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Home > WSU Press > Criticism > Vol. 39 (1997) > Iss. 2
Virtues Obscured: George Chapman's Social Strategy
John Huntington, University of Illinois at ChicagoFollow
Huntington, John (1997) "Virtues Obscured: George Chapman's Social Strategy," Criticism: Vol. 39 : Iss. 2 , Article 1.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/criticism/vol39/iss2/1
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Diogenes Uncategorized December 8, 2020 December 9, 2020 7 Minutes
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With a due sense of dread I have started to read Bohemian Rhapsody: The Definitive Biography of Freddie Mercury by Lesley-Ann Jones. I generally avoid the ‘popular’ biography genre — books about celebrities written for a mass-market audience. From the few I have read over the years (mainly about Queen), such books seem to be badly researched, full of drivel and appallingly written — like reading a 300-page edition of the Sun newspaper.
This particular book, which I picked up from a charity shop recently, was originally published in 2011 and then reissued in 2018 with a new title to cash in on the release of the Bohemian Rhapsody biopic. I am not aware of an official tie-in but snippets of the film script mirror the book’s contents (most obviously Freddie’s ‘coming out’ conversation with his girlfriend Mary Austin).
I have just watched a couple of terrific films — two snapshots, set a century or so apart, from America’s sad, shocking and shameful history of race relations. Despite adopting markedly different approaches to storytelling, both are tremendously uplifting.
Harriet is a biopic of Harriet Tubman, who first came to prominence in the 1850s (ie before the American Civil War) as part of the so-called underground railroad, having herself escaped slavery by walking over 100 miles from Maryland to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In total she is thought to have helped bring around 70 people to freedom. A remarkable woman, Tubman also played a prominent role during the civil war, before becoming involved in the movement for female suffrage.
On several occasions the film shows Tubman being ‘guided’ to safety after divine intervention in the form of messages received during fainting spells. (Tubman suffered brain injuries after having been beaten as a child by her slave master.) The film amply demonstrates how Tubman drew strength and succour from her religious faith, but this added mystical element detracted, in my view, from its impact as a historical account. The viewer is tempted to ask why such an apparently benevolent, omnipotent and interventionist God seemed happy enough to permit the barbaric practice of slavery to go ahead for hundreds of years.
The role of Tubman is played with fierce intensity by Cynthia Erivo. Her eyes seem to light up when she is confronted by one seemingly insurmountable hurdle after another. Sadly, the stories of women such as Tubman are not widely known. On a similar theme of women forgotten, ignored or airbrushed from history, Hidden Figures focuses on the stories of three black women who worked in different capacities for Nasa in the sixties, a time when the USA was demonstrably lagging behind the Soviet Union in the space race.
It is distressing to watch yet more evidence of the racial bigotry — ingrained and structural as well as everyday and casual — that was prevalent in large parts of the United States within the lifetime of many people alive today. And yet what is particularly enjoyable about Hidden Figures is that it drives its message home in a non-didactic and often humorous and irreverent way. To take just one example: an embattled head of the Space Task Group (played by Kevin Costner), frustrated by yet another setback, asks a room full of identikit white-skinned and white-shirted middle-aged men for reasons to explain the group’s lack of progress.
Another great film — A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood. Like, I suspect, many people in the UK, I had never even heard of Fred Rogers, a longtime children’s TV host in the USA. Fred is more than just everybody’s favourite uncle; he appears to be the epitome of goodness itself, like Nelson Mandela, Gandhi and Martin Luther King rolled into one. Lloyd Vogel is a troubled magazine reporter, with a track record of writing unflattering profiles of people. Given the task of writing a short piece on Rogers, a job he considers beneath him, his cynical mind is unable to accept that Fred can really be as saintly as he appears, and the reporter is determined to dig up dirt.
Others can comment knowledgeably about Tom Hanks’s portrayal of Fred Rogers. I was impressed that, though undoubtedly a feel-good film, it skilfully avoided the obvious risks of schmaltz and sickly sentimentality. The very final scene, Rogers alone at the piano as the production crew slowly leave the studio, perhaps offered an answer of sorts to Vogel’s doubts.
Where to start with the Freddie Mercury book? There has been enough teeth-gnashing to merit a separate blog. Meanwhile, we go from the ridiculous to (hopefully) the sublime — Diarmaid MacCulloch’s acclaimed biography, Thomas Cromwell.
When I woke up yesterday I listened to the news reports about continued upheaval in Number 10 following the resignation of Lee Cain as the government’s director of communications. By the end of the day Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s top adviser, had also gone. Today’s Guardian headline describes it as the end of the “Cummings era”. How extraordinary it is that in twenty-first century Britain an unelected official should be seen as somehow defining an era. So often the machinations of government take place behind closed doors, and yet rarely do officials, advisers and civil servants have a public face.
And then I read this about Thomas Cromwell:
“By the second half of 1533, it was clear that the Secretaryship was in fact if not in name in Cromwell’s hands: one of those silent transfers of power to a man without a public face which characterised his first four years in royal service.”
Diarmaid MacCulloch, Thomas Cromwell
And so to the four-part BBC drama Roadkill. Written by well-known writer David Hare and starring Hugh Laurie, I knew it was going to be good — The Night Manager, also starring Hugh Laurie, was one of the best dramas I have seen for a long time — but it was so cleverly constructed I think it surpassed my expectations. I had rather assumed — based on I-don’t-quite-know-what — that the story would be about a devious, amoral, probably Tory politician, presumably a hit-and-run (‘Roadkill’), and consequent cover-ups and assorted dirty deeds and nastiness.
It was, of course, so much more. Yes, an investigative journalist is killed in a hit-and-run. And yes, a deer is run over in the middle of a country road. But the title ‘Roadkill’ needs interpreting much more broadly, perhaps taking in the sense of ‘collateral damage’. Like many of my favourite dramas, it combined plot and character development beautifully. It’s no exaggeration to say that not a single major character is completely flawless: all have their foibles and failings to a greater or lesser extent. It would be an interesting exercise to rank them in order of ‘goodness’. By the final episode I somehow found myself rooting for Peter Laurence (Hugh Laurie).
Roadkill was also a great advert for diversity: female prime minister; female chief of staff; female investigative reporter; female deputy editor at a big newspaper; female newspaper proprietor; BAME female top barrister; BAME barrister’s assistant; lesbian chauffeur; female permanent secretary in the Department of Justice etc. Hopefully there will come a time when we don’t even notice.
Fanny Lye Deliver’d is a low-budget production which demonstrates that excellent films don’t have to cost a fortune to make. Set in (Oliver) Cromwell’s England, it revolves around Fanny, her ageing husband John and young son. They live an austere life, according to a strict Puritan and highly patriarchal ethic: Fanny and her son are regularly beaten with a crop by John. Into their lives come a young couple with very different ideas about social and property relations.
The film clearly takes inspiration from the famous Marxist historian Christopher Hill. The words ‘The World Turned Upside Down’, which Hill used as the title of one of his books, are referenced in the film. It wasn’t clear exactly what ‘sect’ these new arrivals followed, but they were libertines, embracing sensual and sexual freedom as part of a general imperative to enjoy life on Earth (in other words, downplaying any notion of Heaven). As well as this battle of ideas, which brought to mind the late-sixties film Witchfinder General, the isolated cottage setting put me in mind of Straw Dogs, another film in which the established order is threatened from without.
Back to Ian McEwan. A few weeks ago it was On Chesil Beach. This time it is The Children Act. Both are films of McEwan novels, with screenplays written by McEwan himself. Both are excellent.
The Children Act centres on an eminent judge in the Family Division and a case involving a seventeen-year-old Jehovah’s Witness refusing — with the blessing of his parents and the elders of his church — a potentially life-saving treatment that involves the transfusion of blood. This was an interesting premise for me not least because I spent a year chatting weekly to two Jehovah’s Witnesses who patiently taught me about their beliefs.
I finally finished the Cromwell biography today. It is approximately 550 pages of fairly dense text, taking 20 days to work through at something under 30 pages a day on average. It was an enjoyable but not at times an easy read, certainly not for someone like me who is well read in neither church nor Tudor history.
A week or so after key prime ministerial advisers Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain left their posts, it was interesting to read about how quickly Thomas Cromwell, another power behind the throne, met his comeuppance. Even in the early months of 1540 there was no real hint of his coming fall, though his support for the marriage to Anne of Cleves was a disaster from the moment Henry VIII set eyes on her. Then, seemingly within days, Cromwell was gone, executed in July 1540. Henry’s obvious subsequent regret at his rash decision also reminds us in these last days of the Trump regime of the dangers of emotionally unstable and capricious leaders.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the film of The Children Act, I had to go back to the original novel. I have no knowledge of academic film studies, but it is interesting at least to note the differences between book and film — all changes made, presumably, for sound dramatic reasons. It is a guitar not a violin that Adam is learning to play in the film. The role of Pauling, Fiona’s clerk, is not so clearly defined in the book; in particular, he does not witness the kiss between Fiona and Adam as he does in the film. And the closing musical performance is realised quite differently in book and film.
In a mini essay at the end of the book the author makes clear that the legal cases he uses (or at least the main ones) are all based on real-life cases. The novel itself is yet another McEwan masterclass. Two passages, in particular, I found devastatingly good — his description of a legal case involving Siamese twins, and a jaundiced perspective on the reality of family breakdown and shattered communities.
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SPORTS — April 20, 2016 at 3:10 am
Men’s soccer team fights hard to the finish
by Amit Dadon
This past season, Stoneman Douglas’ soccer team surprised everyone by going undefeated, and dominating their District opponents. Behind their season of hard training and the ever-growing support of fellow Douglas students, the team earned the top seed once playoff time arrived, despite being placed in one of the most difficult Districts in the region.
“No one expected us to go 16-0-4, especially in this District,” junior midfielder Felipe Linares said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better group of boys to bring us to this point.”
The team reached the position of the 50th best team in the entire nation, and easily passed through their District’s playoff bracket. Placing second in the District’s regular season, rival Boca Raton Community High School – also one of the top teams in the state – had similar success in the bracket, and was matched up with Douglas in the District Finals.
“It was a evenly-matched game, and both sides played their hearts out,” Linares said. “But in the end, a few costly mistakes led to them scoring a goal on our defense, and we lost the game 1-0.”
Despite losing the game, however, the team still advanced to the Regional bracket- as the top team in the District is still given the opprotunity to advance regardless of a loss, with the only penalty being a lower seeding.
“I definitely feel like we are more than just a team – we are a family,” freshman center Elad Yair says, “I think this loss showed that. We recouped and motivated ourselves to move on to the next game.”
And they did just that. After being given a week off to prepare, the team was set to face opponent Royal Palm Beach in the Regional Quarterfinals on January 29th, and used that motivation to score goal after goal on their defense- ending the game with a 3-0 defeat of their opponent. Douglas was on to the next round, and the players could not be more excited. Yet there was one problem they faced: they would now be playing Boca again – the team that had beat them just two games prior.
With a shortened period of 4 days to improve on their previous play versus Boca, the team used the time they were given to go back to the drawing board and practice their new strategy on the field. Feeling prepared, on February 2nd the two teams hit the field in Boca Raton- which had gained home-field advantage and an extra day off after winning their previous match at Douglas.
Boca, who had also defeated their previous opponent, bested the Douglas squad in a 2-0 defeat, which despite what the score suggested was a tightly contested match until the tail end of the second half – an ending very similar to their last match-up. Boca’s team moved on to the next game, and ended up sweeping the rest of the Region, eventually taking the crown as State Champion 2-0 over Winter City.
“We had an amazing season, and now we will have the time to reflect on all that we accomplished,” junior goalie Ryan Irwin said.
The Douglas team now will have to wait until next fall to have another shot at Boca. And, as shown by Irwin and Linares, the players are not discouraged by the loss.
“I know we will improve enough by next season that we will push even further towards the State title,” added Linares. “With this season, we’ve changed the culture of Douglas Soccer. Expect great things.”
Amit Dadon
Amit Dadon is an Israeli-born writer who moved to America at a young age to pursue his dreams of writing under Melissa Falkowski and starring in a Broadway musical. He currently resides in Parkland with two parents, a dog and a brother who occasionally visits. Go Israel.
https://eagleeye.news/author/amit-dadon/
Opinion On The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
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Men's soccer closing in on another undefeated season
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Lung Doctor Analyzes George Floyd Autopsy Report
by Dr. Mike Hansen | Jun 12, 2020 | Coronavirus | COVID-19 | 0 comments
Lung Doctor Analyzes George Floyd Autopsy Report – Let’s be clear..we’ve all seen the video by now. It’s obvious that these police officers killed George Floyd. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner, and the independent medical examiner hired by the family of George Floyd, Dr. Michael Baden, have concluded that his death was a homicide….but their opinion differs on the cause of death. But if both of them declared that his death was a homicide, does the cause of death really matter? (YES).
I want justice for George Floyd, and that is why I’m making this video, because the medical explanation for his cause of death, is not a simple explanation. As a lung doctor, part of my job is to figure out why people can’t breathe. As an intensive care doctor, part of my job is to care for people who are on the brink of death. Like when someone can’t breathe.
So when someone dies of asphyxia, as is the case of George Floyd, the determination of the cause of death is dependent on information elicited based on the investigation, which includes, the deceased personal medical history namely, autopsy, and crime scene investigation, which of course includes video evidence. Asphyxia is a Greek term that translates to “loss of pulse.”
George Floyd Autopsy Analysis
Mechanical asphyxia involves some physical force or physical abnormality that interferes with the uptake and/or delivery of oxygen. With asphyxia, the brain doesn’t get enough oxygen, and when the pons and the medulla aren’t getting enough oxygen, they can no longer function. This means they can no longer tell the diaphragm to contract, and breathing then stops.
While this happens, the heart is also not getting enough oxygen, and typically the heart pumps slower and slower until it stops. Prolonged continuous application of extreme pressure on the thorax, such as with the bodyweight of several officers, is capable of causing death. This is important, because this contributed to the death of George Floyd, in addition to the knee to the neck. The neck contains our airway, the trachea, and it also contains carotid and vertebral arteries and jugular veins.
The arteries here deliver oxygenated blood to the brain, while the jugular veins allow the deoxygenated blood to flow back to the heart. So what happens when pressure is placed on the neck? Well, it depends, on a lot of different factors (amount and duration of pressure, etc). And looking at the George Floyd video, he was unconscious for more than 2 minutes with the knee still on his neck. There’s no doubt, that during this time, he took his last breath, and right around the same time, lost his pulse.
By the time the EMS guy checks his pulse, I highly doubt he actually felt a pulse, because it was more than two minutes after George lost consciousness. It was obvious that when they moved George onto the stretcher, he was completely limp because he was dead. And it wasn’t until much later, did they start CPR, in the ambulance. Now let’s get to what the medical examiners had to say about this case.
Dr. Michael Baden, who did the independent autopsy says Floyd died of “asphyxiation from sustained pressure when his back and neck were compressed, with the neck pressure cutting off blood flow to his brain.” I agree with that assessment. I would also add that partial compression of the trachea, causing airway compromise, was also possible. The weight on George’s back made the work of breathing much harder for his diaphragm, and the neck pressure at the very least meant less blood (and thus oxygen) was being delivered to his brain, and less carbon dioxide could be removed from his brain.
After a while, the diaphragm becomes fatigued, and no longer has the strength to contract, which means the lungs can’t get oxygen into the blood, and can’t get carbon dioxide out of the blood. And all of this caused him to lose consciousness. And probably within seconds, he lost a pulse. And despite losing consciousness, and despite losing a pulse, they continued to apply pressure on the neck, and put their weight on his back.
The Hennepin County medical examiner’s office said that the cause of death is “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.” This statement doesn’t really make sense to me. But the Hennepin County release also says heart disease was an issue; the independent examiner didn’t find that. The county said that fentanyl and methamphetamine use were among “significant conditions,” but its report didn’t say how much of either drug was in Floyd’s system or how that may have contributed. But Dr. Michael Baden got it right.
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By Team DCS Last updated Apr 17, 2020
Movies are widely known to be quintessentially illusional. Not only would they show us scenes and places that-at least for a few hours make us believe they are real, they also replicate the patterns of dreams-where we see images that are good enough to stray into. But then, some films take the art of creating illusions to another level-we are not talking here about awesome CGI that makes tails spout from the back of a man or a futuristic helicopter to fly through the familiar skies of a city. We are talking about good ol’ fashioned tricks where they point a camera at something and make you believe it’s something else, much like they do by shooting an actress and conveying that she’s another person. In this case, the illusion is not with people but with places. And these 7 Bollywood films nailed it so well.
1. Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani
When a nerdy medical student meets an ex-classmate and the duo sets themselves off to a hiking trip to Manali, it is the start of a beautiful adventure-one that takes them on a journey of self-discovery and redefining the expectations from life. En route, we are shown some stunning mountains and valleys of Manali-only, it wasn’t Manali. Rather, all the snowcapped beauty is hosted in Gulmarg.
2. Dabangg
The highest grossing Bollywood film of 2010, Dabangg tells the story of a corrupt police officer and his fearless adventures in a small village in Uttar Pradesh. But it was Pune which the filmmakers chose as the shooting spot for the movie. With carefully designed sets and equally carefully selected extras who played the roles of villagers to a T, no one in the audience was wise to this fact.
3. Bombay Velvet
Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet was set in the 1960s Bombay, so it was expected that there would be quite a few sets built for the movie-in one of the bigass studios in Mumbai, perhaps? But no, the creators of the film took it all the way to Sri Lanka which was where the principal shoot for the film took place.
4. Bajrangi Bhaijaan
One of the most loved films in recent times, Bajrangi Bhaijan had our very own desi Bhaijan-Salman Khan taking a little girl across the boundary to Pakistan where her home is at. But the thing is, most of the scenes featuring Pakistan were actually shot in Kashmir. Well, they really took us for a ride, didn’t they?
5. Phantom
The events in the 2015 film, Phantom unfold in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The film starring Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif was chock-full of adrenaline pumping action scenes that take place in different parts of the globe-including Kashmir, Punjab, London, Canada, Mumbai and Pakistan. But the scenes for Pakistan were actually shot in Punjab.
6. Fanaa
Fanaa had Aamir Khan reciting poetry-sometimes a little too much, in the best tradition of classic romantic heroes of Indian fiction. The movie also has plenty of scenes that feature snow-clad Kashmir where romance and intrigue play out. But it turns out what we took to be Kashmir was actually Poland- the shooting location chosen to mimic the look of India’s troubled heaven.
7. Chennai Express
Who would have thought that Pune could look so much like Tamil Nadu? The landscape of the South Indian state is wide open with trees sprouting like emissaries from the underground every here and there-at least, that’s the predominant impression you get while travelling through the state, unlike with Pune where the vegetation is largely thicker. However, that didn’t stop the filmmakers from fooling us by shooting in Pune those scenes which supposedly happen in Tamil Nadu.
Movies is that rare thing about which you’re okay if they give you an illusion instead of something real. As long as you have a fun time, that is-meaning the story has to be involving enough and the characters(not just actors) ones we care about. And on that count too, many of the films in this list didn’t let us down. And that’s the kind of illusion we really, really welcome.
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Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
(Redirected from Battle of Spotsylvania)
"Mule Shoe" redirects here. For the type of shoe, see Mule (shoe).
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes more simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania (or the 19th-century spelling Spottsylvania), was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's 1864 Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, Grant's army disengaged from Confederate General Robert E. Lee's army and moved to the southeast, attempting to lure Lee into battle under more favorable conditions. Elements of Lee's army beat the Union army to the critical crossroads of Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, and began entrenching. Fighting occurred on and off from May 8 through May 21, 1864, as Grant tried various schemes to break the Confederate line. In the end, the battle was tactically inconclusive, but both sides declared victory. The Confederacy declared victory because they were able to hold their defenses. The United States declared victory because the Federal offensive continued and Lee's army suffered losses that could not be replaced. With almost 32,000 casualties on both sides, Spotsylvania was the costliest battle of the campaign.
Part of the American Civil War
Battle of Spottsylvania, Thure de Thulstrup
May 9–21, 1864
Spotsylvania County, Virginia
38°13′27″N 77°35′53″W / 38.2242°N 77.5981°W / 38.2242; -77.5981Coordinates: 38°13′27″N 77°35′53″W / 38.2242°N 77.5981°W / 38.2242; -77.5981
Inconclusive[1]
United States Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
George Meade Robert Lee
Units involved
Army of the Potomac[2]
IX Corps[3] Army of Northern Virginia
100,000–110,000[4] 50,000–63,000[4]
Casualties and losses
2,725 killed
2,258 captured or missing[5][6] 1,515 killed
5,414 wounded
5,758 captured or missing[6]
On May 8, Union Maj. Gens. Gouverneur K. Warren and John Sedgwick unsuccessfully attempted to dislodge the Confederates under Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson from Laurel Hill, a position that was blocking them from Spotsylvania Court House. On May 10, Grant ordered attacks across the Confederate line of earthworks, which by now extended over 4 miles (6.4 km), including a prominent salient known as the Mule Shoe. Although the Union troops failed again at Laurel Hill, an innovative assault attempt by Col. Emory Upton against the Mule Shoe showed promise.
Grant used Upton's assault technique on a much larger scale on May 12 when he ordered the 15,000 men of Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock's corps to assault the Mule Shoe. Hancock was initially successful, but the Confederate leadership rallied and repulsed his incursion. Attacks by Maj. Gen. Horatio Wright on the western edge of the Mule Shoe, which became known as the "Bloody Angle", involved almost 24 hours of desperate hand-to-hand fighting, some of the most intense of the Civil War. Supporting attacks by Warren and by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside were unsuccessful.
Grant repositioned his lines in another attempt to engage Lee under more favorable conditions and launched a final attack by Hancock on May 18, which made no progress. A reconnaissance in force by Confederate Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell at Harris farm on May 19 was a costly and pointless failure. On May 21, Grant disengaged from the Confederate Army and started southeast on another maneuver to turn Lee's right flank, as the Overland Campaign continued toward the Battle of North Anna.
1.1 Military situation
2 Opposing forces
2.1 Union
2.2 Confederate
3 Initial movements
3.1 May 7: The race to Spotsylvania
4 Battle
4.1 May 8: Laurel Hill and cavalry troubles
4.2 May 9: Fortifications, Sedgwick, and Hancock
4.3 May 10: Grant attacks
4.4 May 11: Planning for the grand assault
4.5 May 12: The Bloody Angle
4.6 May 13–16: Reorienting the lines
4.7 May 17–18: Final Union attacks
4.8 May 19: Harris Farm
5 Aftermath
6 Casualties
7 Medal of Honor
8 Battlefield preservation
11.1 Memoirs and primary sources
BackgroundEdit
Military situationEdit
Main article: Overland Campaign
Further information: Battle of the Wilderness, Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, and American Civil War
Map of Southeastern Virginia.
Union marches and operations in Central Virginia (1864-65).
Spotsylvania Courthouse, 1864
In March 1864, Grant was summoned from the Western Theater, promoted to lieutenant general, and given command of all Union armies. He chose to make his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac, although Maj. Gen. George G. Meade remained the actual commander of that army. He left Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in command of most of the western armies. Grant and President Abraham Lincoln devised a coordinated strategy that would strike at the heart of the Confederacy from multiple directions, including attacks against Lee near Richmond, Virginia, and in the Shenandoah Valley, West Virginia, Georgia, and Mobile, Alabama. This was the first time the Union armies would have a coordinated offensive strategy across a number of theaters.[7]
Grant's campaign objective was not the Confederate capital of Richmond, but the destruction of Lee's army. Lincoln had long advocated this strategy for his generals, recognizing that the city would certainly fall after the loss of its principal defensive army. Grant ordered Meade, "Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also."[8] Although he hoped for a quick, decisive battle, Grant was prepared to fight a war of attrition. Both Union and Confederate casualties could be high, but the Union had far greater resources to replace lost soldiers and equipment.[9]
On May 5, after Grant's army crossed the Rapidan and entered the Wilderness of Spotsylvania, it was attacked by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Although Lee was outnumbered, about 60,000 to 100,000, his men fought fiercely and the dense foliage provided a terrain advantage. After two days of fighting and almost 29,000 casualties, the results were inconclusive and neither army was able to obtain an advantage.[10]
Lee had stopped Grant, but had not turned him back, and Grant had not destroyed Lee's army. Under similar circumstances, previous Union commanders had chosen to withdraw behind the Rappahannock, but Grant instead ordered Meade to move around Lee's right flank and seize the important crossroads at Spotsylvania Court House to the southeast, hoping that by interposing his army between Lee and Richmond, he could lure the Confederates into another battle on a more favorable field.[10]
Opposing forcesEdit
UnionEdit
Further information: Union order of battle
Principal Union commanders
Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, Army of the Potomac
Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, II Corps
Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren, V Corps
Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, VI Corps
Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, IX Corps
Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan, Cavalry Corps
As of May 7, Grant's Union forces totaled approximately 100,000 men.[4] They consisted of the Army of the Potomac, under Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, and the IX Corps (until May 24 formally part of the Army of the Ohio, reporting directly to Grant, not Meade). The five corps were:[11]
II Corps, under Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, including the divisions of Maj. Gen. David B. Birney and Brig. Gens. Francis C. Barlow, John Gibbon, and Gershom Mott. (Mott's 4th Division was discontinued on May 13 and its brigades were distributed to other divisions in the corps. On May 18, a new 4th Division was constituted with reinforcements of heavy artillery regiments from Washington, D.C., under the command of Brig. Gen. Robert O. Tyler, known informally as Tyler's Division of Heavy Artillery.)
V Corps, under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren, including the divisions of Brig. Gens. Charles Griffin, John C. Robinson, Samuel W. Crawford, and Lysander Cutler. (Following the wounding of Robinson on May 8, his 2nd Division was temporarily disbanded and the brigades distributed to other divisions in the corps.)
VI Corps, under Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, including the divisions of Brig. Gens. Horatio G. Wright, Thomas H. Neill, and James B. Ricketts. (Sedgwick was killed on May 9 and replaced by Wright. Wright's 1st Division was then commanded by Brig. Gen. David A. Russell.)
IX Corps, under Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside, including the divisions of Brig. Gens. Thomas G. Stevenson, Robert B. Potter, Orlando B. Willcox, and Edward Ferrero. (Stevenson was killed on May 10 and was replaced in command of the 1st Division by Col. Daniel Leasure then Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Crittenden)
Cavalry Corps, under Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, including the divisions of Brig. Gens. Alfred T.A. Torbert, David McM. Gregg, and James H. Wilson. (During the period of May 9–24, Sheridan's Cavalry Corps was absent on detached duty and took no further part in the operations around Spotsylvania Court House.)
ConfederateEdit
Further information: Confederate order of battle
Confederate corps commanders
Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson, First Corps
Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, Second Corps
Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill, Third Corps
Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, Cavalry Corps
Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia comprised about 52,000 men and was organized into four corps:[12]
First Corps, under Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson, including the divisions of Maj. Gen. Charles W. Field and Brig. Gen. Joseph B. Kershaw.
Second Corps, under Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, including the divisions of Maj. Gens. Jubal A. Early, Edward "Allegheny" Johnson, and Robert E. Rodes. (On May 8, Jubal Early assumed temporary command of the Third Corps; his replacement in command of Early's Division was Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon.)
Third Corps, under Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill, including the divisions of Maj. Gens. Henry Heth and Cadmus M. Wilcox and Brig. Gen. William Mahone. (On May 8, Hill became ill and was replaced temporarily in corps command by Jubal Early.)
Cavalry Corps, under Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, including the divisions of Maj. Gens. Wade Hampton, Fitzhugh Lee, and W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee.
Initial movementsEdit
May 7: The race to SpotsylvaniaEdit
Movements on May 7, 1864; cavalry actions inset
See also: Battle of Todd's Tavern
Grant's orders to Meade were to march the night of May 7–8 over two routes, reaching Spotsylvania Court House, 10 miles (16 km) to the southeast, with at least one corps the morning of May 8. Warren's V Corps would take the Brock Road, followed by Hancock's II Corps. Sedgwick's VI Corps would head toward Chancellorsville on the Orange Plank Road, and then turn south, followed by Burnside's IX Corps.[13]
Meade began by ordering Sheridan's Cavalry Corps to clear the Brock Road for the infantry, but the troopers soon bogged down. The brigade of Col. J. Irvin Gregg (David Gregg's division), was stopped at Corbin's Bridge on the Catharpin Road by cavalrymen under Wade Hampton and Rooney Lee. Gregg's men withdrew to a field west of Todd's Tavern, constructed rudimentary earthworks, and repulsed a series of Confederate attacks.[14]
Wesley Merritt's Union division encountered Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry behind barricades on the Brock Road about a mile south of Todd's Tavern. Sharp fighting resulted in the late afternoon, and by nightfall, Sheridan decided against continuing in the dark and ordered his men to bivouac at Todd's Tavern. The first Union infantry began moving at 8 p.m. and their advance was plagued by traffic jams. When Meade reached Todd's Tavern after midnight he was infuriated to see Sheridan's sleeping cavalrymen and ordered them to resume their road clearing operation.[14]
Lee was unsure of Grant's plan. Reconnaissance told him that the river crossing equipment had been removed from Germanna Ford, so Grant would not be withdrawing as his predecessors had. The Union Army could either be heading east to Fredericksburg or moving south. In either event, the crossroads at Spotsylvania Court House would play an important role, so Lee ordered his artillery chief, Brig. Gen. William N. Pendleton, to begin constructing a road through the woods from the Confederate position at the Wilderness due south to the Catharpin Road. He also ordered Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson, who had replaced Lt. Gen. James Longstreet in command of the First Corps following that officer's wounding on May 6, to move out along that road. Lee did not indicate any need for haste, but Anderson and his men desired to leave the stench of burning forest and dead bodies in the Wilderness, so they began marching about 10 p.m.[15]
BattleEdit
May 8: Laurel Hill and cavalry troublesEdit
Attacks on the Laurel Hill line, May 8
At dawn on May 8, Wesley Merritt's cavalrymen attacked Fitzhugh Lee's barricades on the Brock Road again, but were repulsed. Meade ordered Warren's V Corps to break through with infantry and the division of Brig. Gen. John C. Robinson led the way in overwhelming the cavalry obstacle. Fitzhugh Lee's horse artillery made a gallant stand around the Alsop farm and delayed the Union advance while the cavalrymen staked out a defensive line on a low ridge just south of the Spindle farm clearing, which they dubbed "Laurel Hill." Lee sent for help to Anderson's infantry, which by now had reached the Block House Bridge on the Po River and were eating breakfast. Anderson immediately dispatched two infantry brigades and an artillery battalion, which arrived at Laurel Hill just as Warren's men pulled up within 100 yards to the north.[16]
Assuming that only cavalry blocked his path, Warren ordered an immediate attack against Laurel Hill. Multiple attacks by the divisions of the V Corps were repulsed with heavy casualties, and by noon the Union troops began building earthworks on the northern end of the Spindle clearing. Meanwhile, the Union cavalry division under James H. Wilson had reached and occupied the town of Spotsylvania Court House at 8 a.m. Wilson sent a brigade under Col. John B. McIntosh up the Brock Road with the intention of striking the Confederate position at Laurel Hill from the rear. J.E.B. Stuart had only a single cavalry regiment available to send out against McIntosh, but Anderson's infantry division under Joseph B. Kershaw was marching in that direction. With orders from Sheridan to withdraw and with Confederate infantry in hot pursuit, Wilson withdrew up the Fredericksburg Road.[17]
Generals Meade and Sheridan had quarreled about the cavalry's performance throughout the campaign and this incident with Wilson, compounding the frustration of the uncleared Brock Road, brought Meade's notorious temper to a boil. After a heated exchange laced with expletives on both sides, Sheridan told Meade that he could "whip Stuart" if Meade let him. Meade reported the conversation to Grant, who replied, "Well, he generally knows what he is talking about. Let him start right out and do it." Meade deferred to Grant's judgment and issued orders to Sheridan to "proceed against the enemy's cavalry." Sheridan's entire command of 10,000 cavalrymen departed the following day. They engaged with (and mortally wounded) Stuart at the Battle of Yellow Tavern on May 11, threatened the outskirts of Richmond, refitted near the James River, and did not return to the army until May 24. Grant and Meade were left without cavalry resources during the critical days of the battle to come.[18]
While Warren was unsuccessfully attacking Laurel Hill the morning of May 8, Hancock's II Corps had reached Todd's Tavern and erected defenses to the west on the Catharpin Road, protecting the rear of the army. Jubal Early, who had just replaced A.P. Hill as Third Corps commander because of his illness, decided to test the defenses and sent the division of William Mahone and some cavalry. After a short fight, Hancock's division under Francis C. Barlow withdrew back to Todd's Tavern and Early decided not to pursue.[19]
In the afternoon, Sedgwick's VI Corps arrived near Laurel Hill and extended Warren's line to the east. By 7 p.m., both corps began a coordinated assault, but were repulsed by heavy fire. They attempted to move around Anderson's right flank, but were surprised to find that divisions from Ewell's Second Corps had arrived in that sector to repulse them again. Meade had not had a good day. He lost the race to Spotsylvania, he was dissatisfied with his cavalry, he judged Sedgwick to be "constitutionally slow," and he was most disappointed that Warren had been unsuccessful at Laurel Hill, telling him that he had "lost his nerve."[20]
May 9: Fortifications, Sedgwick, and HancockEdit
Positions and movements on the Union flanks, May 9
With such entrenchments as these, having artillery throughout, with flank fire along the lines wherever practicable, and with the rifled musket then in use, which were effective at three hundred yards as the smooth-bore muskets at sixty yards, the strength of an army sustaining attack was more than quadrupled, provided they had force to man the entrenchments well.
Maj. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys, chief of staff to General Meade[21]
Over the night of May 8–9, the Confederates were busy erecting a series of earthworks, more than four miles (6.4 km) long, starting at the Po River, encompassing the Laurel Hill line, crossing the Brock Road, jutting out in a horseshoe shape and then extending south past the courthouse intersection. The earthworks were reinforced with timber and guarded by artillery placed to allow enfilade fire on any attacking force. There was only one potential weakness in Lee's line—the exposed salient known as the "Mule Shoe" extending more than a mile (1.6 km) in front of the main trench line. Although Lee's engineers were aware of this problem, they extended the line to incorporate some minor high ground to Anderson's right, knowing that they would be at a disadvantage if the Union occupied it.[22]
The Union soldiers were also busy building their own entrenchments. At about 9 a.m., Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick was inspecting his VI Corps line when he was shot through the head by a Confederate sharpshooter's bullet, dying instantly, having just made the celebrated remark "they couldn't hit an elephant at this distance". Sedgwick was one of the most beloved generals in the Union Army and his death was a hard blow to his men and colleagues. Meade ordered Maj. Gen. Horatio G. Wright, the senior division commander, to replace Sedgwick.[23]
On the Union left, Burnside's IX Corps approached on the Fredericksburg Road from Alrich, led by Brig. Gen. Orlando B. Willcox's division, but they were delayed by Fitzhugh Lee's cavalrymen. When they reached close enough to observe that the Confederates were at Spotsylvania Court House, Burnside became concerned that he was too far in advance of Meade's force and ordered his men to begin entrenching. At this same time, Hancock was reporting from the right flank that Early's men had pulled back from his front. Grant absorbed these two observations and concluded that the Confederates were shifting their men from west to east, opening an opportunity for an attack. He ordered Hancock to cross the Po and attack the Confederates' left flank, driving them back toward Burnside's position near the Ni River, while the rest of his command, in the center, watched for an opening to attack there as well.[24]
Hancock's II Corps advanced across the Po, but he became nervous that the Confederates had the Block House Bridge heavily defended and decided to delay his attack until the morning. This error was fatal to Grant's plan. That night, Lee moved two divisions of Jubal Early's corps from Spotsylvania Court House into position against Hancock. Mahone's division was placed directly in Hancock's path of advance while Henry Heth's division swung around to approach Hancock's right flank.[25]
May 10: Grant attacksEdit
Grant attacks, May 10
Grant attacks, May 10 (additional map).
As morning dawned, Grant realized his assumptions about Lee's dispositions were wrong and that Hancock was facing a significant threat on his front. However, this opened a new opportunity. He guessed (incorrectly) that the troops facing Hancock had been withdrawn from Laurel Hill. He ordered Hancock to withdraw north of the Po, leaving a single division in place to occupy the Confederates in that sector, while the rest of his army was to attack at 5 p.m. across the entire Confederate line, which would identify and exploit any potential weak spot. Hancock left Francis C. Barlow's division behind hasty earthworks along Shady Grove Church Road and withdrew the remainder of his men north of the Po.[26]
At 2 p.m., Jubal Early decided to attack Barlow with Henry Heth's division. Barlow's men were soon in a difficult position as Confederate artillery lobbed in shells that set the surrounding woods on fire. They were able to retreat through a mile-long corridor and crossed the Po without being captured, destroying the bridges behind them. Grant's tactics were criticized for this so-called "Battle of the Po." Since he had ordered Hancock to move late in the day on May 9, he allowed Robert E. Lee time to react and nullify the movement on May 10.[27]
Hancock was needed in the Po sector to help Barlow's withdrawal, which meant that Warren was left in charge of the Laurel Hill sector. Immediately upon Hancock's departure, Warren requested permission from Meade to attack Laurel Hill immediately, uncoordinated with the rest of Grant's attack, scheduled for 5 p.m. Warren was embarrassed by his performance the previous day and wanted to restore his reputation for aggressiveness. For reasons unexplained, Meade acceded to the request. At 4:00 PM, elements of the II and V Corps assaulted the Confederate trenches at Laurel Hill, which required them to move through a grove of gnarled, splintered dead pine trees. The attacks were beaten off with severe losses.[28] Grant was thus forced to postpone his 5 p.m. coordinated assault until Warren could get his troops reformed.[29]
Upton's brigade attacks
At around 6 p.m., the VI Corps began its attack with an unusual formation. Col. Emory Upton led a group of 12 hand-picked regiments, about 5,000 men in four battle lines, against an identified weak point on the west side of the Mule Shoe called Doles's Salient (named after Brig. Gen. George P. Doles's Georgian troops who were manning that sector of the line). The plan was for Upton's men to rush across the open field without pausing to fire and reload, reaching the earthworks before the Confederates could fire more than a couple of shots.[30]
Once an initial breakthrough was made by the leading element, the following lines would widen the breach and spread out on each side. Gershom Mott's division was designated to support the breakthrough as well. Mott's division (4th Division, II Corps) was the weakest in the army. Once Joe Hooker's command, it had been transferred from the defunct III Corps two months earlier. The morale of the enlisted men suffered from this, and several of its regiments' enlistment terms were about to expire in a few weeks, making the men extremely gun-shy. They had been badly shot up and routed in the Wilderness, and as they headed towards the Confederate entrenchments, a burst of artillery fire caused the men to panic and flee from the field, never getting closer than a quarter of a mile to the enemy position.[30]
Three days later, Mott's division was dissolved and Mott himself demoted to command of a brigade comprising most of the remaining troops from the division. Upton's men encountered stiff Confederate resistance, but drove all the way to the parapets, where after some brief, fierce hand-to-hand action, their superior numbers carried the day and soon the Confederate defenders were driven from their trenches.[30]
Generals Lee and Ewell were quick to organize a vigorous counterattack with brigades from all sectors of the Mule Shoe, and no Union supporting units arrived. Mott had already been repulsed, unbeknownst to Upton, and units from Warren's V Corps were too spent from their earlier attacks on Laurel Hill to help. Upton's men were driven out of the Confederate works and he reluctantly ordered them to retreat. British military historian Charles Francis Atkinson wrote in 1908 that Upton's charge was "one of the classic infantry attacks of military history." Grant promoted Upton to brigadier general for his performance.[30]
Also at 6 p.m., on the Union left flank, Burnside advanced along the Fredericksburg Road. Both he and Grant were unaware that when Lee had moved units to the Po, he had left only Cadmus Wilcox's Confederate division to defend that avenue of approach and that there was a large gap between Wilcox and Ewell. (This lack of information was a tangible consequence of the decision to send all of Sheridan's cavalry away from the battlefield.) As Burnside began to get resistance from Wilcox, he timidly stopped and entrenched. That evening Grant decided that Burnside was too isolated from the rest of the line and ordered him to pull back behind the Ni and move to join his lines with Wright's. Grant wrote about this significant lost opportunity in his Personal Memoirs:
Burnside on the left had got up to within a few hundred yards of Spottsylvania Court House, completely turning Lee's right. He was not aware of the importance of the advantage he had gained, and I, being with the troops where the heavy fighting was, did not know of it at the time. He had gained his position with but little fighting, and almost without loss. Burnside's position now separated him widely from Wright's corps, the corps nearest to him. At night he was ordered to join on to this. This brought him back about a mile, and lost to us an important advantage. I attach no blame to Burnside for this, but I do to myself for not having had a staff officer with him to report to me his position.
— Gen. Ulysses Grant[31]
May 11: Planning for the grand assaultEdit
Despite his reverses on May 10, Grant had reason for optimism. The one bright spot in the day had been the partial success of Emory Upton's innovative assault. He recognized the failure stemming from the lack of support and reasoned that using the same tactics with an entire corps might be successful. Grant was then visited by General Wright, the new commander of the VI Corps, who suggested that the May 10 assaults had failed due to poor support, particularly from Mott's division. Wright told General Meade, "General, I don't want Mott's troops on my left; they are not a support. I would rather have no troops there."[32]
He assigned Hancock's II Corps to the assault on the Mule Shoe, while Burnside's IX Corps attacked the eastern end of the salient and Warren's V Corps and Wright's VI Corps applied pressure to Laurel Hill. On the morning of May 11, Grant sent a famous message to the Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton: "The result to this time is much in our favor. Our losses have been heavy as well as those of the enemy. ... I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer."[33]
Although no major combat action occurred on May 11, small-scale skirmishing and artillery fire continued most of the day.
On the Confederate side, Lee received some intelligence reports that made him believe Grant was planning to withdraw toward Fredericksburg. If this came to pass, he wanted to follow up with an immediate attack. Concerned about the mobility of his artillery to support the potential attack, he ordered that the guns be withdrawn from Allegheny Johnson's division in the Mule Shoe to be ready for a movement to the right. He was completely unaware, of course, that this was exactly the place Grant intended to attack.[34]
Hancock's men began assembling near the Brown farm that evening, about 1200 yards north of the Mule Shoe, in a torrential rainstorm. The men and junior officers were poorly prepared for the assault, lacking basic information about the nature of the ground to be covered, the obstacles to expect, or how the Confederate line was configured. Confederates could hear their preparations through the storm, but could not decide whether an attack was imminent or the Union Army was preparing to withdraw. Allegheny Johnson became suspicious and requested to Ewell that his artillery be returned. Ewell agreed, but somehow the order did not reach the artillery units until 3:30 a.m. on May 12, 30 minutes before Hancock's assault was planned to start.[35]
May 12: The Bloody AngleEdit
Grant's grand assault, May 12
Grant's grand assault, May 12 (additional map)
"The Battle of Spottsylvania" by Kurz & Allison
The Bloody Angle site
Hancock's assault was scheduled to commence at 4 a.m., but it was still pitch black and he delayed until 4:35, when the rain stopped and was replaced by a thick mist. The attack crashed through the Confederate works, virtually destroying Jones's Brigade, now commanded by Col. William Witcher. As Barlow's division swung around to the eastern tip of the Mule Shoe, it overran the brigade commanded by Brig. Gen. George "Maryland" Steuart, capturing both Steuart and his division commander, Allegheny Johnson. On Barlow's right, Brig. Gen. David B. Birney's division met stronger resistance from the brigades of Col. William Monaghan and Brig. Gen. James A. Walker (the Stonewall Brigade).[36]
The recent rain had ruined much of the Confederates' gunpowder, but they fought fiercely hand to hand. The Union troops continued to spread south along the western edge of the Mule Shoe. Despite the initial success at obliterating much of the Mule Shoe salient, there was a flaw in the Union plan—no one had considered how to capitalize on the breakthrough. The 15,000 infantrymen of Hancock's II Corps had crowded into a narrow front about a half mile wide and soon lost all unit cohesion, becoming little more than an armed mob.[36]
Following the initial shock, the Confederate leadership at all levels began to react well to the Union onslaught. John B. Gordon sent Brig. Gen. Robert D. Johnston's brigade of North Carolinians racing toward the gap where Steuart's men had collapsed. Although Johnston was wounded, his brigade halted the breakthrough in that sector. Gordon then sent forward the brigade of Col. John S. Hoffman and three regiments from Col. Clement A. Evans's brigade.[37]
General Lee was at the scene to witness these men moving forward and, similar to his action at the Widow Tapp farm in the Battle of the Wilderness, he attempted to move forward with the men, only to be stopped by Gordon and chants from the men, "Lee to the rear!" These brigades were able to secure most of the eastern leg of the Mule Shoe after about 30 minutes of fierce fighting. On the western leg, Maj. Gen. Robert E. Rodes coordinated the defense and the brigade of Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur suffered heavy casualties as they fought their way to regain the entrenchments lost by the Stonewall Brigade.[37]
Grant sent in reinforcements at about 6:30 a.m., ordering both Wright and Warren to move forward. The VI Corps division of Brig. Gen. Thomas H. Neill headed for the western leg of the Mule Shoe, at the point where it turned to the south. This sector of the line, where the heaviest fighting of the day would occur, became known as the "Bloody Angle." As Union brigade after brigade slammed into the line, William Mahone brought two of his brigades—under Brig. Gens. Abner M. Perrin and Nathaniel H. Harris—hurrying back from the extreme left flank to come to Ramseur's aid. Perrin was killed. By 8 a.m, heavy rain began to fall and both sides fought on the earthworks slippery with both water and blood. The South Carolinians of Brig. Gen. Samuel McGowan's brigade joined the defense at the critical point. At 9:30 a.m., the VI Corps division under Brig. Gen. David A. Russell joined the attack. A section of Union artillery was able to advance close to the Confederate lines and cause numerous casualties. But Confederate artillery also had a severe effect on the advance of Russell's men.[38]
Warren's attack at Laurel Hill began on a small scale around 8:15 a.m. For some of his men, this was their fourth or fifth attack against the same objective and few fought with enthusiasm. After thirty minutes the attack petered out and Warren told Meade that he was not able to advance "at present." The irascible Meade ordered Warren to attack "at once at all hazards with your whole force, if necessary." Warren relayed the order to his division commanders: "Do it. Don't mind the consequences." The attack was yet another failure, adding to the high toll of casualties as the Union corps was held up by the fire of a single Confederate division.[39]
Not only was the V Corps unable to take its objective, it had also failed to draw Confederate troops from elsewhere in the line, as Grant had intended. Both Meade and Grant were upset with Warren's performance and Grant authorized Meade to relieve Warren, replacing him with Meade's chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys. Humphreys diplomatically coordinated the withdrawal of the V Corps units without relieving Warren, but Meade began to order Warren's subordinates to reinforce Wright, and no further attacks against Laurel Hill would be planned.[39]
Ambrose Burnside was also part of the grand assault, advancing against the eastern leg of the Mule Shoe before dawn. The attack by his division under Brig. Gen. Robert B. Potter against the sector just below Steuart's Brigade materially aided Hancock's breakthrough. The North Carolina brigade of Brig. Gen. James H. Lane fought back, reinforced by a Georgia brigade under Brig. Gen. Edward L. Thomas and the North Carolina brigade of Brig. Gen. Alfred M. Scales. The two sides became stalemated. At 2 p.m., Grant and Lee coincidentally ordered simultaneous attacks. Grant considered this sector to be lightly defended and hoped for a new breakthrough while Lee wanted to take out an artillery position that the IX Corps was using to harass his line. The advance by Union Brig. Gen. Orlando B. Willcox's division against a minor salient in the line was stopped as Lane's brigade moved forward and hit them in the flank.[40]
The appalling sight presented was harrowing in the extreme. Our own killed were scattered over a large space near the "angle," while in front of the captured breastworks the enemy's dead, vastly more numerous than our own, were piled upon each other in some places four layers deep, exhibiting every ghastly phase of mutilation. Below the mass of fast-decaying corpses, the convulsive twitching of limbs and the writhing of bodies showed that there were wounded men still alive and struggling to extricate themselves from the horrid entombment. Every relief possible was afforded, but in too many cases it came too late. The place was well named the "Bloody Angle."
Grant's aide Horace Porter, Campaigning with Grant[41]
"It was a bright May day. There was no fighting on any part of the line, and by permission I went. The pickets permitted me to pass, and I went over the breastworks to that portion of the field which had been occupied by Ramseur's Brigade. On my arrival in this angle, I could well see why the enemy had withdrawn their lines. The stench was almost unbearable. There was dead artillery horses in considerable numbers that had been killed on the 10th and in the early morning of the 12th. Along these lines of breastworks where the earth had been excavated to the depth of one or two feet and thrown over, making the breastworks, I found these trenches filled with water (for there had been much rain) and in this water lay the dead bodies of friend and foe commingled, in many instances one laying across the other, and in one or more instances I saw as many as three lying across one another. All over the field lay the dead of both armies by hundreds, many of them mangled by shells. Many of the bodies swollen out of all proportion, some with their guns yet grasped in their hands. Now and then one could be seen covered with a blanket, which had been placed over him by a comrade after he had fallen. These bodies were decaying. The water was red, almost black with blood. Offensive flies were everywhere. The trees, saplings and shrubs were torn and shattered beyond description; guns, some of them broken, bayonets, canteens and cartridge boxes were scattered about, and the whole scene was such that no pen can, or ever will describe it. I have seen many fields after severe conflicts, but no where have I seen anything half so ghastly. I returned to my company and said to old man Thomas Carroll, a private in the company, who was frying meat at a fire, You would have saved rations by going with me, for I will have no more appetite for a week."[This quote needs a citation]
Sgt. Cyrus Watson, Company K, 45th North Carolina Infantry
Throughout the afternoon, Confederate engineers scrambled to create a new defensive line 500 yards further south at the base of the Mule Shoe, while fighting at the Bloody Angle continued day and night with neither side achieving an advantage, until around 12:00 AM on May 13, the fighting finally stopped. At 4 A.M., the exhausted Confederate infantrymen were notified that the new line was ready and they withdrew from the original earthworks unit by unit.[42]
The combat they had endured for almost 24 hours was characterized by an intensity of firepower never previously seen in Civil War battles, as the entire landscape was flattened, all the foliage destroyed. An example of this can be found in the Smithsonian Museum of American History: a 22-inch stump of an oak tree at the Bloody Angle that was completely severed by rifle fire. There was a frenzy to the carnage on both sides. Fighting back and forth over the same corpse-strewn trenches for hours on end, using single shot muskets, the contending troops were periodically reduced to hand-to-hand combat reminiscent of battles fought during ancient times. Bodies piled up four and five high, and soldiers were forced to pause from time to time and throw corpses over the parapet since they formed an obstacle in the way of the fighting. Dead and wounded men were shot so many times that many of them simply fell apart into unrecognizable heaps of flesh.[42]
Surviving participants attempted to describe in letters, diaries, and memoirs the hellish intensity of that day, many noting that it was beyond words. Or, as one put it: "Nothing can describe the confusion, the savage, blood-curdling yells, the murderous faces, the awful curses, and the grisly horror of the melee." Some men claimed to have fired as many as 400 rounds that day. May 12 was the most intensive day of fighting during the battle, with Union casualties of about 9,000, Confederate 8,000; the Confederate loss includes about 3,000 prisoners captured in the Mule Shoe.[42]
May 13–16: Reorienting the linesEdit
Reorienting the lines, May 13–16
Despite the significant casualties of May 12, Grant was undeterred. He telegraphed to the Army's chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck, "The enemy are obstinate and seemed to have found the last ditch." He planned to reorient his lines and shift the center of potential action to the east of Spotsylvania, where he could renew the battle. He ordered the V and VI Corps to move behind the II Corps and take positions past the left flank of the IX Corps.[43]
On the night of May 13–14, the corps began a difficult march in heavy rain over treacherously muddy roads. Early on May 14, elements of the VI Corps occupied Myers Hill, which overlooked most of the Confederate line. Col. Emory Upton's brigade skirmished most of the day to retain possession of the high ground. Grant's command was too scattered and exhausted to undertake an assault against Spotsylvania Court House on May 14, despite Lee having left it practically undefended for most of the day. When he realized what Grant was up to, Lee shifted some units from Anderson's First Corps to that area. Grant notified Washington that, having endured five days of almost continuous rain, his army could not resume offensive operations until they had 24 hours of dry weather.[43]
May 17–18: Final Union attacksEdit
Movements, May 17, final Union attacks, May 18
The weather finally cleared on May 17. Grant made an assumption that led him to his next attack plan: since Lee had observed Grant's buildup along the Fredericksburg Road, it was likely that he had countered the Union moves by shifting his forces away from the former Mule Shoe positions. He ordered the II Corps and the VI Corps to attack there at sunrise, May 18. They retraced their steps to the vicinity of the Landrum house the night of May 17. Hancock's II Corps would make the primary assault with support from Wright on their right and Burnside on their left.[44]
Unfortunately for the Union plan, the former Confederate works were still occupied by Ewell's Second Corps and they had used the intervening time to improve the earthworks and the obstacles laid out in front of them. And, unlike May 12, they were not caught by surprise, nor had they sent their artillery away. As Hancock's men advanced, they were caught up in abatis and subjected to artillery fire so devastating that infantry rifle fire was not necessary to repulse the attack. Wright and Burnside had no better luck.[45]
May 19: Harris FarmEdit
Main article: Harris Farm Engagement
Confederate dead from the Harris farm engagement
This unidentified, dead Confederate soldier of Ewell's Corps was killed during their attack at Alsop's farm. He was wounded in both the right knee and left shoulder, and probably died from loss of blood.
Confederate killed in Ewell's attack May 19, 1864, on the Alsop farm. This photograph was taken just to the right and in front of the preceding photograph.
Confederate dead of General Ewell's Corps who attacked the Union lines on May 19 lined up for burial at the Alsop Farm.
Grant reacted to this final repulse by deciding to abandon this general area as a battlefield. He ordered Hancock's II Corps to march to the railroad line between Fredericksburg and Richmond, and then turn south. With luck, Lee might take the bait and follow, seeking to overwhelm and destroy the isolated corps. In that case, Grant would chase Lee with his remaining corps and strike him before the Confederates could entrench again.[46]
Lee was engaged in his own planning, however. Before Hancock began to move, Lee ordered Ewell to conduct a reconnaissance in force to locate the northern flank of the Union army. Ewell took the majority of his Second Corps divisions under Rodes and Gordon up the Brock Road, and swung widely to the north and east to the Harris farm. There they encountered several units of Union heavy artillery soldiers who had recently been converted to infantry duty.[47]
Fighting commenced against these relatively green troops, who were soon reinforced by the 1st Maryland Regiment and then David Birney's infantry division. The fighting lasted until about 9 p.m. and Lee, concerned that Ewell was risking a general engagement while separated from the main army, recalled his men. A number of them lost their way in the dark and were captured. The Confederates had lost over 900 men on a pointless skirmish that could have been assigned to a small cavalry detachment.[47]
AftermathEdit
Grant's intended advance of Hancock's corps was delayed by the Harris farm engagement, so the troops did not begin their movement south until the night of May 20–21. Lee did not fall into Grant's trap of attacking Hancock, but traveled on a parallel path to the North Anna River. The Overland Campaign continued as Grant attempted several more times to engage Lee, found himself stymied by strong defensive positions, and moved again around Lee's flank in the direction of Richmond. Major engagements occurred at the Battle of North Anna and the Battle of Cold Harbor, after which Grant crossed the James River to attack Petersburg. The armies then faced each other for nine months in the Siege of Petersburg.[48]
CasualtiesEdit
With almost 32,000 total casualties, Spotsylvania Court House was the costliest battle of the Overland Campaign and one of the top five battles of the Civil War.[49] As at the Battle of the Wilderness, Lee's tactics had inflicted severe casualties on Grant's army. This time, the toll was over 18,000 men, of whom close to 3,000 were killed.[6] In two weeks of fighting since the start of the Wilderness, Grant had lost about 36,000 men, and another 20,000 went home when their enlistments ended. Grant on May 19 had only 56,124 effectives. Lee did not come out of these battles unscathed. At Spotsylvania, he lost another 10–13,000 men, about 23% of his army (versus 18% of Grant's). While the Union had many men available to reinforce Grant, the Confederates were forced to pull men away from other fronts to reinforce Lee. Making matters worse, the army was taking heavy losses among its veteran units and its best officers.[50]
Estimates vary as to the casualties at Spotsylvania Court House. The following table summarizes a variety of sources:
Casualty Estimates for the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
Captured/
National Park Service[51] 18,000 12,000
Bonekemper, Victor, Not a Butcher[52] 2,725 13,416 2,258 18,399 1,467 6,235 5,719 13,421
Eicher, Longest Night[53] 17,500 10,000
Esposito, West Point Atlas[54] 17–18,000 9–10,000
Fox, Regimental Losses[55] 2,725 13,416 2,258 18,399
Kennedy, Civil War Battlefield Guide[56] 18,000 9–10,000
Salmon, Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide[57] 18,000 12,000
Trudeau, Bloody Roads South[58] 2,725 13,416 2,258 18,399 6,519 5,543 12,062
Young, Lee's Army[59] 1,515 5,414 5,758 12,687
Five general officers were killed or mortally wounded during the battle: Union Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick and Brig. Gens. James C. Rice and Thomas G. Stevenson; and Confederate Brig. Gen. Junius Daniel and Abner M. Perrin.[60] Sedgwick's death is notable in that he was the highest-ranking officer by seniority to die in the war. He also famously said the ironic words "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance" shortly before his death.[61]
Medal of HonorEdit
Forty-three men received the Medal of Honor during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, including Frederick Alber, George W. Harris, John C. Robinson, Archibald Freeman, and Charles H. Tracy.[62]
Battlefield preservationEdit
Portions of the Spotsylvania Court House battlefield are now preserved as part of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. In addition, the Civil War Trust (a division of the American Battlefield Trust) and its partners have acquired and preserved 5 acres (0.020 km2) of the battlefield.[63]
American Civil War portal
Troop engagements of the American Civil War, 1864
List of costliest American Civil War land battles
Armies in the American Civil War
^ NPS
^ Further information:
Organization of the forces operating against Richmond, on the morning of May 5, 1864: Official Records, Series I, Volume XXXVI, Part 1, pages 106-116.
^ This Army Corps was under direct orders of Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant until May 24, 1864, when it was assigned to the Army of the Potomac. See: Official Records, Series I, Volume XXXVI, Part 1, page 113 (note at the bottom of the page).
^ a b c 100,000 Union, 52,000 Confederate according to the NPS; Salmon, p. 279. Eicher, p. 679, cites 110,000 Union engaged, "more than 50,000" Confederate. Kennedy, p. 286, estimates "combat strength" of 111,000 Union, 63,000 Confederate.
^ Return of Casualties in the Union forces, Battle of Spotsylvania Court-House, May 8–21, 1864 (Recapitulation): Official Records, Series I, Volume XXXVI, Part 1, page 149.
^ a b c Young, p. 236. Casualty estimates from various authors are listed in the Casualties section.
^ Salmon, p. 251; Grimsley, p. 3.
^ Hattaway & Jones, p. 525; Trudeau, pp. 29–30.
^ Eicher, pp. 661–62; Kennedy, p. 282.
^ a b Salmon, p. 253; Kennedy, pp. 280–82.
^ Welcher, pp. 957–58, 974–77; Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 330–39.
^ Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 340–46.
^ Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, p. 46; Jaynes, p. 82.
^ a b Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 30–42; Welcher, pp. 959–61; Salmon, p. 271.
^ Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 22–23; Grimsley, p. 62; Salmon, pp. 270–71.
^ Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 45–53; Welcher, p. 960; Salmon, p. 271.
^ Jaynes, pp. 86–87; Eicher, pp. 672–73; Grimsley, pp. 64–67; Welcher, pp. 960.
^ Kennedy, pp. 286–87; Eicher, pp. 673–74; Grimsley, pp. 64, 68; Welcher, p. 962.
^ Welcher, p. 961; Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 74–76, 78–81.
^ Welcher, pp. 960–61; Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 71–74, 86.
^ Humphreys, pp. 74–75.
^ Trudeau, pp. 143–44; Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 89–91; Welcher, pp. 963–64; Salmon, p. 272; Grimsley, p. 70.
^ Salmon, pp. 272–74; Eicher, p. 675; Grimsley, p. 71; Welcher, p. 963; Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 93–95.
^ Cullen, p. 31; Eicher, p. 675; Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 103–14; Welcher, p. 963.
^ Grimsley, pp. 72–73; Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 113–14; Salmon, p. 274.
^ Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 131–32; Grimsley, p. 75; Eicher, p. 675; Welcher, p. 965.
^ Eicher, p. 675; Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 135–42; Grimsley, p. 73; Welcher, p. 965.
^ Grimsley, p. 76; Welcher, p. 966; Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 165–68.
^ a b c d Grimsley, pp. 76–80; Welcher, p. 966; Kennedy, p. 285; Salmon, pp. 274–75; Eicher, p. 676; Trudeau, p. 162; Atkinson, p. 265.
^ Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 183–85; Welcher, p. 964; Grant, Ch. LII, p. 13.
^ "The Spotsylvania Campaign", Gary W. Gallagher, p. 45"
^ Simpson, pp. 307–308; Kennedy, p. 285; Cullen, p. 31; Grimsley, pp. 80, 82; Welcher, p. 967.
^ Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House pp. 219–21, 225–26; Salmon, p. 275; Jaynes, pp. 93–94; Eicher, p. 676.
^ Grimsley, pp. 83–84; Welcher, p. 967; Salmon, p. 275.
^ a b Kennedy, p. 285; Jaynes, p. 94; Salmon, p. 276; Cullen, p. 32; Grimsley, pp. 84–85.
^ a b Jaynes, pp. 98–100; Welcher, p. 968; Salmon, p. 276; Cullen, p. 32; Eicher, p. 678; Grimsley, pp. 86–87.
^ Salmon, p. 277; Grimsley, p. 87; Welcher, p. 969.
^ a b Welcher, p. 970; Grimsley, pp. 87–88; Salmon, p. 277; Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 282–90.
^ Jaynes, pp. 103–104; Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 244–46, 295–303; Welcher, p. 970.
^ Porter, p. 111.
^ a b c Rhea, Spotsylvania Court House, pp. 293, 311–12; Kennedy, p. 285; Salmon, pp. 277–78; Cullen, p. 32; Eicher, p. 678; Welcher, p. 970; Smithsonian Spotsylvania Stump.
^ a b Rhea, To the North Anna River, pp. 31–33, 65–94; Jaynes, p. 125; Cullen, pp. 33–35; Welcher, p. 971.
^ Rhea, To the North Anna River, pp. 127–31; Welcher p. 973.
^ Eicher, p. 679; Welcher, p. 973; Jaynes, p. 125; Rhea, To the North Anna River, pp. 131–53.
^ Rhea, To the North Anna River, pp. 156–57; Eicher, p. 679; Grimsley, pp. 130–31.
^ a b Jaynes, pp. 125–30; Kennedy, pp. 285–86; Salmon, pp. 278–79; Grimsley, pp. 131–33; Welcher, pp. 973–74.
^ Salmon, pp. 255–59; Grimsley, p. 134.
^ See the list of major battles in List of American Civil War battles#Major land battles.
^ Salmon, p. 279; Jaynes, p. 130.
^ (Union offensive continued) NPS
^ Bonekemper, pp. 308–309.
^ Eicher, p. 679.
^ Esposito, text for map 133.
^ Fox, Chapter XIV.
^ Kennedy, p. 286.
^ Salmon, p. 279.
^ Trudeau, p. 213.
^ Young, p. 236.
^ Smith, p. 225.
^ Foote, p. 203
^ See List of Medal of Honor recipients for the complete list.
^ [1] American Battlefield Trust "Saved Land" webpage. Accessed May 29, 2018.
Bonekemper, Edward H., III. A Victor, Not a Butcher: Ulysses S. Grant's Overlooked Military Genius. Washington, DC: Regnery, 2004. ISBN 0-89526-062-X.
Cullen, Joseph P. "Battle of Spotsylvania." In Battle Chronicles of the Civil War: 1864, edited by James M. McPherson. Connecticut: Grey Castle Press, 1989. ISBN 1-55905-027-6. First published in 1989 by McMillan.
Eicher, David J. The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 0-684-84944-5.
Esposito, Vincent J. West Point Atlas of American Wars. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1959. OCLC 5890637. The collection of maps (without explanatory text) is available online at the West Point website.
Foote, Shelby. The Civil War: A Narrative. vol. 3, Red River to Appomattox. New York: Random House, 1974. ISBN 0-394-74913-8.
Fox, William F. Regimental Losses in the American Civil War. Dayton, OH: Morningside Press, 1993. ISBN 0-685-72194-9. First published 1898 in Washington, DC.
Grimsley, Mark. And Keep Moving On: The Virginia Campaign, May–June 1864. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8032-2162-2.
Hattaway, Herman, and Archer Jones. How the North Won: A Military History of the Civil War. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1983. ISBN 0-252-00918-5.
Humphreys, Andrew A. The Virginia Campaign of '64 and '65: The Army of The Potomac and the Army of The James. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1883. OCLC 479956.
Jaynes, Gregory, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. The Killing Ground: Wilderness to Cold Harbor. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1986. ISBN 0-8094-4768-1.
Kennedy, Frances H., ed. The Civil War Battlefield Guide[permanent dead link]. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. ISBN 0-395-74012-6.
McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford History of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-19-503863-0.
Rhea, Gordon C. The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, May 7–12, 1864. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-8071-2136-3.
Rhea, Gordon C. To the North Anna River: Grant and Lee, May 13–25, 1864. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8071-2535-0.
Salmon, John S. The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001. ISBN 0-8117-2868-4.
Simpson, Brooks D. Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph over Adversity, 1822–1865. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. ISBN 0-395-65994-9.
Smith, Derek. The Gallant Dead: Union & Confederate Generals Killed in the Civil War. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2005. ISBN 0-8117-0132-8.
Trudeau, Noah Andre. Bloody Roads South: The Wilderness to Cold Harbor, May–June 1864. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1989. ISBN 978-0-316-85326-2.
Welcher, Frank J. The Union Army, 1861–1865 Organization and Operations. Vol. 1, The Eastern Theater. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989. ISBN 0-253-36453-1.
Young, Alfred C., III. Lee's Army during the Overland Campaign: A Numerical Study. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2013. ISBN 978-0-8071-5172-3.
National Park Service battle description
Memoirs and primary sourcesEdit
Atkinson, Charles Francis. Grant's Campaigns of 1864 and 1865: The Wilderness and Cold Harbor (May 3 – June 3, 1864). The Pall Mall military series. London: H. Rees, 1908. OCLC 2698769.
Badeau, Adam. Military History of Ulysses S. Grant (Vol. III). New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1881.
Grant, Ulysses S. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant. 2 vols. Charles L. Webster & Company, 1885–86. ISBN 0-914427-67-9.
Longstreet, James. From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of the Civil War in America. New York: Da Capo Press, 1992. ISBN 0-306-80464-6. First published in 1896 by J. B. Lippincott and Co.
Porter, Horace. Campaigning with Grant. New York: Century Co., 1897. OCLC 913186.
U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.
Alexander, Edward P. Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander. Edited by Gary W. Gallagher. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989. ISBN 0-8078-4722-4.
Bearss, Edwin C. Fields of Honor: Pivotal Battles of the Civil War. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 2006. ISBN 0-7922-7568-3.
Carmichael, Peter S., ed. Audacity Personified: The Generalship of Robert E. Lee. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-8071-2929-1.
Catton, Bruce. A Stillness at Appomattox. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, 1953. ISBN 0-385-04451-8.
Frassanito, William A. Grant and Lee: The Virginia Campaigns 1864–1865. New York: Scribner, 1983. ISBN 0-684-17873-7.
Gallagher, Gary W., ed. The Wilderness Campaign. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997. ISBN 0-8078-2334-1.
Hogan, David W. Jr. The Overland Campaign. Washington, DC: United States Army Center of Military History, 2014. ISBN 9780160925177.
King, Curtis S., William G. Robertson, and Steven E. Clay. Staff Ride Handbook for the Overland Campaign, Virginia, 4 May to 15 June 1864: A Study on Operational-Level Command. (PDF document). Fort Leavenworth, Kan.: Combat Studies Institute Press, 2006. OCLC 62535944.
Lyman, Theodore. With Grant and Meade: From the Wilderness to Appomattox. Edited by George R. Agassiz. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8032-7935-3.
Mackowski, Chris, and Kristopher D. White. A Season of Slaughter: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, May 8–21, 1864. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2013. ISBN 978-1-61121-148-1.
Matter, William D. If It Takes All Summer: The Battle of Spotsylvania. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8078-1781-0.
Miller, Francis Trevelyan, Robert S. Lanier, and James Verner Scaife, eds. The Photographic History of the Civil War. 10 vols. New York: Review of Reviews Co., 1911. ISBN 0-7835-5726-4.
Power, J. Tracy. Lee's Miserables: Life in the Army of Northern Virginia from the Wilderness to Appomattox. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8078-2392-9.
Rhea, Gordon C. The Battle of the Wilderness May 5–6, 1864. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8071-1873-7.
Rhea, Gordon C. In the Footsteps of Grant and Lee: The Wilderness Through Cold Harbor. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-8071-3269-2.
Smith, Jean Edward. Grant. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 0-684-84927-5.
Wert, Jeffry D. The Sword of Lincoln: The Army of the Potomac. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. ISBN 0-7432-2506-6.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House: Battle Maps, histories, photos, and preservation news (Civil War Trust)
Animated map of the Overland Campaign (Civil War Trust)
National Park Service battlefield site
Animated history of the Overland Campaign
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Spotsylvania_Court_House&oldid=998086416"
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Ghost Reveries
2005 studio album by Opeth
August 29, 2005 (2005-08-29)
15 March – 1 June 2005
Fascination Street Studios (Örebro, Sweden)
Progressive metal[1]
progressive rock[2]
death metal[2]
Jens Bogren
Opeth chronology
(2003) Ghost Reveries
(2005) Collecter's Edition Slipcase
Singles from Ghost Reveries
"The Grand Conjuration"
Released: July 26, 2005
Ghost Reveries is the eighth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on August 29, 2005. It was their first album after signing with Roadrunner Records, and first album since Still Life (1999) to not be produced by Steven Wilson.[3]
Ghost Reveries is the first album by Opeth to include keyboardist Per Wiberg as a "permanent" member (although Wiberg contributed keyboard work to Opeth's live performances starting around the time of Lamentations), and it is the last Opeth album to include drummer Martin Lopez and long-time guitarist Peter Lindgren.[4]
The album's only single is "The Grand Conjuration". A music video of the song was released, although about half of the song was edited from the video, due to the length of the song. Lopez does not appear in the video, as he was sick and was temporarily replaced by Gene Hoglan.[5]
5.1 Release history
7.1 Band
7.3 Additional personnel
8.1 Weekly
8.2 Monthly
Background[edit]
For the first time since Still Life, the songs for Ghost Reveries were written for the album before going into the studio. This gave Opeth three weeks to rehearse and perfect the recording in the studio. The band had to decide whether to record the album at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden, or at Sonic Ranch. They eventually chose Fascination Street Studios, as it was closer to their homes.
Style[edit]
The album marks a temporary return to the progressive metal styles of the previous albums and features death growls, though still includes some of the progressive rock elements of Damnation.
Ghost Reveries was initially intended to be a concept album, with numerous tracks linking together a story of a man's turmoil after committing an unconscionable act, symbolised by killing his own mother. However, Mikael Åkerfeldt commented:
"I had intended to do a occult concept piece lyrically and got off to a great start with some downright evil lyrics like "The Baying of the Hounds" and "Ghost of Perdition", then I did "Isolation Years" which had nothing to do with the intended concept but I liked it so much I decided to ease up on the concept idea in favour of this one lyric. Why I decided on a occult theme? Well, I've always been intrigued by it, especially Satanism and stuff like that. I studied some books that oddly enough my wife had in her collection like "Servants of Satan" as well as "Witchcraft and Sorcery" + some more. I figured it'd be interesting to see what a mature 31 year old mind would make of this subject as opposed to the 16 year old kid who used to pose in front of his Bathory poster. I'm quite happy with them to be honest, and they're ... evil!"[6]
The album only partly portrays a concept, not fully arranged in the poetic manner as previous releases such as Still Life and My Arms, Your Hearse.
"The Baying of the Hounds" is partially inspired by lyrics from the song "Diana" from Comus's album First Utterance.
Artwork[edit]
The artwork was created after the completion of the album. Åkerfeldt commented on the artwork, saying:
"I'd been looking for one of the old medieval looking woodcuts, me and Peter went to the Royal library here in Stockholm looking for a evil (yep!) picture, but that was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Couldn't find one. In the meantime, I'd received some pics from good ol' Travis Smith. And as per usual with Mr. Smith, he's a genius ... the candle pictures just blew me away ... that's the cover, fuck the woodcuts! I love it! It's probably the most gothic looking cover we've had, right?"
Blabbermouth.net [8]
Chronicles of Chaos [9]
Kerrang! [10]
Pitchfork Media 8.4/10[11]
PopMatters [12]
Terrorizer [10]
Ghost Reveries received critical acclaim and peaked on the Billboard 200 at number 64.[13]
In 2014, TeamRock put Ghost Reveries at #46 on their "Top 100 Greatest Prog Albums of All Time" list commenting that "this was a partial concept album, with Satanism as its theme. It’s now regarded as one of the defining albums of 21st-century progressive metal."[14] Loudwire placed the album at #3 on their "Top 100 Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Albums of the 21st Century" list, only being beaten out by System of a Down's Toxicity (#2) and Tool's Lateralus (#1).[15]
Release[edit]
Ghost Reveries was released in Europe on August 29, 2005, and in North America on August 30, 2005.
A special edition of the album was released by Roadrunner Records on October 31, 2006. It is packaged in a large digipak and contains a CD and DVD, along with new cover art and an extended booklet featuring extra album artwork and a letter from Åkerfeldt. The CD contains the original tracks from the album, as well as a bonus cover of "Soldier of Fortune" by Deep Purple, which was recorded as a live take with the band's new drummer, Martin Axenrot. The DVD contains a Dolby 5.1 surround sound mix (not including the bonus track), a 40-minute documentary, and the video for "The Grand Conjuration". This documentary details the making of Ghost Reveries, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the band's day-to-day life while recording and touring.[16]
Some copies of Ghost Reveries were mastered using HDCD. Although it is unmarked, playing the album in a CD player able to decode HDCD will give superior sound quality.
"Ghost of Perdition" is included in the soundtrack for the video game Saints Row 2 on the radio station Krunch 106.66.[17] As of November 29, 2011, it is also available for download for the video game Rock Band 3. "The Grand Conjuration" is included in the soundtrack for the video game Sleeping Dogs, on the radio station "roadrunner records". It is also included in the soundtrack for the video game Final Fight: Streetwise, being the boss battle theme song of one of the game's bosses, Famine.[18]
Release history[edit]
August 29, 2005 Europe
August 30, 2005 United States
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Mikael Åkerfeldt[19].
"Ghost of Perdition" 10:29
"The Baying of the Hounds" 10:41
"Beneath the Mire" 7:57
"Atonement" 5:23
"Reverie/Harlequin Forest[a]" 11:39
"Hours of Wealth" 5:20
"The Grand Conjuration" 10:21
"Isolation Years" 3:51
^ "Reverie" appears after 5:23 in "Atonement". On the CD version, it appears in the pregap between "Atonement" and "Harlequin Forest". On the digital version, the pregap has just been added to the end of "Atonement".
Personnel[edit]
Band[edit]
Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, Mellotron
Peter Lindgren – lead guitar
Martín Méndez – bass
Per Wiberg – Hammond organ, Mellotron, grand piano, Moog
Martin Lopez – drums, percussion
Production[edit]
Jens Bogren – production, engineering, mixing, mastering (at Cutting Room Studios), 5.1 remix
Opeth – production, engineering, mixing, mastering, art direction, recording ("Soldier of Fortune")
Pontus Olsson – engineering ("Soldier of Fortune"), mixing ("Soldier of Fortune")
Rickard Bengtsson – recording
Anders Alexandersson – recording
Niklas Källgren – recording
Thomas Eberger – mastering
Additional personnel[edit]
Travis Smith – art direction, illustration, layout
Anthony Sorrento – band portraits
Charts[edit]
Weekly[edit]
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[20]
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[21]
Monthly[edit]
Poland (ZPAV Top 100)
38[22]
^ Cai, Freddy (23 June 2009). "#10: OPETH – GHOST REVERIES". Metal Sucks. Forefathers Group. Retrieved 12 December 2015. Ghost Reveries is the most solid and progressive metal album I’ve heard this decade
^ a b c Jurek, Thom (2005). "Ghost Reveries - Opeth". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
^ "Opeth sign with Roadrunner Records". Blabbermouth.net. 20 May 2005. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
^ "Peter Lindgren and Martin Lopez quit Opeth". Retrieved 7 August 2010. [permanent dead link]
^ "'The Grand Conjuration' Video Posted Online". Blabbermouth.net. 2 September 2005. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013. CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Alternative Press | Reviews". Altpress.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^ "Blabbermouth.Net". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2005. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^ "CoC : Opeth - Ghost Reveries : Review". Chroniclesofchaos.com. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^ a b [1] Archived September 2, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
^ Stosuy, Brandon. Ghost Reveries review 2007-01-02. Retrieved on 2010-11-26.
^ Begrand, Adrien. "Opeth: Ghost Reveries". PopMatters. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^ "Ghost Reveries Number 64 on the Billboard". Retrieved 7 August 2010.
^ Edwards, Mike. "The 100 Greatest Prog Albums Of All Time: 60-41". TeamRock. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
^ "Top 100 Hard Rock + Heavy Metal Albums of the 21st Century". Loudwire. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
^ "Ghost Reveries Special Edition". Archived from the original on 17 July 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
^ "Saints Row 2 Soundtrack". Retrieved 7 August 2010. [permanent dead link]
^ "Final Fight: Streetwise Soundtrack". Retrieved 3 March 2020.
^ "Opeth official website discography". Opeth.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
^ "Opeth: Ghost Reveries" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2014. CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Ghost Reveries's equipment at Opeth.com
Mikael Åkerfeldt
Martín Méndez
Martin Axenrot
Fredrik Åkesson
Joakim Svalberg
David Isberg
Anders Nordin
Johan De Farfalla
Peter Lindgren
Martin Lopez
Per Wiberg
Morningrise
My Arms, Your Hearse
Blackwater Park
Pale Communion
Lamentations (Live at Shepherd's Bush Empire 2003)
The Roundhouse Tapes
In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall
Garden of the Titans: Live at Red Rocks Amphitheater
Collecter's Edition Slipcase
The Candlelight Years
The Wooden Box
Heritage Hunter Tour
MBRG: 00f78b7d-bd0a-356a-aec4-925e529023f8
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ghost_Reveries&oldid=1000441591"
Opeth albums
Roadrunner Records albums
Albums produced by Jens Bogren
Albums with cover art by Travis Smith (artist)
Use dmy dates from December 2020
Album articles lacking alt text for covers
Album chart usages for Poland
Album chart usages for Finland
Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers
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Nikki Giovanni (June 7, 1943) is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator.
History is wonderful. We have so much we can learn if we would quit making ideology out of history, and just deal with what happened…
On writing without historical references in “NIKKI GIOVANNI: INTERVIEW” in Mosaic Magazine (2008 Aug 1)
Politics is personal. That, however, doesn’t mean it’s ideological. It means that one cares about what she or he is doing, what he or she is writing…
On the politics seeping into the personal in “NIKKI GIOVANNI: INTERVIEW” in Mosaic Magazine (2008 Aug 1)
As a writer, one has to be willing to be wrong, willing to make mistakes. I’ve put everything on the table and accepted the fact that I may come up short. And, if (or when) I do, that’s okay.
On accepting fault as a writer in “NIKKI GIOVANNI: INTERVIEW” in Mosaic Magazine (2008 Aug 1)
Poets shouldn't commit suicide. That would leave the world to those without imaginations or hearts. That would bequeath to the world a mangled syntax and no love of champagne. Poets must live in misery and ecstasy, to sing a song with the katydids. Poets should be ashamed to die before they kiss the sun.
On her poem “Poets” in “Poet Nikki Giovanni On The Darker Side Of Her Life” in NPR (2013 Oct 29)
You have to read the poem and say, “My god, that’s a good poem,” and kind of smile at yourself. If you’re not willing to do that, then you’re wasting your time, and you’re hurting yourself in another way because you’re trying to please somebody who doesn’t like you. You don’t want to get in that position.
On poets having to trust themselves in “Nikki Giovanni on trusting your own voice”] in The Creative Independent (2017 Apr 24)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Nikki_Giovanni&oldid=2700725"
Poets from the United States
Authors from the United States
People from Knoxville
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Teens favor inhalants and switch over to worst drugs
A new report released by the federal government shows preteens and young teenagers like using inhalants and often move on to more harmful drugs.
Drug users as young as 12- and 13-years-old are sniffing household chemicals to become high, according to the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition.
Then, they move on to drugs such as marijuana or painkillers.
“Inhalants are everywhere in the house and garage, and parents often do not realize that glue and paint are not being used for crafts or science projects,” said Dr. H. Westley Clark, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Statistics director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment in a news release.
In the news release, Clark said the inhalants can damage the brain, liver, heart, or kidneys – and can even have fatal consequences.
The report is based on a national survey, which looked at individuals aged 12 and 17 between 2002 and 2006.
The data showed an annual average of 593,000 teenagers had used inhalants for the first time in the year before the survey.
Of those surveyed, 21 percent said they used an illicit drug in the past year.
The 12- and 13-year-olds said inhalants were the most “illicit” drug used in the past year, while marijuana was favored among older teenagers, it was reported.
Shoe polish, glue and toluene were the most popular inhalants, according to the survey.
Inhalants are drugs in the forms of gas aerosols, or solvents, which are inhaled as a vapor. Inhalant drugs are used for both medical purposes and as recreational drugs for their intoxicating effect; this article focuses on the use of inhalants to create psychoactive effects. Inhalants used as recreational drugs include organic solvents from cleaning products and glues and propellant gases from aerosol cans. Some inhalants, such as ether, nitrous oxide, and alkyl nitrites, have been widely used both medically and recreationally.
The effects of recreational solvent inhalation can range from an alcohol-like intoxication and euphoria to hallucinations. The use of inhalants can cause injuries and, in some cases can lead to death. Nonmedical inhalant use is restricted and even criminalized in some jurisdictions, often by forbidding the sale of commonly-used products, such as contact cement, to minors. However, since solvents and aerosol propellants are used in a wide variety of household products, these restrictions have only a limited effect.
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Vega: a new EuroHPC world-class supercomputer in Slovenia
Published on 1 October 2020
The procurement contract of Vega, a new petascale EuroHPC supercomputer has been signed by the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU), the Institute of Information Science in Maribor, Slovenia (IZUM), the hosting entity, and the company Atos, the selected vendor.
Vega, named after a Slovenian mathematician Jurij Vega, will be a petascale supercomputer, capable of executing more than 6,8 Petaflops or 6,8 million billion calculations per second. With such performance, the system will be amongst the world's top 50 supercomputers.
Mr. Anders Dam Jensen, the EuroHPC Executive Director stated:
"Thanks to this signature, the Vega supercomputer will increase the computing power available in Slovenia and in Europe as a whole by early next year. It will support European researchers and users from the public and industry sector, wherever they are in Europe. Vega will drive innovation and help Europe compete globally in strategic domains including artificial intelligence, high performance data analytics (HPDA), personalised medicine, bio-engineering, fight against climate change, or drug and material design."
Dr. Aleš Bošnjak, Director of IZUM added:
“ With this new supercomputer, we will be able to fulfil our HPC RIVR (Computing Infrastructure of the Eastern Region) project design goals and ensure that a new generation of experts and developers, as well as the wider Slovenian community, can meet new challenges within our national consortium SLING (Slovenian National Supercomputing Network) and further contribute to the regional and European HPC initiatives.”
Vega is co-funded by IZUM and the EuroHPC JU with a joint investment of EUR 17.2 million and will be jointly operated by the two entities. This new supercomputing system is expected to be operational in March 2021.
Its objective is to foster open science and enhance research and innovation in Europe by providing access to leading edge HPC infrastructures and services to a wide range of users from the scientific community as well as the industry and the public sector. This new supercomputer will support the development of leading scientific, public sector and industrial applications in many domains, specifically including machine learning, artificial intelligence and high performance data analytics (HPDA).
The company Atos has been selected following a call for tender launched in April 2020.
The computing power of Vega will soon be complemented by four additional EuroHPC petascale supercomputers to be built in the following supercomputing centres:
LuxProvide, Luxembourg
Sofiatech, Bulgaria
IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Centre, Czech Republic
Minho Advanced Computing Centre (MACC), Portugal,
and three EuroHPC pre-exascale supercomputers located at the following supercomputing centres:
Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, Spain
CSC – IT Center for Science, Finland
CINECA, Italy.
Press release from IZUM
Technical specifications of the new system in this dedicated section of our website.
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Telstra Exchange > T22 > Telstra Plus: our new rewards program for customers
T22 | Telstra News |
Telstra Plus: our new rewards program for customers
By Andrew Penn April 2, 2019
In our long history, we have always strived to bring you more first, from the first digital mobile network in Australia to Australia’s first 5G network and soon first 5G devices. Today, we are announcing a new rewards program for our loyal customers, giving you the opportunity to earn discounts on new technology as well as bonus entertainment and more.
Australians now have more choice than ever when it comes to their telco provider, and millions of customers continue to choose Telstra for their connectivity, technology and entertainment.
We value every single customer, and we want to say a thank you for being with us and proudly announce we have found a way to reward your loyalty.
Today we bring you our new rewards program, Telstra Plus, which will give you the opportunity to earn discounts on the latest devices and accessories, as well as access to discounted and pre-sale movie tickets, entertainment rewards, VIP tech support, and more simply for being a Telstra customer. We are also working with leading technology partners to pass on discounts on some of the world’s best technology to you.
From today, you and our around 8 million consumer customers can sign up to be a member of Telstra Plus from today with bonus points being given to customers that sign up before 30 June 2019.
From 14 May, you will begin to accumulate points you can later exchange for discounts on the latest devices and accessories. You will earn points for every dollar you spend on your bill every month, every service, every subscription or device repayment.
In the last year, we have done a lot to put our customers first as part of our T22 strategy. We said goodbye to excess data charges on mobile plans, launched an expanded suite of entertainment and technology add-ons, launched Platinum support and removed lock-in fees for small businesses, and most recently introduced contract-free plans for home broadband.
These initiatives along with Telstra Plus, are part of our move to radically simplify our products and services for our customers, and to improve the experience that you can enjoy with us – and you will see this again when we launch our simplified mobile plans in June 2019 providing customers with more freedom and flexibility to customise their experience with Telstra.
You have told us that you want flexibility and choice, and that you want to be recognised and rewarded for your loyalty. Our new plans due in June, along with Telstra Plus, make that a reality.
Telstra Plus Points – From 14 May
Telstra Plus members will earn 10 points for every $1 they spend on their monthly account, which they will be able to put towards discounts on new accessories and handsets. There will be opportunities for customers to earn bonus points by adding a new service on their account, taking out a special deal or by simply upgrading their services.
Telstra Plus Member Benefits – Coming soon
Telstra Plus members will be allocated a tier status (Member, Silver, Gold) when they sign up, calculated on their previous 12 months’ spend.
All members will have access to discounted movie tickets, pre-sale tickets and front of line access for a variety of sport and entertainment experiences.
Silver members will receive a one-off Telstra Platinum tech support call online or over the phone per year and an entertainment bonus – details to be unveiled soon.
Gold members will receive priority call handling and 24×7 tech support online or over the phone through Telstra Platinum valued at $120 per year. Gold members will also receive an entertainment bonus – details to be unveiled soon.
Telstra Plus Rewards – Coming soon
Telstra Plus enables customers to earn points towards discounts on devices and tech accessories. Our most popular devices and accessories from leading tech partners will be available in our Telstra Plus rewards store for Telstra Plus members.
Members will earn points at different rates depending on their spend and account activity. Some examples using today’s devices include:
A household spending $80 a month would earn enough points after 18 months to fully redeem a smart speaker
A household spending $160 per month would have earned enough points after 18 months to fully redeem a Telstra Smart Wi-Fi Booster
A household spending $255 per month who also earned bonus points by adding a new service would have earned enough points after two years to receive a 25% discount off a Samsung Galaxy S10 or a 40% discount on a Samsung S8
To join, visit Telstra Plus My Account and click on the link to join Telstra Plus, then follow the instructions. Customers must be over 18, have an active consumer (personal) service personal Telstra ID to enroll.
From today, customers are encouraged to enroll in the program to earn points from 14 May with bonus points for all those signing up as members between now and 30 June.
Tags: customers, Telstra Plus
By Andrew Penn
CEO - Telstra
Andy Penn became the CEO and Managing Director of Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications company, on 1 May 2015. At Telstra, Andy is leading an ambitious change program transforming the business to be positioned to compete in the radically changing technology world of the future with 5G at its core. Andy has had an extensive career spanning 40 years across 3 different industries - telecommunications, financial services and shipping. He joined Telstra in 2012 as Chief Financial Officer. In 2014 he took on the additional responsibilities as Group Executive International.
Prior to Telstra, Andy spent 23 years with the AXA Group, one of the world’s largest insurance and investment groups. His time at AXA included the roles of Chief Executive Officer 2006-2011 AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Executive Asia and Chief Executive Australia and New Zealand. At AXA, Andy was instrumental in building one of the most successful Asian businesses by an Australian company that was sold to its parent in 2011 for more than A$10bn.
Other directorships & appointments: Member of the Council of Trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria; Board Director of the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA); Chairman of the Australian Government’s Cyber Industry Advisory Panel, created to guide development of Australia’s 2020 Cyber Security Strategy; Patron, on behalf of Telstra, of the National and Torres Straights Islanders Arts Awards (NATSIAA); Life Governor of Very Special Kids and an Ambassador for the Amy Gillett Foundation. He serves on the advisory boards of both The Big Issue Home for Homes and JDRF.
Recognition and qualifications: MBA (Kingston), AMP (Harvard), FCCA, HFAIPM. Andy has a national diploma in business studies (with distinction), is a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants, holds an MBA from Kingston University and is a graduate of Harvard’s Advanced Management Program. In 2008 Andy was recognised as Insurance Executive of the year in the Australian Banking and Finance Awards and in 2016 he was made an honorary fellow of the Australian Institute of Project Management. In 2018 Andy was named by the Financial Times among the top 10 male leaders globally HERoes list supporting women in business. In 2019 he was named by the Australian Financial Review as among the top 10 most powerful people in business.
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j brand news and archive
J Brand to shift towards direct distribution model, jobs to be cut
The Fast Retailing Group has announced a shakeup of the business model of its premium denim brand J Brand which will result in an undisclosed number of job cuts. To be more precise, the company said it will launch a “strategic plan to rearticulate the business model” of the brand “and shift direction toward direct distribution”. That means that...
J Brand debuts capsule collection with Halpern for Fall 2020
While the runways have traditionally been a place for designers to showcase their latest sole works, it has also become the platform to debut collaborations made with other labels, such as the partnership between Claudi Li and footwear brand Teva during New York Fashion Week and just across the pond, J Brand has debuted its capsule collection...
Kate Bosworth and J Brand fight human trafficking
Actress Kate Bosworth has teamed up with J Brand to raise awareness of the devastation of human trafficking with a limited edition T-shirt to benefit the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking. The ‘Love Tee’ by Kate Bosworth came about on set while shooting J Brand’s spring collection, when the actress simply personalised the label’s...
Jeffrey Rudes launches Hamptons summer pop-up
Luxury and modern tailoring company Jeffrey Rudes has opened a pop-up for the summer. Settling in on the East Coast, the Los Angeles-based Rudes has picked the Hamptons for its temporary shop. The store will reflect its existing location in New York. The pop-up will have a white-deco and will retail the company’s merchandise including tops,...
Lynne Koplin steps down as President of J Brand
Fashion veteran Lynne Koplin has stepped down from her role as President of premium denim and sportswear label J Brand. The premium US brand, which was acquired by Japanese conglomerate Fast Retailing in 2012, has yet to announce her successor or its plan for the role, but stated Koplin left her role to pursue other career opportunities. Koplin...
UK denim more about value than premium
There are more than 150,000 denim products in the market today, according to a new report that highlighted that premium denim in the UK is shrinking, whereas the value market led by Asos is on the increase, which identifies a growing divergence in trends between the UK and the US. UK consumers are increasingly turning towards value denim...
François Girbaud to bring denim innovation to J Brand
French designer François Girbaud is making his comeback to the denim industry and will be working for Los-Angeles based label J Brand, following the compulsory liquidation of his company Marithé + François Girbaud in November 2013. Since the bankruptcy of his company Girbaud,who is referred to as the 'Godfather of denim', is said to have been...
Jeff Rudes leaves J Brand
Jeff Rudes, the founder and chief executive of premium denim brand J Brand, is leaving the company. Japanese parent companyFast Retailing, which acquired a majority stake in the Californian-based label in 2012, confirmed the exit and added that Andrew Rosen, Chief Executive Officer of Theory and Helmut Lang would serve as interim CEO until a...
Fast Retailing sets up J Brand Japan
Japanese retail holding company Fast Retailing hasannounced that it is setting up a new subsidiary company, J Brand Japan, to “create and develop” the denim brand in Japan. Fast Retailing, which designs, manufactures and sells clothes under numerous brands including Uniqlo, Comptoir des Cotonniers, GU, Helmut Lang, Princesse tam.tam, and Theory,...
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Most Likely To Succeed
Directed by: Greg Whiteley
Cast: Laszlo Bock, Brian Cesson, Scott Swaaley
A documentary about education and curriculum reform in the 21st century American school system.
Directed by acclaimed documentarian Greg Whiteley, the film has been an official selection of two dozen of the world’s top film festivals, including Sundance, Tribeca, AFI, Cleveland, Dallas, Milwaukee, Sarasota, Seattle, Virginia, and Bergen.
At the beginning of the film Whiteley watches his young daughter struggle to pay attention during a parent-teacher conference about her recent dip in performance. As the educator spouts off rhetoric stressing the role of homework as a perseverance-builder, the image freezes on the disinterested 4th grader and Whiteley provides a little context. "I know this look. It's a look that says, this is rubbish."
Most Likely To Succeed is the best film ever done on the topic of school — both its past and its future. It inspires its audiences with a sense of purpose and possibility, and is bringing school communities together in re-imagining what our students and teachers are capable of doing. After seeing this film, you’ll never look at school the same way again.
Brian Cesson
Greg Whiteley
Laszlo Bock
Scott Swaaley
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Stephen Badger: Balancing profit with creating value for society
Home Financial news Stephen Badger: Balancing profit with creating value for society
It was the early 1990s when Stephen Badger first folded his arms and tipped backwards, hoping that another member of the billionaire Mars family would catch him as he fell.
Some relatives were less sure about the trust-building exercise but he credits the now-regular gatherings with tightening the bonds between members of America’s third richest clan, strengthening their determination to keep their $35bn-a-year empire private for another century or more.
Privacy (the word he prefers to secrecy) was a hallmark of Mars since its foundation in 1911, playing into a Willy Wonka-like reputation for guarding the formulas of its confections. But “G4”, the fourth generation Mr Badger belongs to, has changed that, just as it has reshaped a 115,000-person company which now employs 40,000 veterinarians alongside the employees making M&M’s, Wrigley’s gum and Whiskas cat food.
Their reason for doing so points to the challenge Mr Badger has taken on: how to keep a family company private while having a louder voice on the public issues on which its long-term success depends.
The Mars chairmanship rotates around the branches of the family tree, and Mr Badger (son of Jackie, grandson of Forrest Sr, great-grandson of founder Frank) is near the end of his second three-year tour.
Thursday, 6 October, 2016
There is no Willy Wonka magic in Mars’ studiously anonymous headquarters building in Virginia, where its egalitarian ethos means that the chairman’s desk is no bigger than anybody else’s. (“Consumers shouldn’t have to pay for us to sit at a nice desk,” he explains.)
On the walls are reminders of the five guiding principles that his uncles, John and Forrest Jr, codified. “We need freedom to shape our future; we need profit to remain free,” the last of them reads, and by “free” Mars means avoiding all risk of needing outside shareholders.
READ ALSO US threatens to end co-operation with Mexico on criminal cases
“It was not an easy discussion” for Mr Badger’s relatives to consider sacrificing their low profile, he says, but they faced two challenges.
The first was the need to attract talent. “People want to know who they’re coming to work for . . . What do they stand for?” he observes.
The second was that as Mars stepped up its efforts to make its business more sustainable, it realised that it could not tackle issues as big as climate change alone. It needed partners from business, government and academia “to move the world”.
Mr Badger came late to Mars. He had grown up enjoying his privileged access to the almond M&M’s in his grandfather’s crystal decanter and worked summer shifts in an M&M’s factory, but felt little pressure to join the family company.
Saturday, 9 September, 2017
Instead, he pursued organic farming and became president of an heirloom seeds company which eventually faced a need for capital.
Selling Seeds of Change to Mars was the logical choice, and converted him to the idea that it was through business that he could have a positive impact on the world. In his time at Mars he has overseen its response to the obesity crisis, ending its marketing to children under 12, and championed a $1bn pledge to slash Mars’ carbon footprint by 60 per cent in a generation.
But with many of these issues, “there’s no way that we can move the needle ourselves”, so Mars must persuade suppliers, competitors and governments that systemic change is needed.
Its tool for doing so is a theory of business that Mr Badger traces to a letter Forrest Sr wrote in 1947, which argued that the company’s sole purpose was to generate “a mutuality of benefits” for the consumers, staff, suppliers, distributors and communities on which it depends.
READ ALSO Iranian Long-Range Missiles Land Near US Commercial Ship In Indian Ocean
“We believe we will only achieve the best results if we are unselfish in these relationships and give a fair return,” the company mantra now reads. Even at a moment when investors talk about putting social purpose before profits, it is an unusual corporate creed.
Mr Badger wants to make it more common, by turning the “economics of mutuality” model into nothing less than a new school of thought. Since 2007, its in-house think-tank has been looking at how to balance profit with creating value for society. Five years ago Mars enlisted Oxford university’s Saïd Business School to find a quantitative definition of mutuality.
Now, its chairman is looking to establish a management model for others to follow, by extracting the think-tank from Mars, putting it into a foundation in Switzerland, and inviting input from other business schools and companies.
“What we’re trying to do is to not make this the Mars version of capitalism 2.0 but to really unlock the secret sauce to this issue such that we can spread it throughout businesses around the world,” he says.
Why would someone whose forebears guarded their secrets so closely now give them away? “If all boats rise with the tide . . . our business is going to be better-off,” he replies.
Mr Badger’s generation has codified a purpose statement for Mars, which states: “The world we want tomorrow starts with the business we build today.” But talk of tomorrow invites questions about what Mars will look like when G5 and G6 are in charge. Mr Badger is already acutely aware of the difference between his generation and the one it succeeded.
“There’s a different dynamic in a cousin consortium than there is between three siblings,” he notes, and he knows there is no guarantee that his children’s children will be as committed to Mars. “There will always, in future generations, be someone who says, ‘I’d rather spend my money on this’.”
READ ALSO WhatsApp delays privacy changes that led to user exodus
But he sees his role as one of stewardship and says he has been “putting in place the guardrails for the sanctity of the business”. Those include simple steps like ensuring that spouses feel involved in Mars and more formal policies to ensure family members working for the company add value.
Can he share more details? “No, I’d hesitate to,” he responds: “I think it’s a private family matter.”
Three questions for Stephen Badger
What was your first leadership lesson?
I wasn’t ready to be the president of [Seeds of Change]. What I learnt very quickly was that while I might be president in title it didn’t mean I knew everything by any stretch of the imagination . . . and that being president was a title which really empowered me to make sure . . . that I was having the right conversations to gain the wisdom of the team in order to make the best decision.
Who is your leadership hero?
My grandfather. I would say so because of his values . . . Many of the products that we still sell today he invented, which is extraordinary, and he had vision; he really had a vision to build a business that would have a positive impact on the world.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing?
I’ve been an organic farmer; I’ve briefly thought about being a musician [but] very quickly hung that up . . . I’ve made a film which premiered at Sundance [Muscle Shoals] . . . I’ve been fortunate to be able to pursue those things, really fortunate. I think where it’s left me is that if I weren’t sitting in the chairmanship role I would still want to be involved with Mars, even only as a family member, because I really have a deep belief that business has to be part of the solution to the world’s problems.
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Dr Vikram Sharma
MBBS, FRCP (UK), PhD
Gastroenterology, Hepatology (Liver Doctor)
pancreaticobiliary medicine (bile ducts & pancreas)
General Medical Council: 5206967
Follow-up appointment: £170
London Digestive Centre
41 Welbeck Street, London, United Kingdom, W1G 8DU
35 Weymouth Street, london, United Kingdom, W1G
The Princess Grace Hospital
42-52 Nottingham Place, London, United Kingdom, W1U 5NY
Dr Vikram Sharma is a Consultant Hepatologist with an NHS practice at Royal London Hospital Barts Health NHS Trust, and a number of private practices in London which can be viewed on this website. Dr Sharma underwent training in gastroenterology and hepatology at the renowned North East Thames rotation, and also completed a PhD at University College London, researching ways of improving portal hypertension in cirrhosis of the liver. Dr Sharma has a special interest in treating patients with autoimmune disease of the liver and bile duct disease, although his daily clinical practice involves a wide range of liver disease including fatty liver disease, hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, and liver cancer as well as general gastroenterology. He has an interest in research and his work has been published in a range of peer-reviewed academic journals. In addition, he has been involved in the running and establishment of a number of multicentre clinical trials. Away from the clinic, Dr Sharma enjoys social entrepreneurship projects and spending time with his young family.
Upper GI Endoscopy
Abnormal Liver function
Cirrhosis of the liver
Portal Hypertension
Biliary Disease
Autoimmune disease of the liver
Alcohol-related liver and GI disease
General Gastroenterology
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery at Gauhati University, 1999
Member of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom, 2005
Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, 2018
PhD, University College London, 2018
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Please call us and one of the team will be happy to help.
Contact Dr Vikram Sharma
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Gold Lamborghini Aventador Roadster a Symbol of Oil Money
Expensive items comes in all shapes and sizes; this one just so happens to come in the shape of a Lamborghini Aventador Roadster.
This near-blinding gold vehicle wasn’t on display at a fancy auto show, it was actually seen cruising the streets of Paris during Paris Fashion week, often times stealing the show at the city’s most opulent locations.
This Aventador in the picture above is valued at approximately $6,435,480.00 and can reach 62 mph in less than three seconds with its 6.5-liter V12 engine, and can hit speeds of up to 217 per hour. It was reported that the vehicle had Saudi Arabian license plates, leading some to assume that this Aventador is a symbol of oil money.
While it may not have done much joy riding through the streets of Paris (traffic is ridiculous), it sure got the attention it deserved.
Want to know the surprising thing? This may not be the most expensive gold lambo out there. According to The Daily Mail:
Last year, a model gold Lamborghini Aventador went on display at a showroom in Dubai to celebrate the manufacturer’s 50th birthday.
The gold vehicle had a pricetag of $7.5 million, making it the world’s most expensive model car.
Carved out of a 500-kilogram block of solid gold, the finished model contained 25 kilograms of the precious metal. The model was designed by German mechanical engineer Robert Gülpen and sculpted from the same carbon fibre used to make Formula One cars.
Photos: AFP/Getty
Can You Afford the Most Expensive Versions of Everyday Items?
22 carat gold flake toilet paper for $1.3 million? We wonder if it feels just as soft as Charmin?
Look, someone made a 3 kg gold shirt for Mr. T and it only costs $250,000.
How much would you pay for a water bottle? Created by Paulo di Verachi, the “Acqua Di Cristallo” water bottle will cost you $60,000.
This unique pale ale is made especially with Antarctic ice. Don’t feel too bad that each bottle is $800. All profits go toward a charity.
Made with real gold, Berco’s Billion Dollar Popcorn is $250 a gallon.
Packaged by jeweler Jose Davalos, Henri IV Dudognon Heritage is the world’s most expensive cognac at $3.4 million.
The 230 Fifth hot dog has to be ordered 48 hours in advance and is priced at $2,300. The dog itself is made from 60-day dry-aged wagyu – Japanese cow – topped with Vidalia onions caramelized in Dom Perignon, sauerkraut braised in Cristal champagne, and caviar. Yum!
Need a morning pick-me-up? Kopi luwak is one of the most expensive coffees in the world, selling for between $100 to $600. The specialty Vietnamese weasel coffee is made by collecting coffee beans eaten by wild civets.
The most luxurious chess set in the world, the Royal Diamond Chess Set was created in 2005 and is made of gold, platinum, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, pearls, and sapphires. This gaming board runs $9.8 million.
Picture yourself sitting on this $1.3 million stool, made out of 110 ibs of gold.
The Aurora Diamante is the most expensive fountain pen in the world, priced at $1,470,600. Only one is for sale per year. The pen contains over 30 carats of De Beers diamonds on a solid platinum barrel.
What’s so great about this book? This is the Codex Leicester, Leonardo da Vinci’s personal notebook where he wrote about atronomy and astrology. Bill Gates purchased this book for $30.8 million in 1994.
This $1000 cupcake boasts 23 ibs of gold, and it is considered to be the most expensive edible cupcake in the world.
Here’s one way to keep those teeth pearly white! One tube of flouride-free Theodent toothpaste is $300.
German hosiery specialist FALKE has created $1,200 socks made from the rarest and most expensive wool in the world – Vicuna wool.
Paying tribute to The Wizard of Oz’s ruby slippers, these were created by the House of Harry Winston. The pair featured 4,600 pieces of real rubies weighing 1,350 carats and complemented by diamonds weighing an additional 50 carats. This pair is now worth $3 million.
What could you buy for $62,000? One tube of Guerlain’s Kiss Kiss Gold & Diamond Lipstick.
How to Survive If Your Car Goes Under Water
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Billboard Showing Boobs Causes 500 Accidents in One Day
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Archives for posts with tag: 2016 Elections
Gone for Good, Obstruction of Oversight Will be the Legacy of Fullerton Police Chief Dan Hughes
Chief Dan Hughes, blocking oversight of our department, with the consent of a majority of our own city council.
Fullerton’s latest Chief of Police Dan Hughes officially left his post on Thursday afternoon, sent off in a hail of glory by officers of the force and other well-wishers gathered in front of the police station. He will become Vice President of Security for the Disney Resort, a job well suited to a man paid to keep the public in the dark about the activities of his department.*
Unabashedly lauded by admirers, one of whom went to the extreme of posting professional signs around town urging his permanent hiring by the council four years ago, Chief Hughes nonetheless left many unhappy with his adamant refusal to accept reasonable public oversight of his department in the aftermath of the horrific beating of homeless man Kelly Thomas by officers of the force. His decision to retain three of the six officers involved did not seem consistent with perceived efforts to bring greater accountability to the troubled department.
Supporters of Dan Hughes like to point out that he addressed most of the recommendations made in the report commissioned by Michael Gennaco’s Office of Independent Review (OIR), who are also now under contract with the city to periodically review the FPD’s reports. However, Dan Hughes and the Fullerton City Council never really addressed the final, and arguably most important, recommendation by the OIR, to establish credible independent oversight of the department. Instead of an appointed Civilian Police Commission to oversee our own police department, we got a “Chief’s Advisory Council,” hand-picked by Chief Hughes himself. No notices, agendas, or minutes of their meetings have ever been made available to the public. Reports of the meetings only come in the form of cheerleading statements made by its members during the public comment periods of city council meetings. Hardly the sort of oversight that would have reviewed the case of a Fullerton Police Detective accused of threatening a crime victim and coercing sex from her that resulted in a $ 550,000.00 out of court settlement on the Chief’s watch.
The lack of formal Police Commission with the critical power to conduct its own investigations can be sharply felt now in the aftermath of City Manager Joe Felz’s car accident last week that allowed him to walk away after a phone call was placed to the outgoing Chief Dan Hughes. The City Council will meet in closed session on Tuesday, November 15, to discuss the situation as a personnel matter pertaining to Mr. Felz, but we have no way at all of knowing what happened in the early morning hours of November 9. The city’s contract with OIR does not cover such investigations, leaving no other independent body to provide a report where an otherwise inherent conflict of interest exists between the City Manager’s office and the appointment of an interim Police Chief to temporarily replace Dan Hughes. (FPD Captain John Siko has been named to the position).
The lack of transparency is in keeping with the decision by Chief Hughes to sidestep the improved communication with the pubic recommended by the Gennaco Report. Instead, we were treated to occasional open houses at police headquarters and a hack public relations firm paid with our tax dollars to regurgitate positive stories about the FPD back to us in a complicit OC Register and on a website called Behind the Badge.
The election of a new member to the Fullerton City Council prior to the hiring of a permanent Chief of Police offers a fortuitous opportunity to add actual police oversight, to be discussed in a future story.
*His hiring by Curt Pringle uber-client Disney, while serving under one of Pringle & Associates’ Vice Presidents, Fullerton Mayor Jennifer Fitzgerald, might give one pause to reflect.
Tags 2016 Elections, Dan Hughes, fullerton city council, Fullerton Police Department, Kelly Thomas, Michael Gennaco, Police Oversight
Categories 2016 Elections, Dan Hughes, Fullerton City Council, Fullerton Police Department, Kelly Thomas, Michael Gennaco, Uncategorized
The BIG Money Behind Jonathan Mansoori’s Campaign for Fullerton City Council (And its Charter School Supporting Origins), Part 2
The kids aren’t buying it, and neither should you.
Earlier this week the Rag examined Fullerton City Council candidate Jonathan Mansoori’s campaign finance filings to discover that his candidacy is being significantly financed by a political action committee (PAC) called Leadership and Equity in Education California (LEEC-PAC), who have so far given over $ 25,000.00. The Rag also noted that Mr, Mansoori denied receiving any “big money” in a video recorded and posted by the Fullerton Observer well after his campaign would have been aware of the large donations from LEE-PAC Instead, he stated that his biggest contributors were friends and family.
Just who are LEEC-PAC, and why are they spending so much money to get a political unknown elected to office in Fullerton? LEEC-PAC is the political arm of Leadership for Education Equity, who are Jonathan Mansoori’s current employers. More about them and their connection to the national program Teach for America below, but first let’s examine who is supporting LEEC-PAC itself.
According to the California Secretary of State’s website LEEC-PAC received major contributions from some very wealthy and prominent individuals. who have one thing in common besides being uncommonly rich–they are all big supporters of charter schools. Among them, are venture capitalist Arthur Rock. That’s the same Arthur Rock who made the cover of Time Magazine as a pioneer investor in Apple Computer (he supported firing Steve Jobs from Apple in 1985), and other Silicon Valley companies.
Donated $ 25 million to Harvard, and $ 950.00 to Jonathan Mansoori for Fullerton City Council.
In addition to it’s PAC, LEE also has its own foundation. One prominent board member of the LEE Foundation is Arthur Rock. If that isn’t a direct enough connection, consider that Jonathan Mansoori’s campaign received a contribution of $ 950.00 directly from Arthur Rock.
World famous tech financier cares about who is on the Fullerton City Council.
Also funding LEEC-PAC is former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ($ 180.000.00), and Wal-Mart Board/family members Steuart Walton, and Carrie Penner. Big names, and scary ones for anyone who values public education, for a previously unknown candidate’s city council campaign.
Leadership for Educational Equity itself, according to its website “is a nonpartisan, nonprofit leadership development organization working to end the injustice of educational inequity by inspiring and supporting a diverse set of leaders with classroom experience to engage civically and politically” with a mission “To inspire a diverse, enduring movement of leaders to engage civically within their communities to end the injustice of educational inequity,” and “…That’s why we have made it our mission to empower Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE) members – who are Teach For America corps members and alumni – to grow as leaders in their communities and help build the broader movement for educational equity.”
Jonathan Mansoori is both a Teach for America (TFA) alum and a current employee of Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE), where he has served as a “Regional Manager” since September, 2015. It may not be unusual for a candidate’s employer to kick a little money to a political campaign (I guess?), but over $ 25,000.00 from an employer’s PAC? That’s unusual. Even Jennifer Fitzgerald’s employer Curt Pringle makes sure to get his clients to foot the bill for her campaign.
Founded in 1989, Teach for America, according to Wikipedia, recruits “recent college graduates and professionals to teach for two years in urban and rural communities throughout the United States…Corps members do not have to be certified teachers, although certified teachers may apply…All corps members are required to attend an intensive summer training program to prepare for their commitment. Details vary by region, but typically include a five-day regional introduction, a five to seven week residential institute, including teaching summer school, and one to two weeks of regional orientation.”
You read that right, TFA sends recent college graduates without teaching credentials into difficult teaching environments after a seven week summer course. Charter schools reportedly like TFA teachers because they work more cheaply, sometimes making as much $ 15,000.00 less than their credentialed counterparts.
“Teach For America teachers are placed in public schools in urban areas such as New York City and Houston, as well as in rural places such as eastern North Carolina and the Mississippi Delta. They then serve for two years and are usually placed in schools with other Teach For America corps members.”
Jonathan Mansoori introduces himself as a former middle school teacher, but his whole teaching career seems to have been just the obligatory two year stint required by TFA before he went about “finding his identity as a community organizer.” According to his Linkedin profile, he spent a summer as a TFA Fellow before working for Green Dot Public Schools for eleven months. Green Dot describes themselves as “the leading charter school operator in Los Angeles and one of the top three largest in the nation. (Strangely, his profile contains specific activities for each of his previous jobs, but virtually nothing about his current position as “Regional Manager” for LEE.)
Green Dot, organizing parents to turn public schools into charter schools.
TFA alumni work as community organizers for LEE, whose PAC LEEC then supports those same TFA alumni when they run for office, equally fresh-faced and apparently equally inexperienced, with huge donations from charter school supporters. A four year old article form The American Prospect speculates that LEE/TFA could represent “the Trojan horse of the privatization of public education,” by electing TFA alumni to office. Is the what we want on the Fullerton City Council?
Tags 2016 Elections, fullerton city council, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Jonathan Mansoori
Categories 2016 Elections, Fullerton City Council, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Jonathan Mansoori, Uncategorized
Fullerton City Council Candidates Forum Thursday, September 29, 6:30 p.m.
CORRECTION: The event will be held at the Fullerton Public Library’s Community Room at 353 W. Commonwealth Ave., right next to city hall. Same free parking lot.
The League of Women Voters of North Orange County will host a forum for the twelve candidates running for three open seats on the Fullerton City Council this election cycle. The forum will be held in the chambers of the Fullerton City Council located on the first floor of City Hall, 303 W. Commonwealth Ave. The forum will be held in the Community Room of the Fullerton Public Library located at 353 W. Commonwealth Ave., right next to Fullerton City Hall. There is ample free parking in the lot next to City Hall or the one across Amerige.
The Rag commends the LWV of NOC for organizing this forum each election year. Unfortunately it is the only such forum scheduled this year. Candidates will be asked questions submitted by audience members through a moderator (all candidates will be given the opportunity to answer each question as it is asked).
This is your chance to ask the candidates their positions on issues like high density development, the preservation of Coyote Hills, Short Term Rentals, financial stability fort the city, how to fix the streets, and whatever else you might think important to know before deciding which three candidates will earn your vote this year.
Oddly, notice of the meeting neither appears on the City of Fullerton’s website or the website of the League of Women Voters, so please help spread the work by passing this message around.
The forum is not scheduled to be broadcast live, but it will be recorded and available later on the city’s website. If it is at all possible, I’ll post the recording to the Fullerton Rag’s YouTube channel. In the meantime, all residents are encouraged to attend the forum Thursday night, because, you know, democracy…
Tags 2016 Elections, fullerton city council
Categories 2016 Elections, Fullerton City Council, Uncategorized
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FzMovies - Searching for Faye Dunaway movies
Searching for movies with: Faye Dunaway
Little Big Man (1970) (BRRip)
Jack Crabb is 121 years old as the film begins. A collector of oral histories asks him about his past. He recounts being captured and raised by india
ns, becoming a gunslinger, marrying an indian, watching her killed by General George Armstrong Custer, and becoming a scout for him at Little Big Horn.
...<more>
Chinatown (1974) (BluRay)
JJ 'Jake' Gittes is a private detective who seems to specialize in matrimonial cases. He is hired by Evelyn Mulwray when she suspects her husband Hol
lis, builder of the city's water supply system, of having an affair. Gittes does what he does best and photographs him with a young girl but in the ensuing scandal, it seems he was hired by an impersonator and not the real Mrs. Mulwray. When Mr. Mulwray is found dead, Jake is plunged into a complex web of deceit involving murder, incest and municipal corruption all related to the city's water supply.
The Champ (1979) (DVDRip)
Billy Flynn, an ex box champion, is now horse trainer in Hialeah. He makes just enough money to raise his little boy T.J. over which he got custody a
fter his wife Annie left him seven years ago. T.J. worships The Champ who is now working on his come-back in order to give his boy a better future. But suddenly Annie shows up again ...
Hurry Sundown (1967) (BluRay)
Following the Second World War, a northern cannery combine negotiates for the purchase of a large tract of uncultivated Georgia farmland. The major p
ortion of the land is owned by Julie Ann Warren and has already been optioned by her unscrupulous, draft dodging husband, Henry. Now the combine must also obtain two smaller plots - one owned by Henry's cousin Rad McDowell, a combat veteran with a wife and family; the other by Reeve Scott, a young black man whose mother had been Julie's childhood Mammy. But neither Rad nor Reeve is interested in selling and they form an unprecedented black and white partnership to improve their land. Although infuriated by the turn of events, Henry remains determined to push through the big land deal. And when Reeve's mother Rose dies, Henry tries to persuade his wife to charge Reeve with illegal ownership of his property, confident the the bigoted Judge Purcell will rule against a Negro.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) (BluRay)
A bored small-town girl and a small-time bank robber leave in their wake a string of violent robberies and newspaper headlines that catch the imagina
tion of the Depression-struck Mid-West in this take on the legendary crime spree of these archetypal lovers on the run.
Arizona Dream (1993) (BluRay)
An Innuit hunter races his sled home with a fresh-caught halibut. This fish pervades the entire film, in real and imaginary form. Meanwhile, Axel tags
fish in New York as a naturalist's ...
Doc (1971) (BluRay)
One night of 1881, Doc Holliday, a famous poker gambler, enters the 'No Name Saloon'. There, he challenges a man to poker, betting his horse against h
is opponent's wife. Doc wins and from ..
Three Days of the Condor (1975) (BluRay)
A bookish CIA researcher finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.
Gia 1998 (1998) (BluRay)
The story of the life of Gia Carangi, a top fashion model from the late 1970s, from her meteoric rise to the forefront of the modeling industry, to he
r untimely death.
Network 1976 (1976) (BluRay)
A television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit.
The Case for Christ 2017 (2017) (BluRay)
An investigative journalist and self-proclaimed atheist sets out to disprove the existence of God after his wife becomes a Christian.
The Handmaids Tale 1990 (1990) (BluRay)
In a dystopicly polluted rightwing religious tyranny, a young woman is put in sexual slavery on account of her now rare fertility.
Oklahoma Crude 1973 (1973) (BluRay)
In 1913, in Oklahoma, oil derrick owner Lena Doyle, aided by her father and a hobo, is stubbornly drilling for oil despite the pressure from major oil
companies to sell her land.
Ordeal by Innocence (1984) (DVDRip)
Paleontologist Dr. Arthur Calgary visits the Argyle family to give them an address book that belongs to Jack Argyle. But he is told that Jack has been
executed for the murder of his wife. But the address book can prove that Jack was innocent, so Dr. Calgary starts the investigation all over.
Tags : murderess | murder
Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1970) (DVDRip)
Lou Andreas Sand, a once famous model, recalls her past as she tries to make success in the modeling world of New York, her stressful workdays, her af
fair with Mark, an advertising executive, her friendship with photographer Aaron, and her downward spiral into ruin. Written by Anonymous
Tags : model | photographer | woman
The Deadly Trap (1971) (DVDRip)
Jill is surprised and angry when her computer-genius boyfriend decides to quit his job in a big company for unclear reasons. But when her children dis
apear mysteriously and seem to have been kidnapped, she wants to know more, and discovers that she may be caught in a DEADLY TRAP... Written by…
Tags : kidnapping
The Wicked Lady (1983) (WEB-DL)
Caroline is to be wed to Sir Ralph and invites her sister Barbara to be her bridesmaid. Barbara seduces Ralph, however, and she becomes the new Lady,
but despite her new wealthy situation, she gets bored and turns to highway robbery for thrills. While on the road she meets a famous highwayman, and…
Supergirl (1984) (BluRay)
After a power source for the community of Krypton survivors is accidentally whisked to earth, Kara-El, cousin to Superman and niece to Jor-El, chooses
to go to earth to find it, and bring it back. Upon her arrival, she becomes just a powerful and Super as her cousin, but encounters dangerous…
Tags : showdown | villainess
Burning Secret (1988) (DVDRip)
While being treated for asthma at a country spa, an American diplomat's lonely 12-year-old son is befriended and infatuated by a suave, mysterious bar
on. During a story of his war experiences, the baron reveals the scar of a wound from an American soldier and thrusts a pin through it, saying "see--…
Albino Alligator (1996) (BluRay)
Three petty thieves who the police believe to be major criminals are chased into a basement bar where they take five hostages including all the bar em
ployees. The rest of the movie deals with the cops lurking outside the bar while the trio try to get hold of the situation inside. Written by Danny…
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This is an open-ended exploration of some of the outside figures offering assistance to the Syrian Support Group (SSG). These figures have assisted in the granting of a license that enabled the Group to effectively send arms and money to the ‘Free Syrian Army’. The license was provided by the US State Dept’s oddly named ‘Office of Terrorism Finance and Economic Sanctions Policy’. Part of the Office of Terrorism Finance’s stated remit is to coordinate: “efforts to create, modify, or terminate unilateral sanctions regimes as appropriate to the changing international situation, such as Iran, Syria, and Libya.” The license was granted in July 2012, based on a May application letter—a remarkably short time considering the nature of the SSG’s objectives and the complexities of the situation.
With the license the SSG can now bypass laws restricting trade with Syria and it is free to pay the wages of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and enable them to buy weapons. The arrangements also seems to include chemical weapons training. From its onset Louay Sakka, the SSG spokesman stated: “Right now we’re only asking them to provide more sophisticated weapons which nobody is willing to do” (Agence France Presse, June 8, 2012).
Obviously this American funding is in addition to secret CIA funding, the funding of the FSA by Qatar and Saudi Arabia and it is likely it will encourage an increase in funding and support of Assad and the other factions supported by Russia and Iran as the situation develops.
The Outside Figures
A range of outside figures have been said to appear because they are connected “to the Anglo-American opposition creation business.” Examples are given such as those around western-elite connected figures such as Bassma Kodmani, formerly of the Syrian National Council (now with the Oxford Research Group). Together with other groups the SSG ostensibly lobby the US government to provide support to the resistance against Assad. But part of the State Dept’s deal with the SSG is that it reciprocally provides them with reports on who the money is going to. The idea is that this will help them to turn the FSA into a more organized group that could then receive intelligence and so forth from Western security agencies. Essentially this is the formation of a proxy force at arm’s length from the State Dept., so that it can retain the fiction that it is still opposed to providing direct lethal aid.
According to the New York Times, the SSG set up a base in Washington (it also has offices in London, Paris, and eastern Turkey) in April 2012 but had come together earlier in 20011; and even then the group was:
…already serving as a conduit between the United States and the armed forces seeking to topple Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, and having an effect on American policy.
To further their cause and advise the Syrian Opposition Coalition in April 2013 (the dates are imprecise) the SSG hired Carne Ross and his New York-based firm, Independent Diplomat. This describes itself as the “world’s first non-profit diplomatic advisory group.” The idea was that the firm would:
…meet with key officials and desk officers in the State Department and other U.S. agencies to gather their views [on the Syrian civil war] and advise the Syrian Coalition how best to tailor their own approach to the U.S. Government.
In May 2012 (possibly months earlier) the SSG (or its advisers) also hired Brian Sayers, supposedly after finding him through an online employment agency. At this point the license was applied for and then approved. Technically it was applied for by Mazen Asbahi, a lawyer who, when President Obama first ran for office, was appointed as his national coordinator to raise millions from Muslim Americans.
By granting such a license, according to a law expert, the US government has breached the UN Charter’s article 2(4), the prohibition on the threat and use of force in international relations: “the basic principle of customary international law prohibiting the interference into the domestic affairs of another state.” But no one seems interested, even although exactly who the FSA are remains a mystery: for the Russians “America’s Syrian friends and Afghan foes are same people.”
The SSG’s lucky find, Brian Sayers is said to have been an ex-NATO Advisor in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Libya—what he advises on we can only guess at. Some say he was a ‘Political Officer for the International Secretariat at NATO’, others say he worked for the ‘Defense Operations Division at the US State Department,’ or he was the ‘Civilian Representative of the Secretary of Defense’. He was also said to have run a company called ‘Private Digital Limited Corporation’. Information on all this is scant, but the State Dept’s records have a Brian Neil Sayers, the husband of Mrs Adeline Hinderer Sayers, the second secretary for Trade at the US’ K Street Delegation of the European Union. Sayers previously studied at the University of St. Andrews and then Georgetown University—who else found him useful one wonders?
What is peculiar here is that Sayers’ output has been given a remarkably sympathetic airing in the Israeli press. Elsewhere we find him quoted as setting out the FSA as the lesser evil:
We believe that if the United States does not act urgently, there is a real risk of a political vacuum in Syria, including the possibility of a dispersion of chemical weapons to rogue groups such as Hezbollah.
This type of framing and commentary has a familiar ring about it: a private group being given tax-deductible status to raise money for an armed rebel group trying to overthrow a government in a country with which the US is not at war: the outsourcing to the private sector of the sort of thing the CIA used to do.
The Spook
Carne Ross’ International Diplomat (ID) reports to Najib Ghadbian, who co-ordinates the SSG. According to Ross’ firm, with SSG he will: “meet with key officials and desk officers in the State Department and other U.S. agencies to gather their views [on the Syrian civil war] … and advise the Syrian Coalition how best to tailor their own approach to the U.S. Government.” The acknowledged (thanks to Wikileaks) State Dept. funding of a Syrian opposition dates back to at least 2006. Ross started to advise the ‘National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces’ at the point were concerns were publicly raised that the rebellion was “being hijacked by Islamists linked to Al Qaeda” according to the New York Times. But the rebellion has never really been in the ascendency, nor has its rebels been homogenous: in 2012, when the US blacklisted the Al-Qaeda-linked group Al-Nusra Front in Syria, the measure was initially criticized by the opposition. Of his firm’s role Ross was quoted as saying: “We’re not lobbyists, we’re an advisory group.” But he openly advocates intervention, arguing that similar fears of a perceived Islamist threat were used to justify non-intervention in Bosnia two decades ago. This was parroted by Johnathan Freedland in the Guardian (seemingly before Ross was hired). Ross’ other pronouncements in favour of escalating the conflict, include the inflamatory ‘Let’s call Russia’s bluff on Syria,’ also in the Guardian. Independent Diplomat, as a private firm, clearly perceived an opportunity to shakedown the émigré groups that would emerge and be supported by the West.
After he resigned over Syria, Kofi Annan wrote in the Financial Times that peace was never given a chance by the UN: multipleplayers were responsible for the failure of diplomacy in Syria, and he said that Assad was not solely responsible for peace in the region. For Al Jazeera the UN’s Security Council is engaged in a hegemonic power struggle over the Syrian conflict. The legend which has been put around Carne Ross is that he is some saintly liberal interventionist helping the underdog, somehow at a remove from these machinations and the sanctions on, and then invasion of Iraq. But he was not. Now that he has ‘resigned’ Ross has availed himself of the situation whereby governments outsource aspects of ‘diplomacy’. This privatisation of diplomacy is a return to the pre-League of Nations’ secret diplomacy: it will not tackle the problem whereby wars are run by sinister vested interests.
Ross was head of the Arab-Israeli Section of the Foreign Office according to the Jerusalem Post (September 5, 1995) and it is mentioned far and wide that he was the chief drafter of a key December 1999 UN Security Council resolution easing sanctions against Iraq in return for restarting weapons inspections (The Cairns Sun (Australia) January 5, 2001). Less put-about stories include when John Pilger met Ross, and described him, more accurately, as the British official responsible for the imposition of sanctions. To confront him Pilger read to him a statement Ross had made to a parliamentary select committee in 2007:
“The weight of evidence clearly indicates that sanctions caused massive human suffering among ordinary Iraqis, particularly children. We, the US and UK governments, were the primary engineers and offenders of sanctions and were well aware of this evidence at the time but we largely ignored it or blamed it on the Saddam government. [We] effectively denied the entire population a means to live.”
Ross’ reply was:
“I feel very ashamed about it… Before I went to New York, I went to the Foreign Office expecting a briefing on the vast piles of weapons that we still thought Iraq possessed, and the desk officer sort of looked at me slightly sheepishly and said, ‘Well actually, we don’t think there is anything in Iraq.’ “
Pilger’s story is really about another individual, Dr. Rafil Dhafir, who for 13 years with his ‘Help the Needy’ organisation had raised money for food and medicines for sick and starving Iraqis who were the victims of Ross’ sanctions. US officials told Dhafir his humanitarian aid was legal and then arrested him. Today, Dhafir is serving 22 years in prison for aiding terrorism. Remember the State Dept. gave the SSG a licence to fund who knows who after looking at them for just over four or so weeks.
As chance would have it Ross has explained exactly how a false case for war is constructed using émigré and/or defector groups. He has also outlined further how he and his colleagues pretended to delude themselves, when he was Blair’s Iraq expert at the UN security council, and was responsible for liaison with the weapons inspectors and intelligence on WMD. This was accomplished:
…not by the deliberate creation of a falsehood, but by willfully and secretly manipulating the evidence to exaggerate the importance of reports […] and to ignore contradictory evidence. This was a subtle process, elaborated from report to report, in such a way that allowed officials themselves to believe that they were not deliberately lying —more editing, perhaps, or simplifying for public presentation.
One of many witnesses at the Chilcot enquiry bent on self-exoneration, Ross was involved in all that he condemns, i.e. he was involved in the initial preparation of Blair’s dossier on WMD, and kept quiet about it until it was too late. He even claims to have discussed the Number 10 WMD dossier at length with David Kelly in late 2002, who told him it was overstated. There are reasons to doubt that his resignation was particularly motivated by his experience engineering the war—as he claims. Before, when on sabbatical leave in the US, he was happily extolling the virtues of his employers in the Guardian in March 21, 2002, claiming that:
I’ve never had a problem with motivation. I always thought that this job was worthwhile and work that needed to be done. One of the great things about the Foreign Office is that nearly everbody feels like that […] I didn’t feel unvalued a year ago.
Ross was also the UK’s Afghanistan “expert” at the UN Security Council after September 11th, 2001, and also briefly served in the British Embassy, Kabul, after the 2002 invasion.
Independent Diplomat’s name comes from one of his books: ‘Independent Diplomat, Dispatches From an Unaccountable Elite’. But we are not far away from this elite in his firm’s make-up. It has a prestigious board of directors including Kieran Prendergast, who is also a member of the advisory board of another ‘British business intelligence’ firm, Hakluyt (Intelligence Online, January 8, 2009). Its advisory board, includes Sir David Manning, who was Tony Blair’s principal foreign affairs adviser in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq. The company has been found to have engaged in activities such as employing an operative to infiltrate environmental groups on behalf of BP and Shell; it was the firm that hired the subsequently murdered British businessman Neil Heywood as a consultant in China—he was said to be “part of a global network of consultants who use local connections to provide intelligence for Hakluyt clients.”
Haykluyt’s parent company is the Holdingham Group who’s Advisory board are beyond a shadow of a doubt an unaccountable elite. Its other organisations are H+ (described as: “An insight-driven consultancy providing independent and objective advice to senior executives at leading international corporations who face major strategic challenges and decisions”) and Pelorus Research(which says: “Government intrusion into the commercial space is on the rise, and this is an increasingly important investment consideration. This weighs heaviest on industries most exposed to regulatory action, including telecoms, financial services, tobacco and natural resources”). Yes governments are way down the pecking order here—just another palm to cross with silver in the process of money making.
The Lobbyist
In April 2013, along with Carne Ross, the SSG also hired professional lobbyist Andrew Gifford as co-director with Sayer, together with UK Ambassador Donald MacLaren as a political Consultant and Ian Griffiths (in charge of operations).
According to a 1991 study of the firm: in the 1980s GJW’s three founding partners worked in the offices of David Steel, James Callaghan and Edward Heath (an original partner was to be Peter Mandelson). Its Finance director, Nigel Clarke, is the nephew of former defence secretary Tom King. Gifford is known for manipulating the press, e.g. for the arms industry (such as GEC’s bid to retain an MoD contract for heavyweight torpedoes). Gifford’s firm, GJW Government Relations, also hired the young Nick Clegg and was known for its work aiding Colonel Gaddafi with Lockerbie. Other clients included Enron, Lady Shirley Porter and the Kuwaiti ruling family. But according to PR Week (April 29, 1993) the biggest account GJW handled was with ‘Citizens for a Free Kuwait’ (similar to the SSG). But let me back track a little bit here. Gifford is an associate of ex-SAS officer, Tony Buckingham who was “linked to a series of mercenary military operations launched on behalf of governments in power or exile and multinationals, in return for cash.” The New Statesman noted that:
Executive Outcomes was registered in the UK in September 1993 by Simon Mann, a former troop commander in 22 SAS specializing in intelligence and South African director of Ibis Air, and Tony Buckingham, an SAS veteran and chief executive of Heritage Oil and Gas. The Heritage Oil and Gas board of directors includes former Liberal Party leader David Steel, and Andrew Gifford of GJW Government Relations, an influential parliamentary lobbyist. The company, originally British, now registered in the Bahamas, is associated with a Canadian oil corporation, Ranger Oil.
Both Heritage Oil and GJW are subsidiaries of Sandline International, another international security company. Their own testimony states that together they brokered the arms into Sierra leone that met with the approval of the British Government and MI6. In the mid 1990s EO blended into Sandline International. The military companies operated from Buckingham’s offices in King’s Road, Chelsea, with the premises operated by Heritage Oil and Gas, and Branch Energy. GJW, City PR firm Financial Dynamics and pollster Gallup joined forces to bankroll a new public affairs agency called Matrix Public Affairs Consultants. Gifford and Tony Buckingham also share ownership with Guardian Newspapers of a publishing company called Fourth Estate.
If I turn back to GJW’S big account, Citizens for a Free Kuwait (CFK) this was a front group, established with the assistance of another large public-relations company, Hill & Knowlton. Other groups: e.g. the Council of American Muslims for Understanding were funded by the US State Dept. The Iraqi National Congress, was also a front organisation funded by the US government—all echoed the call for intervention and war. After his 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Saddam Hussein was accused of removing Kuwaiti premature babies from incubators and leaving them on the floor to die. The charges were made during testimony given before a meeting with a front group the ‘Congressional Human Rights Caucus’ designed to resemble the US Congress in October 1990. As John McArthur put it:
The Human Rights Caucus is not a committee of congress, and therefore it is unencumbered by the legal accouterments that would make a witness hesitate before he or she lied [ …] Lying under oath in front of a congressional committee is a crime; lying from under the cover of anonymity to a caucus is merely public relations.
Nevertheless the story was widely circulated in the media and cited by political leaders (including George Bush and Amnesty International) as a justification to launch the invasion three months later. After the Gulf War was over, the false testimony was revealed to have been by the teenage daughter of Saud bin Nasir Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti ambassador in Washington as part of an elaborate propaganda campaign devised by Hill & Knowlton and financed by the Kuwaiti government via CFK. GJW was hired by the Association for a Free Kuwait to lobby Westminster and Brussels. The Kuwaitis paid GJW more than £400,000 in fees and expenses while the Association’s US equivalent paid $5.6 million to Hill and Knowlton for the work in Washington (PR Week, January 17, 1991).
The SSG also hired Ambassador, Donald MacLaren, who can be seenat rallies in Whitehall that call for intervention in front of 10 Downing St. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1978 and served until 2008, after posts in Berlin and Moscow he became Ambassador to Georgia from 2004 to 2007, but he was seconded to Oxford Analytica from 1998-99. Theirassessment of the situation in Syria as of May 16 (2013) was:
Syrian regime forces have managed to turn the tide in central and southern Syria by adopting a new counter-insurgency strategy. Despite slow but steady rebel advances in the north and east, President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is now in a position to exploit international developments, such as the US-Russian diplomatic initiative, Saudi-Qatari divisions over the opposition, and Jordanian reluctance at hastening regime change in Syria.
Oxford Analytica is a private intelligence company advised by Sir Colin McColl the ex-Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service amongst others that includes John Negroponte who was involved in supervising the Nicaraguan Contras, and according to Michel Chossudovsky:
Negroponte’s mandate as US ambassador to Iraq [together with, now US Syrian Ambassador, Robert S. Ford] was to coordinate out of the US embassy, the covert support to death squads and paramilitary groups in Iraq with a view to fomenting sectarian violence and weakening the resistance movement. Robert S. Ford as “Number Two” [Minister Counsellor for Political Affairs] at the US Embassy played a central role in this endeavor.
OA also have Peter Woicke, former CEO of the International Finance Corporation and Managing Director of the World Bank Group and other high flyers (and David Milliband). It was started by David Young after he fled from the Nixon administration after working with the White House Special Investigations Unit, the ‘Plumbers,’ and was miraculously granted immunity from prosecution. OA believe that the Syrian conflict is a proxy war involving the regional actors and the US and Russia.
Syria’s misery is all gravy from a dripping roast for the lobbyists and advisors who will work both sides of the street thousands of miles away. Back in 2005 the Syrian government, then under fire for its suspected role in sponsoring terrorism, involved the lobbying and PR world to improve its image in the West. Recently, the New York Times reported that high-priced PR firm, Brown Lloyd James were paid $5,000 a month for liaison between Vogue and the Syrian ‘first lady’ to put Assad and his wife into the magazine (see picture above). Even Barbara Walters, after she conducted a negative interview with Assad on ABC News, offered to provide recommendations for Sheherazad Jaafari, Assad’s press aide and a BLJ intern then applying for a job at CNN—and the daughter of the Syrian ambassador to the UN. We know of this because of information that was leaked by the hacker group Anonymous. Jaafari suggested to Assad that the:
American psyche can be easily manipulated when they hear that there are ‘mistakes’ done and now we are ‘fixing it.’ It’s worth mentioning also what is happening now in Wall Street and the way the demonstrations are been suppressed by policemen, police dogs and beatings.
Carne Ross also advises the Wall Street Protestors. Brown Lloyd James offered advice on how to create the appearance Syria is pursuing reform while repressing the uprising and reports say it formerly advised Gaddafi in Libya and supporters of the Mujaheedin-e-Khalq (an Iranian opposition group identified as a terrorist organization by the US); other reports include the Tony Blair Faith Foundation as a client; and the BLJ team also supported the UN’s Independent Inquiry into the Oil-for-Food Programme that Carne Ross organised.
2 thoughts on “Who’s behind the Syrian Support Group?”
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Green Fingers >> Article >> Knowledge >> Flower
Lilies are genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are native to the temperate northern hemisphere, though their range extends into the northern subtropics. Many other plants have "lily" in their common name but are not related to true lilies.
Lilies are tall perennials ranging in height from 2–6 ft (60–180 cm). They form naked or tunicless scaly underground bulbs which are their organs of perennation. In some North American species the base of the bulb develops into rhizomes, on which numerous small bulbs are found. Some species develop stolons. Most bulbs are buried deep in the ground, but a few species form bulbs near the soil surface. Many species form stem-roots. With these, the bulb grows naturally at some depth in the soil, and each year the new stem puts out adventitious roots above the bulb as it emerges from the soil. These roots are in addition to the basal roots that develop at the base of the bulb.
The flowers are large, often fragrant, and come in a wide range of colors including whites, yellows, oranges, pinks, reds and purples. Markings include spots and brush strokes. The plants are late spring- or summer-flowering. Flowers are borne in racemes or umbels at the tip of the stem, with six tepals spreading or reflexed, to give flowers varying from funnel shape to a "Turk's cap". The tepals are free from each other, and bear a nectary at the base of each flower. The ovary is 'superior', borne above the point of attachment of the anthers. The fruit is a three-celled capsule.
Many species are widely grown in the garden in temperate and sub-tropical regions. They may also be grown as potted plants. Numerous ornamental hybrids have been developed. They can be used in herbaceous borders, woodland and shrub plantings, and as patio plants. Some lilies, especially Lilium longiflorum, form important cut flower crops. These may be forced for particular markets; for instance, Lilium longiflorum for the Easter trade, when it may be called the Easter lily.
Lilies are usually planted as bulbs in the dormant season. They are best planted in a south-facing (northern hemisphere), slightly sloping aspect, in sun or part shade, at a depth 2½ times the height of the bulb (except Lilium candidum which should be planted at the surface). Most prefer a porous, loamy soil, and good drainage is essential. Most species bloom in July or August (northern hemisphere). The flowering periods of certain lily species begin in late spring, while others bloom in late summer or early autumn.They have contractile roots which pull the plant down to the correct depth, therefore it is better to plant them too shallowly than too deep. A soil pH of around 6.5 is generally safe. The soil should be well-drained, and plants must be kept watered during the growing season. Some plants have strong wiry stems, but those with heavy flower heads may need staking.
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$5 MP3 Album Deal: Aerosmith ‘Toys In The Attic’
By BAADASSSSS! | December 22nd, 2012 at 12:00 pm
As part of Amazon’s monthly $5 MP3 Album Deals, Aerosmith’s 1975 breakthrough rocker Toys in the Attic is on sale for only $5. (You can also purchase Toys in the Attic on CD for just $6.88.)
Released in April 1975 by Columbia Records, Toys in the Attic was the Boston band’s third album, and it would soon go on to become the biggest-selling album of their four decade recording career, unless you count their eleven-times-platinum Greatest Hits compilation from 1980. The record spawned two hit singles that would become the band’s most iconic tunes – “Walk This Way,” written by lead singer Steven Tyler and lead guitarist Joe Perry and inspired by a viewing of Mel Brooks’ comedy classic Young Frankenstein, and their whiskey-smooth paean to young lovin’ and hell raisin’ “Sweet Emotion,” penned by Tyler with bassist Tom Hamilton. In a way Toys is the definitive Aerosmith album: each song is a classic rock radio perennial and a brilliant demonstration of the band at the peak of their blues-rock fusion powers.
Topics: Deals, Music, News
Tags: $5 MP3 Deals, Aerosmith, Brad Whitford, Joe Perry, Joey Kramer, Steven Tyler, Tom Hamilton, Toys in the Attic
Music Review: ‘Great Gypsy Soul’ By Tommy Bolin and Friends
By Stoogeypedia | March 25th, 2012 at 4:00 pm
Great Gypsy Soul
By Tommy Bolin and Friends
MP3* | CD Exclusive | CD
The late, great Tommy Bolin, one of the most prolific and underrated guitarists arguably of all time, is getting the royal crown tribute firmly affixed on his sonic memory with the release of Great Gypsy Soul. The eleven song album, which was released in MP3* format today, March 25 (it’s actually on sale right now for $3.99) has a stunning array of guests on it that reads like a who’s who line-up of some guitar and vocal greats of the 1970s and 80s and today, like Peter Frampton, Joe Bonamassa, and Warren Haynes.
Bolin, who was born in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1951 and died in Miami, Florida, in late 1976, was yet another guitar player in the annals of rock whose bright future was stilled, a victim of a heroin overdose while on tour with Jeff Beck.
Topics: Music, Music Reviews, Reviews
Tags: Brad Whitford, Derek Trucks, Glenn Hughes, Great Gypsy Soul, Joe Bonamassa, John Scofield, Peter Frampton, Sonny Landreth, Steve Lukather, Steve Morse, Tommy Bolin
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Forms and Dynamics of Global Governance
Cultural Pluralism
GlobalStat
Global Governance Programme
New World Challenges
In the post-1989 period, important changes have occurred in the organisation of the world economy and of world politics more broadly. The new global (dis)order is characterised by both interdependence and mutual vulnerability among world regions and nation-states. The intensification of linkages and connections driven by technology, trade, investment, aid, and the mobility of people and ideas is transforming states and societies around the world.
The period of uncontested American hegemony is waning; a new multipolar international system is emerging, underscored by the eclipse of the G7/G8 of western powers by the G20. The growing weight of countries such as China, India and Brazil points to a relative decline in the power and influence of the ‘West’, especially within the international political economy. Demands for the supply of public goods at both the regional and international level are rising, but significant – and in some cases rising – barriers to their provision confound policymakers.
The European Union (EU) is drawn into a web of global governance as it tries to shape – and is also shaped by – international regimes, bilateral and multilateral agreements that comprise today’s patterns of transnational governance.
Research conducted at the Global Governance Programme aims to identify the medium- and long-term challenges that the world faces, and possible ways to address them.
Global thinkers and leaders, academics and senior officials, constitute the pool of experts on whom the Programme can draw for inspired and cutting- edge debates on the problems the world currently faces. The Programme fosters dialogue between the worlds of research and policy in an objective, evidence-based manner, and seeks to contribute robust and critical thinking to important questions of policy and institutional design.
The Programme has been represented at meetings hosted by the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) to discuss a global foreign policy and security strategy for the EU. It also hosts conferences, seminars, and workshops on Europe’s external relations that bring together scholars and policymakers. In April 2016, for example, the Programme hosted a workshop on ‘China’s Rise and Europe’s Response’, a critical issue for Europe’s international relations. Speakers explored policy areas in which there has been a convergence of perspectives and policies between the EU and China, and issues on which there continues to be disagreement and discord. Individual panels were devoted to exploring the security, economic, political and normative dimensions of EU-China relations. In June 2017, 2018 and 2019 three conferences on ‘Terrorism and Security Governance’ were held in Florence and co-sponsored by NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division.
The Programme regularly organises academic and policy workshops that address major challenges related to the governance of culture and diversity in Europe and the world today. Among these challenges are resurgent nationalism, racism and populism, the related othering of migrants, disputes over historical memory, the implications of Brexit. In May 2018, a policy workshop was held with participants working on the new European Agenda for Culture at leading international organisations such as the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the European External Action Service.
Similarly, in May 2017, a workshop on ‘EU International Cultural Relations: a Strategic Approach‘ was organised to explore the role of culture in EU diplomacy. In spring 2018, a policy workshop, hosted by the European Commission Coordinator on Combatting Antisemitism Katharina Schnurbein, on ‘Addressing Rising Antisemitism in Europe’ discussed ways to increase the acknowledgment of Antisemitism as a societal problem. This year, in March 2019 the Programme held a large conference which discussed cities emerging as regional centres of power in the ‘Global South’, focusing on major urban centres in Asian, African, and Latin American countries at different stages of the nation building process.
The Global Governance Programme is also regularly represented in events and debates on trade and investment at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and leading think tanks. It acts for example as the knowledge partner for the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)/World Economic Forum (WEF) Expert-15 group on trade and regulatory cooperation, which brings together leading scholars and practitioners. In September 2016 and 2018 the Programme hosted in Florence for the first time the World Trade Forum in collaboration with World Trade Institute.
In June 2020 an online dialogue presented findings from the joint project with the University of St. Gallen’s Global Trade Alert initiative and the World Bank monitoring trade policy measures used by governments around the world to expand domestic supplies of medical and food products.
The Programme also serves as a venue for offline deliberations between senior trade and economic development officials, including WTO Ambassadors and managers of international agencies. It maintains strong ties to Geneva-based international organisations, and in 2015 it was selected as the only European venue to reflect on the first 20 years of the operation of the WTO Appellate Body.
Explore Further: Latest Policy Dialogues
Pandemic-Era Trade Policies in Food and Medical Products and International Cooperation
Held on 5 June 2020, this webinar presented results to date from the project monitoring trade policy measures used by governments around the world to expand domestic supplies of medical and food products during the COVID-19 crisis.
‘Terrorism and Security Governance’, 21 June 2019
On 21 June a discussion titled ‘Terrorism and Security Governance’ involving both well-known academics in the field as well as officials from the European Commission, NATO, and Europol took place.
‘Cultural Pluralism in Cities of the Global South’, 20-21 March 2019
On 20-21 March 2019 a conference which discussed cities emerging as regional centres of power in the ‘Global South’ was organised by Prof. Anna Triandafyllidou, Prof. Peggy Levitt, Dr. Jeremie Molho and Nick Dines.
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Open House at the Frick Art Reference Library
Haven’t taken advantage of all that the Frick Art Reference Library has to offer? Here’s your chance!
What: Student open house
Who: Undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education students
Date: Thursday, October 13, 2011
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. No appointment necessary. Introductions every half hour. First-come, first-served.
Cost: Nothing! Use of the Library is free.
Bring: Photo ID and an open mind
Where: Frick Art Reference Library, 10 East 71st Street (between Madison and Fifth Avenue)
Directions: 6 train to 68th Street, F train to Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street, 72nd Street crosstown bus, or M1, M2, M3, M4 buses (on Madison or Fifth Avenue)
Map: http://www.frick.org/library/location.htm
Questions: library@frick.org or 212-547-0641
Website: http://www.frick.org/library
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/fricklibrary
*After visiting the Library, enjoy $10.00 admission to the museum with your student ID. The museum is open 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Thursdays.
About the Frick Art Reference Library: The Frick Art Reference Library holds materials related to art of the Western tradition from the fourth century (C.E.) to the mid twentieth century, with a focus on paintings, drawings, sculpture, prints, and decorative arts. The Library works in conjunction with the libraries of the Brooklyn Museum and The Museum of Modern Art to provide access to shared collections and services through the New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC).
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ESCAPE FROM NY: De Blasio’s ‘Paid Vacation Law’ to Cost Local Businesses $1.6 BILLION Per Year
Less than one year after raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, businesses in New York City may soon have to shell-out approximately $1.6 billion annually to comply with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s newest paid vacation proposal.
“Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan is meant as a quality-of-life measure for the hundreds of thousands of workers who aren’t guaranteed paid time off. But companies say the cost of it would land on them, forcing reductions in work hours or even layoffs,” writes the Washington Examiner.
“The weight of all these burdens falls on small businesses,” Kathryn Wylde, president of the nonprofit Partnership told the Examiner. “Very often, small business owners don’t take vacations themselves because they can’t afford to, so it’s just grossly unfair.”
De Blasio’s office believes the new proposal would impact half a million workers throughout the Big Apple.
According to the plan, a small business with 10 employees earning $20 an hour would cost the company over $16,000 annually to comply with the guidelines.
Read the full report at the Washington Examiner.
DE BLASIO 2020? NYC Mayor Travels to NH, ‘Contemplating’ Run for the White House
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled his plans to travel to the early primary state of New Hampshire in the coming days; sparking new speculation the liberal leader is contemplating a potential run for the White House in 2020.
“New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is making moves toward a possible run for president, soliciting City Hall staffers with national political experience and preparing to travel to the early primary state of New Hampshire this week,” writes Politico.
De Blasio will head to New Hampshire Thursday and will speak with leaders and activist groups through the end of the week.
“He wants to make sure ideas like pre-K for all, paid personal time and mental health are on the table as Democrats debate the party’s vision for the future,” said the mayor’s Communication Director Mike Casca.
Read the full report at Politico.
DE BLASIO DIGS IN: The NYC Mayor Urges Top Dems to Get Behind His Universal Healthcare Program
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio urged top Democrats across the country to support his renewed push for universal healthcare over the weekend; saying “we need this party to be the party of working people again.”
De Blasio was speaking with CNN when he was asked to comment on his recent ‘NYC CARE’ program; a new government entitlement that “guarantees” comprehensive healthcare to more than 600,000 uninsured New Yorkers.
“This is the kind of thing Democrats should stand for,” said the progressive leader. “If we say to the American people: Our job is to get you health care no matter what, no matter how much money you make, no matter what your situation is, that’s the kind of thing that actually is going to resonate with the American people because so many Americans are struggling . . . to make ends meet. Health care is one of their biggest expenses.”
De Blasio’s ‘NYC CARE’ program is estimated to cost local taxpayers upwards of $100 million per year.
Read the full report at the New York Post.
CORTEZ EXPLODES: Cortez SLAMS Fellow Democrats Who Support ‘RACIST’ ICE Agents
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World Food Programme: Somalia
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what involvement the UK has in the World Food Programme's activities in Somalia; what actions the World Food Programme took in Somalia in the last 12 months; and what actions are planned in the next 12 months. (301469)
Mr. Thomas
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has received $335 million so far in 2009 from various donors for its emergency food aid operations in Somalia, against stated requirements of $475 million. It expects by the end of 2009 to have delivered 304,000 metric tonnes of emergency food aid to 3.1 million Somalis.
WFP expects to appeal for $309 million to continue its emergency food aid and $40 million for its emergency nutrition operations in 2010. This will include Special Operations to improve the security of staff operating in Somalia, finance a humanitarian air support operation, and improve key port and road infrastructure to facilitate its food aid operations.
In 2008 the Department for International Development (DFID) provided $23.8 million to the WFP Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation for Somalia, which was spent by WFP from June 2008 to March 2009.
DFID contributed $102 million in 2009 to the cost of WFP's global operations, and plays an active role in the WFP Board in discussion of its programmes and policies.
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Announcements /
AME entered an official partnership with Publons to enhance wide-ranging recognition for reviewers
AME Publishing Company entered an official partnership with Publons, a product of Clarivate Analytic Company (which owns Web of Science, EndNote, ScholarOne, among many others), as of April 2020. Around 60 AME journals’ peer review systems are now integrated seamlessly into the Publons platform (https://publons.com/about/home). The partnership was done to recognize our expert peer reviewers spontaneously for their review contribution.
Publons provide a platform that allows researchers to track, verify, and be recognized for their peer review and editorial work. A researcher’s peer review and editorial contributions can be displayed on their public Publons profile to show the world the impact they have on their research field and enhance their career.
With AME joining the portfolio of Publons partner journals, reviewers of any AME journals can now opt-in to Publons as part of the review submission process, and the review data can be transferred to Publons upon submission. Please browse one of our reviewer profile pages for an example at: https://publons.com/researcher/1302886/takashi-ohtsuka/.
The partnership can streamline the process of recognizing our reviewers to provide three key benefits:
Recognition for reviewers: Demonstrates our commitment to recognizing the efforts of the reviewers on their review.
Increased engagement: Our relationship with the reviewers is strengthened through seamless recognition for review as well as pre- and post-publication contact with reviewers, keeping them up to date with the publication process.
Insights and analytics: We will receive full access to a powerful Publons dashboard that we can use to understand our reviewers better, discover new reviewers, and more.
We wholeheartedly thank all of the reviewers for their generous time and effort spent in article quality control for our journals and hope they will benefit from this acknowledgment of their invaluable contributions.
For more information and details on how the partnership works, see the AME-Publons landing page. To sign up or to learn more about Publons, please visit the Publons researchers’ page. Alternatively, refer to the Publons FAQs page.
About Publons
Publons collaborates with the researchers, publishers and institutions and aims to speed up research by harnessing the power of peer review. It works as journals’ peer review systems are integrated seamlessly into Publons so that the relevant reviewers receive instant credit for their work.
About AME
AME Publishing Company is a globally active open access publisher specializing in the publication of medical journals and books across a broad spectrum of science, technology, and medicine. Founded in 2009, AME has rapidly burst into the international market with a dozen of branches set up all over mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Sydney. Combining the highest editorial standards with cutting-edge publishing technologies, AME has published more than 60 peer-reviewed journals (13 indexed in SCIE and 18 indexed in PubMed), predominantly in English (some are translated into Chinese), covering various fields of medicine including oncology, pulmonology, cardiothoracic disease, andrology, urology and so forth.
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Integrations & Carve-outs
M&A Capability Development
M&A Dictionary & FAQs
Industries + Sectors
Industry + Sector Approach
Internet + eCommerce
Media + Marketing
Telecommunications Hardware
Global Leaders + Team
Why Culture Does Matter
November 27, 2018 GPMIPInsights0
Why culture does matter – An analysis of Dolce&Gabbana’s unexpected experience in China
By Robert Yu and Sergio Bruno, China and Italy Partners at Global PMI Partners
Ignoring cultural differences or not giving them enough attention has been a cause of failures in many cross-border business activities.
Cultural understanding goes far beyond gender or racial respect.
The more complex the situation is, the higher attention must be given. Complex projects (like cross-border acquisition and post-merger integration) require close attention and sensitivity to cultural issues.
Dolce&Gabbana (D&G) learned that lesson the hard way when it faced public outrage and a boycott over what was perceived in China as culturally insensitive promotional videos for a runway show in Shanghai and subsequent posts of insulting comments in a D&G co-founder’s Instagram chat.
Fashion is a large industry in Italy. It is estimated to gross about 65 Billion Euros, that is almost 4% of Italy’s GDP.
In Italy, there are some world-famous Italian fashion brands, like Gucci, Prada, Armani, Dolce&Gabbana, and many others.
Founded in 1985 by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, it has always demonstrated with an image of innovation mixed with its Mediterranean origin. Its headquarter is located in Milan, Italy with a strong international presence in New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Sao Paulo.
The company revenue was about 1.1 Billion Euro (for the year ending on March 2017) and then decreased to 0.9 Billion Euro (for the year ending on March 2018).
The revenue comes mainly from Europe (about 70%). Although its Chinese market sales only contribute about 10% to its total revenue, China has been the highest growth market for D&G. This is not a secret since one-third of the world luxury consumption comes from China.
To capture the huge market demand for luxury goods, D&G entered the Chinese market in 2006 and has been engaged in many marketing efforts including hiring local Chinese celebrities as spoke-persons for its brand and sponsoring many fashion shows.
D&G had planned a runway show in Shanghai for November 22nd; to prepare for this event, D&G had produced a promotional video in which a Chinese model tries to eat three typical Italian dishes: a Pizza, a dish of Spaghetti and a Sicilian Cannolo with chopsticks.
In the video, the model showed some difficulties in eating these dishes with chopsticks and the voice-over statements that were intended to be funny or jokes in Italian culture but were perceived as very offensive in the Chinese culture.
It may have started as a joke, but received very serious chain reactions from Chinese audiences and the public in China, in fact, it was perceived as an insult to the Chinese culture and the tradition.
At least two celebrity spoke persons have canceled the contracts representing D&G, many invited Chinese celebrities, fashion models and media voiced their distaste for the D&G action and canceled their planned appearances for the D&G’s November 22nd event in Shanghai. As a result, D&G had to cancel the event.
As of November 23, all major Chinese online e-commerce platforms have pulled D&G products off the shelf and there are virtually no customers shopping at the D&G offline stores except some people returning D&G products they brought not long ago.
Since D&G was not fully aware of the magnitude of trouble they were in, they did not handle the crisis appropriately until it was too late. The company first blamed hackers for the anti-Chinese insults, but the explanation felt flat to many Chinese. Then on Friday, the 23rd of November, Mr. Gabbana finally made an apology in a video statement posted on social media: “We will never forget this experience, and it will definitely never happen again.”
How could a promotional video receive such outrage in China? At a minimum level, lack of understanding of cultural difference and its impact is one of the culprits.
First of all, the use of the traditional chopsticks is an important tradition of Chinese culture, most of the Chinese probably felt extremely offended while watching the model in the video showing a totally inappropriate way of using the chopsticks while referring to the chopsticks as a “small stick-shaped eating tool”.
In China, Chopsticks represent a tradition with a few thousand years of history and carry deep Chinese cultural and ethnic connotations. For example:
the square shape on one end and round tip on the end of the chopsticks represent heaven and earth;
the way Chinese people hold the chopsticks can also be explained by their perspective of the relationship between nature and human being;
the length of a standard chopstick measure 7 Chinese inches and 6 Chinese cents, representing human’s 7 emotions and 6 wants, and separating human beings from animals;
a Chinese person would always refer to the chopsticks as one pair and use it in one set with one hand meaning two combines into one makes a perfect set.
If one pays closer attention to the D&G video, one would notice that the fashion model used two hands, one chopstick in each hand and tried to cut the pizza. This is not perceived well in the eyes of the Chinese audience.
Secondly, Chinese people are much more reserved than Italians and do not like to make fun of their traditions. When the promotional video uses the word “small stick-shaped eating tool” to describe the Chinese chopsticks but characterized the Italian Pizza as the “Great traditional Italian Pizza”, Chinese media read between the lines and said that the video paid no respect to the Chinese traditions and it was designed deliberately as if D&G was trying to “teach Chinese people how to use chopsticks”. Of course, we don’t believe this was the intention of D&G, but this is how Chinese people felt.
The brand is definitely damaged in China. According to a London-based brand finance consultancy estimate, the scandal could wipe out up to 20 percent of the D&G brand’s value of $937 million Euro. That is about 200 million Euro damage and puts D&G out of the rank for the global 50 apparel brands.
“Without China, the hinterland for growth, D&G will obviously be in a weak competitive position and in danger of being eliminated,” the Chinese business magazine New Fortune said in a social media post-Sunday.
What can we learn from this? As a professional service firm assisting our clients expanding globally, we see the following lessons learned:
Ignoring culture differences carries a high risk.
Embracing the culture differences and paying full respect and detailed attention to the local culture and tradition is required while doing business in a foreign country.
Well thought-out and timed communications is critical to handle important events and crisis.
Robert Yu and Sergio Bruno are Partners with Global PMI Partners – seasoned post-merger integration experts that help mid-market companies around the world bring their operational, technical and cultural differences into alignment.
> Read more about our Leadership Team
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China Entertainment Industry, Intellectual Property (IP), Legal News
By Mathew Alderson
Chinese Entertainment Law: A New Audiovisual Work On The Horizon
China’s copyright law, in its present form, has been in place since 2010 and numerous proposals for amendments have been floated since that time. The National People’s Congress recently released another draft amendment and solicited public comment. As far as I can tell, this would be the 5th draft since 2010.
In a recent post I looked at proposed copyright law changes that would impact the music business. In this post I’ll be discussing changes that would impact the film and TV industries. To understand these changes, we need to revisit the current law.
Extant cinematographic works
China’s current copyright law recognizes a class of works that covers both cinematographic works and works created by a process analogous to cinematography. I’ll refer to all of them here as cinematographic works. The law also makes an important distinction between cinematographic works and video recordings.
The implementing regulations of the present law defined cinematographic works as those consisting of a series of related images which, when shown in succession, impart an impression of motion with the aid of suitable devices, whether together with accompanying sounds or not. Cinematographic works are protected by copyright.
In the implementing regulations of the present copyright law, video recordings are defined as “recordations” of a series of related images, with or without accompanying sounds, that are not cinematographic works. Video recordings are not considered to have reached the high but fairly vague standard of originality applicable to copyright works in China. They are not given the same level of protection as cinematographic works and are protected only by certain neighboring rights.
Incidentally, one of the ongoing difficulties with Chinese copyright law is that although it enumerates the rights comprising copyright it does not clearly state which of these rights apply to which copyright works or other subject matter. An indeterminate class of rights — such as the rights of “consent” or “remuneration” — is often the only link. These rights apply at times to both copyright works and non-copyright works, making the distinction between copyright protection and neighboring rights protection hard to follow.
Proposed new audiovisual works
Under the 2020 draft amendment to the copyright law, audiovisual works would replace cinematographic works. Audiovisual works would be treated in substantially the same way as cinematographic works are presently treated. For instance, copyright in an audiovisual work would still be owned by the producer; with the writer, director, cinematographer and others having a right of authorship.
The treatment given to video recordings would not change substantially and it may be inferred that the definition would also remain unchanged.
It may also be inferred that an audiovisual work would be more than just a cinematographic work — otherwise why have the new term at all? The trouble is that the draft law does not define what an audiovisual work is.
Perhaps some further amendments will be proposed or maybe a definition will be provided in the implementing regulations if the latest draft is enacted. At present, the only guidance as to the definition is to be found in the 2014 draft amendment, which, of course, was never enacted. It provided that an audiovisual work is a work composed of a series of continuous pictures, with or without sound, that can be perceived with the help of technical equipment. Cinematographic works and TV series were expressly included but TV programs or parts of TV series were expressly excluded. The definition is obviously unsatisfactory as it relates to TV. The intention may have been to exclude certain recordings, such as those of sporting events, on the basis that they lack sufficient originality.
The distinction between audiovisual works and video recordings?
As the proposed definition of audiovisual work is unclear, the distinction between an audiovisual work and a video recording is unclear too.
In 2014 it seemed that the problem might have been solved by simply removing video recordings from the equation. An explanatory memorandum to the 2014 draft proposed that the category be abolished entirely. The reason for the enduring distinction remains unclear. Perhaps certain stakeholders or interest groups don’t want the added burden that would result if royalties become payable on a broader class of subject matter.
What is fairly clear is that originality will probably continue as the underlying criterion by which the distinction is made. Like the present category of cinematographic work, the new audiovisual work would be for things that have originality, but a mere video recording would continue for something without originality.
Though they aren’t dispositive, some of the Chinese court guidelines issued in connection with copyright infringement claims assist in understanding the thinking behind the distinction. Video recordings — the reasoning goes — capture events or productions with no storyline or only a simple storyline. They are not to be regarded as the personal creation of a director and there is no role, or only a limited role, for a cinematographer or an editor. It’s this same reasoning, by the way, that has prevented the protection of sports broadcasts as copyright subject matter in China. It’s a blunt instrument. I’ve called it the stranglehold of originality.
Let’s hope the necessary definitions and distinctions become clearer if the new version of the copyright law comes into effect.
At present, supplementary contractual provisions can assist when a party wants a recording of borderline originality treated as a copyright work in a China contract. The need for provisions of this kind will likely continue if the new law is enacted in its present form.
Mathew Alderson
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Grand Theft Auto: Not Just Taking Cars
hlsjrnldev · September 1, 2016 ·
Zoom, Swerve, Crash! These are effectively the three steps of actress Lindsay Lohan’s and former Mob Wives star Karen Gravno lawsuits against the widely popular action-adventure video game series Grand Theft Auto.
Zoom – Lohan filed suit under New York’s right of publicity statute, arguing that Grand Theft Auto V’s character “Lacey Jonas,” who is continuously portrayed evading paparazzi throughout the game, misappropriated her likeness. Lohan based her allegation off of the presumption that the game made multiple references to her famous Mean Girl’s character, the West Hollywood hotel where Lohan previously resided, and that the video game’s publisher used a model to allude to Lohan’s image and persona using a photograph taken of her in 2007. With respect to Gravano’s case against Grand Theft Auto V, the ex-Mob Wives star filed a $40 million complaint over the game’s character “Andrea Bottino.” Gravano claimed that she had striking similarities with her her virtual avatar from using the same phrases, father’s who were government informants, and ties to reality television
Swerve – Given New York state’s strict publicity statute and Lohan’s previous failed attempts to prevail in such suits, the judge rejected the defendant’s motion to dismiss in March 2016. The same judge who rendered the surprising continuation of Lohan’s case also gave the “green light” for Gravano.
Crash – Despite these rather surprising early victories for Lohan and Gravano, both were short lived. On September 1, 2016, New York’s appellate division delivered a steadfast and fatal blow to Lohan and Gravano’s claims against the video game maker. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the New York Appellate Court held that both “respective causes of action under Civil Rights Law § 51 must fail because defendants did not use [plaintiffs’] name, portrait, or picture.” Specifically with respect to Lohan’s claims, the court concluded that because the video game creator failed to either directly or indirectly refer to Lohan by name, actually use Lohan as a model for the avatar, or use a photograph of Lohan as a basis for the avatar, the “images are not of Lohan herself, but merely the avatar in the game that Lohan claims is a depiction of her.” Therefore, the case was dismissed. The same rationale was used to strike down Gravano’s arguments.
To further add fuel to the already robust fire burning down Lohan and Gravno’s cases, the panel of appellate judges concluded that both suits would ultimately fail even if the avatars’ depictions were close enough to the respective actresses because “a video game does not fall under the statutory definitions of advertising or trade, and that Grand Theft Auto’s unique story, characters, dialogue, and environment, combined with the player’s ability to choose how to proceed in the game, render it a work of fiction and satire.”
Loren Shokes is an Entertainment and Sports Highlight Contributor for the Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law and a current third year student at Harvard Law School (Class of 2017).
Filed Under: Highlight
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Career Fair at East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy
Manolo AguilarApril 3, 2017
On March 23, East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy held their annual Career Fair.
This Career Fair consisted of five different sessions available for students in the 11th and 12th grades. They had careers such as nurses and business owners to animators and nonprofit organizations; a variety of options in hopes to show their students the many different pathways and career options available to them.
I was able to interview some of the presenters and get an overview of their profession.
Melissa Geisler
Melissa Geisler is the Yahoo Sports director and technological operations.
“I was impressed by the students here, they seemed really engaged and friendly,” she said. “They’re a good group of kids.”
Ms. Geisler participated in this career fair as a way to help influence kids who grew up in a similar community as hers to achieve whatever they wanted. She wanted to give back and encourage kids to go against all the no’s they are told throughout their life.
She enjoys speaking to the youth, so this was an opportunity she gladly took.
Mona Clayton
Mona Clayton MSN, RN, is a part of an organization known as Nurses 2 Rock Pub. She stated that she made this organization to help build future nurses.
The Nurses 2 Rock Pub talks about the pathways and steps needed to take to become a full-fledged nurse through seminars and published books.
Ms. Clayton was raised in South Los Angeles and wanted to be able to give back to communities similar to hers.
The Nurses 2 Rock Pub is holding a seminar for anyone who is interested at the University of Phoenix Campus on April 13, from 2 p.m. – 8 p.m.; specifically located at 6 Centerpointe Dr., La Palma, Calif. You may RSVP at (562) 547-1646. All are welcome for the chance to learn.
Haley Menig
Haley Menig is the director of solutions and works for digital advertisement. Haley participated in the Career Fair to introduce students to the world of advertisement.
She said that advertisement is a growing field that has a variety of options for all kinds of talent.
Ms. Menig told the students that in the beginning she never knew that the world of advertisement even existed but it was a field she was glad she got into. She wanted to be able to introduce this career to the students as one of the countless options to take into consideration when choosing a career.
Nate Eisenberg
Nate Eisenberg is in the post-production department for the well-known DreamWorks Pictures. Mr. Eisenberg had also interned at Nickelodeon and Disney before settling into DreamWorks.
Mr. Eisenberg stated that the students were all very attentive and had good questions. He even went as far as to provide his e-mail so that the students may contact him with any questions in regards to the animation field.
These were but a few of the careers that were shown to the students at the East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy. It was provided by the teachers, staff, and leadership as a way to open up the world to their near graduating classes.
News Schools
career ELARA fair
Commentary: Unrecognized sports at Corona del Mar
Q&A with a Spanish and French teacher with advice for high schoolers
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Last edited by Kazrazshura
Sunday, May 10, 2020 | History
5 edition of Paul"s Letter to the Philippians found in the catalog.
Paul"s Letter to the Philippians
by Gordon D. Fee
Published 1995 by W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. in Grand Rapids, Mich .
Bible. N.T. Philippians -- Commentaries.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Statement by Gordon D. Fee.
Series The New international commentary on the New Testament
LC Classifications BS2705.3 .G67 1995
Pagination xlvi, 497 p. :
A second recurring theme of Philippians is that of attitude or mentality. The epistle instructs the believer concerning his inner life—the world of his feelings, thoughts, and dispositions. The book being, in actuality, a letter addressed to a local church, it is not surprising that the attitude most emphatically enjoined is that of unity. Philippians New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Paul’s Prayer for the Philippians. 3 I thank my God every time I remember you, 4 constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5 because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by .
Paul's Letter to the Philippians by Gordon D. Fee, , available at Book Depository with free delivery worldwide/5(). The early church was unanimous in its testimony that Philippians was written by the apostle Paul (see ). Internally the letter reveals the stamp of genuineness. The many personal references of the author fit what we know of Paul from other NT books. It is evident that Paul wrote the letter from prison (see –14).
Here is how I explain it in my book The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. ***** The Unity of the Letter. The first two chapters of Philippians sound very much like a friendship letter written by Paul to his converts. The occasion of the letter is reasonably evident (see especially –30). Epaphroditus brought the gift from the Philippians to the apostle at Rome (Phil. , 18; ), spends some time helping Paul, and then returns to the church with the letter from Paul (). Paul takes advantage of the opportunity to encourage them to continue in unity and steadfastness (; , 3; , 2; ).
Love addict
Reasons for and against lowering the gold and silver of this kingdom
Newborn behavioral organization
National Railroad Passenger Corporation.
Adventures in fishing
The Blood Red Dawn
The Time of the Ghost
Summer tours in Scotland
Comparing career service systems
Wellss natural philosophy
Small water harvesting structures in India
Small is possible
Beloved enchantress
Review of work done by the Haryana Vidhan Sabha during the years 1972-77
Function and dysfunction in the basal ganglia
The mysterious cat
Paul"s Letter to the Philippians by Gordon D. Fee Download PDF EPUB FB2
The Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians to thank them. They had sent him a financial gift through a man named Epaphroditus. Epaphroditus also went above and beyond to help Paul with his work (Philippians ).
Additionally, the Philippian church supported Paul when he was imprisoned before (Acts 16). So part of the reason Paul. Letter of Paul to the Philippians, New Testament letter written by Paul the Apostle, while he was in prison (probably at Rome about ad 62), and addressed to the Christian congregation he had established in Macedonia.
Apprehensive that his execution was close at hand, yet hoping somehow to visit the Philippians again, Paul explains that he was imprisoned.
Philippians is one of Paul’s shortest letters and one of the smallest books in the New Testament but there are such powerful teachings in this little dynamo. Check out this commentary, summary and key verses from the book of Philiipians. A letter written by Paul to the church in the city of Philippi, the first Christian church in the province of Macedonia; the eleventh book in the NT canon.
Paul and the Philippian church The church in Philippi was founded by Paul and his party on his so-called second missionary journey as related in the eyewitness account (a “we-section. There has never been any serious doubt as to the authorship of the letter to the Philippians.
Paul claims to have written it (; on the relationship of Timothy to the writing of the letter see, “Lesson 2: The Greeting”) and when compared to say Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Galatians, all the internal characteristics of language, style.
There is far too much to comment on in a short review, but this great book deserves reading from cover to cover. Pauls Letter to the Philippians book, though not often seen as integral to understanding Paul's theology, is a very important window into Paul's heart.
This volume is a great study of this short letter. It also reminds me that I really enjoy the NICNT series/5(40). Paul’s Letter to the Philippians 3 Leader’s Summary: Miles O’Neill Welcome to Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
This Epistle is a powerful book to study as a group because it is written to a group yet with a very personal tone. I am excited that you are taking the time to lead others through it.
I call this the “fight club” book. Paul's Letter to the Philippians by Gordon Fee is in the New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT) series published by Eerdmans. In this important commentary on this gem of a letter, Fee delves deeply into Paul's thought and Paul's world/5.
The joy of the Christian experience is the dominant theme running through the book of Philippians. The words "joy" and "rejoice" are used 16 times in the epistle. The Apostle Paul wrote the letter to express his gratitude and affection for the Philippian church, his strongest supporters in ministry.
THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS. Philippi, in northeastern Greece, was a city of some importance in the Roman province of Macedonia. Lying on the great road from the Adriatic coast to Byzantium, the Via Egnatia, and in the midst of rich agricultural plains near the gold deposits of Mt.
Pangaeus, it was in Paul’s day a Roman town (), with a Greek-Macedonian population and. In Philippians Paul makes a reference to the “whole palace guard.” In Philippians he refers to the saints of “Caesar’s household.” Finally, in Paul states that the Philippians sent aid to Paul while he was in Thessalonica.
This would seem to indicate a later date for the writing of the letter. The Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians is one of his 4 Captivity Letters, along with Ephesians (which precedes it), Colossians (which follows it), and Philemon in the New Testament of the Bible.
Paul established the first Christian community at Philippi in Europe on his Second Missionary Journey (Acts - ).While he was in Asia Minor, he had planned to travel. Many beneficial things are found in Fee’s commentary on Philippians: 1) There is no one better than Fee at tracing Paul’s flow of thought.
Fee is always thinking contextually. His is the opposite of atomistic exegesis. 2) He shows how Greco-Roman /5(15). Interprets Paul’s letter in light of its rhetorical content and cultural context Skeptical of the trend among many biblical scholars to analyze Paul’s short, affectionate letter to the Philippians in light of Greco-Roman letter-writing conventions, Ben Witherington instead looks at Philippians as a masterful piece of long-distance oratory ― an extension of Paul’s oral speech, /5(9).
The book of Philippians is a Prison Epistle (letter written while in prison). Paul wrote it about 62 A.D. as he anticipated his release from prison. They key personalities are the Apostle Paul, Timothy, Epaphroditus, Euodia, and Syntyche. It was written to show his appreciation and love to the Philippians in a thank-you letter for their.
Proud though the Philippians might be to be citizens of Rome; their destiny was heavenly citizenship. Another matter with which Paul had to deal in this letter, was to express gratitude for the support that he had received from the Philippians, in particular the gifts they had sent which he had received from Epaphroditus ().
Joy is a central theme in the book of Philippians. There are 15 explicit references to some form of either the noun “joy” (chara in Greek) or the verb “rejoice” (chairo) in this short letter.
Paul prays for the Philippian believers with joy (chara) because of their partnership with him in the gospel.(). undertaken to provide earnest students of the New Testament with an exposition that is thorough and abreast of modern scholarship and at the same time loyal to the Scriptures as the infallible Word of God.
This statement reflects the underlying purpose of The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Begun in the late s by an international team of New /5(3). New Testament scholar, ground breaking textual critic, and editor of the NICNT series, Gordon D. Fee offers us comprehensive, accessible, and eminently readable commentary on one of Paul's most personal letters in, The Letter to the Philippians [NICNT].Fee provides us with an insightful comparison of Philippians to two types of letters in the Greco-Roman world, friendship letters Brand: Wm.
Eerdmans Publishing Co. Interprets Paul’s letter in light of its rhetorical content and cultural context Skeptical of the trend among many biblical scholars to analyze Paul’s short, affectionate letter to the Philippians in light of Greco-Roman letter-writing conventions, Ben Witherington instead looks at Philippians as a masterful piece of long-distance oratory — an extension of Paul’s oral speech, Brand: Eerdmans, William B.
Publishing Company. New Testament scholar, ground breaking textual critic, and editor of the NICNT series, Gordon D. Fee offers us comprehensive, accessible, and eminently readable commentary on one of Paul's most personal letters in, The Letter to the Philippians [NICNT].Fee provides us with an insightful comparison of Philippians to two types of letters in the Greco-Roman world, friendship letters Format: Ebook.
Author: Philippians identifies the author of the Book of Philippians as the apostle Paul, likely along with the help of Timothy. Date of Writing: The Book of Philippians was written in approximately A.D.
Purpose of Writing: The Epistle to the Philippians, one of Paul’s prison epistles, was written in Rome. It was at Philippi, which the apostle visited on his second .Paul urges the Philippians to have humility, which in this letter means to put other first and consciously seek what is est for others over what may be best for one's self.
Paul indicates to the Philippians that suffering can actually have all of the following positive effects except.
stichtingdoel.com - Pauls Letter to the Philippians book © 2020
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Star Trek Beyond Is As Entertaining As Skeptics Feared It Would Be
Written by Ian Thomas Malone, Posted in Blog, Pop Culture
The fans who raised concerns over Star Trek Beyond’s action packed, Beastie Boys fueled trailer had a point. The comparisons to the Fast and the Furious franchise were warranted even before considering that director Justin Lin helmed four installments, overseeing the series’ shift away from car racing into buddy action films. Vin Diesel would have look more appropriate in Beyond than Patrick Stewart or Kate Mulgrew. The problem for those critical of the trailer is that while they weren’t wrong to point out the franchise’s shift in direction, the result is the single best thing to happen to Trek since Seven of Nine’s introduction to Voyager back in 1997.
Funny thing is, I can’t really find a spot where the fast pacing, sharp writing, and overall strong performance from the cast would have been improved by longwinded technobabble exchanges or impassioned debates on the Prime Directive. Lin took Trek and made it his own, but it’s still Trek. Giving Simon Pegg control of the script proved genius as he brought his comic wit and fan’s perspective, giving Leonard Nimoy one of the most heartfelt tributes I’ve seen in fiction, giving me great optimism for how Anton Yelchin’s unfortunate death will be handled.
Beyond succeeds because it knows where to concentrate its phaser fire. The plot is about as forgettable as The Final Frontier or Insurrection, certainly no whales, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The film wastes none of its two hour run time, knowing when enough is enough. My only real complaint is that Idris Elba is largely wasted in the role of Krall. Having been highly underwhelmed by Benedict Cumberbatch’s go as Khan in Into Darkness, I’m not sure more Krall would have been a good thing, but it’s always at least a bit of a shame to see a talent like Elba underutilized.
It’s rare to see a blockbuster film, let alone one that’s part of a franchise, to not suffer under the weight of its perceived obligations to its universe. My main criticism of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Batman V. Superman, various films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that they spend too much time worrying about the bigger picture of the franchise that they don’t put enough focus on being entertaining films. A cameo from an older cast member or from the upcoming Discovery series would have been fun, but I’d rather not have either than suffer an unnecessary subplot designed to “connect” individual works together. Beyond is a pleasant throwback to the days where movies dedicated themselves to satisfying the audience sitting right in front of them rather than those who complain in coffee shops, comic book stores, or the internet.
The film is fun. That’s about all there is that needs saying. Those who were bothered by the trailer probably won’t like the film, but the trailer was inaccurate in at least one regard. Beyond has a lot of heart for a movie that’s mostly focused on explosions.
The new Star Trek films have different obligations than the earlier films, which were continuations of television series featuring characters the audience had ample opportunity to get to know. We’ll never know Pine’s Kirk as well as Shatner’s. Every few years we get to have a couple hours of fun with these characters. For Trek fans who haven’t had the luxury of a Trek series on TV in over a decade (at least until January), resistance to Lin’s different style is, well, logical. As an ardent Deep Space Nine fanatic and a fan of the other series, I welcomed Trek’s decision to boldly go where no captain had gone before, even if it that involves going into the Fast and the Furious’ quadrant.
Soul is a touching film that doesn’t tug too hard on the heartstrings
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Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cpp/issued/v24y1998is1p152-169.html
Jobless Durations of Displaced Workers: A Comparison of Canada and the United States
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Gilles Grenier
David M. Gray
This paper deals with one fact of the unemployment rate gap between Canada and the United States that started in the early 1980s. We seek to analyse discrepancies in the search behaviour and environment of displaced workers which give rise to a higher observed average jobless duration for Canadian workers. A common hazard function is estimated from a data set which combines comparable information from the American and the Canadian Displaced Worker Surveys for 1986. A descriptive analysis of the characteristics' and the distribution of jobless spells of displaced workers in the two countries reveals some relevant differences across countries. The results from the regression model are roughly similar for the two countries, with the exception of significant differences in the impact of a few variables, such as the cause of displacement (plant closure versus production cutback); there is also a higher degree of negative duration dependence in the US. An empirical decomposition exercise suggests that the differences in the characteristics of displaced workers and their labour markets are relatively more important than differences in the estimated regression coefficients of the corresponding variables in generating a longer average duration in Canada.
David Gray & Gilles Grenier, 1998. "Jobless Durations of Displaced Workers: A Comparison of Canada and the United States," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 24(s1), pages 152-169, February.
Handle: RePEc:cpp:issued:v:24:y:1998:i:s1:p:152-169
File URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0317-0861%28199802%2924%3CS152%3AJDODWA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-2
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As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.
Other versions of this item:
Gray, D. & Grenier, G., 1993. "Jobless Durations of Dispplaced Workers: A Comparison of Canada and United States," Working Papers 9315e, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
David Card & W. Craig Riddell, 1993. "A Comparative Analysis of Unemployment in Canada and the United States," NBER Chapters, in: Small Differences That Matter: Labor Markets and Income Maintenance in Canada and the United States, pages 149-190, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
David Card & W. Craig Riddell, 1992. "A Comparative Analysis of Unemployment in Canada and the United States," Working Papers 677, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
Michael Baker & Miles Corak & Andrew Heisz, 1998. "The Labour Market Dynamics of Unemployment Rates in Canada and the United States," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 24(s1), pages 72-89, February.
Jones, Stephen R G & Kuhn, Peter, 1995. "Mandatory Notice and Unemployment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(4), pages 599-622, October.
Kiefer, Nicholas M, 1988. "Economic Duration Data and Hazard Functions," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 26(2), pages 646-679, June.
Denise J. Doiron & W. Craig Riddell, 1994. "The Impact of Unionization on Male-Female Earnings Differences in Canada," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 29(2), pages 504-534.
Oaxaca, Ronald, 1973. "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 14(3), pages 693-709, October.
Ronald L Oaxaca, 1971. "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," Working Papers 396, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
Fortin, Mario, 1994. "L’écart de chômage entre le Canada et les États-Unis : analyse des divergences entre les hommes et les femmes," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 70(3), pages 247-270, septembre.
Green, David A & Riddell, W Craig, 1997. "Qualifying for Unemployment Insurance: An Empirical Analysis," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 107(440), pages 67-84, January.
Lawrence F. Katz & Bruce D. Meyer, 1990. "Unemployment Insurance, Recall Expectations, and Unemployment Outcomes," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 105(4), pages 973-1002.
Lawrence F. Katz & Bruce D. Meyer, 1988. "Unemployment Insurance, Recall Expectations, And Unemployment Outcomes," NBER Working Papers 2594, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
Tiff Macklem & Francisco Barillas, 2005. "Recent Developments in the Canada-US Unemployment Rate Gap: Changing Patterns in Unemployment Incidence and Duration," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 31(1), pages 101-108, March.
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All the reviews
Artist Pick by Luna Keller
Best Indie Songs of 2020
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Things I Should Have Told You
I Am Nova
Stay In the Night
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Why do I hear music right now?
On some browsers, you may be able to hear music when you arrive at Indie Music Center. Have a look to the bottom of the page: it's the Indie Music Radio, playing our best features 24/7 :) Of course, you can stop it if you'd like to listen to the songs when you're reading our reviews.
What will you find here? Well, reviews, Spotify playlists, social media shares, a radio station... We try to spread indie music everywhere. So be sure to follow us on social media and follow our Spotify playlists. Because we don't write reviews for all the songs that we include in our Spotify playlists. And on the other hand, we're not sharing on social media every little change we make. And we're updating the website like... 10 times a day! So don't forget to follow us everywhere, so you will never miss THE song!
Well, I'm Niko. I was born in France, where I still live, even though I'm working in English all day long, and I'm fighting with timezones to chat with artists from all around the world (USA, Canada, Asia, Australia). I want you to find here the best possible artists so it's not a problem for me to wake up in the middle of the night to chat with them.
My dad was a musician, and I was rocked with synthesizer ballads all day long...
I live in a house in the middle of the swamps, with migrating birds, and near the forest and the ocean! While my real job was mostly in call centers or stupid office jobs, I also used to work as a volunteer for 20 years in the music industry. I mean more than 10 years in different FM radio stations. I used to own more than 30 online radio stations. I created a lot of websites, both in English and French. I've written and recorded more than 300 songs (in French, or in English with a French accent that I will never be able to get rid of haha). And... I wanted to create something unique. A kind of portal, where you could find everything about indie music at the same place. So I've quit my job. And now, my main activity is to listen to music and write reviews for you to discover amazing songs. I also do the mixing & mastering stuff for some of my favourite artists. I also give them some tips to help them to grow or to manage their social media correctly. And that's true, I really enjoy to create videos to promote their music on social media. So you're sure that you won't miss any review. Well. That's a lot of stuff, to be honest! I need almost 90 minutes of work to share ONE song. But after all, isn't it the best job in the world, ever? It was not easy to reach that happiness level. I had to quit my job. I cut my salary in half for the love of indie music. But honestly, I'm much happier than before. Want to know more? Let's discover now how did it all start!
The 10 dreams story.
1997. Young presenter.
When I was 10, I had a cassette set. And horrible clothes, I agree. I was doing interviews with my friends at school. Sometimes we talked about dinosaurs, sometimes about the Spice Girls. But without even know it, at that time, I've always had a dream. Sharing people's adventures through a microphone.
Dream#1 achieved. I'm only 14. And I have my own radio show on a local FM radio to promote indie music. And my show is called "Pop'N'RocK". I was already doing mixing and mastering in the radio's studio, and a lot of local musicians wanted to work with "The Radio Teen" to record their music. Pushing buttons. Shaking hands. Sometimes watching a screen. When you're young, that's pretty cool!
2005. Bigger project.
My radio show was doing good. I was 18 and became a student. And... one day, I had a dream. Why not creating, inside the campus, a 24/7 online webradio to promote indie music and, of course, bands from the campus ? Well. I woke up. Started to work on it for 3 months. Dream#2 achieved. "Pop'N'rocK Radio" was born. And I used to play awesome Indie bands from this era, like Franz Ferdinand, The Kooks, and some others. It lasted for 12 years, which is huge for an online radio station! It brought me thousands of contacts from Artists, Bands, Labels, Blogs, and it was a fantastic adventure. I also hired awesome volunteer writers, from all around the world (UK, Brazil, Netherlands, United States, France, Australia, Slovakia). But it was only a passion, as my real job was to work in call centers. Sometimes I was a volunteer in bigger radio stations. Well, that dual life really brought me a lot of good things... But not only. It also allowed me to meet in 2011 the most faithful listener, who became my GF. Thanks to Dream#2, I achieved Dream#3. Finding love. And her love for indie music is still here, you will learn more in a few seconds, below.
2015. New try.
I'm back on a local FM radio station to promote local artists (not only in music). Let's see below how it ended up.
2017. Few changes.
I realized that watching a screen for hours became essential, even though I don't like it, and even if I prefer to walk in the forest, or on the coast for hours. But I don't have any choice. Webradios are kinda dead, and this concept is not as powerful as it has been in the past. People are now listening to music through Spotify. They're not buying CDs anymore. Things are changing. Time to move forward.
One more night with a crazy dream: creating a blog. I woke up. Made a decision. And bam. Goodbye Pop'N'rocK radio. I started a blog, called "Music For Your Heart". For me, a good song must bring us powerful emotions and chills. Far from the high rotations of FM radios that pollute all the countries, and that kills the creativity of artists, we wanted to show that the world of music is now very big (thanks to the Internet, that's true), and that in reality, the medias confine us to less than 1% of what exists. And what exists elsewhere is much better than what we are flabbergasted every 2 hours on the radio waves. This blog brought me even more contact in the show-business world especially with famous record labels. Dream#4 achieved. But I wasn't really happy with the name. Loads of people were not able to remember or write it properly.
2019. Revelation.
May :
I went crazy. I was fed up with everything. Fed up with my oppressive work. Fed up with my mother who lied to me for 30 years about my father and my whole family, whom she deprived me of for 12 years. Fed up with my apartment in the city center where you can hear drunk men hitting their wives. Even if my GF and my blog were the only things which kept me alive, it wasn't enough anymore. A lot of things must be changed. After receiving more than 9000 songs for the blog, I had all the time to made several observations. Notably the fact that some artists don't even have a Facebook page. Others don't have a website. Others send unfinished tracks to blogs, Youtube Channels or Spotify Playlists curators (no mastering, or rough mixing). I just told myself: "Obviously! They are musicians. Not sound engineers. And not websites creators either." I've been working in the music industry for 20 years now. I owned more than 30 radio stations. I had musicians recorded in the studio, mixed and mastered tons of albums. I created lots of websites since I used to own several blogs and webradios. So I already know how to position a brand on the Internet and strengthen its digital presence. So I can be useful to these artists, and much more than writing reviews to promote them. So I created the Indie Music Center. A place dedicated to indie music. For indie music fans, first, to find all the best indie songs at one glance. And then, for artists, to find all the tools they need to promote their music.
September :
The FM radio station isn't funny anymore. It's not like in 2001 when you had something to do, like playing CDs, pushing a lot of buttons. Now you just list your songs and jingles on a screen and it's playing automatically. How boring is that? And you have to respect some rules, like playing the same commercial sh** every 2 hours. And hearing 75 times a week the same ads. Rotting people's lives with 35 minutes of advertising per hour. Wooooot?! Not my values. I've quit. Dream#5 achieved. With my faithful listener of Dream#3, still here 8 years later, we started looking at listings for houses for sale. We found a house in the countryside. Perfect. Let's buy it! Dream#6 achieved.
November :
It was time to also quit that job in the national healthcare system, where I'm taken for a fool, getting contradictory orders every hour. Where I had to put up with the smell of piss and poo from my 70 year old colleague. I've quit. Dream#7 achieved. I also realized that having a toxic mother doesn't help. On that private side, I've been taken for a fool for more than 30 years. So I needed something positive in my life.
2020. New life.
January :
Me and my GF (my most faithful listener) are moving in the house in swamps, with migrating birds, and near the forest and the ocean! The Indie Music Center can now have its own office. My Dream#7 is now becoming true, and I can see it for real!
February :
The Indie Music Center blog reached, to our great surprise, the number 1 position in the world in terms of quality, among more than 1,100 outlets. A real consecration that we owe to the 1154 artists who have entrusted us with their promotion for 3 years.
I dreamed about bringing back to life what I'm made for: a radio station. Well, let's make it. Let's start to sort all the songs we featured (more than 1K), keep the best ones, remaster them, upload them, schedule them... Well, passion is still here!
Well. Apparently, Dream#8 is also achieved. Indie Music Radio is born. It plays the artist I've written about. 24/7. The radio like I wish it was in real life haha.
The Indie Music Radio secuded, in less than 2 months, more than 1,900 faithful listeners. We changed the website layout to make it a little more dark, so your eyes won't get tired anymore (as the White colour hurts, we all know about that).
I had a dream. Again. I dreamed about colors on my website. So when I woke up, I decided to put a colour on each musical genre to make your discoveries easier to find: blue for indie pop, orange for indie folk, yellow for indie rock, and pink for indie electro. The Indie Music Radio now has its own color: purple. And what a change. Thanks to those new colors, I can now reach 200K people monthly on our social media with ultra-targeted campaigns for our artists. Dream#9 achieved.
December :
November has been the biggest month ever, for IMC. We never had so much visitors and never reached so much people on social media. And December followed the same path... And like a Xmas gift in advance, my GF joined me on this huge adventure. All the videos you can see on social media are now made and posted by her. And if you didn't notice any difference, it's because she's like me: caring about quality. So her amazing work saves me a lot of time to listen to songs, write reviews, and to take care of the radio station which now has almost 4,200 faithful listeners. Also, new members will join us in the team very soon... Seems like 2021 could be THE year.
I don't really know what's happening but the amount of visits on the IMC is beginning to be huge. Well, OK, for me, that's huge haha. For bigger blogs, it's just a drop of water in the ocean. But I've realized something. Who else writes quality review, and shares the songs in over 20 different places? Nobody. I managed to create something unique. It's hard to admit, for me, because I never knew how to see the positive in me. But if I open my eyes and look at what I've accomplished, I realize it's just huge. To have created a strong brand in such a short period of time, and most importantly: connected to artists and indie music fans all over the world, is a fantastic adventure. My relatives think I'm crazy, living locked in my office listening to music. But it's my window to the world. And when we're all authorized to travel again, I'll have friends everywhere to visit. And that is priceless. Well. It's not over. My GF and I just signed a civil union contract. Now we're officially linked for the rest of our lives. Living together. Working together. It couldn't be better.
But it's still not over! The team is growing up again and I'm very glad and proud to welcome Luna Keller. She's really fantastic. I met her maybe 2 years ago. She's an amazing Singer-Songwriter, and quickly became a super friend. I already hosted on the blog since 2020 her great podcast "Why Doesn't Everyone Know These Songs?". And I've featured all of her singles since last year. She brought me new perspectives, and a new way of seeing things, by her young age (remember I'm 33 now, and in the digital world, it's quite old haha). She's a bit like me, having thousands of ideas a second. But without us even realizing it, it was obvious that Luna and her musical tastes quite similar to mine (we're both die-hard Coldplay fans) were going to end up on the blog. This is why you can now take advantage since the beginning of January of her own column, called "Artist Pick". Welcome to the team, Luna!
The horizon looks brighter now. And I think I'll continue to follow my dreams. Waiting for Dream#10 :)
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Home > Free Essays > Business > Management > Islamic Law and Shariah: Leadership & Management
Islamic Law and Shariah: Leadership & Management Essay
There is no use denying the fact that such issues as leadership and management are extremely vital for our society because they serve as the basis that helps to organize the functioning of various people and coordinate their actions. It should also be said that these two notions are closely connected and interdependent. However, analyzing such situations as leadership without management and management without leadership it is possible to say that the first variant seems to be more acceptable and productive than the second one. The thing is that a leader does not have to manage people.
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Very often the image of a leader serves as the thing that inspires people and gives them some stimulus for their development. Thus, if a manager is not a leader, he/she will not be able to perform his/her duties in the right way. Being superior because of the vacancy that he obtains, a manager can give orders to workers and control their functioning. However, having no leadership qualities, he/she will not be respected by the collective and his/her authority will be formal but not real. That is why, it is possible to say that in the coherent society managers, especially those who obtain some senior positions, have to posses leadership qualities in order to manage workers efficiently because a great progress could hardly be achieved by a bad leader
Analyzing the situation from the Islamic standpoint, it is possible to say that traditionally the issue of leadership has been of a great importance for this philosophy. The thing is that according to this religion a leader should take care of his/her people and protect them from various threats. With this in mind, it becomes obvious that a leader is given a great authority and significance because the life of people depends on it. That is why, resting on these assumptions, it is possible to say that for the Islamic philosophy a good leader is almost always a good manager. However, it also means that a good manager has to obtain good leadership qualities in order to inspire people and make them follow him/her. Due to this fact, one can conclude that the idea of management without leadership could be taken as inappropriate for the Islamic law and society.
Additionally, it should also be said that the Islamic Law and Shariah play a great role in the functioning of a state and some governance issues. The question of leadership is given a great attention and a ruler of a state, as the leader of people who reside there, should obviously be a good leader who will be able to manage people, even accepting some unpopular decisions. Traditionally, monarchy has been the form of rule peculiar to the region. A ruler, who has a great power though, does not possess leadership skills, will not be able to obtain his/her vacancy because of the peculiarities of the mentality of people.
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Contract: Sealed Bidding and Competitive Proposals Quality Leadership & Ethics in Project Management
IvyPanda. (2020, June 6). Islamic Law and Shariah: Leadership & Management. Retrieved from https://ivypanda.com/essays/islamic-law-and-shariah-leadership-amp-management/
"Islamic Law and Shariah: Leadership & Management." IvyPanda, 6 June 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/islamic-law-and-shariah-leadership-amp-management/.
1. IvyPanda. "Islamic Law and Shariah: Leadership & Management." June 6, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/islamic-law-and-shariah-leadership-amp-management/.
IvyPanda. "Islamic Law and Shariah: Leadership & Management." June 6, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/islamic-law-and-shariah-leadership-amp-management/.
IvyPanda. 2020. "Islamic Law and Shariah: Leadership & Management." June 6, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/islamic-law-and-shariah-leadership-amp-management/.
IvyPanda. (2020) 'Islamic Law and Shariah: Leadership & Management'. 6 June.
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Hilary Ledwell, Joshua Revesz – The New York Times
Krin Rodriquez February 7, 2020
Hilary Ruth Ledwell and Joshua William Been Revesz were being married Jan. 25 at the Countrywide Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington. James E. Boasberg, a federal district choose in Washington for whom the bride clerked, officiated.
The couple achieved at Yale, from which equally obtained legislation levels, and from which the groom acquired an undergraduate degree, summa cum laude.
The bride, 29, is a law firm at the American Civil Liberties Union in New York. She served as a regulation clerk for Decide Boasberg from 2018-19. She graduated summa cum laude from Williams Faculty in Williamstown, Mass., and acquired two master’s levels from Cambridge College, a person in modern day European background and the other in historic scientific studies.
She is the daughter of Deborah H. Schwartz, who recently retired as town supervisor of Killington, Vt., and who formerly served as airport manager of the Minor Rock Nationwide Airport.
The groom, 28, is an appellate attorney in the Justice Department’s Civil Division in Washington. He clerked for Merrick B. Garland, the chief judge of the United States Courtroom of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, from 2017-18. This summer time he will commence a clerkship for Justice Elena Kagan.
He is the son of Vicki L. Been and Richard L. Revesz of New York. The groom’s mother and father are professors of legislation at N.Y.U. His mother is currently on go away to serve as New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Progress. His father is also the director of the American Law Institute in Philadelphia.
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Process Nerd: Can an MP be forced to give up his or her seat?
By Kady O'Malley. Published on Dec 3, 2018 12:26pm
Short answer: No.
Long answer: Still no, but with bonus discussion of the roots of parliamentary privilege.
Nearly two weeks after previously low-profile Liberal backbencher Raj Grewal announced he’d be resigning his Greater Toronto Area seat to deal with what the Prime Minister’s Office initially described as “serious personal challenges” that were subsequently revealed to be a gambling problem, his political future is, if possible, even less clear than it was in the immediate aftermath of his initial revelation.
According to the latest status report from the Speaker’s office, Grewal remains on the parliamentary roster for now, and may end up staying on until next year’s federal election.
In a video statement posted to Facebook on Friday night, Grewal recounted the sequence of events that preceded his post announcing his intention to resign.
“On Wednesday, November 21, after a brief conversation with the Chief Government Whip, I was told that I probably could not remain in caucus and should resign my seat,” Grewal recalled.
“I asked the government whip to allow me to make my own statement and to tell my family in person. I immediately flew back to Brampton to share the heartbreaking news with my family.”
Following that very private disclosure, and “in a highly emotional state, completely exhausted and facing an extreme time constraint,” Grewal “made an ill-advised statement on Facebook that (he) would be resigning (his) seat.”
Now, he says, he’s departed the Liberal caucus and intends to take a leave of absence to “focus on (his) mental health and recovery,” and make “a final decision” about his political future before the House returns from the winter break in mid-January.
In the meantime, he’s asking his constituents for “patience, guidance and prayers to ensure the right decision is made.”
Leaving aside the question of whether Grewal should or shouldn’t resign (which is well outside Process Nerd’s jurisdiction), what, if any, power does his former party — or, for that matter, any other political or parliamentary entity — have to evict him from the Chamber?
The short answer is “none,” of course. MPs are elected by their constituents, and there’s no way to forcibly remove one from office other than by having the House as a whole sign off on a formal order expelling him or her from the Chamber, and even that could spark debate over whether such a move could go beyond the authority of the House to govern its own affairs.
MPs can also vote to suspend an MP without pay — which, while exceedingly rare, is generally considered to be within the bounds of privilege — but are reluctant to do so, because, instead of actually vacating the seat, it simply deprives the MP’s constituents of a voice (and vote) in the House.
Parties can, of course, eject a member from caucus — unilaterally and on the spot, with no requirement to secure the prior consent of other members, despite the best efforts of Conservative MP Michael Chong to impose some limits on that power.
Parties can also bar an incumbent MP from campaigning for re-election under his or her original party banner, although they can’t stop him or her from running as an Independent — or, indeed, from starting a whole new party, as demonstrated by the newly minted leader of the People’s Party of Canada.
Protecting MPs from being abruptly evicted goes to the underlying principle of parliamentary privilege. In a nutshell, they’ve got to be able to perform their parliamentary duties as they see fit, without worrying it could cost them their seat through any process other than the very same democratic exercise that installed them in the first place.
Even if an MP states his intention to resign — as was the case with Grewal — he remains free to change his mind at any point, right up until he files the necessary paperwork with the Speaker.
In fact, a case could probably be made that pushing an MP to step down could itself constitute a prima facie breach of privilege if it could be construed as coercion, which definitely doesn’t seem to apply in this particular case.
As for non-parliamentary forces, there is, of course, no formal recall mechanism, though constituents have every right to publicly urge an MP to step down.
Ultimately, though, it’s up to an MP to decide whether to heed such calls, or stay on and attempt to make the case for keeping him or her in the seat during the next federal election.
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“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”
About International Understanding and International Mindedness
ISA offers programs that can help schools participate in an international curriuclum and other global programs such as Education for Peace and Education for Sustainablitliy. These programs assist schools and students to learn about International Understanding and International Mindedness.
With these programs schools and students develop the knowledge of understanding the international community, appreciate different presceptives, learn how to communicate with others and share their values and beliefs.
ORAL ENGLISH EXAMS
ISA SELF STUDY GUIDE
“The United Nations, whose membership comprises almost all the states in the world, is founded on the principle of the equal worth of every human being.”
A new, additional service offered by the ISA is Consultancy on the ¨Guide¨ itself and on how to make best use of it.
The Introduction to the ¨Guide¨ is designed to suggest a number of ways in which it can be employed in a School and for a number of different purposes. The aim of the new service is to extend and develop this Introduction and to offer expert advice on where and how to begin, and on how to progress with the Self-Study.
A CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK K-12
“If we are to live together in peace, we must come to know each other better”
Education for Peace is a conceptual framework from which schools may devise a program comprising the transmission of universal values and enduring attitudes, and the development of skills which will enable our students to become active global citizens.
“We need to think of the future and the planet we are going to leave to our children and their children”
ISA also promotes and supports Education For Sustainability, because it allows every human being to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to shape a sustainable future.
“Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going”
ISA members during the summer of 1994, and Jacqueline McLellan of Calgary, Canada, discussed the possibility of creating a new set of oral English examinations. These examinations would emphasize expressive and fluent communication in English and not simply the acquisition of grammar and vocabulary.
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Democracy in Peril: Ten Elections to Watch in 2018
Post author By Timothy D. Sisk
No Comments on Democracy in Peril: Ten Elections to Watch in 2018
Image courtesy of David Drexler/Flickr. (CC BY 2.0)
This article was originally published by Political Violence @ a Glance on 11 January 2018.
Democracy’s resilience into the 21st century is rightly questioned. In 2017, a host of countries worldwide saw threats to civil and political liberties, popular participation, and fundamental human rights. Corruption and state capture by predatory political elites led the news in old and new democracies alike. Verbal and physical attacks on civil society, the press, and minorities were reported in virtually all world regions. And new virulent, nationalist ideologies threaten human rights and the carefully crafted post-World War II international liberal order.
Continue reading “Democracy in Peril: Ten Elections to Watch in 2018”
Tags Democracy, Afghanistan, Mexico, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elections, Sweden, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Mali, United states, Zimbabwe
The Border Wall: Making Mexican Drug Cartels Great Again
Post author By Paul Kan
No Comments on The Border Wall: Making Mexican Drug Cartels Great Again
Courtesy of torbakhopper/Flickr. (CC BY-ND 2.0)
This article was originally published by War on the Rocks on 2 February 2017.
After a campaign of “sending rapists,” “deportation force,” “whip out that Mexican thing again,” and “bad hombres,” the Trump administration has moved from the theatrical to the practical in its first steps to build a new wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Prior to the inauguration, President Donald Trump’s transition team approached the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Interior Department about a new physical border. In his first week in office, Trump signed an executive order instructing the Department of Homeland Security to repair existing portions of the border fence and to build new sections as authorized by Congress in 2006. Although the new administration is clearly moving to fulfill its campaign promises, the results of a new physical barrier will likely have a counter-intuitive effect: Mexican drug cartels will grow stronger.
Since 2006, when the Mexican government declared war on the drug cartels, the United States has increased its law enforcement, military, and intelligence cooperation with its southern neighbor. With U.S. support, Mexican authorities have been able to kill or capture 33 out of the 37 most dangerous cartel leaders. The recent extradition of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to the United States is a testament to the value of high-level cooperation between the two countries. As a result of these notable successes, several larger cartels have fractured and have descended into in-fighting.
Continue reading “The Border Wall: Making Mexican Drug Cartels Great Again”
Tags Mexico, Border Security and Controls, Organized Crime, Drugs, United states, Narco-Trafficking
Conflict Regional Stability
Peru: the New King of Cocaine
Post author By Patrick Balbierz
No Comments on Peru: the New King of Cocaine
Two lines of cocaine. Image: Nightlife of Revelry/Flickr
This article was originally published by the World Policy Institute on 3 February 2015.
The home of cocaine production has a new address. Stepping out from behind the shadows of its more notorious peers in the region, Peru is taking the helm from its South American neighbors as the leading producer of cocaine in the world. While Colombia’s production declines due to concerted efforts by both its government and U.S. foreign agencies (along with FARC being open to negotiations), a once dormant industry from Peru’s troubled past has resurfaced to meet market demand.
In the early 1990s, Peru was a major producer of cocaine but was eventually surpassed by Colombia following aggressive government policies in Peru to combat the black market trade. These policies have faded over time, and thus the expansion of cocaine growing has boomed once again.
Continue reading “Peru: the New King of Cocaine”
Tags Mexico, Latin America, Colombia, Peru, Drugs, Drug policy
Security Regional Stability Politics
Mexico’s Low Point
Post author By Nathaniel Parish Flannery
No Comments on Mexico’s Low Point
Mexican flag. Image: Lisette/Wikimedia
This article was originally published by theIPI Global Observatory on 21 November 2014.
Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto is in the most difficult period of his presidency, with vociferous protests over the disappearance of 43 teachers-in-training in the state of Guerrero fueling angry calls for his resignation. At the same time, his government is facing accusations of corruption. Taken together, the two problems seriously undermine the image of Mexico that the president and his team have worked to promote around the globe.
Continue reading “Mexico’s Low Point”
Tags Mexico, Corruption, Accountability, Drug policy
Government Security
Review – Mexican Cartel Essays and Notes
Post author By James Phelps
No Comments on Review – Mexican Cartel Essays and Notes
Police take a suspected drug trafficker off a helicopter in Hermosillo in the state of Sonora, Mexico. Photo: Knight Foundation/flickr.
Mexican Cartel Essays and Notes is a collection of twenty-three Small Wars Journal (SWJ) articles supplemented by operational and tactical notes covering a variety of cartel-related subjects. With a preface by Major General (ret) Robert Scales and foreword by Texas Agricultural Commissioner Todd Staples, this volume, edited by Robert J. Bunker, collates much of the extant material and analysis available on the Mexican drug cartels published in the El Centro section of the SWJ between 27 May 2011 and 30 November 2012. Mexican Cartel Essays and Notes follows an initial anthology, Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency (May 2012). It paints a consolidated picture of the effects cartels have on governments and social constructs. The influence of cartels on all aspects of Mexican life, and their ever-expanding influence on life in the Border States and deeper into the U.S. is frightening when viewed in context and within a single volume.
Dr. Bunker’s innovative approach and selected content reflect deep concern with the growing threat posed by cartels in light of the U.S.’s failure to provide secure borders for its citizens and states. Through the volume’s consolidation of the works of thirty-two contributing authors, the perspectives and analyses of the cartel problem therein are wide ranging, covering various issues such as diversified income streams, cartel conflicts with U.S. law enforcement, human trafficking, and government corruption. Fundamental to such an approach is the desire to produce a centralized source of information that can be utilized by multiple stakeholders: policy makers to inform decision making; academics to draw on for future research; and educators to inculcate the long-standing Mexican cartel problem into discussions on the realities of transnational crime, human and narcotics trafficking, and the spread of violence and corruption across international boundaries.
Continue reading “Review – Mexican Cartel Essays and Notes”
Tags Mexico, Organized Crime, Drugs
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News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (April 17– April 30, 2019)
The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
In the Gaza Strip, 6,000 to 7,000 Palestinians participated in the Friday return marches of April 19 and 26, gathering at the five usual sites. The level of violence continued to be relatively low, although there were a number of attempts to cross the border fence and instances of IEDs thrown at IDF forces.
On April 28, 2019, a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory. It fell into the sea. In response Israel decreased the fishing zone off the Gaza Strip coast and restricted itto three nautical miles. According to the IDF spokesman, the rocket was deliberately fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) from the northern Gaza Strip in an attempt to sabotage the attempts to reach a lull.
Senior Hamas figures continued to threaten Israel with a renewal of violence if Israel did not implement the understandings reached. Operatives in the incendiary balloon-launching and Night Harassment units also threatened to return to their former activities (including burning fields near the Gaza Strip during the reaping season) if Israel did not fulfill the conditions of the understandings.
In Judea and Samaria, a stabbing attack targeting Border Police fighter was prevented. It took place near the Tapuah Junction, close to Ariel. The terrorist was shot and killed. Both Fatah and Hamas issued mourning notices for the terrorist.
The Israel Security Agency reported that a terrorist network was recently exposed in Judea and Samaria. Its operatives planned to carry out a car bomb attack close to the date of Israel’s elections. During interrogation one of the operatives said that he had been recruited by Hamas operatives in the Gaza Strip for “military activity” and had agreed to become a suicide bomber.
Read full report, click here.
SOURCEThe Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
Previous articleHow Israel is reported each day in the media around the world
Next articleIdentities of the Palestinians killed in the most recent round of escalation (Initial report, updated to May 7, 2019
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Raheem Sterling of Manchester City Offers Tribute to His Friend J Capri
Raheem Sterling – Photo via IG
Top Manchester City player, Raheem Sterling, dedicated a Euro double to his friend J Capri, Jamaican dancehall star who died recently as the result of an automobile crash. His two-goal achievement sent his team on to the next stage of the Champions League with a 4-2 victory that ensures it a top spot in Group D. The match was played on Sterling’s 21st birthday, but he had no thought of celebrating the day, desiring instead to honor the Jamaican singer. J Capri, who would have turned 24 on Christmas Eve 2015, died two weeks after a car crash in Kingston. Sterling also made a tribute to J Capri on Instagram, which was liked by 15,000 viewers in just a few hours after being posted, saying, “Today was for you it was my birthday n I was determine to score for you. such and Angel n a genuine friend May god be with your family.” Sterling was born in Jamaica, moving to the United Kingdom at age 7, but still owns a house on the island and spends considerable time there. He is also considered a Jamaican national soccer hero, in spite of playing for the Three Lions.
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WICB Forecasts Surplus for End of Current Financial Year
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is reporting that it is forecasting a surplus for the financial year ending September 30, 2016. Additionally, it is projecting to spend an estimated US$40 million on its development programmes for the year October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017.
President, Dave Cameron has indicated that the spend for the upcoming financial year, will include focus on
· Two A Team Tours
· Age group tours and under the under 19s preparation to defend the World Championship title in 2018
· Women’s team qualification and participation in the World Cup in June 2017 in England and series to include
o ODI vs England in Jamaica, October 8 – 19
o India (away series) in November
The President also added that the number of days for cricket has almost doubled “and all the teams will be busy in the upcoming year.”
Among a number of committee reports which were presented at the regularly scheduled quarterly Board of Directors meeting in Dominica today (Saturday) was from the Audit and Risk Compliance Committee, headed by Don Wehby. That committee reported that all financial statements for the Board have been prepared within the times allotted and have been done in conjunction with its internal and external auditors, Price Waterhouse and KPMG respectively.
The ARC Committee also identified a number of risks, chief among them is the two-year old Professional Cricket League. Subsequently, an internal team has been mandated to assess the PCL with a detailed look at Technical, structural and marketing support for the franchises. That review should be available in six months to coincide with the end of the 2016/2017 season, due to be completed in March next year.
The Chief Executive Officer, Michael Muirhead also announced at the meeting that “discussed at the Chief Executives meeting this past week in Dubai, that there is a recommendation on the table for some ICC members to pool their commercial and overseas broadcast rights.” The discussion he noted will continue at the ICC members’ meeting in South Africa next month.
A full report from the meeting held in Dominica will be published in other news releases.
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Kamila Dydyna
Actress | Filmmaker | Production Freelancer
Production Freelancer
Learned Behaviour is Preventable Behaviour: Digital Abuse Of Women
I have 365 friends on Facebook. If all of them were women based in Ireland, statistically, 73 of my friends would be victims of some form of domestic abuse.
It’s so easy to reduce issues like these to numbers. I used to think I’m sensitive to and highly aware of those matters, particularly given that people close to me have been affected by domestic abuse (some of them still are, on a daily basis, and I can’t force them to protect themselves). I was wrong.
Women’s Aid Ireland organised a conference today in Dublin, focusing on the relatively new issue of digital abuse of women. I was listening to every word – learning, getting inspired and horrified at the same time. I hadn’t realised the scale of the problem. I didn’t know how helpless the victims are, how inadequate the current Irish legislation is, how ill-equipped we all are as a society in addressing this problem. At the same time, I was deeply inspired by the amount of work already done – by An Garda Síochána, represented by Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan, by members of the Irish Bar, represented by Pauline Walley, SC, and by Women’s Aid itself.
I was particularly affected by Ann Moulds, the founder of Action Scotland Against Stalking. Ann shared her personal, harrowing story as a victim of an extensive stalking campaign during a time when stalking wasn’t even recognised as a crime in Scotland. I still can’t comprehend just how she was able to tell her story to our audience while maintaining her composure. It wasn’t even the explicit, sickening photos her anonymous stalker sent her, including one with his erected penis, that were the worst part. It was the hand-written letter she showed us, the letter she received from her stalker, describing in detail what he was going to do to her when he would get his hands on her.
Photo by Women’s Aid Ireland
Seeing this letter nearly made my heart stop. Suddenly, the concept of stalking – online or offline – wasn’t just bringing to mind Glenn Close and the rabbit in Fatal Attraction. You know when they say “sh*t just got real”? Well, in that moment, I realised just how real the problem of stalking and online abuse is. And I want to thank Ann Moulds and convey my great respect to her for having the incredible strength and courage to not only share her story with dignity, but to turn it into a source of inspired action (Ann’s case and her subsequent campaign is determined to be the reason why stalking was recognised as a criminal offence within Scottish Law).
As I was processing this after the conference was over, another thought struck me: why is it that the victims of online abuse (often including sharing explicit images or lies without the victim’s knowledge or consent) are the ones struggling with shame? Why are they the ones embarassed to come forward, to report the crime and deal with the additional attention it brings? What the hell is wrong with this picture?
I can’t even begin to comprehend the cruelty, the malice, the inhuman viciousness that lies behind crimes like revenge porn or online stalking. This is one of the reasons why I write stories and direct films where violence is present. It’s my own way of coping with its existence, trying to understand and tame it. But what I am certain of is that it’s the stalkers, the perpetrators of the cyber-abuse who need to be ashamed. It infuriates me that it’s so often the other way round.
Just a few days ago I happened to be talking to someone I thought I knew about my new screenplay and the fact that it addressed revenge porn. To my utter surprise and then disgust and shock, the person instantly dismissed the problem by ridiculing the women who are victims of revenge porn. “Just how stupid was she to let herself be filmed / photographed?!” was the question, asked with contempt.
No wonder victims are afraid to come forward. No wonder as a society we’re adding to their isolation, terror and helplessness by mocking, diminishing, blaming and misunderstanding the issue. I was trying to think of the reasons for this, and the incessant stream of sensationalist reality shows came to mind. Then there are the tastes of a generation whose “only ambition is to go viral,” as Michael Keaton’s character says to his daugther in Birdman. But violence against women is learned behaviour. I don’t want to get into the nature vs. nurture discussion here. However, I strongly believe a boy who sees men in his environment criticising rape victims for wearing shorts in a dark alley will have a harder time respecting his female partner than a boy who observes respect towards women when he’s growing up. And if behaviour is learned, it can also be prevented.
I left the conference today with that single thought. Learned behaviour is preventable behaviour. I’m holding on to it for dear life. And as today starts a global campaign of “16 Days of Action Opposing Violence Against Women,” I’m also thrilled that my short film Testimony, addressing the topic of domestic abuse against children, airs on ShortsHD in the U.S. to an audience of millions of homes. What better day for this than today, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
#16days #OneInFiveWomen #orangetheworld
*All photos by Women’s Aid Ireland
Uncategorized#16days#OneInFiveWomen#orangetheworlddigital abusedomestic abuseWomen's Aid Ireland By admin
CinéWomen Art Review 2015
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Uploaded on November 16, 2017 in Drama, Dubbed Movie, TV SERIES [Dubbed ]
Snowdrop Uncensored Serial SD Hindi Dubbed x264 Complete 1-12 Episodes
Serial: Snowdrop Uncensored
Number of Episode – 12
Video Qulity – 360p SD MP4
Audio – Hindi ACC
Avg Duration of Eps – 45Mins
Direct Download Full Pack
Direct Download Episodes (Updating …)
Snowdrop is a Ukrainian television series which was aired in Ukraine by the name of Bessmertnik. It stars Ekaterina Tishkevich and Marina Dyakonenko with Valentin Tomusyak, Oleksandr Zadniprovsky, Aleksandr Davydor and Rimma Zyubin. It is an emotional family drama, which was adapted from the successful South Korean TV series Ice Adonis and was first serialized on TVN in 2015. It aired primetime in 2015 on TVN for 100 episodes of 45 minutes.
Snowdrop is a Ukrainian television program broadcast in the country of Ukraine by the name of Bessmertnik. Originally revamped from the famous South Korean TV series Ice Adonis which was first serialized on the channel of TVN in the year 2015 in the prime time slot, airing more than one hundred episodes of forty- five minutes each. Owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL), Zindagi or Zindagi TV is an Indian entertainment TV channel. It is the first Indian channel to cater content from diverse countries including Turkey, Pakistan. Ukraine, Brazil and South Korea. Zee Zindagi has brought numerous fascinating international TV serials to the Indian spectators in the past couple of years among which Feriha and Fatmagul have caught considerable attention and zoomed up the rating charts becoming exceedingly popular.ars among which Feriha and Fatmagul have caught considerable attention and zoomed up the rating charts becoming exceedingly popular.
Tags: Snowdrop, Snowdrop Uncensored, Snowdrop Uncensored Serial SD Hindi Dubbed x264 Complete 1-12 Episodes
Author: dC4Mp1dKMd
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THE INFLUENCE OF AGING ON THE ACTIVITY OF ANTICONVULSANT DRUGS
W. Clayton Petty and Ralph Karler
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics December 1965, 150 (3) 443-448;
W. Clayton Petty
Ralph Karler
The influence of aging on the activity of five anticonvulsant agents was studied in rats and mice. In addition, the relation of aging to the CO2 content of the cerebral cortex of the rat was investigated.
In the rat, the ED50 values in four of the five agents studied decreased with age. Three of the drugs whose ED50 values fell with age are considered to act through the same mechanism, an increase in the CO2 content of the central nervous system. These anticonvulsants are C02, acetazolamide, and sulfanilamide. The increase in sensitivity of the nervous syste to CO2 was not related to detectable changes in the amount of CO2 in the cerebral cortex. In addition, changes in the amount of CO2 could not be measured in the cortex after administration of anticonvulsant doses of acetazolamide. The marked sensitivity of the central nervous system to CO2 in old rats indicates that changes in tissue CO2 below the limits of manometric detection are sufficient to produce anticonvulsant effects.
At present it is not possible to relate any changes in blood-brain barrier, in rates of drug metabolism, in the level of central nervous system excitability, or in carbonic anhydrase activity to the decrease in ED50 observed for acetazolamide and sulfanilamide. It appears that the decrease in ED50 of these agents is the consequence of an increase in sensitivity of the nervous system to CO2. The ED50 for phenobarbital also decreased with age, and this decrease may be the consequence of a decrease in the rate of metabolism of the barbiturates with age.
The mice data demonstrate some species differences from the rat. The ED50 for both acetazolamide and diphenylhydantoin increased with age. Mice, nevertheless, resemble rats in that the ED50 for CO2 decreased with age. Therefore, in both species aging is associated with an increase in sensitivity of the nervous system to the anticonvulsant effects of CO2.
Accepted June 30, 1965.
The Williams & Wilkins Comapny
You are going to email the following THE INFLUENCE OF AGING ON THE ACTIVITY OF ANTICONVULSANT DRUGS
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics December 1, 1965, 150 (3) 443-448;
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Your Colour Of Country Life
Sydney man kicks off coronavirus vaccine trial at Oxford University – SBS News
An Australian man is one of the first two people to be injected with a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed at Britain’s Oxford University.
Edward O’Neill moved to the UK two years ago from Sydney to conduct radiation oncology research. Vaccine development isn’t his field of expertise, but he was eager to volunteer for this trial.
“I think it’s the right thing to do, to help with something the whole world is desperate for,” he told SBS News.
“I thought ‘they know what they’re doing’, they’ve got a lot riding on it and there’s a lot of evidence that it will work, so I thought I’d give it a go.”
The potential vaccine has been created in just three months. It would normally take years. It’s one of several in development around the world.
More than 800 people have been recruited for the Oxford study. Half will receive the COVID-19 vaccine, while the other half will receive a control vaccine that protects against meningitis but not the coronavirus. Those taking part won’t know which they’ll receive. But they do know there’s a small risk to their health.
Dr O’Neill says he’s not concerned, nor is his wife.
“She thought it was a great idea, she was a little annoyed she couldn’t do it herself. I guess there’s always just that little niggling doubt, but she was confident that was the right thing to do.”
The team behind the trial is cautiously optimistic it will work. If it does, they hope to have a million doses ready by September, but mass manufacturing could take much longer.
“I think everyone agrees it’s the only way to get out of the lockdown, the social testing, the only way to get back to our everyday lives,” Professor Sarah Gilbert said.
The scientists will only know how effective the vaccine is if the volunteers who received the COVID-19 vaccine are exposed to the disease; they won’t be deliberately infected.
“If there’s still plenty of transmission in the population who are vaccinated, we will know quite soon whether the vaccine works,” Professor Andrew Pollard said.
“But if as a result of the lockdown, there’s very small numbers of cases in the months ahead, it could take some time before we have an answer.”
Dr O’Neill will have to write a daily log to list any symptoms and will give blood samples at regular intervals – in addition to continuing his own work while in lockdown.
“It is strange. Right now, I’m banned from the lab, but in many ways I’m continuing doing experimentation, I just happen to be the experiment,” he said.
“It’s almost as if the weight of the world is on my shoulder. My left shoulder (where he was injected) in particular!”
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others and gatherings are limited to two people unless you are with your family or household.
If you believe you may have contracted the virus, call your doctor (don’t visit) or contact the national Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
If you are struggling to breathe or experiencing a medical emergency, call 000. SBS is committed to informing Australia’s diverse communities about the latest COVID-19 developments.
News and information is available in 63 languages at sbs.com.au/coronavirus.
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Tag Archives: xenophobia
Resistance in an Age of Absurdity
“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
From an incessant flow of paranoid tweets to bizarre statements about massacres that never happened or secret cameras fitted in microwaves, Donald Trump’s regime has ushered the unhinged spectacle of reality show television right into the Oval Office with stunning success. Were this absurdity to be contained within the confines of a political thriller it might be mildly entertaining. But in the real world, a world in which real civilians are being blown to bits by smart bombs, real children are starving to death, real refugees are being turned back to face certain death, and where the real biosphere is perilously close to the edge of catastrophe, this derangement is utterly terrifying.
Trump is a master at manipulating the corporate media via the manufacture of controversy and melodrama. Of course the irony is that the very same broadcasting behemoths he routinely demonizes provide his unhinged theatrics with non stop coverage which, in turn, has given them unprecedented ratings and profits. But behind the spectacle lurks a far more insidious method to this madness. In a mere three months the Trump regime has managed to replace the heads of institutions like the Department of Education, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, with individuals who wish to dismantle them. He has codified racist xenophobia through executive orders which ban Muslims and persecute undocumented immigrants. And through his elevation of white supremacist Steven Bannon to astonishing power, he has animated the latent white nationalist movement.
The Trump regime has also demonstrated its eager willingness to expand the war machine of American Empire, pouring billions of dollars into an already bloated military industrial sector while gutting social and medical services. In this short time Trump’s militarism has empowered the Pentagon and has claimed the lives of scores of men, women and children from Syria, to Yemen, to Iraq, and it is only just ramping up. There is also little to cast doubt on the prospect of wars and military conflicts involving China, North Korea and Iran in the not too distant future given the administration’s unhinged saber rattling and provocation.
His appointment of former ExxonMobil executive, Rex Tillerson, to the State Department signifies a blatant display of the influence of the fossil fuel industry in regard to US foreign and domestic policy. Tillerson presided over the company in the 1970s, a period in which the oil giant launched massive campaigns to deny its own research which confirmed human caused global warming. Trump’s recent executive order related to climate change delivered a blow to reason. It was meant to. His absurdist view that it is a hoax manufactured by the Chinese is a hallmark of his risible ignorance and, remarkably, still has currency in many conspiratorially minded circles. But in this Age of Absurdity facts and the truth itself have become the first victims.
As a resurgent fascism stands poised to sweep over the West we can expect increasing brutality against dissent; and it would be foolish to think the repercussions of this would remain localized. We will be increasingly asked to choose between compliance with monstrous state repression or bold resistance. The protests which have sprung up against the onslaught of misogynistic and xenophobic polices have been encouraging to see, but there are already a slew of laws in the works designed to stifle direct action. And the Democratic Party establishment is not interested, nor is it equipped to offer up any kind of meaningful resistance since it has acquiesced to the demands and interests of Wall Street, corporations and the war industry long ago. Their role has been one of normalizing the ruthless exploits of global capitalism. Indeed, the Clinton and Obama administrations championed the brutality of neoliberal capitalism and weakened civil liberties and gutted social safety nets for the poor while deporting millions of undocumented immigrants and bolstering the imperialistic war machine.
If there is anyone to look to in these dark times for inspiration it would be the ongoing struggles of Black Lives Matter, Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS), and Standing Rock Sioux which largely began during the previous administration and are international in scope. These movements have endured and weathered police and state intimidation, brutality, violence and arrest; and it is their fortitude and integrity which offers us all a living example of how bold we will need to be in the face of an ever more oppressive tyranny. They were born of the historic struggles of indigenous peoples against colonialism, police brutality and environmental racism. And with the perilous times that lie ahead solidarity with them is needed now more than ever before.
Thanks to the convergence of a climate ravaged world and a fragile biosphere that is teetering on collapse and extinction, the global despotism rising today will be unlike anything we have ever seen before. The flames of nationalism and xenophobia will be fanned by fascists who will ride a rising and unfortunate tide of climate chaos. They will use famine, austerity and social unrest and uncertainty to justify brutal authoritarianism, repression and state violence; and they will have no problem employing chicanery, scapegoating and dehumanization to achieve their end. Indeed, their embrace of absurdity, or its pretense, is their strength.
In The Origins of Totalitarianism Hannah Arendt said: “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.” The more fascists are permitted to make a mockery of justice, humanity and protection of the living earth, the more easy it will be for them to manipulate the deepest fears and prejudices of the public. They will continue to launch mendacious smears against climate scientists, assault the poor and the most vulnerable, advance racism, expand war and militarism, disparage the press, and promote the inversion of reality to their favor even as the planet burns. And if we continue to allow them to bend the arc of truth we will most assuredly see truth itself begin to die. Our resistance to tyranny begins the day we refuse to allow this to happen on our watch.
This entry was posted in Archived and tagged biosphere collapse, capitalism, climate change, Donald Trump, fascism, fossil fuels, immigration, Islamophobia, mass extinction, militarism, misogyny, neoliberalism, President Obama, racism, resistance, Wall Street, war, xenophobia on April 2, 2017 by Kenn Orphan.
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Christmas and its supposed pagan links
Christmas ... blends elements including both the feast of the Saturnalia and the birthday of Mithra.
-- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Roman religion'
Every year around Christmas, the world's mythbusters love to remind everyone that Christmas is really a pagan festival, and that Christians plagiarised it by enforcing their own beliefs on a pre-existing set of customs. The choice of festival varies: sometimes it's Saturnalia, sometimes the winter solstice, sometimes the birthday of Mithras, sometimes a Roman civic festival of Sol Invictus ('the unconquered sun'). Often it's a combo: for example, you may hear that Saturnalia was a solstice festival that the Christians corrupted.
Many Christians seem happy to accept this picture of things too, minus the hostile spin. After all there doesn't need to be anything very sinister about using a well-known festival to hold a celebration of your own. It's happened to Christian festivals too: St Valentine's Day was a Christian feast day for a legendary martyr of the late 3rd century, now it's mainly a day for celebrating romantic love. No evil conspiracy, and hardly anyone actually minds. Why not adapt a pre-existing festival for new purposes?
Anyway, soon the mythbuster-busters come out to play too. They'll dutifully point out:
There's no evidence to link Christmas to Saturnalia, and in fact Saturnalia continued to be celebrated by Christians, alongside Christmas for at least a century and probably longer.
Sol Invictus (a) was a specific local cult associated with a specific temple in Rome, (b) there were numerous sun cults in Rome and Sol Invictus was just one of them, and (c) the festival of Sol Invictus on 25 December isn't attested any earlier than Christmas and is very likely the later of the two.
Not only did Mithras' birthday have no influence on Christian thinking: Mithras didn't even have a birthday. He emerged from a rock.
The solstice is not on 25 December, and any Greco-Roman armed with a gnomon would be able to tell that reasonably accurately.
In the early stages of researching this post I was firmly on the side of the mythbuster-busters. That's mostly still true: Christmas has absolutely nothing to do with Mithras or Saturnalia.
But not entirely. There is a bit of mythbuster-buster-busting to do here. The most important point, as it turns out, is that there almost certainly is a link between Christmas and the solstice. That, in turn, creates a fairly strong presumption that there is a link between the date of Christmas and the tradition of linking Jesus with sun imagery. But as we shall see, it does not follow that there was any kind of plagiarisation between Jesus and Sol Invictus, in either direction.
Let's do the mythbuster-busting first, then we'll get onto the mythbuster-buster-busting. (This'll be a long post, in honour of the season: I'll change gear down after the new year.)
1. Saturnalia
Saturnalia was a Roman festival of Saturn on 17 December. Celebrations continued after Saturnalia for several days, finishing sometime between 19 and 23 December depending on which century we're talking about. It may originally have been a farming festival; the evidence is unclear. It was associated with an overturning of various regulations and social norms: free citizens often wore a freedman's hat, the pilleus, and played gambling games that were normally illegal; slaves would dine alongside their masters, or even act the part of master. People would exchange gifts of candles and clay figurines.
There's no link to Christmas. The date? No: they're not on the same date. (Hey, what's eight days between friends? Well, it's the difference between corroboration and no corroboration.) The fact that Saturnalia might have had some chance to have an influence on Christmas isn't evidence that it did.
Christmas trees? Yule logs? Holly and ivy? No, none of those come from Saturnalia. Individual customs may have pagan origins in some cases -- the Yule log may possibly be based on a late mediaeval Anglo-French or South Slavic custom -- but that has nothing to do with the claim that Christmas is based on Saturnalia.
Gift-giving? No: the magi may have given tribute to Jesus (traditionally at Epiphany, 6 January), but the modern custom of gift-giving at Christmas only goes back to the 16th century. That is when Luther introduced the Christkind in an attempt to discourage veneration of St Nicholas, who was associated with gift-giving on his feast day of 6 December. In late mediaeval Germany gift-giving had also been associated with the feast of the Holy Innocents, on 28 December. It's possible that Christmas charity from aristocrats to the poor goes back a bit further. But there's certainly no evidence to suggest continuity all the way back to when Saturnalia was still being celebrated.
And that brings us to the kicker: Saturnalia was still being celebrated, by Christians to boot, at least as late as the 5th century, alongside Christmas. By that time it was no longer a festival in honour of Saturn, in much the same way that Christmas has little to do with Jesus for modern atheists. But it'd be bizarre to conclude that Christmas, which was certainly being celebrated in the 4th century, was based on another festival that continued to co-exist with it for at least 100 years (and probably longer).
2. Mithras
Mithraism was a popular cult in the western Roman world in the first few centuries CE. Very little textual evidence about Mithraism survives: we have to rely heavily on the archaeology of mithraea, underground churches of Mithras. And interpretation of that evidence is very often uncertain and controversial. Popular accounts are even worse -- more games of speculation than anything else.
Roger Pearse has written some good online catalogues -- here, and here -- of rebuttals to the claim that Mithraism and Christianity had anything to do with each other. To sum up:
No, Mithras didn't have a virgin birth, and he wasn't born on 25 December. Mithras wasn't even born: he came out of a rock.
No, three wise men did not visit Mithras at his birth. (a) He didn't have a birth. (b) This idea is entirely derived from a single 1864 book that seems to have mistaken Mithras' attendants Cautes and Cautopates for 'wise men'. There isn't a shred of ancient evidence for it.
There is no good evidence of a concept of salvation through blood in Mithraism. This idea was based on a single inscription, but its reading isn't remotely clear-cut and it requires very heavy supplementation to get it to mean anything at all. (Here's what the inscription looked like in 1930; here's the most recent professional sketch of it. Go on, you try deciphering it.)
No, Mithras didn't die on a cross. That's completely made up.
Mithras didn't have twelve disciples, get buried and rise three days later, have a festival that coincided with Easter, and he didn't get called a "good shepherd", "the way, the truth, and the light", "logos", "redeemer", or "Messiah". All of these things were made up by Dorothy Murdock, writing under the pseudonym "Acharya S", in a series of books starting in 1999.
There's no connection at all. Let's just drop this one: it's silly, and life is short.
3. How far back does Christmas = 25 December go?
The earliest explicit evidence for the 25 December date of Christmas is in a document known as the 'Chronography of 354', a compilation of histories and calendars compiled in the year 354. One calendar, a catalogue of martyrs' feast days, has the following as its first entry:
VIII kal. Ian. -- natus Christus in Betleem Iudeae.
Eight days before the kalends of January (i.e. 25 December): Christ born in Bethlehem in Judaea.
But 354 isn't when Christmas was invented, it represents the earliest explicit attestation of Christ's birth being celebrated on 25 December. The likelihood is that the choice of date was earlier; though it's arguable whether that means a couple of decades earlier, or a couple of centuries earlier.
Digression #1: false leads. A number of online sources claim that Pope Julius I instituted 25 December as the date of the nativity in the year 350. This is untrue. The source usually cited is 'Manual of Liturgical History, vol. 2 (1955)', a book which on further inspection turns out not to exist. Wikipedia instead cites the History Channel -- and we all know how reliable they are. Other sources cite Julius Africanus as evidence that the date was fixed by the early 3rd century; but the surviving fragments of Africanus contain no reference to this (see S. Hijmans, 'Sol Invictus, the winter solstice, and the origins of Christmas', Mouseion 3 (2003): 377-98, at 377 n. 3; cf. Wallraff's 2007 edition of the Africanus fragments).
There are a few earlier sources that can potentially be taken as pointing towards celebration of Christ's birth -- or the Incarnation, depending on the theological flavour of the source -- at an earlier date. They are:
Clement of Alexandria, late 2nd/early 3rd cent., reports (Stromateis 1.21.145-6) that some people assigned Christ's birth to 'the 25th day of Pachon', and others to 'the 24th or 25th day of Pharmouthi'. These are dates in the Alexandrian calendar. When you convert them to the Julian calendar they're nowhere near December: they come out as 20 May and 19/20 April, respectively. However, the focus on the 25th (or 24th) day of the month is a tad conspicuous. Still, that could just be coincidence. Moreover, there are alternative interpretations of Clement's dates: see S. K. Roll, Towards the Origins of Christmas (1995), pp. 77-9.
A reference to Christ's birth on 25 December appears in an early 3rd century writer, Hippolytus of Rome (Commentary on Daniel 4.23.3), but the reference is useless: there's no doubt that it is an interpolation of mediaeval date. (I give the text of the interpolation at the end of this post; see also Roll, pp. 79-81, esp. p. 80 with n. 106.)
It was traditional among ancient Judaeo-Christian writers to treat prophets and saints as having the same date for their birthday and death-day. A modification to this appears starting in Clement, who reinterpreted the word 'birth' (genesis) as referring instead to conception (Strom. 3.12.83.2). As a result, in this typological thinking, the death-day coincided with the day of conception and the birthday fell exactly nine months after the death-day. Now, by the 2nd century, Christians were celebrating Jesus' death and resurrection on Pascha, 14 Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, or alternatively on 16 Nisan, corresponding to Good Friday and Easter Sunday respectively; the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries saw a controversy over which date was more important, the Quartodeciman controversy. Pascha shifts around each year, since the Hebrew calendar is lunar. If it were believed that 14 Nisan fell on 25 March in the year of Jesus' death, typological thinking would consequently put his genesis (conception) on the same date, and his birth nine months later on 25 December. This is exactly what the spurious reference in Hippolytus, above, claims; again, see the end of this post for the text. More details in Roll, pp. 79-80.
An anonymous text dating to 243, the pseudo-Cyprianic De Pascha computus or 'computations concerning Pascha', at sections 18-23 puts the creation of the cosmos on 25 March; the creation of the sun on 28 March (the fourth day of creation); and therefore also the genesis of Christ, the 'sun of righteousness' (a phrase from Malachi 4:2 which according to Christian tradition refers to Jesus), on 28 March. The author claims divine guidance for these dates. If by nativitas the author means 'conception' -- as indeed seems likely, with the parallel of Clement's use of genesis -- that would then translate to a birthday of 25 December or 28 December, depending on how much of the author's argument you reject.
The first two of these earlier references are uncertain and wrong, respectively, but the third and fourth are decidedly possible. The upshot is that 354 is the earliest uncontroversial date for an assignment of Jesus' birth to 25 December; but the date may well have been already decided at the time of the Quartodecimans in the mid-2nd century, 200 years earlier.
4. The winter solstice
The winter solstice does not fall on 25 December. The ancients were capable of identifying the solstices to within a day or so using gnomon measurements; and it seems to have been absolutely routine to do so.
However, there's more to this one than meets the eye. The Julian calendar was not as well calibrated as the modern Gregorian calendar, so the date of the solstice drifted with respect to the calendar date. Around the time of Jesus' birth, the solstice was on 23 December; by the time of the Chronography of 354, it was 20 December. (In 1580, just before the Gregorian calendar was introduced, it had drifted all the way back to 11 December!)
And yet Roman writers regularly quote the date of the solstice as the 25th of December. Here's Columella, a 1st century CE agricultural writer, on the subject (De re rustica 9.14.12):
ab occasu Vergiliarum ad brumam, quae fere conficitur circa VIII kalendas Ianuarii in octava parte Capricorni ...
From the setting of the Pleiades to midwinter, which occurs roughly around the 8th day before the kalends of January (i.e. 25 December), at 8° in Capricorn ...
We find similar wording in Pliny the Elder, also 1st cent. CE (Natural history 18.221):
... omnesque eae differentiae fiunt in octavis partibus signorum, bruma Capricorni a. d. VIII kal. Ian. fere.
... and all these changes occur at 8° in the (zodiacal) signs, the winter solstice in Capricorn on roughly the 8th day before the kalends of January (i.e. 25 December).
Note the parallels: the use of fere 'roughly', and the reference to 8° in Capricorn (most Babylonian-Greek astronomers reckoned the equinoxes and solstices as occurring when the sun was in the centre of each sign, i.e. at the 8° mark within that sign). Servius, in the 4th century, quotes the date by itself without the other parallels (commentary on Aeneid 7.720).
(Here, by the way, are links to published editions: Columella, and Pliny. The dating of the solstice to the 25th obviously worried the translators of these editions: they both mistranslate the date. This doesn't reflect any ambiguity over how to interpret Roman dates: there's absolutely no doubt that a. d. VIII kal. Ian. means 25 December. The translators here are either slipping up or being dishonest.)
Digression #2: why do Roman writers report the date of the solstice as 25 December? The textual parallels between Columella and Pliny, and the fact that the date was already wrong by their time, suggest they are both based on an older source. A few pages earlier Pliny discusses three treatises by Sosigenes, who designed the Julian calendar (Nat. hist. 18.212). Sosigenes can't be the ultimate origin of the date either: in his time, in 46 BCE, the solstice had already drifted to 23 December. But he's fairly likely to be Columella's and Pliny's immediate source. Sosigenes must surely have been aware that the 25 December date was already inaccurate -- hence the fere 'roughly' in both Columella and Pliny. (It's likely that Sosigenes wrote in Greek, but fere could easily be a translation of φαύλως. And it's not actually impossible that he might have written in Latin, working for a Roman audience as he was. [Additional note, 19/1/16: the fact that the sources that give the solstice as 25 December are in Latin, and that there are none in Greek, also tends to suggest that Sosigenes wrote in Latin. Pliny is our only source for Sosigenes.])
R. Hannah, Greek and Roman Calendars (2005) p. 151, suggests Hipparchus, in the 2nd century BCE, as the ultimate source. Pliny's discussion of the periods between equinoxes and solstices in the surrounding passage appears to be taken from Hipparchus' figures (94½ days from vernal equinox to summer solstice, etc.; see O. Neugebauer, History of ancient mathematical astronomy vol. 1 pp. 57-8 and p. 307, citing testimony from Ptolemy's Almagest). However, Hipparchus still isn't early enough to get a solstice on 25 December. The last time the solstice actually fell on 25 December, using the retrojected Julian calendar, was in 230 214 BCE, half a century before Hipparchus was active. Moreover, Columella states explicitly that he is departing from Hipparchus' practice: Hipparchus treated the equinoxes and solstices as occurring at the start of each zodiacal sign rather than at the mid-point; Columella/Sosigenes chooses instead to follow the more traditional practice of Eudoxus (early 4th cent. BCE) and Meton (5th cent. BCE), which was derived from Babylonian astronomy. And, at the time of Meton and Eudoxus, the solstice was indeed usually on 25 December (Julian calendar, retrojected).
So Eudoxus must be the ultimate source of the date. Here's how I suggest reconstructing the probable timeline:
4th cent. BCE: Eudoxus quotes the date of the solstice as 25 December. (He didn't use the Julian calendar, of course, but the date was later converted into the Julian calendar; we know the same conversion happened with Hipparchus' observations. See Neugebauer, p. 276, for examples of Ptolemy converting dates quoted by Hipparchus.)
2nd cent. BCE: Hipparchus, as Columella and other ancient sources tell us, treats the solstices and equinoxes as occurring at the beginning of each zodiacal sign, not at the 8° mark as in Babylonian astronomy.
ca. 46 BCE: Sosigenes quotes Eudoxus' date. He realises that it's no longer accurate, so he qualifies it as approximate (fere); he also mentions the sun being at the 8° mark in Capricorn, following traditional Babylonian-Metonic practice rather than Hipparchus.
1st cent. CE: Columella and Pliny quote from Sosigenes' account; Columella also mentions Hipparchus' alternate practice.
4th cent. CE: Servius mentions 25 Dec. as the date of the solstice. By his time it's wrong by five days, but nonetheless a traditional piece of common wisdom.
Even if you don't buy my argument in the digression above about the ultimate origin of the date, Columella and Pliny leave no doubt that 25 December was popularly regarded as the solstice.
Saturnalia, as we saw, is off by eight days: that's mere coincidence. But when Christmas falls exactly on the traditional date of the solstice, it's a bit more of a stretch to say it's coincidence.
5. Jesus and solstice festivals?
Sol Invictus. Many modern readers see a link between Christmas and the festival of Sol Invictus, 'the unconquered sun'. This is often combined with a claim that (a) this equates to a celebration of Mithras and/or his birthday; or (b) Christmas is derived from the cult of the emperor, who in certain periods was often depicted with sun iconography.
The ultimate basis for the idea is a section of the Chronology of 354 known as the Philocalian calendar, which lists off civic festivals and other occasions in the city of Rome. In December it lists the following item:
VIII -- N̅·INVICTI·C̅M̅·XXX
8th (day before kalends of January, i.e. 25 December) -- festival of the Unconquered: thirty games ordered
Here N̅ stands for natalis ('festival') and C̅M̅ stands for circenses missi ('games ordered').
The confusion with Jesus is encouraged by the fact that in Latin natalis usually means 'birthday': so you will often hear that the birth of Christ was chosen to coincide with the 'birth' of Sol Invictus. That is not the meaning of natalis in the Chronology of 354: there it refers to any kind of celebration. Compare for example the entries for 25 January, a natalis for the arrival of the annual papyrus shipment; 21 April, a natalis of the city. (See also M. Salzman, On Roman Time (California, 1990) p. 119 n. 12, p. 126 n. 22).
There are two other equally important objections to the idea that Christmas was derived from the festival of Sol Invictus.
Priority. The festival is first attested in the Chronology of 354, exactly the same document that gives us the first attestation of Christmas on 25 December. There's no basis for ascribing priority to one or the other. The Invictus celebration may be linked to an important temple of the Sun god founded by emperor Aurelian in 294 CE, but that's no more solid than the arguments I offered above for earlier allusions to Christmas.
Lots of sun cults. Sol Invictus was just one of many aspects of the sun that received cult in Rome. In the 354 Chronology alone we find three other festivals of the sun: 6 June, the crowning of the Colossus; 28 August, the [natalis] Solis et Lunae; 19-22 October, the ludi Solis. Out of the four, the June festival is the one most likely to be linked to the imperial cult; either the August or October festivals stand just as much a chance as the December one of being linked to Aurelian's temple. S. E. Hijmans, Sol: the Sun in the Art and Religions of Rome (diss. Groningen, 2009) pp. 483-7 lists off three other temples to Sol within Rome; at p. 485 n. 17 he opts for 19 October as the festival of Aurelian's sun-cult.
And, in case it needs to be pointed out, the 25 December festival has nothing to do with Mithras. Mithras was depicted with sun iconography too, and was regularly called Sol Invictus Mithras or Deus Sol Mithras, but Mithraism was a mystery religion practised underground all over the empire; the 25 December festival was an official civic festival observed at a specific temple in Rome by the city of Rome.
Brumalia. Contrary to popular belief, solstice festivals were not a dime a dozen in antiquity: we have evidence of midsummer festivals from the Greek world, since that was the new year in Greek calendars; but not for the Romans. Brumalia is a rarity, as a clear case of a genuine winter solstice festival. In fact we're not even told explicitly that it was a solstice festival: we have to infer that, from the fact that bruma is the Latin for 'winter solstice', derived from an archaic word meaning 'shortest (day)'.
Christmas isn't based on Brumalia either. Brumalia isn't of any great antiquity: it's first attested in Tertullian (On idolatry 10.3), in the late 2nd century CE. It's fairly obscure, and we don't know very much about it: we do know it involved athletic games and gift-giving (but as we saw above, gift-giving wasn't introduced to Christmas until the modern era). Like Saturnalia, it continued to be celebrated long after Christmas was in place, and by Christians: in the 6th century, emperor Justinian organised a civic festival of Brumalia from which a celebratory oration by one Choricius of Gaza survives (Oration 13 ed. Foerster and Richtsteig; not in Boissonade's 1849 edition); by that time it had absorbed some elements of Saturnalia, both of them pagan festivals.
The solstice as a purely astronomical event. So it seems likely that Christmas is related to the solstice. But there's no particular reason to see it as linked to any pagan festival: we've firmly discounted Saturnalia, Mithras, and Brumalia, and there's only a potential case for Sol Invictus.
The most likely situation is that both Christmas and the Invictus celebration were assigned to 25 December because that was the traditional date of the solstice. That is, one wasn't borrowed from the other in any sense: they were sibling festivals, cognate rather than derivative. Note that we have evidence for the traditional date of the solstice 300 years before our earliest explicit evidence for the date of either festival. For Christians the motivation would be that early Christians already thought of Jesus as the 'sun of righteousness' (Malachi 4:2), as we saw above.
However, note well the discussion above of the relationship between Jesus' death-date and birthday: the death-date was primary, and the birthday calculated from that. That is, the important thing about 25 December wasn't that it was the traditional date of the solstice: it was exactly nine months after the traditional date of the vernal equinox, on 25 March. If that is indeed the basis for the date of Christmas, it's not because Jesus was understood as the sun returning light after a season of darkness: it's because his death and resurrection were believed to be represented by the centre-point of the sun's waxing, and therefore central in a cosmic sense too -- in the middle of life's journey, so to speak.
Steven Hijmans, 'Sol Invictus, the winter solstice, and the origins of Christmas', Mouseion 3 (2003): 377-98.
Steven Hijmans, Sol: the Sun in the Art and Religions of Rome (diss. Groningen, 2009), esp. chs. 5 and 9.
Alden A. Mosshammer, The Easter Computus and the Origins of the Christian Era (Oxford, 2008).
Susan K. Roll, Towards the Origins of Christmas (Kok Pharos, 1995).
Endnote: pseudo-Hippolytus on the date of Christmas and Easter
Hippolytus, Commentary on Daniel 4.23.3 (M. Lefèvre, Hippolyte: Commentaire sur Daniel, Sources chrétiennes vol. 14, Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1947):
ἡ γὰρ πρώτη παρουσία τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν ἡ ἔνσαρκος, ἐν ᾗ γεγέννηται ἐν Βηθλεέμ, ἐγένετο πρὸ ὀκτὼ καλανδῶν ἰανουαρίων, ἡμέρᾳ τετράδι, βασιλεύοντος Αὐγούστου τεσσαρακοστὸν καὶ δεύτερον ἔτος, ἀπὸ δὲ Ἀδὰμ πεντακισχιλιοστῷ καὶ πεντακοσιοστῷ ἔτει· ἔπαθεν δὲ τριακοστῷ τρίτῳ ἔτει πρὸ ὀκτὼ καλανδῶν ἀπριλίων, ἡμέρᾳ παρασκευῇ, ὀκτωκαιδεκάτῳ ἔτει Τιβερίου Καίσαρος, ὑπατεύοντος Ῥούφου καὶ Ῥουβελλίωνος.
For the first advent of the lord among us in the flesh, when he was born in Bethlehem, took place on the 8th day before the kalends of January (i.e. 25 December), a Wednesday (lit. 'the fourth day'), in the 42nd year of Augustus' reign, in the 5500th year from Adam; and he suffered in his 33rd year, on the 8th day before the kalends of April (i.e. 25 March), a Friday (lit. 'day of preparation'), in the 18th year of Tiberius Caesar's reign, in the consulship of Rufus and Rubellio.
Even if this were authentic, it would be either terribly corrupt or terribly incompetent. The year numbers make no sense. Augustus ruled only 40 years, so the birth date makes no sense unless the author thought Augustus' reign began in 44 BCE, immediately after Julius Caesar's death: in that case he would mean 1 BCE; that year 25 December fell on Saturday by modern reckoning, or within a day or two of that by Roman reckoning (Roman reckoning was not fully in synch with modern reckoning until 8 CE): certainly not a Wednesday. On the death date: the 18th year of Tiberius' reign began in September 31 CE, but the consulship of 'Rufus and Rubellio' (errors for C. Fufius Geminus and L. Rubellius Geminus) was in 29 CE. March 29 CE was in the 15th year of Tiberius' reign. Yet the consuls' names imply that the writer means the year 29 CE, and 25 March did fall on a Friday that year. A suggestion appears dotted around a few early sources that the sky darkening at Jesus' death (Mark 15:33) may be linked to a solar eclipse over Jersualem in 29 CE -- but the eclipse was in November of that year, not March/April. [Note, 19/1/16: just as a by-the-way, some modern enthusiasts instead link the report of darkness at Jesus' death to a solar eclipse in March 33 ... but that eclipse was over the southern Indian Ocean, and was certainly not visible in Jerusalem!]
Incidentally, we do not have adequate evidence to tell in what year 14 Nisan (Hebrew) might have been considered to correspond to 25 March (Julian). Modern reckoning is no use, as the Hebrew calendar at the time was observational; modern reckoning developed over the course of the 1st millennium CE.
[Note, 19/1/16: I've altered the wording and flow in a few passages to make my writing slightly less contorted. I've left annotations in the places where I've changed the content.]
Posted by Peter Gainsford at 11:57 5 comments:
Labels: ancient religion, astronomy, calendar, Christianity
The library of Alexandria and the loss of knowledge
Myth: the burning of the library of Alexandria was "the most destructive fire in the history of human culture".
Alexandria was the chief city of Hellenistic and Roman Egypt, and the most important cultural powerhouse of the ancient Mediterranean. The quotation above comes from this History Channel clip about its famous library, or rather libraries.
The narrator goes on (at the 1 min. 39 sec. mark):
In the battle that followed, Caesar ordered his soldiers to burn the Egyptian fleets lying in the harbour. The fire quickly spread from the waterfront to the great library. The flames consumed a large part of the library's collection, marking the single greatest loss of knowledge in history.
Some historians speculate that the fire set civilisation back by a thousand years. Who knows, if the great library of Alexandria hadn't burned, Columbus may not have sailed to the New World. He might have gone to the moon!
Recently a new library was built in Alexandria, but it can never replace the ancient collection burnt in the fire. It contained rare manuscripts, the comedies of Aristotle, and more than 200 plays by Aeschylus and Euripides -- classic works forever lost.
Doctor sitting reading by an armarium holding books
(early 4th cent. CE; Met. Mus. Art, New York)
This snippet ranges from absurd to outright false. (Let's do the easy bits right away: Aristotle didn't write comedies, and Aeschylus and Euripides wrote a combined total of about 170 plays.) The only bit that has any basis in reality is the first line, about Caesar burning the Ptolemaic fleet. Everything else is untrue, without any room for doubt on the point.
It's not like the History Channel is conveying an isolated opinion, by the way. It is really widely believed. Here's a full-length documentary that makes similar claims; the Wikipedia article on the subject refers to "the incalculable loss of ancient works"; Joel Levy's 2006 book Lost Histories calls it "the day that history lost its memory"; online forums frequently get questions about just how big a disaster it was.
Important point: I'm not talking today about the historical circumstances of the library's destruction. There certainly was a major fire in 47 BCE, and there may have been other important moments of destruction in later centuries. We're not here to pin down when it disappeared, or who's to blame: this is about the historical significance of the library's loss.
Several kinds of misconception feed into this myth.
Misconceptions about the role of libraries in the ancient world.
Misconceptions about what kinds of books the Alexandrian library actually held.
Misconceptions about the actual causes for the loss of texts from antiquity.
1. The role of libraries
If the loss of the library was "the single greatest loss of knowledge" in history, that would mean the books destroyed were the only existing copies of those books.
Suppose -- heaven forfend -- that the British Library burned down tomorrow, or the Library of Congress. What kind of a loss would it be? In cultural terms, and purely in monetary terms, it would be catastrophic: millions of manuscripts, autographs, and rare and unique items would be lost, and the cost of replacing the printed collection would be vast.
But barely a scrap of actual knowledge would be lost. Ismail Kadare's novels would survive. The Thirty Years War would not be forgotten. Aeroplanes and computers would not become treasured relics, never to be recreated.
This is because there are lots and lots and lots of repositories of information in the world. And exactly the same was true in Greco-Roman antiquity. There were hundreds of libraries of Greek and Latin texts dotted around the Mediterranean. Alexandria was the biggest, but it was just one fish in a sea of libraries. There were also important centres at Pergamon, Athens, Rome, Constantinople, and many important private collections. Roman aristocrats founded many libraries in the early Principate; clubs and gymnasia in Greece were also centres of learning, with their own libraries, and we have inscriptions cataloguing regular deposits of books in their collections. Caesar's fire did not stop Athenaeus and Julius Africanus from being profoundly well-read more than two centuries later, and the likes of Pliny the Elder and Pausanias did their research privately or in Athens, not in Alexandria.
A fanciful depiction of the library in the Serapeion at Alexandria (Agora, 2009).
(Who's in charge of this mess? The scrolls don't even have labels!)
The book trade thrived and had mass audiences. The literacy rate was higher than many modern people would naively expect: nowhere near modern First World levels, to be sure, but there was a big market for things like popular romances, basic reference books, and how-to manuals. Literacy was certainly not limited to a small elite class: almost anyone could scrawl graffiti on a wall without much education. Cicero refers to the publishing business on a scale that, for the time, we may as well consider industrial (Q.fr. 3.6.6; Att. 12.6a). Books travelled from city to city easily: Pliny the Younger is delighted to hear that his own books were on sale at shops in Lyon (Letters 9.11.2). Book prices in 1st century CE Rome ranged from 6 sestertii for a cheap knockoff (Martial 1.66; one or two days' labourer's wage) to 5 denarii for a deluxe edition (Martial 1.117; = 30 sestertii). The amounts don't translate well into modern terms, but they're comparable to the prices of university textbooks: not chicken feed, but certainly not just for the elite either. To save costs further, publishers could recycle used papyrus (Catullus 22.5), or customers could commission copies made on the back of something else.
This last point is directly tied to one important function of ancient libraries. As well as being reading rooms, they were also scribal centres that bypassed the book trade. People could commission a scribe to go and make a copy of a book, and it seems this was a pretty economical thing to do. (Remember copyright is irrelevant in a society where reproduction is labour-intensive.) A beautiful example is the sole surviving copy of Aristotle's Constitution of the Athenians. An estate owner living near Hermopolis, Egypt, recycled four scrolls of his farm and business records by commissioning scribes to make a copy of some fairly high-powered intellectual works on the back, including Aristotle's book. (It's not very likely that the copying was done at Alexandria, about 200 km away.) The economics of the situation are telling: the owner was willing to hire professional scribes, but not to pay for clean papyrus. In other words, scribes were cheap.
It is unlikely that more than a handful of texts of any consequence were lost in the fire of 47 BCE, for the simple reason that anything important certainly existed in many copies, in libraries and private collections, all over the Mediterranean.
2. The books in the library
In the popular imagination, the library held all manner of arcane knowledge lost in the mists of time -- Babylonian mathematical treatises, dictionaries of Linear A, diplomatic correspondence between Egypt and Atlantis, the history of Göbekli Tepe, that kind of thing.
Illustrated edition of a poem about Herakles, probably for a popular audience:
Herakles' fight with the Nemean lion (P.Oxy. 2331, 3rd century)
In reality it was not a repository of records left by the Pharaohs of the Old Kingdom. It was a Greek library, of Greek texts, for Greek people, founded around 300 BCE. One late source tells us that there were accessions of Egyptian, Chaldaean, and Roman books, but they were invariably translated into Greek (Syncellus, Chronographia 516,6-10). We don't know if the originals would have been preserved too; it doesn't seem likely that they were prized.
We have a very good idea of the kinds of things that were in the library. This is because surviving books routinely cite and discuss other books, including ones that have been lost. Many important pieces of modern research revolve around gathering together the fragments that we obtain this way: the most important such collection, the Fragmente der griechischen Historiker, lists over 1000 lost authors -- and that's just in the genres of history and geography. In some cases we know a huge amount about these books; in other cases we know only titles. But it's more than enough to tell us that what we are missing is, essentially, pretty similar to what survived via the mediaeval manuscript tradition.
The thing that we're really missing out on is the colossal book-writing spree that Greek thinkers all round the Mediterranean went on in the late 4th to 1st centuries BCE: we have comparatively few intact books from that period -- we have Aristotle, Euclid, and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, but we're missing out on the likes of Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, and Crates.
3. How ancient texts actually got lost
The destruction of a library is a terrible thing, but it's a drop in the ocean. The disappearance of Greco-Roman texts is a story about culture and economics, not a timeline of specific events. Left to themselves, books vanish over time without any need for someone stepping in to destroy them. Poor storage, poor longevity in the materials, environmental factors, and human agency all hasten that natural decay, but that decay will happen anyway. Over a thousand years, that's plenty to ensure the demise of nearly every book in existence.
Sure, it would be nice if the library of Alexandria had survived to the present day. But that means positing a miracle. No ancient library has survived to the present. Even if the Alexandrian library had survived the fires, eventually it would have gone the same way as the Palatine library in Rome -- which suffered its own series of catastrophic fires (the History Channel never talks about those) -- and the libraries of Pergamon, Tralles, Athens, and so on. Aristotle's Constitution of the Athenians, mentioned above, is a truly extraordinary case: only a handful of texts have survived by being preserved on an intact ancient papyrus.
Codex and scroll (Pompeii, before 79 CE):
left, woman with note-taking codex (wax on wood);
right, man with commercial scroll (with titulus)
Books survive if many different people ensure that they're copied. And the people of the past who did that copying weren't operating with any top-down, organised plan; they weren't members of a worldwide Book Preservation Society. They were independent institutions and individuals living in many different places and many different centuries, and their efforts just happen to have the fortunate combined effect that many texts have survived to the present.
Texts were disappearing long before Rome fell. The 2nd century CE is when we really start to notice extant sources treating old texts as things they haven't personally read -- they only have second- or third-hand information. In other words, that's when texts start vanishing en masse. J. O. Ward, cited above, points out that many oratorical speeches from Cicero's time were already obscure in Tacitus' time. We have no evidence of any of the Epic Cycle surviving beyond the 2nd century. (Some of them did survive that long: so however they were lost, it had nothing to do with events in Alexandria.) Not a single ancient writer ever cites book 2 of Aristotle's Poetics, other than Aristotle himself: it was never as popular as the similar material in his On poets (also lost), which was intended for a wider audience, and about which we hear a great deal. Poetics book 2 may well have disappeared within a century of being written.
The 2nd-3rd centuries were also the time of a massive technical migration: from scroll to codex. ('Codex' is the word for a modern-style book, with pages sewn together at the spine.) The very biggest hurdle for the survival of books is nothing to do with libraries burning, or fictional stories about religious zealots destroying pagan books. It's about a format shift.
We first begin to hear about commercial use of codices by ancient booksellers in the 1st century CE poet Martial, who is impressed after seeing a codex edition of Ovid's Metamorphoses with the entire text in one volume (Epigrams 14.192):
haec tibi multiplici quae structa est massa tabella,
carmina Nasonis quinque decemque gerit.
Look at this bulk! It's built out of many-layered leaves,
and holds fifteen books of Naso's poem.
Lionel Casson's Libraries in the Ancient World (2001), pp. 127-8, reports the following proportions in Egyptian papyrus finds:
1st-2nd centuries CE 98.5% 1.5%
ca. 300 CE 50% 50%
An armarium for codices: the real reason
for the loss of Greco-Roman texts
(Codex Amiatinus, early 8th cent. CE)
A format shift doesn't only attach an extra cost to the survival of any text, it also attaches a time-limit. If the storage units in your library are armaria for codices, scrolls that haven't been transferred by the deadline will simply not get stored in the library. In addition, ancient and mediaeval codices were normally stored flat on their backs -- not on end, as in modern bookshelves -- and they couldn't be piled high, if they could be piled at all. So even though a codex could hold a lot more text than a scroll, codices took up more space for the same amount of text!
Scrolls were effectively a self-destruct timer. A book published in scroll form might survive a century or three after 300 CE; but if it hadn't been copied into a codex by that date, the text was basically doomed.
Wars and fires don't help of course, but those are pretty minor things in comparison to a format shift that affected all books.
So don't lament for the library of Alexandria: celebrate it for what it was. It's an important chapter in the story of the development of knowledge. But in the story of the loss of knowledge, it barely warrants even a footnote.
Some other popular sources do a perfectly decent job with this topic: Carl Sagan's TV series Cosmos is a bit notorious for being unreliable on history, but it's on relatively steady ground here (1980; episode 1, "The shores of the cosmic ocean") --
Each of those million volumes which once existed in this library were handwritten on papyrus manuscript scrolls. What happened to all those books?
The classical civilisation that created them disintegrated. The library itself was destroyed. Only a small fraction of the works survived. And as for the rest, we're left only with pathetic scattered fragments.
This could be a lot worse. It's not flawless: elsewhere Sagan implies that figures like Aristarchus of Samos and Archimedes had something to do with Alexandria, when there's no evidence they ever even visited the city. But he's absolutely right to emphasise the demise of the civilisations that created libraries, or rather their governments -- the Ptolemies in Alexandria, the Attalids in Pergamon -- and not any single moment of destruction. If Caesar's Alexandrian War caused a loss of knowledge at all, it wasn't because of a fire: it was because he effectively ended the Ptolemaic dynasty, which had been supporting the library's operations for 250 years. If the Ptolemies had still reigned in 300 CE, it's likely that more work would have been put into preservation efforts.
Labels: Caesar, Egyptian, Greek, literature, texts
Eratosthenes and the well
Eratosthenes is one of the most famous individuals of the Greco-Roman world -- and justly so: he was a leading expert in cartography, philology, mythography, ethnography, geometry, and astronomy. In an age of nepotism, his raw talent and hard work got him headhunted by Ptolemy III while he was still living in Athens.
Nowadays, he is most famous for making a reasonably accurate calculation of the circumference of the earth, using 3rd century BCE data and methods. This was a celebrated feat in his own time too. The island of Elephantine, at Syene (modern Aswan), had a new hieroglyphic symbol for its name created, apparently in honour of his calculation, in the form of a plumb bob and try square.
for Elephantine
(one of many variants)
No myths so far: this story is all true. By calculating the relative angle of elevation of the midday sun in three cities on the same meridian and at the same season -- Alexandria, Syene (modern Aswan), and Meroë (the chief city of what the Greeks called Aithiopia; modern Bagrawiya, Sudan) -- with figures for the distances between these cities, and with the assumption that the earth's curvature was spherical -- he came up with a figure variously reported as either 250,000 or 252,000 stadia.
In terms of angular precision, the calculation was very exact. In terms of absolute distances, not so much. Eratosthenes' own writings on the subject do not survive. It's most likely that he calculated 250,000 stadia, but that the figure got "rounded" to 252,000 so as to give a tidy figure of 700 stadia per degree of the earth's circumference (360° × 700 = 252,000). More importantly, Ptolemaic methods for surveying long distances were very inexact -- not nearly as good as Roman measures, for example -- and, to boot, there were many variants of the stadion ranging from ca. 157 metres to ca. 262 metres. The problem of Eratosthenes' units is hair-pullingly complicated. (Maybe we'll revisit the subject one day. But then again, maybe not: it really is a messy topic.)
But how he calculated the earth's circumference -- that's where the myths come in. Here's an extract from an especially popular and influential account:
One day, while reading a papyrus book in the library, he came upon a curious account. Far to the south, he read, at the frontier outpost of Syene, something notable could be seen on the longest day of the year. On June 21st, the shadows of a temple column or a vertical stick would grow shorter as noon approached. And as the hours crept towards midday, the sun's rays would slither down the sides of a deep well, which on other days would remain in shadow. And then precisely at noon columns would cast no shadows, and the sun would shine directly down into the water of the well. At that moment the sun was exactly overhead. It was an observation that someone else might easily have ignored -- sticks, shadows, reflections in wells, the position of the sun: simple everyday matters. Of what possible importance might they be?
-- Carl Sagan, Cosmos (1980; episode 1, "The shores of the cosmic ocean")
NOT how Eratosthenes calculated the earth's circumference
The story of the well is repeated in a lesson at the Khan Academy, in an even more colourful (and fictional) account in Julia Diggins' 1965 book String, Straightedge, and Shadow, and in many more places.
And it is mostly false. There was a well like this at Syene: but it certainly had nothing to do with Eratosthenes, and nothing at all to do with his calculation.
Here's Pliny the Elder's account of the well (Natural History 2.183 [§75]):
Similarly they say that in the town of Syene, 5000 stadia south of Alexandria, no shadow is cast at noon on the solstice. A well was made to test this, and it was entirely illuminated. This showed that the sun was directly overhead at that time. Onesicritus states that the same thing happens at that season in India south of the river Hyphasis [i.e. the modern Beas].
(The source Pliny was using is vague: "south of the Hyphasis" sounds like it should indicate Punjab, but the tropic runs considerably south of Punjab. It does run close to Pataliputra, though, further to the south-east, which was the capital of the Maurya Empire until the early 2nd century BCE: that is probably what Pliny's Hellenistic source was talking about.) Strabo also describes the well (17.1.48), and his phrasing tends to suggest that it was moderately famous, though unlike Pliny he doesn't say that its unique feature was the very reason it was built.
No ancient source, at all, anywhere, connects this well to Eratosthenes. In the surrounding context of these passages, however, both Pliny and Strabo do mention the actual method that Ptolemaic surveyors used for measuring latitude: they used an instrument called the gnomon (Pliny NH 2.182; Strabo 17.1.48).
Gnomons were originally for determining the date of the solstice. This practice goes back many thousands of years, in many different civilisations. Meton used a gnomon in Athens in 432 BCE for this purpose; the Shang people in ancient China were using them to measure solstices in the 13th century BCE. In Egypt, one of the reliefs in the jubilee chapel of Senusret I depicts a 9-metre-high gnomon in connection with the festival of Min in the 20th century BCE.
In its simplest form, the gnomon was a vertical rod that cast a shadow. Measuring the ratio between the shadow and the length of the rod would constitute a gnomon reading. Old Egyptian gnomons typically had a bifurcated tip to make the shadow more defined (as in the Senusret relief). The Egyptians could use hand-held ones to mark the passage of time at night. Travellers in the Greco-Roman world had portable gnomons or sundials, in the form of a round vessel with a stylus embedded in the centre and markings on the sides: this set-up was called a skaphion (Greek) or umbilicus (Latin). The Egyptians were well aware that near the tropic it was difficult to measure the solstice with a vertical gnomon, because the shadows are so short at midsummer, and so they adopted the practice of tilting the gnomon to the north and supporting it with struts. (Further reading, for those with JSTOR access.) In later gnomons, plumb bobs were used to ensure it was exactly vertical: to judge from the hieroglyphic for Elephantine mentioned above, it looks like this was the case with the Ptolemaic gnomon. (And incidentally, remember that the symbol for Elephantine included a try square? It so happens that gnomon was also the Greek word for a try square.)
Ancient travellers regularly took gnomon readings as a way of recording their latitude. Pliny, just before the passage quoted above, tells us
Portable timepieces are not used the same way everywhere, because the sun's shadows change every 300 stadia, or at most 500 stadia [i.e. about 0.5° latitude]. So in Egypt at the equinox the shadow is only a little more than half the length of the umbilicus -- what they call a gnomon. In the city of Rome the shadow is 8/9 the length of the gnomon at the same season; in the town of Ancona it is 1/35 longer (i.e. 8/9 + 1/35, or 0.917); and in the region of Italy called Venetia the shadow is the same length.
Vitruvius gives another list of equinoctial gnomon readings in various cities. Ptolemy has an extended account of gnomons and latitude in book 2 of his Almagest. And Martianus Capella indicates that Eratosthenes' measurement was based on gnomon readings taken at the equinox (De nuptiis 6.597).
The practice of taking gnomon readings as a geographical measurement goes back at least to Pytheas of Massalia, a famed traveller of the early mid-4th century BCE. According to Martianus Capella (De nuptiis 6.595), Pytheas took gnomon readings all the way from southern France to "Thoule" (either Iceland, or one of the island groups in the North Sea, or perhaps Scandinavia). Also before Eratosthenes' time, Philon, a surveyor for Ptolemy II, reported gnomon readings at Meroë in his book the Aithiopika or Voyage to Aithiopia. The book itself does not survive, but this report does:
Philon discusses the latitude (κλῖμα) of Meroë in the Voyage to Aithiopia that he wrote. He says the sun is directly overhead 45 days before the summer solstice, and he reports his readings of the ratio between the gnomon and its shadow at the solstices and equinoxes. Eratosthenes agrees very closely (συμφωνεῖν ἔγγιστα) with Philon.
Philon, New Jacoby 670 F 2 (=Strabo 2.1.20)
So, to recapitulate:
Eratosthenes didn't use a well to measure anything: the instrument of choice was the gnomon.
Taking latitude readings from a gnomon was standard practice for Ptolemaic surveyors decades before Eratosthenes came along.
The summer solstice barely came into it; gnomon readings were taken year-round, but it looks like equinoctial readings were the basis of Eratosthenes' calculation.
Eratosthenes didn't take the readings himself: he probably used Philon's published work as the basis of his calculation.
The well at Syene was just a striking, large-scale visualisation of the Tropic of Cancer. Pliny's wording suggests it may not even been built until after Eratosthenes' calculation anyway. And native Egyptians had known for centuries that Syene was on the Tropic of Cancer. (In fact Syene was slightly north of the tropic: it's at 24.09° N, and the tropic was at 23.72° N in Eratosthenes' time. The plane of the ecliptic shifts slightly over the millennia: currently it's at 23.44°.)
Posted by Peter Gainsford at 22:29 1 comment:
Labels: ancient natural science, astronomy, cartography, Eratosthenes, geography, geometry, Greek
On the ‘losing’ of Troy
In Greek legend, the Trojan War ended with the Greeks using a colossal wooden horse to burn the city, sack it, and raze it to the ground. Men and boys were killed, women and girls were enslaved and transported. There were no survivors and no remains. Troy was utterly destroyed.
Many modern people are under the impression that the same thing happened to the historical city of Troy: that Troy ceased to exist at the end of the Bronze Age; that it was destroyed by the Greeks at the end of the Bronze Age, so that even the location of the city was lost; and that the ruins of the real Troy lay undiscovered until Heinrich Schliemann’s excavations in the 1870s-80s.
Everything in the above paragraph is unequivocally false.
We won’t focus on Schliemann today — his activities at Hisarlık (the modern name for the hill of Troy’s citadel) offer more than enough material for a lengthy debunking all by themselves. Today we’ll focus on the ‘loss’ of Troy. When was Troy ‘lost’?
Early Greek epic certainly gives us ample reason to think of Troy as a city that has been destroyed utterly. At one point in the Iliad, a defeated Trojan begs the Greek Menelaos for mercy. Menelaos is considering taking him captive instead of killing him, but his brother Agamemnon pops out of nowhere and says (Il. 6.55-60):
‘Menelaos, my dear, why do you care so much
about these men? Have you and your house been treated so finely
by the Trojans? Let none of them escape sheer destruction
at our hands, not even any boy that a mother carries
in her womb: let none escape, but let all the people
of Ilios be utterly destroyed, unmourned, wiped to oblivion!’
(Ilios/Ilion is an alternate name for Troy.) And here’s a fragment from the Little Iliad, a poem from the lost Epic Cycle, which uses one family as an emblem for the massacre of the children and enslavement of the women (fragment 21 ed. Bernabé = fr. 29 ed. West):
But Achilleus’ great-hearted shining son
led Hektor’s wife in captivity back to the hollow ships,
and he took her son from the embrace of his lovely-haired nurse,
grabbed him by the foot and threw him from a tower. As he fell,
a bloody death and hard fate snatched him up.
Sack of Troy: Neoptolemus kills king Priam,
bludgeoning him with the corpse of his grandson.
(Attic, ca. 520-10 BCE; Louvre)
Euripides’ play the Trojan Women (415 BCE) gives another angle on the sack of Troy. There the narrative focus is firmly on the survivors, the women of the city, who are about to be carted off into slavery while still mourning for their husbands and sons, in an act of destruction that was not caused by any of them. (Euripides’ picture of the destruction wrought upon Troy is especially thorough because he was using the legend as an allegory for current events: the previous summer, the Athenians had decided to commit genocide on the island of Melos, slaughtering the entire male population and enslaving all the women, rather than allow the Melians to remain neutral in the Peloponnesian War.)
That’s the legend. What about the reality?
Archaeological evidence is the most reliable way of corroborating or disproving the stories. And one piece of archaeological evidence is popularly linked to the legend. There are traces of a large fire on the citadel of Troy dating to the end of the level called ‘Troy VIIa’, that is, ca. 1190 BCE. The archaeological layers are numbered Troy I, II, III, etc. starting from the lowest and earliest level: the higher the number, the shallower and more recent the archaeological remains are. The fire of Troy VIIa is popularly equated with the legendary war especially thanks to Michael Wood's BBC TV documentary series and book In Search of the Trojan War (1985). For what was known at the time, it’s an extremely competent piece of work. The entire series can be watched on YouTube here.
It is perhaps worth pointing out that, among ancient historians who believe the Trojan War actually happened, they gravitate more towards Troy VIh as the best candidate for a historical war. That would put the ‘fall of Troy’ about a century earlier. Very few ancient historians nowadays would opt for Troy VIIa. But that’s neither here nor there. As another incidental by-the-way, some archaeologists involved in excavation at Troy would now refer to that layer as ‘Troy VIi’, not VIIa (for reasons that don’t matter just now).
The important thing, and it really is worth emphasising, is that Troy was not destroyed at that time. On the contrary: after the fire of Troy VIIa, the citadel was promptly rebuilt. It continued to be occupied without any pause for another 250 years or so. The population dwindled — not an exceptional thing: that also happened at many other sites in Greece and Anatolia in the early 12th century BCE — and the site was finally abandoned ca. 950 BCE.
Did I say abandoned? Well, yes... but the story doesn’t end there. Troy was not ‘lost’ in 950 BCE either. In fact, Greek colonists settled the site once again starting in the early 8th century BCE. It became a Greek city, and a part of the Greek world.
There were probably other ethnic groups already living in the region, who would account for references in Homer to Lelegians and other peoples living with and allied to the legendary Trojans. These peoples are not part of the history of Bronze Age Troy: there is no evidence to put these groups there in the 12th century, in spite of large quantities of Hittite textual evidence about the regional and ethnic divisions of Anatolia. In the Greek city of Troy, the main state cult was to Ilian Athena. And again, this Greek cult, dating to the time of Greek colonisation, accounts for the references to a cult of Athena in the legendary Troy: in Homer, the only cult inside the city walls that is mentioned is the shrine to Athena on the citadel (at Iliad 6.269-70 and 6.297-311), even though Athena is vehemently opposed to the legendary city.
Greek Troy continued to be inhabited for another two thousand years.
It went on to have a colourful history. Xerxes visited Troy on his way to invade Greece in 480 BCE, and made offerings to Ilian Athena as a propaganda gesture: it made it look as if he had come to avenge king Priam. When Alexander captured Troy from the Persians in 334 BCE, he too made offerings to Ilian Athena, gave Troy special legal privileges, and ordered the construction of a new temple to Athena. From 306 BCE Troy enjoyed still more status as the capital of a league of cities in the Troad.
Coin of Antiochus III, 197 BCE
The Seleucid king Antiochus III joined Xerxes and Alexander on the list of leaders who honoured Ilian Athena and Troy. So too did the Roman general Cornelius Scipio, when he overthrew Antiochus.
In the Roman era, Troy came to be more important still, as a emblem for Roman-Greek relations. There was already a long-standing legend that Romans had Trojans in their ancestry, so Troy took on great symbolic importance. There may have been one bad hiccup in 85 BCE: there’s a story (not corroborated) that a mutinying Roman commander, Fimbria, sacked the city and boasted that he had done in ten days what Agamemnon had taken ten years to do.
But afterwards Julius Caesar, as dictator of Rome, continued the tradition of honouring the city with tax breaks and other privileges. Caesar’s family claimed descent from the goddess Venus via the Trojan Aeneas, so Caesar tried to shift the emphasis of Trojan religious life away from Athena (Minerva) towards Aphrodite (Venus), and he issued coins showing Venus on one side and Aeneas’ flight from Troy on the other. To some extent this stuck: Aphrodite continued to appear on some later Trojan coins. Suetonius, a gossip-mongering biographer, claims that there was even a rumour floating around just before Caesar’s assassination that he had been planning to abscond with the city’s armies and treasury and set himself up as king of an eastern empire, with his capital in either Troy or Alexandria. That rumour is certainly untrue. But it may just be true that the rumour did exist.
Under the Principate, another new temple to Ilian Athena was built in the reign of Augustus. Many other public works followed, and Troy reached the pinnacle of its historical size and importance. In the 4th century CE, when the emperor Constantine was planning to establish a second capital city for the eastern half of the empire, he was seriously considering Troy as an alternative to Byzantium. It would never have made sense to actually choose Troy ahead of Byzantium — a tourist trap ahead of a major economic power with major strategic significance — but it shows that Troy still had huge symbolic importance.
Its importance only began to fade after around 500 CE, when it was badly damaged by a major earthquake. Increasing urbanisation around Constantinople must also have leeched people and money away from Troy. Even so, in the 10th century it became the seat of a minor Byzantine bishop. But it must have been badly hit by the Byzantine-Turkish wars in the 11th century; by the time the Ottomans finished conquering the region in 1308, it had probably been abandoned for some time.
At that point, and only at that point, does it begin to make any kind of sense to speak of Troy as ‘lost’. And even then, it was only ‘lost’ in the sense that people in the Latin west no longer had any direct knowledge of it because they didn’t travel in the region very much.
Edward Daniel Clarke, 1769-1822
Pretty much as soon as western visitors started writing memoirs of their tours in the area, the location of Troy became ‘known’ again. Five hundred years later, in 1801, the English traveller Edward Daniel Clarke became the first modern westerner to write about the site. In the 1850s, when British forces were stationed in the region during the Crimean War, an engineer named John Brunton carried out some brief excavations and uncovered a Roman mosaic, as can be read in his memoirs. As far as Brunton was concerned, there was no particular doubt or controversy about the identification of the site as Troy. Frank Calvert and Johann Georg von Hahn were the first people with archaeological expertise to visit the site, in 1863-65.
Schliemann was neither the discoverer of Troy nor the first person to identify the site as Troy (in fact he doubted Calvert's word on the matter at first). He was just the first excavator to get down to Bronze Age material, and he liked to pretend that there was an entrenched orthodoxy against him for rhetorical reasons. In reality, Troy didn’t need to be ‘discovered’: it was never lost in any meaningful sense.
Further reading. Trevor Bryce, The Trojans and their neighbours (Routledge, 2006), chapter 7 is an excellent brief summary of the history of Greco-Roman Troy (VIII, IX, and X). On the city’s cultural and political signifiance in the same age, see Andrew Erskine, Troy between Greece and Rome (Oxford, 2001).
Labels: archaeology, Greek, Homer, mythology, Trojan War
Were the Greeks scared of irrational numbers?
There is a widespread notion that the discovery of irrational numbers was a thing of horror to the ancient Greeks. This went especially for the school of Pythagoras. Pythagoras is best known today for a famous theorem about right-angled triangles -- and we shall look at that theorem another day -- but in antiquity, his significance lay in the fact that he was a semi-legendary guru who founded a philosophico-religious sect in southern Italy.
No writings by Pythagoras himself survive (and it is extremely unlikely he ever wrote any). But the things we hear about the sect make it sound bizarre at times: depending on who you read, the Pythagoreans conveyed their teachings only orally and only in a cave, they had weirdly specific beliefs about reincarnation, and they venerated unexpected plants like fava beans and mallow. The vast majority of this information is reported very late, and is almost certainly false; the bits that are true (whichever ones they are) are difficult to understand out of context.
The legendary Pythagorean veneration of orderly, rational numbers is well exemplified by a passage in William Meissner-Loeb’s graphic story Epicurus the sage, volume II (1991). Here the philosopher-hero Epicurus happens upon a group of Pythagoreans holding a ceremonious gathering to recite the powers of 2 (‘2 ... 4 ... 8 ...’), and Epicurus terrorises them by shouting out random numbers. They lose their concentration and flee, crying out, ‘Unclean numbers! Unclean! Unclean!’ and ‘Ahhhh! It’s happening again!’
In 1972 the mathematician Morris Kline wrote in his book Mathematical thought from ancient to modern times (vol. 1, p. 32):
Numbers to the Pythagoreans meant whole numbers only. ...Actual fractions... were employed in commerce, but such commercial uses of arithmetic were outside the pale of Greek mathematics proper. Hence the Pythagoreans were startled and disturbed by the discovery that some ratios -- for example, the ratio of the hypotenuse of an isosceles right triangle to an arm or the ratio of a diagonal to a side of a square -- cannot be expressed by whole numbers. …The discovery of incommensurable ratios is attributed to Hippasus of Metapontum (5th cent. B.C.). The Pythagoreans were supposed to have thrown Hippasus overboard for having produced an element in the universe which denied the Pythagorean doctrine that all phenomena in the universe can be reduced to whole numbers or their ratios.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but every claim in this paragraph -- apart from the bit about Greek commerce using fractions -- is untrue. In reality,
Fractions were an integral (ha ha) part of Greek mathematics and held an important place in the Pythagorean theory of harmonics.
There was no Pythagorean doctrine about reducing all phenomena to ratios.
There is no evidence that anyone was ‘startled and disturbed’ by irrationals.
The attribution of the discovery to Hippasus is speculative.
No one threw Hippasus off a ship.
Kline is not alone. And worse, an apparently reputable source like Kline can mislead more popular writers. Simon Singh, in his bestseller Fermat’s last theorem (1997), goes seriously overboard -- even more so than Hippasus --
[T]he idea that rational numbers... could explain all natural phenomena... blinded Pythagoras to the existence of irrational numbers and may even have led to the execution of one of his pupils. One story claims that a young student by the name of Hippasus as idly toying with the number √2, attempting to find the equivalent fraction. Eventually he came to realise that no such fraction existed, i.e. that √2 is an irrational number. Hippasus must have been overjoyed by his discovery, but his master was not. Pythagoras had defined the universe in terms of rational numbers, and the existence of irrational numbers brought his ideal into question. ...Pythagoras was unwilling to accept that he was wrong, but at the same time he was unable to destory Hippasus’ argument by the power of logic. To his eternal shame he sentenced Hippasus to death by drowning.
The father of logic and the mathematical method had resorted to force rather than admit he was wrong. Pythagoras’ denial of irrational numbers is his most disgraceful act and perhaps the greatest tragedy of Greek mathematics.
(For the record: we know nothing of the circumstances of the discovery, there was no execution, and Hippasus lived in the late 5th century BCE, more than a century after Pythagoras’ death.)
Singh paints Hippasus’ discovery in vivid colours. Does that make up for the fact that it is not only imaginative, but also completely imaginary? Hm.
I do not exactly blame Singh. Half of the relevant primary sources have never been translated into any modern language. But it does go to show how a story that is already distorted can metamorphose into something completely fictional.
So, what does the actual evidence tell us? The surviving testimony is as follows, in chronological order.
Late 2nd century CE: Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis 5.9.57. Clement reports that a Pythagorean named "Hipparchus" revealed the teachings of Pythagoras in a book. As a symbol of his expulsion from the sect, the Pythagoreans erected a gravestone as if he were dead.
3rd-4th century CE: Iamblichus, Life of Pythagoras tells us:
88-9 (§18): Hippasus, a Pythagorean, revealed the discovery that the vertices of a regular dodecahedron coincide with the surface of a sphere, and because of his impiety he was lost at sea;
246 (§34): a man who made public the nature of rational and irrational ratios was so hated by the Pythagoreans that they expelled him and erected a tomb as if he were dead;
247 (§34): a man who revealed the construction of the dodecahedron drowned at sea, punished by a divinity; others say that this happened to the man who revealed the nature of rational and irrational ratios.
Early 4th century CE: Pappos’ commentary on Euclid’s Elements, book 10 (in the surviving Arabic version, 2.§2, p. 64 Thomson [warning: large PDF file]), and an anonymous ancient commentator on the Elements (scholion on book 10, proposition 1; lines 41-5 and 71-9 in the TLG text). According to these sources the Pythagoreans, to illustrate their reverence for ratios, spread a fable that the man who made public the existence of irrationals died by drowning. And the moral of this fable was that things that are irrational (alogon) prefer to be kept hidden and unspoken (alogon); and that someone who is too greedy for knowledge "gets sunk in the sea of reincarnation, and dashed by its chaotic currents" (εἰς τὸν τῆς γενέσεως ὑποφέρεται πόντον καὶ τοῖς ἀστάτοις ταύτης κλύζεται ῥεύμασιν).
Later than the 6th century CE: an interpolation in David of Armenia’s Exegesis of the Categories (Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca vol. 18.1 [incorrectly attributed to Elias], p. 125). This interpolation, of unknown date, reports that a Pythagorean who wrote a book called On irrational proofs died in a shipwreck for disgracing secret teachings.
And the upshot of this testimony is:
Hippasus did not discover irrationals: he made secret Pythagorean doctrines public.
The nature of these doctrines is unclear. It may have been the nature of rational and irrational numbers; it may have been the existence of the dodecahedron, or the fact that its vertices coincide with a sphere.
He was not executed or thrown off a ship: he died in a shipwreck, and some moralists attributed this to divine agency and made an allegorical fable out of it.
Alternatively, his former comrades built a tomb for him, to represent that he was dead to them.
But the worst of it is that even this honest summary is probably completely untrue as well. The fullest account comes from Iamblichus, and Iamblichus is notoriously untrustworthy. Pappos makes it clear that as far as he was concerned, it was a morality fable, not a sequence of historical events. Most of the late biographical material about Pythagoras is based on one or both of two accounts written in the 1st century CE, six centuries after Pythagoras’ death: one by Nicomachus of Gerasa, the other by Apollonius of Tyana. To judge from Iamblichus, Nicomachus routinely attributed miracles to Pythagoras, and -- no joke -- regarded him as an avatar of the god Apollo. Apollonius came to be regarded as a miracle-worker himself, in a surviving ‘biography’ which dates to the 4th century. Their biographies, and the surviving one by Iamblichus, are more like gospels for a Pythagorean mystic cult than anything historical.
None of them can be trusted an inch.
Trustworthy testimony about Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans is in short supply. Generally speaking, the earlier, the better: and Iamblichus and the others are very late. We get hints about Pythagorean doctrines in Herodotus (5th cenutry BCE), Plato, and Aristotle (4th century BCE). But most of that material relates to the mystical side of Pythagoreanism: in particular, the early sources have nothing to say about Pythagorean teachings about irrational numbers. So we have essentially no corroboration for anything that Iamblichus and other late sources have to tell us. It is all suspect, and it is mostly false.
For what can be recovered about 5th-century-BCE Pythagorean teachings about mathematics, a good starting place would be Reviel Netz’ essay ‘The problem of Pythagorean mathematics’ (C. A. Huffman, ed., A history of Pythagoreanism, Cambridge, 2014, pp. 167-84): Netz argues that the Pythagorean mathematician par excellence of the time was not Hippasus, for whom no early evidence exists, but rather Archytas, about whom Aristotle tells us a good deal.
Did I say Plato has nothing to say about irrational numbers? Well, not in relation to Pythagoreanism, maybe. But one of Plato’s dialogues does have a section devoted to a discovery made by Theaetetus of Athens, that numbers other than exact squares (1, 4, 9, 16, 25...) have irrational square roots (Theaet. 147d-148b). Theaetetus was no slouch: much of book 10 of the Elements may well be his doing. Theaetetus divides the integers into two groups: exact squares, which he called ‘square and equilateral’ (τετράγωνόν τε καὶ ἰσόπλευρον), and numbers that are not squares but are ‘rectangular’ (ἑτερόμηκες). He calls their square roots, respectively, a ‘length’ (μῆκος) and a ‘power’ (δύναμις); and ‘lengths’ and ‘powers’ are incommensurable with one another. ‘And similarly for solids,’ he finishes on a tantalising note.
In the dialogue, what is Socrates’ reaction to the revelation of irrational numbers? Is he horrified? disoriented? ‘startled and disturbed’?
No. He is impressed at a nifty mathematical discovery.
As we all should be. Irrational numbers were not a skeleton in the Pythagoreans' closet: if the Pythagoreans had anything to do with their discovery -- and that’s a big if -- they should instead be regarded as one of the Pythagoreans’ greatest achievements. But in reality, it’s most likely that credit for the achievement belongs to Theaetetus: and he was not executed or ostracised, but was highly respected for his mathematical work.
Labels: geometry, Greek, mathematics, Pythagoras
‘Deus ex machina’ - a Roman literary term?
Deus ex machina has been immortalised as a name for a sloppy storytelling device. When poor authors write themselves into corners, they resolve problems by introducing some plot device out of the blue, something that was never foreshadowed or makes little sense. This is called a deus ex machina.
Lately the phrase has had a still wider use: the computer game Deus Ex (1999), for example, treats machina as ‘machine’ and uses the phrase to refer to a being of godlike power emerging out of machines, and more generally, out of the chaotic complexity of a society gone mad.
There’s nothing wrong with using a popular phrase in such an evocative way: but we're not looking at how it is used nowadays. We're going to look at where the phrase came from.
People who are a bit better informed will go, ‘Ah! Well, you see, this was originally a term for a stage prop used in ancient Greek tragedy.’ For example. In Euripides' play Medea (431 BCE), when Medea escapes with the aid of the Sun god, she appears suspended above the stage on a crane, designed to give the impression that she is flying. In Sophocles’ play Philoctetes, when Heracles appears at the end to set everything to rights he too appears on the crane. The ancient term for this was deus ex machina, quite literally ‘a god from a crane’: so it referred originally to an ancient Athenian staging technique.
Except, oops, that's not it either. Deus ex machina isn’t Greek: it’s a Latin phrase. Euripides and Sophocles may well never have even heard of Latin, let alone used it for a stage device.
Most dictionaries of literary terms and the like gloss over this point: why on earth do we use a Latin term for a Greek theatrical device? Here’s the definition in J. A. Cuddon’s Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (1991):
(L[atin] ‘god out of a machine’) In Greek drama a god was lowered onto the stage by a mēchanē so that he could get the hero out of difficulties or untangle the plot. ...
Well, this is accurate so far as it goes. But it doesn’t explain why we’re using a Latin phrase when we talk about Greek drama.
Much more inaccurately, Wikipedia describes the earliest use of the phrase as follows:
Aristotle was the first to use deus ex machina as a term to describe the technique as a device to resolve the plot of tragedies.
Aristotle did not write in Latin. (Hilariously, the supposed authority given for this claim is not Aristotle as you might expect, but an article in a machine science journal! Happily, the authors of the actual article are sensible enough not to make this silly claim.) Elsewhere the Wikipedia article claims
Such a device was referred to by Horace in his Ars Poetica (lines 191–2), where he instructs poets that they should never resort to a ‘god from the machine’ to resolve their plots...
Those quotation marks sure make it sound like Horace uses the phrase ‘god from the machine’, right? Well, that's not true either.
In fact, no actual ancient Roman text ever used the phrase. Not one. I’ve checked.
Now, the Greek counterpart of this phrase was reasonably widespread. It appears in several Byzantine lexicons as a proverbial phrase (in full, apo mēchanēs theos epiphaneis, ‘a god who has appeared from a crane’). And a couple of ancient Latin authors do echo the Greek proverb: Pliny the Elder’s Natural History book 36 (1st cent. CE) refers to the ‘portion of immortal gods, in common with humankind, hanging on a crane and applauding its own peril’; and Statius' Thebaid (late 1st cent. CE) refers to gods as ‘hanging on a crane of the sky’.
But still no verbatim use of deus ex machina. That phrase didn't come along until the modern era.
The Oxford English Dictionary is a better guide than most. It lists a 1697 book, John Sergeant's Solid Philosophy Asserted, as the earliest use of the phrase. But that's just the earliest use of the phrase in English: in other European languages, several authors used the phrase earlier on.
In 1675 Theodosius Preu, a Swiss, published a pamphlet entitled Deus ex machina; in 1658 Hyacinth de Chalvet, a French Dominican preacher at Toulouse, used the phrase in his book De scientia Dei; and in 1622 the Venetian scholar Paolo Beni, a.k.a. "Eugubinus", used the phrase in a 1622 commentary on Aristotle’s Poetics.
But the very earliest verbatim appearance of the phrase comes from 1561, in an edition of Horace's poetry edited by the great French scholar Denis Lambin (reprinted 1566). His note on Art of Poetry 191, at page 199a, reads
‘Nec deus intersit’, &c.] Aristot. lib. περὶ ποιητ. scribit utendum esse machina, seu machinatione: id est, deum esse adhibendum à machina, ad ea, quae sunt extra fabulam, expedienda: quae uel antea facta sunt, neque hominem scire fas est, uel postea futura sunt, & praedictionem, ac nunciationem desiderant.
‘Nor should a god appear’, etc.] Aristotle in his book the Poetics writes that this was done with a crane, or a mechanism: that is, a god would be introduced on a crane in order to resolve matters that lay outside the plot, when they wanted a foretelling or announcement of things that had happened previously or were going to happen, but which were not lawful for a mortal to know.
Lambin goes on to quote supporting evidence from Aristotle (Poetics 1454a.37-b6, Metaphysics 985a.18-21), Plato (Cratylus 425d), and Cicero (On the nature of the gods 1.53).
But you'll notice that even in this passage, Lambin doesn’t use the phrase. For that, we have to turn to the book’s index, which refers back to this discussion.
It is very implausible that deus ex machina caught on from an index entry. A much stronger candidate for the source that inspired de Chalvet, Preu, and Sergeant is Beni’s 1622 Poetics commentary. Beni probably knew Lambin's book (he was Venetian, and Lambin’s book was published in Venice), but his work is independent: he quotes the same passages from Cicero’s On the nature of the gods and Aristotle’s Metaphysics that Lambin does, but he was not just copying. Beni’s texts have different punctuation and capitalisation, and he gives his own Latin translation from Aristotle’s Greek.
When Beni introduces the phrase, he is quoting Cicero discussing miracles and divine interventions:
Quam sententiam egregie nobis expressit ac declarauit M. Tullius in 1. de Natura Deorum, apud quem Velleius sic irridet eos qui in Vniuersitatis molitione Deum adhiberent. Quod quia (inquit) quemadmodum Natura efficere sine aliqua mente possit, non videtis, ut Tragici Poetae, cum explicare argumenti exitum non potestis, confugitis ad Deum. Atque hinc vulgatum prouerbium ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεὸς ἐπιφανείς, hoc est Deus ex machina apparens.
This sentiment was also expressed for us nobly by Marcus Tullius [Cicero], in book 1 of his On the nature of the gods. There, Velleius makes fun of those who admit the possibility of God intervening in the universe. He says: ‘But since you don't see how Nature can achieve it without some kind of mind, you do as the tragic poets do: when you can't resolve the plot, you resort to a god.’ This is where we get the popular proverb ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεὸς ἐπιφανείς, that is, ‘a god appearing from a crane’.
I’d bet a moderate sum of money that the other 17th century writers who use the phrase got it from Beni. But strictly from the point of view of who first used the exact phrase deus ex machina, Lambin is the winner.
Labels: Greek, literature
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David Yaskulka’s career is devoted to helping grow environmentally and socially responsible businesses. He joined Nature’s Logic as CEO in 2019, expanding the brand’s mission to become a voice for sustainability. Nature’s Logic™ is the pioneer creators of 100% all-natural pet food with no synthetic vitamins. Prior, at Halo, Purely for Pets, he was Vice President Marketing Communications and then Vice President Social Investment and Engagement, forging partnerships with GGO and Freekibble.com gaining multiple marketing award nods.
Yaskulka helped grow social mission companies such as eBay for Charity and Investors’ Circle. His strategies are featured in over a dozen books including Internet Riches and Secrets of the eBay Millionaires. He’s also held leadership roles in education, technology, and conservation nonprofits.
A graduate of Williams College, David and his wife Debbie, a special needs educator, share their Long Valley, NJ home with sons Noah and Ben, dogs Maya and Sampson, and cats Erebos and Zebulon.
David Samuelson
Board Vice Chair
David Samuelson is currently Head of Enterprise for Age of Learning, the creators of ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy. David’s 25-year career in the U.S. and global education sector began with educational publishing and software development at MECC, the company behind The Oregon Trail, where he served as VP and Executive Producer. That led to 15 years at Pearson, the largest global education company, with executive roles including VP of Product Strategy, CMO of the $2 billion U.S. Schools division, and President of Global Schools. He also served as Achieve3000’s first CMO. Most recently, David was EVP and General Manager for Capstone, a global publisher of children’s books and software. Before transitioning to education, David had a successful career in theatre and television, winning an Emmy as a producer of children’s programming.
John Gehrt
Board Treasurer
John Gehrt has held senior executive management positions with retail, direct marketing, manufacturing, transportation, distribution Internet, and NFP organizations and is currently the managing director Quick Start Shared Services, LLC., John has over 40 years’ experience working at executive and board level with companies ranging in size from startup to the Fortune 500. John has taught Strategic Planning, Finance and Statistics in adult education advanced degree programs. John holds a BA in Economics from the University of Washington and an MBA from the University of Puget Sound.
Julia Christophersen
Board Secretary
Julia Christophersen is the Chief E-Commerce Officer for CharityUSA.com, LLC. Julia has spent more than twelve years developing a comprehensive knowledge of online e-commerce, business development, and Web-based marketing. Julia combines her background in marketing and finance to the benefit of GreaterGood.org.
Jackson Galaxy is the host and executive producer of Animal Planet's long running hit show My Cat From Hell. Jackson, an animal advocate and cat behavior and wellness consultant, is also a two-time New York Times best-selling author with more than 25 years of experience working with cats and their guardians.
Popularly known as the "Cat Daddy," Jackson is on a mission to educate people about cats and deepen the human and cat bond, while reducing the number of animals that end up in shelters. True to this goal, Jackson started The Jackson Galaxy Project (www.thejacksongalaxyproject.org), which seeks to better the lives of at-risk animals by transforming the places they live and helping the people who care for them.
Through this work, he supports important causes for animals in need, and runs the Cat Pawsitive program - which uses positive reinforcement training to make adoptable cats feel comfortable and confident in the shelter environment, and help them find their forever homes.
In 2017, Jackson joined the GreaterGood.org family, adding The Jackson Galaxy Project to GreaterGood.org's array of signature programs.
Greg Hesterberg
Greg Hesterberg was chairman of two statewide consumer and environmental organizations (MaryPIRG and PIRGIM) while in college. After twenty years running a successful publishing firm, Greg enjoys finding innovative ways to make the world a better place. Greg's two cats for many years, Tony and Junior, have passed on. In November of 2007 Greg adopted two sister kittens, Callie and Chloe. Their younger brother was the last one of the litter waiting to be adopted, and Greg couldn't leave him behind; so now Callie and Chloe spend their days playing with each other as well as their brother Casey.
Eve Higgs
With more than 20 years’ branding and marketing experience, Eve Higgs has had the pleasure of leading corporate marketing teams in the software and services sectors. Her work includes brand, acquisition and retention strategies, and corporate and product launches. Eve is currently the Director of Corporate Marketing for Market Leader, providing innovative online technology and marketing solutions for more than 150,000 real estate professionals across the United States and Canada. Eve holds degrees in Speech Communications and Germanics from the University of Washington.
Kimberly Klintworth
Kimberly Klintworth enjoyed a 26-year career in television broadcasting, reporting and anchoring for ABC and CBS affiliates in Rochester, NY, Pittsburgh, PA and Salt Lake City, UT. But Kimberly’s favorite years were as host and co-producer of “Profiles in Caring”, a non-profit TV series highlighting humanitarian work worldwide. Kimberly and her team traveled to some of the most remote places in the world, bringing attention to the hard work and life-changing efforts of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
Janis Rosenthal
Janis Rosenthal has been involved in animal welfare for over 30 years, supporting many organizations by mobilizing at the grassroots level, producing fundraising and outreach events, and designing and funding matching programs. She also supports the “unsung heroes” of the rescue world, individuals who work tirelessly but have little or no means to fundraise on their own. She has served on several boards of directors, most recently Soi Dog Foundation USA. Janis and her husband Jeff have sponsored flight volunteers for over 90 “freedom flights,” bringing 400+ dogs rescued from the meat trade to find their forever homes in the US and Canada.
Dr. Julie Ryan Johnson is passionate about Shelter Medicine and has been a shelter veterinarian for over 25 years and was the director of a large government shelter. She served as President of the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association and is the CE Co-Chair for the California VMA. Dr. Ryan Johnson is a member of ASV (Association of Shelter Veterinarians) and SAWA (Society of Animal Welfare Administrators). Dr. Ryan Johnson also serves as the CVMA disaster coordinator for Orange County, California and is one of the founding members of southern California’s Large Animal Response Team (LART). She enjoys riding Alainn, the horse she bred for dressage, hiking out on trails with friends and dogs and paddleboard surfing out in the ocean. She is married to small animal practitioner Dr Gary Johnson, and co-owner of Dana Niguel Veterinary Hospital and Laguna Niguel Veterinary Hospital.
Jam Stewart
Jeffery R. Zuba, D.V.M.
Jeffery R. Zuba obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Wisconsin’s School of Veterinary Medicine. Following graduate school in virology and immunology, he completed his residency in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine at San Diego Zoo Global. Dr. Zuba then received an appointment as Clinical Professor in Zoo Medicine at Colorado State University. For the past 27 years, Dr. Zuba has been a staff veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Professional highlights include being a faculty member for the EnviroVet Institute (an ecosystem veterinary health program); an affiliate instructor at the Wildlife Health Center at the UC-Davis; the Director of Veterinary Programs for the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s California Condor Reintroduction Program; Veterinary Coordinator for the Condor Release Program in Baja, Mexico; and the Veterinary Advisor for both the AZA’s California Condor and White Rhinoceros Species Survival Plans. Dr. Zuba consults and lectures internationally on a wide range of subjects including mega-vertebrate anesthesia and conservation medicine and serves as a scientific advisor for several conservation and educational institutions. Dr. Zuba is an inventor and founder of a company which creates and manufactures specialized mega-vertebrate anesthetic equipment. He is also a principal investigator of a team of international veterinarians who developed anesthetic and laparoscopic protocols to perform the first ever surgical contraception procedures in free-ranging African elephants as an alternative to the controversial use of culling for population control.
Our Executive Leaders & Senior Management
Liz Baker joined Greater Good Charities (then GreaterGood.org) as CEO in 2012 working to protect people, pets & the planet. Liz has overseen the creation of Greater Good Charities.org signature programs that address multiple issues ranging from hunger (Operation Sandwich), education (Girls Right to Opportunity Worldwide, Girls' Voices, and A Safe Ride to School), land conservation (Project Wildcat and Madrean Discovery Expeditions) and animal welfare (One Picture Saves a Life, Rescue Rebuild, Rescue Bank) and veterans (Pets & Vets).
In her previous role as Executive Director of the Petfinder.com Foundation, Liz worked to distribute grants to adoption partners across the U.S. Liz has also worked for Petfinder.com as Vice President of Partner Relations, at Family Education Network as Vice President of Digital Sales and Marketing, and at MeetingMakers.com as Vice President of Operations. Liz lives in Tucson, Arizona with her two daughters, adopted pit bull and 2 adopted cats. From time to time, coyotes jump her five-foot fence and spend the afternoon playing in the backyard with her dogs, reminding her that we shouldn’t let barriers get in the way of our dreams.
Chris Balaski
Chris began working with Greater Good Charities as a consultant since May 2019. For the past five years, he has been a Professor of Practice in the School of Marketing at the University of Southern Mississippi. Prior to that he has held a variety of sales, marketing, and operational roles over 18 years at Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Pfizer Animal Health, and Pfizer, Inc. He has BSBA and a MBA from Mississippi College and holds certifications from the Association of College and University Educators and the American Marketing Association as a Professional Certified Marketer in Sales Management. His university sales teams have placed in national collegiate competitions. Chris and his wife Kim live in Hattiesburg Mississippi with their two sons, Matthew and Mason, along with their 2 rescue dogs, Bella and Beignet, and their shelter cat, Blaze. In his free time, he spends his time on his family’s farm, is active in his church, volunteers at the university, and enjoys reading. He has a passion for developing people and programs to improve business.
Noah Horton
Noah Horton began working at Greater Good Charities at the beginning of 2013. Prior to his work with Greater Good, he served as Assistant Director for Petfinder Foundation, where he helped foster corporate and charitable relationships to help end the euthanasia of adoptable pets. At Greater Good Charities, he is continuing his work creating lasting and productive partnerships that work toward our mission of protecting people, pets, and the planet. Noah lives in Tucson, AZ with his lovely wife, their cat Raja, and their dog Willow.
Jemimah Okantey
Prior to joining Greater Good Charities, Jemimah Okantey spent 12 years working for GreaterGood.com in accounting. Since she has been involved with Greater Good Charities (then GreaterGood.org) since its inception in 2007, her experience and familiarity with the organization is unique and valuable asset.
In her free time, Jemimah is involved in her local community working with a youth and teen development recreation program.
Stephen Minter
Dafny Vogel
Director of Donor Experience
Dafny Vogel joined Greater Good Charities (then GreaterGood.org) after over 7 years working in ad operations at GreaterGood.com. During Dafny’s tenure, first as a team member and then as manager, she helped grow the company’s publishing side of the business by turning the initial network advertising efforts into a multi-million dollar revenue line. Her knack for data analysis and marketing experience helps Greater Good Charities in its overall marketing strategy and donor relationships.
Born and raised in the island of Cebu in the Philippines, Dafny has first-hand experience living with limited resources. While Dafny is passionate about all the programs and global causes that Greater Good Charities supports, she will always have a soft spot for school programs for girls. She feels very fortunate to have been able to attain a good education, and she would love to see other girls all over the world have the same opportunities she was given.
Dafny calls the Seattle area home with her husband, Stuart. They enjoy hiking the great Pacific Northwest trails and riding around on their motorcycle. While you can find her in Seattle all summer long reading and dining with friends, she is also known to wander off to different parts of the globe. Dafny finds inspiration and lessons from all her travels, whether it’s haggling at the markets of Bangkok, getting lost in the back alleys of Prague, or partaking in Munich’s Oktoberfest celebrations. No matter if she’s at home or on the road, Dafny is looking forward to helping more people around the world.
Rowena Koenig
Director of Partnerships
Rowena has helped visionary organizations change the world by connecting them with the supporters and champions who make change possible. Prior to joining Greater Good Charities as Director of Partnerships, she worked with nonprofits including the Sierra Club, Animal Defenders International, and the Constitutional Rights Foundation. Based in Los Angeles, she enjoys hiking trips with her husband and their gentle, giant dog, and backyard gardening in the company of a small flock of rescued hens.
Denise St. Jean
Denise St. Jean has strategically and successfully executed PR campaigns over the years for nonprofit and corporate organizations.
Denise’s PR history in animal welfare and the pet space includes Guide Dogs for the Blind, Wings of Rescue, Mini Therapy Horses, Grazin' Pig Acres, Halo, Purely for Pets, Cloud Star pet products, and the PBS TV series “Shelter Me.” In the human welfare vertical, Denise's experience includes the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Days and Tanqueray’s American AIDS Rides. Additional highlights of her career include everything from integrated marketing campaigns for big brands like General Motors and Diet Coke, to smaller brands like See's Candies and POPSUGAR.
On a personal note, Denise grew up in a house where they nurtured all creatures, great and small, her mom ran a dog rescue and her sister is a veterinarian. She currently lives in San Diego, Calif. with her dog Crumpet.
Jennifer Fermon
Director of Impact Planning
Jennifer Fermon is Director of Impact Planning for Greater Good Charities, formerly SVP of Strategic Development at Seattle-based CharityUSA.com, LLC. Jennifer is keenly interested in the creative intersection of on and offline technologies with big-picture problem solving and policy to get at the guts of our most pressing humanitarian and environmental concerns.
Brooke Nowak
Director of People and Planet Programs
For the past six years, Brooke was part of the Executive leadership team of the Southern Arizona based nonprofit, TMM Family Services. Prior to joining the nonprofit world, Brooke was part of the corporate team of Fox Restaurant Concepts during the development of the company. In 2011, Brooke moved to Nairobi, Kenya to volunteer in the Kenyan government’s crisis center for kids removed from the homes due to abuse as well as for children considered “lost”. Her experiences in Africa are what helped Brooke recognize that her true calling is to serve.
Melissa Vecera
Director of Rescue Bank & In-Kind Operations
Prior to joining the GreaterGood.org team, she was on the Petfinder shelter outreach team for four years, where she managed the nationwide Adoption Options conference series. In her role as Shelter Outreach Specialist, she managed all aspects of the strategic direction and successful implementation of the program. She traveled to nearly 70 different cities across the country to bring the latest animal welfare knowledge to local communities, reaching thousands of animal welfare professionals in-person. In addition to managing Adoption Options, she traveled to regional and national animal welfare conferences, presenting to crowds ranging from 30-1,300 people.
She has 10 years of animal welfare volunteer experience, including writing press releases and attending meet-and-greet events on behalf of the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League, Inc., and hands-on shelter experience at the MD SPCA. She calls Maryland home, and shares it with her dachshund named Lily, her forever foster cat, Betty, and her grumpy hedgehog named Olive.
Denise Bash
Director of Disaster Response
Denise works closely with our partner organizations to develop and fund programs that support people, pets and the planet. After working for years in not for profit management, Denise has a passion for empowering grass roots organizations. She also has an extensive background in animal disaster response and leads Greater Good Charities efforts to assist our partners in natural and manmade calamity. She is the co-founder of our signature program Rescue Rebuild.
Denise spends a lot of her personal time active in her community. She volunteers for Animal Lifeline, an organization she founded in 2006 which focuses on animal rescue and spay and neuter. Denise lives with her family and pets in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Sára Varsa
Director of Pet Programs
Sára joined the Greater Good family as the Director of Special Projects and is currently the Director of Pet Programs. She most recently served as the Vice President for the Humane Society of the United State’s Animal Rescue Team. She oversaw hundreds of responses to man-made and natural disasters that resulted in the rescue of thousands of creatures from cats and dogs to exotic and farm animals. She trained and consulted law enforcement agencies, animal shelters, and animal advocates on everything from how to identify animal cruelty all the way to ICS in disaster response. Her professional experience in animal welfare as the Director of Operations at a limited admission shelter, and for many years in the veterinary service field all began at a young age when she was encouraged to pursue her love of animals while working with horses.
Sára shares her home with her two young children, and a rescue dog and cat. She feels most connected hiking in the woods or seeing the world through the ears of a horse while riding on a trail.
Dr. Tom Van Devender
Director of Biodiversity Programs
Thomas R. Van Devender was the Senior Research Scientist at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum for 25 years, where he conducted research on a broad range of natural history topics. He has published well over a hundred publications on a range of topics, including natural history, paleoecology, desert grasslands, desert tortoise ecology, local floras, ethnobotany, herpetofaunas and the Madrean Archipelago. Tom is interested in the natural history of many areas in Sonora, especially the Madrean the Sky Island mountain ranges, the la Frontera zone within 100 km of the Arizona border, the Yécora area in the Sierra Madre Occidental, and tropical deciduous forest in the Álamos area.
In May 2015, Tom began as the Director of Biodiversity Programs at Greater Good Charities, where he organizes biodiversity inventories to Sonoran Sky Islands in the Madrean Discovery Expeditions (MDE) program and manages a Predator Conservation Program. From 2009 to 2014, Tom was the Manager of the Madrean Archipelago Biodiversity Assessment (MABA) project at Sky Island Alliance. MABA documented the diversity of animals and plants in the 35 isolated Sky Island ranges and complexes in Sonora, Mexico. These biological records and high-resolution images are available to support conservation activities in the region. Tom has organized ten binational expeditions with large volunteer groups of taxonomic specialists, land managers, college professors and students, local residents, photographers, and journalists to make new observations in high-diversity areas in Sky Island ranges in Sonora.
Bryna Donnelly
Director of Rescue Rebuild, Family & Pet Projects
Dr. Bryna Donnelly is the cofounder of Greater Good Charities’ animal shelter renovation program, Rescue Rebuild. Before leaving her job as a college biology professor in 2012, she traveled during school breaks with college students rehabilitating animal shelters in need with Rescue Rebuild. Teaching volunteers how they can enrich the lives of animals and their caretakers with time and a little hard work is her passion. She now brings that love of animals and desire to help women and veterans to GreaterGood.org’s Safe Haven program. Bryna has renovated over 125 shelters and will now be expanding that to help provide shelters with lifesaving food and supplies. Bryna currently lives in East Greenville, Pennsylvania with her three dogs and very patient boyfriend.
Zach Baker
Director of Rescue Rebuild, Animal Shelter Projects
Zach Baker began working with Rescue Rebuild in April 2016, after having volunteered with the program for 5 years. Zach graduated from Delaware Valley University in 2011 with a degree in Business Administration; and after working in various carpentry positions, opened his own home improvement business which he operated for 4 years.
Zach has had a love of animals since childhood having grown up with cats and dogs; he is very excited to be able to combine his passion for animals and his carpentry expertise.
Susan Rosenberg
Director of International Animal Programs
You may know Susan from Petco and Petco Foundation, where Susan spent almost 16 years. Her passion for animals was discovered at a very young age when their neighbor reported to her mother that little 8 year old Susan was creating her own zoo in the family’s backyard. When her mother went out to investigate, she found that Susan was carefully taking care of many unwanted and abandoned neighborhood animals with her weekly allowance. She even rescued a few that didn’t really need it, so her mother promptly returned their neighbor’s cat stating that ‘Susan really doesn’t like cats to be left outside by their family so she took yours.’ A life in animal welfare was her destiny.
Spending eight years working side by side with Paul Jolly, Petco Foundation Executive Director (retired), Susan learned an instrumental lesson for passion, hard work, dedication and a “get it done” work ethic. Working tirelessly to make a difference is what you will always hear about Susan, which is why we just had to get her on our team. Susan prides herself as being able to give funding away as fast as it can be raised. A popular public speaker, FEMA certified, Ready San Diego Sector Chair, marathon shoe shopper, CA Humane Academy graduate, fundraising award winner and an expert in handling disaster events that include animals, Susan manages several exciting and rewarding programs.
Sue Vilsack
Director of National Programs & Logistics, Rescue Bank
Sue Vilsack started with Rescue Bank in late 2011, soon becoming the National Programs and Logistics Director. She works with name brand manufacturers and manages the process for transporting the donations they offer to our regional distribution centers. She oversees our processes for registering recipient groups and assuring equitable distribution of donated product.
Sue has been rescuing mastiffs and other large breeds since the 90’s, focusing recently on raising funds for other mastiff rescues across the US. Her experience includes work as a corporate paralegal, volunteering as a Girl Scout leader, building a service business in Florida, helping run a motorcycle shop, and providing accounting and administration services for small business owners.
Sue enjoys reading, gardening (spending hours planting beautiful flowers and then forgetting to water them), sea shelling and garage sales. She currently resides in Kingwood, Texas with several mastiffs and continues her search for that elusive natural cleaner that removes drool from walls.
Erin Robbins
Director of Transport Programs
Erin Robbins joins the Greater Good Charities team following a 34-year career in the aviation industry to include the oversight of hundreds of life-saving flights for animals in crisis. In addition to co-founding a dog rescue in San Diego, Erin has spent the last five years leading and training shelters on large-scale pet transport from disaster zones and underserved communities. Prior to or following catastrophic events, Erin offers on the ground expertise and professional consultancy with hands on service to move animals out of crisis to safety. Her resume of successful air transports include pet flights out of areas impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Maria, Dorian, Laura, and Delta, as well as catastrophic flooding in Louisiana.
Erin and her husband Bill reside in San Diego with her pup Uncle Barry, who was the first dog off a life-saving flight from Louisiana to San Diego in 2016.
Christie Rogero
Program Manager, The Jackson Galaxy Project
Christie Rogero has worked in the animal welfare field since 2004, after spending the earlier part of her professional career working in nonprofit theatre administration. At Philadelphia-area animal welfare organizations she managed mobile spay/neuter programs and developed multi-year, targeted, feline spay/neuter plans to reduce shelter intake and euthanasia. Christie also worked extensively on model Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) legislation for local municipalities, and on several community cat initiatives to expand training opportunities and TNR resources for community cat caregivers. In addition, she managed the Pets for Life Camden program and later served as the coordinator for the Pets for Life Philadelphia program, providing access to veterinary services in some of the most under-resourced neighborhoods in the country. In 2015, she joined The Jackson Galaxy Project, where she managed and helped to develop the program's signature initiative, Cat Pawsitive.
Christie serves on the advisory board of the Harcum College Veterinary Technology program, and she and her husband are the proud parents of several indoor cats and a small colony of community cats.
Sean Cherry
Director of Digital Marketing
After working in Real Estate, Sean decided to switch his career path to a more fulfilling and rewarding endeavor. He has a deep passion for positively contributing to causes on a global level and GreaterGood.org was the perfect opportunity to fulfill this desire.
Previously, he conducted on-site low-income housing research in over 100 markets in 35 states across the country. Outside of work, you may find him daydreaming in a remote location.
Karla Ball
Karla Ball is the Grants Administrator for Greater Good Charities. She works closely with the Program Directors to move grants toward approval in a timely and efficient manner. After many years in the business workplace, Karla is thrilled to be back in the nonprofit sector. Karla was previously Coordinator of a 24-hour Helpline – a crisis line where she recruited, trained and managed volunteers. She received the Governor’s Volunteer Leader award for this work.
Karla loves giving back. She is involved in a variety of volunteer roles in her community including reading with children, substitute teaching for a private elementary school, and serving in a local hospital and her church.
Karla lives in Sioux Falls, SD with her husband and two cats, Kitty and Bunny. She is affectionately known as Grandma Kitty to two darling little ones, Quinn and Stella.
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Kalli Spackeen
Office Manager and Executive Assistant
Kalli has always had a passion for giving back and trying to make the world a little brighter of a place. Aside from working at Greater Good Charities, Kalli also volunteers at another local nonprofit, Tu Nidito, where she facilitates a support group for children that are experiencing grief. She has lived in Tucson her whole life and is happy that she found a place where her passion for giving back is universally shared. Kalli lives in Tucson with her longtime boyfriend and their newest addition, a little boy named Milo. On the weekends you can find her walking Sabino Canyon or at home relaxing with her little family.
Carl LoPresti
Carl joined the GreaterGood.org team as a staff accountant in 2020. He is originally from Cleveland, Ohio and has called Tucson, Arizona home for the last 13 years. He and his wife Angela are the “hooman” caretakers of a cat named Lola and a dog named Bandit. In his free time, he enjoys watching sports and playing/listening to music.
Danielle Bennett
Administrative and Bookkeeping Assistant
Lesley McCave
Corporate & Foundation Relations Officer
Born and raised in Essex, England, Lesley studied French and Spanish at the University of London and then spent nine years as a travel guide editor for Time Out, crisscrossing the globe along the way. After moving to the US in 2006 she became the executive editor of spa and wellness magazine DAYSPA, before transitioning to the nonprofit sector with Animal Defenders International. A lifelong animal lover, Lesley lives with her husband James in the San Fernando Valley, along with their trio of rescue dogs: East Valley shelter alum Quark (who runs the show), and Baldwin Park shelter breakouts Crosby and Oreo. In her free time Lesley loves to hike, binge watch The Golden Girls and true crime series, and explore local farmers markets.
Ashlee Marinez
Senior Email Marketing Manager
Ashlee received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Arizona. After interning with the Native American Advancement Foundation for a year, wanting to work for a nonprofit was a clear choice! She has now worked her way up to Senior Email Marketing Manager.
Having lived in Tucson most of her life, when she’s not at the Greater Good offices she can be found enjoying local Tucson events, catching a concert with friends, or lounging by the pool.
Will Pallister
Grant Writer & Researcher
Will has an extensive background in raising charitable and corporate funding. Prior to joining Greater Good Charities, he was a grant writer at the Sierra Club, where he assumed editorial responsibility for the Lands, Air, Water, and Wildlife and Outdoors for All campaigns. Based in Los Angeles, he gardens with a view to accommodating pollinators, especially hummingbirds and migratory butterflies.
Hannah Seaman
Media Marketing Manager
Hannah joined the Greater Good Charities team as a Program Assistant in September of 2017. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she studied analog and digital photography, graphic design, computer animation, theater design, and sculpture. Upon graduation in 2013, she moved back to her hometown of Tucson, Arizona, and put her artistic eye to use as a Floral Designer – enjoying an outlet for her creativity, without adding to her ever-growing collection of artistic clutter.
Though she still does floral design for the events of friends and family, Hannah has decided to leave the corporate and business worlds in favor of working for a larger purpose. She volunteered for eight years at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum – caring for animals and educating the public on the natural history of the Sonoran Desert with a strong conservational message – and is excited to apply her skills, once more, to a worthy cause.
When not at the GreaterGood offices, she can usually be found spending her time among several well-loved cats and tortoises.
Marina Maskaykina
Brand & Design Manager
Marina’s passion for design and doing good have brought her to Greater Good Charities. She brings her knowledge of marketing, graphic design, and media to her role as Brand & Design Manager. When she’s not in the office, she can be found hanging out with her two cats, Peanut and Banjo.
Lexi Browne
Lexi graduated with a Bachelor's in Sustainable Built Environmental Sciences from the University of Arizona, Spring 2018. She’s been fortunate enough to adopt two pups from her hometown shelter in Hailey, Idaho where she lived most of her life and learned to appreciate the environment. Although she now resides in Tucson she loves visiting her family and friends in both Idaho and California. Growing up she was a part of Girl Scouts, volunteered at the Hunger Coalition, played the violin and participated in track, tennis and horseback riding. With extra time on her hands she’s passionate about exercising, cooking, playing with her dogs and traveling to be submerged in different cultures. Something on her bucket list is to visit all of the continents at least once. A few of her favorite trips include visiting a panda reserve in China, seeing the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah and studying abroad in Scandinavia. She admires the vision and goals that Greater Good represents and is so excited to be a part of the team.
Ellie Snyder
Junior Copywriter & Program Assistant
Ellie left the endless icy winters of Montana to attend the University of Arizona, graduating with a degree in English and Creative Writing Spring 2019. During her time at the U of A she read for the university’s graduate literary magazine Sonora Review, tutored writing, and worked as Editorial Assistant for the University of Arizona Press. Upon graduating she began work with Lawyers & Judges Publishing in Tucson, doing all things from typesetting and editing new books to packing orders. She’s thrilled to become a part of the Greater Good team and to contribute her Englishy skills wherever possible. In her free time, Ellie can be found between the pages of a novel, vibing to newly discovered music, or dancing downtown.
Brittany John
Global Education Program Manager
Brittany joined Greater Good after receiving her master’s degree in International Development, with an emphasis on social impact investing, from the University of Arizona. In this new role, Brittany administers signature programs such as Girls' Voices, literacy programs, the Mirwais Mena bus program in Afghanistan providing safe transportation to school for girls, and the Mae Tao Clinic for Burmese refugees.
She previously worked as the Finance Manager for International Studies Association (Non Profit), an academic organization that worked to connect political scientists around the world. Her experience in international development work includes the creation of an impact assessment for a uniquely modeled entrepreneurship & leadership institute in Benin, West Africa. The purpose of the analysis was to better understand how a particular education model (built on principles of small business development and leadership) was responding to the incredibly high rates of unemployment among educated people, as well as how the school was tackling poverty in Benin as compared to traditional educational models.
Brittany holds a certification in social impact investing from the Monterey Institute for International Studies for her ability to understand and more appropriately evaluate the true effectiveness of investments on effected livelihoods and communities. Additionally, her experience as an investment analyst advisor for the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves expanded her understanding of the importance of increasing awareness and demand for the use of clean cookstoves in developing countries, as it relates to the environment, fossil fuel use and health (especially for women and children).
Brittany is committed to approaching her work with compassion as well as a sedulous fervor to address root causes of injustice and inequities in a creative and innovative manner. She deeply values integrity and loyalty to those with whom she works and hopes to build indelible bridges between our world and the world of those who are impacted by the GreaterGood’s projects to create a more equitable and connected planet.
Lynn Peterson
Media Manager of Girls Voices
Lynn Peterson has worked in Film, Television and Theatre for over 30 years. For decades he has dedicated his life to traveling the world, documenting the stories of the inspirational works of hundreds of humanitarian organizations worldwide. His television show “Profiles in Caring” was honored with 7 regional Emmy’s.
Sarah Aguilar
Foster Program Manager
Sarah Aguilar has spent the last two years developing and implementing processes that have helped to propel Pima Animal Care in Tucson, AZ into the forefront of innovative sheltering, managing an annual budget of $12 million, 120 team members and over 1,000 volunteers. Prior to moving to Arizona, Sarah was a program coordinator at the municipal shelter in Ventura, CA, where she managed their first formal foster program, placing nearly 3000 animals into foster homes annually, and tripling the number of cats adopted through partner pet stores and offsite events. Her experience as the Training General Manger for a national restaurant chain, combined with degrees in business management and accounting, have enabled Sarah to bring a unique customer service and systemic, data driven approach, to leading a municipal shelter. She is currently living outside of St Louis, MO with her husband, 2 dogs, cat, and bearded dragon.
Kathy Poritzky
Operations Manager, Rescue Bank
At Rescue Bank, Kathy’s role is to process all recipient applications and liaise with the recipients and affiliates to make sure it is a smooth process. She also works with Pedigree for Shelters program, providing the food from our donors to area Shelters. Prior to joining Greater Good Charities’ Rescue Bank, she worked in the Telephone electronics and Oil and Gas industry, her role was in accounting and logistics. Kathy is a passionate animal lover, she works with local rescues to transport stranded animals to the rescues. She has never met an animal that she has not fallen in love with. Kathy is the proud owner of Springer and Reddick her two baby boys!
Melanie Meadows
Affiliates Manager, Rescue Bank
At Rescue Bank, Melanie’s role is to liaise with the warehouses that store and distribute donations of animal food to ensure that the food is getting to the shelters and rescues that need it. Prior to joining Rescue Bank, she worked in the oil and gas industry in the fields of health, safety, and environment and social responsibility. Melanie is passionate about animal welfare and has volunteered in shelters, fostered pets, and maintained shelter websites to promote the adoption of long-term cats and dogs. She is Mom to the two best dogs in the world-Toby and Tyler, and a gorgeous American Bobtail cat called Bobbie!
Kimberly Spina
Rescue Rebuild Program Manager
An animal lover to the max. In fact, if you ever can’t find her during a Rescue Rebuild build, go check the cat room. Chances are, you will find her there. At every shelter that Rescue Rebuild renovates, she plays this fun game where she finds a dog that she wants to take home and vows that if it hasn’t found a furever family by the time the build is over, she will fill out the adoption papers herself. Luckily, for her own sake and the sanity of her roommate, this has worked out in her favor so far. Learning all the tools, toys, and construction projects as she goes, she has already become the expert at chain link and is the only one in the group who is allowed to teach the volunteers!
Casey Paholski
Casey started volunteering with Rescue Rebuild in 2103 when he was a freshman in college. Ever since he has been making it a point to go on a few builds every year. To date, he has been on 12 trips and has adopted 3 pups from shelters on the way: Lilly, Daisy, and Flint. Casey graduated from Delaware Valley University in 2017 with a B.S. in Conservation and Wildlife Management. Before coming on with Greater Good Charities, he worked as a Park Ranger after college and did wildlife mitigation in Atlanta, Georgia.
Rachel Hiebert
Rachel joined Rescue Rebuild after her move from Alberta, Canada where she owned a roofing company. She is very excited to do something meaningful with her construction experience! Rachel and her lovely partner have two dogs and a cat. When Rachel isn’t on or planning a build, she enjoys adventuring with her wife, music, reading, spending time with friends, and riding her motorcycle.
Matthew Russick
As a volunteer and a contractor for 3 years, Matthew knew what he was getting into when he joined Rescue Rebuild full-time! His diverse background in all types of construction and heavy equipment operating has uniquely prepared him for every type of project that Rescue Rebuild gets into. He has built countless catios, play yards, and cat rooms. He gained his nickname “Lucky” because he has a knack for being quite the opposite. He has the record for having changed the most flat tires on the Rescue Rebuild trailer!
Nate Borger
Nate is the newest member of the Rescue Rebuild team. He is currently living outside of Los Angeles, CA but is from Bethlehem, PA. Nate first worked with the team in 2013 after transferring to Delaware Valley University. He went on almost every trip he could during his time in school and picked up his construction knowledge along the way. Nate graduated with a degree in Wildlife and Conservation Management and soon after began working with a bird removal company. He worked his way up to an Assistant Manager Position where he honed his training skills and even got to catch and release a few hawks. Nate moved out to California with his girlfriend, so that she could pursue her dream of Veterinary School. Adapting to the warmer weather, Nate looks forward to being on the road again and finding a new adventure every day!
Ashleigh Rivera
Pet Program Coordinator
Ashleigh graduated from the Eller College of Management from the University of Arizona, Summer 2019. It has always been her intention to use business as an outlet to provide good out into the world, and to ultimately push her creative boundaries. Ashleigh co-owns a pet sitting business with her younger sister in their hometown and she is honored to start contributing her time to new endeavors at Greater Good! Outside her role as a business owner, she spends a lot of her time with her gym community at Gym 244, traveling to good ole’ Virginia Beach to visit her husband and seeking any opportunity that allows her to play outdoors.
Gaby Salazar
People and Planet Programs Assistant
Gaby was born in Nevada but has been an Arizona-girl (Tucson, to be exact) for as long as she can remember! She graduated for the University of Arizona in 2018 with a B.A in Communication, and is set to graduate from Gonzaga University in the Summer of 2021 with her Masters in Organizational Leadership. It has always been important to Gaby to work for an organization that is truly making a difference in the world, and she is so excited to be joining the Greater Good team. When she is not working, Gaby is enjoying time with her fiancé, Chris, and her two pups, Zeke and Tucker.
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Science fiction author Robert Heinlein has been inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians.
Missouri lawmakers on Tuesday unveiled a bronze bust of Heinlein that will be displayed in the House Chamber at the Capitol building.
Heinlein was born in 1907 in Butler and raised in Kansas City. He launched his career in writing in 1939.
He won top science fiction awards for books including “Starship Troopers” and “Stranger in a Strange Land.”
State Rep. T.J. Berry of the Kansas City area says Heinlein’s writing also influenced the fields of science and space exploration.
Heinlein joins 45 other Missourians honored in the hall. Others include Mark Twain, Dred Scott and Ginger Rogers, as well as more controversial figures such as Rush Limbaugh.
Close but not yet: Deal near on COVID-19 Economic Aid Bill
Missouri guidance change seeks to reduce school quarantines
Body cameras coming to St. Louis Police Department
As virus flares globally, new strategies target hot spots
Enrollment drops worry public schools as pandemic persists
St. Louis police officer shot trying to make traffic stop
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kwetoday
fierce indigenous feminism
Policy/About
Overrepresentation
March 14, 2012 Aboriginal women, indigenous prison population, overrepresentation, Prisonkwetoday Leave a comment
Today, I am getting ready to do an ignite talk (www.ignitelondon.ca). I am actually not nervous about this (okay maybe a bit) but I am nervous about receiving my mark back from these two other essays I wrote. I think I could have set up my arguments to be a bit more persuasive; however, due to time constraints, was limited. I actually had to ask for two extensions–you would think being unemployed I would have more time. No, that’s not the case. Working part-time and trying to do full-five credits for a school year is tough. At my school, they even consider 3.5 credits full time.
Anyways, I am nervous. I honestly think there is too much pressure on undergrads. This blog post isn’t about that topic though.
I was kind of annoyed when I was writing my second essay. It was on the overrepresentation of Aboriginal women in federal institutions. A bit of background:
Aboriginal women are:
…more likely to receive a higher security classification
…are more likely to be unemployed (full-time)
…more likely to head single parent households w/ less income than non-Aboriginal single mothers and Aboriginal single fathers
…overrepresented in the sex trade
…are overrepresented in the federal inmate population
One student talking to me the other day said she was angry with everything she was reading (she was writing an essay on Aboriginal women too). On the advice that was given to me, I told her to use that anger to write. I try to write about things that are near and dear to me.
The overrepresentation of Aboriginal women in Canadian institutions is near and dear to me because I met a lot of Aboriginal women who were or have been in prison/jail, either for a short time or a long time.
What made me angry about this paper was that the security classification system is extremely discriminatory. This classification system uses categories such as education, employment, sexual habits, or past victimization, to determine if the individual requires a higher security classification or not. Based on the stats I listed above and the categories listed in this paragraph alone, Aboriginal women then receive a higher security classification than any other prison population.
Oh and should I add that Aboriginal women make up LESS than 3% of the total Aboriginal population, yet 1/3 of the total prison population and 50% of the high-security federal inmate population? Yeah, that is important to remember when you look at those stats and the security classification system.
Just thought I would let you all know. You know, in case you are all wondering about Aboriginal women in Canada again.
February 22, 2012 Aboriginal women, resiliencykwetoday View all 5 comments
A few famous quotes that are useful when trying to answer this question are below
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” — Dr. Seuss
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”–Socrates
“I think, therefore I am.” — Rene Descartes
In the last few months, I found myself questioning who I am/was. I always hear statistics that tell me Indigenous people face dark, stark, unbearable realities. I have written about some of those realities even sharing some of my own personal experiences and my own personal stories. In sharing some of those personal stories, sometimes a random person who doesn’t know me, messages me to insult me. I just brush it off as that person doesn’t really know me.
Yet, sometimes I don’t even know who I AM.
I had a really empowering, emancipating experience about a few weekends ago. I was surrounding by many strong individuals who had a clear definition about who they were, where they stood and what they stood for. I felt quite little and perhaps even like a puppet existing in my own realities. Before this experience, I had been in counseling or seen counselors that spoke to me in a way that described me as the victim. I just accepted it. I was the victim. Whatever happened before me, defined who I was and it was normal for me to feel and act the way I had. Whatever decisions I made, those that saw me as the victim defined the choices I made as just being choices victims make all the time.
I don’t want to be the victim though.
I remember I did not want to be seen this way after sitting in a few lecture classes at school. We were listening to various public speakers. All these speakers were amazing. Some of them I could relate but then there was one who spoke about Aboriginal girls/women. A white, RCMP officer. He spoke on a topic that I had direct experience with yet he spoke as if all Aboriginal girls/women that had faced these realities were all victims and needed to be saved. At the end, I ask him some questions and politely reminded him that not all are forced to do things against their own will and some are even capable of making their own choices to leave the situation they are in. Key word: SOME. I was a part of that some. I realized the situations I found myself in were not good for me and I made the conscious decision to leave. I literally *snapped* out of it when I asked myself one day, “why do these things keep happening to me?” It was either keep doing what I was doing or change. I left one life behind for a life that was/is better for me…on my own terms.
I guess some people need to be reminded that yes, Aboriginal women/girls as a group experience a lot of bad things or find themselves in bad situations. However, this does not mean that we are all victims. I no longer want to be seen as the victim or being victimized in my experiences. Being constantly reminded that I was “the victim” doesn’t make me stronger, it makes me question myself. Who wants to be constantly questioning their own self or their own existence? I want to be seen as a strong, resilient Aboriginal woman for the decisions I made to help me be a more stronger and resilient woman than I was if I had not made those decisions…both good and bad. We all make bad decisions or experience bad situations; we don’t need our bad decisions or bad situations to define our existence.
Smarts and Beauty
February 6, 2012 Aboriginal women, Abusive relationshipskwetoday Leave a comment
So here I am writing about this topic….yet again. This is a topic that is frequently brought in my courses, particularly in my deviance class. We talk about violence against women and violence against children or how violence affects both groups. I appreciate the way the professor brings these topics up in class. She brings in guest lecturers and also provides stories about the work she has done with women who experience violence. I remember my first year sitting in some of her classes and talking about the same issues.
Without hesitation, I had to leave class several times because of the anxiety of the recollection that her guest lecturers or the stories she shared had re-ignited in my own self. I experienced an abusive relationship. It was a struggle for me to face the reality of what really happened to me. I didn’t want to believe it. I thought it meant I was stupid because I didn’t know what was happening. I learned after a great deal of counseling, it wasn’t my fault and that it wasn’t because I was “stupid.”
Most recently, the last time I had to leave class, to go cry in the bathroom, was when my professor talked about how the abuse begins in subtle ways. My professor mentioned that the abusive partner may try to control the physical appearance or the behaviour of the abused. That means it doesn’t always start as physical abuse. In fact, some individuals can experience an abusive relationship without experiencing physical abuse at all. They could experience emotional, psychological, financial, or sexual abuse, or worse, a relationship encompassing all these types of abuse.
As I sat there in class, the professor began to share a story that it may begin with the abuser saying to the abused, “Oh, I like you much better with natural nails. Why don’t you take off your nail polish?” Sounds innocent right? No? Maybe. With my relationship, I remember I wanted to cut and dye my hair. I used to have long hair right down to my waist. It was virgin hair which meant it had never been dyed. To me at the time, I distinctively remembered I told the guy at the time I wanted to cut my hair and that I wanted to dye it a different color. He looked at me, started to play with my hair and said “No, I like your hair long and natural. It looks and feels so pretty. It makes you look pretty.” When I was sitting in class that particular day, it made me kind of upset again. Upset with myself for not knowing better. Eventually when the abuse started to happen, the one thing that was always there ready for a quick easy grab to pull me around was my long, beautiful, natural hair. If he couldn’t grab my clothing or couldn’t grab my arm or my neck, he could at least grab my hair or pull my hair down, grabbing it by the fistful. As soon as the relationship ended, I went and cut my hair to a shoulder length. I eventually started to dye it different colors too. Blonde. Red. Black. Whatever wasn’t my natural hair color. My mother called it “grieving.” I was grieving all right. Grieving the lost of my old self into a brand new self.
Within the years that followed, I sometimes told myself that I was stupid for not being smart enough, for not realizing sooner and for the better, what was happening to me. The relationship went on like that for about a year and half. Off and on.
Today, I try to tell myself, “Look how far you come… you are smart…you are beautiful.” However, my smarts isn’t about book smarts or streets smarts. It’s about knowing what is best for me and only me. It is looking out for my own best interests. My beauty isn’t about looking great every time I step outside. It is about realizing that I have come this far and I am a stronger person because of it all. That is what being smart and being beautiful is for me. It’s not always about being top-of-the-class or wearing the best clothes and make up but it is about realizing how far I have come and how much stronger I am because of everything, both positive and negative, I learned and experienced.
Did all that really just happen?!
January 16, 2012 #ott12, Aboriginal womenkwetoday Leave a comment
They say everything in life happens for a reason. Last week was an eventful one, especially pertaining to Indigenous issues (it was almost an Indigenous issues overload) but I loved it!
Last week, I was able to attend the Liberal Biennial Convention. It was an amazing experience. I got to meet so many cool new people thanks to my friend Chad! I first met him at my university just randomly talking about policies and issues that were in the media at the time. He eventually convinced me to join the Liberal party. I am really glad that I did.
During the convention, it was all go-go-go. I will admit I even had a mini breakdown after the co-chairs of the APC and other exec, and myself had met with Dr. Carolyn Bennett. However, I was not alone in this. I had the support of the rest of the APC team (as well as some pointers from Dr. Bennett’s assistants). At the convention, there was almost no time to eat. I remember the first day I was sooooo hungry–my little nutrigrain bar and boiled egg didn’t hold over very long and it wasn’t until three in the afternoon did I sit down to have a full meal, and meals always included a time to discuss and meet with others. There was a lot of multitasking. I know that I am pretty good at multi-tasking or at least time management but this was a new experience for me: I had no idea what to expect!
The out-going president did a wonderful job by allowing us to introduce ourselves (I still have to find a French translator to translate my english bio for the Liberal party website–so if you read this and you can help me or know someone who can, let me know!). Hon. Paul Martin sat in the audience while we all introduced ourselves and even the amazing Cynthia C. Wesley-Esquixmaus was there!
When I was sitting in the audience, there was an alteration between French and English. It made me sad because I wish I had taken the french courses in elementary and high school. In elementary and high school, I opted for Ojibwe classes. It made me sad to sit there and think of other Indigenous students who opt to talk their traditional language over French, would they want to one day go into politics and be faced to learn yet another language? Anyways, that’s a different topic saved for a different post (maybe). For a new personal goal, I am going to try to learn french. I know that I should take the time to learn my language but this is one of the decisions that many young Indigenous peoples face and that being, how to walk in both worlds.
Anyways, I think this is going to be a great opportunity to learn from and to gain some definitely useful experience. Since my initial posts regarding the convention and donations, I was able to converse with several individuals on Aboriginal women issues (and also learning about issues that other Aboriginal groups face). Like I said, this is going to be a great opportunity to learn from.
I will cherish this experience forever from the times that we were able to meet with the Hon. Paul Martin to discuss how we can help him or him help us or when Dr. Carolyn Bennett walked up to me and gave me a hug after I shared my personal story, and especially remember those who sat in on the APC biennial on the first day. But most importantly, the wonderful group of individuals who I met this weekend who are all a part of this experience for the next 2 years. When I sit here and think about, I still can’t believe it all happened.
The woman in me
December 27, 2011 Aboriginal women, Aboriginal women leadership, resiliency, Resilientkwetoday Leave a comment
A poem I wrote over this past weekend.
Is the feminine me
The strong confident
Graceful me
Is filled with bravery
The loving trusting
Resilient me
Is the courage in me
The spirit in me
Someone recently asked me what does resiliency mean to me? Well, resiliency to me is having choice and hope, and most importantly making life worth living with what you are presented with. Being resilient is being a female, being a woman. . .
Maisy and Shannon
August 19, 2011 Aboriginal women, Laurie Odjick, Maisy and Shannonkwetoday Leave a comment
Photo borrowed from http://www.findmaisyandshannon.com
Today I started reading a book by Warren Goulding called “Just Another Indian.” I cried twice already. It talks about a subject that really gets to me every time I read or hear about: missing/murdered Aboriginal women.
Then, in another post on my FB feed and also repeatedly in my twitter feed, I see this link titled Police Study Link Between Sex Offender, Missing Girls.
I share the feelings with Laurie Odjick because I remember seeing these girls on television during the news casting. For a brief second. I remember thinking something similar to Ms. Odjick, If these girls were not Native, would the police investigative have been more exhaustive or media exposure increased? I remember seeing Maisy and Shannon’s pictures and remembered their faces and seeing this brief reporting on the news channel. I remember because I was scared. I remember thinking about my own safety. At the same time, I had just moved to London, Ontario on my own. No family. No friends. I really didn’t even have a place to call home. I didn’t know much about the missing of Maisy and Shannon or how or where they were first reported to have been missing because not much was reported. So, I had thought they had gone missing in Ontario. Apparently, they were just spotted in Ontario. I wish their pictures were shown in more places and for longer periods. I saw their pictures only twice since seeing their pictures on the news that day. Once on the television that day and another on the back of a transport.
You can read a letter that Laurie Odjick writes and you can just feel the frustrations pouring out through her words. You can read that letter HERE.
The book that I am reading right now talks about the lack of media exposure of the serial killer, John Martin Crawford, who raped and killed Native women. These women were reported missing to the police, police didn’t do much, and even when Crawford was on trial for admitting to killing the women he had killed, there was still very little media exposure. It makes me sad that this is still happening today in a completely different region in Canada almost 10 years ago? You would think that organizations and agencies would learn from the Crawford case.
It is a disgrace, like the article highlights, that young Aboriginal women are allowed to go missing at the present, alarming rates. Amnesty International even has their own campaign to help address this issue at an international level. You can check out the campaign called Stolen Sisters. I talk about this campaign in my post titled Globalization: The Further Oppression of Aboriginal Women. Even though the work that this organization is doing is great, it is still quite new and the latest reports that were generated in support of their campaign even mentioned that much of the previous and initial campaign’s initial report’s recommendations still need to be implemented.
So what can be done to help this particular? There is already a website set up to help raise awareness. You can check the website that was set up by the families of Maisy and Shannon, HERE. Donations have been sent and received and you can help donate to help find the Maisy and Shannon. The link to donate is HERE. Maisy and Shannon’s families have set this all up themselves. The family has done this all on their own time. Frustrated with the policing agencies. Frustrated with lack of accountability. Frustrated with lack of responsibility. The same feelings and similar situations that I read about in this book written by Warren Goulding.
It literally breaks my heart to read about this over and over again: young Aboriginal women going missing and almost nothing done by policing agencies/organizations–families are left to deal with the situation. Canada, it’s time to step up to the plate. First Nations people: you are failing them over and over again. I feel so helpless and I am not even related nor have I ever met Maisy or Shannon’s families or friends. I can only imagine what this woman and her family/friends are feeling or have felt.
Prays for the families/friends of Maisy and Shannon & to Maisy and Shannon ❤
As taken from the article in The Gazette: Anyone with information should call Quebec provincial police at 819-310-4141 or the Kitigan Zibi Police Department 819-449-6000. There is a $15,000 reward, offered by friends and family, for information that leads to their safe return.
Globalization: The Further Oppression of Aboriginal Women
June 23, 2011 Aboriginal Rights, Aboriginal women, Amnesty International, Globalization, Globe and Mail, Michael Moorekwetoday Leave a comment
Globalization: The Further Oppression of Aboriginal Women in Canada
Recently a Globe and Mail article dated February 25, 2011 featuring Michael Moore, known for his Academy-award winning documentaries (Michael Moore’s Blog), talks about a Brazilian-owned Mining company in Canada that is known as the “second largest mining company in the world” (Galloway). This is globalization in Canada: large export companies coming in and creating employment for its citizens. In the same article, the mining company’s most recent decision is highlighted. This decision is to remove itself from its mining operations in the small northern community of Thompson, Manitoba, which will reportedly cause its citizens to lose five hundred jobs (Galloway). Upon the company’s exit, Thompson’s citizens will be left without employment and the company will be left with an acquired $17.3 billion (Galloway). Some say globalization is for the betterment of Canada, but what those people fail to see is the exploitation of small towns. Small towns like Thompson, Manitoba are exploited with the promise of opportunity, but when the company leaves the community, the towns are right back where they started: with little to no economic opportunity. What the headlines do not reveal are the town’s hidden citizens, wherein Thompson, Manitoba 36.4% of the population is Aboriginal (Indian and Northern Affairs). Headlines like this, which are concerned with the ways in which globalization helps small towns, take priority over the headlines that are concerned with how globalization is adversely affecting other groups who already lack opportunity within Canada, like Aboriginal women. When people and headlines are more concerned with the general population, one must begin to ask, has globalization benefited women, specifically Aboriginal women?
This essay will argue that Aboriginal women in Canada have not benefited from globalization because of a corporate culture that creates a patriarchy that is adverse to Aboriginal culture, which further oppresses Aboriginal women in Canada. This essay will first demonstrate that globalization oppresses Aboriginal women through its patriarchal corporate culture, which is counter to the values and beliefs of Aboriginal culture. Second, the essay will put forth the idea that Aboriginal women are oppressed because their issues are inadequately addressed in the face of globalization. Finally, this essay will argue that Aboriginal women are oppressed because globalization further limits the few opportunities available to them. Two counter arguments will also be addressed: The argument made by some critics which suggests that globalization does not oppress all Aboriginal women, some of whom are already part of Aboriginal communities that are patriarchal in form; and the argument that globalization helps Aboriginal women because some international organizations use globalization to raise awareness concerning Aboriginal women’s issues. As Aboriginal people fight for their rights and recognition within Canadian society, they must be careful not to further oppress an important group of people key to their own existence: Aboriginal women.
Globalization is an ambiguous term with multiple meanings. When applying ambiguous terms to a specific group of people, caution should be taken because these terms and their concepts may seem to only benefit part of the group, rather than the whole group. A definition of what globalization is and how it pertains to Aboriginal people should be established. In Globalization and Self-Government: Impacts and Implications for First Nations in Canada, Gabrielle A. Slowey points out that globalization is a “common term…with a variety of meanings [and] for some, it is a dangerous euphemism” (266). Globalization as it is relevant to Aboriginal peoples can be defined as the corporate control over resources for profit. Furthermore, Slowely describes globalization as “corporations [assuming] a more dominate role in all spheres of life” (265). This corporate dominated role suggests that globalization is purely profit driven, and in the corporate world, people are unconcerned with the under-privileged, like Aboriginal women. Another question relating to globalization and Aboriginal peoples is what is it exactly that corporations seek to control? As it pertains to Aboriginal peoples, corporations seek to control natural resources. In Globalization as Racialized, Sexualized Violence, Rauna Kuokkanen describes globalization as “a form of oppression that is linked to patriarchy” (218) and “this patriarchal control [is] over those defined as subordinate, whether women, indigenous peoples or the environment (‘natural resources’)” (222). Koukkanen shows that corporations seek to control those who are considered subordinate, which includes women, Aboriginal people, and their natural resources. Aboriginal women are then a unique group to the world of globalization because they are connected to issues relating to women, to race, and to natural resources. Therefore, this essay defines globalization as a purely profit driven, corporate dominating concept that seeks to control the natural resources of Aboriginal people in a top-down fashion.
Globalization’s corporate culture seeks to control subordinate subjects in the corporate-driven world. In the corporate world, Canadian women in general are already underrepresented and rarely reach top-management positions (Catalyst). This may suggest a patriarchal structure, and it is this patriarchy that has oppressed Aboriginal women in the past and will continue to oppress them in the future. In Sisters in Spirit, Anita Olsen Harper states that “many pre-contact Aboriginal societies were both matriarchal and matrilineal [which] ensured women’s authority and legitimate place” (175). Globalization may then further oppress Aboriginal women because it is this corporate dominating world associated with globalization that may cause Aboriginal women to further lose their place in society. If globalization may further oppress Aboriginal women, it does so in a historical context of this type of oppression. The oppression of Aboriginal women occurred when Europeans first came to Canada. In Trauma to Resilience: Notes on Decolonization, Cynthia C. Wesley-Esquimaux highlights that “Native women came under the gaze of missionaries, men who could not see women as equals…Native women were removed from their traditional roles and responsibilities and pushed to the margins of their own society” (16). This shows that Aboriginal women’s oppression began well before globalization, and that if globalization’s corporate dominating world and its suggestive patriarchy were to continue into the future, so will the oppression of Aboriginal women.
One might argue that globalization would not oppress all Aboriginal women because some of their own communities are patriarchal in form. To compare globalization’s patriarchy and an Aboriginal society’s patriarchy is a false analogy. This is because even if some Aboriginal societies are patriarchal in form, Aboriginal women still have a place in society. Harper further states that “other First Nation societies, even if they were patriarchal in structure, were similar to the Iroquoian in their recognition and placing women in high standing” (175). Aboriginal women’s status, since the Europeans colonization, has been oppressed because Europeans did not see them as equals. Globalization is profit-driven, not equality-driven. Furthermore, this comparison is a false analogy because an Aboriginal women’s position was central to Aboriginal people’s existence, even in a patriarchal structure. As Harper further states:
[These societies] considered their women essential and valued economic partners….women took on domestic roles…as well as significant roles in essential livelihood activities….women were personally autonomous, appreciated, and treated as valued members in all aspects of community life. (175-176)
This demonstrates that Aboriginal women have a rightful and equal place essential to Aboriginal people’s existence in their society, whether patriarchal or not. Globalization will further oppress Aboriginal women because corporations are unconcerned with giving status to the subordinates they seek to control or with treating their subordinates as equal and essential to the corporation’s existence.
Aboriginal women are a unique group to globalization. They are unique because they are connected to all three groups: women, Aboriginal people, and natural resources (land). When corporations seek to control Aboriginal people’s natural resources, the issues Aboriginal people are concerned with no longer include gender specific issues, but rather they are concerned with land (natural resources) issues. Aboriginal women are then oppressed because Aboriginal women’s issues are no longer given the attention they deserve. Andrea Smith in Native American Feminism, Sovereignty and Social Change insists that “Native struggles for land and survival continue to take precedence over these other issues” (118) and that “gender justice is often articulated as being a separate issue from issues of survival” (121). Smith shows that the struggle for land (natural resources) and survival is prioritized above Aboriginal women’s issues and that the latter are seen as separate issues all together. If globalization is profit driven and seeks to control the natural resources of Aboriginal people, and if Aboriginal people prioritize their struggle for land (natural resources) over Aboriginal women’s issues, these gender-specific issues may never be recognized and realized, thereby further oppressing Aboriginal women.
Having said this, one might argue that globalization does not oppress Aboriginal women because international organizations are using globalization to bring awareness to Aboriginal women’s issues. Even though other organizations like Amnesty International are helping free Aboriginal women from their struggles, any real change has yet to happen. Amnesty International has been dedicated to helping Aboriginal women and their issues, and its Stolen Sisters campaign speaks out about gender violence against Aboriginal women (Amnesty International 2). It must be highlighted that this is only a recent campaign, and a report subsequent to the campaign highlights the fact that even though inquiries have been conducted, and recommendations put forth, most of these recommendations have yet to be implemented. Work into the Stolen Sisters campaign began in October 2004 (Amnesty International 1), and Amnesty International’s most recent report, dated September 2009, further states that provincial and federal inquiries have “put forth a body of recommendations most of which have yet to be implemented” (Amnesty International 25). The same issues, the Aboriginal peoples and their natural resources, that continue to take priority over Aboriginal women’s issues are the same ones central to globalization, further excluding and oppressing Aboriginal women from the global economy. Therefore, even though other organizations are raising awareness about Aboriginal women’s issues to help relieve them from oppression, this work is still recent, and some of its recommendations have yet to be implemented. It could take years for any real changes to happen, and globalization may make these changes even more difficult to attain.
Globalization further oppresses Aboriginal women because it makes the few opportunities that are available to them even more difficult to obtain. In Sisters in Spirit, Harper highlights that Aboriginal women face “high-unemployment rates and lack of economic opportunity,” in particular on their First Nation (180). The jobs created for Aboriginals living on their First Nation continue to exclude Aboriginal women when corporations introduce male-dominated natural resource industries. Furthermore, globalization and its corporate dominating world are not concerned with Aboriginal women and their opportunities. Slowey highlights that “globalization has provided the government with incentives to make Canada more competitive within the global economy” (270). This shows that globalization is not concerned with Aboriginal women and their opportunities, but rather with where Canada stands in the global economy. This increased competition may lead to the migration of people into Canada and thus to the further displacement Aboriginal women, especially those living off their First Nation and in Canadian cities. Fariyal Ross-Sheriff in Globalization as a Women’s Issue Revisited highlights that “global changes are resulting in greater mobility…and global migration” (133). It must be noted that migration of individuals to Canada is not opposed of or should be rejected. However, globalization and heightened migration into Canada may then lead to Aboriginal women’s competitive advantage to be diminished as people with more skills, education, and experience fight for the same opportunities that Aboriginal women fight for. With increased migration and a focus on making Canada more competitive in the global economy, Aboriginal women are oppressed when their struggles to acquire the few opportunities available to them are more difficult to attain in the face of globalization.
Globalization is, above all else, profit-drive. This essay defined globalization as corporations seeking to control the natural resources of Aboriginal people in a top-down fashion. This essay asked the question: has globalization benefited women, specifically Aboriginal women? The answer is that Aboriginal women in Canada have not benefited from globalization because it is this corporate culture that creates a patriarchal society and control over Aboriginal people and their resources. It is this type of control that is adverse to Aboriginal culture and that further oppresses Aboriginal women. Furthermore, Aboriginal women’s oppression began well before globalization and if globalization’s tendency to dominate and exercise patriarchal control over subordinate subjects were to continue into the future, so will the oppression of Aboriginal women. The counter-argument that some Aboriginal societies are patriarchal in form fails to acknowledge the place that Aboriginal women continue to hold in these societies. Even if some Aboriginal societies are patriarchal, these societies still recognize Aboriginal women and placed women in high standing. As corporations seek to control Aboriginal peoples and their resources, the issues Aboriginal women struggle with may never be fully recognized in the face of globalization. Other organizations are helping to bring attention to Aboriginal women’s issues, but this work is only recent and some of it has yet to be implemented. Globalization focuses on making Canada more competitive in the global economy, and in doing so, it makes the few opportunities available to Aboriginal women more difficult to reach as people with more skills, education, and experience seek out global opportunity in Canada. Therefore, as Aboriginal people fight for their rights and recognition as a group within Canadian society, they must be careful not to further oppress an important group of people key to their existence: Aboriginal women.
If Canada wants to remain competitive in a globalized Canadian economy, they must begin to recognize the implications of globalization on Aboriginal people and Aboriginal women specifically. Aboriginal people must also be aware of these implications and their effects on Aboriginal women, a group that is central to their existence. Aboriginal people should be careful not to fight just for land rights or Aboriginal people’s rights, but also to fight for Aboriginal women’s rights. Amnesty International’s work on Aboriginal women’s issues and gender violence is a start, but the work should not stop there. Aboriginal people should be weary about globalization. They should be weary about allowing corporations to access their natural resources merely for profit. In the past, prior to the onset of globalization, Aboriginal people’s land was taken away from them and their women were controlled in a patriarchal fashion. With globalization and corporate greed, Aboriginal people may no longer have a place to call home. That is, as more people come to Canada for opportunity and a new place to call home, the question we must ask is: where will Aboriginal peoples go? The real and long-term implications of globalization needs to be addressed before allowing corporations, like the one mentioned in The Globe and Mail article, on Aboriginal land. Furthermore, a corporation entering Aboriginal land to access its resources needs to be transparent about what it plans to do with the land and it needs to be transparent with the land’s rightful owners: the Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people need to realize that they cannot leave the most important group of people–Aboriginal women–out of their struggle for existence, because if it were not for Aboriginal women, Aboriginal people would not exist.
Am I "Indian" Enough For You?
April 24, 2011 Aboriginal, Aboriginal women, Indian, relationships, Single-lifekwetoday View all 2 comments
I have been single for 2 years. In that two years, I have met some great people, and not so great people. Gone on some great dates and some not-so-great dates.
I have met some people who say to me: Why are you single? You’re such a great girl. And I have met some people who resort to calling me names when I say “No thanks, I am not interested in dating you…” Sorry, but you can’t win them all right?
Then one day, at school, I had a conversation with a Native guy. He was being his inquisitive self and I was being my talkative self. He then asked me a question, which I cannot remember precisely… but I asked him why he was asking me that. He proceeded to say, “I like to find out how “Indian” someone is.” I was kind of shocked. I then proceeded to say to him, “You know I never dated a Native guy before…” And it is true, I never have dated a Native guy before. In fact, my first relationship was with a white guy. And my second, and my third… I haven’t even gone on a “date” with a Native guy.
There are some great Native guys out there. In fact, race or ethnic background isn’t even one of the requirements for me to date someone. I don’t even have “requirements” or a “checklist.” I believe that you know someone is “right” for you, when they are strong enough to be there for you through the good and the bad times. Yet, whenever I think about having a relationship with a Native guy, there always lies that thought or question in the back of my head: Am I “Indian” enough for him?
I don’t know much about my culture. Well, I know what I was taught, and that is different from what someone else was taught. I don’t live at home, and I see my family when I can. Family is a big thing in Native culture. It’s not that I don’t love my family. I do love them and I love them a lot.
So as I sit here in my search to find that someone special, I begin to think: Why am I single? Am I too picky? Am I too busy? Or, maybe it is because I actually am I too “bitchy”… (Bitchy being: saying what is on my mind, standing up for what I believe is right)
Sometimes I practice my culture, sometimes I don’t. For some, it’s not enough. For some, it’s too much.
I remember having breakfast with one Native guy and during that time he said to me, “I come from a long-line of chiefs.” I didn’t know if this was a joke or if he was serious. Am I supposed to be the same, and come from a “long line of chiefs”? I don’t even know my grandparents (but that is because all but one passed away before I was born).
Then in a conversation with my mom about what I should speak about during an event in June, I told my mom what I thought about myself, event aside: I may never be “Indian” enough for a Native guy, and I may never be “good” enough for a non-Native guy.
But then I begin to think to myself, am I even ready for a relationship? I am busy with school, volunteering and working. I love all three of those things. Do I have enough room for anything else? Then I remember what an old friend said to me last year when we were discussing her relationships and my single life, “You might be alone the rest of your life.” My reply to her statement, “I am okay with that.” And you know what, I am okay with that. I have enough love from my family, and great friends who are supportive in everything that I do that if I don’t find that special someone… it’s okay.
It is not the end of the world that I am single, and it is not the end of the world that I am not “Indian” enough…
I am a kind man: Kizhaay Anishnaabe Niin
April 23, 2011 Aboriginal, Aboriginal women, Canada, Domestic Violence, Violencekwetoday Leave a comment
Here is a site I came across on the internet…
I am a kind man…
Taken directly from the site, it says the following:
We are Aboriginal men from across Ontario who are very concerned about the problem of men’s violence and abuse against women in Aboriginal communities. The overall purpose of the Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin Initiative is to engage the men of our communities to speak out against all forms of abuse towards Aboriginal women.
1. To provide education for men to address issues of abuse against women;
2. To re-establish traditional responsibilities by acknowledging that our teachings have never tolerated violence and abuse towards women;
3. To inspire men to engage other men to get involved and stop the abuse;
4. To support Aboriginal men who choose not to use violence.
I think this is a great site especially that it appeals to kids, youth, and grown men.
Check it out by clicking on the link above 🙂
Aboriginal Women’s Leadership: Lead-HER-Ship
April 22, 2011 Aboriginal women, Aboriginal women leadership, Lead-HER-Ship, Leadership, Women's world 2011kwetoday One comment
Note: The essay below was written by Naomi Sayers for the Women’s World 2011 Young Aboriginal Women’s Creative Essay Contest.
Lead-HER-ship
Leadership to me is something that women have been doing for ages. I take this word and I break it down into three parts. These three parts make up the word “leadership”, or lead-HER-ship. In essence, leadership is not just a quality; rather it is a role that all women undertake. When looked at from this angle, leadership is rather essential to life because women have been doing this for ages; that is, they have been leading HER ship.
The first part of this word refers to an action, namely, to lead. To lead means to guide a group of people or your own physical self in the right direction; it is to learn how to use the resources and the environment around you. To lead, then is not only to better your own life, but also to better the lives of others. This part of the word leadership is rather easy to notice.
The second part of this word may not be evident, but it is implied by the parts or the sounds that make up this part of the word. This part of the word speaks specifically to women, or in other words, speaks directly to HER: lead-HER-ship. Women are the carriers of life. Even though this part of the word is not as easy to notice, I believe that it is there and that it speaks directly to women.
The third part of the word can be understood in a metaphorical sense. Even though the third part of the word is “ship,” it does not literally mean ship. That is to say, women are not captains or leaders of a ship or a boat. Rather women are leaders in their own lives and the lives of others. Women provide the harmonistic balance and the gentle care that is necessary for life in this world. They provide this balance and care in for themselves and for their own community. Individually, they provide a balance for their own selves by maintaining a healthy mind, body and soul so that as carriers of life, they can help raise healthy babies and ultimately healthy families. At a community level, women, specifically Aboriginal women, are central to a community’s existence. Without the lead-HER-ship of Aboriginal women, communities might not be as balanced. Thus, the third and final part of this word–lead-HER-ship–metaphorically means guiding one’s own ship. In other words, their own life, community, and family, on a well-balanced and cared for journey to a destination that is safe.
When I look at leadership from this angle, lead-HER-ship, I begin to see that Aboriginal women’s leadership is important because it is the woman that helps guide her family and community to a safe destination by providing a harmonistic balance and gentle care to herself, her family and her community. Additionally, it can be seen that from this perspective, Aboriginal women have been providing leadership for years. They have been raising their families in a healthy manner, and helping to provide for a healthy community. Without Aboriginal women’s leadership, it would be hard for a community to be maintained. It is with an Aboriginal woman’s harmonistic balance and gentle care in maintaining her own self to raise a healthy family, which in turns makes for a healthy community that Aboriginal people thrive in. Therefore, Aboriginal women’s leadership is essential to a healthy community, a healthy family, and a healthy self.
Unfortunately, Aboriginal women’s leadership and their roles have been undermined because of the effects of colonialism. These effects of colonialism happen in a historical context. In Canada, the arrival of European settlers and their effects of enforcing their patriarchal views have displaced Aboriginal women out of their important roles as mothers, wives and women in their own community. This displacement happened when the Canadian government forcefully obtained Aboriginal children, placed them in residential schools away from their parents because they considered Aboriginal parents to be ineffective. Also, the Christian Church’s insistence on enforcing patriarchal views onto Aboriginal communities has displaced Aboriginal women as wives because of this removal of their children. Aboriginal women were not considered the strong, central figures that Aboriginal people and their culture considered their women to be.
Aboriginal women have been removed from their roles as strong women in their community with the creation of the Indian Act. The Act has undermined Aboriginal women when it removed their status once they married a non-Aboriginal. Only recently did Bill C-31 come into effect, wherein the bill provided the guidelines for reinstating an Aboriginal woman’s identity that was lost once she married a non-Aboriginal man. Also, the Indian Act did not protect an Aboriginal woman’s right to her own matrimonial property. Organizations and First Nations are realizing this lack of protection when it comes to the matrimonial home and some have remedied for their own situations. Briefly speaking because of the complexity of these issues, this is how the effects of colonialism have removed Aboriginal women from their roles as mothers, wives, and women in their own community. This is why Aboriginal women’s leadership is important. It allows for Aboriginal women to regain their identity and their roles as mothers, wives, and women in their own communities.
Two Aboriginal women that I look to for inspiration are Pauline Johnson and Lee Maracle. Johnson is known for writing about “Indian Life” and Maracle has written about life as a member as an oppressed minority. Both women have also written creative pieces, like poetry. Today, I write poetry and write an online blog where I write about my experiences as an Aboriginal female living in present-day Canadian Society. I write about my struggles, my experiences, and I also write creative pieces like poetry and short stories. These women have written about what life was like for them during their time, and today I write about what life is like for me. My goal one day is to write a children’s book that tells Aboriginal history from a younger generation’s perspective. I want to showcase my artwork in this book, and my interpretation of Residential schools and how that era has affected me and my friends. I also plan to include Residential school survivors’ and their children’s perspectives when writing this book. These women inspire me because of their ability to use writing and education to their advantage—an institution that was once created to remove Aboriginal women from their roles, as mothers, wives, and women in their own communities.
In conclusion, leadership to me is not just a quality; rather it is a also role that women undertake. Leadership is rather essential to life because women have been doing this for ages, leading HER ship. Specifically, Aboriginal women’s leadership is important because it helps Aboriginal women to regain their identity and roles as mothers, wives and women in their own community, which was once undermined through the effects of colonialism. Without Aboriginal women, there would be no carriers of life, no family, and no community. If it were not for Aboriginal women, Aboriginal people would not exist. This is what Aboriginal women lead-HER-ship is to me.
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Home > Wild Equids > Reviews
"Horses, in one form or another, have been roaming our planet at will for at least 56 million years, but today many of the free-roaming populations are in danger of disappearing. Now for the first time ever we have, in Ransom and Kaczensky's much-needed Wild Equids, a comprehensive assessment of the world's wild equines, including feral horses, zebras, asses, onagers and Przewalski's horses. Horses deserve a better deal – a deal that needs to be based on science – and this volume, years in the making, is an important step in making that happen."
— Wendy Williams, author of The Horse: The Epic History of Our Noble Companion
"The editors of this book have done a masterful job assembling a comprehensive review of scientific research on equid behavior. This is essential reading for wildlife biologists, conservation specialists, and policymakers in equid management. The chapters, including one on the meaning of wild, display a tremendous range of knowledge."
— Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation and Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals
"People have interacted with equids for thousands of years, and domesticated horses and donkeys are very familiar parts of our lives. Yet most of the original wild equid species are highly threatened or even extinct. Wild Equids is the most comprehensive summary of all that we know about these remarkable animals: wild asses, wild horses and zebras. Anyone who has a serious interest in these species needs to start with this book."
— Simon N. Stuart, PhD, Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Comission
"Finally, a book that synthesizes a vast array of information on horses, zebras and asses. Ransom and Kaczensky have brought the experts together to pool their knowledge and summarize what we know about the phylogeny, social behavior, ecology, and conservation needs of these species. This book is critical step in recovering populations, species, and the ecological function they provide, of this important Family of ungulates."
— Joshua R. Ginsberg, PhD, President Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and formerly Senior Vice President, Wildlife Conservation Society Global Program.
"Equids and humans share thousands of years of common and very special history. Today, however, 5 out of 7 species are assessed as threatened with extinction and yet basics of behaviour and ecology of wild species remain unknown. It was, therefore, high time for this compilation of cutting-edge science with a focus on ecology, management and conservation."
— Gerald Dick, PhD, MAS, Executive Director, World Association of Zoos and Aquariums
"A world-class roster of authors provides a comprehensive treatment of diverse subject matter that is deep, thorough, and yet extremely accessible to diverse audiences. In an era when humankind’s actions are the major drivers of environmental change, the creation and sharing of the new knowledge presented in this volume will be essential to any chance we have of ensuring that wild equids will persist in nature for future generations to come."
— Steve Monfort, DVM, PhD, Director, John & Adrienne Mars at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park
"[Kaczensky and Ransom] will not only stimulate interest in this often forgotten but important group of ungulates, but also provide a basis for new ideas and protection concepts."
— Vetmeduni Vienna
"The depth and breadth of analysis of established knowledge in the field is unrivalled elsewhere, and this publication is recommended highly as a starting point for wildlife biologists, policy makers, behavioral ecologists, and anyone involved in equid management."
— Conservation Biology
Wild Equids
Ecology, Management, and Conservation
edited by Jason I. Ransom and Petra Kaczensky
Publication Date: 1 Jun 2016
Trim Size: 7" x 10"
Illustrations: 31 b&w illus., 8 maps
Subjects: Life Sciences, Ecology
Horns, Tusks, and Flippers
Biology of the Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)
Urban Carnivores
The Rise of Horses
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home » JIS News » Justice
Gov’t Looking to Employ Retired Judges
Written by: Latonya Linton
Photo: Donald Delahaye
Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck making his contribution to the Sectoral Debate. (File)
West Kingston Report Tabled
More Training for JPs
Criminal Records System Computerized
The Government is seeking to amend the Constitution to allow for retired judges to offer their services.
Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, said the amendment will enable these judges to be re-engaged as needed by the Chief Justice and the President of the Court of Appeal.
“We hope that this will be done later this year, the latest next year,” Mr. Chuck said.
He said the retirement age will still remain at age 70.
“All of these judges, now retired, are giving their expertise to commissions and many of them are working overseas. We need to utilise that experience,” he pointed out.
The Justice Minister was making his contribution to the 2016/17 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday (June 15).
Approximately five judges are due to retire this fiscal year, and a further five over the next two years. This will affect the complement of judges in the system.
Minister Chuck said that if the proposed Constitutional Amendment is made, at least 20 judges will be able to continue offering their services and expertise to the judiciary and assist to reduce the backlog over the medium term.
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Rand Internet Marketing Announces Partnership With Shuup
Press Release - updated: Jan 10, 2017
Leading South Florida Marketing Agency Excited to Partner with Open Source eCommerce Platform
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, January 10, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Rand Internet Marketing, a professional website design, web development, and internet marketing company based out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has partnered up with Shuup, a multi-vendor, frontend B2B eCommerce platform.
Rand is excited to announce one of their newest partnerships with Shuup. The open-source eCommerce platform supplies its users with efficient and effective custom features which allow for the ultimate tailored user experience. Clients can now have total and complete control over every aspect of their online store. Shuup’s strategies complement Rand’s dedication to enhance eCommerce retailers and the company is excited for a prosperous year ahead using this adaptable platform.
"At Rand Marketing, we know that building an E-commerce site with an advanced shopping cart platform like Shuup is the cornerstone of selling online. However, it's just as crucial for merchants to establish a marketing plan, identifying how they will attract targeted shoppers to their new digital store, and how they will keep shoppers engaged so that they continue to return and make future purchases. We're proud to be partnering with Shuup to help bring together their modern and robust E-commerce system, with our agencies experience and resources, in order to help online stores grow and thrive by engaging in digital marketing campaigns such as Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Marketing, Social Media Marketing, and E-mail Marketing,” said Robert Rand, Chief Technology Officer at Rand Internet Marketing.
Many online retailers have converted to Shuup for its speed, ease of use, adaptability, and full fleet of outstanding features. Shuup boats superior performance, advanced features, and a tailored approach in an effort to boost sales and ultimately ROI. Shuup gives users a whole new eCommerce experience, one that is simplified, intuitive, and user friendly.
“Shuup is on its way to becoming the number one eCommerce platform by redefining the entire concept and business model in a similar way to how digital photography redefined the camera industry. We will open the doors not just for the big players in the industry, but to everyone who has a dream to become an online merchant. Partnering with Rand Internet Marketing brings value added services to both of our companies’ business clients”,” said Tomi Alapaattikoski, CEO of Shuup.
About Rand Internet Marketing
Rand Internet Marketing, named to the 2016 Inc 5000 list, provides professional website design, development, and programming in addition to online marketing services to hundreds of national and South Florida-based businesses.
Led by founder and CEO, Seth Rand who was a 2016 South Florida Business Journal 40 Under 40 Honoree, the Fort Lauderdale-based firm has grown since its inception in 2010 to more than 20 in-house designers, developers, and internet marketers. The Rand team specializes in responsive website design and programming, including WordPress, Magento, WooCommerce, Shopify, Zoey, 3dcart and other e-commerce platforms; SEO (search engine optimization) and Google AdWords PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns; social media marketing; and online content marketing.
Rand Internet Marketing was named a Premier Google Partner in 2016, a Google Partner AllStar in 2015 and also holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. The Rand team also supports the community through its support of local non-profit organizations such as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Autism Speaks, Abi's Place, The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation and more.
For more information, call 888-707-7263 or request a free initial consultation online at http://randmarketing.com/request-consultation/.
About Shuup
Shuup is an open source enterprise eCommerce solution for customized B2B and B2C ecommerce stores and other complex, business critical operations. It is built to get merchants’ products everywhere consumers are: search engines, sales channels, comparison shopping engines, social media, Android and iOS apps, blogs, and more. Shuup streamlines how you manage your online business or marketplace.
As a web consulting firm, Shuup’s programmers created hundreds of eCommerce projects with platforms such as Magento, which became dramatically less scalable with increased customization. The idea was born to create a platform in which scalability is not in correlation with a project’s complexity and that is lean, fast to run, and open source.
As an open source project, Shuup is publicly available to anyone who desires to sell goods and services online. Removing high license fees allows enterprises to create projects for next to nothing, with lifelong free updates and feature additions, increasing ROI over other enterprise platforms.
Shuup has attract a lot of global interest and received multiple awards including Red Herring Top 100 Europe award and a position on the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Finland list.
For more information, call (888) 902-6337 or contact us at hello@shuup.com or https://www.shuup.com/en/contact-us/.
Source: Rand Internet Marketing
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Tag: Blue Ruin
Netflix Review – Murder Party: How to be Amazing on No Budget
Ever witness a really great performance by a street musician or a student actor? A display that makes you think “why the hell aren’t they famous? They’re better than most of the professionals.” Well, part of that is because, unfortunately, opportunities aren’t usually given entirely on merit. You may have all the talent in the world, but getting your foot in the door of most industries is a Herculean task unless you happen to be friends with, or related to, someone within the business already. For Jeremy Saulnier, this film was his epic drum solo… that was played on a pair of trashcans because that’s all he could afford.
I assume he didn’t have cocaine.
SUMMARY OF A SUMMARY
Lonely guy finds invitation to Halloween “Murder Party.” Finds out it’s an actual Murder Party with him as victim. Fortunately, the murderers are all incompetent art students who mostly kill themselves trying to kill him, before he gets free and turns the tables.
No relation. To the film.
Christopher (Chris Sharp), a super sad and lonely guy, finds a random invitation to a Halloween “Murder Party” on the street. Rather than re-use his previous Halloween costume, he makes a new one, a suit of armor, out of a cardboard box. He makes pumpkin bread and heads to the party, which takes him through some bad neighborhoods to a crappy warehouse on the Brooklyn Shore.
Seriously, I love this costume. I may MAKE this costume.
There, he meets the hosts of the party, a group of art students who, being broke, are all also in cheap costumes. There’s Vampire Paul (Paul Goldblatt), The Warriors Baseball Fury Bill (William Lacey), Zombie Cheerleader Sky (Skei Saulnier), Werewolf Macon (Macon Blair), and Lexi (Stacy Rock) who’s dressed as Pris from Blade Runner. Macon tries to murder Chris, but fails, forcing the group to tie Chris to a chair, revealing that he is the victim of their very real Murder Party.
He loses the vampire costume… I assume because the rental was up.
While they wait for the mysterious “Alexander,” their patron (Sandy Barnett), Sky eats Chris’ pumpkin bread which contains non-organic raisins, which she is allergic to. She says she just gets dizzy, but falls down and impales her head on some rusty machinery, killing her comically. Angry, Macon pours a bottle of acid on Chris, but it turns out to be diluted Acetic Acid (Vinegar) and does nothing. The group finds out that Alexander is near and hides Sky’s body. Alexander arrives with his friend Zycho (Bill Tangradi), who no one knows.
Now she’s a real zombie. Sorry, I mean corpse.
Throughout the night, the remaining art students get high and kiss up to Alexander hoping he’ll pay them to make art, resulting in them starting to turn on each other. Then, it’s revealed that Alexander’s not actually wealthy, resulting in the group turning on him as well. Everyone starts killing each other, mostly with Chris watching, until finally Chris escapes and is chased down by Bill, who Chris is forced to kill, before finally heading home, exhausted, in his knight costume.
So, if you’re a regular reader, you’ve heard me talk about Jeremy Saulnier’s other two movies Blue Ruin and Green Room because I think they’re both masterworks. Green Room, in particular, is a horror movie that somehow never has any character acting irrationally, takes place mostly in one room, is almost unnervingly realistic, and is intense from start to finish. This movie shows where a lot of those elements would come from.
Including a lot of colored lighting in the scenes.
This movie was made on a small budget. I mean, it’s estimated to have cost $190,000 by Saulnier, but that’s still a pretty cheap for this kind of film. To put this in perspective, Roger Corman, the king of B-movies, thought you couldn’t make a professional-looking film for $250,000. Sure, Clerks was shot for $27,000 and El Mariachi only cost $7,000 (and $250,000 of labor by Robert Rodriguez), but you can see the difference in the quality of the camerawork and lighting versus those movies. It does explain why the majority of this film is set in one location and consists mostly of the characters just talking to each other. There aren’t a ton of effects in the film, so the ones that are there tend to be used very well.
The melted werewolf mask was a solid effect.
One interesting thing about the movie that helps make it feel less awkward that we’re just watching the people talking in a circle is that the protagonist is in the same state. Chris spends most of the movie bound to a chair, just watching these events unfold, frequently being the only one to see certain things happen, which makes us feel connected to his PoV.
He also only says a handful of lines.
It’s also interesting that the movie forces Chris at points to deal with the bland inconveniences that are mostly hand-waved by other films, something that is hinted at early on when it has Chris return to the kitchen to turn the light off before he leaves. When Chris first tries to escape, he’s unable to figure out a plan despite being in a room full of objects that could be used as weapons in a traditional horror film, opting instead just to throw stuff at them and try to run. He can’t resist making a pun when the group starts doing it. When he does escape, he has to pee immediately, having held it for hours, resulting in Bill finding him. He stops to take his meds during the climax chase. Best of all, at the end of the movie, he’s lost his wallet and has to walk home while dressed as a cardboard knight and covered in blood. It’s little touches that distinguish the movie and show the origin of the elements of realism that set Green Room apart.
He keeps getting better.
Also, much like Green Room, the protagonist in this movie isn’t a complete dumbass. Yes, he goes to the party in the first place, but who would have thought it was an actual murder party? When he tries to escape, he takes the freight conveyer up, then when Bill follows him, he reverses it. When he gets to the student house, he keeps trying to find a phone first. He does actually do a decent job of representing how an average person would deal with something this crazy.
And the chainsaw to the face was inspired.
The villains aren’t exactly brilliant, however, and that’s part of the fun of the movie. They’re the least competent people to attempt a murder plot and they’re desperately seeking the approval and money of a man who is manipulating them with basically no effort. The movie takes a not-so-subtle shot at the nature of many “artists” who are more focused with the image of being an artist than with the actual work. They even have one of the characters admit that the rest of them want to kick Bill out of the group because he actually has talent and makes them feel inferior. At the end of the movie, Bill seems to be rejecting the art scene in favor of just killing everyone, but then stops to have a fancy drink at a party and talk with his friend who likes his work, indicating that even his rejection is still just an act.
I also love that they kowtow constantly to Alexander on the almost inane hope of getting a magically huge grant, to the point that they’re willing to ritualistically murder a person for it. It’s also a nice touch that each of them has a different medium (Painting, photography, film, performance art) which kind of reflects their personalities within the film. They’re actually much more traditionally explored than Chris is, except that we are given some great scenes to get to know Chris in a short amount of time without a lot of dialogue (which every other film should take note of). By the end of the movie, you feel like you know a surprising amount about each of these people.
They all focus around the guy with the money.
Overall, I think this movie needs to get more attention, particularly with Halloween approaching. It’s funny, it’s got a lot of the Halloween spirit in it, it’s got gore, it’s got two scenes of costume sex, it’s got candy… it’s basically everything that’s great about the holiday. Give it a watch this October!
Posted on September 19, 2018 September 16, 2018 Categories ReviewsTags Bill Tangradi, Blue Ruin, Chris Sharp, Green Room, Jeremy Saulnier, Macon Blair, Murder Party, Paul Goldblatt, Sandy Barnett, Skei Saulnier, Stacy Rock, William Lacey2 Comments on Netflix Review – Murder Party: How to be Amazing on No Budget
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India’s Tryst with Renewable Energy: The 3rd Global Re-Invest Meet & Expo
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented challenge to industrial and economic growth across the world. Even as industries begin to recover, as per some reports, businesses continue to operate at limited capacities with India seeing lower factory outputs and contraction of industrial production. This has resulted in trends that point towards a global recession. However, even amid such a contraction of economic growth both in India and worldwide, in its Renewables 2020 Report the International Energy Agency (IEA) has opined that the deployment and development of renewable energy (RE) have remained largely resistant and resilient to the conditions imposed by the pandemic- a trend that seems to be reflected in the Indian diaspora as well. There are predictions that even as there are short term falls in the installed capacity of distributed renewable energy, the industry itself will bounce back. This is in part helped by the short term relief provided to the power sector (which includes renewable energy) by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) since late March, 2020. (more…)
By LexQuest Foundation, 1 month 1 month ago
Summary Note: Symposium on Climate Change Mitigation Policies
Organised on: 29th November, 2020
We, at LexQuest Foundation (LQF), organized the second edition of the Symposium on Public Policy, with the theme Climate Change Mitigation Policies, on the 29th of November 2020. Considering the pandemic and the limitations it has put on our mobility, the Symposium was held on a virtual platform. It aimed to reflect on aspects that are affected by climate change or have been an outcome of it. The Symposium comprised four sessions that facilitated the exchange of ideas and experiences of different speakers with the participants. The event was moderated by our Co-Founder & Executive Director, Tanya Chandra. (more…)
Energy Access in India: Is the Disadvantaged Strata Excluded?
Around 940 billion people in the world do not have access to electricity and more than 3 billion people suffer because of lack of access to clean cooking fuels. Since independence, India has made substantial progress, however, it has a huge population, deprived of access to energy, chiefly amongst the vulnerable sections of its population. The Census of 2011 highlights that only 30% households have access to clean fuels out of which only 12% is constituted by the rural population. A research states that tribal populations and people of lower caste have 10-30% less access to clean cooking fuel and electricity majorly due to the caste system and rigid hierarchies in the society. (more…)
By LexQuest Foundation, 7 months 4 months ago
The Policy Dialogue: Policies for Access to Clean Energy in India
We are organizing an online policy awareness and deliberation session on the subject of Policies for Access to Clean Energy in India Date: 27th June, 2020. Timings: 7:00 p.m. to 7:40 p.m. Event Portal: Zoom Although India is one of the emerging economies with immense growth potential for renewable sources Read more…
By LexQuest Foundation, 7 months ago
Clean and Affordable Energy-The Way Forward for India
Sustainable Development Goals were adopted in the UN Sustainable Development Summit, 2015 by all member countries of the United Nations. Countries agreed upon The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, known as ‘Transforming Our World’, which is a shared blueprint for the development and prosperity of people and the planet. It comprises 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are to be achieved by all countries by 2030. These goals provide a holistic approach to move towards sustainable development covering poverty alleviation, health, education, growth, clean energy, and other areas. Certain targets and indicators have been agreed upon to quantify the progress towards these goals. (more…)
By LexQuest Foundation, 1 year 2 months ago
India-Belgium MoU on Energy: Joining Hands for a Greener Environment
By Shalvi Singh, WBNUJS, Kolkata.
The diplomatic relations between India and Belgium were established in 1948. Of late, Belgium has acknowledged the importance of India’s global role in economic spheres. In the past, both the countries had co-operated in the field of trade, investment and education. The Union Cabinet on 5th November 2015, approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Indian and Belgium government authorities at the federal and regional level on energy. The objective of this MoU is “to encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation on new and renewable energy issues on the basis of mutual benefit, equality and reciprocity.” Both the countries would focus on the development of renewable energy technologies in the field of solar energy, wind energy, biomass, geothermal energy and marine energy. This MoU would help in strengthening bilateral cooperations between the two countries. It would also aid Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the renewable energy sector by bringing in more and more sophisticated technology in India. (more…)
By LexQuest Foundation, 5 years 4 months ago
Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE): Understanding the Basics
By Navishta Qureshi, NLIU, Bhopal.
In the present situation facing the globe, one of the most important considerations for economy of any country is the development of its energy sector. Not only from the perspective of economic production of goods, but also from the standpoint of the effect that it causes on environment, it is necessary that various countries of the world come together and co-operate with each other in order to provide energy security and fight against climate change. (more…)
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8:00pm (Reception 6:30-7:30pm)
An Evening with P. J. O’Rourke
in conversation with Annabelle Gurwitch
THE BABY BOOM: How It Got That Way
And It Wasn’t My Fault , And I’ll Never Do It Again
William Turner Gallery
Bergamot Station Arts Center
2525 Michigan Avenue,
$40 Includes O’Rourke’s book + Reserved seat
$95 Includes pre-reception + O’Rourke’s book, + Reserved Seat
P. J. O’Rourke, one of America’s premier political satirists, is the best-selling author of fifteen books. He has written for such diverse publications as Automobile, The Weekly Standard, House and Garden, Foreign Policy, The New York Times Book Review, Forbes FYI , Rolling Stone and The Atlantic Monthly.
His best-selling books include Don’t Vote, Parliament of Whores, Give War a Chance, Eat the Rich, The CEO of the Sofa, Peace Kills and On the Wealth of Nation. Both Time and The Wall Street Journal have called him “the funniest writer in America.” He frequently appears on television, and is a regular panelist on National Public Radio’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.
In the early 1970’s, P.J. joined The National Lampoon where he became the editor-in-chief and created, with Doug Kenney, the now classic 1964 High School Yearbook Parody. In the 1980’s, he decided the real world was funnier than anything National Lampoon’s writers could invent, so he became a roving reporter covering crises and conflicts around the world.
Annabelle Gurwitch is an actress and author of the upcoming book of essays, I See you Made an Effort. Her earlier book, You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up, is a self-hurt marital memoir co-written with her husband, Jeff Kahn, now a theatrical play in its third national tour; and Fired! Tales of the Caned, Canceled, Downsized & Dismissed. Her Fired! documentary premiered as a Showtime Comedy Special and played film festivals around the world. Gurwitch gained a loyal comedic following during her numerous years co-hosting the cult favorite, Dinner & a Movie; her acting credits include Dexter, Boston Legal, Seinfeld, Melvin Goes to Dinner, The Shaggy Dog and Not Necessarily The News on HBO. Most recently, she starred in the adaptation of Grace Paley’s A Coney Island Christmas by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Donald Margulies at The Geffen Playhouse. She has served as a regular commentator on NPR and a humorist for TheNation.com. Her writing has appeared in More, Marie Claire, Men’s Health, Los Angeles Times and elsewhere. Gurwitch is a passionate environmentalist, a reluctant atheist, and lives with her husband and son in Los Angeles.
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Claimant Information
Record of Looted Artefacts Online
Daily Express 5 May 2011
Records about cultural artefacts which were looted by Nazis during the Second World War are to be published online so families and historians can trace artworks which have gone missing.
An international archive is to be created so that the lineage of plundered items can be traced. More than 950 documents from the National Archives will be contributed to the catalogue, a spokesman said.
The records, dating from 1939 to 1961, document the systematic looting of Jewish households by Nazi agencies, Hitler's plans to establish a Fuehrermuseum with the seized art in his hometown of Linz and the role played by art dealers in securing and trading looted artworks in Nazi-occupied Europe.
The files range from inventories and images of seized works of art, interrogation reports of art dealers and inventories of claimed property.
They also detail efforts to identify and recover the articles during and after the Second World War.
The National Archives and the Commission for Looted Art in Europe signed an agreement to provide the documents to the international archive.
Chief executive and keeper of the National Archives, Oliver Morley, said: "It's a privilege to be involved in this unique global collaboration - working together with leading archives throughout the world to make these records more accessible on an international scale.
"By digitising and linking archival records online, researchers will be able to piece together the stories of what became of cultural objects, be they books, paintings, sculpture, jewellery or any other stolen artefacts from evidence fragmented across borders and languages."
Anne Webber, co-chair of the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, added: "For the first time in searching for the many thousands of still missing objects it will be possible to trace their fate online through these records which provide the names of victims, perpetrators, artists and works of art.
"The records and history they represent have never been made internationally available before and this project represents a major step forward in international co-operation to help resolve these long outstanding issues."
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/244913/Record-of-looted-artefacts-online
© website copyright Central Registry 2021
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LiqTech Successfully Installs New Furnaces to Expand Manufacturing Capacity
Nasdaq, New York, USA Jan 02, 2020 8:00 AM ET
LiqTech International, Inc., a clean technology company that manufactures and markets highly specialized filtration technologies, today announced the successful installation of a brand new customized furnace for use in the manufacture of the Company's proprietary silicon carbide membrane filters. The new furnace has throughputs that are more than 3x the Company's existing furnaces due to size and efficiency.
The installation of this initial new furnace is the first step of a multi-phase process to increase overall capacity with modernized equipment that should also benefit the Company's gross margins. The Company expects to install a second new furnace by February 2020, and two additional new furnaces by June 2020. Upon successful installation of all four, brand new efficient furnaces in June 2020, the Company expects to completely retire its current older, less efficient furnaces. Overall, the Company's manufacturing initiatives are expected to result in total capacity of between $150 and $200 million on an annualized basis by mid-2020.
"We are extremely pleased to have successfully installed the first of our new furnaces in line with our previously announced expectations," commented Sune Mathiesen, CEO of LiqTech International. "This new furnace will significantly increase our overall capacity to meet the near-term demand for our silicon carbide membrane filter technology. With the new furnace now installed we are on track to meet all scheduled deliveries in the first quarter of 2020. We look forward to the continued ramp in our manufacturing capacity to help meet our goals for strong revenue growth in 2020."
The Company will be hosting an Investor Day on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 commencing at 2:00pm CET local time (8:00am EST in New York), at the Company's facility in Ballerup, Denmark, a suburb of Copenhagen. The Ballerup facility houses the Company's furnaces and proprietary silicon carbide membrane filter manufacturing. In-person attendance at the Investor Day requires advanced registration. Please email Robert Blum of Lytham Partners at blum@lythampartners.com for further information.
LiqTech International, Inc., a Nevada corporation, is a clean technology company that for more than a decade has developed and provided state-of-the-art technologies for gas and liquid purification using ceramic silicon carbide filters, particularly highly specialized filters for the control of soot exhaust particles from diesel engines and for liquid filtration. Using nanotechnology, LiqTech develops products using proprietary silicon carbide technology. LiqTech's products are based on unique silicon carbide technology which facilitate new applications and improve existing technologies. LiqTech offers a wide range of filters and membranes for micro- and ultrafiltration, and by incorporating LiqTech's SiC liquid membrane technology with the Company´s long-term systems design experience and capabilities, LiqTech offers solutions to the most difficult water pollution problems.
Follow LiqTech on Linkedln: http://www.linkedin.com/company/liqtech-international
Forward–Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Although the forward-looking statements in this release reflect the good faith judgment of management, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in the reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risk factors that attempt to advise interested parties of the risks that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those expected or projected. Readers are urged not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release.
We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this release.
Sune Mathiesen, Chief Executive OfficerLiqTech International, Inc.
www.liqtech.com
Robert Blum
Lytham Partners, LLC
liqt@lythampartners.com
www.lythampartners.com
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LiqTech wins EU Tender For Large Power Plant In Finland
BALLERUP, Denmark, March 27, 2018 - LiqTech International, Inc. (NYSE AMERICAN: LIQT) ("LiqTech") is pleased to announce that the Company has won a $1.1 million tender to supply a turn-key water treatment project to be delivered this year. The installation will include pretreatment, ceramic Ultra Filtration systems membranes and a Reverse Osmosis system. The water treatment system will enable the client to reuse the wastewater stream. By reusing the wastewater, which alternatively would have been discharged for municipal treatment due to heavy metal contamination, the client expects to achieve an attractive Return on Investment.
Mr. Sune Mathiesen, LiqTech CEO, remarked, "This successful tender is a result of the experience gained from our successful power plant installations in Denmark. The project marks a significant step forward in terms of installation size and bridges our national experience with an international break-through. With the energy sector continuing to choose sustainable biomass fuels, we expect that this milestone Finish reference will open international markets for similar installations."
This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Although the forward-looking statements in this release reflect the good faith judgment of management, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the 2017 Fiscal Year and in other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risk factors that attempt to advise interested parties of the risks that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those expected or projected. Readers are urged not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this release.
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Film » Film Stories
Breaking Silence
Hannibal diminishes its predecessor
by Andy Klein
Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore in Hannibal, a work whose only reason to exist is money, not art.
Opens Feb. 9 at multiple locations.
Ridley Scott's Hannibal, with a screenplay by David Mamet and Steven Zaillian, is being released exactly 10 years after Silence of the Lambs, the film that established Hannibal Lecter as an iconic villain in our culture, right up there with A Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger, Friday the 13th's Jason and Halloween's Michael Myers, though one suspects that novelist Thomas Harris was shooting for something more like Professor Moriarty. Not only did director Jonathan Demme's original film manage to transcend the usual shackles of genre, at least in terms of acclaim, it did so in spades: What was essentially a glossy, upscale slasher movie won five Academy Awards (Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Actor, Actress), only the third film ever to do so. Add its phenomenal financial success to that, and you have a near-irresistible demand for a sequel -- particularly given how blatantly the ending seemed to be setting one up.
Even though I wasn't a fan of Silence, it had things to admire, in particular the charismatic performances of Anthony Hopkins as the bizarre Dr. Lecter and Jodie Foster as conflicted FBI agent Clarice Starling. Demme, an alumnus of Roger Corman's B-movie factory, knew how to crank up the thrills, yet he threw in at least one cheap red herring that Corman would never have sanctioned -- the deliberately misleading cross-cutting during the police raid late in the film. The only things that stopped this scene and the story's other flaws from sinking the film were the dazzling leads.
Hannibal has Hopkins but not Foster, who declined to participate. Julianne Moore steps in to replace her, and she's about as good a replacement as you could hope for -- which is not to say that's she's much more than adequate. Foster's amazing performance is so ingrained in the popular consciousness that Moore is forced to play against memories of the best work of one of her best contemporaries. Forced into doing what often feels like a Vegas impression of her predecessor, Moore is never able to imbue her character with the level of complex and ambivalent emotions that Foster conveyed.
The screenplay follows Harris' 1999 novel, excising one major character and a few extraneous subplots. The biggest changes come toward the end: Harris' book so ridiculously and unbelievably violated the Starling character that no one would have been foolish enough to reproduce the material onscreen.
In the grand action-film tradition, things start off with a shoot-'em-up sequence in Washington, D.C., that has only tangential relevance to what follows. Starling leads an ill-fated drug bust that results in bureaucratic attacks on her competence, spearheaded by the crass and politically ambitious Paul Krendler (Ray Liotta), a Justice Department official who's had it in for her ever since she refused his sexual advances. Her new notoriety draws a weirdly supportive letter from the fugitive Lecter, who has been missing for seven years. Thanks to this development, she is reassigned to his case and is quickly hot on his trail. Even hotter on his trail, however, is meat-packing multimillionaire Mason Verger (Gary Oldman), a pedophile who was paralyzed and hideously mutilated in an encounter with the good doctor many years earlier. Verger wants to catch Lecter before the FBI does so that he can personally torture him to a slow, hideous death.
Verger pretends to cooperate with Starling, but he is funding his own manhunt, which includes a $3 million reward for information that leads him to Lecter. It is a sign of the film's sloppy plotting that Verger picks up Lecter's trail for reasons utterly coincidental to Starling's involvement. In investigating a missing-persons case in Florence, Italian police inspector Rinaldo Pazzi (Giancarlo Giannini) has recognized newly hired museum curator Dr. Fell as Lecter. Pazzi keeps his information secret from his colleagues, hoping to collect Verger's reward. When Pazzi's plans go wildly awry, Lecter escapes to America, where he locates Starling and manages to avoid Verger's armies of henchmen.
Hannibal's narrative structure couldn't be more rickety and lopsided if a child had built it out of Popsicle sticks and spit. The movie lingers for 20 or 30 minutes in America, setting up Verger and Starling, before Lecter first appears. Then fully an hour is consumed by the Florence subplot, with only occasional cutaways to Starling's exploits in the United States, though at one point she seems entirely absent for a half-hour or more. The final 45 minutes take place in America, where all the main characters come together. This fragmentary storytelling makes it difficult for the audience to identify with Starling, or Lecter, or anyone else. In Silence, we were clearly positioned with Starling, even though the immediate point of view often switched to the crazed killer or his victim. But, in Hannibal, the filmmakers spend almost half the film dithering about in a subplot that has little relevance to the relationship at the heart of the story -- the strange bond between Lecter and Starling.
On some level, however, this is a relief: A large part of what made Silence work was the enigma and ambiguity of the central relationship. A sequel had no choice but to examine this further, even though the relationship never made much sense in the first place and was put over almost entirely by the power of Foster's performance. (Foster wisely opted out of this turkey after reading the script.) There is no point to a sequel unless this central relationship progresses or grows, and there is no way here for it to do so without revealing how essentially absurd it was in the first place. The ludicrous ending of Harris' novel displays this problem more clearly than anything.
In short, like the book, this is a work whose only reason to exist is money rather than art. In fact, rare is the film that has had "paycheck" written so clearly all over it, for nearly all the participants. Hopkins is effective, if often verging into self-parody. Giannini looks as if he took his assignment more seriously, investing some real humanity into an Italianized rendition of the classic shabby cop. Gary Oldman, whose name appears only in the closing credits, is unrecognizable as Verger -- a toothless character with no facial features to speak of. Despite the toothlessness, Oldman, for better or worse, immediately sets about chewing the scenery with his trademark gusto.
Director Scott -- whose vastly variable output ranges from Thelma & Louise and Alien to 1492 and Legend -- seems to have signed on just for the sake of a Florentine vacation. A filmmaker with a much richer, more identifiable visual style than Demme's, Scott's distinctive eye is apparent all throughout the Italian sequences: He makes Florence look like a Renaissance version of the Los Angeles of Blade Runner, which he also made. The American material feels tossed-off, though, as if Scott lost interest within moments of passing through customs.
Like other ill-considered sequels -- the later Psycho films leap to mind -- Hannibal is more than just a disappointment. It is also a spoiler, possibly weakening the impact of Silence for its fans. The new information the movie unwisely gives us about Hannibal and Clarice destroys some of the mystery in their relationship, thus retroactively sullying the memories of Silence.
Film Stories Reviews Hannibal Lecter Clarice Starling Jodie Foster Thomas Harris
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Embassy Press Officer’s reply to a media question concerning new media leaks concerning the Salisbury incident
Question: How would you comment on the new claims by the British media that the police and secret services have identified a third Russian national allegedly involved into the Salisbury incident?
Answer: Unfortunately, we witness yet another turn of a powerful media campaign launched by the Tory government in March aimed at discrediting and isolating Russia on the international arena. The whole situation around the Skripals’ case reminds of an endless soap opera as the media are repeatedly referring to anonymous sources in the British security and secret services and publishing multiple unverifiable versions and leaks on a daily basis.
At the same time, the British authorities have categorically refused to cooperate with Russia, refrained from providing or requesting information via official channels, thus violating at least five different international Conventions, while tirelessly classifying all circumstances of Sergei and Yulia Skripal poisoning. Nobody has seen the Skripals, who are Russian nationals, for a long time. Their condition and whereabouts are unknown. Toxicity of the poison used in Salisbury is also impossible to verify.
We struggle to understand why the British authorities continue to act in such a manner, and cannot find any plausible explanation except that that the whole situation with the Skripals’ case has been a staged provocation from the very beginning. The information that the government feeds through the media raises many questions. It is aimed at diverting public attention from the real problems in the UK caused by the uncertainty around Brexit. Such policy distracts the investigation away from the truth and ignites anti-Russian sentiments, pushed forward again and again at the highest political level. The most recent examples are the statements made in New York by the Prime Minister, and then by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt following his “meeting” with Sergei Lavrov, which in reality has never taken place. Moreover, the Tory government tries to impose on all its own vision of the incident through the media, while refusing to officially engage with Russia. Such approach is unacceptable; it contradicts the rules of international engagement.
As such behaviour of the British authorities, coupled with their infamous record of unleashing wars in Iraq and Libya, conducting air strikes in Syria in defiance of international law, continues, the public trust further erodes. Such situation could have been avoided, had Britain followed its international obligations.
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Loveland oncologist joins staff of Banner Health Clinic
Contact: Sara Quale, Public Relations Specialist
Banner Health Public Relations, (970) 635-4031
LOVELAND (Oct. 25, 2012) – A longtime Loveland medical oncologist has returned to McKee Cancer Center and is now seeing patients there.
Samuel Shelanski, MD, is based at the McKee Cancer Center in Loveland and also will serve patients at North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley and the David Walsh Cancer Center at Sterling Regional MedCenter in Sterling.
Dr. Shelanski began practicing medical oncology in August 2000 and first practiced at McKee Cancer Center from 2005 to 2010 as a member of the Greeley Medical Clinic. He worked in another health care system until recently and joined Banner Health Clinic, specializing in Oncology, this month.
Dr. Shelanski attended Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and served an internship, residency and fellowship at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He is board certified in medical oncology.
For more information about Banner Medical Group, please visit www.BannerHealth.com/bmg. To reach Banner Health Clinic, specializing in Oncology, call (970) 679-8941.
ABOUT BANNER MEDICAL GROUP
Banner Medical Group is the employed physician practice for nonprofit Banner Health. More than 750 physicians, clinicians and support staff serve the communities of Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. Our highly qualified health care professionals are dedicated to making a difference in people’s lives by providing excellent medical care, superior clinical outcomes and an outstanding
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New Ranch Management Team
Loveland, CO — Sunrise Ranch is proud to introduce the new ranching operations management team. Katie Belle Miller is the new Pasture and Livestock Operations Manager, and Director for The Sunrise Ranch School for Integrated Holistic Agriculture. Bryce Connor has returned to Sunrise Ranch and is the Pasture and Livestock Programs Administrator, and Curt Chesney is the new Ranch Foreman.
Katie was born and raised in Colorado. While in high school, she was awarded an internship with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. During her freshman year at Colorado College, she was motivated to design and create her own major: Sustainable Agriculture in the Western United States. In her senior year, she elected to write an optional thesis about the history of sustainable agriculture, using her family as examples of how their practices in agriculture had changed over the last two centuries.
Certified Holistic Management Teacher – the youngest ever!
After graduation, Katie received an internship at the Venetucci Farm, where she worked for a year and a half gaining valuable experience and knowledge regarding farming and ranching operations. She received a scholarship to return to school to become a certified teacher in Holistic Management.
At the young age of 24, Katie started her own farm and is now Holistic Management International’s youngest certified educator in Holistic Management. She is also working on her committed interest in educating and getting youth excited about grass-raised agriculture by working as the Education Director for Chico Basin Ranch, an 87,000-acre working cattle ranch. Katie commutes back and forth between her farm, Heritage Belle Farms, in Calhan, Colorado, and Sunrise Ranch.
Pasture and Livestock Programs Administrator
Joining Katie on the ranch at Sunrise is Bryce Connor. Bryce was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. Since graduating from high school in 2004, he has worked in Alaska canning salmon, in Arizona with a conservation corps group, and on the Colorado River guiding whitewater rafting trips. Since earning a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Minnesota-Morris, he assisted in youth work before coming to Sunrise Ranch for the 2011 season as a farmhand, and returning in 2012 to assume greater responsibility. These experiences led him to explore a career in holistic pasture management/pastured livestock. Bryce is “thrilled at the opportunity to work on shifting the current agricultural paradigm towards greater sustainability, emphasizing local/seasonal foods, and having a blast while nurturing the land and one another.”
Ranch Foreman
Also on the Ranching Operations Management team is Curt Chesney as the Ranch Foreman. Curt was born and raised in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He has a Bachelor’s in Plastics & Polymers Engineering Technology from Pennsylvania College of Technology. He had been a member of Future Farmers of America for 4 years in high school where he developed an interest in a more sustainable future. This led Curt to enroll in the Permaculture Design Course at Sunrise Ranch and he jumped at the opportunity to join the Ranching Operations Management Team here as the Ranch Foreman. Curt brings his passion for hard work, mechanical ingenuity, visioning possibilities, and excitement around the resource management of our expanding ranching operations. He looks forward to continuing to learn and educate others in the growing field of sustainable agriculture.
Wholesome, Nutritious – Local Grassfed Beef and Pastured Chickens
At Sunrise Ranch we are dedicated to creating healthy soil, the foundation of our pasture and livestock operations. We raise livestock using an integrated system of holistic methods for animal husbandry that is free of potentially harmful chemicals, environmentally responsible, ecologically beneficial, and sustainable agriculture. Our livestock includes grass fed beef, pastured chickens (with an “Eggmobile”), pigs, horses and goats with plans to add Heritage Turkeys to our multi-species Ranch. We incorporate the principles espoused by Holistic Management International and Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms.
For more information, visit the website at http://sunriseranch.org/iha/ or contact the team at [email protected] or call the office at 970-679-4330.
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Vanley Burke
A Retrospective
Author: Mark Sealy
ISBN: 9780853157830 Categories: Books, Culture
Vanley Burke’s photographs represent a sensitive portrayal of black people and their presence in the Midlands. From the inception of early black political pressure groups, to direct state confrontation, Vanley Burke has made a photographic record of his community’s history.
His photographs focus, not only on the collective aspect of the black community, but also on the more personal and quiet moments of people’s daily existence: from baptisms to the child alone in an urban nightmare, weddings and funerals are an all important part of his world view. He dispels myths about black daily life and his photographs provide a rare and affectionate portrayal of his local community.
Vanley Burke’s capacity to capture the ordinary offers us access to a very particular history. His refreshingly understated photographs provide an emphatic view of black people in Britain.
Vanley Burke has been living and working in Birmingham since 1965. He started photographing the community around him in 1967 and has continued to the present day. He has exhibited his work extensively, with individual exhibtions at the Ikon Gallery, the Cornerhouse in Manchester, the Black Arts Gallery in London, The Birmingham Museum and Arts Gallery and the Walsall Museum and Arts Gallery, and in group exhibits throughout the UK. His photos have been used as the opening sequence to the BBC programme Ebony and for record sleeves and book jackets. His work has also been used for videos for the band UB40.
Published in association with Autograph (The Association of Black Photographers) and the Arts Council of Great Britain.
Culture, Politics, Race and Diaspora
Deadly Parallels
Expecting the Earth
Neoliberal Culture
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The old North Neighborhood Library building is expected to be the site of the city’s winter shelter and in the future be developed into affordable housing. File photo by Stephanie Rivera.
Dec 1 2017 10:58 pm
City Council Expected to Vote on Use of Old Library for New Site of Winter Homeless Shelter
Stephanie Rivera
The old North Neighborhood Library building is expected to be the site of the city’s winter shelter. Photo taken Nov. 29 by Stephanie Rivera.
The city’s winter homeless shelter program will operate out of the site of a former Long Beach library in early December after the Long Beach City Council is expected to approve the use of the new location during Tuesday’s council meeting.
While winter shelters countywide are expected to operate December 1 to March 1, this will be the second year in a row that Long Beach delays opening its winter shelter on time. Last year, a change in service providers resulted in the shelter not being operational until December 23.
Following Weeks-Long Delay, Long Beach Winter Shelter Now Open
The issue this time was a search for a new site. In previous years, the winter shelter was in operation in the Atlantic Farms building, located at 6845 Atlantic Avenue, but this time the shelter is expected to operate out of the permanently closed North Neighborhood Library, located at 5571 Orange Avenue.
City health officials were originally tasked earlier this year with operating the winter shelter through November with funding to extend services approved by the County Board of Supervisors in April, but Department of Health and Human Services Director Kelly Colopy said Atlantic Farms was not available for an extension.
County Supervisors Approve Funding Extension for Long Beach’s Winter Shelter
Economic Development Director John Keisler said negotiations are ongoing to purchase the Atlantic Farms site as part of plans to create a permanent homeless shelter in the city—a goal Mayor Robert Garcia announced during his State of the City address at the beginning of this year.
The Orange Avenue site is only being considered for a one-time use as a shelter. Keisler said the city is working on identifying “the highest and best use for the sale and re-use” of that site, which the city owns.
On Tuesday, the agenda item will also recommend council to declare a shelter crisis in the city, a standard procedure during this time that allows the city to utilize certain buildings as a shelter, said Colopy.
While the agenda item states operations can begin December 6, Health and Human Services Bureau Manager Teresa Chandler says it will take a little longer, still expecting it to open its doors by the “beginning of December”.
The site will be operated by U.S. VETS, which was selected by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority—the agency that oversees homeless services county-wide—while the Long Beach Rescue Mission will provide the meals.
Colopy said health officials are working on determining the number of people that can be housed in the facility, with funding at this time available for 100 people.
Once ready, the winter shelter will operate until March 31, 2018 from 5:00PM to 7:00AM daily and individuals hoping to secure a bed will need to find their way to the two assigned pick-up locations, including the city’s Multi-Service Center at 1301 West 12th Street and at Channel Street in San Pedro. A possible third location is being considered.
Details will be released closer to the opening date.
{FG_GEOMAP [33.8575582,-118.1775826] FG_GEOMAP}
Stephanie Rivera is the community engagement editor for the Long Beach Post. After graduating from CSULB with a degree in journalism, Stephanie worked for Patch Latino and City News Service before coming to the Long Beach Post in 2015.
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From the Archives — At the U.S. Supreme Court:
Posted on February 26, 2013 | 1 comment
Originally reported June 2012.
REICHLE VS. HOWARDS
The Supreme Court issued a decision in Reichle v. Howards this week, a case involving a confrontation between then Vice-President Richard Cheney and a member of the public, Steven Howards.
Howards was arrested by members of the Secret Service, agents Reichle and Doyle, after he interacted with the Vice President at a mall in Colorado. Howards was critical of the Vice President, asking him “how many kids he killed that day,” and he also touched the Vice President on the shoulder. When Howards lied about touching the Vice President during subsequent questioning by the Secret Service, he was arrested.
Charges against Howards were dropped, but Howards sued the Secret Service agents, Reichle and Doyle, petitioners in the Supreme Court, claiming his constitutional right to free speech was infringed by the arrest, which he saw as a retaliatory act, resulting from the expression of his political views.
The legal issue of the case at a preliminary stage was the immunity from liability that Secret Service agents should be accorded in the conduct of their official duties. The court accepted certiorari on two related issues concerning such liability.
First, should the agents receive qualified immunity because there was not clearly-established law at the time of the incident — regarding liability for infringement of first amendment rights in the course of an arrest? Qualified immunity shields government officials from civil damages liability, unless the official violated a statutory or constitutional right that was clearly established at the time of the challenged conduct.
Secondly, should the agents receive absolute immunity because there was probable cause for the arrest? The Supreme Court has held that there is absolute immunity from First Amendment claims in the context of retaliatory prosecutions if probable cause existed. Some federal jurisdictions have also held that if there is probable cause for making an arrest, then this is a complete defense to a claim of First Amendment violation by retaliatory arrest.
Both of my earlier podcasts on this case, at the certiorari stage and again at the oral argument stage, focused primarily on the question of whether the legitimate grounds for arrest (probable cause) provided a basis for absolute immunity. As it turns out, the Supreme Court decided not to decide this issue, despite a split of authority in the Circuit Courts of Appeal on this point.
Instead, the Court, with Justice Clarence Thomas writing, in an opinion joined by five justices, held that the law — whether retaliatory arrest could be a basis for liability — was not clearly established at the time of the incident. This, in itself, provided the qualified immunity that would protect the Secret Service agents from suit in this case.
The High Court reversed the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, which had held that the law was clearly established, and that probable cause did not automatically defeat a First Amendment retaliatory arrest claim. Thomas noted that his approach “comports with our usual reluctance to decide constitutional questions unnecessarily.”
In an opinion marked by subtle distinctions, Thomas explained that “courts may grant qualified immunity on the ground that a purported right was not ‘clearly established’ by prior case law, without resolving the often more difficult question whether the purported right exists at all.”
Thomas explained the court’s reasoning: “This clearly established standard protects the balance between vindication of constitutional rights and government officials’ effective performance of their duties, by ensuring that officials can reasonably anticipate when their conduct may give rise to liability for damages.”
Thomas also noted that the Supreme Court’s position on retaliatory prosecution in Hartman v. Moore – a case finding qualified immunity existed in the context of retaliatory prosecution — “injected uncertainty into the law in the tenth as well as other circuits because of the similarity between retaliatory prosecution – for which Hartman held probable cause was a basis for immunity — and retaliatory arrest for which Hartman did not make a determination.
Thomas was careful not to suggest that the instant case decided the issue of absolute immunity either. Instead, he said only that clearly-established law governing liability did not exist at the time of the incident.
Justice Ginsburg, in a concurrence joined by Justice Breyer, agreed that Secret Service agents such as petitioners Reichle and Doyle, were entitled to qualified immunity, saying that their responsibilities protecting officials necessitated immunity so long as their decisions were rational, but Ginsburg would not recognize qualified immunity based on lack of clearly-established law for ordinary law-enforcement officers. Ginsburg distinguished Hartman because retaliatory prosecution was different than what ordinary law enforcement officers consider in terms of arrests. Hartman was inapplicable and thus did not add any confusion to the law as it concerned ordinary law enforcement officers.
The majority found that the clearly-established law standard was not satisfied in the context of First Amendment liability for retaliatory-arrest claims. Uncertainty existed where the Supreme Court had never recognized a First Amendment right to free speech in the face of probable cause for arrest, and there was a split of authority in the circuits on the issue.
Thomas also considered whether there might be clearly-established law within a federal circuit despite conflicting decisions in other circuits, but found, “assuming arguendo that controlling court of appeals authority could be a dispositive source of clearly established law in the circumstances of this case, the Tenth Circuit’s cases do not satisfy the clearly established standard here.”
Justice Kagan did not participate in this case.
Posted in legal, Supreme Court
Tagged Dick Cheney, First Amendment, High Court, probable cause, Qualified Immunity, Richard Cheney, Secret Service, U.S. SUPREME COURT, Vice President Cheney
At the U.S. Supreme Court:
Bond vs. The United States
The US Supreme Court accepted certiorari this week in the case Bond vs. The United States. In 2011 the high court decided, as a preliminary issue in the same case, that petitioner Carole Bond of Pennsylvania had standing to challenge her prosecution under federal law. Bond had been prosecuted in federal court under the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act, which criminalized the use of chemicals as chemical weapons under American law in conjunction with the adoption and implementation under international treaty of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The facts, which led to Bond’s prosecution, concern her attempt to injure or kill a former friend after the woman was discovered to have had an affair with and to have had a child with Bond’s husband. Bond was a microbiologist and when she decided to harm her former friend, she relied on her professional expertise to employ toxic chemical compounds in her assault. Over a period of three months Bond repeatedly applied two different chemical compounds on the victim’s house and car door handles and mailbox. The victim observed and avoided the chemicals on several occasions. She alerted the local police but the police did not identify the chemicals or find evidence that linked them to Bond. At one point the victim did receive a minor burn on her thumb from contact with the chemicals. A federal investigation by the postal service determined that the substances were toxic chemicals 10-chlorophenoxarsine and potassium dichromate and traced the evidence to Bond. Bond was arrested and prosecuted by federal authorities and eventually pled guilty to violations of the chemical weapons implementation act and was sentenced to six years in prison, although she reserved her right to appeal.
After the Supreme Court decided that Bond had standing to challenge her federal prosecution, her case was remanded to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. There Bond argued that her case was essentially a local criminal matter appropriately subject to state criminal law relating to assault. Her constitutional claim was that the federal government did not have power to step into the area of state criminal law and to prosecute her under the Chemical Weapons Act.
Bond is not disputing that there are federal crimes, such as an attack on a federal official. But Bond argues that the government must derive its authority in federal criminal law from the substantive federal issue involved. Here the only federal issue was that there was an international treaty and the substantive federal legislation had been enacted to implement the treaty.
Bond argued that the Chemical Weapons legislation was meant to prohibit the use of chemicals in warfare. This would be a legitimate federal purpose as the federal government has authority through the constitutional roles of the executive and congress related to warfare. However, in applying the Chemical Weapons law outside of the context of war in an area of criminal law where the states had traditional authority, Bond argued the prosecution violated the 10th Amendment protection of state authority from encroachment by the federal government.
The Chemical Weapons Act law does not only regulate the type of chemical that are so dangerous that they are only found in military stockpiles. It applies broadly to any chemical that “through its chemical action on life processes can cause death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm to humans or animals.”
However, the Act is limited by an exclusion of chemicals that are used for any “peaceful purpose related to an industrial, agricultural, research, medical or pharmaceutical activity or other activity.
Bond claimed that her prosecution under federal law violated the constitution because the facts of her case should not be seen as presenting use of a chemical weapon. Since the government did prosecute her under that theory, Bond argued the federal chemical weapons statute intruded on state authority in its application to her.
The Court of Appeals rejected Bond’s challenge to her prosecution. The Third Circuit found that the fact that Congress had enacted the Chemical Weapons Implementation Act in order to meet the government’s obligations under the treaty was sufficient to confer federal authority. Congress has the authority to enact legislation to implement a valid treaty under the Constitution’s Necessary and Proper Clause. The Third Circuit did not consider there to be limits on that authority once conferred. The third circuit decision raised the question of whether it made sense for such an expansion of federal authority based upon a treaty negotiated with another country, and this was expressly contained in a concurrence, but the Court believed it was bound by an earlier Supreme Court case, Missouri v. Holland from 1920, which stated in dictum that “if [a] treaty is valid there can be no dispute about the validity of the statue [implementing that treaty] under Art 1, Section 8, as a necessary and proper means to execute the powers of the Government.” The Third Circuit concluded that principles of federalism “will ordinarily impose no limitation on Congress’s ability to write laws supporting treaties.”
Dictum is language in an opinion or decision by a court that is not fundamental to the holding of the case. Dictum is not given the weight of precedent, but where the dictum is from a Supreme Court decision lower courts look to the language of the high court for the Court’s reasoning and interpretation.
In fact, there is a split of authorities in the circuit courts of appeal as to whether a valid treaty can expand the federal governments constitutional authority beyond enumerated powers. The Ninth Circuit considered a closely related question of the effect of a treaty’s impact and concluded, that “treaty provisions which create domestic law and have the same effect as legislation must be subject to the same substantive limitations as any other legislation.” The 2nd and 11th circuits have followed Holland, while other circuits not. In addition, Holland was decided in 1920 and more recent judicial trends towards federalism and states rights call in to question the applicability of the language contained in Holland.
The Supreme Court will hear argument on Bond v. the United States later this term.
Tagged Bond vs. The United States, Chemical Weapons Ban, Hague Convention
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Prof. Dr. habil. Vytautas OSTAŠEVIČIUS, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Prof. Dr. Romualdas DUNDULIS, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Scientific Secretary
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saulius DILIŪNAS, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Members of Editorial Board
Prof. Dr. Žilvinas BAZARAS, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Dr. Eric COURTEILLE, Laboratory of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, INSA Rennes, France
Prof. Dr. Olaf DAMBON, Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology, Germany
Prof. Dr. habil. Mykolas DAUNYS, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Prof. Dr. habil. Algimantas FEDARAVIČIUS, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Prof. Dr. Rimvydas GAIDYS, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Prof. Dr. Sc. Rivner GANIEV, Institute of Machine Science of Russian Academy of Science, Russian Federation
dr. Harun GÖKÇE, TUBITAK Defense Industries Research and Development Institute, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Petro YASNIY, Ternopil Ivan Pul‘uj State Technikal University, Ukraine
Prof. Dr. Vytenis JANKAUSKAS, Aleksandras Stulginskis University, Lithuania
prof. dr. Giedrius JANUŠAS, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Prof. Dr. habil. Antoni JOHN, Silesian University of technology, Poland
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kazimieras JUZĖNAS, Kaunas University of Technology Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Design, Lithuania
Prof. Dr. habil. Rimantas KAČIANAUSKAS, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Lithuania
prof. Sergei KRUCHININ, National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Ukraine
Prof. Paolo M.S. TAVARES DE CASTRO, University of Porto, Portugal
prof. habil. dr. Arvydas PALEVIČIUS, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Prof. Andre PREUMONT, Free University of Brussels, Belgium
Prof. Dr. habil. Kazimieras RAGULSKIS, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Prof. Alberto ROVETTA, Politechnika of Milano, Italy
Prof. Richard F. SALANT, Georgia Institute of Technology, United States
Prof. Serge SAMPER, The University of Savoy, France
Prof. Dr. Petr ŠTEMBERK, Czech Technical University in Prague Faculty of Civil Engineering
Prof. Miguel A. F. SANJUAN, The University of Rey Juan Carlos, Spain
Prof. dr. Rimantas VAIČAITIS, Columbia University, United States
Dr. Andrius VILKAUSKAS, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Prof. Dr. habil. Antanas ŽILIUKAS, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
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← MAS-D100180 : Post medieval cannon
MAS-D100183 : Post medieval unidentified object →
Find consists of two sections of timber or wood. The first measures approximately 1650 mm in length, 85 mm in width and 90 mm in depth. There are no diagnostic elements visible upon the timber, such as tool marks or fixing points, and therefore its function remains unknown. It does, however, appear to be faced and is therefore unlikely to be a piece of natural driftwood.
The second piece of wood measures approximately 196 mm in length and 20 mm in width. There is at least one possible nail hole visible and again it appears to have been faced or worked by human hands. It is heavily degraded and this, coupled with a lack of diagnostic details, preclude any comment on its original function or use.
Both pieces of timber appear to have been at least prepared for use by human action, though how they came to be in the sea or when is unknown at this point. It may be that they relate to ships timbers, originating from a wreck or discarded overboard, part of shoreline installations, such as a pier or jetty, or simpley be lost cargo from a ship carrying timber as cargo. The nail hole in the second piece suggests that this has been used and is therefore unlikely to be cargo, whereas the lack of bolt holes or othwer fixings on the larger timber may suggest the opposite.
The fact that the larger timber was photographed with with a swivel gun (MAS-D100180) may indicate that it was recovered from the same area on the seabed.
Class: SHIP
Sub class: Timber
Thickness: 90 mm
Completeness: Fragment
1:10K map: SY61NW
Section of highly degraded timber measuring approximately 216 mm in length by 31 mm at its widest point. The ends taper to a point, in a regul…
Object type: NAIL
The find consists of 8 iron nails and an unidentifiable object that contains one further nail and is made of, or covered in, what appears to b…
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Posted on December 11, 1993 July 31, 2019 by hausofmarsian in BAGLY (The Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth), Boston, Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, LGBT, Marsian De Lellis
On December 11, 1993, The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story on the Gay and Lesbian Student Rights Law which I had worked on.
More from Inquirer Wire Service:
The governor signed the bill into law. The rule allows homosexual rights suits against districts.
Boston – Spurred by an extraordinary crusade by hundreds of students, Massachusetts became the first state in the nation yesterday to ban discrimination against homosexual and lesbian students in public schools.
Republican Governor William Weld signed into law a bill that affirms the rights of gay and lesbian students and allows them to initiate lawsuits against school systems that discriminate or subject them to harassment.
The Gay and Lesbian Students Rights Bill was approved by the state Senate on Monday after a campaign by about 500 high school students who held candlelight vigils and lobbied their legislators. Some testified before the Senate that they had been ridiculed, attacked and insulted a school for being gay.
“This is the single greatest victory that gay youth in America have ever won,” said David Lafontaine, political director of the state Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights.
“This is a bill of rights for every young gay person in our public schools. They now have a legal weapon to [combat] name-calling, hatred and violence that drives so many gay teens to attempt suicide or drop out of school,” Lafontaine said.
Some school systems have gay rights policies, but no other state has adopted a law that flatly bans discrimination against gays in schools said the group Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, which is based in Washington.
In 1989, Massachusetts became the second state, behind Wisconsin, to enact a gay rights law that banned discrimination against homosexuals in housing, credit and employment.
Weld, a Republican, “feels schools should be places where students can learn,” said spokeswoman Virginia Buckingham. “No one should be discriminated against based on their sexual preference.”
Opponents of gay rights condemned Weld’s “total subservience to the homosexual lobby.”
“The next step is homosexual programs in public schools that specifically affirm the gay lifestyle, and that will be done at taxpayer expense,” said C.J. Doyle, director of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.
Tagged Boston, Bullying, civil rights, David LaFontaine, Governor Weld, LGBT, LGBTQ, Massachusetts, PFLAG, Philadelphia Inquirer, Queer, William Weld
Previous Post Channel 56 WLVI, Boston
Next Post In Newsweekly 12/13/1993
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The Investor 26 February 2011
HomeThe Investor 26 February 2011
This article was published on 26 February 2011. Some information may be out of date.
More reasons to get young into savings accounts
An article I read recently made me more convinced that it’s good to sign up children into savings accounts.
When KiwiSaver started, in 2007, I was telling everyone to get their kids into the scheme. But then the government phased out the $40 annual fee subsidy — and this affected children more than adults.
Why? Let’s start with the fact that children under 18 don’t receive the tax credit, nor compulsory employer contributions.
It makes sense, therefore, to make no further contributions after opening a child’s account and getting the $1,000 kick-start. Any extra input is not matched by government or employer money, and the money is tied up until the account holder buys a first home or retires. It’s probably better to save elsewhere, so the child can later use the money for education or to start a business.
Because of this, many children’s KiwiSaver accounts hold just the kick-start — or not much more. And that was fine while the fee subsidy was available. The $40 covered all or most fees, so accounts could grow over the years.
However, without the fee subsidy it’s possible that fees will exceed returns. With no new contributions, the balance will decrease. A child in KiwiSaver from babyhood could have a lower balance at 18 than a classmate who has just signed up.
I’m not saying this is likely. Long-term returns usually exceed fees. But the possibility has dampened my enthusiasm for putting kids into the scheme.
Then I read the article, by Professor Julian Le Grand of the London School of Economics, about several “longitudinal studies” — which look at the same people over a long period.
The research “showed that young adults with a small amount of capital at the beginning of adulthood had a significant advantage ten years later over those who did not, with more employment, higher earnings and better health,” said Le Grand.
Well yes, I thought, but they probably also had parents who encouraged good habits. But that was covered. The researchers found the effect after taking into account differences in income, family background and education,
“Ownership of even a small amount of capital assets encouraged people to invest, to save and to think about the future,” said Le Grand. They gained “a psychological and economic independence of position and thought.”
It’s quite feasible, really. It’s about having a stake in the system.
There’s also another advantage of getting children into KiwiSaver. If they are not in the scheme at 18, many won’t get around to joining, at least for a few years. And even two years can make a huge difference to total retirement savings.
Assume Bill is the exception, who joins KiwiSaver at 18. He contributes 2 per cent of his pay, which starts at $50,000 and rises 3 per cent a year. If the account earns 5 per cent a year after fees and taxes, it will total about $800,000 when Bill is 65.
Meanwhile, Jill doesn’t join until 20. Her pay, contributions and KiwiSaver returns are the same as Bill’s. At 65, her account will total only about $709,000.
Why such a big difference? Firstly, when balances are big, they grow fast. Two more years of 5 per cent growth turns $709,000 into nearly $782,000.
Secondly, by the time he is 63, Bill’s pay will have way more than tripled. So two more years of contributions are noticeable, even if the government’s maximum tax credit stays at $1043.
Still need convincing to sign up the kids in KiwiSaver? The government — strapped for cash — could reduce the kick-start. Get in while it’s still $1000.
No paywalls or ads — just generous people like you. All Kiwis deserve accurate, unbiased financial guidance. So let’s keep it free. Can you help? Every bit makes a difference.
Mary Holm is a freelance journalist, a director of Financial Services Complaints Ltd (FSCL), a seminar presenter and a bestselling author on personal finance. From 2011 to 2019 she was a founding director of the Financial Markets Authority. Her opinions are personal, and do not reflect the position of any organisation in which she holds office. Mary’s advice is of a general nature, and she is not responsible for any loss that any reader may suffer from following it.
Children and moneyKiwiSaverSaving
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Florida Lawmaker Wants Mar-A-Lago Punished For Mask Free New Year’s Eve Party
By CBSMiami.com Team January 5, 2021 at 11:03 am
Filed Under:Local TV, Mar-a-Lago, Miami News
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami/AP) – Videos of a mostly maskless crowd of 500 on New Year’s Eve which shows them singing, shouting, and dancing has drawn the ire of one Florida lawmaker who wants President Donald Trump’s private club temporarily closed and fined for possibly violating local coronavirus ordinances.
Democratic state Rep. Omari Hardy filed a complaint with Palm Beach County, urging it to take action against Mar-a-Lago, writing “as far as I know, the law still applies to the President and his businesses.”
The county ordinance says indoor businesses must require patrons and employees to wear masks when they are not eating or drinking. The maximum fine for a first violation is $250.
Hardy, who represents a nearby district that is predominately African American, said he was “furious” when he saw photos and videos of the $1,000-per-person party posted on social media. They show patrons packed together on the dance floor as rapper Vanilla Ice, Beach Boys co-founder Mike Love and singer Taylor Dayne performed. He said the partygoers’ actions endangered the club’s staff and the local community.
“My constituents have been disproportionately affected by every aspect of this virus — medically, educationally, and economically,” said Hardy, adding he wore a mask at his wedding a month ago and hasn’t hugged his mother in 10 months. “But these out-of-towners for one night couldn’t wear a mask. It is offensive and disrespectful.”
More than 22,000 Floridians have died of COVID-19.
‘I Feel Stupid’: Fort Lauderdale Woman Claims She’s Out $50,000 After Being Duped By Accused Ponzi Schemer’
It’s Getting More Expensive To Live In South Florida
Extended Jobless Benefits From Stimulus Package Becoming Available For Floridians
Todd Bonlarron, the county’s assistant administrator, said Monday he has forwarded Hardy’s complaint to the county’s COVID education team, which will investigate and could impose punishment. He said Mar-a-Lago will be treated just like any other business and a decision should be made shortly. He said he is not aware of any previous complaints against the club.
Trump had been scheduled to attend Thursday night’s party, but he left Mar-a-Lago a few hours before it began as he spent the weekend trying to overturn his election defeat to President-elect Joe Biden. His sons Don Jr. and Eric attended along with his attorney Rudy Giuliani, Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro, and U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican who is one of the president’s staunchest supporters.
“This is amazing. Vanilla Ice is playing the Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve party. As a child of the 90s, you can’t fathom how awesome that is,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote on a Facebook post that included a video of the party. The video showed tightly packed attendees bouncing and singing along as the rapper performed his decades-old hit, “Ice Ice Baby.”
Mar-a-Lago managing director Bernd Lembcke and the Trump Organization did not return calls Monday seeking comment.
Last month, a Mar-a-Lago neighbor filed a complaint with the Town of Palm Beach challenging Trump’s possible move to Mar-a-Lago after he leaves office this month. When the town agreed in 1993 to convert the private residence into a club, his attorney said he would no longer live there. The town has not announced any decision on that complaint.
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Armenia’s attack against Tovuz is also an attack against Europe’s energy security
Dr. Esmira Jafarova
The recent escalation of tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, this time along the international border in the direction of the Tovuz district of Azerbaijan in the aftermath of an armed attack launched by Armenia on July12–14, 2020,had been brewing for some time before finally boiling over into full-fledged military clashes, the worst in recent years, that caused causalities and destruction on both sides. Azerbaijan lost more than 10 servicemen, including one general and a 76-year-old civilian. There are many reasons why this attack happened in this particular border area (and not along the Line of Contact, as usual) and at this particular time, but in this piece I want specifically to focus on one of them and, in concurrence with other internationally recognized scholars in this field, assert that this attack against Azerbaijan should be considered as an attack against Europe’s energy security and well-being.
To begin, a brief review of the history of recent developments in conflict resolution testifies that, although the year 2019 was relatively incident free along the Line of Contact between the Armed Forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and for the first time in many years mutual visits of journalists took pace, the year was also identified as the “lost year for the conflict settlement” owing to the lack of progress in the negotiations. This absence of progress was accompanied by incendiary rhetoric employed by Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan who, having ascended to power on the back of the many alluring promises of the so-called “Velvet Revolution,” found himself grappling to deliver on those ambitious reform pledges. The harbingers of heightening hostility were seen in Pashinyan’s infamous declaration during the pan-Armenian games held in Khankendi on August 5,2019, when he said that “Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenia, and that is all;” as well as his continuous insistence on changing the negotiation format –already established by the relevant decisions of the OSCE –to include representatives of the puppet regime in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region as an independent party to the peace negotiations.
The year 2020 started off with the January meeting of the Foreign Ministers in Geneva, and in April and June two virtual meetings were held because of COVID-19 lockdowns; however, hopes for any positive progress quickly subsided in the wake of other negative developments. The so-called “parliamentary and presidential elections” that were held by Armenia in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan on March31, 2020, were condemned by the international community. These mock elections later culminated in the Shusha provocation,in which the “newly elected president” of the puppet regime in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan was “inaugurated” in Shusha – a city that carries great moral significance for Azerbaijan. The last straw in a hostile build-up was the denial by Pashinyan of Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s comments about a staged, step-by-step solution to the conflict; Pashinyan denied that this was ever the subject of negotiations. The very recent threats by the Armenian Ministry of Defense, which publicly threatened “to occupy new advantageous positions” in Azerbaijan, further testified to the increasingly militaristic mood among Armenia’s upper echelons.
This litany of discouraging events relating to the peace process over the last year and a half in some ways heralded what we witnessed on July12–14, 2020.This attack against Azerbaijan along the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan reflects the deep frustration of the Pashinyan regime in its inability to bring about the promised changes. Economic problems were heightened by the COVID-19-induced challenge and decreasing foreign assistance, and this was all happening against the backdrop of Azerbaijan’s increasing successes domestically, economically and internationally. Azerbaijan has long been established as an important provider of energy security and sustainable development for Europe through the energy projects that it is implementing together with its international partners. The Baku–Tbilisi–Supsa Western Export (1998) and Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (2005) oil pipelines and Baku–Tbilisi–Erzurum (2006) gas pipeline have enhanced Azerbaijan’s role as an energy producing and exporting country, and the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) is already becoming a reality. This 3500-km-long Corridor comprises four segments – the Shah Deniz-II project, Southern Caucasus Pipeline Extension (SCPX), Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and its final portion, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). The Corridor passes through seven countries – Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania and Italy – with Italy being the final destination receiving Caspian gas. Turkey is already receiving gas via TANAP and is contracted to accept up to 6 billion cubic meters of gas via this pipeline. Europe is expected to receive 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas per year, and the first gas has already arrived on Albanian territory. The SGC is scheduled to be fully operational by fall 2020 and TAP is almost complete. Things are progressing uninhibitedly and even the COVID-19 pandemic has been unable topreventthe success of the SGC. This Corridor stands as one of the guarantors of Europe’s energy security by providing diversification of energy sources and routes, even despite Europe’s Green Deal, which also acknowledges the continent’s long-term demand for gas.
Such critical infrastructure, vital for Europe’s energy security, passes close to the border area that includes the Tovuz district attacked by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia on July12–14. Armenia is the only country in the South Caucasus that is isolated from these regional energy projects owing to its policy of expansion and occupation. It is thus the only country that does not have anything to losefrom creating chaos and destruction around this critical energy infrastructure. Jealousy and the feeling of self-imposed isolation from all regional cooperation initiatives have no doubt increased Armenia’s hostility toward these energy projects. Further vivid evidence of Armenia’s belligerence against Azerbaijan’s energy infrastructure was provided by its threat to attack the Mingachevir Dam, a civilian infrastructure project that is also a vital component of Azerbaijan’s largest hydroelectric power plant. Hydroelectric power comprises the largest component in Azerbaijan’s renewable energy potential, today standing at around 17–18%ofthe overall energy balance of the country. It is not difficult to imagine the magnitude of civilian causalities in case such a destruction materializes.
By conducting this act of aggression against Azerbaijan along the international border in the direction of Tovuz, Armenia wanted firstly, to divert attention from its own internal problems. Secondly, the regime desired to disguise its failures on the international front, especially recently when Azerbaijan initiated the summoning of a special session of the United Nations General Assembly related to COVID-19,convened on July 10, that was supported by more than 130 members of the UN. Thirdly, Armenia wanted to drag in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) against Azerbaijan by invoking Article 4, which states: “… if one of the States Parties is subjected to aggression by any state or group of states, then this will be considered as aggression against all States Parties to this Treaty…”.Fourthly, and the central thesis of this article, Armenia intended to target critical energy infrastructure implemented by Azerbaijan and its international partners, thereby jeopardizing the energy security of not only the neighboring region, but also of the greater European continent. The aforementioned existing oil and gas infrastructure aside, the SGC is set to be fully operational by fall 2020, and this multibillion-dollar megaproject offers economic, social and many other benefits to all participating countries involved in the construction and implementation of this project. Any damage to this critical infrastructure would deal a heavy blow to the current and future sustainable development of Europe.
Europe must therefore be vigilant regarding such provocations. International actors, including the European Union,OSCE Minsk Group, United Nations, United States, and the Russian Federation, called for an immediate cessation of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan. However, given what is at stake,including this time the crucial energy infrastructure, had Armenia’sattack not been proportionately parried by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, the statement made by the European Union about this recent military attack could have contained stronger language beyond just “…urging both sides to stop the armed confrontation, refrain from action and rhetoric that provoke tension, and undertake immediate measures to prevent further escalation… .” Naming and shaming the aggressor appropriately is indispensable in this situation. As Mr. Hikmat Hajiyev, Head of Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration and Adviser to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Foreign Affairs, also noted: “the EU should distinguish between the aggressor and the subject of aggression.”
In the 21st century, the international community should not tolerate such flagrant violations of international law; disrespect of UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874, and 884) and other relevant international documents calling for an end to the occupation of Azerbaijani territories; and the feeling of impunity in instigating an attack against a sovereign state, a neighbor, and a crucial player in the realization of critical energy infrastructure projects key to Europe’s own energy security. Azerbaijan has long put up with such aggression and the occupation of its internationally recognized territories in Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent districts, and has opted for negotiations toward a peaceful solution of the conflict. Yet the aggressor cannot be allowed to continue its attacks against other parts of Azerbaijan– this time Tovuz –thereby jeopardizing not only the latter, but also energy security and sustainable development of the greater European continent just because such provocations seem to offer an escape from the regime’s domestic and external problems. Such practices should be condemned in the strongest possible terms. This should be done not only for the sake of Azerbaijan and regional security in the South Caucasus, but in the name of Europe’s own energy security and well-being.
Related Topics:ArmeniaAzerbaijanEnergySecurity
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Dr. Esmira Jafarova is the Board Member of the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center), Baku, Azerbaijan.
Maritime Border Dispute: The South Lebanon Crisis
The Urgency of Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) for Indonesia’s Energy Security
Security Council has critical role in addressing fragility and conflict
Indonesian Coal Roadmap: Optimizing Utilization amid Global Tendency to Phasing Out
Razin Abdullah
Authors: Razin Abdullah and Luky Yusgiantoro*
Indonesia is potentially losing state revenue of around USD 1.64-2.5 billion per year from the coal tax and non-tax revenues. Although currently Indonesia has abundant coal resources, especially thermal coal, the coal market is gradually shrinking. This shrinking market will negatively impact Indonesia’s economy. The revenue can be used for developing the country, such as for the provision of public infrastructures, improving public education and health services and many more.
One of the main causes of the shrinking coal market is the global tendency to shift to renewable energy (RE). Therefore, a roadmap is urgently needed by Indonesia as a guideline for optimizing the coal management so that it can be continuously utilized and not become neglected natural resources. The Indonesian Coal Roadmap should also offer detailed guidance on utilizing coal for the short-term, medium-term and long-term.
Why is the roadmap needed?
Indonesia’s total coal reserves is around 37.6 billion tons. If there are no additional reserves and the assumed production rate is 600 million tons/year, then coal production can continue for another 62 years. Even though Indonesia’s coal production was enormous, most of it was for export. In 2019, the export reached 454.5 million tons or almost 74% of the total production. Therefore, it shows a strong dependency of the Indonesian coal market on exports, with China and India as the main destinations. The strong dependency and the global trend towards clean energy made the threat of Indonesian coal abandonment increasingly real.
China, one of Indonesia’s main coal export destinations, has massive coal reserves and was the world’s largest coal producer. In addition, China also has the ambition to become a carbon-free country by 2060, following the European Union countries, which are targeting to achieve it in 2050. It means China and European Union countries would not produce more carbon dioxide than they captured by 2060 and 2050, respectively. Furthermore, India and China have the biggest and second-biggest solar park in the world. India leads with the 2.245GW Bhadla solar park, while China’s Qinghai solar park has a capacity of 2.2GW. Those two solar parks are almost four times larger than the U.S.’ biggest solar farm with a capacity of 579 MW. The above factors raise concerns that China and India, as the main export destinations for Indonesian coal, will reduce their coal imports in the next few years.
The indications of a global trend towards RE can be seen from the energy consumption trend in the U.S. In 2019, U.S. RE consumption exceeded coal for the first time in over 130 years. During 2008-2019, there has been a significant decrease in U.S coal consumption, down by around 49%. Therefore, without proper coal management planning and demand from abroad continues to decline, Indonesia will lose a large amount of state revenue. The value of the remaining coal resources will also drop drastically.
Besides the global market, the domestic use of coal is mostly intended for electricity generation. With the aggressive development of RE power plant technology, the generation prices are getting cheaper. Sooner or later, the RE power plant will replace the conventional coal power plant. Therefore, it is necessary to emphasize efforts to diversify coal products by promoting the downstream coal industries in the future Indonesian Coal Roadmap.
What should be included: the short-term plan
In designing the Indonesian Coal Roadmap, a special attention should be paid to planning the diversification of export destinations and the diversification of coal derivative products. In the short term, it is necessary to study the potential of other countries for the Indonesian coal market so that Indonesia is not only dependent on China and India. As for the medium and long term, it is necessary to plan the downstream coal industry development and map the future market potential.
For the short-term plan, the Asian market is still attractive for Indonesian coal. China and India are expected to continue to use a massive amount of coal. Vietnam is also another promising prospective destination. Vietnam is projected to increase its use of coal amidst the growing industrial sector. In this plan, the Indonesian government plays an essential role in building political relations with these countries so that Indonesian coal can be prioritized.
What should be included: the medium and long-term plans
For the medium and long-term plans, it is necessary to integrate the coal supply chain, the mining site and potential demand location for coal. Therefore, the coal logistics chain becomes more optimal and efficient, according to the mining site location, type of coal, and transportation mode to the end-user. Mapping is needed both for conventional coal utilization and downstream activities.
Particularly for the downstream activities, the roadmap needs to include a map of the low-rank coal (LRC) potentials in Indonesia, which can be used for coal gasification and liquefaction. Coal gasification can produce methanol, dimethyl ether (a substitute for LPG) and, indirectly, produce synthetic oil. Meanwhile, the main product of coal liquefaction is synthetic oil, which can substitute conventional oil fuels. By promoting the downstream coal activities, the government can increase coal’s added value, get a multiplier effect, and reduce petroleum products imports.
The Indonesian Coal Roadmap also needs to consider related existing and planned regulations so that it does not cause conflicts in the future. In designing the roadmap, the government needs to involve relevant stakeholders, such as business entities, local governments and related associations.
The roadmap is expected not only to regulate coal business aspects but also to consider environmental aspects. The abandoned mine lands can be used for installing a solar farm, providing clean energy for the country. Meanwhile, the coal power plant is encouraged to use clean coal technology (CCT). CCT includes carbon capture storage (CCS), ultra-supercritical, and advanced ultra-supercritical technologies, reducing emissions from the coal power plant.
*Luky Yusgiantoro, Ph.D. A governing board member of The Purnomo Yusgiantoro Center (PYC).
Riccardo Toxiri
photo: IRENA
Renewable energy is at the heart of global efforts to secure a sustainable future. Partnering with young people to amplify calls for the global energy transition is an essential part of this endeavour, as they represent a major driver of development, social change, economic growth, innovation and environmental protection. In recent years, young people have become increasingly involved in shaping the sustainable development discourse, and have a key role to play in propelling climate change mitigation efforts within their respective communities.
Therefore, how might we best engage this new generation of climate champions to accentuate their role in the ongoing energy transition? In short, engagement begins with information and awareness. Young people must be exposed to the growing body of knowledge and perspectives on renewable energy technologies and be encouraged to engage in peer-to-peer exchanges on the subject via new platforms.
To this end, IRENA convened the first IRENA Youth Forum in Abu Dhabi in January 2020, bringing together young people from more than 35 countries to discuss their role in accelerating the global energy transformation. The Forum allowed participants to take part in a truly global conversation, exchanging views with each other as well as with renewable energy experts and representatives from governments around the world, the private sector and the international community.
Similarly, the IRENA Youth Talk webinar, organised in collaboration with the SDG 7 Youth Constituency of the UN Major Group for Children and Youth, presented the views of youth leaders, to identify how young people can further the promotion of renewables through entrepreneurship that accelerates the energy transition.
For example, Joachim Tamaro’s experience in Kenya was shared in the Youth Talk, illustrating how effective young entrepreneurs can be as agents of change in their communities. He is currently working on the East Africa Geo-Aquacultural Development Project – a venture that envisages the use of solar energy to power refrigeration in rural areas that rely on fishing for their livelihoods. The project will also use geothermal-based steam for hatchery, production, processing, storage, preparation and cooking processes.
It is time for governments, international organisations and other relevant stakeholders to engage with young people like Joachim and integrate their contributions into the broader plan to accelerate the energy transition, address climate change and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Agenda.
Business incubators, entrepreneurship accelerators and innovation programmes can empower young people to take their initiatives further. They can give young innovators and entrepreneurs opportunities to showcase and implement their ideas and contribute to their communities’ economic and sustainable development. At the same time, they also allow them to benefit from technical training, mentorship and financing opportunities.
Governments must also engage young people by reflecting their views and perspectives when developing policies that aim to secure a sustainable energy future, not least because it is the youth of today who will be the leaders of tomorrow.
Akhmad Hanan
Authors:Akhmad Hanan and Dr. Luky Yusgiantoro*
Indonesia is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, which has great potential for natural disasters. These disasters have caused damage to energy infrastructure and casualties. Natural disasters usually cut the energy supply chain in an area, causing a shortage of fuel supply and power outages.
Besides natural disasters, energy crisis events occur mainly due to the disruption of energy supplies. This is because of the disconnection of energy facilities and infrastructure by natural disasters, criminal and terrorist acts, escalation in regional politics, rising oil prices, and others. With strategic national energy reserves, particularly strategic petroleum reserves (SPR), Indonesia can survive the energy crisis if it has.
Until now, Indonesia does not have an SPR. Meanwhile, fuel stocks owned by business entities such as PT Pertamina (Persero) are only categorized as operational reserves. The existing fuel stock can only guarantee 20 days of continuity. Whereas in theory, a country has secured energy security if it has a guaranteed energy supply with affordable energy prices, easy access for the people, and environmentally friendly. With current conditions, Indonesia still does not have guaranteed energy security.
Indonesian Law mandates that to ensure national energy security, the government is obliged to provide national energy reserves. This reserve can be used at any time for conditions of crisis and national energy emergencies. It has been 13 years since the energy law was issued, Indonesia does not yet have an SPR.
Lessons from other countries
Many countries in the world have SPR, and its function is to store crude oil and or fuel oil. SPR is built by many developed countries, especially countries that are members of the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA was formed due to the disruption of oil supply in the 1970s. To avoid the same thing happening again, the IEA has made a strategic decision by obliging member countries to keep in the SPR for 90 days.
As one of the member countries, the US has the largest SPR in the world. Its storage capacity reaches a maximum of 714 million barrels (estimated to equal 115 days of imports) to mitigate the impact of disruption in the supply of petroleum products and implement US obligations under the international energy program. The US’ SPR is under the control of the US Department of Energy and is stored in large underground salt caves at four locations along the Gulf of Mexico coastline.
Besides the US, Japan also has the SPR. Japan’s SPR capacity is 527 million barrels (estimated to equal 141 days of imports). SPR Japan priority is used for disaster conditions. For example, in 2011, when the nuclear reactor leak occurred at the Fukushima nuclear power plant due to the Tsunami, Japan must find an energy alternative. Consequently, Japan must replace them with fossil fuel power plants, mainly gas and oil stored in SPR.
China, Thailand, and India also have their own SPR. China has an SPR capacity of 400-900 million barrels, Thailand 27.6 million barrels, and India 37.4 million barrels. Singapore does not have an SPR. However, Singapore has operational reserve in the form of fuel stock for up to 90 days which is longer than Indonesia.
Indonesia really needs SPR
The biggest obstacles of developing SPR in Indonesia are budget availability, location selection, and the absence of any derivative regulations from the law. Under the law, no agency has been appointed and responsible for building and managing SPR. Also, government technical regulations regarding the existence and management of SPR in Indonesia is important.
The required SPR capacity in Indonesia can be estimated by calculating the daily consumption from the previous year. For 2019, the national average daily consumption of fuel is 2.6 million kiloliters per day. With the estimation of 90 days of imports, Indonesia’s SPR capacity must at least be more than 100 million barrels to be used in emergencies situations.
For selecting SPR locations, priority can be given to areas that have safe geological structures. East Kalimantan is suitable to be studied as an SPR placement area. It is also geologically safe from disasters and is also located in the middle of Indonesia. East Kalimantan has the Balikpapan oil refinery with the capacity of 260,000 BPD for SPR stock. For SPR funding solution, can use the state budget with a long-term program and designation as a national strategic project.
Another short-term solution for SPR is to use or lease existing oil tankers around the world that are not being used. Should the development of SPR be approved by the government, then the international shipping companies may be able to contribute to its development.
China currently dominates oil tanker shipping in the world, Indonesia can work with China to lease and become Indonesia’s SPR. Actually, this is a good opportunity at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic because oil prices are falling. It would be great if Indonesia could charter some oil tankers and buy fuel to use as SPR. This solution was very interesting while the government prepared long-term planning for the SPR facility. In this way, Indonesia’s energy security will be more secure.
*Dr. Luky Yusgiantoro, governing board member of The Purnomo Yusgiantoro Center (PYC).
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The Effect of Inhibitors of Transcription and Translation on Chromosomal Proteins
ERICH WEISS and PETER C. HEINRICH
Molecular Pharmacology November 1978, 14 (6) 1148-1155;
ERICH WEISS
Department of Biochemistry, University of Freiburg, D-7800 Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Str. 7, Germany
PETER C. HEINRICH
Erratum for Volume 14, No. 6, November 1978 - May 01, 1979
After the administration of actinomycin D, α-amanitin and D-galactosamine, the [3H]-leucine incorporation into total rat liver proteins and into nonhistone chromosomal proteins decreased to about 50% and 20% of controls, respectively. At a low dose of cycloheximide the [3H]leucine incorporation into nonhistone chromosomal proteins was unaffected, while the incorporation into total liver proteins was decreased to 35% of controls. The nonhistone chromosomal protein to DNA ratios changed to 94%, 78%, 149% and 66% of the controls after actinomycin D, α-amanitin, cycloheximide and D-galactosamine, respectively. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed different changes in the nonhistone chromosomal protein patterns after the administration of actinomycin D, α-amanitin, cycloheximide and D-galactosamine. The findings are discussed with respect to possible mechanisms involved in liver cell death.
Copyright © 1978 by Academic Press, Inc.
MolPharm articles become freely available 12 months after publication, and remain freely available for 5 years.
You are going to email the following The Effect of Inhibitors of Transcription and Translation on Chromosomal Proteins
Molecular Pharmacology November 1, 1978, 14 (6) 1148-1155;
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SXSW 2019 Parties & RSVPs
KUTX Announces SXSW 2019 Morning Broadcasts Featuring Wyclef Jean
Christopher Gamez March 4th, 2019 - 10:20 PM
Whether it’s your first or 10th SXSW, waking up after the previous night of evening showcases is a struggle. With most night showcases around 2 am, most people are still in bed at 6 am. Unless you’re familiar with KUTX’s tradition of having their showcase at that exact time. Entering their 9th year at South By, KUTX will challege attendees to catch their early morning broadcasts live from 7 am to 11 am on Wednesday March 13th through Friday and 8 am to noon on Saturday March 16th at the Four Seasons Hotel Austin. Each broadcast will four live shows for those who are able to wake up in the morning. While enjoying the music each day has to offer, everyone will get a breakfast taco, KIND granola bar and most importantly bottomless coffee (you’ll probably need it from the night before). Some of the artists that are scheduled to play and be awake with you those early mornings are; Wclef Jean with Jazzy Amra and Moira Mack, Cautious Clay, Steve Earle and Jealous of the Birds.
While most artists playing SXSW are relatively unknown, ready to expand their fan base or both some artists grace SXSW with their presence even after worldwide stardom has been achieved such as Wyclef Jean who was part of grammy award winning trio The Fugees. Each individual evidently went on to pursue solo careers and achieved success with Jean releasing 10 albums his latest being in 2017 with Carnival III: The Fall and Rise of a Refugee (Delux Edition). Although Jean was quiet in 2018, it doesn’t mean he hasn’t been in the studio working because for 2019 he’s released his new single, “Baba.” Although he’s been working on his own material, he’s been working with Jazzy Amra and Moira Mack who will be joining him at KUTX Live.
Jazzy Amra is an R&B singer who’s starting her singing career. Although she’s been featured on tracks going back to 2016 it isn’t until now that she has her own material which is currently her album out titled, Amra, which is Arabic for princess. Paring with Jean, she’s right by saying her future never looked so bright.
Although when looked up it says pop, Moira Mack, is far from the pop genre especially with her new single, “Demons Enjoy.” Armed with her guitar, “Demons Enjoy” is more soul than pop, which makes sense since she cites her influences being Stevie Wonder and Ella Fitzgerald. Mack who’s been to SXSW before will be back to showcase new music as she joins Wyclef at KUTX Live.
Cautious Clay who’s released a handful of singles, went all in to pursue a career in music when in 2017 he quit his job. On Soundcloud, he quietly dropped the single “Cold War” which grabbed the attention of many and more so on Spotify, racking over 20 million streams. Still working on a full length album, Clay released a seven track EP named Blood Type in 2018 and in 2019, his newest single “Honest Enough.” Like his voice on his tracks, Cautious Clay is quietly making a name for himself in the music scene.
Indie artist Jealous of the Birds will be back at SXSW this time at KUTX Live and more than likely will be playing tracks from her newest album, Wisdom Teeth, that was released on February 1st 2019. It seems SXSW has been good to Birds, after releasing her first EP when she was still school, she released her next project, “Parma Violets” and performed at SXSW in 2016 which led her to sign with Canvasback Music. Wisdom Teeth will be her first project since signing with Canvasbas Music, which brings her back to Austin and SXSW again. After her performance at KUTX only bigger things can happen to Jealous of the Birds because it seems whenever she releases a project and then performs at South By something good happens afterwards.
KUTX Live Wednesday March 13th – Saturday March 16th Four Seasons Hotel Austin (98 San Jacinto)
KUTX is open to the public and is a first come first served event.
Admission is $15 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under.
Wednesday March 13th
Combo Chimbita – 7 a.m.
Sasami – 8 a.m.
Durand Jones & The Indications – 9 a.m.
Wyclef Jean, Jazzy Amra & Moira Mack – 10 a.m.
Heart Bones – 7 a.m.
Bayonne – 8 a.m.
Cautious Clay – 9 a.m.
HAELOS – 10 a.m.
Friday March 15th
SMiiLE – 7 a.m.
Moving Panoramas – 8 a.m.
Steve Earle – 9 a.m.
Patty Grffin – 10 a.m.
Saturday March 16th
Abhi The Nomad – 8 a.m.
Jealous of the Birds – 9 a.m.
Yola – 10 a.m.
Andrew Bird – 11 a.m.
KUTX
Christopher Gamez
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Posted Dec 21, 2018 by David Ruccio
Economic Theory , Financialization United States Newswire
Originally published: Occasional Links & Commentary (December 17, 2018)
No matter how we measure it, most Americans are falling further and further behind the tiny group at the top.1
Real Gross Domestic Product Per Capita and Real Median Household Income, United States. 1984 = 100. FRED Economic Database.
Real Gross Domestic Product Per Capita and Average Hourly Earnings of Production and Non-Supervisory Employees (Total Private). 1984 = 100. FRED Economic Database.
That’s not at all surprising. Whether we compare the growing gap between average wages and Gross Domestic Product per capita (as in the chart on the left) or real median household income and real Gross Domestic Product per capita (as in the chart on the right), it’s clear the average American has been losing out. A growing proportion of what workers produce hasn’t been going to them but to the richest households for decades now.
That does not mean, contra Robert Samuelson, that “the incomes of most Americans have stagnated for decades.” That’s a canard. No one makes that argument.
No, the real issue is that American workers have been producing more and more but getting only a tiny share of that increase. As I explained last year,
That’s what mainstream economists can’t or won’t understand: that workers may be worse off even as their wages and incomes rise. That problem flies in the face of every attempt to celebrate the existing order by claiming “just deserts.”
It’s what is known as relative immiseration. And it simply can’t be disputed by the alternative statistics invoked by Samuelson or Stephen J. Rose (pdf).
The exact numbers concerning the distribution of income in the United States depend, of course, on a whole host of assumptions and methodological choices, mostly involving what counts as “income.” The more categories that are included in income—starting with the traditional series (wages and salaries, dividends, interest, and rent) before and after taxes, and then including payments from government programs (such as Social Security, unemployment insurance, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and the earned-income tax credit), and going so far as to add employer contributions for health insurance and 401(k) retirement accounts, the employer share of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, government noncash benefits (e.g., the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicare, Medicaid, and housing vouchers), housing services (homeowners paying rent to themselves) and government services (e.g., defense, education, legal system, and administration)—the less measured inequality turns out to be.
In fact, as Rose demonstrates, most of the available studies show growing inequality in the United States, with a high and rising share of income captured by the top 1 percent.2 The only real outlier is by Auten and Splinter, who merely demonstrate that it is possible for mainstream economists to make growing inequality virtually disappear with enough “massaging” of the underlying numbers.3
In the end, Samuelson himself is forced to admit,
None of this means we should stop debating inequality. Who gets what, and why, are inevitable subjects for examination in a rich democratic society. By contrast with many advanced societies, income and wealth are indisputably more concentrated in the United States.
And the problem of growing inequality is only going to get worse as we move forward, especially with ongoing automation. As David Autor explains,
Employment is growing steadily, and its growth in terms of number of jobs has not been discernibly dented by technological progress. But the sum of wage payments to workers is growing more slowly than economic value-added, so labor’s share of the pie of net earnings is falling. This doesn’t mean that wages are falling. It means that they are not growing in lock step with value-added.
That’s exactly right. Workers’ wages and middle-class incomes may continue to rise in absolute terms but their relative standing with respect to the tiny group at the top—those who are in the position of capturing the surplus—will likely worsen.
Measure by measure, the economic and social landscape is being fractured and American workers are being left behind.
↩So that I avoid the problem I encountered when I presented my “Merchant of Venice” paper, this post is not about Shakespeare’s play.
↩ The main studies include Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty (pdf), Piketty, Saez and Gabriel Zucman (pdf), Gerald Auten and David Splinter (pdf), and the Congressional Budget Office. As I showed in 2016, even Rose, for all the faults in his own study, found
An enormous increase in inequality between 1979 and 2014: combined, the share of income going to the rich and upper middle-class more than doubled, from 30 to 63.1 percent, while the amount of income going to everyone else—middle-class, lower middle-class, and poor—fell precipitously, to less than 40 percent.
↩Auten and Splinter arrive at such a misleading result through two statistical maneuvers: allocating underreported income (primarily business income) according to IRS audit data and retirement income. Thus, they conclude, “Our results suggest an alternative narrative about top income shares: changes in the top one percent income shares over the last half century are likely to have been relatively modest.”
About David Ruccio
David Ruccio (@Dfruccio) used to teach in the Department of Economics at the University of Notre Dame (until it was split and renamed) and then in the Department of Economics and Policy Studies (until it was dissolved). He is currently Professor of Economics “at large” as well as a member of the Higgins Labor Studies Program and Faculty Fellow of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. Ruccio blogs at Occasional Links and Commentary on Economics Culture and Society and is a contributor to the Real-World Economics Review Blog.
View all posts by David Ruccio →
The language of capitalism isn’t just annoying, it’s dangerous
We want cash while waiting for Communism
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No, Cats Are Not Smarter Than Dogs
Buffalos and Livestock: A New Symbiosis
What Is an Ecosystem's Productivity?
Protecting Elephants from Poaching
Are dogs smarter than cats? Apparently, science now has an answer. Below you can read about the outcome of one of the biggest controversies in the history of the pets.
The number of neurons matters
A provisionally accepted publication in the scientific journal Frontiers in Neuroanatomy states that the cerebral cortex of dogs has twice the amount of neurons than cats. The group of scientists who discovered this fact are from six universities located in the United States, Denmark, Brazil, and South Africa.
Professor Suzana Herculano-Houzel was the person in charge of the quantifying neurons method in the brain of a species. According to this scientist, the first step to reaching an approximate number is to turn the brain into a “soup”, because it makes it easier to isolate the nuclei of neuronal cells and calculate their number.
Number of neurons, measure of intelligence
The neuron is the basic unit for processing information. The cognitive ability of any living being, is directly related to the number of neurons it has. According to Herculano-Houzel, the quantitative factor is key:
“I believe the absolute number of neurons an animal has, especially in the cerebral cortex, determines the richness of their internal mental state and ability to predict what is about to happen in their surroundings based on past experiences.”
The scientists based their findings on the application of the so-called “soup method” to a dog’s cerebral cortex. This is the nervous tissue covers both hemispheres of the brain, and it is just a few millimeters thick. This commonly called “gray matter”, is an organic tissue that’s essential for decision-making processes.
The use of this brain area is especially important because it processes external stimuli that an animal perceives through sight and touch.
So, are dogs more intelligent?
To reach this conclusion, the neurologist Herculano-Houzel and her team used three brains: one from a cat, another from a Golden Retriever, and another from a small mutt.
They used two dog brains because of the great differences that there usually are between breeds of different sizes. They discovered that the cerebral cortex of both dogs housed 500 million neurons, but the cat’s brain had only 250 million.
Therefore, the researchers analyzed the brains of eight different carnivore species to find a similar number in the amount of neurons. They chose samples from ferrets, mongooses, raccoons, cats, dogs, hyenas, lions, and grizzly bears.
In comparison, they estimated that a dog’s intelligence is similar to that of raccoons and lions, while a cat’s intelligence is comparable to that of a bear. Every human being, in contrast, has 16,000 million neurons in his/her brain. The next most intelligent species is the elephant, with 5,600 million.
A hypothesis yet to be proven
The group of researchers actually sought to confirm the hypothesis that the brains of carnivorous species have more cortical neurons than those of herbivorous species. However, they could not prove it, because there was no correlation between the amount of neurons and the size of the animal.
They estimated that the stress to which herbivores are subjected has pushed them to develop their brain capacity. The reality is that large carnivores usually have fewer neurons. For example, a bear’s brain is ten times larger than a cat’s, but both have the same amount of neurons.
On the other hand, the researchers were also surprised by the raccoon. Although it has a brain the size of a cat’s, it has the same amount of neurons as a dog. A raccoon’s number of neurons is higher on average than other animals in the same family.
Above all, both dogs and cats can make excellent life-long companions for humans. Unfortunately, cat lovers now have one less argument in their favor!
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Michael J. Fox Is Retiring From Acting
Michael J. Fox is retiring again. The beloved actor shared his decision to retire due to health concerns in his new book "No Time Like the Future". Fox has had recent health issues, including a 2018 surgery to remove a noncancerous tumor from his spine. CNN reports that Fox was also diagnosed decades ago with Parkinson's disease. Fox became a household name starring on the 1980's comedy series "Family Ties". He then went on to star in the "Back to the Future" franchise and "Teen Wolf," as well as returning to television in "Spin City."
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Imam Emeritus Khalid Shaheed
Imam Khalid Shahid was born and raised in Jackson, MS, the son of a Baptist preacher and devout Christian mother. He received a Bachelors’s degree from the University of Southern MS and an Ijazah (A license/Diploma authorizing its holder to transmit a certain text or subject) from Zayd’s House of Islamic Culture’s Imam training program in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE. He has been married to Bettie Shaheed for 42 years and they have 3 children. He has been the resident Imam of Dallas Masjid Al-Islam for 14 years.
Originally a member of the Nation of Islam, he accepted and converted to orthodox, mainstream Islam, following the Quran and life example of Prophet Muhammad,(May Allah bless him and grant him peace), under the guidance of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed in 1975. He is a member and one of the founders of Faith Forward Dallas, North Texas Islamic Council Executive Board, a member of DFW Muslim-Jewish Council, IQRA Intrafaith council, National Black United Front South Dallas, Dallas NAACP and is a supporter/participant in Dallas Safe Conversations program. He is the founder of MECA (Masjid Al-Islam Children’s Academy), the founder of the Beacon of Light outreach and co-founder of DFW Islamic Charity Day which is now called the Day of Dignity and established daily prayers at Masjid Al-Islam, with Allah’s permission, Alhamdulilah (All praise is due to G-d).
In July of 2016, he was invited to the White House to be part of the first-ever Muslim Holiday celebrated at the White House. President Obama was the host of this historic event and the event took place in the ultra-elegant East Wing of the White House.
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China says Pope’s claim of “persecuted” Uyghurs “absolutely groundless”
By Novena November 25, 2020
Photo: A woman takes part in a protest march of ethnic Uyghurs asking for the European Union to call upon China to respect human rights in the Chinese Xinjiang region. (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP)
(Source: Novena/RFE/RL)
Pope Francis has for the first time publicly named Uyghurs, a major indigenous ethnic group in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang, among a list of the world’s persecuted peoples amid reports of widespread human rights abuses in the region.
“I think often of persecuted peoples: the Rohingya, the poor Uyghurs, the Yazidi – what [Islamic State] did to them was truly cruel – or Christians in Egypt and Pakistan killed by bombs that went off while they prayed in church”, Francis says in a new book, Let Us Dream: The Path to A Better Future, to be published December 1.
The UN has estimated that 1 million ethnic Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim indigenous people of Xinjiang are being held in what it described as “counterextremism centers” in the region.
The UN has also said millions more have been forced into internment camps.
The US State Department has said as many as 2 million Uyghurs and representatives of Xinjiang’s other indigenous ethnic groups have been taken to so-called reeducation detention centers in the region.
Several people who served time in the so-called reeducation camps and their relatives have told RFE/RL that they were subjected to indoctrination, physical abuse, and sterilization.
China insists that the facilities are “vocational education centers” aimed at helping people steer clear of terrorism and allowing them to be reintegrated into society.
Zhao Lijian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson called Francis’s remarks “absolutely groundless”.
“People of all ethnic groups enjoy the full rights of survival, development, and freedom of religious belief”, Zhao said at a daily briefing on November 24.
China and the Vatican have had no formal relations since the Communist Party cut ties and arrested Catholic clerics soon after seizing power in 1949, apart from a provisional agreement regarding the appointment of bishops.
Uyghurs are the largest Turkic-speaking indigenous community in Xinjiang followed by Kazakhs. The region is also home to ethnic Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Hui, also known as Dungans. Han, China’s largest ethnicity, are the second-largest community in Xinjiang.
(With reporting by CNN and AP)
Copyright (c) 2020 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
More on Novena on the Pope’s new book ‘Let Us Dream’:
In new interview, Pope calls for Universal Basic Income, urges focus “beyond shareholder value” in post-COVID economy
More on the Vatican and China
More on the Church’s concern for the persecuted
bookschinaextremismhuman rightsindigenouspapal interviewspersecutionvatican diplomacy
Author Novena
Francis alerts: “Violence will never cease until all people reach a deeper awareness that they are brothers and sisters”
Pope urges new cardinals to “watchfulness of prayer and charity” to escape “slumber of mediocrity and indifference”
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Partnership Creates Opportunity to Save Threatened Species
Photo: Mike Pinder
The New River Land Trust has joined forces with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and The Conservation Fund to protect an important property in the New River region. The property has been home to a family farm for generations, but it’s also home to three endangered or threatened species: the Bog Turtle, federally listed as threatened; a butterfly, Mitchell’s Satyr, federally and state listed as endangered; and the Appalachian snaketail dragonfly, which is listed as significantly rare in Virginia.
These species are threatened due to the loss, degradation, and fragmentation of habitat from wetland alteration, development, pollution and invasive species. The bog turtle is also threatened by the illegal wildlife trade.
When the property went up for sale, NRLT moved quickly to work with the owners, secure financing from The Conservation Fund and is preparing to purchase the property. In the short term, the Land Trust’s ownership will ensure the land and the special species that live there are protected. The long term plan is that DCR will acquire the property and it will become a Natural Area Preserve managed for the benefit of its rare species.
Conservation is very much a collaborative effort in Virginia and this project is a great example of how the New River Land Trust works with private owners and its many conservation partners to protect the New River region’s natural resources.
Allison Tillett Joins New River Land Trust
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YOKO ONO LENNON JOINS HARD ROCK AND WHYHUNGER TO “IMAGINE” A WORLD WITHOUT HUNGER
YOKO ONO LENNON JOINS HARD…
Orlando, Fla., November 5, 2014 – In his iconic song “IMAGINE,” John Lennon asked us all to picture a world free from hunger. In support of that mission, Yoko Ono Lennon joins Hard Rock International and WhyHunger for the seventh year of the IMAGINE THERE’S NO HUNGER campaign, which aims to turn John Lennon’s dream into our future. To date, IMAGINE has helped communities grow enough food to provide more than 9.7 million nutritious meals to children and supported programs that taught more than 27,600 community members techniques for sustained food production. This year, IMAGINE is aiming to hit a program milestone of 10 million meals locally produced and served.
From November through December 2014, a portion of the retail price from the sale of Hard Rock’s limited-edition IMAGINE merchandise will directly benefit WhyHunger and its fight against childhood hunger and poverty. Additionally, guests at Hard Rock Cafes, Hotels and Casinos can donate $2 to feed a child for a day, $5 to feed a child for a week, $10 to start a family or community garden and $20 to start a school garden program. Funds raised will go directly to support sustainable agriculture education and nutritional feeding programs around the world.
“As someone who has seen and experienced hunger personally, it’s so important for me to help get the message out that millions of people need our support,” said Yoko Ono Lennon. “Through IMAGINE, Hard Rock and WhyHunger are making great strides to bring us a future free from hunger where nutritious food is a human right.”
“At Hard Rock, we care about the world around us, and we believe our mottos are more than just the words on our walls – they are guiding principles for our actions,” said Hamish Dodds, President and CEO of Hard Rock International, and Global Ambassador for WhyHunger. “The IMAGINE campaign allows us to connect with individuals looking to obtain agriculture education, access to land, legal assistance or financial support, to feed themselves and sustain their families and communities on an ongoing basis.”
True to Hard Rock’s mottos, “Love All, Serve All” and “Take Time to be Kind,” philanthropy has been the soul of the brand since its founding in 1971. Hard Rock is committed to a wide variety of philanthropic causes and activities around the world. IMAGINE reaches children and families in 20 countries and has raised more than $6.4 million to help fight childhood hunger.
“Our long-term collaboration with Yoko Ono Lennon and Hard Rock serves as an excellent platform to provide support to our grassroots partners all around the world,” said Bill Ayres, WhyHunger cofounder and executive director. “Our partnership allows us to tap into Hard Rock’s global network to make a difference in all corners of the world.”
Artist Ambassadors: IMAGINE THERE’S NO HUNGER
In addition, the IMAGINE THERE’S NO HUNGER program will raise funds and awareness for WhyHunger in a variety of ways. Music legends The Doobie Brothers and “Sound of Change” reggae-rock stars the Dirty Heads and singer/songwriter and social media teen phenom, Jacob Whitesides, will serve as Hard Rock’s IMAGINE artist ambassadors in the U.S., along with local artists performing at live music events around the world.
Through the IMAGINE THERE’S NO HUNGER campaign, every dollar will make a difference. Beginning on Monday, November 3, 2014, Hard Rock will offer limited-edition IMAGINE THERE’S NO HUNGER merchandise, available exclusively at Rock Shops at Hard Rock Cafe, Hotels and Casino properties around the world and online at www.hardrock.com.
Hard Rock’s 2014 IMAGINE THERE’S NO HUNGER merchandise includes:
•Earbuds* – Teal and orange earbuds with the Hard Rock logo on each earbud ($10)
•Hard Rock Roxtars™ Kids Guitar Plate** – A white guitar-shaped plate featuring the five characters of the Hard Rock Roxtars ($8)
*50% of net revenue will be donated to WhyHunger
**15% of gross profit will be donated to WhyHunger
You Can Win a Trip!
To reward those who have dedicated their time to others through community and worldwide charitable acts, Hard Rock will give guests a chance to win a philanthropic trip to one of WhyHunger’s global charity partners. Guests may enter by submitting a photo and caption that represents their charitable work. The winner will be announced online and will be invited on a site visit with a guest in 2015.
Fans worldwide are encouraged to share their IMAGINE experiences by posting messages, photos and videos via the official social media channels for the 2014 IMAGINE THERE’S NO HUNGER campaign: Facebook.com/HardRock or Twitter.com/HardRock, and hashtag #IMAGINENOHUNGER.
For more information, visit www.hardrock.com/IMAGINE.
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Strasbourg: a woman indicted for the murder of her mother's spouse
A 23-year-old woman was indicted and placed in pre-trial detention in Strasbourg, suspected of the murder of her mother's spouse, also indicted for complicity, AFP learned on Friday from the prosecution. To read also: Rise of violence: "It is not incivility, but the symptom of a wildness" At the end of their police custody, the girl was indicted for murder and the mother for complicity in murder...
A 23-year-old woman was indicted and placed in pre-trial detention in Strasbourg, suspected of the murder of her mother's spouse, also indicted for complicity, AFP learned on Friday from the prosecution.
To read also: Rise of violence: "It is not incivility, but the symptom of a wildness"
At the end of their police custody, the girl was indicted for murder and the mother for complicity in murder, said the Strasbourg prosecutor, confirming information from the Latest News from Alsace (DNA). The first was imprisoned, while the second was left free under judicial supervision.
On the night of Monday to Tuesday, a septuagenarian was stabbed to death at his home after being stabbed in the upper chest. His companion, who called for help, and her daughter, both there, were arrested. It was “ a basic couple dispute ”. The victim " had a knife in her hand and she (the girl) disarmed him and used the knife against him, " a police source told AFP.
Source: lefigaro
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Aisne: a young woman indicted for "murder" of a spouse
Tech/Game 2020-04-24T13:22:19.061Z
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'Saved by the Bell' star hospitalized for cancer
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Chrysler wikipedia
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This article is about Chrysler. For the flagship car division of Chrysler Group, LLC, see Chrysler (division). For other uses, see Chrysler (disambiguation).
Chrysler Group LLC U.S. Headquarters and Technology Center in Auburn Hills in Metro Detroit
Predecessor(s)
Chrysler LLC
DaimlerChrysler AG
Chrysler Corporation
Founder(s)
Walter Chrysler
Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
List of Chrysler factories
Sergio Marchionne
(Chairman and CEO)
US$ 65.78 billion (2012)
US$ 1.942 billion (2012)
US$ -7.259 billion (2012)
Fiat S.p.A.
65,535 (December 2012)
ChryslerGroupLLC.com
Chrysler Group LLC /ˈkraɪslər/, /ˈkraɪzlər/ is an American automobile manufacturer headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan and owned by Italian automaker Fiat. Chrysler is one of the "Big Three" American automobile manufacturers. It sells vehicles worldwide under its flagship Chrysler brand, as well as the Dodge, Jeep and Ram. Other major divisions include Mopar, its automotive parts and accessories division, and SRT, its performance automobile division. In 2014, Chrysler Group LLC is the seventh biggest automaker in the world by production.
The Chrysler Corporation was founded by Walter Chrysler in 1925, out of what remained of the Maxwell Motor Company. Chrysler greatly expanded in 1928, when it acquired the Fargo truck company and the Dodge Brothers Company and began selling vehicles under those brands; that same year it also established the Plymouth and DeSoto automobile brands.
In the 1960s the company expanded into Europe, creating the Chrysler Europe division, formed from the acquisition of French, British and Spanish companies. In the 1970s, a number of factors including the 1973 oil crisis impacted Chrysler's sales, and by the late 1970s, Chrysler was on the verge of bankruptcy, forcing its retreat from Europe in 1979. Lee Iacocca was brought in as CEO and is credited with returning the company to profitability in the 1980s. In 1987, Chrysler acquired American Motors Corporation (AMC), which brought the profitable Jeep brand under the Chrysler umbrella.
In 1998, Chrysler merged with German automaker Daimler-Benz AG to form DaimlerChrysler; the merger proved contentious with investors and Chrysler was sold to Cerberus Capital Management and renamed Chrysler LLC in 2007. Like the other Big Three automobile manufacturers, Chrysler was hit hard by the automotive industry crisis of 2008–2010 and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on April 30, 2009. On June 10, 2009, Chrysler emerged from the bankruptcy proceedings with the United Auto Workers pension fund, Fiat, and the U.S. and Canadian governments as principal owners. Over the next few years Fiat gradually acquired the other parties' shares while removing much of the weight of the loans (which carried a 21% interest rate) in a short period. By May 24, 2011, Chrysler had repaid what it borrowed from the U.S. government five years early. January 1, 2014, Fiat SpA announced a deal to purchase the rest of Chrysler from the United Auto Workers retiree health trust. The deal was completed on January 21, 2014, combining Chrysler Group LLC with Fiat SpA. In May 2014, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, NV was born by consolidating the former Chrysler Group LLC with Fiat SpA into an international holding company.
Main article: History of Chrysler
The Chrysler company was founded by Walter Chrysler (1875–1940) on June 6, 1925, when the Maxwell Motor Company (est. 1904) was re-organized into the Chrysler Corporation.
Walter Chrysler arrived at the ailing Maxwell-Chalmers company in the early 1920s. He was hired to overhaul the company's troubled operations (after a similar rescue job at the Willys-Overland car company). In late 1923 production of the Chalmers automobile was ended.
In January 1924, Walter Chrysler launched the well-received Chrysler automobile. The Chrysler was a 6-cylinder automobile, designed to provide customers with an advanced, well-engineered car, but at a more affordable price than they might expect. (Elements of this car are traceable to a prototype which had been under development at Willys during Chrysler's tenure). The original 1924 Chrysler included a carburetor air filter, high compression engine, full pressure lubrication, and an oil filter, features absent from most autos at the time. Among the innovations in its early years were the first practical mass-produced four-wheel hydraulic brakes, a system nearly completely engineered by Chrysler with patents assigned to Lockheed, and rubber engine mounts to reduce vibration. Chrysler also developed a wheel with a ridged rim, designed to keep a deflated tire from flying off the wheel. This wheel was eventually adopted by the auto industry worldwide.
Following the introduction of the Chrysler, the Maxwell brand was dropped after the 1925 model year. The new, lower-priced four-cylinder Chryslers introduced for the 1926 year were badge-engineered Maxwells. The advanced engineering and testing that went into Chrysler Corporation cars helped to push the company to the second-place position in U.S. sales by 1936, a position it would last hold in 1949.
In 1928, the Chrysler Corporation began dividing its vehicle offerings by price class and function. The Plymouth brand was introduced at the low-priced end of the market (created essentially by once again reworking and rebadging Chrysler's four-cylinder model). At the same time, the DeSoto brand was introduced in the medium-price field. Also in 1928, Chrysler bought the Dodge Brothers automobile and truck company and continued the successful Dodge line of automobiles and Fargo range of trucks. By the mid-1930s, the DeSoto and Dodge divisions would trade places in the corporate hierarchy.
1955 Imperial car model shown on display at January 1955 Chicago Auto Show
The Imperial name had been used since 1926, but was never a separate make, just the top-of-the-line Chrysler. In 1955, the company decided to spin it off as its own make and division to better compete with its rivals, Lincoln and Cadillac.
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1955 Chrysler - Philco all transistor car radio - "Breaking News" radio broadcast announcement
On April 28, 1955, Chrysler and Philco had announced the development and production of the World’s First All-Transistor car radio. The all-transistor car radio Mopar model 914HR, was developed and produced by Chrysler and Philco, and was an $150.00 "option" on the 1956 Imperial car models. Philco was the company, who had manufactured the all-transistor car radio Mopar model 914HR, starting in the fall of 1955 at its Sandusky Ohio plant, for the Chrysler corporation.
On September 28, 1957, Chrysler had announced the first production electronic fuel injection (EFI), as an option on some of its new 1958 car models (Chrysler 300D, Dodge D500, DeSoto Adventurer, Plymouth Fury). The first attempt to use this system was by American Motors on the 1957 Rambler Rebel. Bendix Corporation's Electrojector used a transistor computer brain modulator box, but teething problems on pre-production cars meant very few cars were made. The EFI system in the Rambler ran fine in warm weather, but suffered hard starting in cooler temperatures and AMC decided not to use this EFI system, on its 1957 Rambler Rebel production cars that were sold to the public. Chrysler also used the Bendix "Electrojector" fuel injection system and only around 35 vehicles were built with this option, on its 1958 production built car models.
Imperial would see new body styles introduced every two to three years, all with V8 engines and automatic transmissions, as well as technologies that would filter down to Chrysler corporation's other models. Imperial was folded back into the Chrysler brand in 1973.
The Valiant was also introduced for 1960 as a distinct brand. In the U.S. market, Valiant was made a model in the Plymouth line for 1961 and the DeSoto make was discontinued during 1961. With those exceptions per applicable year and market, Chrysler's range from lowest to highest price from the 1940s through the 1970s was Valiant, Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler, and Imperial.
In 1987 Chrysler purchased American Motors from Renault
In 1985, Chrysler entered an agreement with American Motors Corporation (AMC) to produce Chrysler M platform rear-drive, as well as Dodge Omnis front wheel drive cars, in AMC's Kenosha, Wisconsin plant. In 1987, Chrysler acquired the 47% ownership of AMC that was held by Renault. The remaining outstanding shares of AMC were purchased on the NYSE by August 5, 1987, making the deal valued somewhere between US$1.7 billion and $2 billion depending on how costs were counted. Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca wanted the Jeep brand, particularly the Jeep Grand Cherokee (ZJ) that was under development, the world-class, brand-new manufacturing plant in Bramalea, Ontario, as well as AMC's engineering and management talent that became critical for Chrysler's future success. Chrysler established the Jeep/Eagle division as a "specialty" arm to market products distinctly different from the K-car-based products with the Eagle cars targeting import buyers. Former AMC dealers sold Jeep vehicles and various new Eagle models, as well as Chrysler products, strengthening the automaker's retail distribution system.
In 1998, Chrysler and its subsidiaries entered into a partnership dubbed a "merger of equals" with German-based Daimler-Benz AG, creating the combined entity DaimlerChrysler AG. To the surprise of many stockholders, Daimler subsequently acquired Chrysler in a stock swap, before the retirement of Chrysler CEO Bob Eaton. His lack of planning for Chrysler in the 1990s, to become their own global automotive company, is widely accepted as the reason why the merger was needed. Under DaimlerChrysler, the company was named DaimlerChrysler Motors Company LLC, with its U.S. operations generally called "DCX". The Eagle brand was retired shortly after Chrysler's merger with Daimler-Benz in 1998 Jeep became a stand-alone division, and efforts were made to merge the Chrysler and Jeep brands as one sales unit. In 2001, the Plymouth brand was also discontinued.
On May 14, 2007, DaimlerChrysler announced the sale of 80.1% of Chrysler Group to American private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., thereafter known as Chrysler LLC, although Daimler (renamed as Daimler AG) continued to hold a 19.9% stake. The economic collapse of 2007 - 2009 pushed an already fragile company to the brink. On April 30, 2009, the automaker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to be able to operate as a going concern, while renegotiating its debt structure and other obligations. The U.S. government described the company's action as a “prepackaged surgical bankruptcy."
The sale of substantially all of Chrysler's assets to "New Chrysler", organized as Chrysler Group LLC was completed on June 10, 2009. The federal government provided support for the deal with US$8 billion in financing at near 21%. Under Sergio Marchionne, "World Class Manufacturing" or WCM, a system of complete and thorough manufacturing quality, was introduced and several products re-launched with quality and luxury. The 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee very soon became the most awarded SUV - Ever. The Ram, Jeep, Dodge, SRT and Chrysler divisions were separated to focus on their own identity and brand and 11 major model refreshes occurred in 21 months. The PT Cruiser, Nitro, Liberty and Caliber models (created during DCX) were discontinued. On May 24, 2011, Chrysler repaid its $7.6 billion loans to the United States and Canadian governments. Being a full 5 years early, this is the only "bailout" that earned the US Taxpayer a profit. On July 21, 2011, Fiat bought the Chrysler shares held by the United States Treasury. With the purchase, Chrysler once again became foreign owned; however, this time Chrysler was the luxury division. The Chrysler 300 was badged Lancia Thema in some European markets (with additional engine options), giving Lancia a much needed replacement for its flagship.
On January 1, 2014, Fiat announced it would be acquiring the remaining shares of Chrysler owned by the VEBA worth $3.65 billion. The deal was completed on January 21, 2014. Several days later, the intended reorganization of Fiat and Chrysler under a new holding company, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, together with a new FCA logo were announced. The most challenging launch for this new company came immediately in January 2014 with a completely redesigned Chrysler 200. The vehicle's creation is from the completely integrated company, FCA, executing from a global compact-wide platform.[verification needed]
Chrysler House landmark executive offices in the Detroit Financial District
Stephen M. Wolf
Leo W. Houle
Erickson N. Perkins
Ruth J. Simmons
Sergio Marchionne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Ronald L. Thompson
Douglas M. Steenland
John B. Lanaway
Douglas D. Betts, Senior Vice President of Quality
Reid Bigland, Ram brand CEO, U.S. sales chief & President and CEO Chrysler Canada
Saad Chehab, President and CEO - Chrysler brand
Mark M. Chernoby, Senior Vice President of Product Development
Olivier Francois, Chief Marketing Officer, Chrysler Group and Fiat Group Automobiles, Head of Fiat Brand
Scott R. Garberding, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing
Ralph Gilles, SRT brand CEO and President of Design
Pietro Gorlier, Mopar brand CEO and President of Service, Parts and Customer Care
Bill Cousins
Mircea Gradu, Head of Transmission Powertrain and Driveline Engineering (departing)
Peter M. Grady, Vice President of Network Development and Fleet
Michael J. Keegan, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain Management
Timothy Kuniskis, President and CEO of Dodge brand
Scott G. Kunselman
Jody Trapasso
Jason Stoicevich
Robert (Bob) Lee, Head of Engine, Powertrain and Electrified Propulsion Systems Engineering
Holly E. Leese
Laurie A. Macaddino
Michael Manley, President and CEO Jeep brand and COO APAC (Asia Pacific Region)
Richard Palmer, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Barbara J. Pilarski
Nancy A. Rae, Senior Vice President of Human Resources
Gualberto Ranieri
Scott A. Sandschafer
Joseph Trapasso
Joseph Veltri
Daniel W. Devine, Vice President, Office of Tax Affairs
Chrysler is the smallest of the "Big Three" U.S. automakers (Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors). In 2013 Chrysler sold 1,800,368 vehicles, 9% up from 2012, and fourth largest in sales behind GM, Ford and Toyota.
Chrysler's sales have fluctuated dramatically over the last decade. In 2007 sales reached 2,076,650, falling to 931,402 units in 2009, the company's worst result in decades.
It is reported that Chrysler was heavy on fleet sales in 2010, hitting as high as 56 percent of total sales in February of that year. For the whole year, 38 percent of sales of Chrysler were to fleet customers. The industry average was 19 percent. However, the company hopes to reduce its fleet sales to the industry average in 2011 with a renewed product lineup.
Global sales
Chrysler is the world's 11th largest vehicle manufacturer as ranked by OICA in 2012. Total Chrysler vehicle production was about 2.37 million that year, up from 1.58 million in 2010.
In 2007, Chrysler began to offer vehicle lifetime powertrain warranty for the first registered owner or retail lessee. The deal covered owner or lessee in U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, for 2009 model year vehicles, and 2006, 2007 and 2008 model year vehicles purchased on or after July 26, 2007. Covered vehicles excluded SRT models, Diesel vehicles, Sprinter models, Ram Chassis Cab, Hybrid System components (including transmission), and certain fleet vehicles. The warranty is non-transferable. After Chrysler's restructuring, the warranty program was replaced by five-year/100,000 mile transferrable warranty for 2010 or later vehicles.
"Let's Refuel America"
In 2008, as a response to customer feedback citing the prospect of rising gas prices as a top concern, Chrysler launched the "Let's Refuel America" incentive campaign, which guaranteed new-car buyers a gasoline price of $2.99 for three years. With the U.S. purchase of eligible Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles, customers could enroll in the program and receive a gas card that immediately lowers their gas price to $2.99 a gallon, and keeps it there for the three years.
Lancia co-branding
Chrysler plans for Lancia to codevelop products, with some vehicles being shared. Olivier Francois, Lancia's CEO, was appointed to the Chrysler division in October 2009. Francois plans to reestablish the Chrysler brand as an upscale brand.
In October 2009, Dodge's car and truck lines were separated, with the name "Dodge" being used for cars, minivans and crossovers and "Ram" for light- and medium-duty trucks and other commercial-use vehicles.
U.S. Chrysler sales
%Chg/yr.
2000 2,522,695 4.4%
2002 2,205,446 3%
2008 1,453,122 30%
2009 931,402 36%
"Imported From Detroit"
In 2011, Chrysler unveiled their new "Imported From Detroit" campaign with ads featuring Detroit rapper Eminem, one of which aired during the Super Bowl. The campaign highlights the rejuvenation of the entire product lineup, which includes the new, redesigned and repackaged 2011 200 sedan and 200 convertible, the Chrysler 300 sedan and the Chrysler Town & Country minivan. As part of the campaign, Chrysler sold a line of clothing items featuring the Monument to Joe Louis, with proceeds being funneled to Detroit-area charities, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Michigan, Habitat for Humanity Detroit and the Marshall Mathers Foundation. Following the Eminem ad, there was also an ad for Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh driving a Chrysler 300 to Portland, Or., to visit his mother, an ad featuring Detroit-born fashion designer John Varvatos cruising through a shadowy Gotham while Kevin Yon's familiar baritone traces the designer's genesis.
In March 2011, Chrysler Group LLC filed a lawsuit against Moda Group LLC (owner of Pure Detroit clothing retailer) for copying and selling merchandise with the "Imported from Detroit" slogan. Chrysler claimed it had notified defendant of its pending trademark application February 14, but the defendant argued Chrysler had not secured a trademark for the "Imported From Detroit" phrase. On June 18, 2011, U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow ruled that Chrysler's request didn't show that it would suffer irreparable harm or that it had a strong likelihood of winning its case. Therefore Pure Detroit's owner, Detroit retailer Moda Group LLC, can continue selling its "Imported from Detroit" products. Tarnow also noted that Chrysler doesn't have a trademark on "Imported from Detroit" and rejected the automaker's argument that trademark law isn't applicable to the case. In March 2012, Chrysler Group LLC and Pure Detroit agreed to a March 27 mediation to try to settle the lawsuit over the clothing company's use of "Imported from Detroit" slogan. Pure Detroit stated that Chrysler has made false claims about the origins of three vehicles - Chrysler 200, Chrysler 300 and Chrysler Town & Country - none of which are built in Detroit. Pure Detroit also said that Chrysler's Imported From Detroit merchandise is not being made in Detroit.
Chrysler's Jefferson North Assembly which makes the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango is the only car manufacturing plant of any company remaining entirely in Detroit (General Motors operates a plant which is partly in Detroit and partly in Hamtramck).
In 2011, Eminem settled a lawsuit against Audi alleging the defendant had ripped off the Chrysler 300 Super Bowl commercial in the Audi A6 Avant ad.
"Half Time in America"
Again in 2012, Chrysler advertised during the Super Bowl. Its two-minute February 5, 2012 Super Bowl XLVI advertisement was titled "Half Time in America". The ad drew criticism from several leading U.S. conservatives, who suggested that its messaging implied that President Barack Obama deserved a second term and, as such, was political payback for Obama's support for the federal bailout of the company. Asked about the criticism in a 60 Minutes interview with Steve Kroft, Sergio Marchionne responded "just to rectify the record I paid back the loans at 19.7% Interest. I don't think I committed to do to a commercial on top of that" and characterized the Republican reaction as "unnecessary and out of place".
Engineered to the Power of Cars (1998–2001)
Drive & Love (2002–2004)
Inspiration comes standard (2004–2007)
Engineered Beautifully (2007-mid 2010)
Imported From Detroit (2011-2013)
America's Import (2013–present)
Ram 1500, one of Chrysler's best selling vehicles
Chrysler: Luxury sedans, convertibles, and minivans
Dodge: Passenger cars, minivans, crossovers, SUVs and trucks
Ram: Trucks and commercial vehicles
Jeep: Off-road vehicles, SUVs and crossovers
Mopar: Upscale versions of selected cars, trucks, and SUVs from Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep, and Fiat (new for 2012). Also brand for dealer service and customer service operations.
SRT: High Performance. (The 2013 Viper will be badged as SRT Viper, not Dodge Viper; new for 2012)
Mopar: Replacement parts for Chrysler-built vehicles.
Mopar Performance: a subdivision providing performance aftermarket parts for Chrysler-built vehicles.
Fiat Auto plans to sell seven of its vehicles in the U.S. by 2014, while Fiat-controlled Chrysler Group is to supply nine models to sell under Fiat brands in the European market, according to a five-year plan rolled out on April 21, 2010 in Turin, Italy, by Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne. At least five of the Fiat Auto models are expected to be marketed in the U.S. under its Alfa Romeo brand. Showing the level of integration envisioned, a product introduction timeline shows Chrysler-built compact and full-size SUVs going on sale in 2012 and 2014, respectively, in both European and North American markets.
Chrysler Uconnect
First introduced as MyGig, Chrysler Uconnect is a system that brings interactive ability to the in-car radio and telemetric-like controls to car settings. Internet connectivity using any Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep or Ram vehicle, via a Wi-Fi "hot-spot", is also available via Uconnect Web. According to Chrysler LLC, the hotspot range will extend approximately 100 feet (30 m) from the vehicle in all directions, and will combine both Wi-Fi and Sprint's 3G cellular connectivity. Uconnect is available on several current and was available on several discontinued Chrysler models including the current Dodge Dart, Chrysler 300, Aspen, Sebring, Town and Country, Dodge Avenger, Caliber, Grand Caravan, Challenger, Charger, Journey, Nitro, and Ram.
The first electric vehicle produced by Chrysler was the 1992 Dodge EPIC concept minivan. In 1993, Chrysler began to sell a limited-production electric minivan called the TEVan; however only 56 were produced. In 1997, a second generation, called the EPIC, was released. It was discontinued after 1999.
Chrysler owned the Global Electric Motorcars company, building low-speed neighborhood electric vehicles, but sold GEM to Polaris Industries in 2011.
Chrysler intended to pursue new drive concepts through ENVI, an in-house organization formed to focus on electric-drive vehicles and related technologies which was established in September 2007. In August 2009, Chrysler took US$70 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a test fleet of 220 hybrid pickup trucks and minivans. ENVI was disbanded by November 2009.
The first hybrid models, the Chrysler Aspen hybrid and the Dodge Durango hybrid, were discontinued a few months after production in 2008, sharing their GM-designed hybrid technology with GM, Daimler and BMW.
Chrysler is on the Advisory Council of the PHEV Research Center, and undertook a government sponsored demonstration project with Ram and minivan vehicles.
In 2012, Chrysler/Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said that Chrysler and Fiat both plan to focus primarily on alternative fuels, such as CNG and diesel, instead of hybrid and electric drivetrains for their consumer products.
During World War II, essentially all of Chrysler's facilities were devoted to building military vehicles (the Jeep brand came later, after Chrysler acquired American Motors Corporation). They were also designing V12 and V16 hemi-engines producing 2,500 hp (1,864 kW; 2,535 PS) for airplanes, but they did not make it into production as jets were developed and were seen as the future for air travel.
Radar antennas
When the Radiation Laboratory at MIT was established in 1941 to develop microwave radars, one of the first projects resulted in the SCR-584, the most widely recognized radar system of the war era. This system included a parabolic antenna six feet in diameter that was mechanically aimed in a helical pattern (round and round as well as up and down).
One of Chrysler’s most significant contributions to the war effort was not in the field of vehicles but in the radar field. For the final production design of this antenna and its highly complex drive mechanism, the Army’s Signal Corps Laboratories turned to Chrysler's Central Engineering Office. There, the parabola was changed from aluminum to steel, allowing production forming using standard automotive presses. To keep weight down, 6,000 equally spaced holes were drilled in the face (this had no effect on the radiation pattern). The drive mechanism was completely redesigned, using technology derived from Chrysler’s research in automotive gears and differentials. The changes resulted in improved performance, reduced weight, and easier maintenance. A large portion of the Dodge plant was used in building 1,500 of the SCR-584 antennas as well as the vans used in the systems.
Chrysler VZ-6
In April 1950, the U.S. Army established the Ordnance Guided Missile Center (OGMC) at Redstone Arsenal, adjacent to Huntsville, Alabama. To form OGMC, over 1,000 civilian and military personnel were transferred from Fort Bliss, Texas. Included was a group of German scientists and engineers led by Wernher von Braun; this group had been brought to America under Project Paperclip. OGMC designed the Army's first short-range ballistic missile, the PGM-11 Redstone, based on the WWII German V-2 missile. Chrysler established the Missile Division to serve as the Redstone prime contractor, setting up an engineering operation in Huntsville and for production obtaining use from the U.S. Navy of a large plant in Warren, Michigan. The Redstone was in active service from 1958 to 1964; it was also the first missile to test-launch a live nuclear weapon, first detonated in a 1958 test in the South Pacific.
Working together, the Missile Division and von Braun's team greatly increased the capability of the Redstone, resulting in the PGM-19 Jupiter, a medium-range ballistic missile. In May 1959, a Jupiter missile launched two small monkeys into space in a nose cone; this was America's first successful flight and recovery of live space payloads. Responsibility for deploying Jupiter missiles was transferred from the Army to the Air Force; armed with nuclear warheads, they were first deployed in Italy and Turkey during the early 1960s.
Space boosters
In July 1959, NASA chose the Redstone missile as the basis for the Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle to be used for suborbital test flights of the Project Mercury spacecraft. Three unmanned MRLV launch attempts were made between November 1960 and March 1961, two of which were successful. The MRLV successfully launched the chimpanzee Ham, and astronauts Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom on three suborbital flights in January, May and July 1961, respectively.
America's more ambitious manned space travel plans included the design of the Saturn series of heavy-lift launch vehicles by a team headed by Wernher von Braun. Chrysler's Huntsville operation, then designated the Space Division, became Marshall Space Flight Center’s prime contractor for the first stage of the Saturn I and Saturn IB versions. The design was based on a cluster of Redstone and Jupiter fuel tanks, and Chrysler built it for the Apollo program in the Michoud Assembly Facility in East New Orleans, one of the largest manufacturing plants in the world. Between October 1961 and July 1975, NASA used ten Saturn Is and nine Saturn IBs for suborbital and orbital flights, all of which were successful; Chrysler missiles and boosters never suffered a launch failure.[citation needed] The division was also a subcontractor which modified one of the Mobile Launcher Platforms for use with the Saturn IB rockets using Saturn V infrastructure.
Chrysler Europe (sold to Peugeot)
Rootes Group
Sunbeam (1901–1976)
Humber (1967–1976)
Singer (1905–1970)
Commer (1905–1979)
Hillman (1907–1976)
Karrier (1908–1977)
Simca (1934–1977)
Barreiros (1959–1978)
American Motors (AMC) (1954–1988)
Hudson (1909–1957)
Nash (1917–1957)
Rambler (1900–1914; 1950–1969)
Maxwell (1904–1926)
Graham Brothers (1916–1929)
Fargo (1920–1972)
DeSoto (1928–1961)
Plymouth (1928–2001)
Imperial (1955–1975; 1981–1983)
Valiant (1960–1976) The Valiant was introduced in 1960 as a separate Chrysler brand, then was incorporated into the Plymouth line in the U.S. starting in 1961.
Valiant (1962–1981).
Valiant (1960–1966) Chrysler marketed the Valiant as a separate Chrysler model in Canada until 1967, when the Canada–United States Automotive Products Agreement of 1965 facilitated exporting the Plymouth Valiant to Canada.
Eagle (1988–1998)
GEMCAR (1998–2011) sold to Polaris Industries.
SRT (2012-2014). Merged with Dodge.
Source: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler )
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
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The first magnetic compass was created in China between the 1st and 2nd century BC during the Han dynasty. Originally it was made out of ore from iron known as lodestone which contains natural magnetic properties.
Lodestone was a material which was widely known to have magnetic properties before the creation of the first compass but there was little use for them. They were documented in the writings of Plinius the Elder when he discussed a Shepherd known as Magnes found that the iron from his shepherd’s staff and the metal nails in his shoes stuck to the rocks of mountains that contained this material. Within China itself Chinese writer Wang Xu noted that lodestone attracted iron and other writings document a spoon made from the same material always ended up pointing in the same direction when dropped on the ground.
1 What was the magnetic compass used for?
2 The increased popularity of the magnetic compass
3 The Magnetic Compass Today
What was the magnetic compass used for?
The magnetic compass worked by having the magnetic material shaped like a needle which could freely move around to match up with the Earth’s magnetic field by always pointing towards the magnetic North. Due to the compass always pointing north, it is then easy to work out other directions from it.
Originally it was not created for the purpose of navigation and instead was instrumental in early Chinese Geomancy also known as fortune telling which interpreted lines or geographic alignments. It was also used in Feng Shui which is a traditional practice which invites positive Chi into the surroundings created a balanced and energising environment. The idea of this is that certain features of the room should line up with different compass directions. Later, it was used in navigation and orienteering.
It was during the Song Dynasty in China that the compass was first used to help navigate. In a book which dates back to 1040, a needle in the shape of a fish was placed in a bowl of water to indicate direction. Most compasses during this Dynasty had a unique design and the lodestone was shaped like a spoon. The spoon would be put into a bronze round disk which would then make it spin around. The bronze disk would have directional points on it as well as star constellations and other informational symbols. When the spinning stopped, the handle of the spoon would be pointing southwards, while the bowl of the spoon always faced north. A nickname for these compasses was ‘South Pointers’ or ‘South Governors’.
In China, the magnetic compass is first used for navigation on sailing journeys in the early 1400s, where is was widely documented that Chinese explorer Zheng He used them on all the ships on his fleet to journey across the planet to locations such as other countries in Asia, eastern Africa, and the Middle East.
The increased popularity of the magnetic compass
While it originated in China, the magnetic compass came to Europe sometime between 1187 and 1202 according to documentation. Some believe that Europeans developed their own version of the compass, however, most experts have come to the conclusion that it was more likely introduced to them by Muslims who themselves had learned of the compass through the Chinese. This theory is backed up by the book ‘De Naturis Rerum’ which translates to ‘On the Nature of Things’ which said that sailors from the East used needles with magnets to help them find their way. The compass which floated on water (floating compass) was used for astronomy while a dry version was used for sailing. This changed the way that sea travel worked, as previously it only happened between October and April but now due to the magnetic compass, it could happen any time of the year.
In Europe in the 13th century, improvements were made to the original compass design. The English at the time, dominated the seas and had a large navy which needed accurate navigation, so they pioneered improvements to the device. The needle now was pinned in the middle of a compass bowl which hung on gimbals. A card with all the navigational points painted on it was mounted above the needle, indicating direction clearly. Gimbals were rings on the side of the bowl which let it move freely, allowing the card to be level and the reading to be accurate.
Also during the 13th century, the compass was used for both astronomy and navigation throughout the Muslim World but there was also an additional use for it. It became known as the “Kabba Indicator” which helped Muslims to locate which direction Mecca was in, in order to assist prayers. Ibn al-Shatir, a famous Syrian astronomer combined the ideas of the original compass design with a traditional sundial. This allowed the device not only to locate Mecca, but also helped identify which times to undertake Salat prayers – which helped many across the Muslim world.
The compass also had a vital role in what we now call ‘The Age of Discovery’, a time period of exploration where many European nations discovered parts of the world that were previously unknown. The magnetic compass literally changed the future of the world as it enabled famous explorers to travel to new lands such as the conquistadors from Spain who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and discovered the Inca and Aztec civilisations and found many natural resources that we rely on today. The compass also helped navigate the seas and document quicker trade routes for products such as tea, spices and silk.
The 15th century led to another discovery – the compass of a needle did not point directly to the North Pole but only close to it. Compasses in Europe were found to point slightly towards the East. To try and rectify this, British navigators used a compass known as conventional meridional compasses which matched up compass needles and true north when ships passed a point in Cornwall, England.
The Magnetic Compass Today
The compass is still a great tool which is used for both navigation and orienteering. It may look more refined and use more modern materials, but it is still the same basic science used by the Chinese thousands of years ago. Some of these trade routes discovered by early explorers using the magnetic compass are still used today to transport goods around the world – and you can be guaranteed that all the ships still have more modern versions of the compass onboard.
Modern compasses are usually mounted on the ship on pedestals that light up the compass face from below – these are known as binnacles. The binnacles are all specially designed for ships and contain magnetics that are particularly placed to stop any effects that the metal from modern ships would have on the compass, ensuring that it works correctly.
As you can imagine, in modern times it is not just boats and ships that need to know direction to help them navigate. Planes and helicopters now also need to know which direction that they are travelling in. Binnacles are also used in aircraft for the same reason, but these compasses also include a mechanism known as a gyroscope which quickly corrects the compass when airplanes suddenly change direction or altitude.
Some however argue that we do not need the humble magnetic compass anymore due to the development of satellites and GPS. GPS units are not widely available in ships, planes, cars and even our mobile technology which allow us to access satellites that can not only tell us where we are but can identify the direction that we are travelling in and how to get to different locations.
Experts say that there is still a place for traditional magnetic compasses as modern technology can be tampered with, lose signal, or run out of charge from a battery. They will never work perfectly, unlike a simple magnetic compass. Therefore, it is unlikely that this little but important tool will disappear anytime soon.
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Author: Sajuti Rahman Haque
Sajuti Rahman Haque
Virtual vs. in-person community meetings
July 25, 2020 by Sajuti Rahman Haque in News / Northern News
By Sajuti Rahman Haque, associate editor, June 29, 2020
VIRTUAL MEETINGS HAVE THEIR BENEFITS. They are open and welcoming to people who otherwise wouldn’t or couldn’t attend public meetings and hearings. But certain things accomplished in large, in-person, physically present public meetings can’t be done virtually.
Welcome Home, San Carlos
On February 1, 2020, the City of San Carlos hosted Welcome Home, San Carlos, one of the city’s last, large, in-person community engagement meetings before the Covid-19 pandemic disallowed them. Welcome Home, San Carlos, with the purpose of helping our community talk more constructively about the shared challenge of housing, was a joint effort between the City and Home for All, a collaborative funded by San Mateo County. Our objective was to understand the housing and transportation priorities, concerns, and values of those who lived and worked in San Carlos.
The initiative, launched in Fall 2019, comprised on-the-street interviews, popup events, and two community conversations. On November 7, 2019, about 100 community members, City Council members, and staff gathered at the Hiller Aviation Museum for the first meeting, which yielded constructive discussions about short and long term housing goals.
The second and last of the large engagement meetings took place on Saturday, February 1, at the San Carlos Adult Community Center. Fifty-five attended.
Community Development Director Al Savay, AICP, wraps up November’s large meeting. Photo: William Cooley
The significance of an in-person format at a large meeting
Home for All conducted similar community engagement meetings in other participating cities in San Mateo County, including Burlingame, Half Moon Bay, Portola Valley, Redwood City, Brisbane, Pacifica, and San Mateo. The community engagement meeting design works best with physical attendance because —
It draws out different views and ensures they won’t be stifled. People who walk into the meeting with a partner or family members are asked to sit at different tables to ensure that individuals won’t hold back during the moderated table conversations among residents. That would be hard to ask for or accomplish in a virtual format.
It shows the diversity of those attending. The head facilitator “breaks the ice” through interactive exercises that require raising hands or standing to illustrate the diversity of those attending. For instance, one activity required participants to raise their hands if they lived in San Carlos for less than 5 years, 10 years or more, 20 years, 30 years, or more than 50 years.
It focuses on community–level concerns and perspectives. City staff and elected officials were present only as active listeners. They walked around the room and listened to the conversations without interrupting.
It ensures representation from diverse groups and from all parts of the community. To ensure all parts of the community could participate, our outreach events in the run-up to the large community meetings, included pop-ups — at which we gave prizes for filling out questionnaires — and micro-meetings with groups of no more than 10 stakeholders. From the Farmers Market to canvassing downtown, we were able to reach a wide array of community members.
City pop-up booth at Farmers Market. Photo: William Cooley
This type of extensive community engagement model with multiple stakeholders simply works better with in-person meetings, and we were fortunate to complete the process before the Covid-19 restrictions. The major concerns and issues raised in the meetings revolved around
increasing affordable housing;
a desire for more efficient public transit;
prioritizing pedestrian and bicycle pathways;
preserving our small town feel while accommodating more housing;
and understanding how state housing laws impact the city.
We hoped that the in-person conversation series and outreach events would increase community participation, ensure that all voices were heard, and inform all participants about their various hopes for the community’s future. The “physically present” approach was crucial to creating an inclusive environment where people could talk and listen to each other as they identified key priorities to guide future policies for and actions on housing.
Sajuti Rahman, City’s management analyst, listens to a table conversation at the February meeting. Photo: William Cooley.
The future of community engagement
As cities begin to reopen in line with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, municipalities are being forced to consider how best to continue providing basic services and govern efficiently while keeping their staff and public safe. Petra Hurtado, PhD, writing for the American Planning Association (APA) on April 8, identified some important questions: how can planners conduct public meetings during times of recommended distancing, and to what extent can an online meeting replace the in-person experience and fulfill legal, procedural, and ethical requirements?
Most cities are now conducting virtual city council and planning commission meetings via video conferences or telecommunications. Sarah Holder writing for Bloomberg CityLab on May 5, quipped that the new era of local governance via webcam “marries the tedium of a regular city council meeting with technical glitches and occasional on-screen drama.” Yet, despite the technical difficulties we have all experienced, public agencies have climbed aboard the virtual meeting train.
One of the still unfolding benefits of virtual meetings is an increase in public participation in the business of government, especially among those who have found it difficult to attend meetings in person. People now have the comfort of listening to or calling in from where ever they are, without having to set aside an entire evening to travel to and sit in a public hall to participate in local government.
Although virtual meetings and hearings are proving adequate for city councils and planning commissions, we believe focused community engagement meetings, such as Welcome Home, San Carlos, work better in person. In-person meetings can set an informal tone where participants can feel comfortable and spontaneous without worrying about being “on camera.” Conversely, virtual meetings limit interactive activities.
That said, the Home for All team has been exploring alternative approaches to community engagement through virtual sessions and hybrid models that use Zoom in both large and small sessions. Although these virtual models have gone well, there is as yet no satisfactory replacement for certain kinds of in-person, physically present communication. Our community engagement strategies, platforms, and venues must be flexible over the coming months and years if we hope to encourage broad community participation in governmental planning and decision-making.
I would like to give a shout out to the City of San Carlos’ Community Development Department, City Manager’s Office, Home for All, Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center, and Common Knowledge for making Welcome Home, San Carlos a successful community engagement initiative.
Sajuti Rahman Haque, an associate editor at Northern News, is a management analyst with the City of San Carlos Community Development Department. She holds a master of urban planning from San Jose State University and a BA in urban studies from UC San Diego. You can reach her at news@norcalapa.org.
Deland Chan, AICP, was appointed by the Board of Supervisors on May 19 to the San Francisco Planning Commission for a term ending July 1, 2022. She is the Director of Community Engaged Learning in Urban Studies at Stanford University, where she teaches courses on urban planning and sustainability and directs the Human Cities Initiative. Chan was formerly a senior planner for land use and transportation planning projects at the Chinatown Community Development Center, 2009-2012. She holds an MA in sociology from Stanford, an MCP from UC Berkeley, and is working toward a PhD in sustainable urban development from the University of Oxford.
Beth Altshuler Munoz is now an independent consultant working at the intersection of planning, public health, and environmental and racial justice, assisting public agencies, nonprofits, and foundations with policy, facilitation/engagement, data analysis/mapping, and training. She had been with Raimi + Associates since 2010 — most recently as a senior associate leading the healthy community planning practice — and now serves as a strategic advisor. Prior to Raimi, she was at MIG and the SF Public Works Department. Altshuler Munoz was Northern Section’s Planners4Health committee chair (2018-2019) and is currently co-organizing APA California’s COVID webinar series. She holds master’s degrees in both city planning and public health epidemiology from UC Berkeley and a BA in sociology from Cornell University.
Afshan Hamid, AICP, is now Planning Director for the Town of Moraga. Previously she was planning manager for the City of Vallejo, where she led the zoning code update and improved development processing. Earlier she was a senior planner for the City of Concord, and had worked in urban design and planning for the City of Walnut Creek. Before coming to the Bay Area in 2014, Hamid was principal planner for the Village of Arlington Heights, Illinois, and an architect with Skidmore Owings & Merrill, Chicago. She holds an M.Arch from MIT and a BFA in industrial design from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Hamid, her husband, and their two daughters live in Danville.
William (Billy) Riggs, PhD, AICP, LEED AP, has been promoted to Associate Professor at the University of San Francisco, where he has taught since 2017. He is a global expert and thought leader in the areas of autonomy and smart transportation, housing, economics, and urban development, and has authored more than 100 publications in these areas. Riggs holds a PhD in city and regional planning from UC Berkeley, a master of urban planning (economics and spatial analysis) from the University of Louisville, and a BA in history from Ball State University. He lives in Palo Alto, where he is on the city’s planning and transportation commission.
Kyle Rose joined G2 Integrated Solutions in July as a Permit Facilitator. Previously a GIS freelancer since 2016, Rose also worked for the City of Monterey as a planning assistant. Before that, he worked at Apple and at Maricopa County (Phoenix) as a GIS analyst. He holds a master of urban planning from San Jose State University and a BA in geography from the University of Miami.
Matthew Taecker, AICP, is Manager of Station Area Planning for California’s High Speed Rail Authority at WSP USA. He previously led his own urban planning and design firm (2013-2020) where he co-authored with Bruce Appleyard and others, “Livable Transit Corridors: Methods, Metrics, and Strategies” (TCRP Report 187, 2016). Taecker was a principal with Dyett and Bhatia; principal planner with the City of Berkeley (developing its award-winning Downtown Area Plan from 2005-2011); and a principal with Calthorpe Associates (1990-2001). At UC Davis Extension, Taecker teaches principles for sustainable development. He holds an MCP and M.Arch. from UC Berkeley and a BA in economics from the University of Chicago. He lives in Downtown Berkeley.
Libby Tyler, PhD, FAICP, is now Planning Manager at the City of San Pablo. Previously a senior project manager at MIG, Tyler was also a consulting planner in the Bay Area and adjunct lecturer at the University of Illinois. Before that, she was the community development director for Urbana, Illinois, 2000-2017. She holds a PhD in regional planning from the University of Illinois, a master of landscape architecture in environmental planning from UC Berkeley, and a BA in environmental conservation from the University of Colorado Boulder. A resident of Albany, CA, Tyler has been Northern Section Ethics Director since 2018 and Vice Chair of the American Planning Association’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee since January 2020.
Graduating into a pandemic-afflicted world
By Atisha Varshney, AICP, July 17, 2020
ARE YOU A RECENT GRADUATE with a degree in urban planning or a related field? Are you feeling lost in the fallout from Covid-19 and wondering how to navigate the next few years or even the next few months?
With an F1 visa and a huge student loan, I graduated in 2010 with a master’s degree in landscape architecture. Job opportunities were scarce, and I had to work extremely hard to stand out. It wasn’t just about being proficient in technical skills or having a strong knowledge of the subject, but more about candor, persistence, and the ability to create opportunities.
I have been in this industry for 10 years, living in New York, San Diego, and now the San Francisco Bay Area. I have come across many industry partners, clients, and peers who are immigrants like me and who are actively contributing to the architecture and planning industry. When I look around in the Bay Area, I see the tech industry celebrating immigrants and leveraging their endeavors and innovation.
But in the planning industry, this level of support and mentoring is absent, especially for new graduates, regardless of whether they immigrated or grew up here. I often see young graduates who find themselves lost when navigating their careers. I was fortunate to have been mentored as a mid-career professional at a firm built on social equity.
In response to the needs I observed, I created a four-minute video sharing these five tips to help young professionals achieve their short- and long-term career goals.
Complete your professional certifications
Leverage your institution
Be action-oriented
After first sharing the video on my LinkedIn profile, I hosted mentoring sessions for a small cohort of recent graduates and junior professionals. I worked specifically with immigrants and international students since their situations are complicated by the need for a visa sponsor for employment, plus many do not have local families to support them. The collaborative format of the mentoring sessions allowed the cohort to learn from each other and share resources while forming long-lasting professional relationships. The idea is not to find them a job, but to help them build their credentials and become better-informed professionals.
I’m inviting my peers and those interested to share their personal experiences through a virtual roundtable that I’ll be hosting with immigration lawyers, public agency designers, advocacy groups, and design consultants. Please sign up here if you are interested in being added to the group email list.
Atisha Varshney, AICP, is an urban design and planning associate with WRT. She holds a master’s in landscape architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design and a bachelor’s in architecture and design from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. You can reach her at https://www.linkedin.com/in/atishav/
May 16, 2020 by Sajuti Rahman Haque in News / Northern News
By Sajuti Rahman, associate editor, May 15, 2020
Monterey water board waylays affordable housing, by Dennis L. Taylor, Monterey Herald, May 13, 2020
“A decision by Monterey Peninsula water officials” to deny use of water from what “the district holds in reserve … leveled a severe blow to the city’s ability to construct new housing units. In effect, one state agency is demanding Monterey provide more housing while another agency is prohibiting the city from building more units because of water. … The general manager of the water district told [Water Demand] Committee members that the State Water Resources Control Board sent an email ‘expressing its concerns’ with Monterey’s request. In total, six shovel-ready projects around the city would generate 303 units with an average of 77 percent affordable housing, but without additional water, only 92 could be built.”
The pandemic demonstrates how vulnerable US transit systems are, by Angela Pachon, UPenn Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, May 6, 2020
“Transit agencies will need to operate with a reduced ridership while continuing to offer an affordable service. Despite the financial pressure to cut expenditures, ongoing efforts to update routes and better integrate different travel modes to attract riders should continue. Decision-makers must also consider that transit in the US will be the only travel mode for the poorest among us, a population that cannot afford to live near their workplaces to cycle or walk.”
Pandemic underscores transit accessibility difficulties, by Abigail Cochran, StreetsBlog Cal, April 21, 2020
“People with disabilities, like everybody else, need to access essential goods, like food and medicine, and services like medical care. The $2.2 trillion relief bill signed into law on March 27th appropriates $25 billion to transit agencies to cover expenses related to the coronavirus response.” Go here to read how on-demand transportation providers (like ride-hail services and taxis), transportation agencies, and public health authorities are rethinking strategies to properly serve people with disabilities during the pandemic and beyond.
Mexico City smog defies coronavirus lockdown, by Raul Cortes Fernandez, Reuters, April 27, 2020
“While city dwellers around the world take some consolation in improved air quality thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, festering garbage dumps, dirty diesel-fueled generators, and frequent forest fires have ensured Mexico City’s air remains smog-filled. Carlos Alvarez, head of an environmental group, said the area had some 400 open-air dumps and 50,000 industrial generators in hotels, offices, and businesses, many of which were still operating despite the quarantine. Now, experts worry that COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, could prove more lethal in Mexico City than elsewhere.” Read more here.
Options to phase-out fossil fuel production in California, by Ethan Elkind, April 29, 2020
“California is the seventh-largest oil producing state in the country. Yet continued oil and gas production contrasts with the state’s aggressive climate mitigation policies. Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment (CLEE) just released the 66-page report (PDF), ‘Legal Grounds: Law and Policy Options to Facilitate a Phase-Out of Fossil Fuel Production in California.’ The report analyzes steps California leaders could pursue on state- and privately-owned lands. Read more about the options discussed among state leaders related to fossil fuel phase-out with less harm to jobs and local economies.”
Second SB 35 ruling lets Vallco project proceed
By Marisa Kendall, The Mercury News, May 7, 2020
“Plans to turn the old Vallco Shopping Mall into a housing, office, and retail complex can proceed after the developer won a decisive victory in court May 6.
“Concluding a lengthy battle over the project — which would bring 2,402 apartments, 400,000 square feet of retail, and 1.8 million square feet of office space to Cupertino —Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Helen Williams ruled city officials did not err when they approved the development and gave it fast-track status.
Approved Vallco proposal. Source: City of Cupertino, https://bit.ly/2ZaY6US
“ ‘This is a gigantic win for housing advocates specifically and a huge win for proponents of development in general,’ said J.R. Fruen, co-founder of the housing advocacy group Cupertino 4 All, which was not a party in the litigation.
“Cupertino approved the Vallco project in 2018 under Senate Bill 35, which requires cities to approve and expedite certain residential and mixed-use developments. Friends of Better Cupertino sued the city, claiming officials had failed to do their duty by approving a project that didn’t meet the standards of SB35.
“But in a 62-page ruling, Judge Williams made clear the project qualified for the special status and that the claims of Friends of Better Cupertino — which she said multiple times misinterpreted the law and made convoluted arguments — didn’t have merit. The group claimed the project was disqualified because it is located on a hazardous waste site, exceeds the city’s height limits, does not have sufficient space designated to residential development, and lacks a park.
“Williams also rejected their argument that a city has a duty to deny a faulty SB35 project application. That means community groups like Friends of Better Cupertino have no grounds to block SB35 projects in court, Fruen said. Although Williams’ trial court decision does not set legally binding precedent, it likely will influence other judges, he said.
“The Vallco ruling comes a week after Williams ruled in favor of another SB35 project in Los Altos, finding the city had no grounds to reject that development,” Kendall writes.
In that April 28 ruling against Los Altos, the Court held “that Developer’s project was deemed to comply with applicable standards under SB 35 and that the City must rescind its decision to deny and instead approve and permit the project at the requested density.” In addition, the parties agreed “to rescind the existing [city] decision and permit the project within 60 days as compared to remanding the matter for further consideration.”
Bill Fulton, writing in CP&DR, notes that “Both cases revolve around the question of how cities must apply objective design standards in an SB 35 case — and the rulings suggest that cities apply objective design and planning standards in a very clear way in order to stay out of legal trouble.”
This is a developing story. “It is unknown at this point whether either of Judge Williams’s rulings will be appealed,” wrote Fulton on May 10. “The Los Altos City Council was scheduled to meet in closed session Monday night [May 12] to consider an appeal. As for the Vallco project in Cupertino, the neighbors’ case is just one of several fronts on which the battle is being fought. Subsequent to the events discussed in Judge Williams’ ruling, Cupertino changed its general plan to eliminate the 2 million square feet of office space contained in the project, and the developer subsequently filed both a lawsuit and a claim against the city.”
You can read Marisa Kendall’s Vallco article here.
Will telecommuting yield the best long-term environmental benefit of COVID-19?
By Ethan Elkind, May 4, 2020
“There’s one potential bright spot for the climate that may outlive this current era: working from home. Prior to the pandemic, only 4 percent of U.S. employees worked from home, according to Global Workplace Analytics. But now more than half of the 135 million people in the U.S. workforce are in a home office.
“The firm estimates that at this rate, by the end of next year, 25 to 30 percent of the total U.S. workforce will be telecommuting, the carbon equivalent of ‘taking all of New York’s workforce permanently off the road,’ said Kate Lister, president of the firm.
“From a greenhouse gas perspective, it means many fewer driving miles from commuting. Otherwise, approximately 86 percent of Americans drive to work, according to the National Household Travel Survey. If just 25 percent of Americans began teleworking even one day per week after the pandemic, total vehicle miles traveled would fall by 1 percent, which is actually a significant amount of the more than 3.2 trillion miles driven in the U.S. in 2018. The numbers could go much higher if more people telecommuted multiple days per week.
“And why might these work-from-home habits stick, as opposed to other environmental friendly measures taken during the pandemic? Simple: working from home is more convenient and more productive for most people. But prior to the pandemic, many managers weren’t comfortable allowing the practice, believing (falsely) that it would hurt bottom lines.
“But now that everyone who can work from home is forced into this arrangement without calamity, my guess is that this manager resistance will fade.”
Mobility: Who is moving and why?
By Riordan Frost, Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, May 4, 2020
“For the past five years, just over 40 million Americans moved each year, according to American Community Survey data.
“Most moves are local, either within the same county or within the same state.
“People move for a variety of reasons, but the most common motivator is housing.
“Mobility rates are about half what they were in the 1940s — when one in five Americans moved each year — and have been steadily declining since the mid-1980s. Local moves have been declining the most, especially among young adults, but all age groups have been moving less than in the past.
“There is little consensus as to why Americans are moving less, but three factors seem to be playing a role — demographic change, housing affordability, and changes in labor dynamics.
“People move less often as they age, and as millennials (America’s second-largest generation) age out of their most mobile years, some decline in mobility should be expected.
“The housing affordability crisis (discussed in detail in our recent report) could also be depressing mobility, with high costs discouraging moves into unaffordable areas.
“The rise in dual-earner households, as well as increases in rates of working from home (especially during and possibly after the COVID-19 pandemic) could be having a downward effect on mobility, as both dual-earner households and remote workers have lower mobility rates than single-earner households and commuters.
“Since the COVID-19 pandemic is still unfolding, it is difficult to assess its possible impacts on mobility. It could be that mobility is going to spike after the quarantines end and people move to cheaper housing (if available) after losing income from a job loss. Mobility could also spike as a result of evictions or foreclosures if substantial payment assistance is not provided before the temporary bans on evictions and foreclosures end.
“It could also be that mobility will decline further as people become less likely to buy or sell homes, especially during the quarantines but also afterwards due to higher economic uncertainty. Working from home is likely at record high levels right now, and if even a small portion of this shift proves to be permanent, it could mean fewer people moving for job-related reasons as well.”
California shrinks; still most populous state
By Associated Press, May 2, 2020
“The nation’s most populous state shrank a bit in the second half of last year, according to official figures released May 1. It still tops second-place Texas, which has about 30 million people.
“California had a population of 39.78 million as of January, the state Department of Finance said, down from its previous report of 39.96 million residents in July.
“But Doug Kuczynski of the department’s Demographic Research Unit said the two numbers aren’t directly comparable because of various adjustments and because each figure represents a point in time.
“By the department’s reckoning, California added about 87,500 residents during the last full calendar year, comparing January-to-January figures. But even that comparison shows population growth of just 0.2 percent, which continues slow growth trends since the Great Recession.
“The figures predate the current recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Growth slowed to near zero or declined in most coastal counties, grew slightly in the San Francisco Bay Area, and remained robust in the Central Valley and counties east of Los Angeles.
“Los Angeles County lost residents for the second straight year, but it remains the nation’s most populous with more than 10 million residents.
“More people left California between July 2018 and July 2019 for the first time since the 2010 census, leading to the state’s slowest recorded growth rate since 1900.”
Read full article here.
Milan mayor: ‘People are ready’ for green change
By Laurie Goering, Thomson Reuters Foundation, May 4, 2020
“Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala has pushed in recent years to make his northern Italian city more climate-smart, including setting an ambitious aim to electrify all public transport by 2030.
“He estimated that 70 percent of Milan residents now back virus-accelerated plans to switch 35 km (22 miles) of street space to priority use for bicycles and pedestrians in the city of 1.4 million.
“Temporary new bike lanes on May 4 were helping ease pressure on the city’s public transport system, as construction and factory workers headed back to work and drivers limited passenger numbers to try to maintain spacing.
“Milan, among the European cities hit earliest and hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, is one of dozens of cities around the world aiming to use a post-lockdown economic restart to bootstrap environmental measures.
“Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, chair of the C40 network of cities pushing swift climate action, said that when the time came to reopen and rebuild, ‘our efforts will define our cities for decades to come.’
“Milan’s leaders also are asking companies to allow more working from home and to stagger hours for employees who do come in, to avoid crowding on transport and in other public places.
“So far, climate-friendly efforts associated with lifting the lockdown — such as expanding bike lanes and sidewalk space for pedestrians — have been relatively inexpensive, the mayor said.
“Still, finding resources — and the will — to get green shifts underway now is crucial to reduce risks from the next big threat of climate change, he said.”
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Ørsted to become carbon neutral by 2025
Copenhagen: Ørsted, recently ranked the most sustainable company in the world, will become carbon neutral by 2025. This will make Ørsted the first major energy company to reach net-zero emissions in its energy generation - far ahead of science-based decarbonisation targets for limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Additionally, Ørsted sets a target of achieving a carbon neutral footprint by 2040.
During the last ten years, Ørsted has transformed from a company with fossil fuels at the core of its business to a pure-play renewables company. Ørsted has gradually dismantled its traditional fossil fuel-based business and built a new business in renewable energy which is now among the biggest green energy companies in the world today.
As the leading developer of offshore wind, Ørsted has installed one third of all offshore wind turbines globally. By driving out carbon emissions from its energy generation and operations, the company has reduced its carbon emissions by 86% compared to 2006.
As announced today in its Sustainability report 2019, Ørsted now takes an additional step in its decarbonisation journey by deciding to become a carbon neutral company by 2025.
CEO of Ørsted, Henrik Poulsen, says:
"We've come very far in reducing our emissions and Ørsted is more than two decades ahead of what is required by science to limit global warming to 1.5°C. We've now decided to take an additional step by making Ørsted a carbon neutral company already by 2025. Halting climate change requires action at all levels of society, and we need that action now. Especially within production and use of energy which account for 73% of all global emissions."
He continues:
"We've transformed from producing energy based on fossil fuels to producing carbon neutral energy. We've seen a real strengthening of our business and shown that a rapid green turnaround is possible. A decade ago, we were one of Europe's most coal-intensive utilities, and by 2025, we'll be carbon neutral."
By becoming carbon neutral by 2025, Ørsted will be the first major energy company to reach net-zero emissions in its operations and energy generation.
"Our change from black to green energy has not been easy but it's been necessary. I hope that our transformation inspires countries and businesses to take more radical actions than they might think possible. There really is no time to lose if the world is to halve emissions by 2030 and stay below 1.5°C of warming."
Road to net zero
The most important levers that will get Ørsted to carbon neutrality are a complete phase-out of coal by 2023 and the installation of 20GW of offshore and onshore wind by 2025, supported by a commitment to invest DKK 200 billion in green energy in the period 2019-2025.
With its determination to continue the phase-out of fossil fuels and build-out of green energy, Ørsted will see its emissions reduced by at least 98% by 2025.
The remaining emissions beyond 98% come from a variety of sources, where emissions are harder to abate. Ørsted will strive to push the reduction beyond 98% and look for solutions to reduce the remaining emissions. One such solution is Ørsted's decision to stop buying or leasing fossil-fuelled cars as of 2021 and make its entire car fleet electric by 2025.
Should offsetting become necessary, Ørsted will only engage with projects that are verified, measurable and additional, meaning that the carbon removal would not have happened without Ørsted's engagement.
Carbon neutral footprint by 2040
As Ørsted is now only a few years away from net-zero energy generation, the company has decided to embark on the next phase in its decarbonisation journey, which is to address the carbon emissions beyond its own walls and align these emissions with the 1.5ºC pathway. These emissions come from energy trading and from the supply chain.
The company has committed to reducing the emissions that take place outside of Ørsted, but are still linked to its activities, with 50% by 2032 compared to 2018. Ørsted now also sets a target to achieve carbon neutrality across the company's entire carbon footprint by 2040, ten years ahead of the global target for net-zero emissions as required by climate science to limit global warming to 1.5ºC.
To achieve a carbon neutral footprint, Ørsted will gradually phase out natural gas trading activities while increasing the green share of power traded. Furthermore, Ørsted will engage its suppliers to reduce carbon emissions from the manufacture and installation of renewable energy and encourage suppliers to set emission reduction targets aligned with climate science and to run their operations on green energy.
"It'll be challenging to reach a carbon neutral footprint by 2040, and it'll require significant innovation in all parts of our supply chain. Many of the green technologies to be used to decarbonise our supply chain exist but they're not yet cost competitive. With the 2040 target, we want to help drive the necessary innovation forward to mature the green technologies in the industries that supply to us," says Henrik Poulsen.
Ørsted's carbon emission reduction targets are science-based targets approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). SBTi has validated Ørsted's targets and classified them as more ambitious than a well-below 2°C trajectory. Moreover, the initiative has preliminarily concluded that Ørsted's targets align with a 1.5°C trajectory, with SBTi's methodology to assess this alignment to be launched later in 2020.
Targets in Ørsted's decarbonisation programme
Phase out coal completely. Over the past decade, Ørsted has shut down three coal-fired power plants in Denmark. Power plants that play a key role in generating heat to Danish households and industry have been converted from coal to certified sustainable biomass. One remaining coal-fired power plant will be shut down by 2023.
Carbon neutral operations and energy generation.
By phasing out fossil fuels and installing 20GW of renewable energy, carbon emissions will have been reduced by at least 98% by 2025, as compared with 2006.
Continue to reduce carbon emissions beyond 98% by switching to a fleet of electric vehicles in the company car fleet, in line with the EV100 requirements, and finding other reduction opportunities in the energy generation and operations.
Offset any residual emissions through verified, measurable and additional carbon removal projects.
Build more than 30GW of green energy across technologies - enough to power more than 55 million people.
Reduce emissions from energy trading and in the supply chain by 50%, as compared with 2018, to align carbon reductions across the entire carbon footprint with the 1.5°C pathway.
Carbon neutral footprint a decade ahead of the 1.5°C pathway by driving out remaining emissions from energy trading and from the supply chain.
Read Ørsted's 2019 Sustainability Report: 'Carbon neutral to stop global warming at 1.5°C' for more details on Ørsted's decarbonisation initiatives and targets.
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The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants, and provides energy products to its customers. Ørsted ranks #1 in Corporate Knights' 2020 index of the Global 100 most sustainable corporations in the world and is recognised on the CDP Climate Change A List as a global leader on climate action. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 6,500 people. Ørsted's shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Orsted). In 2019, the Group's revenue was DKK 67.8 billion (EUR 9.1 billion). Visit orsted.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.
Ørsted Media Relations
Anders Stougaard
astou@orsted.dk
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Igbo People Can’t Unite For Presidency Yet Talk About Biafra – Chimamanda Adichie
Chimamanda Adichie gave her opinion about Biafra during her interview with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu.
The renowned writer wondered how Igbos can achieve Biafra when they can’t unite towards selecting a Nigerian president who is from the region.
The 43-year-old said Igbo people need to rethink how they strategise politically before talking about secession.
She said: “There is no Biafra. There are new movements but, for me, it’s a question of being practical. Where would the border be? What is propelling these movements is a sense of marginalisation, which I think is completely valid.
“But this idea that the answer is independence is what I’m not convinced of. Nobody has made a logical case for me. Quite frankly, I’ve observed the terrible leadership that we have in the southeast.
“Igbo people cannot unite if, for example, we say we want an Igbo president. And then we’re talking about Biafra. There is a lot of political work we need to do in the southeast.
“We need to do a lot of rethinking on how we strategise politically before we can talk about Biafra.”
She also spoke about misogyny in the South East and its effect on politics.
She said: “There are things I quarrel with, in Igbo culture. It’s misogynistic, as are many cultures. That’s the problem. The world is misogynistic. At my father’s funeral, they showed where the widow, my mother, would sit.
“And they showed where the sons in the extended family (umunna) would sit. That’s where those coming would go to present whatever they bring. It’s the sons’. And that was the end. My father had three daughters. There was no place for them.
“I raised the question and a man in my umunna said we would have to loiter around. There’s a problem with that.
“There’s a woman who apparently is going to run for governor in Anambra state.
“I’m having a conversation with a group of people and what they’re saying is, ‘Can a woman rule Anambra?’ Do you need a dangling organ to rule a state? It’s hard enough for both male and female politicians.
“But women have this additional problem of perception, a reason for which many people won’t vote them.
“Igbo culture is just not very good when it comes to gender. Culture as we have it are rules men made to benefit men.
“In my hometown, I seem to have this status of an ‘honorary man’ and that’s because of my achievements. People adapt when they see some benefits to it which means that it’s changeable. It’s engraved on the stones.”
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Nyundu S.J. Phukuta
Division of Family Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Sciences, University of The Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Olufemi B. Omole
Phukuta NSJ, Omole OB. Prevalence and risk factors associated with postnatal depression in a South African primary care facility. Afr J Prm Health Care Fam Med. 2020;12(1), a2538. https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v12i1.2538
Research Project Registration:
Project Number: M160930
Prevalence and risk factors associated with postnatal depression in a South African primary care facility
Nyundu S.J. Phukuta, Olufemi B. Omole
Received: 15 May 2020; Accepted: 13 Aug. 2020; Published: 27 Nov. 2020
Background: The prevalence and factors that influence postnatal depression (PND) vary according to context.
Aim: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with PND in the postnatal clinic of a large community health centre.
Setting: This study was conducted at Levai Mbatha Community healthcare centre, in Evaton, South of Gauteng.
Method: In a cross-sectional study, the Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was administered on 227 consecutive mothers during postnatal clinic visits. In addition, sociodemographic and clinical information were collected. Analysis included descriptive statistics, chi-square test and logistic regression. A score of greater than 13 on the EPDS screened positive for PND.
Results: Participants’ mean age was 27 years, and most completed less than grade 12 education (52.4%), were single (55.5%), were employed or had a working partner (60%) and had no previous PND (97%). The proportion of participants screening positive was 38.8%. In the adjusted logistic regression, completing only primary school education (odds ratio [OR]: 9.11; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03–80.22; p = 0.047), using contraceptive prior to index pregnancy (OR: 2.05; 95% CI: 1.12–3.72; p = 0.019) and reporting a thought of self-harm or infanticide (OR: 7.08; 95% CI: 5.79–22.21; p = 0.000) significantly increased the risk of PND. In contrast, having a relationship with the father of the index child (OR: 0.42; 95% CI: 0.18-0.94; p = 0.037) mitigated this risk.
Conclusion: The proportion of women screening positive for PND was high in the study setting and was concomitant with significant risk of suicide or infanticide. This highlights the need to screen and consider PND as a vital sign during postnatal visits, especially in the face of low educational attainment, failed contraception and poor or no relationship with the father of the index child.
Keywords: postanal; depression; primary care; prevalence; risk factors.
Depression is an important cause of disability and constitutes a large proportion of the global burden of diseases.1 Women of reproductive age are amongst the most affected, especially during the perinatal period.2 If undiagnosed and untreated, depression amongst pregnant women is associated with poor quality of life for the mother, child and the family, and increases the risks of maternal suicide, infanticide and chronic depressive disorder.3
Worldwide, approximately one in five women will experience an episode of depression during pregnancy and/or in the postnatal period; the latter is usually defined as the first 6 weeks after delivery. However, depressive symptoms can occur beyond the 6-week period, and up to 20% of mothers develop depression by 16 weeks post-delivery.4 The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2009 that 10% – 15% of women in the United States complained of signs and symptoms of postnatal depression (PND). This number is considerably higher in low- and middle-income communities, with most women in this population remaining undiagnosed.5 The prevalence of PND shows a wide range in developing countries – from 5% in Nepal to between 5% and 59% in India.6 The pooled prevalence of postnatal depression in low- and middle-income countries is estimated to be about 19.8%, which is higher than in developed countries.7 In Africa, PND is the most prevalent psychological disorder in the perinatal period, with a pooled prevalence of 18.3%.7 In South Africa, whilst the prevalence of PND may be as high as 34.7% in a peri-urban area,3 a recent study reported a higher prevalence of 50.3% in a rural setting.8 Although PND affects low-income countries disproportionately, most of the available data on PND come from studies in high-income countries.7,9,10 Even in South Africa, most data on PND emanate from studies conducted in the Western cape province, highlighting the need for data from other parts of the country. This is more so considering that differences in contexts may limit the generalisation of study findings across settings. This study therefore aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with PND in a peri-urban primary care facility, situated in a socio-economically deprived area, south of Johannesburg.
Study design and setting
This research utilised a cross-sectional design and was conducted at Levai Mbatha Community Health Centre (CHC) in Evaton Township, south of Johannesburg. This CHC renders 24-h emergency and maternity service, and other primary healthcare (PHC) services such as immunisation, primary mental healthcare services, primary oral health services, chronic diseases care, medical male circumcision program, allied and rehabilitation healthcare services and youth-friendly services. Its catchment population is 80 963 residents, of whom more than 80% are uninsured and depend on free public PHC.11 Postnatal and child healthcare are amongst the services that the PHC section of the clinic offer. Mothers who attend for their postnatal visits have mostly been delivered at the in-house Midwife Obstetrics Unit (MOU) or at the regional specialist hospital situated about 11 kilometres away.
According to the District Health Information System, an average of 405 women consulted at Levai Mbatha CHC for postnatal consultation every 3 months at the time of the study.
Sample size and sampling
Assuming a confidence interval of 95%, power of 80% and a margin error of 5% with a response distribution of 50%, we determined the minimum sample size required to be 198 postnatal mothers. We increased this by 15% to adjust for potential incomplete or missing data, determining a final sample size of 227.
Consecutive mothers, 18 years and older, up to 16 weeks postpartum, who came to the postnatal clinic or the baby clinic were approached individually after their vital signs were taken. The objectives and processes of the study were explained to these mothers as well as the possibility of them being referred to another healthcare practitioner in the mental healthcare section of the clinic for further assessment and management, if deemed necessary. The mothers were then invited to participate, and those who agreed were taken to a separate room where they were presented with the participant information sheet. Those who agreed to participate then signed the informed consent. Mothers who presented in the emergency department, mothers of stillborn babies or mothers of hospitalised babies were excluded. Over 3 months, we consecutively approached 236 postnatal mothers, of whom five refused to participate. Of the 231 postnatal mothers who agreed to participate, four were excluded due to participants not meeting inclusion criteria, leaving 227 for analysis. This brought the response rate to 98%.
Tool and data collection
The data collection tool consisted of two sections:
The first was the Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The EPDS is the most used and internationally recognised tool for screening for PND and has been validated in South Africa.12,13 It consist of 10 questions that assess the mother’s mood, interest in pleasurable activities, self-blaming, worrying for no reason, panicking for no reason, being unable to control things, sleeping difficulty, feeling sad, crying for no reason and self-harm thoughts. The score for positive screening for PND is set at > 13.14
The second section was a structured questionnaire that collected information on socio-demographic and medical information, infant characteristics, delivery details of index baby and mother’s relationship status. In addition, this questionnaire probed for the presence of risk factors for PND enumerated in the literature.3,15,16,17
After obtaining informed written consent, the researcher or a trained assistant administered the data collection tools on participants. Each copy of the data collection tool had a unique anonymous code representing the participant’s study number. Participants who were screened positive for PND or those who scored more than zero for Question 10 of the EPDS, which screens for suicidal ideation, were immediately referred to the mental health section of the clinic for further assessment and management. The researcher collected completed EPDS and questionnaires at the end of every business day for data capture.
Data were captured onto MS Excel sheet and imported into STATA statistical analysis software, version 10 for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise participants’ socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, and to determine the proportion of mothers who screened positive for PND. Participants were then divided into two groups: those positive for PND (score > 13) and those negative (score 13 or less). Group differences in terms of socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were explored using the chi-square test. Where group differences and associations were statistically significant (p < 0.05), further regression analyses were carried out to determine the strengths of the associations.
Before conducting the study, ethical clearance was obtained from the University of Witwatersrand Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC Medical), M160930. Permission was also obtained from the Sedibeng District Research Committee and Levai Mbatha CHC management.
A total of 227 participants were included in the study. The mean age was 27 years, and most were < 30 years old (70.5), single (55.5%), completed primary education or less (52.4%) and were either employed or had an employed partner (59.9%). Most participants reported a monogamous and supportive relationship with the father of the index baby and/or in-laws (Table 1).
TABLE 1: Socio-demographic and relationship characteristics.
Most participants had no family history of mental health disorder (90.3%) and did not have any mental health problems (98.2%), previous history of PND (96.5%) or previous history of medical problems (67.8%) (Table 2).
TABLE 2: Perceptions of pregnancy, infant characteristics and delivery details.
Most participants did not plan the index pregnancy (57.7%), delivered by normal vaginal delivery (70.0%), had no complications during the index pregnancy (77.5%) and had good outcome of delivery (93%). Participants’ perceptions of the index pregnancy and baby were mostly favourable.
Approximately 38.8% of participants screened positive for PND. In addition, 32.5% of participants scored between 1 and 3 on Question 10 of the EDPS – ‘The thought of harming myself or my baby has occurred to me’.
On test of association, completing only primary education (p = 0.02), breast-feeding (p = 0.03), failure of contraceptive use (p = 0.03), reporting a negative perception of the pregnancy (p = 0.04), relationship with the father of the baby (p = 0.02) and a score on Question 10 of the EDPS (p = 0.00) were all significantly associated with PND.
In the adjusted multivariable regression analysis (Table 3), completing only primary education, using a contraceptive before the index pregnancy and scoring 1 to 3 on Question 10 of the EPDS independently increased the risk of PND. However, being in a relationship with the father of the index child independently mitigated the risk of PND.
TABLE 3: Results of adjusted multivariable analysis.
This study found that a high proportion of mothers (38.8%) screened positive for PND in this primary care setting. In addition, low educational attainment, use of contraceptive prior to the index pregnancy and a thought of harm to self or baby were significantly associated with increased risk of screening positive for PND. However, reporting an ongoing relationship with the father of the index baby mitigated this risk. The proportion of postnatal mothers screened positive for PND in this study is higher than reported elsewhere.18,19,20 This high proportion of positive screen like the prevalence of PND may be attributable to the pervasive poor socioeconomic conditions and high social stressor levels, typical of the current study setting. These factors have been associated with PND in several studies conducted in developing countries, including South Africa.1,8,9,19 Considering that this study found a high proportion of mothers screening positive for PND using a very sensitive tool such as EPDS – almost triple that reported in studies elsewhere18,19 – there is an urgent need to implement health policies that promote routine screening for PND.21 Because the symptoms of PND might have started before delivery, screening should also be done during antenatal care visits.22,23 As this was a study conducted in only one healthcare facility and employed a screening tool, a study with a bigger sample size using a diagnostic tool is needed to provide a clearer picture of the prevalence of PND and its related factors in South African primary care.
In this study, those mothers who only completed primary school were independently associated with positive screening for PND, consistent with findings from other studies conducted in developing countries.9,24 Low educational attainment is associated with socioeconomic deprivation and unemployment, and both have been reported to increase stress levels amongst South African mothers in the perinatal period, exposing them to a risk of depression.21 Addressing these links requires a multifaceted approach beyond screening and therapy in the health facility. Social and educational interventions are needed to improve women’s educational attainments, skills acquisition and emancipation.
The association between use of contraception prior to conception in the index pregnancy and PND can be explained as follows: firstly, this could have been due to contraceptive failure resulting in unplanned pregnancy – corroborated by the finding that more than half of participants in this study reported not planning the index pregnancy. Unplanned pregnancy on its own has been reported as a source of psychosocial stress and associated with an increased risk of PND in both developing and developed countries.8,21 There is therefore a need for healthcare workers to screen for PND amongst women who report that their pregnancies were due to failed contraception. Secondly, certain types of contraceptives such as hormonal ones increase the risk of developing PND.22 However, we did not inquire about the type and duration of contraceptive use, and we cannot ascribe the study findings to this relationship. Future studies need to fill these gaps.
That an ongoing relationship with the father of the index child is associated with lower risk of being screened positive for PND is consistent with previous reports elsewhere and in South Africa.23,25 A large cohort study in Soweto using the Pitt Depression Questionnaires (PDQ) found that difficulty in relationship with the partner and/or the father of the index child was a significant risk factor and almost doubled the risk of PND.26 Another study in rural South Africa also found that reporting a ‘None’ satisfaction regarding the romantic relationship between a woman and the father of her index child was associated with PND.21 Strenuous relationships with the index child’s father may negate financial and emotional support from the father and exacerbate the stress of raising a child alone, increasing the risk of a depressive state. It is therefore important to explore the relationship between mother and child’s father during the perinatal period and, if strained, prompt the screening of the mother for PND.
In this study, almost one-third of participants screened positive for a risk of suicide or infanticide, consistent with that of a South African study conducted in KwaZulu-Natal.27 However, this proportion is far higher than reported in developed countries (32.5 vs. 20%).25,28 and reveals a worrisome potential for the risk of suicide /infanticide amongst South African women in the postnatal period. Addressing this is an immediate policy and clinical imperative in South African community obstetric and PHC. Screening for suicidal ideation needs to be done in all mothers at risk of PND, and more importantly, all mothers attending the postnatal clinic should be asked at least Question 10 of the EPDS – ‘the thought of harming myself has occurred to you’. This is more so, that scoring at least 1 in Question 10 of the EPDS confers up to 22 times a higher risk of being screened positive for PND. Although Question 10 of the EPDS is not specific for assessing suicidal ideation, it has shown good reliability and sensitivity.
Strengths and limitations
Being cross-sectional in design, the study findings represent the situation at a point in time and do not infer causality between other variables and PND. In addition, the study utilised a screening and not diagnostic tool, and the findings in no manner reflect the prevalence of PND.
There is a possibility of selection bias because of the consecutive sampling methods. Also, mothers younger than 18 years of age were excluded, and this could have underrepresented the proportion screened positive for PND, given that teenage pregnancy accounts for greater than 10% of all pregnancies in most settings in South Africa.14
The questionnaire was researcher administered, and participants could have responded to some questions in a socially desirable manner, resulting in errors in outcome estimates.
Notwithstanding these potential limitations, this study found a high risk for depressive disorders in the postpartum period in a typical South African primary care setting with serious clinical and health policy implications.
Considering that a high proportion of participants in this study screened positive for PND, there is a potentially high burden of depressive disorders in the peri-partum period in this study setting. There is therefore a need for routine screening for PND amongst women in the peri-partum period in primary care, particularly those with low educational attainment, history of contraception failure prior to the index pregnancy and poor relationship with the father of the index child.
The authors would like to thank the staff of the baby clinic, the postnatal clinic and psychiatric clinic at Levai Mbatha Community Health Centre for their support and Dr O. Fadahun for his assistance with data analysis.
The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.
N.S.J.P. and O.B.O. were both involved in the conceptualisation, data collection, analysis, interpretation and manuscript development and gave approval for the final draft.
Data is available on request from the corresponding author.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the authors.
Whiteford HA, Degenhart L, Rehm J, et al. Global burden of disease attributable to substance use disorders: Findings from the global burden of disease study 2010. Lancet. 2013;382(9904):1575–1586. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61611-6
Ribeiro PS, Jacobsen KH, Mathers CD, et al. Priorities for women’s health from the global burden of disease study. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2008;102(1):82–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2008.01.025
Tomlinson M, Cooper PJ, Stein A, et al. Post-partum depression and infant growth in a South African peri-urban settlement. Child Care Health Dev. 2006;32(1):81–86. PMID: 16398794. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2006.00598.x
O’Hara MW, Wisner KL, Asher N, et al. Perinatal mental illness: Definition, description and aetiology. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2014;28(1):3–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2013.09.002
Depression among women [homepage on the Internet]. [cited 2016 Jan 09]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/depression/index.htm.
Nagpal J, Dhar RSG, Swati SS, et al. An exploratory study to evaluate the utility of an adapted mother generated index (MGI) in assessment of postpartum quality of life in India. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2008;6(1):107. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7525-6-107
Fisher J, Cabral de Mello M, Patel V, et al. Prevalence and determinants of common perinatal mental disorders in women in low- and lower-middle-income countries: A systematic review. Bull World Health Organ. 2012;90(2):139–149. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.11.091850
Stellenberg EL, Abrahams JM. Prevalence and factors influencing postnatal depression in a rural community in South Africa. Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2015;7(1):2–8. https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v7i1.874
Adama ND, Foumane P, Olen JPK, et al. Prevalence and risk factors of postpartum depression in Yaoundé, Cameroon. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2015;5(11):608–617. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojog.2015.511086
Mohammed ES, Mosalem FA, Mahfouz EM, et al. Predictors of postpartum depression among rural women in Minia, Egypt: An epidemiological study. Public Health. 2014;128(9):817–824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2014.06.006
Sedibeng District Health Services. DHIS indicators, annual report. Gauteng Province Department of Health, Pretoria; 2015.
Tsai AC, Scott JA, Hung KJ, et al. Reliability and validity of instruments for assessing perinatal depression in African settings: Systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2013;8(12):e82521. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0082521
Lawrie TA, Hofmeyr CJ, De Jager M, et al. Validation of the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale on a cohort of South African women. S Afr Med J. 1998;88(10):1340–1344. [Accessed 21 March 2016].
Nation Department of Health, South Africa. [cited 2015 Dec 22]. Available from: http://www.perinatalservicesbc.ca/Documents/GuidelinesStandards/Maternal/MentalHealthDisordersGuidelines.pdf
Yim IS, Stapleton LRT, Guardino CM, et al. Biological and psychosocial predictors of postpartum depression: Systematic review and call for integration. Annu Rev Clin. 2015;11:99–137. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-101414-020426
Wittkowski A, Gardner PL, Bunton P, et al. Cultural determined risk factors for postnatal depression in Sub-Saharan Africa: A mixed method systematic review. J Affect Disord. 2014;163:115–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013
Clout D, Brown R. Sociodemographic, pregnancy, obstetric and postnatal predictors of postpartum stress, anxiety, and depression in new mothers. J Affect Disord. 2015;188:60–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2015.08.054
Doe S, LoBue S, Hamaoui A, et al. Prevalence and predictors of positive screening for postpartum depression in minority parturient in the South Bronx. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2017;20(2):291–295. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0695-4
Baker L, Oswalt K. Screening for postpartum depression in a rural community. Community Ment Health J. 2008;44(3): 171–180. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-007-9115-6
Xinli C, Peichao Z, Haiyan W, et al. Screening for postpartum depression and associated factors among women in China: A cross-sectional study. Front Psychol. 2016;7(597):1668. https://doi.org/10.3389/fppsyg.2016.01668
Gauteng Provincial Government Health Annual Report 2012/2013 [homepage on the Internet]. [Accessed 17 July 2018]. Available from: https://provincialgovernment.za.
Horibe M, Hane Y, Abe J, et al. Contraceptives as possible risk factors for postpartum depression: A retrospective study of the food and drug administration adverse event reporting system, 2004–2015. Nurs Open. 2017;5(2):131–138. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.121
Aza SMY, Li T, Colin WB, et al. Prevalence and risk factors for postnatal depression in Sabah, Malaysia: A cohort study. Women Birth. 2015;28(1):25–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2014.11.002
Alharbi A, Abdulghani MH. Risk factors associated with postpartum depression in the Saudi population. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2014;10:311–316. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.SS7556
Yount KM, Smith SM. Gender and postpartum depression in Arab Middle Eastern women. Womens Stud Int Forum. 2012;35(4):187–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2012.03.017
Sethna L, Murray L, Ramchandani P, et al. Paternal depression in the postnatal period and early father-infant interactions. Parent Sci Pract. 2015;15(1):1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080./15295192.2015.992732
Bodnar-Deren S, Klipstein K, Fersh M, et al. Suicidal ideation during the postpartum period. J Womens Health. 2016;25(12):1219–1223. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2015.5346
Orosolini L, Valchera A, Vecchiotti R, et al. Suicide during perinatal period: Epidemiology, risk factors, and clinical correlates. Front Psychiatry. 2016;7(11):138. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00138
Final recommendation statement: Depression in adults: Screening. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. 2016 [cited 2016 Mar 20]. Available from: http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Document/Recommendation StatementFinal/depression-in-adults-screening1
Yawn BP, Dietrich AJ, Wollan P, et al. TRIPPD: A practice-based network effectiveness study of post partum depression screening and management. Ann Fam Med. 2012;10(4):320–329. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.1418
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What Are the Four Elements of Negligence
In law school, students are taught that there are 4 elements of negligence: duty, breach of duty, damages, and causation.
Essentially, you can bring a lawsuit for negligence if the defendant had a duty to be careful around you, the defendant breached that duty of care, you suffered injury, and the defendant’s conduct was the proximate cause of the harm.
However, anyone who has practiced law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania knows that proximate cause can be separated into two parts under certain circumstances.
The causation element can sometimes consist of two parts: proximate causation and actual causation.
Elements of Negligence include:
Duty & Breach –
The first two elements of a negligence case are closely related because, in order to breach a duty, you need to have that duty in the first place.
In negligence, a duty is the legal obligation to conform your conduct to a particular standard of care.
Whether or not there is such a duty can depend on many things, but generally, it exists when there’s a special relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff.
This can include the relationship between a doctor and patient, a landowner and a visitor, or someone with custody of another.
Once that duty has been established, whether there was a breach is determined by asking “did the defendant breach the duty owed to the plaintiff—in other words, did the defendant fail to exercise the level of care required of them?”
What standard of care is required also depends on the relationship between the parties involved.
Most regular people are held to the “reasonable person” standard, which asks what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances.
There are some exceptions. Children, for example, are still growing and developing, so using a “reasonable person” (which is usually an adult) may not be an accurate assessment of the child’s conduct.
Similarly, doctors and other medical professionals are held to a higher standard.
Rather than comparing a doctor to the average reasonable person, it is more prudent to compare them to other professionals with similar experience.
Damages or Harm –
An important part of negligence is the harm suffered by the plaintiff.
Although the name might be slightly confusing, this element is called “damages” because it requires that the court be able to compensate the plaintiff for their injuries.
If the plaintiff didn’t suffer any harm, then they cannot sue for negligence.
Damages in a negligence case can differ depending on the facts but can include things like past and future medical expenses and compensation for emotional harm.
Proximate Causation –
As explained by the Pennsylvania Superior Court in Reilly v. Tiergarten,
“proximate cause is a question of law, to be determined before the question of the actual cause may be put to the jury. which the judge must decide.”
The question in Reilly was whether the defendant’s actions were so remote that it should not be held responsible for any injury caused to the minor plaintiff by the police.
In the Reilly case, a minor was served alcohol at a tavern in violation of state law.
When he got home, he assaulted his father with a knife and the police were called to the scene.
When the police arrived, the armed minor was shot by the police officers.
A lawsuit was brought against the tavern for the shooting injuries received by the minor.
The court held that the claim of negligence against the tavern for serving liquor to a minor was so remote with respect to the injuries later received as a result of the shooting that the tavern could not as a matter of law be held legally responsible and, therefore, granted summary judgment and dismissed the case.
The key test is whether the injury the defendant suffered would have been foreseen by an ordinary person as the probable and natural outcome of his conduct.
If not, then the defendant cannot be held responsible for the injury.
In Reilly, the court held it was not foreseeable that a minor served liquor would go home, assault his father with a knife, and then be shot by the investigating police.
Here is another example where proximate causation might be in dispute.
Say a person is walking their dog when they are hit by a car.
But the car was swerving to avoid a ball that had been thrown into the road.
The person struck by the car wants to sue the person who threw the ball onto the road.
Does proximate causation exist so that the defendant knew or should have known that throwing a ball in the road could lead to a collision? The answer might be “yes.”
But imagine that a person was carrying groceries into their house when the bag tore open. Soup cans rolled out into the road, causing a driver to swerve and strike a pedestrian.
In this case, would the average person have foreseen that someone would get hit by a vehicle because they lifted a bag of groceries out of their vehicle which later ripped?
The answer is certainly “no,” so this person cannot be a proximate cause of the accident—even if the accident would not have happened but for their carrying the bag of groceries. Proximate causation raises important policy considerations.
What conduct should courts hold responsible for injuries and which conduct is too remote?
An attorney can help analyze this situation.
Actual Causation –
Once a judge decides proximate causation, the jury will decide actual causation.
Actual causation is fairly simple: did the defendant’s conduct substantially contribute or was it a factual cause of the defendant’s injuries? In many cases, the answer is obvious.
For example, if you were T-boned in an intersection by a speeding motorist and broke your shin bone when it slammed into the dashboard, then the driver’s reckless conduct clearly contributed to your broken bone.
However, there are some situations where actual causation could be in dispute. For example, you might have had a pre-existing injury to your back when you fell while skiing.
After a car accident, you might claim that your back has been hurt in the crash, but the defendant could allege that you really hurt your back while skiing.
A jury will need to decide whether the accident was the actual cause of the back injury.
Medical malpractice cases are another situation where actual causation is often in dispute.
If a doctor prescribed the wrong medication and you developed a tumor, then an expert witness will probably need to testify to connect the doctor’s error to your health issue.
These complicated issues are outside a jury’s understanding, so expert testimony on actual causation is required.
Negligence Attorneys Representing the Injured
Accident cases are very confusing, and injured victims need confident legal guidance during this turbulent time.
As medical bills arrive in your mailbox, you might be wondering whether you can hold the person who injured you accountable.
The good news is that you can.
At PhillyLaw, we have brought many lawsuits on behalf of innocent victims injured or killed as a result of medical malpractice, defective products, car accidents, truck accidents, slip and falls, and other serious accidents.
We are a full-service personal injury law firm with more than 40+ years of experience.
Contact us today. We will be happy to get to work on your case immediately, but you need to contact us first.
Please call PhillyLaw at give us a call or submit an online form for a free consultation with one of our Philadelphia personal injury attorneys.
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White House aide avoids testifying on security breach
CNN Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/12/03/art.rogers1203.gi.jpg caption="Citing 'separation of powers,' the White House said Obama social secretary Desiree Rogers would not be testifying at Thursday's congressional hearing."]
Washington (CNN) - The White House is being accused stonewalling as Congress investigates the party-crasher security breach at President Obama's first state dinner last week.
At issue: Whether the White House is protecting Social Secretary Desiree Rogers from testifying about how Tareq and Michaele Salahi were able to crash the first White House state dinner. The couple did not have an invite but were allowed in.
Rogers' office planned the dinner.
Members of Congress put pressure on Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan Friday for the grate crashing fiasco. Sullivan said his agency will take the heat for the incident.
"This is our fault and our fault alone," he said. "There's no other people to blame here. ... Look at me and blame me," he told the House Homeland Security Committee.
Lawmakers praised his candor, but bluntly declared that Rogers should be facing tough questions too.
Related: White House 'stonewalling' on security breach, Republican says
Filed under: Homeland Security • Obama administration • White House
Lee in TN
Let the White House deal with their security issues. This is just another ploy by the republicans to distract from the fact, that during their rule of Washington no one testified, even when they broke the law.
December 3, 2009 10:36 pm at 10:36 pm |
I think that there is sufficient blame to go around on this matter. However, most of the blame belongs on the Secret Service for letting the Salahis ito the White House State dinner in the first place. The Secret Service gets paid to protect and take a bullet for the President, his family and staff and they should take the blame in this matter. Ms. Desiree Rogers is partly to blame for not assigning a staff member of her office to manage invitations to this event and abandoning protocol on White House invitations. However, she is not responsible for security at the White House. The Secret Service is.
worriedmom
somethng smells fishy here and i think it may be the WH. Protecting again.
Let's get over this and get on with jobs, jobs, jobs!!!
M Paul
The blessed ones will always going to get in. How about young folks who worked during snow, cold and heat to make sure that CHANGE will happen? How about mothers and girls who traveled distances to come to Obama rallies? Why they can't be invited?
think that there is sufficient blame to go around on this matter. However, most of the blame belongs on the Secret Service for letting the Salahis into the White House State dinner in the first place. The Secret Service gets paid to protect and take a bullet for the President, his family and staff and should take the blame in this matter. Ms. Desiree Rogers is partly to blame for not assigning a staff member of her office to manage invitations to this event and abandoning protocol on White House invitations. However, she is not responsible for security at the White House. The Secret Service is. The Salahis are responsible for this situation by showing up uninvited to the State Dinner. They should be prosecuted for trespassing.
Terry - Indiana
This is not a White House Staff issue. The White House Secret Service Detail is solely responsible for the security of the White House and the President of the United States. I find it interesting that the Head of the Secret Service fell on his sword at the Congressional Committee Hearing, but I have not read that the Agent in Charge was dismissed. A list of attendees was given to the Secret Service, and someone dropped the ball.
We are sending more troops into Afghanistan and this is what Congress is concentrating on? Also, the Social Secretary is NOT responsible for the President's security and safety, the Secret Service IS!
Sounds like a certain Social Secretary should be on the unemployment line soon for a complete and total failure to perform her duties. I know i would be if I did my job as well as she did.
Willy Brown
Guilty but the liberal media will protect her and all dummycrats.
indiana voter
I personally don't see how her testifying will be a threat to our intelligence and our national security, which is what "executive privilege" is supposed to be used for. It is not to be used to protect your old Chicago friends from answering questions about an administrative error. So much for the "transparency" from this administration.
Why drag a secretary before this mob of bafoons? They don't want truth, they want to create as much division as possible.
They got their answer from the Secret Service... "They were to blame and NO ONE ELSE to blame!"
Why drag a secretary before these useless bafoons. God do your job on finding jobs!
trying to be reasonable in WV
Tempest in a teapot, people. EVERYONE except the Secret Service (THEY need to get it straight!) needs to get a life. And the Salahis might well benefit from brain transplants.
Mike, formerly from Syracuse
She should be fired. Ooops, can't do that, Affirmative Action hire.
Ex-Repub n' SC
They got their answer from the Secret Service... "They were to blame and NO ONE ELSE!"
Why drag a secretary before these useless bafoons?
Go do your job finding jobs! This making a mountain out of nothing.... Oh, I forgot; that is what you do!
Noella, FL
I'm an Obama supporter and I really don't see why she can't testify. We just want to know what happened. I think this woman is at fault for being a "guest" at the party instead of a "staff member". The party was not for her, but for the president and first lady. I really couldn't care less about her embarrasment, I want the president protected.
On the other hand, I don't think Congress should ask questions that may give people ideas and pose a security threat that wasn't there before.
Connie,KS
Well, I really don't want to see Ms. Desiree Rogers strutting her outfit before the event, as if she's an invited guest. She should be working and trust me, if it were my job, I wouldn't sit down until I knew all guests had been accounted for, and the Secret Service could continue to do their job.
With any hightprofile job, comes responsibilities. Yes it's exciting, but you still have to do your job.
If something happened to the president there would be hell to pay. Hopefully from now on she will be on her toes.
Molly Weasley
How is this possibly her fault? She planned the dinner for several hundred people. She wasn't supposed to be a bouncer. That's the Secret Service's job. You don't get in without an invitation. Period. And some agents slacked off.
It's a waste of everyone's time for congressional Republicans to try to make political hay out of this.
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The Coast Town of Viana do Castelo
Published on 9 Oct 2020 6 Dec 2020 by MWH
Viana do Castelo has a well-preserved historic centre
Sitting comfortably between the Lima Estuary and the rolling hills of Portugal‘s enchanting Minho region, Viana do Castelo boasts an extended history with vestiges of human habitation dating back as far as the Stone Age.
King Afonso III granted it a charter in 1258 when it was a small fishing village. He built a tower at the mouth of the river to protect the village against pirates from Galicia and North Africa.
From its fishing roots, Viana do Castelo expanded into a thriving maritime centre through its commerce with northern Europe and later with Brazil.
It became one of the busiest ports in Portugal, becoming closely linked with the Age of Discovery on account of its native son, Gonçalo Velho (one of the first navigators of Prince Henry) who was given the task of populating the islands of the Azores in the North Atlantic.
Other locally-born sailors of the 15th century include João Velho who first charted the mouth of the mighty River Congo and João Álvares Fagundes who mapped the shores of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia for Portuguese cod fishermen.
In the 16th century, Viana was so wealthy and prosperous that King Manuel I decided to build a square for festivals and other forms of municipal merry-making.
Viana was later granted city status in 1847 by Queen Maria II as a reward for the loyalty of the Commander of the Castle. It had been besieged by the forces of the Count of Antas who rose against the Cabrais during the Patuleia Civil War. The commander then travelled to Lisbon and gave the key of the castle to the royal sovereign. She elevated Viana to a city and changed its name from Viana da Foz do Lima to Viana do Castelo.
Nowadays, the town is popular for its pottery and regional handicrafts, most of which can be purchased at its busy Friday market.
In the centre of town, Praça da República (pictured) is one of the most impressive squares in Portugal. At its heart is the much-photographed Chafariz Fountain which was constructed in the 16th century, while the most impressive building on the square is the church of the Misericórdia, a unique three-storey structure featuring Roman arches and Renaissance balconies.
The town’s parish church was begun by King João I in 1285 and completed in 1433. Dominated by a large Gothic arched portal, the façade is flanked by two battlemented towers and the interior is emblazoned with an impressive ‘trompe-l’oeil’ ceiling.
Of equal interest to visitors, the municipal museum housed in an 18th-century palace displays rare ceramics, furniture, paintings and some of the regions most interesting archaeological discoveries.
Reached by road or more interestingly by funicular railway, the Monte de Santa Luzia vantage point 3 km from the centre of town offers exceptional views of Viana do Castelo as well as long stretches of the Minho coastline. At the top is a basilica completed in 1926, a pousada hotel and traces of a Celtiberian settlement nearby.
Accessible either by road or ferry, the popular beach of Praia do Cabedelo lies to the south of the town.
Northern PortugalAge of Discovery, archaeological discoveries, battlemented towers, busiest ports in Portugal, castelo, Celtiberian settlement, church, cultural attractions in northern Portugal, funicular railways, Gonçalo Velho Cabral, gothic, Gothic arched portal, guide, Henry the Navigator, interior, king, King Afonso III, King Manuel I, Lima estuary, lisbon, maritime centre, minho, Minho coastline, Minho region, Monte de Santa Luzia, most impressive squares in Portugal, north, northern Portugal, parish, Patuleia Civil War, portal, portugal, portugal travel guide, Praça da República Viana do Castelo, Queen Maria II, rare ceramics, regional handicrafts, renaissance balconies, river, Roman arches, square, town, towns of northern Portugal, travel, trompe-l'oeil ceiling, viana, Viana do Castelo, Viana do Castelo travel guide, where to go in northern portugal
The Border Town of Monção
River of Gold
(Hand)-Made in Portugal
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Book signing for THE BEST OF ME by David Sedaris
Friday Dec 18, 2020
Powerhouse @ IC
220 36th St., Building #2
RSVP encouraged & appreciated.
Please fill out the form at the bottom of this page if you plan on attending.
PLEASE NOTE: Submitting an RSVP for this event DOES NOT guarantee entrance. This is a free-access event — entrance will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
This is David Sedaris’ only NYC appearance in support of his critically acclaimed anthology The Best of Me! First come first serve – this is a strictly socially distanced event, with book purchase required and timed tickets for attendees. No photographs!
About the Book.
“Genius… It is miraculous to read these pieces… You must read The Best of Me.” —Andrew Sean Greer, New York Times Book Review
David Sedaris’s best stories and essays, spanning his remarkable career—as selected by the author himself, and including a new essay
A CNN and Christian Science Monitor Best Book of the Month
For more than twenty-five years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space, virtually creating his own genre. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost impossible to read without laughing.
Now, for the first time collected in one volume, the author brings us his funniest and most memorable work. In these stories, Sedaris shops for rare taxidermy, hitchhikes with a lady quadriplegic, and spits a lozenge into a fellow traveler’s lap. He drowns a mouse in a bucket, struggles to say “give it to me” in five languages, and hand-feeds a carnivorous bird.
But if all you expect to find in Sedaris’s work is the deft and sharply observed comedy for which he became renowned, you may be surprised to discover that his words bring more warmth than mockery, more fellow-feeling than derision. Nowhere is this clearer than in his writing about his loved ones. In these pages, Sedaris explores falling in love and staying together, recognizing his own aging not in the mirror but in the faces of his siblings, losing one parent and coming to terms—at long last—with the other.
Taken together, the stories in TheBest of Me reveal the wonder and delight Sedaris takes in the surprises life brings him. No experience, he sees, is quite as he expected—it’s often harder, more fraught, and certainly weirder—but sometimes it is also much richer and more wonderful.
Full of joy, generosity, and the incisive humor that has led David Sedaris to be called “the funniest man alive” (Time Out New York), The Best of Me spans a career spent watching and learning and laughing—quite often at himself—and invites readers deep into the world of one of the most brilliant and original writers of our time.
David Sedaris is the author of Calypso, Theft by Finding, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Holidays on Ice, Naked, and Barrel Fever. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and BBC Radio 4. He lives in England and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
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The POWERHOUSE Arena
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Sat - Sun: 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
© 2021 POWERHOUSE Arena
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BUSN1001
Business Reporting and Analysis
An undergraduate course offered by the Research School of Accounting.
Code BUSN1001
Offered by Research School of Accounting
ANU College ANU College of Business and Economics
Course subject Business
Areas of interest Accounting
Dr Sorin Daniliuc
Eunice Khoo
Offered in First Semester 2021
Second Semester 2021
Business Reporting and Analysis (BUSN1001)
The course focuses on the nature and scope of business reporting and the need for financial and non-financial information for business decision-making. It provides students with fundamental financial management knowledge in the contemporary business environment. The course commences with an introduction to the use of business reports and the financial reporting regulatory environment. The concepts of primary financial reports and specific reporting issues are then discussed, with a focus on the preparation and analysis of financial statements from the perspectives of business report users. The course proceeds with discussions on the basic financial decision tools, the use of past and future-oriented information and how the knowledge is applied to managerial decision-making, including planning, control and investment opportunities.
Understand the relationship of business reporting to the social and economic environment;
Explain who are the main users of business reports, and the main purposes for which the information is used;
Understand the major differences between sole traders, partnerships and companies.
Distinguish between income, expenses, assets and liabilities;
Apply the principle of duality to the accounting equation;
Prepare an income statement, balance sheet and a statement of cash flows;
Analyse financial reports with regard to key aspects of performance such as profitability, solvency and liquidity;
Explain what the planning and control processes are in relation to company objectives;
Evaluate investment opportunities, including cost-volume-profit analysis, capital investment decision making, and budgeting.
Typical assessment may include, but is not restricted to, class participation, assignment(s), quizzes and examination(s) as appropriate to assess the learning outcomes of the course. (null) [LO null]
Students taking this course are expected to commit at least 10 hours a week to completing the work. This will include 4 hours per week in class and at least 6 hours a week on average (including non-teaching weeks) on course reading, research, writing and assignment work.
You are not able to enrol in this course if you have previously completed ENGN3211
Numeracy and literacy proficiency is assumed.
Business and Economics Essentials
Introductory Accounting
2287 22 Feb 2021 01 Mar 2021 31 Mar 2021 28 May 2021 In Person N/A
2266 21 Feb 2022 28 Feb 2022 31 Mar 2022 27 May 2022 In Person N/A
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Robert W. Goodlatte & Filemon Vela
Compare the voting records of Robert W. Goodlatte and Filemon Vela in 2017-18.
Robert W. Goodlatte
Represented Virginia's 6th Congressional District. This was his 13th term in the House.
Filemon Vela
Represented Texas's 34th Congressional District. This was his 3rd term in the House.
Robert W. Goodlatte and Filemon Vela are from different parties and disagreed on 67 percent of votes in the 115th Congress (2017-18).
But they didn't always disagree. Out of 1115 votes in the 115th Congress, they agreed on 373 votes, including 9 major votes.
May 22, 2018 — Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act
Feb. 6, 2018 — Further Extension of Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018
Dec. 21, 2018 — Correct Enrollment to S. 3628
Dec. 21, 2018 — To redesignate Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge as the Nathaniel P. Reed Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, and for other purposes
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment
Dec. 21, 2018 — 9/11 Memorial Act
Dec. 21, 2018 — Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act
Dec. 21, 2018 — Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic and Empowerment Act
Dec. 21, 2018 — Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act
Dec. 21, 2018 — Protecting Girls’ Access to Education in Vulnerable Settings Act
Dec. 21, 2018 — Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act
Dec. 21, 2018 — Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act
Dec. 21, 2018 — 75th Anniversary of World War II Commemoration Act
Dec. 21, 2018 — Space Frontier Act of 2019
Dec. 21, 2018 — Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act
Dec. 21, 2018 — Directing the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make certain corrections in the enrollment of H.R. 4174
Dec. 21, 2018 — Designating room H-226 of the United States Capitol as the “Lincoln Room”
Dec. 20, 2018 — To reauthorize the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route, and for other purposes
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendments
Dec. 20, 2018 — Stigler Act Amendments
Dec. 13, 2018 — Calling on the Government of Burma to release Burmese journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo sentenced to seven years imprisonment after investigating attacks against civilians by Burma’s military and security forces, and for other purposes
Dec. 11, 2018 — Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium Land Transfer Act of 2017
Dec. 11, 2018 — PREEMIE Reauthorization Act
Dec. 11, 2018 — Improving Medicaid Programs and Opportunities for Eligible Beneficiaries Act
Dec. 10, 2018 — George W. Bush Childhood Home Study Act
Dec. 10, 2018 — Urging the Secretary of the Interior to recognize the historical significance of Roberto Clemente’s place of death near Pinones in Loiza, Puerto Rico, by adding it to the National Register of Historic Places
Nov. 29, 2018 — National Flood Insurance Program Further Extension Act
Nov. 27, 2018 — Democratic Republic of the Congo Democracy and Accountability Act of 2018
Nov. 27, 2018 — Global Fragility and Violence Reduction Act of 2018
Nov. 16, 2018 — Strengthening Coastal Communities Act
Nov. 13, 2018 — To rename the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge as the Congressman Lester Wolff National Wildlife Refuge
Sept. 26, 2018 — FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018
Sept. 26, 2018 — Recognizing that allowing illegal immigrants the right to vote devalues the franchise and diminishes the voting power of the United States citizens
Sept. 26, 2018 — FDR Historic Preservation Act
Sept. 25, 2018 — Expanding Contracting Opportunities for Small Business Act of 2018
Sept. 25, 2018 — Encouraging Small Business Innovators
Sept. 13, 2018 — Making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes
Sept. 13, 2018 — Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act
Sept. 12, 2018 — To authorize early repayment of obligations to the Bureau of Reclamation within the Northport Irrigation District in the State of Nebraska
On Ordering the Previous Question
July 26, 2018 — Providing for consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 5515, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for military activities of the Department of Defense, military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for the fiscal year
July 25, 2018 — Restoring Access to Medication Act
July 18, 2018 — To authorize the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, and for other purposes
July 17, 2018 — Protecting Diplomats from Surveillance Through Consumer Devices Act
July 17, 2018 — Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018
July 17, 2018 — JOBS and Investor Confidence Act of 2018
July 16, 2018 — To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 511 East Walnut Street in Columbia, Missouri, as the “Spc. Sterling William Wyatt Post Office Building”.
July 16, 2018 — To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1075 North Tustin Street in Orange, California, as the “Specialist Trevor A. Win’E Post Office
July 12, 2018 — Reclamation Title Transfer and Non-Federal Infrastructure Incentivization Act
June 26, 2018 — Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act
June 26, 2018 — Providing for consideration of the bill H.R. 6157, making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes; and the bill H.R. 2083, the Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act.
June 21, 2018 — Providing for consideration of H.R. 4760, the Securing America’s Future Act of 2018
June 12, 2018 — Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act
June 12, 2018 — Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers Act
June 8, 2018 — Making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes
May 24, 2018 — National Defense Authorization Act FY 2019
May 23, 2018 — Gabbard of Hawaii Amendment No. 3
May 17, 2018 — Westerman of Arkansas Part C Amendment No. 13
May 10, 2018 — Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act
May 10, 2018 — Titus of Nevada Amendment No. 3
May 8, 2018 — Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection relating to “Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act”
May 7, 2018 — Servicemember Family Burial Act
May 7, 2018 — Veterans Cemetery Benefit Correction Act
April 27, 2018 — FAA Reauthorization Act
April 26, 2018 — Lynch of Massachusetts Part A Amendment No. 87
April 25, 2018 — Music Modernization Act
April 24, 2018 — Innovators to Entrepreneurs Act of 2018
April 24, 2018 — Recognizing and supporting the efforts of the United Bid Committee to bring the 2026 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup competition to Canada, Mexico, and the United States
April 17, 2018 — Protecting Children from Identity Theft Act
April 16, 2018 — To designate a National Memorial to Fallen Educators at the National Teachers Hall of Fame in Emporia, Kansas
April 16, 2018 — Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act
April 13, 2018 — Volcker Rule Regulatory Harmonization Act
April 10, 2018 — Combat Online Predators Act
April 10, 2018 — End Banking for Human Traffickers Act of 2018
March 19, 2018 — Kennedy--King National Commemorative Site Act
March 19, 2018 — To update the map of, and modify the maximum acreage available for inclusion in, the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
March 14, 2018 — Taking Account of Institutions with Low Operation Risk Act of 2017 or the TAILOR Act of 2017
March 14, 2018 — Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018
March 6, 2018 — Comprehensive Regulatory Review Act
Feb. 14, 2018 — TRID Improvement Act
Feb. 8, 2018 — Small Bank Holding Company Relief Act of 2018
Feb. 8, 2018 — Mortgage Choice Act of 2017
Feb. 5, 2018 — Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018
Jan. 30, 2018 — Financial Institution Living Will Improvement Act
Jan. 29, 2018 — To establish requirements for use of a driver’s license or personal identification card by certain financial institutions for opening an account or obtaining a financial product or service, and for other purposes
Jan. 29, 2018 — Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act
On Motion to Fix the Convening Time
Jan. 10, 2018 — DHS Overseas Personnel Enhancement Act of 2017
Dec. 12, 2017 — Community Institution Mortgage Relief Act of 2017
Dec. 5, 2017 — Stopping Abusive Female Exploitation Act of 2017
Sept. 28, 2017 — Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017
Sept. 8, 2017 — Carbajal of California Amendment No. 57
Sept. 7, 2017 — Austin Scott of Georgia Part B Amendment No. 92
Sept. 7, 2017 — Hunter of California Part B Amendment No. 77
Sept. 7, 2017 — Correa of California Part B Amendment No. 76
Sept. 6, 2017 — Babin of Texas Part B Amendment No. 58
July 24, 2017 — Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act
July 20, 2017 — King Cove Road Land Exchange Act
July 20, 2017 — DHS Authorization Act
July 19, 2017 — Promoting Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act
July 19, 2017 — Beyer of Virginia Part A Amendment No. 3
July 19, 2017 — Tsongas of Massachusetts Part A Amendment No. 1
July 19, 2017 — Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act
July 19, 2017 — Tsongas of Massachusetts Part B Amendment No. 2
July 19, 2017 — Engel of New York Part B Amendment No. 1
July 13, 2017 — Blumenauer of Oregon Part B Amendment No. 8
July 13, 2017 — Nadler of New York Part B Amendment No. 6
July 13, 2017 — Polis of Colorado Part B Amendment No. 4
July 13, 2017 — Conaway of Texas Part B Amendment No. 2
June 23, 2017 — Davidson of Ohio Amendment No. 5
June 7, 2017 — Anti-Border Corruption Reauthorization Act
May 25, 2017 — Protecting Against Child Exploitation Act of 2017
May 24, 2017 — Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act
May 19, 2017 — Jackson Lee of Texas Amendment
April 27, 2017 — Johnson of Georgia Part B Amendment No. 2
April 3, 2017 — Condemning North Korea’s development of multiple intercontinental ballistic missiles, and for other purposes
March 27, 2017 — To require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to submit a report regarding certain plans regarding assistance to applicants and grantees during the response to an emergency or disaster
March 16, 2017 — Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act
March 2, 2017 — Farenthold of Texas Part A Amendment No. 2
Feb. 14, 2017 — Red River Gradient Boundary Survey Act
Feb. 6, 2017 — Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary Expansion Act
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ISIS Members Returning to the UK (18 Mar 2019)
Westminster Hall
ISIS Members Returning to the UK
(1 year, 10 months ago)
Share Debate
Read Hansard Text
Luke Hall (Thornbury and Yate) (Con)
- Hansard -
- - Excerpts
18 Mar 2019, 4:32 p.m.
That this House has considered E-petition 231521 relating to ISIS members returning to the UK.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Howarth. The petition has been signed by more than 580,000 people—more than any other petition that the Petitions Committee has received in this Parliament. It calls on foreign fighters who travel to Iraq and Syria in order to join the terrorist organisation Daesh—also referred to as ISIS—to have their citizenship revoked. It has gained extreme momentum in recent weeks following the publicity surrounding the case of Shamima Begum, her efforts to return to the UK and the subsequent saddening news of the death of her infant child. Despite the actions of the baby’s mother, Jarrah was a British citizen guilty of no crime. I mourn his death. The case of Shamima Begum is complex and highly emotive, and it is still ongoing. The Minister will have access to realtime details of it, so I will make no further mention of it. Rather, I will discuss the petition text in the broad context in which it was originally started.
The terrorist threat facing the United Kingdom and other western nations comes not just from one front. Even as we debate this matter here today, details of a shooting on a tram in Utrecht are still coming through. I am sure that the thoughts of the whole House will be with everybody affected in the hours ahead. The horrendous atrocities in Christchurch on Friday serve as a reminder that terrorists claim to operate in the name of many different races and religions, on behalf of many groups and ideologies, and in different regions across the world. That is a timely reminder that a single, catch-all approach may not be the most suitable means of dealing with all terrorists. I will therefore use this opportunity to consider the petition text—the proposal that restricting the return to the UK of anybody who has decided to join a terrorist group, and removing their citizenship and passports, would help keep the UK safe from terrorists and their actions.
The Home Secretary recently stated that as many as 900 people who have been deemed to be a concern to our national security have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join terrorist organisations. About 20% of those 900 have been killed on the battlefield, 40% remain in the region and 40% have returned to the UK. That means that about 360 people who are deemed to be a security concern have travelled to Iraq and Syria and since returned. Of those 900 people, more than 100 have been deprived of their British citizenship.
Andrea Jenkyns (Morley and Outwood) (Con)
More than 11,000 of my constituents have signed the petition. I believe that enemies of our country should not be allowed back into it. Does my hon. Friend agree that British citizenship should not be taken for granted, and that the decision not to allow ISIS members back into the country will act as a deterrent to others who are thinking about betraying our country?
My hon. Friend gets to the heart of the matter. The fact that so many of her constituents signed the petition demonstrates the strength of feeling in many communities. Later, I will look in a bit more detail at whether and when it is right to remove citizenship. I thank her for that intervention.
The petition text states that a ban on all foreign fighters returning to the UK would send a message to others that membership of terrorist organisations is not tolerated. That is representative of a concern raised by many people that, in recent years, our democracies have taken too lax an attitude in dealing with extremism, allowing people the freedom to act in unacceptable ways that contravene traditional British values. Many people who have contacted me since this debate was scheduled worry that a precedent is being set, and that people are allowed to act as they please with no fear of consequence, resulting in an environment in which people feel able to join terrorist groups without any retribution.
Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington) (Lab)
Is the hon. Gentleman aware that it is illegal under international law to strip away someone’s nationality if thereby they are left completely stateless?
I thank the right hon. Lady for making that point. At the moment, I am trying to articulate the concerns of the people who signed the petition. In a minute, I will talk about my own thoughts on the petition text. I am very aware of the point she makes, and I thank her for doing so, but that cannot cloud the fact that a lot of people feel this, which has resulted in the huge support for the petition. Those who have contacted me feel strongly that these are reasons for change alone.
A number of people who signed the petition think that, when foreign fighters realise that the area they have travelled to is not the utopia they anticipated, they feel able freely to return to their old lives in Britain without being prosecuted, and that taking a stronger line in denying those people the right to return to the UK would remove a substantial burden from our police force, which is required to spend time and resources in responding to terrorism-related incidents. The police’s time could be better used on other issues to maintain security and keep people safe on our streets.
A third argument that has been put forward is that the Government could do more to ensure that people who travel to countries such as Iraq and Syria to aid and abet terrorism can be reliably prosecuted for their actions on return to the UK. At present, every person returning to the UK is questioned and investigated. The Government have made it clear that, wherever possible, prosecutions are brought. However, statistics show that, of the 360 people who have returned to the UK, only 40 have been successfully prosecuted. It is of course incredibly difficult to gather evidence from regions such as the territories held by Daesh. Most people recognise and understand the difficulties that are likely to arise in trying to build a case against foreign fighters in order to level a charge against them that can be successfully prosecuted when they are in those regions.
People support the new public offence of entering or remaining in a designated area, which will enable prosecutions to be brought against people travelling to regions that the Government have designated as a terror risk. Therefore, although deprivation of citizenship may be suitable in certain unique situations, there are advantages to establishing that broader approach while retaining the ability to strip citizenship if the circumstances dictate that that would be the best course of action to keep our country safe.
John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Ind)
The hon. Gentleman is setting out well the concerns raised in the petition. Does he agree that we ought to look exceptionally at the idea of applying the declared area offence retrospectively? That unusual but not unprecedented measure could be a way of prosecuting many of the hundreds of people who have come back to this country and are escaping prosecution at the moment.
The hon. Gentleman raises an extremely important issue. If that was something that our police and security services felt would aid them in their work, I would support it. We should consider our responsibility as a country for dealing with British nationals who have become radicalised by domestic terrorists. We should have faith in our British court system. If someone is born, raised and radicalised in Britain, it ought to be the British Government’s responsibility to hold them to account for their actions. They should be tried in front of a British jury by British judges, and held accountable to the standards required of our great legal system.
The precedent that blanket deprivation of citizenship, in contravention of international law, would set for other nations around the world should also be considered. Consider this scenario: a person from another country becomes radicalised by a terrorist group and has their citizenship from their country of birth revoked on the grounds of their eligibility for British citizenship. Were that individual’s country of birth to take the view that it wished to disown them, would it be right for the UK to be required to be responsible for the detention, rehabilitation and guarding of the future welfare of that individual?
Were such policies to be pursued by countries around the world, the extent of the problems created would be untold. For example, suspected terrorists would end up littered across the globe, with no state prepared to take them, own them and prosecute them for their crimes. Some countries could choose to go further and cancel citizenship for someone who has committed a crime at any point while they are away from their country, which would render them the responsibility of whichever state they happen to be in at that particular time.
Part of the solution to the question can be found in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, which introduced temporary exclusion orders enabling the Secretary of State to render invalid a foreign fighter’s British passport and require that individual to apply for a permit to return to the United Kingdom—that was clearly a positive step. In some cases, the severe penalties for failing to comply, including lengthy prison sentences, go some way to providing a deterrent—my hon. Friend the Member for Morley and Outwood (Andrea Jenkyns) mentioned this—to people considering making the journey to join terrorists groups.
We should acknowledge that the circumstances are different in every case, so the approach that we adopt must allow Ministers, informed by this country’s security services, to evaluate every instance based on its own circumstances. A framework that allows that to happen effectively is required. We must be able to demonstrate that membership of terrorist organisations is never tolerated under any circumstances, and provide a greater deterrent to people considering becoming a foreign fighter. That can be effective only as part of a wide-ranging Government framework for tackling the problem head-on and confronting it at an earlier stage.
The measures that the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy takes to prevent people from becoming radicalised in the first place are vital to ensure that risk is minimised. I support the Government’s Prevent strategy and the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, which updates offences relating to the obtaining and sharing of terrorism-related materials. I was pleased to sit on the Public Bill Committee for that Bill as it was steered through the Commons. The new legislation ensures, for example, that material that is only viewed or streamed—rather than downloaded to form a permanent record—is also now considered an offence. There is room for the Government to go further. A July 2018 report, co-authored by the Chair of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, considered the possibility of designating treason as a new offence.
The matter of how the UK ought to deal with returning foreign fighters is clearly complex. Although a number of arguments support proposals to remove the citizenship of anybody who decides to travel to Syria or Iraq to join Daesh or any other terrorist organisation, evidence shows that adopting a catch-all solution is not always so simple. With the Government’s Prevent and Contest strategies, along with the new Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, I feel confident that we are taking positive steps, but more can be done.
What steps is the Minister’s Department taking to build a case for prosecuting people who have travelled to regions such as Iraq and Syria? What assurances can she give that the legislative framework is now in place to prosecute effectively any returning foreign fighters? What more are the Government doing to improve the prosecution rates of people who we know have been in the region and are a threat to our national security when they return to the UK? Finally, what consultation has she had with our security services and police forces to get a better understanding of what further powers they would like us to legislate for?
I conclude by sending my condolences to everybody affected by the attacks in Utrecht and in Christchurch. A tough and balanced approach from the Government will allow us to uphold our principles of access to justice while continuing to be one of the safest countries in the world, with security services that are the envy of the world.
It is good to see you in the Chair, Mr Howarth, and it is a pleasure to follow that very measured and balanced opening contribution from the hon. Member for Thornbury and Yate (Luke Hall). It is unfortunate that the debate clashes directly with an urgent question in the main Chamber about far-right violence and online extremism in the wake of the Christchurch terrorist atrocity. That means that a number of us have had to choose between one and the other, which we did not originally think would be the case.
I will set out why I do not agree with the central proposition of the petition. The Government could be far more effective in tackling the menace of foreign fighters returning to the UK. Their current measures probably alienate people on most sides of the debate, and not for the first time.
It is abhorrent for anyone who claims to be British, who was born here and who has benefited from the manifest advantages that our country and society offer our citizens, to declare themselves effectively in opposition to everything that the UK stands for, to go as far as to travel to another country to take up arms—or to aid those taking up arms—fundamentally against the British state, and to aid actions that could result in members of the British armed forces being killed on the battlefield. Why, then, although I sympathise with its aims, do I think that the petition is wrong? There are two reasons.
The first is on the grounds of effectiveness. If we pronounced that no British citizen who went abroad as a foreign fighter would be allowed to return to the UK, we would essentially be tearing up long-standing international agreements on the exchange of citizens. That would make this country less, not more, safe, which is the opposite of the petition’s intention.
In the wake of the focus on the Shamima Begum case, I asked the Home Office to list the number of foreign citizens whom it has attempted to deport from the country, both for terrorist-related reasons and for other reasons. The officials who drafted the parliamentary answer on behalf of Ministers said that that information was not available. That sounds absurd; of course the Government know how many foreign nationals they have deported over recent years. The Government should be open about figures, particularly when that information probably stands to strengthen their overall position, which is to adhere to international rules on deporting citizens who are guilty of sufficiently serious offences.
I would be surprised if the figures, once we have them, do not show that, overall, the UK has deported more foreign extremists from our territory over the past five, 10 or 20 years than it is looking to accept back via deportation. Therefore, if we were to declare unilaterally that we will no longer accept British people back from foreign countries, not only would we be in breach of international rules, but why then would any other country accept back one of its nationals who has been found guilty, or is even suspected—people can be deported on the basis of less than a full conviction by a British court—of committing a terror offence. That approach could spectacularly backfire.
The second reason is a moral one, and I believe this strongly. When British society has created the problem—Shamima Begum was born in Britain, she is a British person and she was radicalised in Britain—she is our problem to sort out. How is it acceptable for the Government to deport the problem to another country through whatever strangulated means they used and without fully explaining them? In such circumstances, surely we need to be careful about the message we are sending as lawmakers. I am afraid that statements such as, “These people aren’t really British”, often have an undercurrent of meaning—that such a person does not look right, that they do not have the same skin colour as a British person or dress in the same way or follow the same religion as a British person. That is fundamentally wrong. We are an open society. We welcome people in and, once someone has been born here or has been accepted as British, that is it. We need to make our society work and to be far better at rooting out extremism in our country and in our communities, but the Government are not doing that sufficiently well enough.
We should pay attention not to stopping those Brits who have gone over and committed atrocities coming back, but to finding a way properly to prosecute them for any evil acts they might have done. That would be the deterrent effect to stop future generations going over.
Ms Abbott
Does my hon. Friend agree that telling first-generation British citizens of Bangladeshi origin that their citizenship can be stripped from them at will is potentially counterproductive, and that Shamima Begum should have been brought home, interrogated, and put on trial if that was the right thing to do?
John Woodcock
I thank the right hon. Lady for that intervention. Yes, I believe strongly that Shamima Begum should be brought home and put on trial. The possibility that there is insufficient evidence to try her is deeply alarming, however, and I will come on to how the system ought to be strengthened. Anyone who looks at the case, apart from those from a narrow and legalistic background, will see a woman who travelled over to the so-called caliphate of Islamic State with the express intention of supporting it. She admitted that openly to the journalists who found her and who interviewed her subsequently. She admitted to supporting the caliphate as part of a community. How on earth can she not be prosecuted for terrorist offences? If the legal position is that proof is needed of the active aiding and abetting of violent acts, or of carrying out such acts directly, clearly the legislation is far too lax.
That is the first point on which I want the Minister to come back to me on, although I understand that she is standing in for her colleague, the Security Minister. By the way—if this is not too much of a detour, Mr Howarth —I commend the Minister, probably on behalf of everyone present and of much of the House, on what she apparently said on the margins of a vote to the former Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), about the issue of historical child abuse. I will say no more than that and I do not expect her to comment on it for Hansard.
We should ensure that the terrorism laws are fit for purpose. If people go over there and admit to being part of and in general support of that organisation, in whatever way, that means that they are guilty of a terrorism offence, and they should be prosecuted for it. Some of my colleagues and I have long pushed for an Australian-style declared areas offence in British law—to be fair to the Security Minister, he was also on that track. That is finally being done, although it is being weakened in a way that I am concerned about, but let us see. It is good for it to be on the statute book. The Iraq and Syria conflicts will not be the only such conflicts so, in future, with such an offence, a case could be made against someone simply for going to an area that has been prohibited.
As I mentioned in my intervention on the hon. Member for Thornbury and Yate, a potentially severe threat to national security is posed by the hundreds of returnees whom it is apparently not possible to prosecute—or the enforcement agencies are not willing to prosecute them—so, in these serious times, we should make that law retrospective to cover people who went out to the area during the conflict with Daesh, to make it possible to prosecute them. If they had good reason to be there—they were genuinely part of an aid mission or were there with journalists, for example—they will be able to prove that.
What is palpably obvious, however, is that the majority of those returnees went over to support the caliphate. The failure to prosecute, or the apparent unwillingness to countenance such radical measures to hold them to account, leads people to lose faith in our judicial system and to favour the kind of measures set out in today’s petition. If the Minister cannot give an answer, I would very much appreciate one from her colleague.
The Government have announced a review of the Prevent programme. It is important for Members in all parts of the House—unfortunately, in particular, those in the Opposition—not to undermine and damage the purposes of the Prevent programme by, in essence, mimicking the criticism pushed forward and pumped into our communities by Islamists determined to delegitimise the intervention of the British state. Too many times in recent years, we have seen good people in effect taken in by the idea that the British Government should in some way not get involved at all in such issues. That is a deliberate strategy—it is exactly what Islamists of different shades, from the apparently non-violent to those committed to violent jihad, have intended to do, and it is very dangerous.
I hope that the Government will reflect on the culture of secrecy that they still maintain on this issue. We recognise that there are difficulties and that it can be awkward to talk about the lack of success, but the Government are doing themselves no favours by making it difficult to drag out information about their measures to tackle extremism. It took months for me to prise out of the Security Minister the figure of 40 successful prosecutions, and the Government still refuse to give any details of the nature of those prosecutions, despite repeated requests from journalists. In a recent meeting of the Home Affairs Committee, the Home Secretary, with the permanent secretary sitting next to him, agreed to my request to look at that issue. I would like a response soon.
It is a total fallacy to suggest that the British state’s inefficiency in prosecuting people can be kept secret. The Government may be worried that a message is going out to communities that people can get away with extremism, but there are hundreds of people who are living examples of that message. Government secrecy will not prevent potentially vulnerable people from finding out. With respect, I suggest it is solely a measure to cover the Government’s embarrassment. If they want co-operation across the House to find more effective ways to prevent extremism, they need to begin with more transparency.
Like the hon. Member for Thornbury and Yate, I hope that the Government are looking realistically at modernising treason laws. We should not simply stick that on a press release to sound more draconian and in touch with the 19th century; in these difficult times, we ought to examine that closely. I would welcome an update from the Government: what steps are they taking to look at how the law could be modernised to apply to the current situation?
Toughening up our data-sharing laws could be an important part of stopping foreign fighters before they make the journey abroad. There was debate in the main Chamber about the proposed data-sharing agreement with the United States, which I do not propose to rehearse. In recent days, following the appalling tragedies in Christchurch, social media companies have been unwilling to acknowledge their responsibility and the impact they can have. I have not tried to look for the video, shared far too readily on social media, of deeply distressing images of peaceful Muslims being gunned down as they went to pray. It is shocking that social media companies refused to pull the plug on their platforms while the vile video was being shared, which clearly could incite further acts of terror.
There is something deeply wrong in the relationship between community, Government and the social media giants. An effective way to address that could be to take down the platforms in international emergency situations. A palpable contribution to fighting the extremism that leads people to go to foreign lands could be to require companies to share with Government the IP addresses and log-in details of every user who hosts extremist content that companies take down.
Social media companies are getting better, although far slower than we would like, and are upping their game at taking down extremist materials. But there is a weird situation because, although far more is being taken down than just a year ago, the vast majority disappears into the ether. Every time that extremist material is shared online, spotted and taken down is an opportunity for Government to spot someone who has been or is being radicalised. That is better than waiting until it is too late, when they have committed a terrorist act on British soil—God forbid—or have become foreign fighters or supporters of foreign fighters abroad. The Government can do so much more. In this debate and in the weeks ahead I hope they will step up their fight.
Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Howarth. I thank the hon. Member for Thornbury and Yate (Luke Hall)—something I have not said before—for setting out the petition so well. It can be quite difficult to do that in a balanced way on such a sensitive issue, but he handled it very well. He spoke of the declared area offence, which is intended to make it easier to convict those who travel to conflict areas. We tried to put appropriate safeguards in place, and we welcome measures provided that those safeguards are in place. I join him in sending our condolences to those involved in the atrocities in Utrecht and Christchurch—an urgent question is being asked about that in the Chamber. It is important to remember the victims of extremists and terrorists.
The hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock) mentioned the clash between this debate and the urgent question in the Chamber. I am curious about why we are often quick to label far right violence and extremism as that, rather than as terrorism. We are quick to describe members of Daesh and al-Qaeda as terrorists, but we seem to talk about the far right in stages; we call it extremism and violence, and only after a certain amount of time do we call it terrorism. I am a little uncomfortable with that, to be honest.
I jokingly said before the debate that I do not think the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness and I have ever knowingly agreed on anything since my election in May 2015. However, halfway through his speech I found myself agreeing with almost everything he was saying—I even said, “Hear, hear” at one point. That was a shock to both of us. We did diverge at one point, where we have subtle differences of opinion, but I welcome much of what he said. He made a good point about the impact on international relations in an incredibly sensitive area if we were to disallow the return of Daesh terrorists to the UK. His point about social media companies is incredibly important. I think we would all accept that there has been an improvement in those companies’ reactions with regard to taking down content and so on, but too often their reaction is still far too slow. There is still a long way to go with regard to social media platforms doing their bit.
There is no doubting the gravity and importance of this issue and of the petition. We must all recognise that there is a deep sense of anger in the country. That is evidenced by the nearly 600,000 signatures on the petition, 582 of which came from my constituency. Regardless of our opinions on the petition or anything else, we are all deeply concerned about the threat from Daesh, al-Qaeda and other terrorist organisations and ideologies. I very much feel the anger—I hear it in surgeries, and I get emails the same as everybody else—of those who signed the petition. However, I do not agree with the solution they call for.
The petition asserts that removing citizenship from Daesh members would keep the UK safe from terrorism, but that is fundamentally flawed and, as we heard, flies in the face of international law. The UK must meet its international obligations, allow the return of its citizens and ensure that they face the full consequences of their actions. If we do not take responsibility for that, on whose shoulders should it fall? Stripping extremists and terrorists of their citizenship would leave a line of angry, radicalised and violent people in post-conflict regions and give them, through their extremist lens, further reason to wish violence upon the people of our countries.
Alex Younger, the chief of MI6, insisted that although he is “very concerned”—as we all are—about the individuals making their way back from Syria and elsewhere in the region, British nationals have a right to come to the UK. The Times also reported that MI5 sees individuals who have joined Daesh as potentially valuable intelligence assets in continuing the fight against Daesh and its murderous ideology at home and in the region.
However, no one who has fought for or assisted a terrorist group will ever face a warm welcome on their return to the UK. Many of these fighters have committed unimaginable acts of terror and violence against innocent people in the name of a fascist ideology; of that there can be no doubt. It is vital that we recognise that if a UK citizen becomes isolated from society and susceptible to radicalisation, it is we—our society and our Government —who failed to prevent that. As has been said already, if the UK allows radicalisation to happen, it is our responsibility to make amends and bring the UK national in question to justice.
Having been the SNP’s Front-Bench spokesman on the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill—I am sure that I took interventions from the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness—I very much look forward to the review of the Prevent strategy that the Opposition secured during the Bill’s passage. We will seek to ensure that the review is independent and that its scope is wide enough for it to be truly effective. The point was made earlier that that is not about watering down our approach to Prevent; I say in response that it is about ensuring that it is effective, which I think we all want.
Between 2014 and 2017 there was a dramatic rise in the number of UK citizens who lost their citizenship, so will the Minister carry out a full review of the powers available to the Home Office to strip an individual of their citizenship? Statistics show that citizenship deprivation was used only a handful of times a year, but its use rocketed from 14 times as recently as 2016 to 104 times in 2017. Under the Immigration Act 2014, the UK Government are required to carry out a review of the Home Secretary’s power to revoke citizenship. The first such review was conducted in 2016 by the eminent QC David Anderson—he is now Lord Anderson—in his capacity as the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, but no subsequent review has been published, and the position of independent reviewer is currently vacant. The next review would need to cover the period from July 2015 to July 2018.
On that note, it is worth considering these comments by Duncan Lewis Solicitors:
“The power to deprive UK citizens of their citizenship can only be used against the children of immigrant parents—meaning that the application of the policy is inherently discriminatory. It cannot be used on a white English person with white English parents.”
That aspect of the current powers must surely be dealt with in the next review to address fully the obvious concerns about the policy.
The Home Secretary also has powers to ensure that foreign fighters can return to the UK to face justice, and powers that would enable him to manage the return of foreign fighters. Provided he reasonably suspected that an individual had been involved in “terrorism-related activity” and posed a threat to security in the UK, he could impose a temporary exclusion order, which have been mentioned, under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015. That would permit return only on strict licence conditions. If an individual was still considered a threat to national security, further restrictions could be imposed on his or her liberty through a terrorism prevention and investigation measure, or TPIM. It may be possible to prosecute under the Terrorism Act 2000, which includes offences of being a member of, or aiding and abetting, a proscribed terrorist organisation.
I shudder to think what state we would find our world in if all countries abdicated responsibility for the terrorists born in their country. The UK has been described as being in the “vanguard of citizenship deprivation”, with an approach that contrasts starkly with that of other European countries, such as France and the Netherlands, which have returned their citizens from Iraq and Syria to face justice at home. In a recent similar case, Ireland most likely will not revoke the citizenship of a Daesh fighter returning there. Even Donald Trump tweeted that the UK should “take back” Daesh fighters captured in Syria and “put them on trial.” Surely that shows just how out of step with the rest of the world we have become.
I have not mentioned her by name thus far, although she has been brought up, but the reason this issue has gained so much attention of late is of course the case of Shamima Begum, who had her citizenship revoked by the Government—a move I wholeheartedly disagree with. Surely she must come to the UK to face justice. What has not gained the same attention is the death of her son, Jarrah, an innocent newborn baby and a British citizen who died in a refugee camp in Syria—a child who, if he had returned, may eventually have gone on to live a normal life in the UK. I hope that the Government reflect on their actions, or lack thereof, in that case.
Our position is clear: the UK bears responsibility for all its citizens, and the actions of the Home Secretary are to be condemned. It is time for Daesh members to come back to the UK and face justice.
In the light of the terrorist atrocity in Canterbury, New Zealand, this debate about a petition that quite correctly expresses horror and condemnation of terrorism, whatever its source, is extremely timely. The petition expresses a deep sense of anger about terrorism, but it also poses the very important policy question, “What are we going to do about returning foreign fighters?”
Government Members said that British citizenship should not be taken lightly. You do not have to tell the daughter of West Indian migrants that British citizenship is a pearl beyond price. I do not take it lightly, my parents did not take it lightly and I do not believe the parents of some of these foreign fighters take it lightly. I do not think the contention that, because someone’s parents or grandparents migrated from somewhere, they do not take the notion of being a British citizen very seriously stands up.
A lot of this debate revolves around the particular case of Shamima Begum. I have said before in the House—I will repeat it, for the avoidance of doubt—that Shamima Begum made some very bad, very stupid and quite possibly illegal choices. She has also made some terrible statements in the media. I do not, and Labour does not, sympathise with or excuse her views or her actions. What we on the Opposition Front Bench are concerned about is what should be done genuinely to make this country safer.
On the question of Shamima Begum, we have to recognise that she was just 15 when she left this country to join ISIS. She had clearly been groomed in her bedroom by the disgusting agents of ISIS. There has been talk from Members who seemed to imply that she is wholly responsible for her fate; I thought that since the Rotherham child sex abuse cases the House had moved beyond blaming 15-year-olds who had been groomed entirely for their fate.
We have recently discussed cases of British people being deprived of their citizenship, including Shamima Begum. We now learn that other British women were made stateless under the previous Home Secretary, but in secret. At least the current Home Secretary has disclosed, with a little prompting, that he has made someone stateless, which is an improvement on his predecessor. However, he seems unable to tell us if he has received any advice from MI5 or MI6, and what they have said about his decision to strip Shamima Begum of her citizenship. He is unable to clarify what other legal advice he may have received.
It is not clear what steps, if any, the Home Office took to ensure the safe return of Shamima Begum’s son, Jarrah, who was a British citizen and who was born before the Home Secretary’s decision. That son now lies dead. Shamima Begum has buried three babies in Syrian soil in less than a year. Will the Minister tell us whether there will be coroner’s inquest for Jarrah and whether the Home Office is willing to facilitate contact between Shamima Begum and her legal representatives?
When we debated this issue, the Home Secretary repeatedly hid behind the words that he cannot talk about individual cases. He appears to be pretending that Shamima Begum’s case is somehow sub judice and therefore cannot be safely discussed. I put this as kindly as I can: that is nonsense, as everyone knows—the Speaker had to point this out—he had no compunction about naming Shamima Begum directly, for the benefit of 400,000 readers of The Times in an article he wrote on 17 February. That article was headed:
“If you run away to join Isis, like Shamima Begum, I will use all my power to stop you coming back”.
He clearly had no problem discussing an individual case then. Can Ministers not see that that defence will not do?
The House can only speculate what line of defence Ministers will take when the almost inevitable legal challenge to their decision comes, if not in this case then in other cases. I remind Ministers that they have lost twice in court when attempting to strip British citizens of Bangladeshi descent of their nationality. As Ministers like to remind us, the duty of the Government is to ensure the safety and security of all our citizens. I contend that it is not for Ministers to pick and choose who enjoys those rights; it is a matter of law. One is almost obliged to ask Ministers if they regard it as their duty to uphold the law and to defend British citizens, such as the defenceless baby, Jarrah.
Let me remind the House of article 15 of the universal declaration of human rights, which says:
“Everyone has the right to a nationality…No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality”.
Could the legal position be any clearer? The idea that Ministers can unilaterally deprive British citizens of their nationality and render them stateless is clearly contrary to international law. Hopefully, the Minister will explain how she proposes to get away with that. Shamima Begum had only one nationality; now she has none. The same applied to her children. The Home Office decision, which I contend was clearly against international law, has deprived them all of their citizenship.
Citizenship entails obligations as well as rights. The basic obligations include not breaking the law of the land. If Shamima Begum and others in similar circumstances have broken the law, they should be allowed to return, but they should be investigated, interrogated and, if appropriate, prosecuted. They are the responsibility of the British Government. We are talking about British citizens. If Shamima Begum or anyone else is identified as representing a threat, our judicial system is there to deal with it. We are a country of laws, and it should be clear that dealing with a threat is preferable to not dealing with it, and dumping it on foreign countries.
Ministers like to say that they are acting in defence of us all from the terrorist menace. We see from Christchurch, New Zealand, that the terrorist menace, whether Islamic or far-right, is real, but does anyone seriously claim that Shamima Begum was more dangerous than the upwards of 400 foreign fighters who have returned from conflict zones, having fought for ISIS, al-Qaeda or their disgusting offshoots or splinter copycat organisations? It is reported just 40 of those fighters have faced any charges, and that the others remain at liberty. We need a more systematic approach and a proper programme for returning foreign fighters—perhaps an extension or an enhancement of the Prevent programme—but the idea that one 19-year-old girl with a two-week-old baby was somehow more dangerous than the 400 foreign fighters who have already returned seems to me to be a difficult position to defend.
No less a person than the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has said that European countries ought to be prepared to take their foreign fighters back from Syria and related territories, and put them on trial, where necessary. It is not often that I find myself agreeing with the President of the United States, but on this point he is correct. How can we expect other countries and jurisdictions to deal with British citizens who have broken British law?
Returning foreign fighters are a real threat to our security. That is a genuine terrorist threat, and I contend that the Government have yet to respond to it adequately. We cannot ignore the fact that there are many hundreds of British foreign fighters in Syria and associated areas. We need a proper programme to deal with them. Arbitrarily stripping people of their citizenship, contrary to international law, is not the answer, not least because it can be challenged in court.
Instead of seeking cheap headlines and grandstanding against Shamima Begum, Ministers’ time would be better spent—and our security enhanced—by addressing the real risks and threats posed by foreign fighters, and understanding that if they are British they are Britain’s responsibility and should be subject to the British criminal justice system. As the security services have said in the past, we need a genuinely tailored programme to deal with the threat. It cannot be a case of knee-jerk reactions to newspaper headlines. Some 400 foreign fighters have returned to this country; we need a more systematic approach to keeping this country safe.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Victoria Atkins)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Howarth. May I join colleagues from across the House in reflecting on the fact that the debate follows upon the weekend’s terrible events in New Zealand and Surrey and, today, Utrecht. As has been said before, we will reflect on the fact that terrorism takes many forms but the purpose of terrorist acts is to undermine the rule of law, to frighten, and to put a stop to the values that we hold dear in western society. It is sickening that people choose to undermine our societies by killing the most innocent of people—people going about their daily lives, whether at a place of worship or in a car park as they go about their day-to-day business in a working day.
Many colleagues are in the main Chamber, focusing on the issue of far-right violence and online extremism, and bearing that in mind I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Thornbury and Yate (Luke Hall) for the measured and balanced way in which he opened the debate. It is quite something that the petition has secured some 570,000 signatures which, as my hon. Friend told us, makes it the most heavily endorsed petition to have come before the House. It is with those great expectations of the public weighing heavily on our shoulders that I hope to answer some of the points raised today.
Can the Minister provide the House with figures about the number of far-right terrorists we are engaged with, or who are perhaps currently going through the Prevent programme?
Victoria Atkins
I am sorry; I was talking about the people who signed the petition. I do not understand the link. Perhaps the right hon. Lady could clarify.
I apologise to the Minister. I was referring to her earlier remarks about far-right terrorist responsibility for the atrocity in New Zealand. I wanted to understand whether she has figures available for the number of far-right terrorists whom Government agencies are currently engaged with, and who are passing through the Prevent programme. If she does not have the figures to hand I will quite understand, but perhaps she can write and furnish me with those figures.
I am happy to provide that information. As the right hon. Lady knows, the Prevent programme, which I shall talk about later, focuses on the threats and risks posed by individuals regardless of the ideology under which they claim to be acting or which people who are worried about them, and who have referred them to the Channel programme under Prevent, are worried they are operating under. The Government have been clear that people of far-right tendencies are part of the programme and are being helped through it. We are clear that it is a matter of threat and risk. The efforts to stop radicalisation apply regardless of the false ideologies that people appear to subscribe to when they are put through the programme.
I thank other Members—including the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock), who has paid particular attention to this subject during his parliamentary career—for their contributions and thoughtful comments on such matters as the passage of the most recent counter-terrorism Act, the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019.
The Government’s priority is the safety and security of the United Kingdom and the people who live here. That includes managing the risk posed by those who have gone to fight in Syria or Iraq or to support terrorist organisations such as Daesh or al-Qaeda. We have a range of powers and tools available to us to protect the UK from the national security risk posed by returning Daesh members. Members have referred to specific cases in their speeches, but I cannot as the Minister discuss individual cases in response, for many reasons including the possibility of related or future investigations or legal proceedings. Of course the Government never comment on the operational capabilities and methodologies of the security services, for obvious reasons.
All decisions that we make must be rooted firmly in British values and must be made in accordance with the law. That means that we cannot make people stateless, and UK nationals have the legal right to return to this country. However, anyone who returns from taking part in the conflict in Syria or Iraq can expect to be investigated by the police and prosecuted, where there is evidence that they have committed criminal offences that meet the requirements in the code for Crown prosecutors. About 900 people have travelled from the UK to engage with the conflict in Syria and Iraq, against the advice of the Foreign Office. Of those, approximately 20% have been killed in the conflict and about 40% have returned to the UK. They have all been investigated and the majority have been assessed to pose no or a low security risk. The hon. Member for Barrow and Furness asked about the number of foreign nationals who have been deported and I am afraid I do not have that information at hand, but I will ask the Security Minister to write to him with it.
We know that those who remain in the conflict zone include some of the most dangerous, who choose to stay to fight, to raise families or otherwise to support Daesh. They turned their back on this country to support a group that butchered and beheaded innocent civilians, including British citizens. Those individuals pose a greater threat to the UK than those who returned earlier in the conflict. They will have become desensitised to violence and may have received combat training and intense indoctrination. They will have had the opportunity to expand their terrorist network. Where they pose any threat to this country we will do everything in our power to prevent their return. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all travel to Syria and since 2011 there has been no consular support available to British nationals there. We are resolute that we will not put British officials’ lives at risk to assist those who have left the UK to join a proscribed terrorist organisation, and therefore we cannot and will not actively provide assistance to any individuals who have travelled to the region.
The Home Secretary can exclude non-British nationals from the UK, and under the British Nationality Act 1981 has the power to deprive any British national of citizenship status. Deprivation of citizenship is used in extreme cases where it is conducive to the public good and where it would not leave the individual stateless, which would be unlawful. Deprivation is a powerful tool that can be used to keep the most dangerous individuals out of this country. Each case will be considered based on the information that is available, regardless of gender, age or family status. Since 2010, the power has been used about 150 times for people linked to terrorism or serious crimes. I know that that is a matter of concern to colleagues, so I emphasise that Parliament has clearly set out the legislative basis for the exercise of the power, and that it is a decision to be taken by the Home Secretary. Removing an individual’s British citizenship is a weighty decision and, for that reason, it is a matter reserved to the Home Secretary. He takes those decisions in the light of carefully considered advice prepared by officials and lawyers. However, a statutory right of appeal is attached to each deprivation decision, and individuals can and do exercise that right, so that the courts can review the appropriateness of a decision independently.
Several colleagues have raised the issue of bringing to justice people who return to this country. My hon. Friend the Member for Thornbury and Yate did so on behalf of the petitioners, and the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness emphasised its importance. Those who have fought for or supported Daesh, whatever their nationality, should wherever possible face justice for their crimes in the most appropriate jurisdiction. Sometimes that is in the region where their offences have been committed.
Individuals who return will be investigated and, where there is evidence that crimes have been committed overseas, they should expect to face prosecution in the UK. There have been about 40 convictions of individuals prosecuted following their return from Syria for a range of offences, either connected with their activities overseas or as a result of subsequent CT investigations. That includes a 10-year custodial sentence for Mohammed Abdallah, a British national convicted in December 2017 of Daesh membership after leaked documents from a defector revealed his role as a specialist sniper, and a minimum of 40 years imposed on Khalid Ali, who was sentenced in 2018 for planning a terrorist attack in Westminster. I will, however, remind the Security Minister of the specific request by the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness.
In answer to questions posed by my hon. Friend the Member for Thornbury and Yate regarding new offences, or offences available for law enforcement and the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute, our courts could try cases involving overseas terrorism offences relevant to foreign fighters even before the recent extensions of extraterritorial jurisdiction in the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019. Those offences include preparation of terrorism, for which the maximum sentence is life imprisonment; encouragement of terrorism, the maximum sentence for which has been extended from seven to 15 years by the 2019 Act; training for terrorism, which also has a maximum sentence of life imprisonment; and membership of a proscribed organisation, which has a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Hon. Members also asked whether the Government are considering a new law of treason. That is a matter for debate and the Government have not yet reached a settled position, but our concern is that to prosecute terrorists for treason risks giving their actions a political status or a glamour that they do not deserve, rather than treating them merely as criminals. That is why we recently passed the 2019 Act, which updates terrorism offences and introduces new powers to reflect the threat we face today from foreign terrorist fighters, thus providing the police and intelligence services with the powers they need to protect the public. At this point, we do not believe there are grounds for introducing an offence of treason, but of course the Government keep all these matters under review.
It is of course for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether individuals should be prosecuted, in accordance with the code for Crown prosecutors. As has already been acknowledged, for crimes committed in a conflict zone where there is no national infrastructure and no police force taking section 9 witness statements or making notes about who said or did what, obtaining evidence admissible in a UK court is extremely difficult. That is the problem we have to face.
That is why, where prosecution is not possible, we have a range of powers available to protect national security and to monitor and manage the risk posed by terrorism suspects in the UK, including terrorism prevention and investigation measures and temporary exclusion orders to place conditions on individuals’ return, including regular reporting to a police station and mandatory attendance on our de-radicalisation programme. The best way to reduce the risk posed by these individuals will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Those decisions are based on advice and intelligence from the security services, counter-terrorism police where relevant, and specialist security and legal officials in the Home Office.
We publish statistics on the total number of TEOs in place in the annual “Disruptive and investigatory powers: transparency report”. Last week the Home Secretary asked officials to expedite the publication of the next transparency report, which will include the most up-to-date annual figures on disruptive and investigative powers, including TEOs and deprivation orders, because we recognise that it is a matter of great concern to the House.
The Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act updated our terrorism laws for the digital age and modern patterns of radicalisation, closing gaps in some existing offences and adding new ones, such as recklessly expressing support for a proscribed organisation, or publishing its flag or logo online. The Act also creates a new power to ban British citizens from entering designated terrorist hotspots without legitimate reason. The designated area offence, along with most of the Act’s provisions, will come into force automatically in April, two months after Royal Assent. Decisions to designate an area will be based on careful assessment of all relevant information, including sensitive intelligence as well as open-source information, while applying the tests of necessity and proportionality.
The hon. Member for Barrow and Furness raised the question of retrospectivity—an understandable point to make. This is where balance is required; our priority to protect the security of the United Kingdom must be within the confines of the rule of law. In line with normal judicial principles, the power will not be retrospective and it will not be possible to prosecute for travel to an area before it is designated, but it will be an offence to remain in an area after it has been designated, even if the person has been there for some time. Individuals will have one month to leave the area, following which they will face prosecution if they remain. I hope that goes some way towards answering his concerns.
These powers and tools send a clear message to individuals that membership of or support for terrorist organisations will not be tolerated. Of course, as has already been discussed, this is against the backdrop of the Prevent strategy, which seeks to help those who may be at risk of radicalisation and extremism and to put them on to another path of lawfulness, away from criminality and potentially terrorism offences, by ensuring that they are able to obtain help locally from Prevent officers and others to steer them on to that better path.
The UK is doing all it can to help innocent people caught up in this conflict. We have committed £2.8 billion to Syria since 2012—our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis—and we are on track to resettle 20,000 vulnerable refugees who have fled the country, with our national resettlement programmes resettling more than any other EU state in 2017. We do not have a consular presence within Syria from which to provide assistance. Our position therefore applies as much to children as it does to adults. However, if British children were able to seek consular assistance outside Syria, then we would work with local and UK authorities to facilitate their return.
Children returning from Syria are likely to have been exposed to the conflict and to have experienced trauma. In some circumstances they may also pose national security concerns that must be carefully managed. A range of specialised support, some of which is funded directly by the Home Office, is offered to address many concerns ranging from safeguarding to national security. Our support will be tailored to the needs of each individual child. Local authorities and the police can use existing safeguarding powers to protect returning children, support their welfare and reintegration back into UK society, and minimise any threat that they could pose within schools and to their local community.
On the question of children, which the Minister addressed a few sentences ago, we have seen that journalists, aid workers and United Nations officials can go in and out of Syrian refugee camps. Why is it so impossible to make arrangements to protect British children?
As the right hon. Lady knows, and as I have said twice already, we do not have a consular presence in Syria. The firm advice of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is that it is not safe to travel there. I know that journalists and aid workers travel there against that advice, and they must take that decision very carefully and seriously. However, we are clear that we do not wish to put British officials at risk in a part of the world that we have designated as so dangerous that we have withdrawn consular support from it.
I am well aware that the Government advise people that it is not safe to travel to Syria. However, the Minister will be aware that children, particularly those who may only be a few months old, are not in a position to abide by that advice. I ask her again: would it not be possible, working with NGOs, to get these very young—often weeks or months old—British children out to the nearest British consular presence, which may be on the border with Turkey?
First and foremost, we do not want babies to be born in war zones, so the longer-term answer is that we do not want people traveling to Syria in the first place. It is not good for them and it is against clear FCO advice; we have clearly advised people for some years not to travel to the area. As I have already set out, if children are in a camp, it may well be that aid workers and others seek access. That is against our advice. I am afraid we cannot put officials at risk in that way.
This is very difficult—I do not think that anyone pretends otherwise—but Syria is in a part of the world from which we have withdrawn consular support, and anyone going there does so against Foreign Office advice. Given the situation in the region, everyone who returns from Syria or certain parts of Iraq, including some children, must expect to be investigated by the police, to determine whether they have committed criminal offences, to assess any safeguarding concerns and to ensure that they do not pose a threat to our national security.
Before I bring my remarks to a close, I note the completely reasonable comments that have been made about the role of social media and tech companies in this regard. Colleagues will know that the Home Office and others are working with tech companies to ensure that they clean up their own back yards. We have seen some progress by some of the major technology companies, including the development of technology that can automatically detect and take down terrorist content. However, such material continues to remain accessible. More needs to be done.
As part of our efforts to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content online, the Government are not only preparing a White Paper on online harms, but working with those in the advertising industry to make them more aware of the types of content that is appearing online, and to highlight that their advertisements may unknowingly appear next to that harmful content. I must say that the industry response has been very positive, and I hope that we will see some real change over the coming months. However, as this weekend has shown, there is a great challenge to the tech companies to ensure that, when invidious material is placed on their platforms, they remove it as quickly as possible, so that it cannot be forwarded or embedded in the web.
I conclude by thanking the 570,000 people who felt moved to sign the petition, causing us to debate this important issue again in the House. The Government’s priority is to ensure the safety and security of the United Kingdom and the vast majority of our citizens who continue to uphold our shared values. We will not allow anything to jeopardise that.
Sitting adjourned.
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Website links to Australian Government Websites and Entry point for all Australian Commonwealth Government authorised information and services.
Council of Australian Governments
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) is the peak intergovernmental forum in Australia. It comprises the Prime Minister, State Premiers, Territory Chief Ministers and the President of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA). The Prime Minister chairs COAG. The role of COAG is to initiate, develop and monitor the implementation of policy reforms that are of national significance and which require cooperative action by Australian Governments. COAG agreed to the National Quality Framework on 7 December 2009.
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) is responsible for helping to support Australian families and children. The Families and Children section of this website provides detailed information on the various forms of assistance available including programs, services, benefits and payments.
The Department of Human Services is responsible for the development of Australian Government service delivery policy and offers a range of social, health and other payments and services. Support is available through Medicare, Centrelink, the Child Support program, CRS Australia and Australian Hearing. You can go directly to the Medicare program or the Centrelink program.
Department of Health and Ageing
The Department of Health and Ageing is responsible for supporting better health and active ageing for all Australians. Information is available on a wide range of conditions and diseases, education and prevention, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health issues and topics relevant to ageing and aged care.
Family Assistance Office
Family Assistance Offices have been set up in Medicare offices and Centrelink Customer Service Centres across the country, offering a range of payments to support families with their work and family responsibilities. It has been set up to give Australian families better access to government services. Instead of going to different agencies to get family assistance, families are able to get all their payments from just one place - the Family Assistance Office. Financial assistance includes the Family Tax Benefit, Child Care Benefit, Child Care Rebate and Baby Bonus. The Family Assistance Program is the responsibility of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
The Fair Work Ombudsman provides information and advice about workplace rights and responsibilities for employees, employers and contractors. It is a statutory office created by the Fair Work Act 2009 operating independently of Government. The Ombudsman ensures compliance with Commonwealth workplace laws and has the power to investigate complaints or suspected contraventions of workplace laws, awards and agreements. The services are free to all workers and employers in Australia.
Visit www.fairwork.gov.au if you want to go to this service, their Website Link has an issue that their Web team dosent seem to address so we dont link it directly here just paste it in your Browser and you will get them as Hagrid would say, Sorry about that :-)
Fair Work Commission
The Fair Work Commission (Formerly Fair Work Australia) is the national workplace relations tribunal. It is an independent body with power to carry out a range of functions relating to: the safety net of minimum wages and employment conditions, enterprise bargaining, industrial action, dispute resolution, termination of employment and other workplace matters. The Fair Work Commission provides information on cases and decisions and links to workplace laws in Australia.
How to Report Cyber Crime and Online Crime in Australia
Australian Cyber Security Center
Allows you to securely Report or Report Amonymously crimilal incidents involving the Internet and Online Crime in Austraila
This is a national policing initiative from all State and Commonwealth Governments. The website contains information on how to recognise online scams, fraud and identity theft and advice if you are a victim
Make a report HERE
How to Report Spam in Australia
Spam Email:
Email spam can be reported to the Australian Communications Media Authority by forwarding the message to the Spam Intelligence Database at report@submit.spam.acma.gov.au
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The Humanitarian Side of Sustainability: Helping People & the Planet
Here on ReelTalk, we discuss sustainable living quite a bit. However, many of us often forget about the humanitarian side of it all and the role that it plays in our journey toward a more sustainable future.
In making the world a better place, we can’t forget about those who need our help. Sustainability is meaningless unless everyone can enjoy it — especially underpaid workers and those in developing countries.
Here’s everything you need to know about sustainable humanitarianism.
Sustainable & Humanitarian Practices
Around the globe, there are people working far too much and being paid far too little. Usually in the textile industry, these workers primarily live in the developing world where labor is cheap.
However, some are also closer to home. In fact, a 2016 New York Times article outed a Los Angeles clothing manufacturer for underpaying local workers.
In order to build a truly sustainable society, developing countries need the opportunity to grow and progress. They can’t do that with chronically underpaid workers.
“Sustainability — it’s not just a climate issue, it’s a human rights issue too.” — Brooke Bobb, Vogue
Many people feel as though they can’t do anything to help underpaid workers, but that’s simply not true. As consumers, we have a great deal of power — more than enough to affect change.
Fortunately, there are plenty of companies out there who ethically source materials and use factories that pay workers fair wages. By shopping with companies that have ethical practices and avoiding those that don’t, we can pressure large corporations to do the right thing.
It’s fairly easy to learn about a company’s material sourcing and labor practices. Most humanitarian-driven companies have this information readily available on their website. Additionally, there are a handful of third-party certifications that ensure fair treatment of workers.
On food products, for example, the Fair Trade Certified label means that producers have been paid enough to invest in themselves and their businesses. This label also demonstrates a willingness to promote sustainability and community well-being.
Certified B Corporations
Of all the third-party humanitarian certifications available, certified B Corporations stand above the rest. The B Corp certification gives businesses a way to show that they actively ensure that their total impact is a positive one.
Image courtesy of Certified B Corp
In order to become a certified B Corp, companies must undergo an exhaustive screening process. During this process, the business is evaluated for how its decisions impact its workers and customers as well as the local community and environment.
Once a company is certified, they keep getting better. In fact, the B Corp community is continuously working to make the world a better place for everyone and everything in it.
For those interested in doing business with B Corps, there’s an up-to-date directory to help you find a company that meets your needs. Some notable B Corps include Patagonia, Ben and Jerry’s, and Allbirds.
Reel’s Humanitarian Mission
At Reel, we’re also on a humanitarian mission. A mission to bring health, safety, and dignity to developing countries around the world.
Unfortunately, many communities lack access to clean water and working bathrooms. As a result, people are forced to relieve themselves in public. This dilemma creates a humanitarian crisis as it has the potential to spread dangerous waterborne illnesses.
In order to fight this humanitarian issue, Reel has partnered with SOIL to remove waste from communities and turn it into strong, useful fertilizer. Together, we can help people lead the safe and enjoyable lives they deserve.
Humanitarianism & Sustainability Together
This planet belongs to everyone who lives here, so when we make the world a better place, we do so for everyone’s benefit. Too often we forget about underpaid factory workers and those struggling in other countries.
By supporting companies who care about people, we can truly make the world a brighter, more sustainable place.
What are your favorite people-loving companies? Let us know in the comments!
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‘No offence to God but I don’t believe in Him’: religion, schooling and children’s rights
Peter J. Hemming
Since the Children Act (2004) in both England and Wales, schools are expected to give due attention to the issue of children’s rights, particularly respect for the views of pupils in matters that affect them, as outlined in Article 12 of the UNCRC. However, one theme that has been relatively unexplored in the literature on children’s rights and education is religion and the role it plays in everyday school life, an issue that has relevance for Article 12, but also Article 14, which refers to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This article approaches the topic of religion, schooling and children’s rights empirically, through a focus on rural church schools. It draws on in-depth qualitative research with pupils and other stakeholders from two case study schools in order to explore the significance of ethos values and experiences of religious practices for debates in this area.
Ethnography and Education
Hemming2018E_EpostprintAccepted author manuscript, 929 KB
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of '‘No offence to God but I don’t believe in Him’: religion, schooling and children’s rights'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Offence Arts & Humanities
Schooling Arts & Humanities
Deity Arts & Humanities
Pupil Arts & Humanities
Freedom of Thought Arts & Humanities
Wales Arts & Humanities
Qualitative Research Arts & Humanities
Peter Hemming
P.Hemming@brighton.ac.uk
School of Education - Reader
Hemming, P. J. (2017). ‘No offence to God but I don’t believe in Him’: religion, schooling and children’s rights. Ethnography and Education , 13(2), 154-171. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2017.1287582
Hemming, Peter J. / ‘No offence to God but I don’t believe in Him’ : religion, schooling and children’s rights. In: Ethnography and Education . 2017 ; Vol. 13, No. 2. pp. 154-171.
@article{9650055987484f89886147e44d5b408f,
title = "{\textquoteleft}No offence to God but I don{\textquoteright}t believe in Him{\textquoteright}: religion, schooling and children{\textquoteright}s rights",
abstract = "Since the Children Act (2004) in both England and Wales, schools are expected to give due attention to the issue of children{\textquoteright}s rights, particularly respect for the views of pupils in matters that affect them, as outlined in Article 12 of the UNCRC. However, one theme that has been relatively unexplored in the literature on children{\textquoteright}s rights and education is religion and the role it plays in everyday school life, an issue that has relevance for Article 12, but also Article 14, which refers to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This article approaches the topic of religion, schooling and children{\textquoteright}s rights empirically, through a focus on rural church schools. It draws on in-depth qualitative research with pupils and other stakeholders from two case study schools in order to explore the significance of ethos values and experiences of religious practices for debates in this area.",
author = "Hemming, {Peter J.}",
Hemming, PJ 2017, '‘No offence to God but I don’t believe in Him’: religion, schooling and children’s rights', Ethnography and Education , vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 154-171. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2017.1287582
‘No offence to God but I don’t believe in Him’ : religion, schooling and children’s rights. / Hemming, Peter J.
In: Ethnography and Education , Vol. 13, No. 2, 10.02.2017, p. 154-171.
T1 - ‘No offence to God but I don’t believe in Him’
T2 - religion, schooling and children’s rights
AU - Hemming, Peter J.
N2 - Since the Children Act (2004) in both England and Wales, schools are expected to give due attention to the issue of children’s rights, particularly respect for the views of pupils in matters that affect them, as outlined in Article 12 of the UNCRC. However, one theme that has been relatively unexplored in the literature on children’s rights and education is religion and the role it plays in everyday school life, an issue that has relevance for Article 12, but also Article 14, which refers to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This article approaches the topic of religion, schooling and children’s rights empirically, through a focus on rural church schools. It draws on in-depth qualitative research with pupils and other stakeholders from two case study schools in order to explore the significance of ethos values and experiences of religious practices for debates in this area.
AB - Since the Children Act (2004) in both England and Wales, schools are expected to give due attention to the issue of children’s rights, particularly respect for the views of pupils in matters that affect them, as outlined in Article 12 of the UNCRC. However, one theme that has been relatively unexplored in the literature on children’s rights and education is religion and the role it plays in everyday school life, an issue that has relevance for Article 12, but also Article 14, which refers to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This article approaches the topic of religion, schooling and children’s rights empirically, through a focus on rural church schools. It draws on in-depth qualitative research with pupils and other stakeholders from two case study schools in order to explore the significance of ethos values and experiences of religious practices for debates in this area.
Hemming PJ. ‘No offence to God but I don’t believe in Him’: religion, schooling and children’s rights. Ethnography and Education . 2017 Feb 10;13(2):154-171. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2017.1287582
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