried to vote for increasing the number of NHS services for which charges would have to be paid.
And Nigel Farage has also said openly that Britain may have to move to an American healthcare system funded through private insurance.
The Tories are determined to privatise the NHS. This is why you cannot let them into power.
Before you vote Tory, think: can you afford the equivalent of $2,500 for an ambulance? And then vote Labour.
Tags:'Secular Talk', Bernie Sanders, Boris Johnson, Conservatives, Daniel Hannan, Deaths, Dentists, Donald Trump, Dorset, JOE, Labour Party, Margaret Thatcher, Medicare For All, MEPs, NHS, NHS Privatisation, Nigel Farage, PoliticalJOE, Private Health Insurance, Private Healthcare, The Ring Of Fire, tony blair, Virginia
Posted in America, Comedy, European Union, Health Service, Industry, LIterature, Medicine, Politics, Secularism, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Before You Vote Tory, Think: Can You Afford £50 for Medicine? Or £50,000 for an Operation
Corbyn’s factual statement that the Tories are considering selling off the NHS to the Americans clearly has got both them and Trump rattled. The Sun’s headline today followed in that wretched rag’s long, ignoble tradition of deceit. It denied furiously that the NHS was for sale, and that Trumped had definitively refuted it. In fact it shouted that he had ‘thumped’ Corbyn ‘the chump’. In fact he hadn’t. Zelo Street has produced a devastating refutation of its own, which demolishes the Scum’s lies. It quotes Trump and his wretched UK ambassador, Woody Johnson, who both side that they wanted the NHS on the table. As well as a report from Sky, which also said they did.
The piece concludes
‘Tory cheerleaders can stamp their feet and cat-call all they want. Trump has already said that the NHS would be on the table in future trade talks. No amount of propagandist knocking copy can change that. Nor can it make Bozo The Clown a competent PM.
The Murdoch mafiosi is now beyond desperate. But you knew that anyway.’
See: https://zelo-street.blogspot.com/2019/12/bozo-and-trump-nhs-denial-busted.html
The Scum would lie about this, as recent biographies of Murdoch have shown that he, as well as the Tories and Trump, want the NHS privatised.
To anyone considering voting Tory anyway, I strongly advise you to think. I’ve friends, who have trained in medicine. And they told me the real price of what some services we so far get free or at least cheap, would cost if we had to pay for them if the NHS was privatised. Some prescription cough medicines actually cost as much as £50, or so I’ve heard. And an operation can cost £30-50,000. These are the kinds of prices you would expect to pay if the Tories, Trump and Murdoch have their way and privatise the NHS, following long-term plans that started with Thatcher.
The leading cause of bankruptcy in America is medical debt. About 40,000 people die every year because they cannot afford proper treatment. In Virginia, people wait overnight in their cars for that one weekend every month when dental treatment is available free. And in some areas people are so poor that they are forced to hoard medicine or get animal medicines from the vets’.
This is what you would get here, if the Tories, Trump, and their backers in private medicine, private equity firms and hedge funds get their way.
We cannot let that happen.
Vote Corbyn to keep the NHS nationalised and free from charges.
Tags:Boris Johnson, Deaths, Debt, Donald Trump, Hedge Funds, NHS, NHS Privatisation, Private Equity Firms, Private Healthcare, Private Healthcare Companies, Rupert Murdoch, Sky News, The Sun, Virginia, Woody Johnson
Posted in America, Banks, Health Service, Industry, Medicine, Politics, Television, The Press | 3 Comments »
Jewish Voice for Peace’s Commitment to Fighting Anti-Semitism
The Israel lobby smears also Jewish critics of Israel and pro-Palestinian activists as ‘anti-Semites’, often with a viciousness that exceeds the venom with which the lobby attacks its gentile opponents. Critics like Tony Greenstein, Jackie Walker, Martin Odoni and many, many others, are decried as ‘self-hating’ and subjected to abuse that would certainly be considered anti-Semitic if it came from non-Jews. They will have their Jewishness denied in coarsely racist terms. Jackie Walker was told that she couldn’t really be Jewish because she was Black, thus denying the existence of Black Jews from Ethiopia. Some of the remarks are particularly vile. Tony Greenstein was told by one affronted Jewish Zionist that they wished his family had died in the Holocaust.
But the vast majority of Jewish critics of Israel are anything but anti-Semitic or self-hating. Tony Greenstein is a veteran opponent of all forms of racism and Fascism, which includes Zionism. Jackie Walker is the daughter of a Black civil rights activist with some Jewish blood, and a Russian Jew, who met on a civil rights march. She is Jewish by faith and heritage, has a Jewish partner, and sends her daughter to a Jewish school. She herself has been an anti-racist activist, and opposes Zionism because it is a form of racism. Martin Odoni again is another critic of racism.
Jewish Voice for Peace is a pro-Palestinian organisation which genuinely works for peace with Israel’s indigenous Arabs, rather than masking their continuing persecution and dispossession with liberal statements about peace and democracy like the Israeli state. In the fifth clause of their mission statement, ‘Jewish Communities Centred around Justice’, they make it very clear that their stance on justice for the Palestinians is grounded in their Jewish identity. The passage reads
We are inspired by Jewish traditions to work for justice and such work is part of our own liberation. We work to build Jewish communities that reflect the understanding that being Jewish and Judaism are not synonymous with Zionism or support for Israel. Our work is part of a broader struggle and commitment to end racism, anti-Jewish, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab bigotry, and all forms of oppression.
https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/mission/
They also make it very clear that they are also committed to fighting anti-Semitism in a piece from October last year, 2018. This came after a Jewish community centre in Virginia was defaced with swastikas and in the face of rising anti-Semitism and racism in Trump’s America. The passage ‘We Must Fight Anti-Semitism in All Its Forms’, runs
Two days ago, the Jewish community in Fairfax, Virginia woke up to find 19 swastikas defacing the local Jewish Community Center, the second time in 18 months that the center was defaced with antisemitic graffiti.
Incidents like this are deeply terrifying. They are less about the actual property damage, and more about the symbolic message – that Jewish people are not wanted, that we should fear for our safety, and that white supremacists in the United States are becoming more open, more empowered, and more visible.
What is also deeply concerning is that rather than believe that antisemitism is relegated to the fringes of our society, we see the highest echelons of the government trafficking in antisemitic conspiracy theories. Just this last week Donald Trump claimed that the impassioned protesters outside the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings were hired by George Soros, repeating a popular right-wing conspiracy theory that sees Jewish money behind leftist movements – a claim that Nazis in upstate New York repeated just today.
Antisemitism operates through symbols and tropes, and seeing them repeated by those in power is dangerous and wrong. We send out love to those impacted by the vandalism, conspiracy theories, and hate and stand against antisemitism whenever it occurs. Only together can we fight for a better world for all of us.
https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/we-must-fight-antisemitism-in-all-its-forms/
The organisation is obviously Jewish-based and led, but it is also open to non-Jews. And although it is primarily an American organisation, it also accepts for foreign members. And it makes the point that anti-Zionism is most definitely not to be conflated with anti-Semitism.
For more information about the organisation, go to:
Jewish Voice for Peace and organisations like it, as well as doing tremendous work in solidarity with the Palestinians, by their very existence refute the lie that Jewish opponents of Zionism must be self-hating anti-Semites. It is this truth that the Israel lobby fears, as increasing number of Jews, and particularly young people, are disgusted with Netanyahu’s viciously racist regime and are turning away from supporting Israel. It’s why one Israeli official said that they now had to turn to support from America’s Christian Zionists, rather than its Jews. It’s why the abuse and demonisation heaped on Jewish critics of Israel is so vicious. and the attempt to silence them so determined.
Tags:anti-semitism, Anti-Semitism Smears, Blacks, Civil Rights, Conspiracy Theories, Donald Trump, George Soros, Holocaust, Israel Lobby, Jewish Voice for Peace, Jews, New York, Palestinians, racism, Virginia, Zionism
Posted in America, Arabs, Democracy, England, Ethiopia, Fascism, Islam, Israel, Judaism, Nazis, Persecution, Politics | Leave a Comment »
Tory Group Supported by Liam Fox Wants Private American Firms to Take Over NHS after Brexit
Yesterday, Mike put up a grim piece of news. The Institute of Free Trade has issued a report, edited by the Eurosceptic Tory MEP Daniel Hannan, recommending that after Brexit private American healthcare companies should compete with the NHS to run hospitals. The IFT also has the backing of the International Trade Minister Liam Fox. The IFT has also said that Britain should accept American environmental standards as equivalent to British, and end the ban on certain American imports like chlorinated chicken. These moves, the report argues, would allow Britain to rewrite the rules of global trade and embrace new trading freedoms after Britain leaves the EU.
As well as having the support of Fox, who is also in favour of feeding us all chlorinated American chicken, it’s also backed by Boris Johnson. Which shows you exactly how both Fox and Johnson hate the NHS, the British environment and food hygiene and standards.
Mike in his article concludes
So there you have it. It seems Brexit is being supported by the Conservatives as the excuse they need to fully privatise the National Health Service – or at least, the profitable parts of it.
They have tricked us into voting away our international reputation, our rights, our economy, and now – it seems – our health service.
See: https://voxpoliticalonline.com/2018/11/01/american-firms-should-run-hospitals-for-profit-after-brexit-says-group-supported-by-trade-minister/
I am not surprised that Daniel Hannan was involved in the compilation of this despicable document. The French philosophical Feline over at Guy Debord’s Cat has been critiquing him for donkey’s years. Hannan’s a right-wing Tory MEP for Dorset and is, or was, something to do with the Torygraph. And he hates the NHS and has demanded its privatization on numerous occasions. And like his party, he’s a shameless liar. So great is his mendacity that the Cat refers to him as ‘the Lyin’ King’.
As for American healthcare firms wanting to get their piece of juicy NHS action, that was always what the piecemeal privatization of the NHS was about. Peter Lilley, who pranced up and down with his cretinous little list of people he hated in front of the Tory conference in the 1990s, admitted that he created the Private Finance Initiative to open the NHS up to private enterprise. And the Tories great, molten idol, Maggie Thatcher, wanted to privatise the NHS completely. She was only stopped by a massive cabinet rebellion. But she and they still carried on with a plan to encourage people to take out private healthcare insurance and privatise whatever they could of the Health Service itself.
And Blair, Thatcher’s ideological spawn, fully endorsed this idea. The murderous work capability assessments were adopted on the recommendation and very definitely unscientific research by the American private health insurance firm, Unum. A firm prosecuted by the Federal government for massive fraud on its policy holders. Blair went ahead with the Tory’s part-privatization plans, opening up the Health Service to private healthcare companies and creating the CCGs which commission healthcare services, on a model taken from the American private healthcare company Kaiser Permanente.
And it’s also no real surprise that the Americans should want to come over here and steal our NHS. Thanks to those firms, the private healthcare system in America is damn well near collapse. A very large chunk of the American public can’t afford their insurance. Every year, tens if not hundreds of thousands die because they can’t afford treatment. The Young Turks have reported that down in Texas, people are hoarding medicines or taking drugs from vets because they can’t afford decent medical care. Other Americans are heading south into Mexico because medical treatment there is cheaper. Bernie Sanders, the very left-wing Democrat politician, has demanded Medicare For All – state payment for all Americans’ healthcare. The idea is gaining popularity, which is why the corporatist establishment, both Democrat and Republican, is trying to marginalize him and suppress the voting rights of the section of the American voting public, who support him. If you want to see what a trainwreck the American healthcare system is, and how badly Medicare For All is needed, go and read his book Our Revolution. In one chilling passage, he describes the tens of thousands of people, who sleep out in their cars once a month in Virginia, on the weekend that the dentists offer their work free. And a few years ago, the American healthcare system almost collapsed completely in certain areas.
This is what will happen over here, unless we kick the Tories out.
As for American environmental and food hygiene standards, they’re deplorable. The water in Flint, Michigan, is so polluted it should be undrinkable. And there are 25 other towns where it’s even worse. There are regular spills from the oil pipelines that cross the country, contaminating the water table. And thanks to Big Oil there are parts of the Louisiana swamps that are just one oily mess. But the Koch brothers spend big money to convince the American public that there’s no environmental threat here, and climate change isn’t happening.
This is also going to happen over here if Fox, Hannan and Johnson get their way. Don’t let them. Vote them out at the earliest opportunity.
Tags:'Our Revolution', Bernie Saunders, Boris Johnson, Brexit, CCGs, Climate Change, Conservatives, Corporatism, Daniel Hannan, Democrat Party, Dentists, Dorset, Euroscepticism, Flint, Food Hygiene, Fraud, Institute of Free Trade, Kaiser Permanente, Koch Brothers, Liam Fox, Louisiana, Lousiana, Margaret Thatcher, Medicare For All, Michigan, NHS, NHS Privatisation, Peter Lilley, Pollution, Private Health Insurance, Private Healthcare Companies, Republica Party, The Telegraph, The Young Turks, tony blair, Unum, Virginia
Posted in Agriculture, Economics, England, Environment, European Union, Health Service, Industry, LIterature, OIl, Politics, Poverty, Water | 6 Comments »
The Trump Statues: Nudity, Castration and the Punishment of Slaves
I sent this piece below off to the left-wing American website and magazine, Counterpunch. It’s a reply to a previous article they put up about the satirical statues of Trump, which appeared when he was campaigning for the presidency. These showed him naked, with a small penis and no testicles. One of their female writers compared this humiliating portrayal with the way nudity has been frequently historically used to punish women. She also cited the Fantasy series Game of Thrones and one of the punishments inflicted on a female character in that. But the statues’ genital deficiencies point to another way nudity was also used. Along with castration, it was also used in South American colonial society to punish captured runaway slaves. The Statues’ portrayal of Trump thus seems very fitting, given his aggressive masculinity and support for racists and White supremacists.
The magazine hasn’t used the article, and I don’t think they ever will. So here it is.
Nudity, Emasculation and the Humiliation of Slaves:
The Hidden Politics of the Anti-Trump Statues
Remember those statues of Trump which appeared in various cities across America about a year or so ago, when the Orange Generalissimo of reality TV was strutting about stadiums across America trying to get people to elect him? These were life-size statues of him, naked, with a tiny penis and no testicles. Today, Wednesday 28th March, the British papers reported that the last remaining one of a set that wasn’t destroyed, was put up for sale at Julien’s Auction in New Jersey. The statues were a subversive comment on a man, whose personal behaviour and style of government is one of aggressive masculinity and misogyny. One of the female contributors to Counterpunch published a piece a year or so ago when these statues first appeared. Written from a feminist perspective, it commented on this sculptural humiliation of the future president, and in particular its similarity to the methods used in the past to humiliate women. The statues’ nudity recalled the way errant women were also humiliated by being paraded naked.
It’s true that public nudity has been most used to humiliate women, but it wasn’t exclusively so. Men have also been humiliated on occasion by being exhibited naked by their enemies. In the culture of the Hebrew Bible, nudity was a badge of shame, and there’s a plaque from ancient Egypt showing a group of Asian prisoners being led, naked, by their Egyptian captors. And during the 18th century heyday of the transatlantic slave trade, public nudity and mutilation, including castration were used to humiliate enslaved Africans, who ran away or otherwise resisted their White masters. The slave societies of the New World was gripped by the fear of slave resistance, which itself took various forms. Enslaved Africans revolted in armed rebellions. They also ran away from their masters, or confined themselves to less dramatic forms of resistance, such as eating dirt, sabotage, or finding ways not to perform, or perform badly, their allotted work. To combat this, the slave masters punished their slaves with a variety of brutal measures, ranging from whipping to execution. These included various forms of mutilation, including castration.
This fear intensified during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, when the British and other European colonial nations feared that the slaves would follow Toussaint L’Ouverture and Black Jacobins of Haiti, and rise up against their masters to found free Black states. And so they resorted to increasingly brutal methods to discourage them. In one British Caribbean colony, one enslaved man was forced to sit on a cannon as it was fired, which understandably left him shaken and terrified. A female planter was also awarded five pounds by the local legislative assembly in another British colony, for having her male slaves castrated as a deterrent to further resistance.
It wasn’t just in the British colonies that emasculation was used to crush rebellious slaves. The Spanish slave code provided that runaway male slaves should be punished through the amputation of their member, and then exhibited naked to the public, a further punishment intended to humiliate them further after the horror of the mutilation itself, as well as dire warning to others also considering absconding. And it is this punishment, which the Trump statues, with their nudity and lack of genital endowment most closely resemble.
As a caricature of the President, it’s very appropriate indeed. Not only is Trump keen to project aggressive masculinity and sexuality, his regime is also notorious for its racism and connection to White supremacism. Trump tried and failed to pass legislation banning Muslim immigration from specific countries, largely those where he has no business dealings. He’s promised to build a wall to stop Mexicans and other Latino/as getting into the country illegally. And his supporters and staff have included members of the Alt Right, determined to preserve White dominance as America rapidly becomes racially diverse. One of the most notorious examples of this racist support base came when Richard Spencer, the founder and leader of the Alt Right, greeted Trump’s election at a meeting at the Ronald Reagan room with the cry of ‘Hail Trump! Hail our race!’ and a raised right arm in something that looked very much like the Fascist salute, despite his claims to the contrary later.
And some right-wing extremists in the Republicans have gone further. Not only do they defend slavery, but some of them have advocated it, or something close to it. A few years ago, one Republican politician recommended that illegal Mexican immigrants should be held captive by the state, and forced to work on public works. This is forced labour, which comes under the UN definition of slavery. Michelle Bachman, during her 2011 presidential campaign recommended a biography of General Robert E. Lee by J. Stephen Wilkins, which blamed the ‘radical abolitionists’ of the north for starting the Civil War, claimed that Southern slave masters treated their slaves with respect, and gave them enough food and personal possession to live a ‘comfortable but spare’ existence. The book even claimed that American slaves were fortunate in being brought out of their own, pagan homelands, and their godless brutality to Christian America. The Victorian English explorer, Sir Richard Burton, made the same argument nearly 250 years ago in his Wanderings in West Africa. It was also repeated by a number of Trump supporters during his presidential campaign back in 2016.
The disgraced former anchor of Fox News, Bill O’Reilly, also repeated it, claiming that the slaves, who worked on the White House were well treated and fed. The Texas school board also tried indoctrinating their children with a carefully sanitized view of it. Back in 2015 one Texas mom was horrified to find that her child’s geography textbook described the enslaved people ripped from their homes in Africa to toil in American plantations as ‘workers’. The protestors, who turned up to demonstrate against the removal of the statue to Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, also argued that slavery had been beneficial. And some Libertarians also resent anti-slavery legislation. One confused Libertarian caller to Sam Seder’s internet news show back in 2013 also tried arguing that the anti-slavery laws were a tyrannical infringement of his liberty. Why? Because they deprived him of his right to own slaves. It’s an argument which shows how dangerous and demented at least some Libertarians are.
This shows there’s considerable nostalgia for slavery amongst some Republican supporters, who were very encouraged by Trump’s election and his racist policies. It’s true that during the 18th century some paternalistic slave masters, like George Washington, were concerned to treat their slaves well. Archaeologists working on Benjamin Franklin’s estate found that many of his slaves had very good material possessions. Some had fine china, and played the violin, for example. But for others, the reality was grinding poverty and the tyranny of the whip. In the British Caribbean, the slave codes provided only that male slaves should be given a pair of drawers, and women shifts once a year. Even in the 19th century visitors to these colonies remarked on seeing slaves toiling naked in the fields. As for benefiting from being taken to America, many Africans instead naturally desperately yearned to return to their homes. Some threw themselves into the sea on their arrival in the Caribbean in attempts to swim back to Africa. And if they couldn’t return to Africa, some of them dreamed of recreating an African society in the New World. In one late sixteenth century rebellion in the British Caribbean, the slaves planned on creating a new social order based on the type of monarchies, with a king and queen mother, they had known in Africa.
The subversive statues of Trump not only comment on and invert his projected image of potent masculine leadership. They also attack and undermine the racism at the heart of his administration by subjecting him in image to the humiliation meted out to runaways in the Latin south. Since then, the statues have nearly all vanished, while unfortunately their real-life model remains at large in his occupancy of the White House.
Tags:'Counterpunch', 'Game of Thrones', 'Wanderings in West Africa', Alt Right, American Civil War, Ancient Egypt, Benjamin Franklin, Bill O'Reilly, Black Jacobins, Christianity, Donald Trump, Feminism, Forced Labour, Fox News, French Revolution, George Watshington, Haiti, Immigration, J. Stephen Wilkins, Latinos, Mexiscans, Michelle Bachman, Muslims, Napoleonic Wars, New Jersey, Plantation Masters, Plantations, racism, Republican Party, Richard Burton, Richard Spencer, Robert E. Lee, Sam Seder, Sam Seder's Majority Report, School Board, Schools, Sexual Mutilation, Slave Revolts, Slave Trade, Texas, Toussaint Louverture, Virginia, White House, White Supremacism, Women
Posted in Africa, Agriculture, America, Archaeology, Art, Biblical History, Caribbean, Comedy, Education, Egypt, Fascism, France, History, Islam, Law, Libertarianism, LIterature, Persecution, Politics, Slavery, South America, Spain, Television | 2 Comments »
Jimmy Dore: Americans Going to Mexico for Dentistry
Yesterday I put up a story from the I, which reported that over half of British dentists were planning to leave the NHS in the next few years. If that happens, courtesy of Jeremy Hunt and the Tories’ plan to privatize the NHS, British dentistry might end up looking very much like this.
In this video from the Jimmy Dore Show, the American comedian and his co-hosts, Ron Placone and Steffi Zamorano comment on a story broadcast on NBC. The news team there visited the town of Los Almagadones in Mexico, which now styles itself the ‘dentistry capital of the world’. The town has a population of 5,000, but has more than its fair whack of dentists. It has 600 practicing dentists, working in more than 300 clinics. 114 million Americans lack dental insurance, and so can’t afford dental treatment. And so some make the journey south of the border to get their teeth fixed.
Dore states that this will explode the myth of American exceptionalism – the idea that America is innately superior to every other nation. Clearly it isn’t. Not if many of its citizens are reduced to going abroad for healthcare. Dore points out that the stories of Canadians coming to south to America for their medical treatment is largely a myth. But the story that Americans are going to Mexico are very real.
He and Placone and Zamora also use the story as an opportunity to lambast the continuing racism against Mexican and Hispanic migrants in the US. Americans are going south of the border for what is known as ‘dental tourism’, but the Mexicans aren’t organizing mass protests or trying to shame them.
The three joke about the idea of combining tourism with dentistry, including building a combined nightclub and dental surgery, before Dore rounds of the video with a well-aimed attack on Hillary and the corporate Democrats. These are the politicos, who rigged the Democratic nominations so they could steal it from Bernie Sanders and give it to Killary. And she and they care only for the immensely rich, and are entirely happy to deny ordinary, middle class working Americans with single-payer healthcare. Because free, universal healthcare is ‘utopian’, despite the fact that the Germans have had it ever since Bismarck in the 19th century.
Bernie Sanders in his book describes vividly the deplorable lack of affordable healthcare in America. Many counties lack doctors, let alone hospitals, because the area is too poor to support one according to the law of free market economics. He tells how one Sunday every month, one of the dental surgeries in Virginia provides free dental treatment. People are so desperate for it they actually sleep in their cars overnight.
This is what British healthcare is going to be like, if Theresa May and the Tories get back in.
Don’t let her. Get her and them out. Now.
Tags:'I' Newspaper, Bernie Sanders, Bismarck, Conservatives, Corporate Democrats, Democrat Party, Dentists, Free Market Economcs, Hillary Clinton, Hispanics, Immigration, Jeremy Hunt, Jimmy Dore, Los Almagadones, Middle Class, NBC, NHS, NHS Privatisation, Private Medical Insurance, racism, Ron Placone, Single-Payer Healthcare, Steffi Zamorano, The Jimmy Dore Show, the Rich, Theresa May, Virginia, Working Class
Posted in America, Canada, Economics, Germany, Health Service, Hospitals, Industry, LIterature, Medicine, Mexico, Politics, Poverty, Television, The Press | 2 Comments »
Secular Talk on Seven Fascist Regimes Supported by America
In this video from Secular Talk, Kyle Kulinski talks about seven Fascist regimes that were supported by America in the country’s campaign to stop Communism around the world. This campaign included overthrowing not just Marxist regimes, but also democratic socialist or other left-wing governments, which dared to champion the poor in the countries over American corporate interests.
The countries include Chile, whose democratically elected Marxist president, Salvador Allende, was overthrown in a CIA backed coup by General Pinochet. And who was Pinochet’s idol? Mussolini. He talks about the overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala in another coup, because he nationalized the banana plantations. He was very popular with the indigenous Maya peoples, but angered the United Fruit Company, who lobbied Congress for his removal. The US also backed the Samozas in El Salvador and the Fascist dictatorship and death squads in Nicaragua against the left-wing Sandinistas and Daniel Ortega. They also supported the Fascist junta in Argentina, and the brutal dictatorship of General Alfredo Stroessner in Paraguay.
And apart from these individual nations, there was also a collective policy of supporting death squads in these countries, who hunted down and killed former left-wing leaders, politicos and activists. In one country these butchers actually used chainsaws to murder their victims.
And you won’t be surprised to find that lurking behind at least a couple of these coups is Richard Nixon and his main man, Kissinger. Which bear out the description of Kissinger as a war criminal. He is, but that hasn’t stop Hillary raving about what a close friend he is. And that’s a very strong argument for voting against Killary.
Kulinski says that this explodes the myth that America is somehow the great defender of democracy around the world. He also points out that much of this was in the Cold War, and he never bought the line that if Communism was allowed to seize power in Vietnam, the next thing you knew it would be in Virginia.
In fact, these are only a few of the bloody regimes America helped install and support. William Blum, the veteran critic of American imperialism, has a chapter to devoted to them in one of his books, and the total is a very, very long list, which includes many others not mentioned here.
This is the reality of American imperialism. And it’s worth remembering, as Trump tries to drive America and the West into another war, this time with North Korea and Iran. He’ll claim that, again, he’s defending democracy. He isn’t. It’s just more of the same imperialism and exploitation of poorer nations that drove so much of American foreign policy interventions during the Cold War.
And it needs to be stopped. Now.
Tags:'Secular Talk', Alfredo Stroessner, CIA, Cold War, Corporate Power, Coups, Daniel Ortega, Death Squads, Democratic Socialism, General Pinochet, Henry Kissinger, Imperialism, Indigenous Peoples, Kyle Kulinski, marxism, Maya, Mussolini, Paraguay, Plantations, Richard Nixon, Samozas, Sandinistas, the Poor, United Fruit Company, Virginia, War Crimes, William Blum
Posted in Agriculture, America, Argentina, Chile, Crime, Democracy, El Salvador, Fascism, Guatemala, Iran, LIterature, Nicaragua, North Korea, Politics | Leave a Comment »
Stephen Hawking’s Defends NHS as Hunt Lies about its Privatisation
I know the Tories will immediately complain about the title of this article, but that’s exactly what’s going on. The Tories have been privatizing the NHS piecemeal since the 1980s, when Maggie Thatcher wanted to sell it off completely and replace it with an American-style insurance based system. Thatcher was prevented from doing so through a massive cabinet revolt, plus the fact that her private secretary, Patrick Jenkin, found out how appalling the American system was after he actually did some research and went there.
But the privatization is still going on. There was a mass exodus of dentists in the late ’80s-early ’90s, after Maggie – or was it Major?-refused to give them any more money. Then came Peter Lilley and his Private Finance Initiative, in which hospitals were to be built and run for the NHS by private contractors. Then New Labour expanded this massively, breaking up the NHS internal structure to model it after the American private healthcare system, Kaiser Permanente. Blair was approached by a whole slew of American private healthcare companies. His idea was that hospitals and clinics should be taken over by private healthcare companies, like Circle Health, Virgin Healthcare and so on. The community care groups of doctors, which were supposed to commission healthcare for their patients, where to obtain it from both private healthcare providers as well as the NHS. And they were also given the powers to raise money from private enterprise.
And before anyone objects that Blair was a Socialist, no, he wasn’t. He had Clause 4 removed from the party’s constitution. He was also profoundly hostile to the trade unions, who have formed part of the very core of the Labour party since it was founded in the very early 20th century.
Blair was a true, blue Thatcherite. The first thing he did when he got into power was invite Thatcher round. And she responded warmly, declaring New Labour her greatest success. Remember, this is the woman, who proudly shouted about how she was going to destroy socialism.
And the Tories have carried on her project of gradually destroying the NHS, bit by bit, while loudly proclaiming how much they’re in favour of it.
The present Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, is a prime example of this. He even wrote a book in which he declared how much better everything would be if we had a private healthcare system, like America.
Yeah, like America, where the poorer parts of the country don’t have any doctors at all, because it isn’t profitable. Where once a month, in Virginia, people sleep in cars overnight in order to join the queue for the doctor’s or dentists’ surgery offering free dental care that Saturday.
Where something like 20 million Americans can’t afford their medical coverage, and 30,000 people die every year because of this.
And where the Republicans and corporate Democrats have been lying and smearing Bernie Sanders, because he dared to run on a platform of ‘Medicare for all’. You know, giving Americans state-funded healthcare, like in the other parts of the world.
This is what the Tories are doing to Britain. And last week, as Mike reported on his blog, Stephen Hawking, the great cosmologist, called them out on it. He also accused Hunt of cherry-picking the data about the supposed deaths caused by NHS staff not working Saturdays.
Hunt got terribly upset about this, and declared that Hawking didn’t understand statistics.
This is a joke from a professional moron. Statistics are a vital part of science and medicine. Much of modern science, including astronomy and cosmology, is going through the data, trying to find something that is statistically significant. It can be time-consuming, tedious work, requiring sophisticated techniques to sort out what’s importance from apparently random results.
Hawking’s a physicist, who has been working with some extremely advanced maths as part of his investigation into the origins of the cosmos and the nature of Black Holes for his entire career. I don’t believe in his ‘No Boundaries Solution’ to the problem of the origin of the universe, but it’s abundantly clear that he understands stats. And as a man stricken with Motor Neurone Disease, a terrible illness, which has left him confined to a wheelchair, unable to speak and scarcely a muscle, Prof. Hawking clearly has first-hand experience of NHS care.
In short, don’t believe Hunt. Believe Hawking.
And yesterday one of the doctors weighed in, to request that a televised debate should be held between the two. See that story on Mike’s blog.
I’ve got no doubt that this will never happen. The schedules are full already, and the last thing the Tories will want is putting their man in a position where he’ll lose against a vastly more popular, far more respected and definitely more intelligent opponent.
Although they’re both authors. Hawking’s most famous work was A Brief History of Time, published back in the 1980s. It was a national bestseller, following very much in the footsteps of Carl Sagan’s epic Cosmos, another pop-sci blockbuster from a great science communicator, as well as a concerned scientist who attacked militarism, imperialism and man-made global warming.
As for Hunt, very few have read his book, which is why he can still repeat the lie that the Tories aren’t privatizing the NHS with a straight face, despite having advocated himself.
Such a debate would be so unequal in Hawking’s failure that I’ve no doubt that the Tories in charge of BBC News, the same people, who gave Corbyn such overtly biased coverage during the general election, are blanching at the very thought of it. Such a debate will never happen, just as the BBC will never own up, and confess that they, and particularly Laura Kuenssberg, are massively biased and everyone, who has complained about this painfully obvious fact is absolutely right.
Tags:'A Brief History of Time', 'Cosmos', BBC, BBC News, carl sagan, Circle Health, Conservatives, Corporate Power, Cosmology, Deaths, Democrat Party, Dentists, General Election, Global Warming, Imperialism, Insurance-Based Healthcare, Jeremy Corbyn, Jeremy Hunt, Kaiser Permanente, Laura Kuenssberg, Margaret Thatcher, Media Bias, Militarism, NHS, NHS Privatisation, Patrick Jenkin, Physics, Private Finance Initiative, Private Healthcare Providers, Republican Party, Statistics, Stephen Hawking, tony blair, Virgin Healthcare, Virginia
Posted in America, Astronomy, Democracy, Disability, Environment, Health Service, Hospitals, Industry, LIterature, Medicine, Politics, Poverty, Radio, Socialism, Space, Television, Trade Unions | 5 Comments »
How the ‘White’ Race Was Invented to Divide the American Working Class
There was another, very interesting piece in Counterpunch last week by Richard Moser, ‘Pawns No More: Ted Allen and the Invention of the White Race’. This discussed the work of Theodore W. Allen’s classic analysis of the origins of racism and racial oppression in America, The Invention the White Race: Volume I Racial Oppression and Social Control and Volume II: The Origins of Racial Oppression in Anglo-America. Allen was a White working class writer and political activist, who spent 20 years working in the Virginia state archives to amass an impressive amount of evidence to support his view: that the ‘White’ race was invented by the colonial authorities to divide the bonded poor, both Black and White, and stop the formation of a united working class opposition to slavery.
Allen noted that when the first Africans arrived at Jamestown in 1619, there was no special status attached either to them or to people of European origin. Indeed, Whites, as a special demographic category, did not exist, and would not exist until after Bacon’s Rebellion 60 years later. Moser writes
What Allen discovered transformed our understanding of race in America and can transform our organizing practice and activism.
He shocked readers with a startling finding:
“When the first Africans arrived in Virginia in 1619, there were no “white” people there; nor according to colonial records would there be for another sixties years.”1
Oh, yes, there were English and Irish, but nowhere in the colonial record is there evidence that law or society granted special privileges to people based on European origin.
The white race and white identity were “invented,” Allen argued, by the ruling elite of Virginia, in order to divide laboring people in the aftermath of Bacon’s Rebellion of 1676. The white race was constructed and used as a political instrument to divide and conquer.
How did this come to be?
By 1620 or so, a system of unfree labor became the dominant labor system in Virginia. The system was essentially slavery, some “bond-laborers” had time-limited contracts, but most servitude was open to interpretation by custom. A majority of these bond-laborers were Europeans.
The archival evidence is clear, as well, that the role of African and African Americans was “indeterminate.” From 1619 to the years following Bacon’s Rebellion, the status of black people was contested in the courts and in the fields. Africans held a variety of social and economic positions: some were limited term slaves, some free, some endured lifetime bondage, while others were property holders, even including a few slave owners.
It was not until after Bacon’s Rebellion, or the second phase of Bacon’s Rebellion to be precise, that law and society created a new custom of racism, and for that to happen, the white race had to be invented.
What was the trigger?
“[I]n Virginia, 128 years before William Lloyd Garrison was born, laboring class African-Americans and European-Americans fought side by side for the abolition of slavery. In so doing, they provided the supreme proof that the white race did not then exist.”3
The Rebellion occupied the capital of Jamestown and pointed the way toward freedom for everyone, by contesting the rule of the oligarchs who had grown rich on slave labor and land stolen from the natives.
“[I]t was the striving of the bond-laborers for freedom from chattel servitude that held the key to liberation of the colony from the misery that proceeded from oligarchic rule…” 4
After the rebellion was suppressed, law and custom began to shift. Europeans were increasingly designated as “white” in the historical record, and given privileges that conferred a “presumption of liberty” while blacks were increasing subjected to legal and cultural limits to their freedoms. Whites were encouraged to view blacks with contempt and see their inferior social positions as proof of innate inferiority.
Conditions for working class Whites continued to be appalling throughout the US, both in the North as well as in the South, but there was a major difference between White and Black. The law presumed Whites were free, and so they had the ability to improve their conditions, and even such basic rights as the right to basic literacy – which were denied enslaved Africans.
Moser’s article is written not just as a piece of interesting historical analysis, but as a piece of factual ammunition for the campaign against the neoliberal rule of the rich elite in Trump’s America. He concludes
Here is Allen’s legacy and challenge to us: racism is historical, it is the product of human activity. If it was then, it is now. Racism was founded on a system of privileges designed to win working class white people’s support for slavery. And so it is to white privilege that we must look if we want to free ourselves from being the tools and fools of the rich and powerful.
We must be pawns no more.
The article’s at: http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/04/06/pawns-no-more/
This is important. American progressives have repeatedly pointed out the way the corporate elite are using working class White racism to bolster their own dominance, while at the same time doing everything they can to deny working and middle class Americans of their rights and ability to make a decent living, regardless of race. Bernie Sanders recounts in his book, Our Revolution, how he asked a local union leader in Mississippi how the Republicans got so many poor Whites to vote against their own interests. The union leader told him: racism.
Trump, Bush senior and junior, and Reagan all used White working class fears of Blacks and Black empowerment to get Whites to vote for them and policies that favoured only the rich in a policy that goes all the way back to Nixon’s ‘Southern Strategy’.
And the corporate elites over this side of the Atlantic have also used the same approach. It isn’t as blatant as it is in America, because British laws banning the promotion of racial hatred makes some of the overtly racist rhetoric of some American politicians illegal. But it’s there, nonetheless. You think about the way the Tories have constantly harped on the dangers of immigration, and the way that shaded quite quickly into racism with the vans Cameron sent round into mostly Black and Asian areas, which encouraged illegal immigrants to hand themselves in. Or asked the public to snitch on illegal immigrants. And then there’s UKIP, which again tried to attract White working class support through opposition to immigration, which at several times crossed over into real racism and Islamophobia, attracting members, who were very definitely part of the Fascist right. All the while also promoting policies that would hurt the very working class White voters they pretended to want to protect, such as privatising the health service, destroying the welfare state, as well as employment rights and rights for women.
Moser’s right in that this strategy, and the people behind it, need to be shown for what they are: a wealthy, corporate elite, who don’t care about the White working class, only about their own rule and power. A wealthy elite, who are using them to divide and rule working people. An elite that fears Whites and Blacks coming together to break their power and improve conditions for all working and middle class people, regardless of race. Theodore Allen’s analysis of the origins of the ‘White’ race is an important part of that ideological struggle.
Tags:'Our Revolution', 'The Invention of the White Race', Bernie Sanders, Colonialism, David Cameron, Donald Trump, George 'Dubya' Bush, George H.W. Bush, Immigration, Islamophobia, Jamestown, Middle Class, Mississippi, NHS Privatisation, racism, Richard Moser, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, the Rich, Theodore W. Allen, UKIP, Virginia, Welfare State, William Lloyd Garrison, Women, Workers' Rights, Working Class
Posted in Africa, America, Economics, Education, England, Fascism, Health Service, History, Industry, Ireland, Islam, Law, LIterature, Persecution, Politics, Slavery, Trade Unions, Welfare Benefits, Working Conditions | Leave a Comment »
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General Approach to Biomolecule Types in BIS2A
Some context and motivation
Importance of chemical composition
Linking structure to function
The Structure of an atom
Relative sizes and distribution of elements
Bond types
Ionic bonds
Examples of nonpolar covalent and polar covalent bonds in biologically relevant molecules
Nonpolar covalent bonds
Polar covalent bonds
The continuum of bonds between covalent and ionic
Key bonds in BIS2A
Functional groups
Nonpolar functional groups
Methyl R-CH3
Polar functional groups
Hydroxyl R-OH
Carboxyl R-COOH
Amino R-NH3
Phosphate R-PO4-
Water's solvent properties
What is the role of Acid/Base Chemistry in Bis2A?
Additional pH resources
ChemLibreText Links
Khan Academy Links
Chemical Reactions and Biomolecules
Synthesis reactions
Hydrolysis reactions
Exchange/transfer reactions
Biomolecules: Proteins and Amino Acids
The Amino Acid Backbone
Amino Acid R group
Protein structure
Primary structure
Tertiary structure
Quaternary structure
Khan Academy link
If necessary please review the Design Challenge module to review the Design Challenge rubric.
In BIS2A, we are concerned primarily with developing a functional understanding of a biological cell. In the context of a design problem, we might say that we want to solve the problem of building a cell. If we break this big task down into smaller problems, or alternatively, ask what types of things do we need to understand in order to do this, it would be reasonable to conclude that understanding what the cell is made of would be important. That said, it isn't sufficient to appreciate WHAT the cell is made of. We also need to understand the PROPERTIES of the materials that make up the cell. This requires us to dig into a little bit of chemistry—the science of the "stuff" (matter) that makes up the world we know.
This prospect of talking about molecular chemistry and thermodynamics makes some students of biology apprehensive. Hopefully, however, we will show that many of the vast number of biological processes that we care about arise directly from the chemical properties of the "stuff" that makes up life and that developing a functional understanding of some basic chemical concepts can be tremendously useful in thinking about how to solve problems in medicine, energy, and environment by attacking them at their core.
As a student in BIS2A, you will be asked to classify macromolecules into groups by looking at their chemical composition and, based on this composition, also infer some of the properties they might have. For example, carbohydrates typically have multiple hydroxyl groups. Hydroxyl groups are polar functional groups capable of forming hydrogen bonds. Therefore, some of the biologically relevant properties of various carbohydrates can be understood at some level by a balance between how they may tend to form hydrogen bonds with water, themselves or other molecules.
Each macromolecule plays a specific role in the overall functioning of a cell. The chemical properties and structure of a macromolecule will be directly related to its function. For example, the structure of a phospholipid can be broken down into two groups, a hydrophilic head group and a hydrophobic tail group. Each of these groups plays a role in not only the assembly of the cell membrane but also in the selectivity of substances that can/cannot cross the membrane.
An atom is the smallest unit of matter that retains all of the chemical properties of an element. Elements are forms of matter with specific chemical and physical properties that cannot be broken down into smaller substances by ordinary chemical reactions.
The chemistry discussed in BIS2A requires us to use a model for an atom. While there are more sophisticated models, the atomic model used in this course makes the simplifying assumption that the standard atom is composed of three subatomic particles, the proton, the neutron, and the electron. Protons and neutrons have a mass of approximately one atomic mass unit (a.m.u.). One atomic mass unit is approximately 1.660538921 x 10-27kg—roughly 1/12 of the mass of a carbon atom (see table below for more precise value). The mass of an electron is 0.000548597 a.m.u. or 9.1 x 10-31kg. Neutrons and protons reside at the center of the atom in a region call the nucleus while the electrons orbit around the nucleus in zones called orbitals, as illustrated below. The only exception to this description is the hydrogen (H) atom, which is composed of one proton and one electron with no neutrons. An atom is assigned an atomic number based on the number of protons in the nucleus. Neutral carbon (C), for instance has six neutrons, six protons, and six electrons. It has an atomic number of six and a mass of slightly more than 12 a.m.u.
Table 1. Charge, mass, and location of subatomic particles
Protons, neutrons, and electrons
Charge Mass (a.m.u.) Mass (kg) Location
Proton +1 ~1 1.6726 x 10-27 nucleus
Neutron 0 ~1 1.6749 x 10-27 nucleus
Electron –1 ~0 9.1094 x 10-31 orbitals
Table 1 reports the charge and location of three subatomic particles—the neutron, proton, and electron. Atomic mass unit = a.m.u. (a.k.a. dalton [Da])—this is defined as approximately one twelfth of the mass of a neutral carbon atom or 1.660538921 x 10−27 kg. This is roughly the mass of a proton or neutron.
Figure 2. Elements, such as helium depicted here, are made up of atoms. Atoms are made up of protons and neutrons located within the nucleus and electrons surrounding the nucleus in regions called orbitals. (Note: This figure depicts a Bohr model for an atom—we could use a new open source figure that depicts a more modern model for orbitals. If anyone finds one please forward it.)
Source:(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...um_atom_QM.svg)
By User: Yzmo (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
The typical atom has a radius of one to two angstroms (Å). 1Å = 1 x 10-10m. The typical nucleus has a radius of 1 x 10-5Å or 10,000 smaller than the radius of the whole atom. By analogy, a typical large exercise ball has a radius of 0.85m. If this were an atom, the nucleus would have a radius about 1/2 to 1/10 of your thinnest hair. All of that extra volume is occupied by the electrons in regions called orbitals. For an ideal atom, orbitals are probabilistically defined regions in space around the nucleus in which an electron can be expected to be found.
For additional basic information on atomic structure click here.
For additional basic information on orbitals here.
For a review of atomic structure check out this Youtube video: atomic structure.
The properties of living and nonliving materials are determined to a large degree by the composition and organization of their constituent elements. Five elements are common to all living organisms: Oxygen (O), Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), Phosphorous (P), and Nitrogen (N). Other elements like Sulfur (S), Calcium (Ca), Chloride (Cl), Sodium (Na), Iron (Fe), Cobalt (Co), Magnesium, Potassium (K), and several other trace elements are also necessary for life, but are typically found in far less abundance than the "top five" noted above. As a consequence, life's chemistry—and by extension the chemistry of relevance in BIS2A—largely focuses on common arrangements of and reactions between the "top five" core atoms of biology.
Figure 3. A table illustrating the abundance of elements in the human body. A pie chart illustrating the relationships in abundance between the four most common elements.
Credit: Data from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundan...mical_elements); chart created by Marc T. Facciotti
The different elements are organized and displayed in the periodic table. Devised by Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (1834–1907) in 1869, the table groups elements that, due to some commonalities of their atomic structure, share certain chemical properties. The atomic structure of elements is responsible for their physical properties including whether they exist as gases, solids, or liquids under specific conditions and and their chemical reactivity, a term that refers to their ability to combine and to chemically bond with each other and other elements.
In the periodic table, shown below, the elements are organized and displayed according to their atomic number and are arranged in a series of rows and columns based on shared chemical and physical properties. In addition to providing the atomic number for each element, the periodic table also displays the element’s atomic mass. Looking at carbon, for example, its symbol (C) and name appear, as well as its atomic number of six (in the upper right-hand corner indicating the number of protons in the neutral nucleus) and its atomic mass of 12.11 (sum of the mass of electrons, protons, and neutrons).
Figure: The periodic table shows the atomic mass and atomic number of each element. The atomic number appears above the symbol for the element and the approximate atomic mass appears to the left.
Source: By 2012rc (self-made using inkscape) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Modified by Marc T. Facciotti - 2016
Molecules are collections of atoms that are associated with one another through bonds. It is reasonable to expect—and the case empirically—that different atoms will exhibit different physical properties, including abilities to interact with other atoms. One such property, the tendency of an atom to attract electrons, is described by the chemical concept and term, electronegativity. While several methods for measuring electronegativity have been developed, the one most commonly taught to biologists is the one created by Linus Pauling.
A description of how Pauling electronegativity can be calculated is beyond the scope of BIS2A. What is important to know, however, is that electronegativity values have been experimentally and/or theoretically determined for nearly all elements in the periodic table. The values are unitless and are reported relative to the standard reference, hydrogen, whose electronegativity is 2.20. The larger the electronegativity value, the greater tendency an atom has to attract electrons. Using this scale, the electronegativity of different atoms can be quantitatively compared. For instance, by using Table 1 below, you could report that oxygen atoms (O) are more electronegative than phosphorous atoms (P).
Table 1. Pauling electronegativity values for select elements of relevance to BIS2A as well as elements at the two extremes (highest and lowest) of the electronegativity scale.
Attribution: Marc T. Facciotti (original work)
The utility of the Pauling electronegativity scale in BIS2A is to provide a chemical basis for explaining the types of bonds that form between the commonly occurring elements in biological systems and to explain some of the key interactions that we observe routinely. We develop our understanding of electronegativity-based arguments about bonds and molecular interactions by comparing the electronegativities of two atoms. Recall, the larger the electronegativity, the stronger the "pull" an atom exerts on nearby electrons.
We can consider, for example, the common interaction between oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H). Let us assume that O and H are interacting (forming a bond) and write that interaction as O-H, where the dash between the letters represents the interaction between the two atoms. To understand this interaction better, we can compare the relative electronegativity of each atom. Examining the table above, we see that O has an electronegativity of 3.44, and H has an electronegativity of 2.20.
Based on the concept of electronegativity as we now understand it, we can surmise that the oxygen (O) atom will tend to "pull" the electrons away from the hydrogen (H) when they are interacting. This will give rise to a slight but significant negative charge around the O atom (due to the higher tendency of the electrons to be associated with the O atom). This also results in a slight positive charge around the H atom (due to the decrease in the probability of finding an electron nearby). Since the electrons are not distributed evenly between the two atoms AND, by consequence, the electric charge is also not evenly distributed, we describe this interaction or bond as polar. There are two poles in effect: the negative pole near the oxygen and the positive pole near the hydrogen.
To extend the utility of this concept, we can now ask how an interaction between oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H) differs from an interaction between sulfur (S) and hydrogen (H). That is, how does O-H differ from S-H? If we examine the table above, we see that the difference in electronegativity between O and H is 1.24 (3.44 - 2.20 = 1.24) and that the difference in electronegativity between S and H is 0.38 (2.58 – 2.20 = 0.38). We can therefore conclude that an O-H bond is more polar than an S-H bond. We will discuss the consequences of these differences in subsequent chapters.
Figure 2. The periodic table with the electronegativities of each atom listed.
Attribution: By DMacks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronegativity) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
An examination of the periodic table of the elements (Figure 2) illustrates that electronegativity is related to some of the physical properties used to organize the elements into the table. Certain trends are apparent. For instance, those atoms with the largest electronegativity tend to reside in the upper right hand corner of the periodic table, such as Fluorine (F), Oxygen (O) and Chlorine (Cl), while elements with the smallest electronegativity tend to be found at the other end of the table, in the lower left, such as Francium (Fr), Cesium (Cs) and Radium (Ra).
More information on electronegativity can be found in the LibreTexts.
The main use of the concept of electronegativity in BIS2A will therefore be to provide a conceptual grounding for discussing the different types of chemical bonds that occur between atoms in nature. We will focus primarily on three types of bonds: Ionic Bonds, Covalent Bonds and Hydrogen Bonds.
In BIS2A, we focus primarily on three different bond types: ionic bonds, covalent bonds, and hydrogen bonds. We expect students to be able to recognize each different bond type in molecular models. In addition, for commonly seen bonds in biology, we expect student to provide a chemical explanation, rooted in ideas like electronegativity, for how these bonds contribute to the chemistry of biological molecules.
Ionic bonds are electrostatic interactions formed between ions of opposite charges. For instance, most of us know that in sodium chloride (NaCl) positively charged sodium ions and negatively charged chloride ions associate via electrostatic (+ attracts -) interactions to make crystals of sodium chloride, or table salt, creating a crystalline molecule with zero net charge. The origins of these interactions may arise from the association of neutral atoms whose difference in electronegativities is sufficiently high. Take the example above. If we imagine that a neutral sodium atom and a neutral chlorine atom approach one another, it is possible that at close distances, due to the relatively large difference in electronegativity between the two atoms, that an electron from the neutral sodium atom is transferred to the neutral chlorine atom, resulting in a negatively charged chloride ion and a positively charged sodium ion. These ions can now interact via an ionic bond.
Figure 1. The formation of an ionic bond between sodium and chlorine is depicted. In panel A, a sufficient difference in electronegativity between sodium and chlorine induces the transfer of an electron from the sodium to the chlorine, forming two ions, as illustrated in panel B. In panel C, the two ions associate via an electrostatic interaction. Attribution: By BruceBlaus (own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
This movement of electrons from one atom to another is referred to as electron transfer. In the example above, when sodium loses an electron, it now has 11 protons, 11 neutrons, and 10 electrons, leaving it with an overall charge of +1 (summing charges: 11 protons at +1 charge each and 10 electrons at -1 charge each = +1). Once charged, the sodium atom is referred to as a sodium ion. Likewise, based on its electronegativity, a neutral chlorine (Cl) atom tends to gain an electron to create an ion with 17 protons, 17 neutrons, and 18 electrons, giving it a net negative (–1) charge. It is now referred to as a chloride ion.
We can interpret the electron transfer above using the concept of electronegativity. Begin by comparing the electronegativities of sodium and chlorine by examining the periodic table of elements below. We see that chlorine is located in the upper-right corner of the table, while sodium is in the upper left. Comparing the electronegativity values of chlorine and sodium directly, we see that the chlorine atom is more electronegative than is sodium. The difference in the electronegativity of chlorine (3.16) and sodium (0.93) is 2.23 (using the scale in the table below). Given that we know an electron transfer will take place between these two elements, we can conclude that differences in electronegativities of ~2.2 are large enough to cause an electron to transfer between two atoms and that interactions between such elements are likely through ionic bonds.
Figure 2. The periodic table of the elements listing electronegativity values for each element. The elements sodium and chlorine are boxed with a teal boundary. Attribution: By DMacks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronegativity) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons—Modified by Marc T. Facciotti
The atoms in a 5 in. x 5 in. brick of table salt (NaCl) sitting on your kitchen counter are held together almost entirely by ionic bonds. Based on that observation, how would you characterize the strength of ionic bonds?
Now consider that same brick of table salt after having been thrown into an average backyard swimming pool. After a couple of hours, the brick would be completely dissolved, and the sodium and chloride ions would be uniformly distributed throughout the pool. What might you conclude about the strength of ionic bonds from this observation?
Propose a reason why NaCl's ionic bonds in air might be behaving differently than those in water? What is the significance of this to biology?
Check out the link from the Khan Academy on ionic bonds.
We can also invoke the concept of electronegativity to help describe the interactions between atoms that have differences in electronegativity too small for the atoms to form an ionic bond. These types of interactions often result in a bond called a covalent bond. In these bonds, electrons are shared between two atoms—in contrast to an ionic interaction in which electrons remain on each atom of an ion or are transferred between species that have highly different electronegativities.
We start exploring the covalent bond by looking at an example where the difference in electronegativity is zero. Consider a very common interaction in biology, the interaction between two carbon atoms. In this case, each atom has the same electronegativity, 2.55; the difference in electronegativity is therefore zero. If we build our mental model of this interaction using the concept of electronegativity, we realize that each carbon atom in the carbon-carbon pair has the same tendency to "pull" electrons to it. In this case, when a bond is formed, neither of the two carbon atoms will tend to "pull" (a good anthropomorphism) electrons from the other. They will "share" (another anthropomorphism) the electrons equally, instead.
Aside: bounding example
The two examples above—(1) the interaction of sodium and chlorine, and (2) the interaction between two carbon atoms—frame a discussion by "bounding," or asymptotic analysis (see earlier reading). We examined what happens to a physical system when considering two extremes. In this case, the extremes were in electronegativity differences between interacting atoms. The interaction of sodium and chlorine illustrated what happens when two atoms have a large difference in electronegativities, and the carbon-carbon example illustrated what happens when that difference is zero. Once we create those mental goal posts describing what happens at the extremes, it is then easier to imagine what might happen in between—in this case, what happens when the difference in electronegativity is between 0 and 2.2. We do that next.
When the sharing of electrons between two covalently bonded atoms is nearly equal, we call these bonds nonpolar covalent bonds. If by contrast, the sharing of electrons is not equal between the two atoms (likely due to a difference in electronegativities between the atoms), we call these bonds polar covalent bonds.
In a polar covalent bond, the electrons are unequally shared by the atoms and are attracted to one nucleus more than to the other. Because of the unequal distribution of electrons between atoms in a polar covalent bond, a slightly positive (indicated by δ+) or slightly negative (indicated by δ–) charge develops at each pole of the bond. The slightly positive (δ+) charge will develop on the less electronegative atom, as electrons get pulled more towards the slightly more electronegative atom. A slightly negative (δ–) charge will develop on the more electronegative atom. Since there are two poles (the positive and negative poles), the bond is said to possess a dipole.
Molecular oxygen
Molecular oxygen (O2) is made from an association between two atoms of oxygen. Since the two atoms share the same electronegativity, the bonds in molecular oxygen are nonpolar covalent.
Another example of a nonpolar covalent bond is the C-H bond found in the methane gas (CH4). Unlike the case of molecular oxygen where the two bonded atoms share the same electronegativity, carbon and hydrogen do not have the same electronegativity; C = 2.55 and H = 2.20—the difference in electronegativity is 0.35.
Figure 3. Molecular line drawings of molecular oxygen, methane, and carbon dioxide. Attribution: Marc T. Facciotti (own work)
Some of you may now be confused. If there is a difference in electronegativity between the two atoms, is the bond not by definition polar? The answer is both yes and no and depends on the definition of polar that the speaker/writer is using. Since this is an example of how taking shortcuts in the use of specific vocabulary can sometimes lead to confusion, we take a moment to discuss this here. See the mock exchange between a student and an instructor below for clarification:
1. Instructor: "In biology, we often say that the C-H bond is nonpolar."
2. Student: "But there is an electronegativity difference between C and H, so it would appear that C should have a slightly stronger tendency to attract electrons. This electronegativity difference should create a small, negative charge around the carbon and a small, positive charge around the hydrogen."
3. Student: "Since there is a differential distribution of charge across the bond, it would seem that, by definition, this should be considered a polar bond."
4. Instructor: "In fact, the bond does have some small polar character."
5. Student: "So, then it's polar? I'm confused."
6. Instructor: "It has some small amount of polar character, but it turns out that for most of the common chemistry that we will encounter that this small amount of polar character is insufficient to lead to "interesting" chemistry. So, while the bond is, strictly speaking, slightly polar, from a practical standpoint it is effectively nonpolar. We therefore call it nonpolar."
7. Student: "That's needlessly confusing; how am I supposed to know when you mean strictly 100% nonpolar, slightly polar, or functionally polar when you use the same word to describe two of those three things?"
8. Instructor: "Yup, it sucks. The fix is that I need to be as clear as I can when I talk with you about how I am using the term "polarity." I also need to inform you that you will find this shortcut (and others) used when you go out into the field, and I encourage you to start learning to recognize what is intended by the context of the conversation.
A real-world analogy of this same problem might be the use of the word "newspaper". It can be used in a sentence to refer to the company that publishes some news, OR it can refer to the actual item that the company produces. In this case, the disambiguation is easily made by native English speakers, as they can determine the correct meaning from the context; non-native speakers may be more confused. Don't worry; as you see more examples of technical word use in science, you'll learn to read correct meanings from contexts too."
Aside:
How large should the difference in electronegativity be in order to create a bond that is "polar enough" that we decide to call it polar in biology? Of course, the exact value depends on a number of factors, but as a loose rule of thumb, we sometimes use a difference of 0.4 as a guesstimate.
This extra information is purely for your information. You will not be asked to assign polarity based on this criteria in BIS2A. You should, however, appreciate the concept of how polarity can be determined by using the concept of electronegativity. You should also appreciate the functional consequences of polarity (more on this in other sections) and the nuances associated with these terms (such as those in the discussion above).
The polar covalent bond can be illustrated by examining the association between O and H in water (H2O). Oxygen has an electronegativity of 3.44, while hydrogen has an electronegativity of 2.20. The difference in electronegativity is 1.24. It turns out that this size of electronegativity difference is large enough that the dipole across the molecule contributes to chemical phenomenon of interest.
This is a good point to mention another common source of student confusion regarding the use of the term polar. Water has polar bonds. This statement refers specifically to the individual O-H bonds. Each of these bonds has a dipole. However, students will also hear that water is a polar molecule. This is also true. This latter statement is referring to the fact that the sum of the two bond dipoles creates a dipole across the whole molecule. A molecule may be nonpolar but still have some polar bonds.
Figure 4. A water molecule has two polar O-H bonds. Since the distribution of charge in the molecule is asymmetric (due to the number and relative orientations of the bond dipoles), the molecule is also polar. The element name and electronegativities are reported in the respective sphere. Attribution: Marc T. Facciotti (own work)
For additional information, view this short video to see an animation of ionic and covalent bonding.
The discussion of bond types above highlights that in nature you will see bonds on a continuum from completely nonpolar covalent to purely ionic, depending on the atoms that are interacting. As you proceed through your studies, you will further discover that in larger, multi-atom molecules, the localization of electrons around an atom is also influenced by multiple factors. For instance, other atoms that are also bonded nearby will exert an influence on the electron distribution around a nucleus in a way that is not easily accounted for by invoking simple arguments of pairwise comparisons of electronegativity. Local electrostatic fields produced by other non-bonded atoms may also have an influence. Reality is always more complicated than are our models. However, if the models allow us to reason and predict with "good enough" precision or to understand some key underlying concepts that can be extended later, they are quite useful.
In BIS2A, we are concerned with the chemical behavior of and bonds between atoms in biomolecules. Fortunately, biological systems are composed of a relatively small number of common elements (e.g., C, H, N, O, P, S, etc.) and some key ions (e.g., Na+, Cl-, Ca2+, K+, etc.). Start recognizing commonly occurring bonds and the chemical properties that we often see them showing. Some common bonds include C-C, C-O, C-H, N-H, C=O, C-N, P-O, O-H, S-H, and some variants. These will be discussed further in the context of functional groups. The task is not as daunting as it seems.
Note Common Point of student confusion
In this reading we have been talking about the polarity of bonds. That is, we have been learning how to describe the polarity of a single bond joining two atoms (i.e. how are the electrons shared between two atoms distributed about the respective nuclei?). In biology we also sometimes talk about the polarity of a molecule. The polarity of a molecule is different than the polarity of a bond within the molecule. The latter is asking whether the whole molecule has a net dipole. The molecule's dipole can be roughly thought of as the sum of all of its bond dipoles. For example, let us examine a molecule of CO2 depicted in the figure above. If we ask whether one of the C=O bonds is polar we would conclude that it is since the oxygen is significantly more electronegative that the carbon to which it is covalently bonded. However, if we ask whether the molecule O=C=O is polar we would concluded that it is not. Why? Look at the figure of CO2 above. Each CO bond has a dipole. However, these two dipoles are pointed in directly opposite directions. If we add these two bond dipoles together to get the net dipole of the molecule we get nothing - the two bond dipoles "cancel" one another out. By contrast, if we examine the structure of water above, we also see that each O-H bond has a dipole. In this case when we ask whether the molecule has a net dipole (done by adding the bond dipoles together) we see that the answer is yes. The sum of the the two bond dipoles still yields a net dipole moment. We therefore say that this molecule is polar. We can do this same exercise for parts of molecules so long as we define what specific part we are looking at.
When hydrogen forms a polar covalent bond with an atom of higher electronegativity, the region around the hydrogen will have a fractional positive charge (termed δ+). When this fractional positive charge encounters a partial negative charge (termed δ-) from another electronegative atom to which the hydrogen is NOT bound, AND it is presented to that negative charge in a suitable orientation, a special kind of interaction called a hydrogen bond can form. While chemists are still debating the exact nature of the hydrogen bond, in BIS2A, we like to conceive of it as a weak electrostatic interaction between the δ+ of the hydrogen and the δ- charge on an electronegative atom. We call the molecule that contributes the partially charged hydrogen atom "the hydrogen bond donor" and the atom with the partial negative charge the "hydrogen bond acceptor." You will be asked to start learning to recognize common biological hydrogen bond donors and acceptors and to identify putative hydrogen bonds from models of molecular structures.
Hydrogen bonds are common in biology both within and between all types of biomolecules. Hydrogen bonds are also critical interactions between biomolecules and their solvent, water. It is common, as seen in the figure below, to represent hydrogen bonds in figures with dashed lines.
Figure 1: Two water molecules are depicted forming a hydrogen bond (drawn as a dashed blue line). The water molecule on top "donates" a partially charged hydrogen while the water molecule on the bottom accepts that partial charge by presenting a complementary negatively charged oxygen atom.
A functional group is a specific group of atoms within a molecule that is responsible for a characteristic of that molecule. Many biologically active molecules contain one or more functional groups. In BIS2A, we will review the major functional groups found in biological molecules. These include the following: hydroxyl, methyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, amino, and phosphate (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. The functional groups shown here are found in many different biological molecules. "R" represents any other atom or extension of the molecule.
Attribution: Marc T. Facciotti (own work adapted from previous image of unknown source)
A functional group may participate in a variety of chemical reactions. Some of the important functional groups in biological molecules are shown above: hydroxyl, methyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, amino, phosphate, and sulfhydryl (not shown). These groups play an important role in the formation of molecules like DNA, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. Functional groups can sometimes be classified as having polar or nonpolar properties depending on their atomic composition and organization. The term polar describes something that has a property that is not symmetric about it—it can have different poles (more or less of something at different places). In the case of bonds and molecules, the property we care about is usually the distribution of electrons and therefore electric charge between the atoms. In a nonpolar bond or molecule, electrons and charge will be relatively evenly distributed. In a polar bond or molecule, electrons will tend to be more concentrated in some areas than others. An example of a nonpolar group is the methane molecule (see discussion in Bond Types Chapter for more detail). Among the polar functional groups is the carboxyl group found in amino acids, some amino acid side chains, and the fatty acids that form triglycerides and phospholipids.
The methyl group is the only nonpolar functional group in our class list above. The methyl group consists of a carbon atom bound to three hydrogen atoms. In this class, we will treat these C-H bonds as effectively nonpolar covalent bonds (more on this in the Bond Types chapter). This means that methyl groups are unable to form hydrogen bonds and will not interact with polar compounds such as water.
Figure 2. The amino acid isoleucine is on the left, and cholesterol is on the right. Each has a methyl group circled in red. Attribution: created by Marc T. Facciotti (own work adapted from Erin Easlon)
The methyl groups highlighted above are found in a variety of biologically relevant compounds. In some cases, the compound can have a methyl group but still be a polar compound overall due to the presence of other functional groups with polar properties (see the discussion on polar functional groups below).
As we learn more about other functional groups, we will add to the list of nonpolar functional groups. Stay alert!
A hydroxyl (alcohol group) is an -OH group covalently bonded another atom. In biological molecules the hydroxyl group is often (but not always) found bound to a carbon atom, as depicted below. The oxygen atom is much more electronegative than either the hydrogen or the carbon, which will cause the electrons in the covalent bonds to spend more time around the oxygen than around the C or H. Therefore, the O-H and O-C bonds in the hydroxyl group will be polar covalent bonds. Figure 3 depicts the partial charges, δ+ and δ-, that are associated with the hydroxyl group.
Figure 3. The hydroxyl functional group shown here consists of an oxygen atom bound to a carbon atom and a hydrogen atom. These bonds are polar covalent, meaning the electron involved in forming the bonds is not shared equally between the C-O and O-H bonds. Attribution: created by Marc T. Facciotti (own work)
Figure 4. The hydroxyl functional groups can form hydrogen bonds, shown as a dotted line. The hydrogen bond will form between the δ - of the oxygen atom and the δ + of the hydrogen atom. Dipoles are shown in blue arrows. Attribution: Marc T. Facciotti (original work)
Hydroxyl groups are very common in biological molecules. Hydroxyl groups appear on carbohydrates (A), on some amino acids (B), and on nucleic acids (C). Can you find any hydroxyl groups in the phospholipid in (D)?
Figure 5. Hydroxyl groups appear on carbohydrates (A, glucose), on some amino acids (B, Serine), and on nucleotides (C, adenosine triphosphate). D is a phospholipid. Attribution: created by Marc T. Facciotti (own work)
Carboxylic acid is a combination of a carbonyl group and a hydroxyl group attached to the same carbon, resulting in new characteristics. The carboxyl group can ionize, which means it can act as an acid and release the hydrogen atom from the hydroxyl group as a free proton (H+). This results in a delocalized negative charge on the remaining oxygen atoms. Carboxyl groups can switch back and forth between protonated (R-COOH) and deprotonated (R-COO-) states depending on the pH of the solution.
The carboxyl group is very versatile. In its protonated state, it can form hydrogen bonds with other polar compounds. In its deprotonated state, it can form ionic bonds with other positively charged compounds. This will have several biological consequences that will be explored more when we discuss enzymes.
Can you identify all the carboxyl groups on the macromolecules shown above in Figure 5?
The amino group consists of a nitrogen atom attached by single bonds to hydrogen atoms. An organic compound that contains an amino group is called an amine. Like oxygen, nitrogen is also more electronegative than both carbon and hydrogen, which results in the amino group displaying some polar character.
Amino groups can also act as bases, which means that the nitrogen atom can bond to a fourth hydrogen atom, as shown in Figure 6. Once this occurs, the nitrogen atom gains a positive charge and can now participate in ionic bonds.
Figure 6. The amine functional group can exist in a deprotonated or protonated state. When protonated, the nitrogen atom is bound to three hydrogen atoms and has a positive charge. The deprotonated form of this group is neutral. Attribution: created by Erin Easlon (own work)
A phosphate group is a phosphorus atom covalently bound to four oxygen atoms and contains one P=O bond and three P-O− bonds. The oxygen atoms are more electronegative than the phosphorous atom, resulting in polar covalent bonds. Therefore, these oxygen atoms are able to form hydrogen bonds with nearby hydrogen atoms that also have a δ+(hydrogen atoms bound to another electronegative atom). Phosphate groups also contain a negative charge and can participate in ionic bonds.
Phosphate groups are common in nucleic acids and on phospholipids (the term "phospho" referring to the phosphate group on the lipid). In Figure 7 are images of a nucleotide, deoxyadenosine monphosphate (left), and a phosphoserine (right).
Figure 7. A nucleotide, deoxyadenosine monphosphate, is on the left, and phosphoserine is on the right. Each has a phosphate group circled in red.
Attribution: created by Marc T. Facciotti (own work)
Water is a unique substance whose special properties are intimately tied to the processes of life. Life originally evolved in a watery environment, and most of an organism’s cellular chemistry and metabolism occur inside the water-solvated contents of the cell. Water solvates or "wets" the cell and the molecules in it, plays a key role as reactant or product in an innumerable number of biochemical reactions, and mediates the interactions between molecules in and out of the cell. Many of water’s important properties derive from the molecule's polar nature, which can be tracked down to the polar molecules whose dipole originates from its polar covalent bonds between hydrogen and oxygen.
In BIS2A, the ubiquitous role of water in nearly all biological processes is easy to overlook by getting caught up in the details of specific processes, proteins, the roles of nucleic acids, and in your excitement for molecular machines (it'll happen). It turns out, however, that water plays key roles in all of those processes and we will need to continuously stay aware of the role that water is playing if we are to develop a more functional understanding. Be on the lookout and also pay attention when your instructor points this out.
In a liquid state, individual water molecule interact with one another through a network of dynamic hydrogen bonds that are being constantly forming and breaking. Water also interacts with other molecules that have charged functional groups and/or functional groups with hydrogen bond donors or acceptors. A substance with sufficient polar or charged character may dissolve or be highly miscible in water is referred to as being hydrophilic (hydro- = “water”; -philic = “loving”). By contrast, molecules with more nonpolar characters such as oils and fats do not interact well with water and separate from it rather than dissolve in it, as we see in salad dressings containing oil and vinegar (an acidic water solution). These nonpolar compounds are called hydrophobic (hydro- = “water”; -phobic = “fearing”). We will consider the some of the energetic components of these types of reactions in other another chapter.
Figure 1. In a liquid state water forms a dynamic network of hydrogen bonds between individual molecules. Shown are one donor-acceptor pair.
Since water is a polar molecule with slightly positive and slightly negative charges, ions and polar molecules can readily dissolve in it. Therefore, water is referred to as a solvent, a substance capable of dissolving other polar molecules and ionic compounds. The charges associated with these molecules will form hydrogen bonds with water, surrounding the particle with water molecules. This is referred to as a sphere of hydration, or a hydration shell and serves to keep the particles separated or dispersed in the water.
When ionic compounds are added to water, the individual ions interact with the polar regions of the water molecules, and the ionic bonds are likely disrupted in the process called dissociation. Dissociation occurs when atoms or groups of atoms break off from molecules and form ions. Consider table salt (NaCl, or sodium chloride). A dry block of NaCl is held together by ionic bonds and is difficult to dissociate. When NaCl crystals are added to water, however, the molecules of NaCl dissociate into Na+ and Cl– ions, and spheres of hydration form around the ions. The positively charged sodium ion is surrounded by the partially negative charge of the water molecule’s oxygen. The negatively charged chloride ion is surrounded by the partially positive charge of the hydrogen on the water molecule. One may imagine a model in which the ionic bonds in the crystal are "traded" for many smaller scale ionic bonds with the polar groups on water molecules.
Figure 2. When table salt (NaCl) is mixed in water, spheres of hydration are formed around the ions. This figure depicts a sodium ion (dark blue sphere) and a chloride ion (light blue sphere) solvated in a "sea" of water. Note how the dipoles of the water molecules surrounding the ions are aligned such that complementary charges/partial charges are associating with one another (i.e., the partial positive charges on the water molecules align with the negative chloride ion whereas the partial negative charges on the oxygen of water align with the positively charged sodium ion).
Attribution: Ting Wang - UC Davis (original work modified by Marc T. Facciotti)
Consider the model of water dissolving a salt crystal presented above. Describe in your own words how this model can be used to explain what is happening at the molecular level when enough salt is added to a volume of water that the salt no longer dissolves (the solution reaches saturation). Work together to craft a common picture.
Chemical reactions occur when two or more atoms bond together to form molecules or when bonded atoms are broken apart. The substances that "go in" to a chemical reaction are called the reactants (by convention, these are usually listed on the left side of a chemical equation), and the substances found that "come out" of the reaction are known as the products (by convention, these are usually found on the right side of a chemical equation). An arrow linking the reactants and products is typically drawn between them to indicate the direction of the chemical reaction. By convention, for one-way reactions (a.k.a. unidirectional), reactants are listed on the left and products on the right of the single-headed arrow. However, you should be able to identify reactants and products of unidirectional reactions that are written in any orientation (e.g. right-to-left; top-to-bottom, diagonal right-to-left, around a circular arrow, etc.) by using the arrow to orient yourself.
2H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) → 2H2O (water) + O2 (oxygen)
Practice: Identify the reactants and products of the reaction involving hydrogen peroxide above.
When we write H2O2 to represent the molecule of hydrogen peroxide, it is a model representing an actual molecule. What information about the molecule is immediately communicated by this molecular formula? That is, what do you know about the molecule just by looking at the term H2O2? What information is not explicitly communicated about this molecule by looking only at the formula?
While all chemical reactions can technically proceed in both directions some reactions tend to favor one direction over the other. Depending on the degree to which a reaction spontaneously proceed in either both or one direction a different name can be given to characterize the reactions reversibility. Some chemical reactions, such as the one shown above, proceed mostly in one direction with the "reverse" direction happening on such long time scales or with such low probability that, for practical purposes, we ignore the "reverse" reaction. These unidirectional reactions are also called irreversible reactions and are depicted with a single-headed (unidirectional) arrow. By contrast, reversible reactions are those that can readily proceed in either direction. Reversible reactions are usually depicted by a chemical equation with a double-headed arrow pointing toward both the reactants and the products. In practice, you will find a continuum of chemical reactions; some proceed mostly in one direction and nearly never reverse, while others change direction easily depending on various factors like the relative concentrations of reactants and products. These terms are just ways of describing reactions with different equilibrium points.
Use of vocabulary
You may have realized that the terms "reactants" and "products" are relative to the direction of the reaction. If you have a reaction that is reversible, though, the products of running the reaction in one direction become the reactants of the reverse. You can label the same compound with two different terms. That can be a bit confusing. So, what is one to do in such cases? The answer is that if you want to use the terms "reactants" and "products", you must be clear about the direction of reaction that you are referring to - even for when discussing reversible reactions. The choice of terms, "reactants" or "products" that you use will communicate to others the directionality of the reaction that you are considering.
Let's look at an example of a reversible reaction in biology and discuss an important extension of these core ideas that arises in a biological system. In human blood, excess hydrogen ions (H+) bind to bicarbonate ions (HCO3-), forming an equilibrium state with carbonic acid (H2CO3). This reaction is readily reversible. If carbonic acid were added to this system, some of it would be converted to bicarbonate and hydrogen ions as the chemical system sought out equilibrium.
The example above examines and "idealized" chemical systems as it might occur in a test-tube. In biological systems, however, equilibrium for a single reaction is rarely reached as it might be in the test-tube. In biological systems, reactions do not occur in isolation. Rather, the concentrations of the reactants and/or products are constantly changing, often with a product of one reaction being a reactant for another reaction. These linked reactions form what are known as biochemical pathways. The immediate example below illustrates this point. While the reaction between the bicarbonate/proton and carbonic acid is highly reversible, it turns out that, physiologically, this reaction is usually "pulled" toward the formation of carbonic acid. Why? As shown below, carbonic acid becomes a reactant for another biochemical reaction—the conversion of carbonic acid to CO2 and H2O. This conversion reduces the concentration of H2CO3, thus pulling the reaction between bicarbonate and H+ to the right. Moreover, a third, unidirectional reaction, the removal of CO2 and H2O from the system, also pulls the reaction further to the right. These kinds of reactions are important contributors to maintaining the H+ homeostasis of our blood.
The reaction involving the synthesis of carbonic acid is actually linked to its breakdown into CO2 and H2O. These products are then removed from the system/body when they are exhaled. Together, the breakdown of carbonic acid and the act of exhaling the products pull the first reaction to the right.
We have learned that the behavior of chemical functional groups depends greatly on the composition, order and properties of their constituent atoms. As we will see, some of the properties of key biological functional groups can be altered depending on the pH (hydrogen ion concentration) of the solution that they are bathed in.
For example, some of the functional groups on the amino acid molecules that make up proteins can exist in different chemical states depending on the pH. We will learn that the chemical state of these functional groups in the context of a protein can have have a profound effect on the shape of protein or its ability to carry out chemical reactions. As we move through the course we will see numerous examples of this type of chemistry in different contexts.
pH is formally defined as:
In the equation above, the square brackets surrounding [H+] indicate concentration. If necessary, try a math review at wiki logarithm or kahn logarithm. Also see: concentration dictionary or wiki concentration.
Hydrogen ions are spontaneously generated in pure water by the dissociation (ionization) of a small percentage of water molecules into equal numbers of hydrogen (H+) ions and hydroxide (OH-) ions. While the hydroxide ions are kept in solution by their hydrogen bonding with other water molecules, the hydrogen ions, consisting of naked protons, are immediately attracted to un-ionized water molecules, forming hydronium ions (H30+).
Still, by convention, scientists refer to hydrogen ions and their concentration as if they were free in this state in liquid water. This is another example of a shortcut that we often take - it's easier to write H+ rather than H3O+. We just need to realize that this shortcut is being taken; otherwise confusion will ensue.
Figure 1: Water spontaneously dissociates into a proton and hydroxyl group. The proton will combine with a water molecule forming a hydronium ion.
Attribution: Marc T. Facciotti
The pH of a solution is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution (or the number of hydronium ions). The number of hydrogen ions is a direct measure of how acidic or how basic a solution is.
The pH scale is logarithmic and ranges from 0 to 14 (Figure 2). We define pH=7.0 as neutral. Anything with a pH below 7.0 is termed acidic and any reported pH above 7.0 is termed alkaline or basic. Extremes in pH in either direction from 7.0 are usually considered inhospitable to life, although examples exist to the contrary. pH levels in the human body usually range between 6.8 and 7.4, except in the stomach where the pH is more acidic, typically between 1 and 2.
Figure 2: The pH scale ranging from acidic to basic with various biological compounds or substances that exist at that particular pH. Attribution: Marc T. Facciotti
Watch this video for an alternative explanation of pH and its logarithmic scale.
The concentration of hydrogen ions dissociating from pure water is 1 × 10-7 moles H+ ions per liter of water.
1 mole (mol) of a substance (which can be atoms, molecules, ions, etc), is defined as being equal to 6.02 x 1023 particles of the substance. Therefore, 1 mole of water is equal to 6.02 x 1023 water molecules. The pH is calculated as the negative of the base 10 logarithm of this unit of concentration. The log10 of 1 × 10-7 is -7.0, and the negative of this number yields a pH of 7.0, which is also known as neutral pH.
Non-neutral pH readings result from dissolving acids or bases in water. High concentrations of hydrogen ions yields a low pH number, whereas low levels of hydrogen ions result in a high pH.
This inverse relationship between pH and the concentration of protons confuses many students - take the time to convince yourself that you "get it."
An acid is a substance that increases the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution, usually by having one of its hydrogen atoms dissociate. For example, we have learned that the carboxyl functional group is an acid. The hydrogen atom can dissociate from the oxygen atom resulting in a free proton and a negatively charged functional group. A base provides either hydroxide ions (OH–) or other negatively charged ions that combine with hydrogen ions, effectively reducing the H+ concentration in the solution and thereby raising the pH. In cases where the base releases hydroxide ions, these ions bind to free hydrogen ions, generating new water molecules. For example, we have learned that the amine functional group is a base. The nitrogen atom will accept hydrogen ions in solution, thereby reducing the number of hydrogen ions which raises the pH of the solution.
Figure 3: The carboxylic acid group acts as an acid by releasing a proton into solution. This increases the number of protons in solution and thus decreases the pH. The amino group acts as a base by accepting hydrogen ions from solution, decreasing the number of hydrogen ions in solutions, thus increasing the pH.
Attribution: Erin Easlon
Here are some additional links on pH and pKa to help learn the material. Note that there is an additional module devoted to pKa.
Determining and calculating pH
pH and pKa
What is pH
strong acids and bases
weak acids
weak acid-base equilibria
Acid-base simulation.
Intro to acids, bases, pH.
pKa is defined as the negative log10 of the dissociation constant of an acid, its Ka. Therefore, the pKa is a quantitative measure of how easily or how readily the acid gives up its proton [H+] in solution and thus a measure of the "strength" of the acid. Strong acids have a small pKa, weak acids have a larger pKa.
The most common acid we will talk about in BIS2A is the carboxylic acid functional group. These acids are typically weak acids, meaning that they only partially dissociate (into H+ cations and RCOO- anions) in neutral solution. HCL (hydrogen chloride) is a common strong acid, meaning that it will fully dissociate into H+ and Cl-.
Note that the key difference in the figure below between a strong acid or base and a weak acid or base is the single arrow (strong) versus a double arrow (weak). In the case of the single arrow you can interpret that by imagining that nearly all reactants have been converted into products. Moreover, it is difficult for the reaction to reverse backwards to a state where the protons are again associated with the molecule there were associated with before. In the case of a weak acid or base, the double-sided arrow can be interpreted by picturing a reaction in which:
both forms of the conjugate acid or base (that is what we call the molecule that "holds" the proton - i.e. CH3OOH and CH3OO-, respectively in the figure) are present at the same time and
the ratio of those two quantities can change easily by moving the reaction in either direction.
Figure 1. An example of strong acids and strong bases in their protonation and deprotonation states. The value of their pKa is shown on the left. Attribution: Marc T. Facciotti
Electronegativity plays a role in the strength of an acid. If we consider the hydroxyl group as an example, the greater electronegativity of the atom or atoms (indicated R) attached to the hydroxyl group in the acid R-O-H results in a weaker H-O bond, which is thus more readily ionized. This means that the pull on the electrons away from the hydrogen atom gets greater when the oxygen atom attached to the hydrogen atom is also attached to another electronegative atom. An example of this is HOCL. The electronegative Cl polarizes the H-O bond, weakening it and facilitating the ionization of the hydrogen. If we compare this to a weak acid where the oxygen is bound to a carbon atom (as in carboxylic acids) the oxygen is bound to the hydrogen and carbon atom. In this case, the oxygen is not bound to another electronegative atom. Thus the H-O bond is not further destabilized and the acid is considered a weak acid (it does not give up the proton as easily as a strong acid).
Figure 2. The strength of the acid can be determined by the electronegativity of the atom the oxygen is bound to. For example, the weak acid Acetic Acid, the oxygen is bound to carbon, an atom with low electronegativity. In the strong acid, Hypochlorous acid, the oxygen atom is bound to an even more electronegative Chloride atom.
In Bis2A you are going to be asked to relate pH and pKa to each other when discussing the protonation state of an acid or base, for example, in amino acids. How can we use the information given in this module to answer the question: Will the functional groups on the amino acid Glutamate be protonated or deprotonated at a pH of 2, at a pH of 8, at a pH of 11?
In order to start answering this question we need to create a relationship between pH and pKa. The relationship between pKa and pH is mathematically represented by Henderson-Hasselbach equation shown below, where [A-] represents the deprotonated form of the acid and [HA] represents the protonated form of the acid.
Figure 3. The Henderson-Hasselbach equation
A solution to this equation is obtained by setting pH = pKa. In this case, log([A-] / [HA]) = 0, and [A-] / [HA] = 1. This means that when the pH is equal to the pKa there are equal amounts of protonated and deprotonated forms of the acid. For example, if the pKa of the acid is 4.75, at a pH of 4.75 that acid will exist as 50% protonated and 50% deprotonated. This also means that as the pH rises, more of the acid will be converted into the deprotonated state and at some point the pH will be so high that the majority of the acid will exist in the deprotonated state.
Figure 4. This graph depicts the protonation state of acetic acid as the pH changes. At a pH below the pKa, the acid is protonated. At a pH above the pKa the acid is deprotonated. If the pH equals the pKa, the acid is 50% protonated and 50% deprotonated. Attribution: Ivy Jose
In BIS2A, we will be looking at the protonation state and deprotonation state of amino acids. Amino acids contain multiple functional groups that can be acids or bases. Therefore their protonation/deprotonation status can be more complicated. Below is the relationship between the pH and pKa of the amino acid Glutamic Acid. In this graph we can ask the question we posed earlier: Will the functional groups on the amino acid Glutamate be protonated or deprotonated at a pH of 2, at a pH of 8, at a pH of 11?
Figure 5. This graph depicts the protonation state of glutamate as the pH changes. At a pH below the pKa for each functional group on the amino acid, the functional group is protonated. At a pH above the pKa for the functional group it is deprotonated. If the pH equals the pKa, the functional group is 50% protonated and 50% deprotonated.
Attribution: Ivy Jose
What is the overall charge of free Glutamate at a pH of 5?
What is the overall charge of free Glutamate at a pH of 10?
Chemical reactions occur when two or more atoms bond together to form molecules or when bonded atoms are broken apart. The substances that "go in" to a chemical reaction are called the reactants and the substances found that "come out" of the reaction are known as the products. In chemical reactions, the atoms and elements present in the reactant(s) must all also be present in the product(s). Similarly, there can be nothing present in the products that was not present in the reactants. This is because chemical reactions are governed by the law of conservation of mass, which states that matter cannot be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. This means that when you examine a chemical reaction, you must try to account for everything that goes in AND make sure that you can find it all in the stuff that comes out!
Just as you can express mathematical calculations in equations such as 2 + 7 = 9, you can use chemical equations to show how reactants become products. By convention, chemical equations are typically read or written from left to right. Reactants on the left are separated from products on the right by a single- or double-headed arrow indicating the direction in which the chemical reaction proceeds. For example, the chemical reaction in which one atom of nitrogen and three atoms of hydrogen produce ammonia would be written as:
Correspondingly, the breakdown of ammonia into its components would be written as:
Note that in either direction, you find 1 N and 3 Hs on both sides of the equation.
Many macromolecules are made from smaller subunits, or building blocks, called monomers. Monomers covalently link to form larger molecules known as polymers. Often, the synthesis of polymers from monomers will also produce water molecules as products of the reaction. This type of reaction is known as dehydration synthesis or condensation reaction.
Figure 1. In the dehydration synthesis reaction depicted above, two molecules of glucose are linked together to form the disaccharide maltose. In the process, a water molecule is formed.
In a dehydration synthesis reaction (Figure 1), the hydrogen of one monomer combines with the hydroxyl group of another monomer, releasing a molecule of water. At the same time, the monomers share electrons and form covalent bonds. As additional monomers join, this chain of repeating monomers forms a polymer. Different types of monomers can combine in many configurations, giving rise to a diverse group of macromolecules. Even one kind of monomer can combine in a variety of ways to form several different polymers; for example, glucose monomers are the constituents of starch, glycogen, and cellulose.
In the carbohydrate monomer example above, the polymer is formed by a dehydration reaction; this type of reaction is also used to add amino acids to a growing peptide chain and nucleotides to the growing DNA or RNA polymer. Visit the modules on Amino Acids, Lipids, and Nucleic Acids to see if you can identify the water molecules that are removed when a monomer is added to the growing polymer.
Figure 2. This depicts, using words, (decorated with functional groups colored in red) a generic dehydration synthesis/condensation reaction.
Polymers are broken down into monomers in a reaction known as hydrolysis. A hydrolysis reaction includes a water molecule as a reactant (Figure 3). During these reactions, a polymer can be broken into two components: one product carries a hydrogen ion (H+) from the water, while the second product carries the water's remaining hydroxide (OH–).
Figure 3. In the hydrolysis reaction shown here, the disaccharide maltose is broken down to form two glucose monomers with the addition of a water molecule. Note that this reaction is the reverse of the synthesis reaction shown in Figure 1 above.
Figure 4. This depicts using words (decorated with functional groups colored in red) a generic hydrolysis reaction.
Dehydration synthesis and hydrolysis reactions are catalyzed, or “sped up,” by specific enzymes. Note that both dehydration synthesis and hydrolysis reactions involve the making and breaking of bonds between the reactants—a reorganization of the bonds between the atoms in the reactants. In biological systems (our bodies included), food in the form of molecular polymers is hydrolyzed into smaller molecules by water via enzyme-catalyzed reactions in the digestive system. This allows for the smaller nutrients to be absorbed and reused for a variety of purposes. In the cell, monomers derived from food may then be reassembled into larger polymers that serve new functions.
Visit this site to see visual representations of dehydration synthesis and hydrolysis.
Example of Hydrolysis with Enzyme Action is shown in this 3 minute video entitled: Hydrolysis of Sucrose by Sucrase.
We will also encounter reactions termed exchange reactions. In these types of reactions, "parts" of molecules are transferred between one another—bonds are broken to release a part of a molecule and bonds are formed between the released part and another molecule. These enzyme-catalyzed reactions are usually reasonably complex multistep chemical processes.
Figure 5. An exchange reaction in which both synthesis and hydrolysis can occur, chemical bonds are both formed and broken, is depicted using a word analogy.
Amino acids are the monomers that make up proteins. Each amino acid has the same core structure, which consists of a central carbon atom, also known as the alpha (α) carbon, bonded to an amino group (NH2), a carboxyl group (COOH), and a hydrogen atom. Every amino acid also has another atom or group of atoms bonded to the alpha carbon known alternately as the R group, the variable group or the side-chain.
Amino acids have a central asymmetric carbon to which an amino group, a carboxyl group, a hydrogen atom, and a side chain (R group) are attached.
Attribution: Marc T. Facciotti (own work)
Recall that one of the learning goals for this class is that you (a) be able to recognize, in a molecular diagram, the backbone of an amino acid and its side chain (R-group) and (b) that you be able to draw a generic amino acid. Make sure that you practice both. You should be able to recreate something like the figure above from memory (a good use of your sketchbook is to practice drawing this structure until you can do it with the crutch of a book or the internet).
The name "amino acid" is derived from the fact that all amino acids contain both an amino group and carboxyl-acid-group in their backbone. There are 20 common amino acids present in natural proteins and each of these contain the same backbone. The backbone, when ignoring the hydrogen atoms, consists of the pattern:
N-C-C
When looking at a chain of amino acids it is always helpful to first orient yourself by finding this backbone pattern starting from the N terminus (the amino end of the first amino acid) to the C terminus (the carboxylic acid end of the last amino acid).
Peptide bond formation is a dehydration synthesis reaction. The carboxyl group of the first amino acid is linked to the amino group of the second incoming amino acid. In the process, a molecule of water is released and a peptide bond is formed.
Try finding the backbone in the dipeptide formed from this reaction. The pattern you are looking for is: N-C-C-N-C-C
The sequence and the number of amino acids ultimately determine the protein's shape, size, and function. Each amino acid is attached to another amino acid by a covalent bond, known as a peptide bond, which is formed by a dehydration synthesis (condensation) reaction. The carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group of the incoming amino acid combine, releasing a molecule of water and creating the peptide bond.
The amino acid R group is a term that refers to the variable group on each amino acid. The amino acid backbone is identical on all amino acids, the R groups are different on all amino acids. For the structure of each amino acid refer to the figure below.
There are 20 common amino acids found in proteins, each with a different R group (variant group) that determines its chemical nature. R-groups are circled in teal. Charges are assigned assuming pH ~6.0. The full name, three letter abbreviation and single letter abbreviations are all shown.
Let's think about the relevance of having 20 different amino acids. If you were using biology to build proteins from scratch, how might it be useful if you had 10 more different amino acids at your disposal? By the way, this is actually happening in a variety of research labs - why would this be potentially useful?
Each variable group on an amino acid gives that amino acid specific chemical properties (acidic, basic, polar, or nonpolar). You should be familiar with most of the functional groups in the R groups by now. The chemical properties associated with the whole collection of individual functional groups gives each amino acid R group unique chemical potential.
For example, amino acids such as valine, methionine, and alanine are typically nonpolar or hydrophobic in nature, while amino acids such as serine and threonine are said to have polar character and possess hydrophilic side chains.
Note: Practice
Using your knowledge of functional groups, try classifying each amino acid in the figure above as either having the tendency to be polar or nonpolar. Try to find other classification schemes and think make lists for yourself of the amino acids you would put into each group. You can also search the internet for amino acid classification schemes - you will notice that there are different ways of grouping these chemicals based on chemical properties. You may even find that there are contradictory schemes. Try to think about why this might be and apply your chemical logic to figuring out why certain classification schemes were adopted and why specific amino acids were placed in certain groups.
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Proteins are class of biomolecules that perform a wide array of functions in biological systems. Some proteins serve as catalysts for specific biochemical reactions. Other proteins act as signaling molecules that allow cells to "talk" with one another. Proteins, like the keratin in fingernails, can also act in a structural capacity. While the variety of possible functions for proteins is remarkably diverse, all of these functions are encoded by a linear assembly of amino acids, each connected to their neighbor via a peptide bond. The unique composition (types of amino acids and the number of each) and the order in which they are linked together determine the final three dimensional form that the protein will adopt and therefore, also the protein's biological "function". Many proteins can, in a cellular environment, spontaneously and often rapidly take on their final form in a process called protein folding. To watch a short (four minutes) introduction video on protein structure click here.
Protein structures can be described by four different levels of structural organization called primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structures. These are briefly introduced in the sections that follow.
The unique sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain is its primary structure (Figure 1). The amino acids in this chain are linked to one another other via a series of peptide bonds. The chain of amino acids is often referred to as a polypeptide (multiple peptides).
Figure 1. The primary structure of a protein is depicted here as "beads on a string" with the N terminus and C terminus labeled. The order in which you would read this peptide chain would begin with the N terminus as Glycine, Isoleucine, etc., and end with Methionine.
Source: Erin Easlon (own work)
Due to the common backbone structure of amino acids, the resulting backbone of the protein has a repeating -N-Cα-C-N-Cα-C- pattern that can be readily identified in atomic resolution models of protein structures (Figure 2). Be aware that one of the learning goals for this class is for you to be able to examine a model like the one below and to identify the backbone from the side chain atoms (e.g. create the purple trace and blue shading if there aren't any). This can be done by finding the -N-Cα-C-N-Cα-C- pattern. Moreover, another learning goal for this class is that you are able to create drawings that model the structure of a typical protein backbone and its side chains (aka. variable group, R group). This task can be greatly simplified if you remember to start your model by first creating the -N-Cα-C-N-Cα-C- pattern and then filling in the variable groups.
Figure 2. A model of a short 3 amino acid long peptide. The backbone atoms are colored in red. The variable R groups are circled in light blue. A purple line traces the backbone from the N-terminus (start) to the C-terminus (end) of the protein. One can identify (in green) the repeated -N-Cα-C-N-Cα-C- ordered pattern by following the purple line from start to end and listing off the backbone atoms in the order that they are encountered.
Due to the specific chemistry of the peptide bond the backbone between adjacent alpha-carbon atoms forms a highly planar structure (Figure 3). This means that all of the atoms linked by the pink quadrilateral lie on the same plane. The polypeptide is therefore structurally constrained since very little rotation can happen around the peptide bond itself. Rather, rotations occur around the two bonds extending away from the alpha carbons. These structural constraints lead to two commonly observed patterns of structure that are associated with the organization of the backbone itself.
Figure 3. The peptide bond between two amino acids is depicted. The shaded quadrilateral represents planar nature of this bond.
We call these patterns of backbone structure the secondary structure of the protein. The most common secondary structure patterns occurring via rotations of the bonds around each alpha-carbon, are the α-helix, β-sheet and loop structures. As the name suggests, the α-helix is characterized by a helical structure made by twisting the backbone. The β-sheet is actually the association between two or more structures called β-strands. If the orientation (N-terminus to C-terminus direction) of two associating β-strands are oriented in the same/parallel direction, the resulting β-sheet is called a parallel β-sheet. Meanwhile, if two associating β-strands are oriented in opposite/anti-parallel directions, the resulting β-sheet is called an anti-parallel β-sheet. The α-helix and β-sheet are both stabilized by hydrogen bonds that form between backbones atoms of amino acids in close proximity to one another. More specifically, the oxygen atom in the carbonyl group from one amino acid can form a hydrogen bond with a hydrogen atom bound to the nitrogen in the amino group of another amino acid. Loop structures by contrast refer to all secondary structure (e.g. backbone structure) that can not be identified as either α-helix or β-sheet.
Figure 4. The α-helix and β-sheet are secondary structures of proteins that are stabilized by hydrogen bonding between carbonyl and amino groups in the peptide backbone. Note how the hydrogen bonds in an alpha-helix occur between amino acids that are relatively close to one another (about 4 amino acids apart in the amino acid chain) while the interactions that occur in β-sheets may occur between amino acids that are much farther apart in the chain.
The backbone and secondary structure elements will further fold into a unique and relatively stable three-dimensional structure called the tertiary structure of the protein. The tertiary structure is what we typically associate with the "functional" form of a protein. In Figure 6 two examples of tertiary structure are shown. In both structures, the protein is abstracted into a "cartoon" that depicts the polypeptide chain as a single continuous line or ribbon tracing the path between alpha carbons of amino acids linked to one another by peptide bonds - the ribbon traces the backbone of the protein (Figure 5).
Figure 5. How protein "cartoon" figures are drawn. Protein cartoons (like those shown in Figure 6) are perhaps the most common representation of three-dimensional protein structure. These cartoon models help us visualize the major features of a protein structure by tracing the path from one alpha-carbon to the next along the polypeptide backbone. This is depicted as a thick purple line. In a longer polypeptide this line would continue and join to the next alpha carbon until the end of the polypeptide was reached. While these models allow us to visualize the general structure of a protein, they leave out a lot of molecular-level detail.
The ribbon created by joining alpha-carbons can be drawn as a simple continuous line or it can be enhanced by uniquely representing secondary structural elements. For instance, when an α-helix is identified, the helix is usually highlighted by accentuating/broadening the ribbon to make the helical structure stand out. When a β-strand is present, the ribbon is usually broadened and an arrow is typically added to the C-terminal end of each β-strand - the arrow helps to identify the orientation of the polypeptide and whether β-sheets are parallel or anti-parallel. The thin ribbon connecting α-helix and β-strand elements is used to represent the loops. Loops in proteins can be highly structured and play an important role in the protein's function. They should not be treated lightly or dismissed as unimportant because their name lacks a Greek letter.
Figure 6. Examples of tertiary structures of proteins. Secondary structure elements are colored as follows: β-sheet - yellow, α-helix - red; loop - green. In panel A the structure of protein gamma crystallin (PDBID 1a45) - a protein found in the vertebrate eye - is depicted. This protein is composed largely of β-sheet and loops. In panel B the structure of the protein triose phosphate isomerase (PDBID 1tim) - a protein found in the glycolytic pathway - is composed of β-sheet, α-helix, and loops joining the secondary structural elements.
The tertiary structure is the product of many different types of chemical interactions among amino acid R groups, backbone atoms, ions in solution and water. These bonds include ionic, covalent, and hydrogen bonds and Van der Waals interactions. For example, ionic bonds may form between various ionizable side chains. It may, for instance, be energetically favorable for a negatively charged R group (e.g. an Aspartate) to interact with a positively charged R group (e.g. an Arginine). The resulting ionic interaction may then become part of the network of interactions that helps to stabilize the three dimensional fold of the protein. By contrast, R groups with like charges will likely be repelled by each other and be therefore unlikely to form a stable association thereby disfavoring a structure that would include that association. Likewise, hydrogen bonds may form between various R groups or between R groups and backbone atoms. These hydrogen bonds may also contribute to stabilizing the tertiary structure of the protein. In some cases covalent bonds may also form between amino acids. The most commonly observed covalent linkage between amino acids involves two cysteines and is termed a disulfide bond or disulfide linkage.
Finally, the association of the protein's functional groups with water also helps to drive chemical associations that help to stabilize the final protein structure. The interactions with water can, of course, include the formation of hydrogen bonds between polar functional groups on the protein and water molecules. Perhaps more importantly, however, is the drive for the protein to avoid placing too many hydrophobic functional groups in contact with water. The result of this desire to avoid interactions between water and hydrophobic functional groups means that the less polar side chains will often associate with one another away from water resulting in some energetically favorable Van der Waals interactions and the avoidance of energetic penalties associated with exposing the non-polar side chains to water. Indeed, the energetic penalty is so high for "exposing" the non-polar side chains to water that burying these groups away from water is thought to be one of the primary energetic drivers of protein folding and stabilizing forces holding the protein together in its tertiary structure.
Figure 6. The tertiary structure of proteins is determined by a variety of chemical interactions. These include hydrophobic interactions, ionic bonding, hydrogen bonding, and disulfide linkages. This image shows a flattened representation of a protein folded in tertiary structure. Without flattening, this protein would be a globular 3-D shape.
In nature, the functional forms of some proteins are formed by the close association of several polypeptides. In such cases the individual polypeptides are also known as subunits. When the functional form of a protein requires the assembly of two or more subunits we call this level of structural organization the protein's quaternary structure. Yet again, combinations of ionic, hydrogen, and covalent bonds together with Van der Waals associations that occur through the "burial" of hydrophobic group at the interfaces between subunits help to stabilize the quaternary structures of proteins.
Figure 7. The four levels of protein structure can be observed in these illustrations.
Source: Modification of work by National Human Genome Research Institute
As was previously described, each protein has its own unique structure that is held together by various types of chemical interactions. If the protein is subject to changes in temperature, pH, or exposure to chemicals, that change the nature of or interfere with the associations between functional groups, the protein's secondary, tertiary and/or quaternary structures may change, even though the primary structure remains the same. This process is known as denaturation. While in the test tube denaturation is often reversible, in the cell the process can often be, for practical purposes, irreversible, leading to loss of function and the eventual recycling of the protein's amino acids. Resistance to environmental stresses that can lead to denaturation vary greatly amongst the proteins found in nature. For instance, some proteins are remarkably resistant to high temperatures; for instance, bacteria that survive in hot springs have proteins that function at temperatures close to the boiling point of water. Some proteins are able to withstand the very acidic, low pH, environment of the stomach. Meanwhile some proteins are very sensitive to organic solvents while others can be found that are remarkably tolerant of these chemicals (the latter are prized for use in various industrial processes).
Finally, while many proteins can form their three dimensional structures completely on their own, in many cases proteins often receive assistance in the folding process from protein helpers known as chaperones (or chaperonins) that associate with their protein targets during the folding process. The chaperones are thought to act by minimizing the aggregation of polypeptides into non-functional forms - a process that can occur through the formation of non-ideal chemical associations.
Protein structure.
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Patient Education & Resources
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Articles by Dr. Verigin
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Issue #27, November 2009
Tradition & Gratitude – Clenching & Grinding – Hysterectomy & Informed Consent
JoAnne’s Motivational Minute: Tradition & Gratitude
By JoAnne Boettcher-Verigin
It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is almost here, but next week, it is! Some of us will give our time to help those less fortunate than ourselves. Some of us will take part in religious observances. Many of us will gather with family and friends for the traditional feast, sometimes traveling hundreds of miles to be together.
PBoGS/Flickr
The one common thread is the role of human connection through the holidays – from Thanksgiving through the winter celebrations. Whether you observe Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid Ul-Adha, Kwanzaa, Solstice or other occasion, most likely there is a big emphasis on being with and giving to others.
Our home was always a hive of activity during the holidays when I was growing up – all the planning, baking and wrapping! I especially remember the first Christmas we celebrated after the end of World War II, with aunts and uncles finally home again. Everyone gathered at our home and helped decorate the tree. It seemed there was a story behind every ornament: the beautiful glass ball that my Great Aunt Maggie bought for me when I was five; decorations my mother had made from cast-off jewelry; paper chains I made in school; endless strands of silver icicles that had to be placed one by one, just so.
And there were other reminiscences. Mother and her siblings never failed to talk about their childhoods in the Midwest. They talked about trips to their grandmother’s house, not by car but by sleigh, kept warm by hot rocks their mother had heated and tucked in under their blankets.
As I grew up and started my own family, and as my own parents grew older, it became my responsibility to carry on these traditions and add to them. Now as I look at my grown children and their children, I see them add their own traditions while still maintaining the old.
It seems to me that those memories and traditions add stability to the family in unstable times – both the families we’re born into and the families we choose for ourselves. They serve to remind us what really is important in life. I am thankful this year for all of those memories – and for the opportunity to look ahead and make new ones.
As you engage in your own traditions, I hope you will stop and take stock and be grateful, too. Although times are hard for many of us now, when we recognize and honor our connections to friends and family, and the love and comfort that they give us, the going can seem just a little bit easier.
Have a wonderful holiday season!
A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues. – Cicero
Dr. Verigin’s Comment: Why You Might Grind Your Teeth – and What to Do about It
By Gary M. Verigin, DDS, CTN
The first time I ever heard about clenching and grinding teeth was not when I was in dental school. It was when I was an undergrad taking abnormal psych at UC Berkeley. One of our course field trips was to Angews Asylum in Santa Clara – a state-run mental hospital. I vividly remember walking down a long corridor, listening to a psychiatrist brief us on what we would be seeing that day. Then he stopped and asked if we could hear any noises coming from behind the closed doors to our left. In fact, we could – a sound like the low chatter of geese or ducks, which intensified the closer we got. But once the doors were opened, we could see that, of course, there were no birds at all: just dozens of patients lying on cots and mattresses, making this noise. We looked to the psychiatrist for explanation.
“They’re grinding their teeth,” he said.
The next time I heard about grinding was during my third year occlusion class in dental school. At that time, it was thought that grinding most often occurred when a person’s teeth didn’t fit together, or occlude, properly: the habit was an attempt to wear down the teeth so they would fit better. Dentists were often blamed for causing this unconscious behavior by not placing a new filling or other restoration properly. So we were taught to be extra diligent in testing occlusion and adjusting restorations as needed. Our teachers had us take impressions of the teeth, cast study models and mount them on a semi-adjustable instrument called an articulator. Then we would place colored carbon paper or wax over the biting surfaces to help us see which teeth were not evenly matched when the articulator was opened and closed. We were to keep detailed records of the steps we took to adjust the teeth on the model so we could replicate them later on in the patient’s mouth.
And so we were taught that this would bring an end to the patient’s grinding and clenching behaviors. But we didn’t work on these patients long enough to know if we indeed helped them or not. The story on the clinic floor was that they would be transferred to other students who needed credits in that phase of dentistry to meet their degree requirements.
Why You Might Grind
We’ve already looked at some of the main reasons why people clench, grind or brux in a previous issue of Biosis. But a quick web search will reveal plenty of other theories about causes – some sensible, some on the edge of the improbable.
For instance, information on the website of the Nutritional Healing Center of Ann Arbor blames tooth grinding on parasites:
One doctor we know grew up in a family of butchers. After years of slaughtering cattle, he could see which cows were sick just by looking at them. They would slice the throats of cows and then cut the jaw muscles. Upon slicing the jaw muscles of the sick cows, parasite eggs would pour out onto the floor. This is why people grind their teeth at night – because parasites inhabit the jaw muscles. Jaw grinding happens primarily at night when parasites are more active.
The chiropractors who run the Center are by no means alone in this belief. According to an eclectic, non-medical site called Innvista,
Bruxism is the abnormal grinding, clenching, and gnashing of the teeth, often observed in cases of parasitic infection. This is more noticeable in children, especially at night, and may be a nervous response to an internal foreign irritant. In “conventional” medical material, they still maintain that the cause of this remains unknown and controversial.
Other camps suggest psychological reasons. These days, it’s common to point to the daily assault of bad news about the economy, job losses and the rippling effects of those problems, or any other sources of psychological stress. Others point to popular Freudian explanations such as inhibited hostility, frustrated sexuality and displaced aggression. Of course, there is plenty of evidence to support psychological theories, at least in some cases.
Other suggested causes for which there is evidence:
SSRI (antidepressant) and other drug use
Smoking and alcohol consumption
Obsessive-compulsive disorders
Hypersensitivity of dopamine receptors in the brain
Overuse of GABA-inducing analogues used in treating anxiety and insomnia
And of course there’s still the culprit of misaligned teeth.
The truth of the matter is that there appears to be no single cause of clenching, grinding and bruxing. The important thing, if you do grind your teeth, is to get help for it, as the habit is one that damages teeth over the long-term. Moreover, it can cause significant pain in the jaw and throughout the head, face, neck and back.
How Do You Know If You’re Grinding?
When people are asked if they clench or grind their teeth, most say that they don’t. But when we examine their teeth, gums and muscles, we find that 80 to 90% of our clients exhibit at least one symptom of clenching. Some dental researchers put the clenching rate even higher. For instance, in 1988 Scripps Institute lecture, Gene McCoy, DDS, of San Francisco cited a survey he took of 100 of his own patients – 95 of whom exhibited signs of what he called Dental Compression Syndrome (DCS). While this phrase still isn’t popular in discussions of clenching and grinding, I find that it really states the main issue in a precise and meaningful way.
Now, when people say that they don’t grind their teeth when the evidence strongly suggests that they do, it’s not because they’re lying. Usually, it’s because they engage in the behavior while sleeping. So if they’re married or have a partner, they may ask them if they’ve ever heard grinding or clenching sounds, or if they’ve noticed cheek muscles tensing up. Other tell-tale signs of grinding include a stiff jaw, sore or aching facial muslces and even pain in the teeth themselves. Some may wake up with headaches.
If any of these signs and symptoms turn up, it’s to your benefit to consult a dentist for help in diagnosing the problem and working up a plan to deal with it and minimize ongoing damage to the teeth, gums and muscles.
Examining the Grinder’s Mouth: What Does the Dentist Look For?
Obviously, the dentist first examines the teeth for signs of damage or occlusal problems that may be contributing to the grinding habit. And with this, there are eight major things a dentist looks for:
How do the unworn teeth come together? Ideally, upper and lower teeth should only touch briefly upon swallowing. Otherwise, they should always be slightly apart.
The biting surfaces of the molars should be rounded and not exhibit worn down, flattened or cupped out cusps. If there are polished, cupped out areas or dimples on the surfaces, they may be due to positive ions being emitted from focal points of high stress.
The edges of the front teeth should appear symmetrical, and the cuspids (“eye teeth”) should be pointed. Their biting surfaces should not be worn, chipped or frayed.
Do the gum tissues fully cover the roots of the teeth, or are some root surfaces exposed? Receded gums often indicate that the teeth are receiving some increased and undue pressure.
Are defects visible on the necks of the teeth, where the root meets the crown? Grinding can cause a particular wedge-shaped defect known as adivot or notching of the root surface in this area. McCoy calls this “hard tissue fatigue.” The pathological loss of this hard tissue is known asabfraction (from the Latin, ab = away, and fractio = the act of breaking; so, literally, “breaking away”).
Normally, tooth surfaces should be smooth. Stressed teeth will often have a washboard appearance, showing wavy, parallel lines, especially where root and crown meet.
If mercury amalgam fillings are present and under severe strain, they will show wavy lines on top, as the pressure compels molecules in the amalgam to rearrange themselves in this fashion. You can see the same effect by bending a paper clip back and forth a few times, then looking at the stress configuration you’ve produced.
In an x-ray image of the teeth, how much root is showing in the bone? Usually, 60 to 65% of a tooth is situated within bone. Under chronic (ongoing) compression, the alveolar (jaw) bone diminishes horizontally so that only about 40% of the tooth is covered, even if no periodontal pockets are present. The more compression, the more bone loss.
The dentist investigates a few other areas, as well:
How do the face muscles appear – specifically the masseters and buccinators (chewing muscles)? Does the face appear symmetrical? Do the muscles appear to twitch even when at rest? Do they exhibit any hypertrophy; that is, do they look enlarged?
How do the muscles of mastication (chewing) react upon gentle probing? If there is discomfort in any of them, it’s a sign of overuse, usually associated with habits such as clenching and grinding.
Are there any extra bone growths on the inside of the jaw bones? If so, this growth may be due to the Piezoelectric effect. When the collagen in the teeth and bone is compressed – as it is by habitual clenching and grinding – both negative and positive electrical currents are produced. The negative ions are said to stimulate bone growth, while the positive currents create an occasional taste of metal in the mouth if metal restorations are present.
How the Dentist Can Help
The most common treatment for chronic clenching, grinding and bruxing is the use of a device called a splint or night guard. It’s usually made from plastic or acrylic, which may be hard, soft or semi-hard, and fits over the upper teeth as a barrier and cushion between the arches – though somtimes night guards are made for both arches.
While effective, however, this is a Band-Aid sort of treatment. Ideally, the causes of the grinding should be ferreted out and dealt with directly to eliminate the behavior that’s creating the problems. Specific types of treatment depend, of course, upon those causes.
Once the root cause of the behavior has been addressed, restorations can then be provided to the damaged teeth so as to regain their proper size, shape and position. The mandibular condyles (round bumps on a bone where it joins with another bone) can be gently and properly repositioned within the TM Joint-fossa complex so that all teeth correctly contact each other with equal pressure.
9 Thing You Can Do to Stop or Reduce the Force of Grinding
If stress is causing you to clench and grind, do what you can to remove or deal with the stress more effectively. Consultation with a therapist, pastor or other appropriate advisor can be helpful for some. Massage therapy or other bodywork can likewise be helpful, as can yoga, t’ai chi and other regular exercise – even just walking for a half hour each day. And a good, nutritious, whole foods-based diet can do wonders.
Train yourself to keep “lips together, teeth apart.” One of our patients did this by placing sticky notes all around her, wherever she was, as reminders to let her jaw muscles relax.
Reduce consumption of caffeine, including that found in chocolate and soft drinks, as well as coffee. While you needn’t cut out caffeine all together, many report less of an urge to clench when their caffeine use goes down.
Avoid chewing gum and biting on pencils or your fingernails, as these habits reinforce the habit of grinding.
Increase your mineral intake to soothe overworked muscles.
Try using a biofeedback device of some kind.
Cranial osteopathy treatments can help realign bones in a way as to reduce the tendency to clench and grind.
Healthy, attractive mouths are seen in all walks of life, rich, poor, highly educated or not. These mouths are seen in people who think well of themselves and have come to appreciate the deep physical and psychological roles their mouths play in their life. They know that teeth can make or break careers or interpersonal relationships.
Psychiatrists have found that improvement of unhealthy mouths or unattractive mouths produces a profound emotional response in some people. On the other hand, they are often baffled by the occasional person who becomes emotionally disturbed as a result of the loss of all their teeth. The emotional castration is not easily treated by the psychiatrist and cannot be undone by the dentist.
A sensible approach seems to be one of learning the problems and potentials of one’s mouth. Intelligent action will follow. – Robert Barkley, Preventive Dentistry
Unused Dental Benefits? Three Reasons to Use Them Before Year’s End
If you’re paying your premium, you should get what you pay for. If you don’t have dental work that needs to be done, you still should have regular cleanings and exams to prevent the need for extensive treatment later. Two visits a year is ideal, though if you have gum disease, more frequent cleanings are recommended.
Your benefits don’t roll over. As the saying goes, “Use ’em or lose ’em.”
Your deductible doesn’t roll over either. If you don’t meet it this year, you have to start over from scratch the following year.
Give us a call at (209) 838-3522 to arrange to use your benefits before 2010 arrives.
The…patient should be made to understand that he or she must take charge of his own life. Don’t take your body to the doctor as if he were a repair shop. – Quentin Regestein
Informed Consent and The H Word: An Interview with Rick Schweikert
We take the concept of informed consent very seriously in our practice. Each client has the right and need to know what kind of treatment Dr. Verigin recommends and why, how it may affect them (benefits and risks) and other options at their disposal, including the option of pursuing no treatment at all. Consent alone is not enough, and this is why Dr. Verigin spends so much time teaching and counseling his clients: to ensure that any consent given is truly informed.
For too often we have seen how much damage can be done in the name of dentistry when consent is largely informed in name only. The most glaring examples, of course, involve mercury amalgam fillings. When pro-amalgam dentists recommend them, they seldom call them what they are. Rather, they call them “silver” fillings or “amalgams,” despite the fact that they’re made of more than 50% elemental mercury. Neither do they tell patients of the risks. If asked, they will typically say that there are none – a blatant lie rooted not in deceit or malice but misinformation or ignorance. In such cases, no person consenting to these fillings can be said to have given informed consent. And those times when risks become reality and these toxic fillings poison the body, contributing to systemic, chronic illness and dysfunction, practices like ours become a source for education and treatment, to help undo the damage so people can detoxify and heal.
Informed consent is a legal condition whereby a person can be said to have given consent based upon a clear appreciation and understanding of the facts, implications and future consequences of an action. In order to give informed consent, the individual concerned must have adequate reasoning faculties and be in possession of all relevant facts at the time consent is given.
In cases where an individual is provided insufficient information to form a reasoned decision, serious ethical issues arise.
A recent book we recommend brings such “serious ethical issues” to the fore.
The H Word by Hysterectomy Educational Resources and Services Foundation (HERS) founder Nora W. Coffey and Pittsburgh writer Rick Schweikert chronicles a year spent in bringing attention to the physical, mental and spiritual damage hysterectomy causes – much of which, contend the authors, could be prevented if consent were truly informed. For the truth is, hysterectomy is almost never medically necessary and almost always detracts from a woman’s health – facts that many gynecologists and other physicians don’t know or disregard, just as in the case of conventional dentists with respect to mercury.
In alternating chapters, the authors recount a year of demonstrations coordinated by the independent, nonprofit HERS Foundation in which women and men distributed educational material about hysterectomy outside of hospitals in each state in the nation. Also, in each state, productions of Schweikert’s powerful play un becoming were staged to further educate people about the true nature of this all too common medical procedure. In some locations, the activists were met with outright hostility and even aggression from doctors, nurses and hospital administrators. In all places, women and men alike expressed gratitude for the educational material and knowing that they or their wives were not alone, that their post-hysterectomy illnesses were not “all in their heads” but real and predictable outcomes of the procedure.
Recently, our dental team member Lisa spoke with co-author Schweikert via email to learn more about the reality of hysterectomy, its impact on the lives of women and the men in their lives and the importance of informed consent.
Rick Schweikert, Co-Author of The H Word
Lisa (L): Before reading The H Word, I had this idea that hysterectomy (removal of the womb) and oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries, or female castration) [H/O] were things that were common in the past, rarer – though still performed – now. And judging from the reactions of others with whom I’ve discussed the book, this seems a common misconception. Why do you think people remain so unaware, especially when health and health care issues are so prominent in the media and public discourse? For instance, with respect to women’s health, Abramson critiques HRT (hormone replacement therapy) at length in his Overdosed America but says nothing about hysterectomy. Why do you think the H/O issue is all but ignored?
Rick Schweikert (RS): As we demonstrate in Chapter 5 of our book, hysterectomy and female castration experimentation are nothing new – including, as Mary Daly notes in GYN/ECOLOGY, its fairly widespread use to “elevate the moral sense of the patients, making them tractable, orderly, industrious, and cleanly.” In 1914, the Mayo Clinic began recommending hysterectomy for such benign and otherwise treatable conditions such as the repair ofcystocele, i.e., a prolapsed or sagging bladder. The subsequent 60 years have seen a monopolizing of “women’s health” by gynecology, which is a surgical specialty. The surgery of choice (often referred to as “the goldmine of gynecology”) is hysterectomy, with about 75% of hysterectomized women also being castrated at the time of surgery.
The numbers of “reported” hysterectomies performed in the US spiked in the 1970s. A Congressional hearing on unnecessary surgery in 1976 found that hysterectomies for cancer prevention or sterilization were unjustified. The second Congressional hearing in 1993 concluded that “90 percent are performed more out of folklore and tradition than proven effectiveness.”
The media attention following these hearings led many to believe that the problem of hysterectomy had been dealt with, but nothing was done to stop doctors from performing medically unwarranted hysterectomies. Hysterectomy consent forms were created, but they don’t arm women with the information they need to provide informed consent. They’re merely a way to document the woman signature, to protect doctors and hospitals from lawsuits.
Today. the Food and Drug Administration, the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists are all run by doctors. Gynecologists are all but immune from criminal or civil recourse. There’s no governing body for gynecologists that doesn’t have an inherent conflict of interest.
The rate of “reported” hysterectomies has remained at about one out of every three women by the age of 60. We say “reported” because doctors and hospitals aren’t required to report hysterectomies performed in federally-funded hospitals (e.g., on Indian reservations and military hospitals, where hysterectomy rates are very high), hysterectomies performed abroad (medical tourism) and outpatient hysterectomies. The number of unreported hysterectomies is unknown, but outpatient hysterectomies and the proliferation of robotic hysterectomy are estimated to increase the number of total hysterectomies performed in the US to levels exceeding those that preceded the hysterectomy rate prior to the Congressional hearings.
If you were to begin asking your friends and family if they know anyone who’s had the surgery, you’d find that many women are reluctant to talk about it. But as our book makes very clear, you’ll find no corner of this country that hasn’t been altered by hysterectomy. This is especially true for women of color and in the South, where hysterectomy is often referred to as “the Mississippi appendectomy.”
The media has written extensively on the subject and there have been many books, such as Dr. Robert Mendelsohn’s MALePRACTICE, so it’s difficult to say why so many people are unaware of this ongoing iatrogenic epidemic.
L: What is the main problem with H/O? Is it a matter that the procedures are physically harmful or that they are done too often, or both?
RS: Clearly, it’s both. If the number of medically unwarranted hysterectomies performed was only 25%, it would be alarming. Whatever number you choose – Congress’ estimate that 90% are medically unwarranted or the HERS Foundation’s estimate of 98% – the number is staggering beyond belief.
There is no question in most people’s minds that removal of the male sex organs is damaging, but rather than list the ways that removal of the female sex organs is damaging, it would be best to direct your blog visitors to the HERS Foundation website where they can watch the Female Anatomy Videoor see the Adverse Effects Data to learn the problems women report after hysterectomy.
L: What are some of the main (or most common) ways in which h/o affect women’s health and wellbeing? And as The H Word makes clear, it’s not just women who are affected. How are men affected? Families?
RS: It took an entire book to answer this question fully, but hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus: a reproductive, sexual, hormone-responsive organ that supports the bladder and bowel, and provides structural support throughout the pelvis and even to the spine. For example, the uterosacral ligament (attached to the uterus and the sacrum in the lower back) must be severed to remove the uterus, which is why a vast majority of hysterectomized women report severe back pain following the surgery.
Whether the surgery is performed abdominally, vaginally, laparoscopically or by a gynecologist-controlled robot, a hormone responsive sex organ is removed, and if the cervix is also removed, the vagina is shortened and sewn into a closed pocket. Blood and nerve supply travel through the pelvis along with ligaments that must be severed. That blood and nerve supply radiates out from the pelvis to the extremities, which is why women experience tingling in their hands and feet, a profound loss of sexual feeling, femoral neuropathy (which is sometimes permanently crippling) and a host of other irreversible lifelong problems.
Women who experienced uterine orgasm before the surgery will not experience it after the uterus is removed. Osteoporosis and cancer are more common in hysterecomized women, and hysterectomized women have a three times greater incidence of cardiovascular disease than women with an intact uterus. When the ovaries are removed, women have a seven times greater incidence of cardiovascular disease.
And how are the partners of hysterectomized women and their families affected? When you consider that nearly 80% of hysterectomized women report “personality change,” it’s not surprising that confidentially most women say all of their relationships are altered after the surgery. Diminished or absent sexual desire is reported by about 75%. 68% report difficulty socializing; 49%, being unable to maintain previous level of employment; and 40%, loss of maternal feeling.
The daughter of pioneer movie-maker Louis B. Mayer has written of her mother’s hysterectomy and how it splintered their family’s life. “The operation was routine,” she wrote, “but nothing was ever the same. Overall, it was the worst calamity that ever hit our family.” Her mother’s illnesses after the surgery, she remembered, “were like an ominous cloud over my life for the rest of her years.”
L: What are the typical justifications for H/O? Why are these procedures deemed medically necessary? My sense from reading the book is that most conditions can be treated differently or are self-resolving, needing no treatment at all. What are the 2% of cases in which H/O might be medically necessary? What alternate treatments (including the option of no treatment at all) exist for the remaining 98% of cases?
RS: Most typically, hysterectomy is recommended for heavy bleeding, which is often caused by submucosal fibroids. No woman ever needs a hysterectomy for fibroids. Most women never know they have them, and they tend to shrink and calcify at menopause. If a woman who is fully informed of the problem and the treatment options decides she wants the fibroids removed, myomectomy is still a major surgery, but in the hands of a skilled surgeon it will remove the fibroids, leaving the female organs intact.
The growing age group for hysterectomy is young women who are often told they have endometriosis, but for the women who contact HERS, endometriosis is misdiagnosed nine out of ten times.
All too often, women tell us their doctor recommended hysterectomy simply because they had no plans for having (more) children, and many women don’t recall why the surgery was done at all.
Every woman is unique, and no one problem can be treated with a broad brush. We discuss many alternatives to the most common justifications for hysterectomy in the book. Hysterectomy is never “needed,” because that would assume that the woman has no choice in the matter. But even if a woman has cancer, it’s her choice whether she treats it or not. For example, if the cancer has spread beyond the uterus or ovaries, removing those organs may not prolong the woman’s life.
Many hysterectomies result from obstetricians pulling and pushing babies out of women. “Spontaneous deliveries,” as they’re now referred to, are time-consuming for doctors. Women don’t need doctors to have babies, but once a doctor gets involved, time is money. Have you ever heard of a baby that didn’t come out? It does happen, but only in very rare instances, such as when the placenta happens to block its own exit by attaching to the cervix (placenta previa), making a C-section lifesaving for both the baby and the mother. And when the placenta doesn’t detach from the uterine wall (placenta accreta), sometimes a hysterectomy is the only way of saving the mother’s life. But placenta previa can often be managed conservatively and occurs in only 1 in 200 pregnancies. Placenta accreta occurs in only 1 in 2,500 pregnancies. By any measure, the surgery is rarely lifesaving.
L: A complicating issue you deal with at length in the book involves the matter of informed consent. While women who undergo hysterectomies may well have signed an “informed consent” form, you say that this consent is not always truly informed. As a result, you say the surgery becomes a form of assault, a criminal act. I was captivated by that stark description, and I was wondering if you could elaborate on it some.
RS: Consent to surgery is more than a piece of paper with a woman’s signature. At minimum it requires full disclosure of the diagnosis, prognosis, options in treatment (including no treatment at all), and the consequences of those options. The minimum information every woman requires before being asked to sign a hysterectomy consent form is available for free in the 12 minute video on the HERS website. No woman can be said to have provided consent without it.
But it’s not we who determined that unconsented hysterectomy falls under the rubric of assault. It’s the law. Legally, unwanted touching, whether it’s rape or unconsented surgery, is considered battery.
Each year there are almost five times more women needlessly hysterectomized and castrated in this country than report being raped. Rape is a criminal offense, while the unconsented removal of the female organs isn’t a punishable crime.
L: How can surgeons get away with performing procedures like H/O even when women directly say they do not want it – as in so many of the cases described in your book?
RS: Many women expressly state that they don’t want the surgery, and they even write this into their consent forms prior to exploratory surgery. But once you’re in the hospital, doctors have time and again prevailed in the courts because of what is called the “reasonable physician standard.” Most “reasonable” gynecologists perform hysterectomies for benign conditions. So, although women do not consent to the surgery, the reasonable physician standard has protected doctors who do what other “reasonable” physicians might do in the operating room…regardless of the woman’s wishes.
L: Why don’t physicians do more to educate their patients, to ensure fully informed consent?
RS: This is the million dollar question that each gynecologist needs to be asked.
Why didn’t doctors inform the public that lobotomy did more harm than good? Why are so many unnecessary c-sections performed? Why isn’t the public informed of the dangers of in vitro fertilization?
There are many answers to why doctors perform unwarranted hysterectomies. Some say it’s sexism; some say it’s money; some say it’s power. Maybe in some instances it’s all of those. But mostly doctors perform the surgery because they can get away with it.
The male organs are visible, and no man will believe you if you tell him that sex will be the same after removing his organs, or that he won’t be damaged by their removal. But the uterus and ovaries aren’t visible, and their functions are a mystery to most people.
Most women don’t understand that the uterine contractions they experience during labor are produced by the same muscles that create the pleasurable contractions during uterine orgasm. There’s no way to identify where the sensation of orgasm emanates from – until the uterus is removed.
If you don’t know that one of the ligaments that must be severed to remove the uterus also provides support to the lower back, then how are you to know you’re likely to have back problems after the uterus is removed?
It’s about power first, which includes the money that doctors are handsomely rewarded for removing uteri. But another question comes to mind: why is it that we trust doctors more than we trust car salesmen or politicians? I certainly understand the desire to trust doctors, but it’s not necessarily a good place for trust. It’s far better to inform the public as much as possible, such as this book does, so women can make the best choice for themselves and be in control of the decision making process.
L: Considering the arrogance and dismissiveness of many in the medical profession, as chronicled in your book and elsewhere, how can women prepare themselves to be their own advocates?
RS: The only solution is to change the law. Doctors must be stopped from performing unconsented hysterectomies, and the only way to do it is to require them to provide consent, based on centuries of documentation and anatomical fact.
In the meantime, that’s why we wrote The H Word. The subtitle is “The diagnostic studies to evaluate symptoms, alternatives in treatment, and coping with the aftereffects of hysterectomy,” but it’s about lot more than that. It’s the most complete source for the information required for informed consent, as told through the stories of talking with women in every corner of this country. Proceeds from the book benefit the HERS Foundation.
Education is the key, and education about the many lifelong functions of the female organs should be taught to every girl and woman.
Order The H Word
Learn more about the HERS Foundation
For more articles like this one, as well as health news, tips and video, visit our blog, Know Thy Health.
Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently, but life itself would come to be different. – Katherine Mansfield
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Last edited by Groshicage
5 edition of Benjamin Franklin found in the catalog.
Henry H Walsh
by Henry H Walsh
Published 1969 by S. Greene Press .
Format Unknown Binding
This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project to make the world’s books discoverable online. Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Author. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin shareholderdemocracy.com Page 3 Introduction BENJAMIN FRANKLIN was born in Milk Street, Boston, on January 6, His father, Josiah Franklin, was a tallow chandler who married twice, and of his seventeen children Benjamin was the youngest son.
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Regional survey of New York and its environs
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Benjamin Franklin by Henry H Walsh Download PDF EPUB FB2
Benjamin Franklin is the founding father who winks at us, the one who seems made of flesh rather than marble. In a sweeping narrative that follows Franklin’s life from Boston to Philadelphia to London and Paris and back, Walter Isaacson chronicles the adventures of the runaway apprentice who became, over the course of his eighty-four-year Cited by: Benjamin Franklin is best known as one of the Founding Fathers who never served as president but was a respected inventor, publisher, scientist and shareholderdemocracy.com: Jan 17, Looking for books by Benjamin Franklin.
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Oct 21, · Benjamin Franklin () was a statesman, author, publisher, scientist, inventor, diplomat, a Founding Father and a leading figure of early American history. Born in Boston, Benjamin Franklin was the 15th of his father's 17 children.
He went to school as a child with the intent of becoming a minister, as his father, Josiah, intended. However, that idea was dropped after Franklin showed a keen interest in reading and writing.
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The autobiography itself is broken into the three distinct sections and as expected break up the different parts of Franklin’s life/5. Benjamin Franklin was the youngest son and 15th of 17 children of Josiah Franklin, a soap and candle maker who had immigrated to Boston from Northamptonshire, England.
Because he disliked his father's trade but loved reading, he was apprenticed at the age of 12 to his brother James, a printer.
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shareholderdemocracy.com - Benjamin Franklin book © 2020
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Tag Archives: black bloc
We Support Our Troops
June 28, 2010 magpie 3 Comments
This past weekend has seen remarkable protests against the g20 in Toronto, Canada.
The government has reportedly spent an astounding $900 million on keeping the world leaders and their meeting safe from the protesters. Which really, quite simply, points to exactly the problem with the priorities of our system: our system has, since the beginning, been more concerned with self-perpetuation and holding on to power than it is with, say, dealing with the issues of the world.
The media, of course, is trying to split us into “good protester” and “bad protester.” The Huffington Post has a posted a shamefully poor AP article ostensibly about how the police have now arrested hundreds of activists who weren’t even in the act of protesting, but it quickly devolves into a ridiculous effort to justify these actions. I feel like I’ve read this exact article a hundred times. Start by talking about how the cops did something sketchy, like raid a university center for mass arrests, but justify their action in the first sentence:
Police raided a university building and rounded up hundreds of protesters Sunday in an effort to quell further violence near the G-20 global economic summit site a day after black-clad youths rampaged through the city, smashing windows and torching police cars.
next move on to quoting the government:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper deplored the actions of a “few thugs” and suggested the violence justified the controversial cost. “I think it goes a long way to explaining why we have the kind of security costs around these summits that we do,” he said.
(note that this quote also serves the purpose of somehow justifying the $900 million spent defending the summit)
Follow this by finding a protest group willing to try to make a plea for “legitimacy” by embracing their purported enemies (the summit itself) who will never, ever give a shit about them, and turning against their would-be allies:
An anti-poverty group called The Global Call to Action Against Poverty criticized the protesters who committed violence.
“A bunch of pimply faced teenagers trashing shops and burning cars does not help anyone,” said Rajesh Latchman of GCAP South Africa. “These hooligans obscure the real issues.”
and finally, put it in historical context by justifying police brutality of the past:
Previous global summit protests have turned violent. In 1999, 50,000 protesters shut down World Trade Organization sessions in Seattle as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets. There were some 600 arrests and $3 million in property damage. One man died after clashes with police at a G-20 meeting held in London in April 2009.
First of all… $3 million in property damage versus $900 million in defense expenditure? But most important here is that a man “died after clashes with police” in london, which is an outright lie. A man, unrelated to the protests, was killed by the police. That isn’t a “clash.” A war is when at least two armies are fighting.
My response might be simplest summed up by someone over at Infoshop News: If you’re angry about people dressed in black burning cars, you should probably know about the people in suits burning countries.
So, yes, I support the “black clad hooligans” in Toronto. Because they believe, for uncountable reasons, that the unelected world leaders of the g20 are in the direct process of destroying the natural earth, looting the developing world, and generally perpetuating the whole “rich get rich the poor get dead” thing. And no, the protesters aren’t willing to be polite about it.
Think about it. If you believed that the earth and most everyone in it was being absolutely tormented, tortured, and murdered by some rich people wearing suits, would you go hold a sign somewhere and hope that these bastards look at you and change their minds? Or would you go try to stop them?
The black clad anarchists might alienate some people, but almost no one is inspired by a bunch of spineless people saying “nurr… the g20 is bad but we should be cute and cuddly towards them.”
I have no idea if summit protests are useful, but I do know that the people who are out there fighting are incredibly brave, knowing that the most powerful countries in the world are spending nearly a billion dollars to crush dissent. Knowing that the state has the power to call summit protest organizers terrorists. And by continuing to be a thorn in the g20’s side, no matter how hard it tries to remove us, we can show the world, and show ourselves, that money doesn’t have the power to silence us. That no, a bunch of evil bastards can’t meet in public without hiding behind legions of armored minions.
Anarchismblack blocg20media critiquesummit
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Jul 30, 2014 • By Joel Stamp
Going above and beyond to support our nation’s heroes
I was just 19 years old when the United States was attacked on September 11, 2001. I was a student at Iowa State University and a lower enlisted member of the National Guard. I graduated from college in 2004, was commissioned as a second lieutenant and started my first job. In 2007, I began work at General Mills.
Then I was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq where I served as a platoon leader and executive officer of a Heavy Equipment Transportation company. I was deployed for duty for 13 months and was able to return to work at General Mills at the end of 2009.
During my deployment, General Mills gave me invaluable peace of mind that no single person could – security. In addition to retaining my position, General Mills provided me with differential and supporting pay throughout my transition to and from active duty, and implemented merit increases and 401(k) make-up matches for the time I would have been serving with the company.
And at home, the company continues to allow me the flexibility I need when I am called to orders throughout the year for training and active duty.
Today, I continue to serve as a dual-status individual managing a career in both the National Guard and at General Mills. Thanks to unwavering support from my family, friends and colleagues at General Mills, I’ve had the opportunity to serve the country that I love for over 15 years and counting.
Like me, more than 800 General Mills employees who currently serve or have served in this nation’s armed forces have benefited from the company’s commitment to veterans.
Earlier this year, I nominated General Mills for the highest honor the U.S. government can bestow on an employer for its support of military members – the Secretary of Defense Freedom Award. I was thrilled to learn the Employer Support for Guard and Reserves (ESGR), an office of the Department of Defense, felt General Mills was a standout among the more than 2,800 nominations for going above and beyond their call of duty to support veterans in the workplace, the community and overseas each and every day.
This isn’t the first time General Mills has been recognized either. The company has received three ESGR “Above and Beyond” awards in the last seven years; the “Pro Patria” award, the highest ESGR recognition that can be given at the state level; and received a Yellow Ribbon Company Designation by the state of Minnesota.
For the past 13 years, over 3.3 million Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen have deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq as part of the longest-running war in our nation’s history.
Whether you’re a small business owner or employed by a major corporation, we all have a role to play to honor and embrace our service members and their families during their military deployments and transition home.
Editor’s Note: General Mills has been a longtime supporter of U.S. military veterans and their families and has received numerous honors for doing so. The General Mills Veterans Network formally launched in 2012 with a mission to strengthen the company and community by harnessing and retaining the unique skills and experiences of veterans. Members of the Veterans Network are involved in activities such as sending holiday cards, care packages and phone cards to troops as well as a mentoring program that matches current employees with returning veterans.
Joel Stamp is a Transportation Business Analyst at General Mills, based in Minneapolis. He currently is working on a project to upgrade our transportation systems. He began his work with General Mills in 2007. More posts by this author
Post Tags: general mills veterans network
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CAPTAIN Steven Gerrard has warned their Europa League rivals not to underestimate Liverpool.
Despite what has been a disappointing season for the Reds, the England ace stressed they were not prepared to give up without a fight.
‘‘It’s very dangerous to bet against Liverpool, especially when our backs are to the wall,’’ said the 29-year-old, who, along with Jamie Carragher, is one of only two remaining squad members who played in the 5-4 UEFA Cup final victory over Alaves in 2001.
‘‘This season has been inconsistent and hasn’t gone to plan. However, for me as captain and for the team, we’ve got one more trophy to lift.
‘‘So we’ll be giving everything to go all the way. Anyone who underestimates the Europa League is not for me because I’ve lifted the UEFA Cup before.
‘‘It’s a special trophy, and 2001 was a superb final.
Hopefully we can experience the same feeling this season.’’ Gerrard believes the fivetime European champions’ extensive history means they always face a tough task when they take on teams from the continent.
And he does not expect any less from Romanians Unirea Urziceni, who they face tonight at Anfield.
‘‘I’ve always found in Europe that Liverpool have more problems against less well-known teams because of the surprise factor,’’ he said.
‘‘To play Liverpool is a big game for Unirea and they’ll be looking for a big upset and will be very dangerous.
Meanwhile, Benitez has ridiculed the idea of a play-off for the final Champions League place, claiming clubs ‘‘will be playing until the end of the century’’.
Reports this week claimed the Premier League were looking into the prospect of having the sides from fourth to seventh face each other post-season to decide the remaining spot for Europe’s elite club competition.
‘‘I have to agree with David Moyes,’’ said the Liverpool boss.
Read the article on Northern Echo
Gerrard fires Euro warning
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SGT. PEPPER: IT WAS 50 YEARS AGO TODAY
29th May 2017 30th May 2017 James Mitchell 20th-century items, Exhibitions and events
The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released in the UK on May 26, 1967. It remains the third best selling album in the UK: only Queen’s Greatest Hits (1981) and Abba’s Gold: Greatest Hits (1992) have outsold it. To mark this anniversary, the National Library of Scotland has mounted a free display of the vinyl album and a selection of Sgt. Pepper-related books from our collections at the entrance of the Library’s building on George IV Bridge.
The album still generates strong opinions: was it a musical masterpiece whose songs were the first by a rock/pop band to be structured around a unified theme, or was it just a collection of unconnected (mostly brilliant) songs burdened by the pretentious idea of a band within a band? Did it represent the peak of the Beatles’ creativity or was it the first indication of the fragmentation of the group?
The Sgt. Pepper cover has generated as much critical debate as the songs. Pop artist Peter Blake’s now iconic collage of 57 photographs and nine waxworks of diverse cultural personalities was considered enormously expensive at the time costing around £3,000 instead of the typical £50.00. However, it would go on to win a Grammy Award for the best album cover of 1967. The album also marked the first time lyrics were printed on the back cover instead of informative/promotional sleeve notes provided by the record company. This practice quickly became commonplace.
It was McCartney’s idea that the Beatles record an album under another guise so as to give themselves the freedom to experiment musically. A sense of large-scale musical structure is intimated by the reprise of the initial Sgt. Pepper ‘s Band song (in a different rhythm and tempo), near the end of side two. In addition, the listener experiences the album as a unified live performance because it was the first pop album to be mastered without the usual momentary gaps placed between tracks: through cross-fading, the songs just seem to flow and blend into one another.
However, some critics have claimed that in spite of the inspired songwriting, they can discern little or no melodic or harmonic continuity between the songs. In later interviews John Lennon agreed: “Sgt. Pepper is called the first concept album, but it doesn’t go anywhere … it works because we said it worked”. He was especially adamant that his contributions to the LP had nothing to do with the Sgt. Pepper concept.
Although Revolver, the Beatles preceding album, was arguably an overall better collection of songs, Sgt. Pepper’s status as one of the most influential albums in popular music history is undisputed. Its vision of the album as a serious work of art in which sleeve design, costumes and inter-related songs all work together under a unified idea, or concept, would greatly influence bands in the succeeding decades, especially progressive rock groups such as Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
In addition, Sgt. Pepper would mark the rise of the producer as an equal partner to the musicians in the recording studio. The contribution of George Martin during the recording of the album was immense. Under his direction, the studio became not so much a place to record live performances, but a compositional tool where vocal, instrumental and orchestral overdubs, complex arrangements and tape manipulation, were able to transform and enhance songs initially conceived for just voices drums and guitars.
Photo by Michael Cooper / © Apple Corps Limited
We hold many books on the Beatles. Here are the Sgt. Pepper associated titles featured in the display:
Summer of love: the making of Sgt. Pepper. London: Pan Books, 1994. (Shelfmark: H3.95.830)
Sgt. Pepper and the Beatles : it was forty years ago today. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2008. (Shelfmark: HB2.208.10.2195)
Abbey Road: the story of the world’s most famous recording studios. London: Omnibus Press, 2002.(Shelfmark: HP2.202.05475)
Lucy in the mind of Lennon. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. (Shelfmark: HB1.213.7.140)
The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds: the greatest album of the twentieth century. London: Helter Skelter Publishing, 2001. (Shelfmark: HP2.203.05233)
The Cambridge companion to the Beatles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. (Shelfmark: PB8.211.588/12)
The act you’ve known for all these years: the life, and afterlife, of Sgt. Pepper. Edinburgh: Canongate, 2007. (Shelfmark: HB2.208.2.1189)
exhibitions Music
‘Paint with light’ : Photography and the Moving Image Archive
A closer look – using the new stereomicroscope to examine and characterise the Photographic Collections of the National Library of Scotland
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