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Xbox One Resolution Brouhaha: When Graphics Matter, and When They Don’t
Tune-out the technophile chest-beating.
Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images
Attendees walk between signs for Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox on the first day of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, California, June 11, 2013.
The PlayStation 4 Delivers Launch Trailer Quadruplets
Sony Just Unveiled the Mother of All PlayStation 4 FAQs
Let’s Hope the Xbox One’s Kinect Camera Is Never Used for Targeted Advertising
I’d Be Skeptical of Reports About the PlayStation 4 Being ‘50% Faster’ than Xbox One
My favorite game from the last generation of set-top game systems was Xenoblade Chronicles. It arrived early last year, though late to the U.S., after a successful fan campaign petitioning Nintendo to have it translated from the original Japanese and released stateside. It happens to be one of the most beautiful roleplaying games I’ve ever played, this generation or any, and it ran at a resolution that’s been common since the Dreamcast tapped EDTV at the close of the 20th century, becoming the first games console to output a VGA signal.
Think about that. The bestselling current-generation games console in the world today — still Nintendo’s Wii, by install base numbers — tops out at the same resolution: 720 by 480 pixels, or 480p. I realize some of you think the Wii’s a glorified doorstop, but the numbers are what they are. All the gnashing-of-teeth in the world about screen resolutions or under-the-hood horsepower won’t change sales figures.
The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are capable of both rendering and outputting at up to 1080p, or 1920 by 1080 pixels. A handful of games actually do this, of course, because neither system’s powerful enough, say, to give us a Grand Theft Auto V in native 1080p glory. Most games on the PS3 and Xbox 360 run at 720p, or 1280 x 720 pixels, and upscale if your television is 1080p native. Occasionally, games run at lower-than-720p resolutions internally — more in the PS3 and Xbox 360’s early days — as developers grappled with optimizing multi-platform versions of their game engines. “Frame rate” was the watch-phrase. If a game wasn’t hitting something like 30 frames per second consistently, dropping the resolution was the simplest way to bolster performance.
Given the architectural disparities between the PS3 and Xbox 360, this led to sometimes noticeable differences between multi-platform games. But those differences don’t align with generalizations about either system’s raw performance. Take Rockstar’s RAGE engine, powering all of its games (Table Tennis aside) from Grand Theft Auto IV forward. Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) looked a little sharper and cleaner on the Xbox 360 (rendered natively at 720p), though some preferred the PS3’s softer visual filtering (upscaled from 640p). Red Dead Redemption (2010), by contrast, looked markedly better on the Xbox 360 (again, rendered natively at 720p) compared to the interpolated fuzziness of the PS3 version (again, upscaled from 640p).
By Max Payne 3 (2012), Rockstar had RAGE in hand, and both systems could output that game at native 720p, with slight visual edges awardable to either system (otherwise, the two versions looked identical). Grand Theft Auto V put paid to the assumption that earlier visual disparities had more to do with developers coming to grips with crafting identical versions of ridiculously complex game worlds on profoundly different platforms. GTA V is one of the best-looking sandbox games ever made — one of these “apotheosis of world-building” exercises — and it’s rendered identically on either system.
The point, if it’s not obvious, is that early assumptions about rendering disparities and performance capabilities weren’t just off target, they were head-screwed-on-backwards wrong. Remember all the “PS3 is significantly more powerful than the Xbox 360” pet theories scrambling around game forums in 2006? Sound like any of the pet theories scrambling around said forums today? Theory and execution rarely align in the messy world of high-turnover studios, ever-evolving SDKs, grappling with multi-platform versions of games and delivering finished products on strict timescales.
With the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, we seem to be time-warping backwards, regressing to rote bickering over rumor and innuendo. The lazy story that emerged mid-September about the PS4 being “50% faster” than Xbox One, sourcing anonymous developers from who-knows-where, was nebulous link bait, crafted to grab the attention of partisan gamers and professional trolls. They emerged, dutifully, to graffiti up the place and wag the conversation off a cliff. You can’t have a meaningful conversation about a contextually incomprehensible abstract percentile.
This more recent controversy involving Call of Duty: Ghosts, by contrast, involves a thoughtful visual analysis by a respected game site, as well as tweets from official studio reps. The informational difference is stark: Here, at last, are metrics to dig into.
I’ll summarize: Activision’s Call of Duty: Ghosts for the Xbox One renders natively at 720p, whereas it renders natively at 1080p on the PlayStation 4. Assuming you have a 1080p-native television, that’s a difference worth talking about. The Xbox One version upscales to 1080p, of course, and Infinity Ward claims the visual differences between the versions running on 1080p TVs are all but indiscernible, but Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry effectively says that’s too dismissive — that there are differences, and in some cases those differences are substantial.
This is all moot, by the way, if your TV tops out at 720p, a point not to be overlooked (I don’t have install figures for TVs by native resolution, but I’d wager 720p sets still top 1080p ones). Furthermore, the PlayStation 4 isn’t a lock on native 1080p gaming — even it winds up dropping to 1600 by 900, or 900p, when outputting a game like EA’s Battlefield 4 (though here again, the Xbox One renders that game natively at 720p). But yes, as Digital Foundry puts it, the Xbox One, at least at launch, comes off looking like “the more expensive console offering the sub-optimal experience in key titles.”
As I said at the outset, Xenoblade Chronicles is one of the most beautiful roleplaying games I’ve ever played (I include Skyrim when I say this). The visual downshift, pixel-wise, didn’t bother me. After playing for a few minutes, I’m in Monolith Soft and Tetsuya Takahashi’s world and 480p be damned. “This is what it feels like to crawl around on the cosmic bodies of gods,” says my brain, ignoring the world’s slightly unfocused look. I’ll take a thoughtful, artful 480p game like that over a generic 4K Ultra HD one any day of the week.
If you’re a videophile, on the other hand, you have my sympathies. Most gamers probably haven’t owned a device capable of outputting at native 480p for years. 480p games on a 720p or 1080p TV are interpolated, the 720 by 480 output stretched to accommodate the TV’s native 1280 by 720 or 1920 by 1080 pixels. It’s a shortcoming of LCDs we skipped over in our haste to adopt flatter, lighter televisions — this inability to shift native resolutions on-the-fly the way CRTs could. With fixed-pixel displays, you have one optimal resolution and one optimal resolution alone. If you value display clarity — and who could blame you for doing so — there’s a reasonable argument for going with a system that meets your display’s criteria. If you’re a videophile, you despise scaling, so a system that doesn’t (scale), all other things being equal, is more desirable. It’s not what drives me, but as a sometimes-audiophile who cares deeply about the differences between compressed and uncompressed audio, I can understand why it drives you.
If, on the other hand, you just want to play “my system’s more powerful than yours,” what can I say? The 20th century called and wants its juvenile worldview back? Armchair presumptions about platform power are no way to justify a purchase. Power might make a game more architecturally complex in terms of abstract pixel-triangle-vertice-texel metrics, but it can’t make that game beautiful or the gameplay artful. And if you think you’re buying headroom, think again — today’s high-end PCs are already vastly more powerful than the PS4 and Xbox One, but that hasn’t brought a game like Grand Theft Auto V to the PC any faster (Rockstar has yet to confirm a PC port). Power won’t buy you much, in the end: bragging rights in a forum or social circle, and snarky posts or comments that feel cathartic now, but that you’ll probably look back at in a decade or so with embarrassment.
In any event, it’s too soon to say — much less know — whether one system trumps another performance-wise, or whether such an advantage ought to guide your decision-making process. You’re investing in a platform, of which a power differential is one slice. Think bigger. Think about interface innovation and software creativity and the ecosystem in which those things live. The latter’s already likely defining who buys what or goes where. If your friends live on Xbox Live, shifting to the PlayStation 4 is like sailing off to terra incognita. Unless your friends come with, you’re abandoning your social network, and vice versa if you’ve been living on the PlayStation Network and shift to the Xbox One.
Platforms are so much more than mere hardware. Let that principle be your guide as you consider a system this holiday, be it the PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, a new or upgraded PC — whatever. Unless you have to have native 1080p gaming, day one, tune out this very old, very boring, utterly predictable strain of technophile chest-beating. That’s not me defending one system’s hypothetical technical deficiencies, it’s a defense of gaming as much more than the sum of one part.
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HomeJust another murder or gender-based violence? A commentary on Civek versus Turkey
Just another murder or gender-based violence? A commentary on Civek versus Turkey
March 3, 2016 March 3, 2016 Guest Blogger Prohibition of Discrimination, Stereotypes, Women's Rights
By Fleur van Leeuwen, LL.M. Ph.D., human rights researcher and lecturer.
On 14 January 2011 Selma Civek was murdered by her husband. It was the denouement of years of battering and abuse. Last week the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) ruled that Turkey had violated Civek’s right to life. It deemed it unnecessary to examine the alleged violation of article 14 of the Convention: the prohibition of discrimination. Although the Court found that Turkey had violated the Convention and ordered the state to pay compensation, the judgment is very disappointing. The Court did not question the role that Civek’s gender played in the case and therefore ignored the gendered reality of domestic violence and the particular response that is needed to tackle this widespread human rights problem. Instead, it dealt with the case in a gender-neutral fashion, treating Civek’s death as it would any other murder, focusing on the question whether the authorities knew or could have reasonably known that Civek’s life was in danger and – if so – acted with due diligence. What is even more disquieting is that the Court observed – without any apparent reason – that domestic violence not only affects women but also men and children and thus seemed to second – once more – to the worrisome ambiguity regarding the nature of domestic violence as a (non)-gendered human rights issue that also entered the text of the Convention on Preventing and Combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention).
Civek versus Turkey
Civek had complained many times to the authorities about her violent husband and had spent time in a shelter for abused women in Ankara. The Court noted that:
‘Au regard des faits, on peut raisonnablement considérer que les forces de l’ordre étaient informées des violences exercées par H.C. contre Selma Civek durant la période précédant son assassinat (…) Pour apprécier les renseignements que pouvaient détenir les forces de l’ordre quant à la question de savoir si l’animosité du père des requérants envers leur mère pouvait l’inciter à tenter de la tuer, la Cour relève que la police avait été informée de la probabilité de cet assassinat par les nombreuses plaintes de Selma Civek et par les témoignages des requérants. (..) On peut dès lors estimer que les autorités savaient ou auraient dû savoir que Selma Civek était susceptible de faire l’objet d’une agression fatale. De plus, eu égard aux circonstances, ce risque pouvait être considéré comme réel et imminent’ (paras. 51-53)
But although the husband had been placed under judicial supervision and was charged by the prosecutor for making death threats and failing to comply with the requirements of the previous protection order, no practical measures were taken to ensure her de facto protection from him. The Court therefore found that the Turkish authorities had not complied with their positive obligations under article 2.
Concerning the alleged violation of article 14 of the Convention – the prohibition of discrimination – the Court held that:
‘Eu égard au constat de violation relatif à l’article 2 de la Convention (…), la Cour estime qu’il n’est pas nécessaire, dans les circonstances de la présente affaire, de se prononcer séparément sur le grief des requérants fondé sur l’article 14 de la Convention combiné avec l’article 2 de la Convention’ (para. 69)
Unnecessary?
Notwithstanding that the Court has frequently found it unnecessary to examine a complaint under article 14 when it has already found a violation of a substantive article (also in cases concerning other forms of violence against women, like rape and forced sterilisation), it is in this case remarkable because the Court generally addresses complaints of discrimination in domestic violence cases. Never before did the Court hold in a domestic violence case that discussion of a violation of article 14 was unnecessary.[1] It is also surprising because in its previous judgment on domestic violence in Turkey (Opuz versus Turkey) the Court recognised that:
‘(…) the general and discriminatory judicial passivity in Turkey, albeit unintentional, mainly affected women, the Court considers that the violence suffered by the applicant and her mother may be regarded as gender-based violence which is a form of discrimination against women.’ (para. 200)
Not only did it thus highlight in this past judgment that gender-based violence constitutes gender discrimination – a definitive novelty for the Court – but it also explicitly recognised the deficiencies in Turkey regarding the way it tackled domestic violence, noting that Turkey created ‘a climate that was conducive to domestic violence’ (para. 198). Did Civek not offer a good opportunity to reexamine that discriminatory climate seven years after Opuz?
Moreover, I would argue that, in light of the statistics and literature on domestic violence, it is always necessary to examine a complaint of gender discrimination in domestic violence cases. It is widely supported that gender generally plays a role in domestic violence and that women and girls are not only affected disproportionately but also differently.[2] In cases of domestic violence where the Court finds that the authorities failed to act with due diligence to address the violence there is therefore a prima facie indication of gender-based discrimination that warrants further examination.
Systemic discrimination of women
But the role of gender in domestic violence cases does not only necessitate examination of the reasons for finding (direct or indirect) discrimination in the individual case. I contend that a key element in establishing whether a state party has acted with due diligence to address domestic violence is to see whether it has taken measures (that could reasonably be expected) to combat systemic discrimination against women. As noted, there is substantive literature about the fact that women – generally – experience domestic violence because they are women. The acts of violence stem from and maintain a system in which women are unequal to men in opportunities and prospects and are more prone to certain human rights violations. This situation of structural discrimination against women that is embedded in the system of a society (its laws, unwritten codes, and practices) needs to be tackled if one is to effectively combat domestic violence.
Hence I would argue that if a state does not take measures (that it could reasonably be expected to take) to address systemic discrimination, or worse, when it is complicit in reinforcing this system, it does not act with due diligence to protect the respective woman’s right to life (and freedom from torture and ill-treatment for that matter) and therefore does not comply with its positive obligations under the Convention.
Although the Court has never explicitly paid attention to systemic discrimination against women in domestic violence cases, it has in previous judgments implicitly touched upon some of its symptoms when it held for example that ‘the authorities’ actions (…) amounted to condoning such (domestic) violence and reflected a discriminatory attitude towards her as a woman.’ (T.M. and C.M. versus the Republic of Moldova, 2014; Mudric versus the Republic of Moldova, 2013). It is to be regretted that the Court did not build on these recent domestic violence judgments in Civek and, for example, pay attention to the gender roles and stereotypes in Turkish society and the part these have played in the case of Civek.[3]
Domestic violence a non-gendered human rights issue?
What is possibly even more disheartening is the fact that the Court implies in its judgment that domestic violence is seemingly a non-gendered human rights issue. Instead of assuming that domestic violence is prima facie gendered, as I previously proposed, the Court purposefully hints at the exact opposite. In the discussion on the alleged violation of article 2 it observes – without any apparent reason – that:
‘Par ailleurs, elle ne concerne pas exclusivement les femmes : les hommes peuvent eux aussi faire l’objet de violences domestiques, ainsi que les enfants, qui en sont souvent directement ou indirectement victimes.’ (para. 50)
Although the Court had made a similar statement in Opuz versus Turkey, it did not repeat this understanding in later domestic violence rulings.
The idea of domestic violence as a non-gendered human rights issue is ambiguous, considering that domestic violence was originally recognised as a human rights problem because of its gendered nature. It was acknowledged as a human rights issue because of the fact that it disproportionately affected women; the large scale on which it took place; and the impunity with which it was done. It was an issue because it stemmed from and was a manifestation of gender-based discrimination. This understanding of domestic violence as a gendered human rights issue was – regrettably – altered in the text of the Istanbul Convention, which – by referring to violence against women and domestic violence – explicitly positioned the latter as a gender neutral form of violence. It is disquieting to see that the Court seconds to this (mis)understanding.
A one-time-only mishap
A murder of a woman by her husband after years of domestic abuse is generally not a common murder, but a manifestation of gender-based violence.
Recent surveys of domestic violence in Turkey show that 40 percent of all women experience intimate partner violence in their lives. Research also shows that 34 percent of Turkish men find violence ‘occasionally necessary,’ while 37.6 percent express that some principles such as honour, decency and discipline render violence necessary. Domestic violence is not gender-neutral and by ignoring the gendered reality of this type of abuse and treating the death of Civek as just another murder the Court does not do justice to Civek or to women’s human rights in general. I therefore hope that Civek was a one-time-only mishap and that the Court will acknowledge the role that gender plays in future domestic violence cases.
[1]The Court made such a statement in Airey versus Ireland (1979). But since that case did not deal with domestic violence an sich but with the difficulty of obtaining a divorce I did not include this judgment. In the case of Bevacqua and S. versus Bulgaria of 2008 the Court decided – without any explanation – to examine the complaint solely under article 8 of the Convention.
[2]See for example: World Health Organisation, Global and regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence, 2013; D. Thomas & M. Beasley, ‘Domestic Violence as a Human Rights Issue’, 15 Human Rights Quarterly 1, 1993, pp. 36 – 62.
[3] Recognising and naming harmful gender roles and stereotypes is after all an important step in battling systemic discrimination against women and hence in fighting its manifestations, like domestic violence. See for example R. J. Cook & S. Cusack, Gender Stereotyping – Transnational Legal perspectives, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2010; and A. Timmer, ‘Toward an Anti-Stereotyping Approach for the European Court of Human Rights’, 11 Human Rights Law Review 4, 2011, pp. 707-738.
← European Court Buttresses Binational Same-Sex Couples’ Right to Family Reunification
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Stripper Jobs in Fort St. John
Striprecruit April 2, 2019
Fort St. John is in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. It is one of the largest cities along the Alaska Highway with a population of 18,609 residents. Although with a small population, Fort St. John is a retail, service and industrial centre, especially for the province’s oil and gas industry. Stripper jobs in Fort St. John work on the system, whereby girls are charged to work and anything left over is theirs. This is the commission structure throughout North America and called the ‘lap dance system‘.
Unlike jobs in Europe, Fort St. John stripper jobs can also offer day shifts. this is a great offer for many dancers that has a family to take care of and that will find night shifts hard to deal with for that matter.
Exotic dancer jobs in Fort St. John works on the Lap dance system.
All club dancers will do turns on stage, regardless of location. In addition to their dance commissions, stripper jobs in Fort St John allow the girls to command tips for their stage performances. The Exotic dancer jobs in Fort St John works on the Lap Dance system, that means the dancers pay for a secure environment and potential customers. The pay out works in different ways, it can be that the dancers must pay a house fee and on top of that also pay the house mum, DJ and the security.
Clubs in Fort St John can also be open in the daytime.
Compared to the European market, there is a more day and night routine to many clubs in Fort St John. So dancers can choose between working a day shift or a night shift. This opens up for a lot more opportunities for this that are limited in how to set up a working schedule that fits in to the rest of society.
Feature dancer jobs in Fort St John
Fort St John strip clubs have a busy feature dancer circuit, similar to Australia, the USA and New Zealand. Feature dancers differ from club dancers whereby, they don’t work for commission and, instead, are paid set fees for choreographed shows that are 15-20 minutes in length. These are very elaborate shows with costumes, props and edited music following a theme.
Canada has very strict laws for illegal workers.
The government in Fort St John class strippers as sex workers so there are further restrictions. Clubs and agencies has to be 100% correct with there paper work, if not you can get into serious trouble. You basically have to be born in Canada or have a permanent citizenship to work legally here. If you do have this in order, the clubs in Fort St John have a very accepting culture for all types of dancers with a unique appearance. The culture is very accepting of things such as tattoos and piercings. Therefore, these would not discount girls from working, even in the high end clubs.
Read about strip club jobs in other Canadian destinations:
Alberta. Calgary. Edmonton. British Columbia.Vancouver. Prince George.Okanagan. Victoria.Manitoba. Brandon.Winnipeg.New Brunswick. Newfoundland and Labrador. Northwest Territories.Yellowknife. New Brunswick. Ontario. Toronto.Ottawa. Quebec.Nova Scotia. Halifax.
Categories: Canada
Tagged: Exotic dancer jobs in Canada, Exotic dancer jobs in Fort St John, stripper jobs in Bristish Columbia, stripper jobs in canada, Stripper jobs in Fort St John
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Cannes festival palace turns into vaccine center
The famed festival palace at Cannes, a usually star-studded venue during the city's prestigious film festival, has transformed into a vaccination center in France's bid to advance its inoculation drive.
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States expand vaccination efforts as COVID-19 deaths keep rising
The U.S. is moving onto its next phase of coronavirus vaccinations, with major expansions to immunization sites at stadiums and convention centers. The efforts come as the country's seven-day average of COVID-19 deaths now stands at over 3,000 a day. Dr. Dyan Hes, founder of Gramercy Pediatrics, joined CBSN to discuss the latest on vaccinations and what we are learning from new studies on immunity and traveling during a pandemic.
CBSN is CBS News’ 24/7 digital streaming news service featuring live, anchored coverage available for free across all platforms. Launched in November 2014, the service is a premier destination for breaking news and original storytelling from the deep bench of CBS News correspondents and reporters. CBSN features the top stories of the day as well as deep dives into key issues facing the nation and the world. CBSN has also expanded to launch local news streaming services in major markets across the country. CBSN is currently available on CBSNews.com and the CBS News app across more than 20 platforms, as well as the CBS All Access subscription service.
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Dambulla, Sri Lanka
Worth The Wait.
I was bloody exhausted when I left work and headed to the airport. Even after sixty straight days of work I have nothing to complain about but, I was most definitely ready for a day off. Unfortunately, I had to take an overnight flight to Sri Lanka before I could really begin to relax and I simply really could not be bothered! Even when I arrived in Sri Lanka at 6am the following morning I couldn’t be bothered. Even after a two-hour transfer and getting checked into the hotel nice and early, I couldn’t be bothered. I just wanted to sleep, and so I did. Not for long mind. I wasn’t going to miss lunch and a beer and so after a swift two-nap I was up, showered and sat in the hotel restaurant. With all that, began to feel epic! Not only do hangovers get worse with age but so too does flying to unknown places around the world. But, as with both cases it always turns out to be worth it.
I’ve been meaning to visit Sri Lanka for many years now but every time I thought I was good to go, either the trip was cancelled or the dates didn’t work with my time off work. As it turned out this would be first trip for several years where I would spend longer than ten days in the country I was visiting and I would be getting out on the road visiting many areas of the country instead of sticking in one spot. I was very excited about Sri Lanka for this reason and many more. So far, she has proven to be a country that is well and truly worth the wait.
After getting acquainted with the group we kicked off with a visit to a temple. I had deliberately chosen an active tour so as to minimise contact with temples. I won’t lie, I have seen many temples and I tend to lose interest quickly but, Sri Lanka is home to several famous Buddhist sights and put simply, it would be rather rude to pay them a visit. Almost like being invited to Grandmas for Sunday dinner but not bothering to wonder around her prize-winning garden. The cave temples in Dambulla were certainly worth a visit. As the name suggests there were a series of caves on top or a huge rock. Inside the caves were numerous stone carvings of Buddha with walls covered in rather impressive artwork, all of which dated back several millenia. On entering a Buddhist temple, shoes have to be removed. Walking barefoot is always very liberating and the temple complex was largely smooth rock underfoot. The one thing that has completely thrown me off guard since arriving in Sri Lanka is the heat. It is absolutely insane and it soon becomes apparent that walking on super-heated stone isn’t overly pleasant. But on saying that, there was so much sweat pouring off me that it offered a bit of a distraction from my fit beginning to sizzle like bacon. Looking on the map it is probably quite obvious that Sri Lanka should be hot which isn’t really a problem for me these days. The one thing that caught me off guard was humidity which really was quite impressive. As a little test our guide decided to take us for a nice long walk in the middle of the day which took in some fields and local villages. By the time we stopped off to pile into a local’s living room to eat a lunch they had kindly provided for us, not only was I wet and stinking but I had burnt my neck to a crisp. Why this fails to happen in 45oC heat at work but does in 35oC heat on holiday is beyond my intellect. With a good dose of culture and another of exercise, the day was still not over as we headed down the road to Sigiriya.
I was incredibly excited to see the Lion Rock fortress of Sigiriya. One of the highlights of the Sri Lankan tourist circuit it combines both exercise and culture. All the photos I had seen looked mighty impressive. Basically, a colossal rock rises up from the ground and a King from long ago decided he would stick a palace on the top of it. Around the base of the rocks were gardens, all of which was enclosed by a moat. The moat, which survives to this day is no ordinary moat like the ones you would see in the UK. The moat around Sigiriya is beautiful, lined with lush trees and green grass with fish swimming in the blue water. The garden path which was probably around a kilometre long led to the base of the rock where a series of steps carved into it led us upwards. We eventually arrived halfway up the rock to be met by two giant pawprints of a lion, magnificently carved into the rock. Between the paws was a staircase that led to the top of the rock and the palace that sits on top. Originally a portrait of a lion would have also sat between the paws but this was now long gone and instead a metal staircase sat in its place. If I’m honest I found it to be a little underwhelming but I was excited to head up the staircase. After climbing a total of two hundred meters up from where the gardens lay we were treated with incredible views of the surrounding countryside from the top of the rock. Looking back down on the gardens was especially impressive as with any ancient gardens they were laid out in intricate patterns and although the gardens were long gone, the walls and several ponds still remained. As for the palace on top, as with the gardens below, all that remains are the outlines of walls that once stood. I was again surprised by its lack of va va voom (views aside). I’m not sure what I was expecting but it didn’t blow me away like I thought it would. I had even heard about one of the rooms in the palace having air conditioning back in the day which worked by pumping water down the inner wall of the room thus cooling the air. This was obviously long gone but there were no points of information that anyone could refer to on top. It’s hard to explain without sounding harsh. It was an incredible place to visit with impressive views and a great little walk but it lacked something that I was expecting. Yet, I have no idea what I was expecting in the first place!
The following day we headed off to the Knuckles mountain range. Unlike Sigiriya I had heard and seen nothing about this place and had little idea what to expect other than a hot trek. It just so happened to be absolutely stunning. The hike was approximately fifteen kilometres long and took us through rice paddy fields to begin with which lay in a beautiful valley. Ahead of us rose a large chunk of rock that we would ascend after wondering trough a small village that lay at its base. Walking up through the lush trees on a track with nothing except a few locals and an army of leeches we were greeted at the top with spectacular views of the mountain range and the paddy fields down below. The pictures really struggle to give a sense of scale as does my lack of vocabulary! All I can say is that it was right up my street and the only thing that could have made it any better would have been to abseil down the sheer drop back to the bottom. Alas, this would not be the case and a packed lunch at the top would have to suffice. Interestingly, also at the top were a herd of water buffalo that were chilling out in a pond. I say pond but it resembled something more along the lines of a slurry pit!
Next up is Adams Peak, another highlight of Sri Lanka and something I have always been excited to do. What I can safely say is that after only a couple of days of being here, I am well and truly in love with this country.
The Knuckles
Water Buffalo and a dog!
A moat
Lions paws
Top of Sigiriya
The garden path
Some rice paddies
The Dambulla caves
A hungover monkey!
On April 8, 2018 May 2, 2020 By trig94In Asia
Ruka, Finland
Ella, Sri Lanka
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Press Release ›
CSO STATEMENT ON THE 500 BN TAX WAIVER AND THE PROPOSED PAYMENT OF TAX ON OVER THE TOP TO SERVICES FOR MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
Oxfam in Uganda in partnership with the Tax Justice Alliance in Uganda, SEATINI, CSBAG, and Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda (ACCU) have released this statement in response to the legislators’ decision on three important aspects
Waiver of taxes for some corporations: While enacting the Tax Procedures code Amendment Bill 2019, the parliament of Uganda wrote off taxes to a tune of over 500 billion for selected private companies on whose behalf government was expected to pay taxes. In May 2017 it was reported that the Government was expected to pay UGX 77.2 billion of taxpayers’ money to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) on behalf of seven private companies which the Minister of Finance had granted as tax waivers for varying periods. This revenue that is lost is enough to pay 69,444 grade three primary school teachers a monthly salary of shs. 600,000 for a whole year. This week, as schools opened, teachers began their industrial action demanding for increment in pay for which government says there no money. Alternatively, the revenue lost is enough to pay 67,954 nurses a monthly salary of shs. 613,158 for a year.
Parliament signed a contract worth 197 million to pay for legislators’ Over the Top (OTT) taxes. It is worth noting that members of Parliament passed the tax on Over the Top services despite the public outcry against the enactment of the tax during which it was noted that the tax was regressive in nature, bound to limit access to information, stifle budding technology innovations and stagnate penetration of the internet.
Members of Parliament (MPs) approved 39% increment in allowances for MPs and 15% increment for parliamentary staff in the 2019/that will cost taxpayers an additional Shs63.46b in the 2019/20 budget. In 2015, the Constitutional Court declared that Section 5 of the Parliament (Remuneration of Members) Act 1981 unconstitutional. It should be remembered that in 2016, Members of Parliament included a clause in the Income Tax Act cap 340 to exempt themselves from paying tax on their emoluments. This exemption costs the country up to shs. 33bn annually.
Key Asks
Auditor General should undertake a comprehensive audit for all tax expenditures in Uganda and publish such information to ensure fiscal transparency and accountability.
Any exemption whether statutory or from the executive should follow well laid out guidelines. Uganda presently lacks clear guidelines on tax exemptions.
The government should establish a multi-stakeholder monitoring panel including policymakers and civil society to evaluate the relevance of awarded tax incentives, exemptions and holidays that reports to parliament.
Parliament reverses the proposal to pay taxes on Over the Top Services for members of Parliament.
If Members of Parliament cannot afford to pay taxes on Over the Top services, it should repeal section 6(g) of the Excise duty Act on OTT. An independent renumeration body should be established to determine salaries and benefits for all public servants including Members of Parliament.
MEDIA ADVISORY: 20 November 2020: “COVID-19 in Africa: Lessons for a Just Recovery” High Level Event
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Netflix Sets Cast for Korean Series ‘Move to Heaven’
Sarah Fox June 3, 2020
Slanted > TV > Netflix Sets Cast for Korean Series ‘Move to Heaven’
Netflix has been busy expanding its Korean drama series this week. Just a few days after the video streaming service announced “Record of Youth” with Park So-dam, Netflix announced the original series “Move to Heaven,” starring Lee Je-hoon and Tang Jun-sang. Kim Sung-ho directed the project, working from a script by Yoon Ji-ryun. The series will be available worldwide, exclusively on Netflix.
The official description reads, “Move to Heaven tells the story of Geu-ru, a young man with Asperger’s syndrome, and Sang-gu, who suddenly finds himself as Geu-ru’s guardian. The two work as trauma cleaners, clearing out the possessions of the deceased and uncovering the many stories that are left behind.”
Netflix didn’t set a premiere date for the new series, but the company did release the official casting information. You can find the information below, as described by Netflix.
Ji Jin-hee makes a special appearance as Geu-ru’s father Jeong-u who is a kind and affectionate man. He operates Move to Heaven, a disposal service for the personal belongings of the deceased, and designates his younger brother Sang-gu as Geu-ru’s guardian.
Lee Jae-wook makes a special appearance as Su-cheol, who had been involved with Sang-gu being sent to prison. Su-cheol’s appearance will pique viewers’ curiosity not only for more insight into Sang-gu’s past but also about Move to Heaven in general.
Hong Seung-hee plays Na-mu, a key character alongside Geu-ru and Sang-gu. Na-mu lives next door to Geu-ru and considers him as family and is protective of him. She keeps a careful eye on Sang-gu, who suddenly becomes Geu-ru’s guardian.
Park Bo-gum, Park So-dam, and Byeon Woo-seok star in “Record of Youth,” which will available to stream in late 2020. An Gil-ho will direct the series, working from a script by Ha Myeong-hee, who penned “Doctors” and “Temperature of Love.”
Tags : CastingNetflix
Sarah Fox June 3, 2020
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Sterling K. Brown on ‘Black Panther,’ ‘This Is Us’ — and how O.J. Simpson changed his life
The Emmy winner and Golden Globe nominee is sitting on top of the world
Sterling K. Brown from NBCUniversal’s ‘This Is Us’ poses for a portrait at the 2016 Summer TCAs Getty Images Portrait Studio at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 27th, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. Maarten de Boer/Getty Images
By Kelley L. Carter @KelleyLCarter
When the news dropped, Sterling K. Brown was about two hours away from wrapping up a scene on the set of the emotionally evocative NBC dramatic series This Is Us. It was the kind of nugget that sends Twitter into a tailspin — social media kudos were issued all around. The announcement that Brown is the latest actor to be cast in 2018’s Black Panther whetted the appetite of cinema-watchers everywhere.
Clearly, this has been Brown’s season.
But the Stanford grad (who also earned an MFA from New York University), has been working tirelessly in Hollywood for 15 years now — his credits include Person of Interest, Supernatural and of course, the much-missed Lifetime show, Army Wives. But it wasn’t until last year’s epic FX series, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, that his portrayal of prosecutor Chris Darden made people stand up and take real notice. And soon, he’ll be lighting up the silver screen as part of Marvel’s Black Panther, a cast chock-full of some of the best black actors around — Oscar winners Forest Whitaker and Lupita Nyong’o among them.
“Everybody,” Brown said, “meets you at their own time. Even when things weren’t perfect, I’ve never not had a roof over my head. I’ve never not had love in my life. To finally be hitting people’s radar … I just hope I’m able to continue to excite and surprise people.”
We chat.
You’ve been at this for 15 years, and now a big payoff is happening. What that’s been like for you emotionally?
Kind of amazing. Success for me is being able to pay the bills, being able to provide for my family, being able to have a comfortable life, and I’ve been able to do that. It’s been more than enough. So 2016 happens, and all of a sudden, the game done changed! In a big way. From The People V. O.J. — which was a phenomenal experience — and now to be a part of This Is Us, which is proving to be equally phenomenal. And then, [last week] to join the Marvel family is truly great. Like crazy.
It’s a dream, right?
I was reading Reginald Hudlin’s series of the Black Panther 10 or 12 years ago and I remember loving it. A friend of mine was like, ‘Dude, you should buy the rights.’ I was like, ‘C’mon, man. Ain’t nobody going to do no black superhero movie!’ And here we are, 12 years later. It did my heart good to see Chad [Boseman] in Civil War. And after having read the script — which I can’t say anything about or I’m going to have to cut off my pinkie toe — I’m excited for fans to see what Nate Moore and Ryan Coogler has in store for them. It’s something special.
“I can’t say anything about the Black Panther script, or I’m going to have to cut off my pinkie toe.”
What does it mean to be a part of a cast of the most anticipated film of 2018? You all are aware of what this film could mean for black creatives everywhere …
I just worked with Chad on a film called Marshall, about Thurgood Marshall. He’s such a talented human being and a deep soul. He’s the perfect personality to fully inhabit T’Challa. So, to rejoin him, and to work with Academy Award winners … to be with Michael B. Jordan after the incredible work he’s done in Creed. Danai Gurira … Forest Whitaker — like, it’s embarrassing. I’m good at what I do — I don’t try to do any sort of false modesty — but, ‘Wow! I get to be with all of you people!?!’ I think Ryan Coogler is one of the great storytellers that we have working today. The meeting I had with Nate Moore before I even got to chance to audition for Panther, and to see the level of knowledge, and just passion that he has for the whole universe, and for this project in particular … it’s in such good hands. I worked with Joe Robert Cole — he was one of our writers on The People vs. O.J. who co-writes with Ryan Coogler [on Panther]. Like, everyone is so good at what they do.
It all sounds amazing.
I was having this conversation with Nate and he’s saying that Ryan was asking him, ‘So how many white people are going to be in this thing?’ And Nate was like, ‘Well, it’s going to take place in Wakanda, so probably it will be majority African.’ He’s like, ‘Can we do that? Can we do that?” And he’s like, ‘Well, that’s the world, and that’s what we’re gonna do.’
You can’t say anything about the film, I know. But what can you tell us about your character? Anything?
I don’t want to get kneecapped … so I’m just going to keep it at this level: He is somebody from T’Challa’s past.
“Luke Cage, Queen Sugar, Atlanta, black-ish. Even This is Us, People vs. O.J. — the level of diversity that is happening is proving to be lucrative.”
We’re in the thick now of one of the most diverse — and more specifically, the most black — awards seasons in memory. What’s it like to be a part of a moment like this?
I’m looking around and I’m seeing a lot of things on TV that reflect my life in a way that hasn’t been commonplace. There’s been a bit of a drought. Empire just kind of broke things open on the television front. Now you got Luke Cage and you got Queen Sugar and Atlanta and you got black-ish. Even This is Us, People vs. O.J. — the level of diversity that is happening is proving to be lucrative. What my man Coogler did with Creed, he was like, ‘Well, let me show you something. I can make a popcorn movie that’s an artistic movie that will move you and make you cheer at the same time. How do you like me now?’ Ranging from something like Creed to something like Moonlight, which is so quiet and so beautiful, like a poem unfolding to someone who basically just took a stage play by one of the great African-American playwrights and said, ‘Not only is this a great play, I’m going to show you it’s a great movie.’ To be alive. To be African-American and alive — it’s a good thing.
And TV this season has been very black. So much representation.
I always thought the right time was back with Norman Lear was doing everything, And not to say that he’s not still doing everything, because One Day at a Time [is out now]. But when you’re looking at Good Times and All in the Family and The Jeffersons, I’d be like, ‘Man, this dude is making stuff that was audaciously funny, politically astute, and unafraid to show the totality of humanity.’ I feel like finally we are reaching a place again, and it’s not the same story being told over and over again. black-ish is not the same story as Atlanta. There’s room and space for the diversity of the African-American experience to be shown on television and on film, I’m very excited and very happy.
You chased your Emmy win up with the very thoughtful This Is Us, and now Panther is in the mix. How have these moments altered how you move in the Hollywood space?
That’s a good question. And the answer is still in process, right? But I will say this, I’m being presented with opportunities that I haven’t been given before. Before it was like, you hope to get a good guest spot. If they like you, maybe it becomes a recurring, and if it became recurring, then they make you a serious character. So to be starting with the benefit of the doubt — what I mean by that is when I go into a room now, I’m not having to prove myself from scratch. There’s an enthusiasm.
This Is Us gut-punches us every episode. What made you pick that role?
The script. Straight-up. They brought me into a meeting … and as far as network television goes, this is the best script that I’ve had the pleasure to read for. It made me laugh out loud, it brought me to tears, just off of the take.
“To be alive. To be African-American and alive — it’s a good thing.”
Will we ever see you play an athlete? Is there a real-life athlete who has a story you’d like to help tell?
I like football, I like basketball, I like boxing. Those are my big three. But there’s something so pure about boxing. Somebody said something about B. Hops [Bernard Hopkins], this big guy who had a tough end to an incredible career. That would be a very cool story because he’s such an interesting personality; he’s a fascinating human being. Now, I ain’t got too much longer. I don’t know how old Denzel was when he did The Hurricane, so I got to get at it pretty soon!
Kelley L. Carter is a senior entertainment writer at The Undefeated. She can act out every episode of the U.S version of "The Office," she can and will sing the Michigan State University fight song on command and she is very much immune to Hollywood hotness.
This Story Tagged: O.J. Simpson Television NBC Sterling K. Brown This Is Us
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Academy Prep: More than a school
Academy Prep is now enrolling students who will be entering the fifth and sixth grades for the 2020-21 school year. If you would like to learn more about Academy Prep, plan on attending an upcoming Open House on Thursday, Feb. 13, from 5:30-6:15 p.m. or Thursday, April 14, from 5:30- 6:15 p.m.
ST. PETERSBURG — Once a year, a very special reunion takes place on the Academy Prep campus, bringing together over 20 years of middle school graduates and their families to reminisce about their experience at the unique private middle school located on the south side of St. Petersburg. The day of love and laughter is deeply meaningful for Academy Prep graduates to be able to share with one another how their lives have been transformed.
Ask any graduate in the room to tell you why they continue to come back every year, and they will all say some version of the same sentiment – Academy Prep is more than a school. Academy Prep is their family; Academy Prep is their community, Academy Prep has always been a constant and their home away from home.
Since its founding in 1997, Academy Prep has been transforming the lives of middle school students qualifying for need-based scholarships by providing them a unique and enhanced model of tuition-free college preparatory education.
Starting from enrollment in either the fifth or sixth grade and continuing through graduation in the eighth grade, students attend Academy Prep — up to 11 hours a day, six days a week, 11 months a year — on full scholarships funded by individuals, businesses and foundations in the local St. Petersburg community.
The Academy Prep experience for these capable and deserving young people includes a rigorous academic curriculum, small class sizes, rewarding extra-curricular activities, weekend field trips, and a three-week academic summer program. It is through these shared experiences that deep bonds are formed among students, and they begin to feel more like family to one another, rather than just classmates. It is one of the many reasons graduates come back, give back, and feel like the campus is also their home.
Also, Academy Prep students receive a minimum of eight years of continued Graduate Support Services post-graduation. While enrolled at Academy Prep, the Graduate Support team provides intensive nurturing, guidance, and counseling emphasizing positive life choices, a college preparatory culture, and the development of life goals while ensuring students master academic and enrichment courses at the highest level.
Students develop educational and career goals and are then matched with advanced public high schools or private local college preparatory or boarding schools. Graduate Support monitors students’ progress throughout their high school and college careers, fostering successful transitions and outcomes by carefully following their academic progress and helping to address any challenges in their academic or personal lives.
Tonya Mathis, director of Graduate Support at Academy Prep, knows first-hand the life-changing impact of Academy Prep’s unique educational model. In 1997, she enrolled her son in Academy Prep’s first class of young men. She remembers when the school had just one building and a small, but dedicated staff who believed in her son and encouraged her to stretch out of her own comfort zone to allow Andrew to take advantage of the opportunities available to him.
After graduating in 2000, Andrew became one of the first Academy Prep graduates to attend boarding school. He went on to attend prestigious Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies. Andrew is currently working as a senior associate at Ward Circle Strategies, a business consulting firm in Washington, D.C.
Tonya is very proud of her son, and as the new director of Graduate Support at Academy Prep, she is looking forward to giving back to the institution that helped her family by providing the tools to reach their goals and aspirations, including her own.
While Andrew was enrolled at Academy Prep, Tonya went back to school to earn her first degree from St. Petersburg College, and continued on to earn both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree and has worked with youth and families during life-changing transitions for the last 20 years. Tonya is looking forward to dedicating herself to the continued success of Academy Prep graduates, and she is motivated to help foster and grow the next generation of community leaders.
Academy Prep’s graduates are its best examples of the school’s successful model by continuing to work hard as they strive for excellence at every level. Roderick Casteel, Academy Prep Class of 2017, is currently a junior at Shorecrest Preparatory School. In addition to excelling in academics, he participates in Students Against Drunk Driving, Relay for Life, cross-country, and track and field.
Roderick is currently pursuing college applications to Howard, American, and Colgate Universities. Looking back on his Academy Prep experience, Roderick remembers finding confidence in himself and developing a positive attitude toward his education.
He feels that Graduate Support had the greatest impact on his journey by providing him with a continued relationship, a meaningful connection, and valuable, trusted advice. Roderick believes that ”Graduate Support helped me become the best version of myself by providing constant encouragement and accountability throughout my high school experience.”
Adrian Harris, Academy Prep Class of 2015, graduated from Northside Christian School in 2019 as a member of the National Honor Society, and as track and field state champion in the 400-meter event. Looking back on his experience, Adrian feels it was the little things at Academy Prep that made the most significant impact on his journey.
He believes the structure and support during his middle school years allowed him to grow into the person he is today and gave him the confidence he needed to make a strong first impression. Adrian knows that the rigorous academics at Academy Prep were the catalyst for his current success.
”I felt academically prepared, and I know how to study. I am confident in my academic abilities,” he said.
Adrian is now a freshman at North Dakota State University, where he earned an athletic scholarship to compete on the track and field team.
Sara Young, Academy Prep Class of 2011, came to Academy Prep while in foster care and living in a group home. After graduation, she continued on to Chatham Hall, a private boarding high school in Virginia, on a full scholarship. She then obtained her degree in computer science at the University of Central Florida.
She was accepted into a coveted and highly competitive internship program with Microsoft® during her senior year of college and was offered a salaried position with them, complete with a signing bonus and stock options post-graduation.
When asked about her Academy Prep experience and how it prepared her for her future success, she said, ”Academy Prep develops community leaders by giving every child a chance to succeed and a chance to figure out what they’re passionate about.”
The Academy Prep model achieves outstanding results as almost all students have gone on to graduate from high school on time, with the majority of those graduates attending advanced high school programs or earning scholarships to attend private or boarding prep schools.
Also, the majority of Academy Prep graduates have also gone on to attend post-secondary education or to serve in the armed forces. These outcomes, combined with the testimonials from Roderick, Adrian, and Sara, illustrate the successful approach of the Academy Prep program, along with the heart behind it all. Academy Prep is more than a school. Academy Prep is a family.
Academy Prep is now enrolling students who will be entering the fifth and sixth grades for the 2020-21 school year. If you would like to learn more about Academy Prep and how this unique model can transform your child’s future through education, you are welcome to attend an upcoming Open House on Thursday, Feb. 13, from 5:30-6:15 p.m. or Thursday, April 14, from 5:30- 6:15 p.m.
To R.S.V.P. or for more information about the enrollment process, please contact Anita Reece, admissions and scholarship coordinator, at (727) 322-0800 x 2105, by e-mail at areece@academyprep.org, or by completing an inquiry form available on the school’s website at www.academyprep.org.
The campus is located at 2301 22nd Ave. S, St. Petersburg.
Academy Prep
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Tiesto - Elements Of Life (Blu-Ray Audio) (2014)
Black Hole Recordings announces the release of Tiësto's landmark album 'Elements Of Life' in DTS-HD 5.1 and the Auro-3D® format. Tiësto gained world fame with his hit-songs 'Flight 643'. 'Lethal Industry', 'Traffic' and 'Love Comes Again (with BT), and with his remix of Deleriums' 'Silence'. Tiësto has been chosen 3 years in a row the number 1 DJ of the world, and has sold millions of albums worldwide, leading to various gold and platinum awards.
'Elements Of Life' in DTS-HD MA 5.1 and Auro-3D® will become available on 'Pure Audio Blu-ray' (24bit/96kHz) through Magik Muzik/Black Hole Recordings and has been mixed by Ronald Prent and mastered by 3 times GRAMMY award winning Mastering Engineer Darcy Proper at Wisseloord Studios, The Netherlands.
The album "Elements of Life" contains collaborations with JES, Christian Burns, BT and Maxi Jazz of Faithless fame. One of the many highlights on this album is the Tiësto Remix of 'He's A Pirate', taken from the Original Soundtrack of Disney's 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest', added as bonus track.
01. Ten Seconds Before Sunrise
02. Everything (featuring JES)
03. Do You Feel Me (featuring Julie Thompson)
04. Carpe Noctum
05. Driving To Heaven
06. Sweet Things (featuring Charlotte Martin)
07. Bright Morningstar
08. Break My Fall (featuring BT)
09. In The Dark (featuring Christian Burns)
10. Dance4Life (featuring Maxi Jazz)
11. Elements Of Life
Bonustrack. He's A Pirate (Tiësto Remix)
Dennis Waakop Reijers-Fraaij, the producer together with Tiësto of "Elements of Life" commented, "Finally I could hear all the subtle details in terms of space and depth within the Auro-3D® mix, which I couldn't get from the stereo mix. Auro-3D® and dance music make a fantastic combination as they are both all about the experience. Auro-3D® is finally the largest step towards truly three dimensional audio, as this is the way we experience sound in the real world. Suffice to say, I'm very much looking forward to further cooperation in the near future".
Wilfried Van Baelen, CEO of Auro Technologies, said that "we are delighted to release this album in Auro-3D®. Mixing an album by such a prestigious artist as Tiësto - the number 1 DJ in the world 3 years in a row - shows that there's a growing appreciation for the immersive 3D sound developed by Auro Technologies. We are very happy to give a new dimension to this classic dance album."
カテゴリー dvd
Tiesto - Just Be (Kontor Records) (CDxDVD) (2004)
Tiesto - Elements Of Life (CD+DVD) (Magic Records) (2007)
Tiesto - Live At Disneyland Resort Paris (Unofficial) (DVD) (2009)
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Tiwisko
Anglo-Nordic beliefs and perspectives.
Tag Archives: Anglo-Saxon
Tiw and the Wolf
There is no creature more closely associated with death, destruction, and man-killing in Indo-European thought than the wolf/dog. So it is not at all surprising that we should find Tiw, whose best (surviving) association is martial in nature, so closely associated with the wolf.
According to the Prose Edda only Tiw was brave enough to feed the Fenriswulf (Wolf of the Fens), and so earned the by-name “Feeder of the Wolf“; which no more means, simply, that Tiw regularly poured out the kibble-and-bits then the poetic kenning “feed the ravens” meant that a warrior was going out to sit on a bench in the local park and scatter seed for the birds. In both cases the kenning is based upon observed behaviors of the raven and the wolf in relation to the battlefield, and their natures as carrion creatures, as eaters of the dead.
And so, as with “to feed the raven”, the notion of “feeding the wolf”, meant to engage in man-killing, to make war.
This is the function of the warrior and god of war… to kill the enemy, and to thereby feed both wolf and raven.
The same poeticism is — not surprisingly given the overtly poetic nature of our sources, not to mention the chief god of our pantheon — to be found in Tiw’s other by-name, the Leavings of the Wolf, which does not refer, simply, “to everything but Tiw’s hand (which the Wolf bit off)”, but rather to what is left of a man after the wolf of death, the wolf of the grave, has had its fill. These connotations to the Fenriswulf are clear and evident in his siblings (Hell, the Wyrm), whose birth and relation form the background of the “binding of the Fenriswulf” myth as we have it from Snorri.
And what is left of a man after the wolf of the grave has had its fill is spelt out throughout the heroic poetry of our ancestors, ie. the name undying, but perhaps most memorably represented in the most well-known of the Havamal verse, “Cattle die, kinsmen die, and so shall you yourself, but I know one thing that never dies, the praise of one’s worthy deeds.”
That the “Leavings of the Wolf” is a kenning for glory is seen in Snorri’s reference to the use of his name (Tyr) in reference to men of exceptional boldness (and wisdom), in its poetic use in praise of warrior-kings, and in its ancient usage as a general word for any deity individually, and of all the deities collectively.
The root of this word/name traces back to the same root that gave us various words for the sky and day, as well as the names of various (ahem) “skyfathers” (eg. Zeus) including the prototypical Skyfather (ie. Dyauspita). And so at the root of the notion of (ahem) “god” as manifest in the word tiv and its Indo-European cognates, and which distinguishes it from any of the host of other words that also “mean god”, such as the word god itself for example (but also regin, vear, aesir, etc.) is the notion of “heavenly radiance”.
The line between godhood, that is tiv-hood, and glory, is clearly a very fine matter in the lore. In Sanskrit, this same word (deva) can refer to anything of excellence.
So, warfare. And death and glory. But not necessarily glory, the achievement of excellence, in regards to war alone as the association with knowledge and wisdom might indicate.
However, in Tiw’s association with the wolf, which dates at least back to the Vendel period as evidenced in at least three of the bracteates of the era, we see nothing that is not paralleled in Woden’s Eddic relationship with the wolf. In the Griminsmal for example we read that Woden feeds his wolves great chunks of meat, but that he sustains himself on wine alone… the great chunks of meat referencing the bodies of the battle-slain while the wine (of memory and toasting) references the heroic glory of the battle-slain.
It is as much on this point — ie. the relation of both Tiw and Woden to the wolf and specifically to the Fenriswulf, and to warfare itself, — as in the P.I.E. roots and I-E associations of the name Tiw, that academics theorized that Tiw once occupied a higher position in the sphere of warfare and the pantheon in general.
By the same virtue, others have speculated that Tiw was just another name For Woden.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged ancestors, Anglo-Saxon, Asatru, English, Heathen, Nordic, Religion, Tiw, Tyr on January 6, 2021 by jameybmartin.
Indigenous belief, Christianity and Ancestor Worship
An interesting question was asked over the chat in yesterdays Mimir’s Brunnr; How do you reconcile indigenous ancestor worship with generations of Christian ancestors?
I’d like to say the question baffles me. As much as the Christian denunciation of Heathenry as our ancestral faith because, “your ancestors were all Christian!”.
I’d like to say it baffles me, the sheer narrow minded, intellectualized and artificial nature of both the question and denunciation, but if I did it would only be by virtue of hindsight. Indeed, it is something I continue to wrestle with even today, for all that Wyrd has already taken care of all this for us.
I mean, we might have a problem with it, ie. Christianity, but there we have have, not only in the last, what, 50 generations or so of our ancestry, but outward and surrounding us in the present-tense, among our family, friends, and community.
We either have Christianity surrounding us among our folk, or we have the product/s of our culturo-historical experience with Christianity; of which we people of Anglo-Nordic belief are ourselves one example of.
Whether you can reconcile it in your mind or not, well, like “horns and horses” or “goats and thunder”, THERE IT IS. All of a piece in the heritage set at the foot of your cradle.
Something that I spotted out fairly early on as a Heathen was a tendency, perhaps subconscious as was the case with me, but a tendency nevertheless to imagine that the adoption of different gods somehow made us an entirely different form of man from our generations of Christian ancestors. And it only takes a sideways glance at 50 mph to see, historically, where this emphasis on ideological differences comes from. Who was it, historically, that imagined their ancestors were a completely different form of man? Such that they called them soulless, godless, lawless savages, and (ahem) “refused” to even bury their dead in the same graveyards as their ancestors?
So, while there is an ideological division there, certainly worthy of our thought and consideration, it was not born of our “folk-soul”. And it should never be allowed to define our folk-soul, which would, by its very nature, attempt to define our folk-soul out of existence.
And certainly, while I am none too sure about your own ancestors, mine weren’t exactly the “Church Fathers” demanding, under threat of law, that my ancestors bury their dead, not in native graveyards, but in Christian graveyards. My ancestors, Christian though they many have thought themselves, if only by virtue of there having been no other viable option at the time, lived under the yoke of the Church Fathers; where they never felt quite so comfortable as the Church Fathers told them they should, and so ultimately landed us where we, as people of Anglo-Nordic belief, are today, ie. not under the yoke of the Church Fathers.
Certainly, I don’t doubt that I have my ancestors, some of them quite immediate, who might conceivably have been quite mortified at my rejection of Christianity. But then, my maternal grandfather was a church-goer, not a “holy-roller”, but a man who behaved as though he had an obligation to get out there with the community every Sunday and spend some time thinking about God. He also use to tell me that “the Old Man is cracking his whip again!” when a thunderstorm was rolling in, bought me the first book I ever found on the runes (Tony Willis’ Runic Workbook lol), and seemed interested in my initial writings on Anglo-Nordic belief — “you’ve got some pretty deep thoughts there!” — while he was out here on Vancouver Island visiting just prior to coming down with cancer, et al.
When I call upon my ancestors and make offerings to them, I call upon them all. And much like the living, there might be some who want nothing of it. That is their choice, for them to make. Enjoy sheol, I guess? But on my end, as a person of Anglo-Nordic belief, it is offered to all, in thanks and remembrance of all … be they Anglo-Nordic of any kind or otherwise (eg. Christian, Slavic, Mi’kmaq).
The wheel keeps on rolling. As ever.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged ancestor worship, ancestors, Anglo-Saxon, Asatru, faith, family, Germanic, Heritage, Nordic, Relationships, Religion on January 13, 2020 by jameybmartin.
The Twinfaced Figure from Thy
Ah yes, the “Thy figure”. Part of a Nordic Bronze Age find in the region of Thy, Denmark.
It was actually quite a thrilling find, from earlier this year (2019), and for a few different reasons. One was its timely arrival, coming as it did on the tail end of research I had been doing into the Divine Twins (Alcis, Hors and Hengist, etc.) and the Nordic Bronze Age. Incidentally, if you have not read “The Rise of Bronze Age Europe”, you know nothing, John Snow. But another reason for the thrill was the fact that the find was quite monumental. Stuff like this isn’t uncovered every day! And here I had a discovery unfolding in real time, right before my very eyes, where I was getting information on it as fast as anyone else not actually participating in the excavation itself! And of course, here on the local level there is the entire back story regarding my initial impression on it and the back-and-forth between myself and a certain prominent Youtuber in the Anglo-Nordic community; who seems like he could be a very interesting and informative chap if he could get over himself and his academic credentials long enough to have a conversation. I refrain from naming names, as he remains my favourite Youtuber among the handful of likely suspects — which I say with the caveat that I’m not at all too keen on the rest of them — but he knows who he is. And we do have mutuals. And of course, when you’ve been a part of the Anglo-Nordic (Heathen) community for as long as I have, ie. 30+ years, you just get tired of the consistent flow of desperate, insecure, and utterly effeminate drama that, collectively, has defined it since I first stepped in.
That said, it’s a funny story; which will no doubt bleed its way in to anything I write on this subject. And which I feel obliged to mention, at least in passing, because, well, as I suppose on immediate reflection, we apparently love our drama?
But on to the Thy figure itself…
Perhaps the first guess to be thrown out there on this find, and certainly the most interesting, was its striking resemblance to the Roman representation of their own native deity, Janus. His worship is believed to reach back to prior to the foundation of the Roman Republic (509 BC), and the earliest depictions (and all later ones) show him as doublefaced. He is believed to be uniquely Roman and — at least on the surface and to those unable to see the theme underlying various expressions/depictions — unknown to the Greeks; though both the Hindus and the Slavs did worship multifaced idols/gods.
In doing some cursory reading on Janus, I was immediately struck by his associations with the arch-way or door and all that implies in terms of liminality and duality, ie. beginnings, endings, cycle of the day and year, ie. passage of the sun, etc. He also apparently had an association with the dancing youths of the cult of Mars known as the Salii, themselves a descendant of the old Proto-Indo-European *koryos (adolescent males in training). As with Mars’ own offspring, the progenitors of Rome, Romulus and Remus, I would suggest that Janus represents an evolution of the “god-concept” embodied in the P.I.E. Divine Twins, who are also associated with youths, thresholds, liminality and duality.
That said, it is highly unlikely that the Roman Janus was at all an influence on the Thy figure, which itself predates not only the Roman Republic, but also Germanic-Roman contact (Negua helms, Cimbrian Wars, 2nd century BC) and the strong influx of Roman material goods that began soon after the time of Julius Caesar (1st century BC) by centuries. As such, it would be more plausible, if equally unlikely, to suggest that the Thy figure influenced the Roman Janus rather than vice verse.
Most likely the similarity is simply a matter of the spontaneous evolution of thought, belief and expression along similar lines, owing to a common Indo-European heritage, rather than the tired old matter of “who got what from whom?”.
Naturally, in considering both the Thy figure and Janus, the mind is drawn to the Old Germanic god, Tuisto, whose name is rooted in the concept of two, and who was mentioned as co-progenitor (alongside Mannus; see Yama and Manu in the Hindu tradition) of the Germanic peoples by Tacitus.
As for my own initial impressions…
Compare the horned helmets of this twinned figure (above) with the Vikso helmets (below). Also from the Nordic Bronze Age. And deposited as a pair.
Also compare with the Grevensvaenge figurine (below). It is also a product of the Nordic Bronze Age and was originally part of a large ensemble that included this figure’s twin; who would have knelt beside his brother in the ensemble.
And also compare with the Fogdarp yoke (below); which, you guessed it, is also from the Nordic Bronze Age. Note also, in comparison to the Vikso helms, they “youthful” eyes, and particularly the “beak” set between the eyes (ie. nasal region) of both.
These Lads were a big deal over the course of the Nordic Bronze Age. And indeed over the European Bronze Age in general.
They are perhaps best remembered in the Indo-European context as the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, but find parallels throughout the Indo-European world; most notably, outside of Anglo-Nordic belief itself, in Hinduism (Ashvins) and Baltic belief (Ašvieniai, Dieva deli).
That they maintained some degree of pan-Germanic prestige following the collapse of the Nordic Bronze Age (c.500 BC) into the early centuries of the Migration Age (beginning c.300 AD), can be inferred from the dual brother-kings found at the head of a number of tribes in migration, ie. liminality, the most famous of whom are the mytho-historical Hors and Hengist, who are said to have led the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britannia.
One of the cool things about the Fogtdarp Lads — which, like all of these artifacts, I’ve never had the luxury to examine first person and only know through “display” type photographs, and so turned out to be quite the thrilling discovery, relating to some research I was doing at the time — is what you see from a birds eye look at them (below).
That is the Nordic Bronze Age “Axe of Heaven” symbol, which you can read more about here, and should keep in mind as very relevant as we progress.
Now it has been argued that, “The Grevensvaenge idols are twins, two separate entities, but the Thy figure is two-faced, so completely different.”, which, along with another criticism that I shall touch on later, represents analytical reductionism at its finest.
The fundamental idea expressed in the relationship of the Divine Twins can be perceived in the Baltic word *jumis*. This is the name that the Baltic peoples gave to their own version of the “horseheaded gables” — called “Hors and Hengist” by their Germanic neighbours in northern Germany — and its companion “runic” symbol. Not to mention one of their native divinities. The word jumis means “two grown together as one”. It is cognate to the Latin gemini — and the aforementioned Yama, twin of Manu — which was itself identified with Castor and Pollux by the Greeks.
And no, I don’t think that it is also cognate to the Old Icelandic Ymir, which, as far as the speakers of Old Icelandic were concerned meant “Noisemaker”, and within the Eddic context no doubt understood as “Bellower”.
The doublefaced Thy figure is an expression of the same notion, the same theme, that is the essence of the Divine Twins, and reflected not only by the twin idols of the Grevensvaenge ensemble, but also in the twin heads (common “body”) of the Fogtdarp yoke, and even centuries later on Gallehus horn B; where utilitarian half loops are found on both of the Lads depicted thereon, and via which a chain or leather string could be run to make a carrying strap, but which also expressed the fundamental unity of the two.
This of course also relates to the two-horsed chariot of the Indo-Europeans.
In Indo-European myth the essential unity of the Lads is perhaps best represented in Greek myth, in which Castor was mortally wounded, and so Zeus gave Pollux the option of sharing half his immortality with his brother; such that the two would spend half the year in Hades with each other, and half in Olympus with each other. This as opposed to Castor spending eternity in Hades, while Pollux would spend eternity in Olympus, ie. apart from each other.
Needless to say perhaps, Pollux chose to share his immortality with his twin brother.
Anyway, the Grevensvaenge figures, the Fogtdarp yoke, the Thy idol, the Gallehus horn twins, all different expressions of the same underlying theme, ie. of the Divine Twins.
Another criticism that came out,as alluded to above, was embodied in the question, “what do horns have to do with horse-gods???” Now, as an honest question, it is a very good question. After all, the association, like goats and thunder — or even poetry and immortality? lol — is not immediately self-evident or at all easy to explain. And yet, as a question meant only to derail, we have this image from a Minoan sarcophagi found on the isle of Crete and dated c.1,400 BC,
And it certainly does beg the question, what DO horns have to do with horses?
That is to say that, whether we appreciate or understand the association ourselves, the association is an observable fact. As such, like goats and thunder, the onus is on us to, first accept, and then, more poignantly, to understand.
Our lack of understanding does not invalidate the evident association.
And so, in answer to the question, “what do horns have to do with horses?” the answer is an obvious, “the Divine Twins. That is what horns have to do with horses.”
Within a couple weeks of the above mentioned criticisms the CT scan of the full find was released. Prior to this we saw the Thy figure itself along with an axe head embedded in the soil.
But with the CT scan, the question about horns and horse gods was brought to an abrupt end. And the exchange deleted.
And the CT scan was eventually followed by more pictures. Here’s one,
Hmmm. So what DO horns have to do with horse-gods? Or perhaps more accurately here, what do horses have to do with horned-gods? And axes to boot?
The sacral and hallowing power of the Alcis, the twinned sons of God and divine champions of Man. That is what horses, horns and axes all have to do with each other.
How did I know, prior to the CT scans? Well, how does anyone “get the joke” so to speak? Certainly not by reducing it to its component parts and analyzing them in isolation from one another or the larger context it exists in. In regards to humour, we have a word for that approach.
Humourless.
Suffice it to say that it wasn’t a lucky guess. Nor any presumption of “knowing it all” on my behalf; no matter how much “Wyrd” might have conspired to paint me as omniscient on this matter.
Reckon wisely, my friends! And hey, lets be whole out there!
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Alcis, Anglo-Saxon, Asatru, Divine Twins, Germanic, Heathen, Hors and Hengist, nordic bronze age, Religion, Thy figure on December 30, 2019 by jameybmartin.
Heathen Hiking and the Wedding of Gerd
It has been a busy and eventful past two years around this southern Van. Island hearth!
To start, after some four years together my girlfriend and I got married in June of 2018. Lacking any Heathen community in the area, we had the J.P. take care of the official stuff at our home, first thing in the morning, before heading over to Caleb Pike Heritage Park and taking our vows, before the gods and our gathered friends and family. Some of these, namely family, could not make it as a result of the distances involved (2000+ kms!), but we nevertheless had an intimate turn of about a dozen or so people; the perfect size for both our venue and allotted budget!
The venue couldn’t have been better; a heritage park with heritage house situated on an old apple orchard, in a rural setting, and just down the road from the southern parking lot of some of our most memorable hikes, along the Gowlland Tod range. The weather was threatening in the distance, but a nice blue patch of sky remained overhead for the duration of the event. We took our vows outside, and the rustic setting was punctuated by a small family of deer that took it upon themselves to attend.
The ceremony itself, which blended the popular expectations of our intimates with the essentials of the elder beliefs, was officiated by our close friend, renowned academic and author, and fellow Anglo-Nordic Heathen, Richard Rudgley.
Within two days we were off to Vancouver for an old school train ride up through the Rocky Mountains to Valemont, British Columbia. As we neared our destination, I decided to take one more look at all the particulars and found that the taxi service we were relying on to get us up to our first cabin, just a few kms outside of Mount Robson Park, but some 35 kms from our drop-off point, had just up and gone out of business! For all of that, the owner of the second cabin we would be staying at, Sandy of Twin Peaks Resort, agreed to come pick us up and give us a ride up to our first cabin; while Kurtis, proprietor of Mount Robson Mountain River Lodge (our first cabin), gave us a ride back down to Valemont when our stay with him had concluded.
And speaking of Mount Robson Mountain River Lodge, this was the view we enjoyed from our private cabin…
As per the resort’s name, that is Mount Robson dominating the scene; the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, coming in at 3,954 meters in elevation (above sea-level). And absolutely breath-taking. We could have just sat there on our deck, or lounging in bed if we preferred, and looked at it for the next 3 days. And it would have been worth every penny! Absolutely recommended for anyone ever thinking of heading out that way!
As it was, we had plans. Plans which involved, not admiring Mount Robson from an easy distance, but getting right up into his face, to soak our feet in Berg Lake, which sits at the base of the peak and is fed from the glacier that sits atop it.
And so we set out around 5am to do exactly that the first morning after our arrival. The first leg of our journey carried us to the entrance of the park, some 3 to 4 kms from our cabin, which we reached just after bright Sunne had crested the mountainous horizon and furnishing us with another breath-taking view of all the surrounding peaks.
Again we could have just sat ourselves down at that point and soaked it up all day. And truth be told, there was not a single step along the way — not a SINGLE step — where we were not utterly enthralled by the beauty and majesty of our surroundings. Okay. The second leg that carried us another 3 to 4 kms to the trailhead was what it was, ie. a nice walk amidst the trees, but from there forward we had to keep reminding ourselves that, while we afforded ourselves time to enjoy the hike, we were, ultimately, on the clock and could not lose ourselves in it.
This is is what greeted us soon after getting on to the trail, as we reached Kinney Lake…
As so it continued as we made our way up around Kinney Lake and into the Valley of a Thousands Falls. Now, I didn’t see a thousand. Or even a hundred. Maybe it was the time of year? Or a dry year? Or marketing hyperbole! But if one kept one’s eyes peeled, quite a number like this dotted the valley,
And then it was up, up, up(!) until we at last came to the roaring Emperor Falls, which one is able to get up close and personal with, as close as wisdom will allow, and cool off in the heavy spray of.
The picture doesn’t do it justice. Nor even the video I have. In its presence, the sense of its power is immense and palpable. Only to be compared with a good, prairie thunderstorm. Naturally, I had to get even closer than this pic indicates, but one would be a fool to underestimate the might of this etin-force.
And so we carried on, in awe, until, at length we at last arrived at Berg Lake, sitting in the shadow of the peak of Mount Robson. It was a hot day, in the upper 20s Celsius, and the last leg of the journey to the lake was rocky, dry, treeless, and anything but shadowy. And the ice-cold spray from Emperor Falls had long since evaporated. I used our coats and sweaters from the morning, along with the hardy bushes that dot the terrain there, to set us up a little shelter from the heat, and despite the rocky, broken terrain, it was shoes and socks off and into the glacial lake (chunks of ice were floating in it). The sheer contrast in temperatures, and the difficulty walking shoe-less, didn’t make an actual swim all that inviting, but feet in, a good soaking of the head and neck, et al. was infinitely refreshing. And possibly even necessary to avoid heat stroke.
Mount Robson peak is just off camera to the right in the above picture. I’m looking out across the lake at the glacier as it creeps, imperceptibly down the side of the mountain and into the lake.
Incidentally, in answer to the famous meme, yes, I do still see frost giants around.
Here we have a pic of Mount Robson from the shore of Berg Lake:
One of the rules that we made on our hike up was “no looking back”, with the logic being to make good time on the one hand, and to save some sights for the hike back down on the other. Needless to say, it was regularly broken. And likewise, it really didn’t matter with vistas like this spread out before us:
We finally made it back to our cabin … sometime between 7 and 8 pm that evening; having covered a distance of 47.2 kms, with an elevation gain of some 1,384 meters, the better bulk of which took place over 2 to 3 kms as you leave the Valley of a Thousand Falls and start moving toward Emperor Falls and, further on, Berg Lake.
We were exhausted to say the least. “Smiling and fulfilled” exhausted!
Down points of the hike? Virtually none. Other than that the trail is very tame and sees a fair amount of tourist traffic in high season. It is not as “backwoods” as one might imagine; though I’d still much prefer to get lost in the backwoods of the island than in the middle of hundreds of miles of unbounded Canadian wilderness. Which, if you’re not a moron, won’t happen here. While we saw some interesting birds, and a (not at all unfamiliar) sign that warned of a cougar in the area, our BIG wildlife sighting of the hike was a lone marmot.
Anyway, my wife hit the hay almost immediately after walking through the door, while I decided I was going to get a look at the stars once the daylight had vanished. Having forgotten what time of year it was, and how far north we were, it was around 1am before I finally realized that the daylight was not going to disappear from the horizon and I crawled into bed. In fact, as I learned, we would get solid night, but not until about 3am.
The next couple of days were spent lounging, enjoying the view, small walks up the river, dinner with our hosts, Kurtis and Claudia, and their other guests, and even a few cracks of thunder and flashes of lighting… though don’t let the locals know what a thrill you get from them, ie. forest fires, underscoring a point that I have always emphasized about Thunor’s popular designation as “god of thunder” and that none of our ancestors ever prayed for thunder and lightning or violent weather. Not that I don’t get it. You have no idea! But the point remains.
And then it was down to Twin Peaks Resort, a very nice cabin, with a very nice view in its own right, and the fine hospitality of our hosts, Sandy and Donna. Sandy (Alex) was a bit of a character — of the pop-to-the-chops variety the Havamal speaks of and we guys all know very well from our common interactions with each other, ie. male “flirtation/teasing” — but all-in-all a friendly, good natured man, and an impeccable host. Beyond helping us out to our first cabin, he and Donna also gave us a lift from town or to town on a couple of occasions, and dropped us off dark and early at the bus station the morning of our departure.
The second challenge of the honeymoon was to hike to the summit of Mount Terry Fox; made even more of a challenge, not only by the accumulation of fatigue, but also by the fact that the region’s only taxi service, now defunct as mentioned above, added upwards of 15 to 20 kms, along the highway, to the hike. But we decided to tackle it anyway, as it wasn’t like we could just come back next weekend. As it worked out however, the fear of heights I so rudely discovered I had a few years back, ie. the Goldstream Trestle, kicked in. Now, don’t get me wrong… Sandy. I have been back to the Goldstream Trestle (internet search it!) on a couple of occasions already, to face it and face it down. And I have hiked some fairly precarious trails and “trails” around the island here, which might not have presented a longer drop, but which would mess a person up all the same, with help every bit as many hours away. I am not easily deterred. And particularly here, realizing the potentially unique opportunity that was before me. And I hold a grudge against my fears. And I saw some of the pictures of people who had made it to the top, eg. “old people”. As it was, we were about 3/4s of the way up the switchbacks — very steep stuff here — before I noticed that I had begun to hyperventilate and my nerve at last broke. My wife, who skips and dances across the aforementioned Goldstream Trestle, perhaps seeking to make me feel better, said that, while she has no phobia regarding heights, was herself very apprehensive of the path and the incline. Very narrow path, Very steep slope. Fairly moist earth, not entirely ungiven to give way beneath one’s step, with a fall resulting in a fast plunge of maybe 50′ tops before one’s descent would have been stopped dead by a tree. With a lot more ground to cover if it was not. And so, as they say, discretion was acknowledged as the better part of valour, all things considered, and we turned back.
The memory of it still hurts. Especially having looked at our hike tracker and seen how close we were to (potentially) more tolerable terrain. But also, providing (further) incentive to one day return!
We filled the remainder of our honeymoon with walks to town and back, a couple of smaller hikes (the pics of which are on my wife’s laptop at the moment), and really, just some well earned rest and relaxation, doing the things newlyweds do on their honeymoon.
All-in-all it was an unforgettable experience. The perfect honeymoon. No matter the taste of humble pie, which any man who has ever put himself out there has to taste on the odd occasion, if he is any kind of man at all.
From there it was on a greyhound bus and back home to the island and the radiant sea!
We’ve been on a few different hikes since that time of course, mostly covering familiar territory, but also out to Botany Beach and Avatar Grove during a vacation in Port Renfrew, on Van Island’s (south) west coast, but we began to ease off on these after we learned that my wife was pregnant. And, on Dec.9th of this year, we welcomed our daughter into the world!
She weighed in at 8 lbs, 9 oz. At least a pound more than most of us expected. On the 18th of December she was placed in my hands, sprinkled with water and named Aelfwynn Victoria-Marie. The middle names are a combination of the names of my maternal grandmother (Victoria) — not to mention Alfie’s city of birth, and the queen it was named after! — and my wife’s paternal grandmother (Marie), while Aelfwynn is of course Old English, in-keeping with my son’s name (Eldred), meaning “elf-joy”, and also being the name of the daughter of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, and niece of King Alfred the Great. And here, the picture to the right says it all! Aelfwynn is aelfscinu, radiating with the beauty and joy/friendliness of the elves!
So, it looks like, for the next few years anyway, hiking in general, and “adventurous hikes” in specific, are going to be anywhere from nonexistent to few and far between. That said, we will be building her up for a love of the outdoors. And I also have enough hikes as yet undealt with here to justify another “Heathen Hiking” entry or two, but for the time being, they are on the back-burner. I have however taken to doing some genealogy, which has furnished me with an interesting story or two regarding my early “British North America” (paternal) ancestors, and a lot of historical background concerning Upper Canada and Hasting County, including some of the superstitions held by the English, Scots, Germans and Irish that populated the new province in the late 18th and early 19th century. Ultimately, it’s the kind of thing that anyone outside of my family, or at least outside of North America, might not be all that keen on, but which I’ll probably throw up all the same. If however you are a Canadian, a real Canadian, ie. First and/or Founding Nations, or at least aspire to be — you can do it!!! — this is something you would be wise, and enriched, even obliged, to learn something about… be it from me, or the stories of our ancestors, and anyone but the CBC and its less than wholesome “political narrative” ilk.
Be whole!
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Anglo-Saxon, Asatru, Berg Lake, Heathen, hiking, Honeymoon, Mount Robson Park, Mount Robson Riverside Resort, Nordic, Twin Peaks Resort, Wedding on December 24, 2019 by jameybmartin.
Yuletide and Tradition
The Christmas Tree…
There is no evidence that the preChristian Anglo-Nordic peoples ever chopped down evergreen trees, brought them indoors, and decorated them as part of a Yuletide tradition.
Of course, worship in holy groves goes back to some of the earliest mentions of Germanic peoples in the historical record. As time rolled forward and the Germanic people began to figure more prominently in the Judeo-Hellenic literary tradition, finer details began to emerge of specific trees that, even in a sacred grove of trees, stood out as exceptionally sacred such as the Thuringian Donar’s Oak or the great ash at Uppsala in Sweden. Such trees as this are reflected in later English beliefs as those surrounding the “Apple Tree Man”, ie. one tree embodying the spirit of an orchard.
In the Old English poem “Dream of the Rood”, the crucifix assumes center stage and acts as the voice of the poem, tracing its own origins back to the tree felled in its Irminsul-like creation and constantly reminding the audience of its tree-nature.
We find the World Tree in a similar position in the Eddas, acting as the axis and measuring stick of all Creation; at the base/in the sight of which (ie. in consideration/observation of) the Divine Assembly is held and doom (judgement, law) is set.
The tree has long stood as a powerful symbol within the Anglo-Nordic psyche. At its most profound, it stood as a symbol of truth — a word that stems from the same Proto-Indo-European root as the word tree — and the holistic nature of truth. Hence, such Old Norse by-names as “Measuring Wood” and “Memory Rood”.
Another of the Tree’s Eddic by-names was “the Shelterer” and it is within the tree (or woods) called “Memory Hoard” that the last people are sheltered through the darkness and uncertainty of Ragnarok and its aftermath, to emerge into the dawning of a new age.
This last bit is exceptionally poignant in regards to the base level of experience of the winter solstice in northern climes where the long night must be endured — indeed where it must be *combated* with merriment and joy — and the return of the sun is cause for much hope and celebration.
So, while there really is no telling if our preChristian ancestors chopped down trees, brought them indoors, and decorated them in observance of the Yuletide, this is less a matter of an absence of evidence, and more one of an absence of need, in which sacred trees stood where they stood, ie. outdoors, worship was largely public and blended with highly social out of doors festivities, where Yule trees and Yule greenery naturally abounded.
There was simply no need to bring such things in-doors of the private household and relegate them to a mere household cult. At least not while such customs were still supported or at least tolerated by the king and/or the national assembly.
It should thus come as no surprise that the relatively modern tradition of the Christmas Tree — more-or-less begun by Martin Luther ironically enough in the 16th century — evolved naturally enough out of the fertile soil of the Germanic “folk-soul”, albeit it under the pressures of its environment.
Indeed, over the past 200 to 300 years the Yuletide has been experiencing a great renaissance in the wake of its diminution in status under Catholicism, where it stood secondary to the Epiphany, and its outlawing among the Puritans in England, and even more poignantly, in the U.S.A.; the latter of which did not even commonly observe Christmas well into the 18th century, but which, drawing intimately on the spirit of the Anglo-Nordic peoples and the ever-evolving tree of our indigenous culture, went on to produce some of the most influential modern lore surrounding the season.
The sacred tree was a gift of our forefathers to their Christianized descendants. And the Yuletree is the gift of those Christianized ancestors to us.
Hail the Glory-Twig!
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Anglo-Saxon, Asatru, Christmas, Christmas Tree, Heathen, Holy Tree, Theodism, Winter Solstice, Yule on December 21, 2019 by jameybmartin.
Indigenous Attitudes: Magic and Germanic Belief
The “Lex Salica” or “Salic Law” represents one of the earliest recorded collections of Germanic customary law. In this case the Law Code reflected the laws of the Salian Franks and their Merovingian aethelings on the eve of Clovis’ conversion to Catholicism and some 50 years after their settlement in the northern region (Neustria) of the former Roman province of Gaul.
Among it’s various offenses we find those dealing with the practice of magic and harm done by magic, such as,
“If any one have given herbs to another so that he die, he shall be sentenced to 200 shillings (or shall surely be given over to fire).”
“If any person have bewitched another, and he who was thus treated shall escape, the author of the crime, who is proved to have committed it, shall be sentenced to 2500 denars, which make 63 shillings.”
“If somebody accuses another of witchcraft, and he brings to the thing the cauldron in which the accused is said to make brews, then let the accused be fined 2500 dinars which makes 63 shillings.”
“If somebody causes another person to waste away by means of witchcraft, and he is able to prove it at the thing, then let the accused be fined 1008 dinars which makes 200 shillings”
Some observations on the above…
To start, these are not my translations and the term “witchcraft” does not reflect the original language of the laws and/or that of the document they were record in. The specific term or terms that were used were certainly not *witchcraft*, which is fairly English specific in the Germanic world, and, for better and for worse, simply the term deemed equivalent in these modern translations.
The technical terminology really does matter, more-and-more, as one gets increasingly intimate with the subtleties and nuances of the subject, ie. not everything called “witchcraft” or “seidhR” (etc., etc.) actually reflect the practices of *witchcraft* or *seidhR* (etc., etc.).
Anyway, most of the Salic laws deal with *harm* caused by magic; lending a general no harm, no foul sense to the spirit of the laws There is however the one exception where presenting evidence of the mere practice of “witchcraft”, ie. the cauldron, no harm to anyone required, invited a legal penalty.
While this suggests a fundamental, and very understandable mistrust of “magic”, dealing as magic does in the hidden, the unseen, and indeed the anti-social, one will note that in each of the above citations, proof is explicitly demanded by the Salic law; even if the laws only outline the details of what constitutes proof in one instance; no doubt assuming what for them and theirs was culturally obvious. This suggests an equally fundamental mistrust of the very *accusation* of witchcraft, which again is very understandable given it’s “hidden” nature.
Finally, except for the one vague reference to being “given over to the fire”, ie. burned, the Salica Law prescribes “common penalties”, ie. fines, to these acts. Both of the acts that indicate the practice of harmful magic, but result in no harm, are otherwise prescribed at 63 shillings. This is an amount equal to those fines associated with the theft of an entire flock of 25 sheep, the *rape* (sexual) of a freeborn woman, the assault and plundering of a freeman, and attempted killing of a freeman. All of which were serious offenses.
Curiously, the two instances that result in death, result in a fine of 200 shillings, which, while clearly marking it as a far more serious offense than such others as mentioned, falls on the low-end of the wergild (life-price) system within the context of the Salic Law. This is equal to the fine for having been found guilty of grave-robbing, opposed the settlement of a migrant vouched for by king and thing, and the wergild of a woman beyond her child baring years and your average freeman.
By way of comparison, to have killed a freeman and then attempted to hide it (ie. murder as opposed to man-killing) carried a fine of 600 shillings; whereas death caused by magic was reckoned at 200 shillings.
One will also note the relative lack of reference to women in the Salic Laws as they pertain to the practice of “magic”. And that even where they are explicitly referenced in relation to witchcraft, they must also be viewed within the context of the greater body of Salic law and it’s valuation of women; which, as just referenced, reckoned the life-price of a vibrant and virile young freeman as equal to a woman beyond her child-baring years, and at THREE TIMES LESS than a freeborn woman in her child-baring years!
The AD 6th century Gallo-Roman Catholic, Gregory of Tours writes casually of those with prophetic powers within the context of royal Merovingian interactions. (eg. Guntram and the seeress).
The Merovingians were of course the same people who, some 35 years prior to the birth of Gregory, gave us the Salic Law, with it’s laws involving “magic” and “magical harm”.
Gregory also related a story in which a Merovingian queen, one of the wives of Chilperic, Fredegund I’d presume — who lived at the time of Gregory, and appears to have been loathed by him — ordered the torture of “a number of Parisian women” (and a man named Mumulus), believed to have killed her young son, Theodoric, via the use of herb potions and magic.
As Gregory wrote, “They admitted to the practice of witchcraft and the perpetration of many deaths… The queen afflicted them with even more horrendous forms of torture. Some she beheaded, others she cosigned to the flames, and still others were killed on the wheel with their bones broken.”
The Edictum Rothari (c.643 AD) is to Lombardic law what the Salic law is to Salian-Franks; a compilation and writing down of the formerly oral legal traditions of the Lombards. On “witchcraft” it states,
“If a man accuses a girl or free woman who is under the guardianship of another, of practicing witchcraft or prostitution,… if he shall persevere in his accusation and insist that he can prove it, then let the case be decided by a judical duel or “camfio” so that the matter may be left to the judgement of God”.
It also states,
“Let no man presume to kill another’s female servant for being a witch (striga or mascam) for such things are not credible to the Christian mind and it is not possible to eat a living man from the inside out.”
Here we get some insight into the seeming impatience behind the relation of the duel to the charges of witchcraft, and the notion that it represented little more than a vile slur against someone’s honour than anything more substantial.
This very Christian, very unheathen view of “harmful magic” would find further expression, as we read in Charlemagne’s Capitulary on Saxony (AD 782),
“If any one deceived by the devil shall have believed, after the manner of the pagans, that any man or woman is a witch and eats men, and on this account shall have burned the person, or shall have given the person’s flesh to others to eat, or shall have eaten it himself, let him be punished by a capital sentence.”
— Charlemagne, Capitulary on Saxony
This trivialization of witchcraft, the refusal to acknowledge it’s power, and ultimately the impatient will to punish the accuser, was the initial Christian reaction to Germanic “witchcraft”. And it stood in direct opposition to indigenous Germanic belief and general mistrust in magic along with accusations dealing in the unseen.
The earliest Anglo-Saxon Law Codes make no reference to the practice of witchcraft. Of course, it took Kent almost 100 years to draft laws against “devil worship”, so that is perhaps not at all surprising.
Nevertheless, the fundamental mistrust, indeed hostility, of at least the Anglii toward “harmful magic” is very apparent in a story Bede related regarding King Aethelfrith of Northumbria (late 6th to early 7th century AD) and a band of monks he encountered who were praying “against the swords of the barbarians” (ie. against Aethelfrith). Bede further writes,
“King Ethelfrid being informed of the occasion of their coming, said, “If then they cry to their God against us, in truth, though they do not bear arms, yet they fight against us, because they oppose us by their prayers.” He, therefore, commanded them to be attacked first, and then destroyed the rest”.
It is not until the Laws of Alfred that we begin see witchcraft enter the laws as a punishable offense; though we should remember that the orthodox Christian stance of the matter of witchcraft among the Germanic peoples was, up til now, that witchcraft was just so much superstitious hogwash. With Alfred’s Laws however we not only see witchcraft introduced as a punishable crime, but we see it introduced firmly within the context of the Old Testament,
“the women who are in the habit of receiving wizards and sorcerers and magicians, thou shalt not suffer to live”.
By the time of Cnut’s Laws we see the beginning of the conflation of witchcraft, not only with “harmful magic” and it’s own more traditional associations with secret killing, perjury, adultery, and incest, but also with such “heathen practices” as the “worship of heathen gods and the sun and the moon, fire or flood, wells or stones or any kind of forest tree”.
Conflation of various distinct disciplines, such as that of the spakona and seidhkona, are themselves clear in the North Germanic lore, and likely went the way of England in growing to include all sorts of heathen observances.
By the time of the witchhunts of the 15th and 16th centuries, it had expanded to include non-orthodox Christian belief; where heathen, heretic, and witch could be used more-or-less interchangeably. We see a similar evolution to the word racist in modern timers. And it is here that we modern folk first picked up the now muddled mess that the old magical and religious lore of our ancestors had become.
As a result, such things beg to be questioned. What is worship as opposed to the practice of magic? What is good magic and what is bad magic? And to what degree should those who dabble in such anti-social pursuits as influencing society via hidden (and often solitary) means be tolerated in our midst? And to what degree should accusations regarding “things unseen” themselves be tolerated?
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged ancestors, Anglo-Saxon, Asatru, faith, Germanic Heathen, Religion, seidhr, witchcraft on April 22, 2019 by jameybmartin.
Thoughts and Musings on Halloween
Prior to the late 4th century, Christians celebrated their dead martyrs as local traditions at a variety of different times of year. By the 5th century AD the Church was at work trying to unifying the celebration of martyrs and saints into a single holiday. The date for this celebration tended to fall in the month of May until, in the early 7th century AD, Pope Boniface the IV nailed it down and established the “dedication Sanctae Mariae ad Martyres” on May 13th.
This is the Latin origin of what is known among today’s NW Europeans as Hallowtide, and includes “All Saints Eve” (Halloween), “All Saints Day” (All Hallows), and “All Souls Day”.
How then is it possible that this Catholic “feast of Martyrs, Saints and the dead” came to be celebrated beginning on the eve of October 31st and on to November 2nd?
Is it really just a syncretism with the Celtic Samhein; the Celts themselves having been conquered and Romanized by the Roman’s in the 1st century BC and then Christianized as an act of political correctness in the 4th century?
But our first clue on how that came to pass is to be found in the language itself. Halloween is of course a word firmly rooted in Old English, which itself is firmly rooted in West Germanic, and from there Proto-Germanic.
It is neither Latin nor Celtic in origin.
Similarly we have the flow of time, in which Hallow Eve pre-cedes All Hallows Day; a peculiarity (ie. reckoning the day from sundown to sundown rather than sunrise to sunrise) which is witnessed in Germanic time reckoning from as early as Tacitus. This Germanic sense of the flow of the day is likewise the reason that Christmas Eve pre-cedes Christmas Day.
The historical time frame of the move of the Catholic feast from mid-May (7th century) to early November (8th to 9th century) is also telling, as it was precisely within this time frame that the Anglo-Saxons and their continental Germanic brethren were converted to Catholicism.
Now, in a letter dated AD 601 and addressed to Mellitus, his missionary at work among the Anglo-Saxons, Pope Gregory I mentions a custom among our ancestors in which “a large number of cattle are slaughtered”, and that this heathen rite should be made over into “a feast in honour of the saints”.
Meanwhile, according to the Anglo-Catholic historian Bede, Blotmonath or Blood month, was a time in which “the cattle which were to be slaughtered were consecrated to the gods.” The Anglo-Saxon Blotmonath more-or-less corresponds to the modern month of (the Latin-rooted) November, and the slaughter that took place in this month was substantial and represented the annual thinning of the herd; required so that resources would be sufficient to see the herd through winter.
In reflecting on the matter of what the Hallowtide meant within the native beliefs of our English ancestors, I don’t think that we should become too preoccupied with the consecration of “the cattle that were to be slaughtered”. Such things would have occurred in regards to any sacrifice/feast, save here, the number of cattle to be slaughtered was quite substantial in comparison, and probably set the stage for the sacred rites of the tide, as we see in the reference to the fall-tide disablot in Egil’s saga, “there was the best banquet and much drink within the hall”.
Basically, the over-abundance of meat, not to mention the abundance of food in general, ie. from the recent harvest, set the conditions for a particularly abundant feast.
But what was this feast devoted to? Afterall, it was not just “a feast”, but a sacral feast in which the animals were consecrated.
To the extent that the Viking Age North Germanic tradition of Snorri Sturlusson is indicative of anything pan-Germanic, the winter nights sacrifice was for good luck in the coming year. Other bits and piece from the lore — which might coincide and devolve more precisely with harvest than with the herd-thinning — include the disablot, the alfablot, Freyblot, and of course the widespread custom of the “Last Sheaf”. Each of these have their association, be it strong or weak, with the dead and/or the exceptional dead, while the Last Sheaf customs were generally associated, strongly or weakly, with Woden, particularly in his guise as the Wild Hunter.
As the Catholic associations of the tide are strongly focused on the veneration of saints and martyrs, and as the later, but inherently related (to West Germanic) North Germanic traditions are themselves strongly focused on the veneration of the dead — a general phenom. well represented in earlier law codes and similar legal treatments of “heathen practices” on the Continent — it is fair to suggest that the native Anglo-Saxon “Hallowtide” may likewise have involved veneration of the dead. And of course, that keeping up relations with the dead was of vital importance to the good fortunes of the community.
“42. In order that no new saints may be venerated or invoked, do not allow their monuments to be erected along the roads, etc.”
— Charlemagne, Synod of Frankfurt (AD 8th century)
“1. sacrilege at the tombs of the dead… 2. sacrilegious funeral songs made to the dead… 9. sacrifices made to some saint… 25. Those who carve images for dead persons whom they say are saints.”
— Index of Superstitious and Heathen Practices (AD 8th century)
Reflecting on the raw nature of the tide itself, we see a gradual retreat of of the spirit of life from nature. The fields lay bare, the trees have begun to lose their leaves, and nature itself has begun to cool and discolour. To top it all off, the blood of life, quite literally, flows freely and saturates to land.
The spirit of death has come into power; itself betokening a “thinning of the veil” between the world of man and those less seen “otherworlds” that “surround” it.
This “thinning of the veil” allows the spirits that occupy those “otherworlds” to wander into our own; attracted to the substance of life, the blood, that has come to saturate the earth. And while some of these spirits might not represent anything more mysterious or malevolent than “late grandfather Harold”, many are the otherworlds and varied are their denizens. Others would be the starving souls of the evil or otherwise neglected dead, or things more primal that had never existed in association with man, eg. thursar, all particularly attracted, like hungry predators, to the life-force inherent in the blood of the slaughter.
Such beliefs would thus have made the fall slaughter something of a dangerous thing, from whence, we might speculate, the season took on it’s more “horrific” associations, ie. above and beyond the Christian association of anything non-Christian or heretical with “horror”.
This horror element would subside and morph with the first snowfall, ie. the washing away of the blood of the slaughter, and the promise of the Yuletide.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Anglo-Saxon, Asatru, Catholicism, English, Halloween, Hallowtide, Heathen, Religion on November 1, 2018 by jameybmartin.
Rebuttal: The Role of Tyr (by Mark Puryear)
I came across this article on Tiw (Tyr) recently,
The Role of Tyr
I’ve heard of the man who wrote it. Good people have good things to say about him. And I have due respect for his handling of the subject. Simply, some things are open to debate, and should be debated. And on such matters as these I’d prefer that a person disagree with me for the right reasons rather than agree with me for the wrong reasons.
That said, I disagree with much of what is written, and so was prompted to write this rebuttal.
So, my quotes of the author below are partial text. I encourage you to read the article in order to receive the full context and weight of the author’s argument. And so on to it,
“The idea that Tyr was the original sky-father seems to have originated with Jacob Grimm. The flaw in his reasoning is that it is solely based upon etymological conclusions, which do not coincide with any other evidence known to us.”
In fact, the Old English Rune Poem clearly establishes a link between Tiw, glory, stars, and the heavens. The sentiments find parallel in the ancient Vedic perception of Dyauspitar as a black horse (the night sky) draped in a necklace of pearls (the stars). It is also echoed in the Greek custom of naming the heavenly bodies, particularly the stars, planets and constellations, after the gods and heroes of their pantheon.
We also have the Abecedarium Nordmannicum and it’s cosmological reference “Tiu (Heaven), Birch (Earth), and Man in the middle”.
And of course we also have the Hymskvidha and it’s abundance of “sky references”; from the name of Tiw’s father, Hymir (dusk, twilight); to the name of Hymir’s best ox (Heavensbellower); to placement of Hymir’s hall at “the edge of heaven” (ie. the horizon).
All of this fits in quite well with the etymology of Tiw’s name, which itself goes back to a Proto-Indo-European that references the heavens and their brilliance.
A better argument against Tiw as Skyfather would focus on the slight distinction that exists between the P.I.E. root that gave us the god-name Tiw and that which gave us such other Indo-European god-names as Dyauspitar (Sanskrit), Sius (Old Persian), Zeus (Greek), and Jupiter (Latin). As I understand it, these P.I.E. roots are “siblings”, themselves both deriving from a deeper, common root, but they are not identical. The root that gave us the god-name Tiw yielded, instead, deva (Sanskrit), daeva (Avestan), deus (Latin), dia (Old Irish, reflective of pan-Celtic), and Dievas (Lithuanian, reflective of pan-Baltic). All of these words mean, to the modern Western understanding, “god”. More precisely, they mean “excellent, shining, glorious, renowned one; paragon”.
Only in the Germanic tongues, and possibly the Baltic tongues, did this precise root develop into the proper name of an individual god.
And interestingly, only in the Germanic tongues did the word for day stem from an entirely unrelated root.
One might thus reason that Tiw is not so much the “Skyfather” of the Germanic peoples, as he is the “Gloryfather”, a refinement of a basic concept, similar in some regards to what we see in the relation between the Greek Aether, Uranus, Hyperion and Zeus.
But where then is the “Germanic Skyfather”?
Some might be inclined to answer that with Woden; though Woden stands up as quite distinct and peculiar when measured against his fellow Indo-European Skyfathers. Others might, with far more justification, say Thunor, but this conclusion comes with it’s own problems which are beyond the scope of this writing. But here, it is interesting to consider the ancient Vedic belief that Indra killed Dyauspitar by pulling him out of the sky.
At the end of the day, while pan-Indo-European research is very enlightening and valuable, there is no shoehorning specific beliefs into a theoretical Proto-Indo-European model. And if Woden’s nature and place in the later pantheon is any indication, this goes double with Germanic belief.
It might very well be that there is no memory of the P.I.E. Skyfather in the Germanic beliefs of some 4,000 years later; that their perceptions had evolved away from that concept. It might be, as we see with his offspring the Divine Twins in relation to the Eddic lore, that he was dissembled, Ymir-like, and his attributes shared throughout the pantheon, living on only implicitly (or in minor form) in the surviving lore, eg. Daeg (Day).
This author continues,
“There simply isn’t any proof that points to a major change of religion in Northern Europe between the time of Indo-European unity (before they branches off to become the Teutons, Greeks, Slavs, Mediterraneans and East Indians) and the coming of Christianity.”
In fact, the variety and variance found within and between concrete Indo-European cultures (Persian, Greek, Roman, Celtic, etc.) provides us with ample evidence of change/evolution between the time of Indo-European unity and the coming of Christianity. This is why Germanic belief is not Celtic belief is not Slavic belief is not Greek belief is not Hindu belief, etc. It is also why the relationship between these cultures had to be deduced to begin with.
The study of the Indo-Europeans is as much a study of change as it is of continuity.
Within the context of Germanicism we have the end of the Nordic Bronze Age (c.500 BC); which witnessed a fouling of the climate, the breakdown of the trade networks that linked southern Scandinavia to the Mediterranean and the Near East, and of course the highly peculiar “bogging” of highly prized ritual paraphernalia associated with the cult of Sunne and her brothers, the Divine Twins. See Kristian Kristiansen’s and Thomas Larsson’s work “The Rise of Bronze Age Society: Travels, Transmissions, and Transformations“. These acts find parallel in only one instance in all of the lore; the conversion of Iceland and the casting of the idols of the gods into the waterfall that has since become known as “the Waterfall of the Gods”.
And in the wake of these profound changes, in what might by this point be called “Proto-Germanic” culture — where populations continued to burgeon, but both land and trade resources shrank — we have the migrations that would eventually give rise to Germania; spread out over what was once Celtic territory. And also the custom, no less peculiar than the offering of high quality ritual gear, of the mass disposal of the spoils of war.
Why is the “sun cult” so diminished in the Eddas (or the archaeology of the Viking Age) as compared to what we see in the archaeological evidence of the Nordic Bronze Age?
The reason why, once again, is change. Things changed. As per the nature of Wyrd.
The author continues,
“It is most likely that Tiwaz, or Tiva was once a name of Odin that was also given to his son.”
In line with the basic etymology of the name Tiw, Snorri Sturlusson’s own assertions regarding the usage of the word relate that any god could be called a tyr. The word could be used poetically to refer to some god other than the god named Tyr by affixing some attribute of the intended tyr with the word itself, eg. Hangatyr or God of the Hanged (Odin).
As such, tyr was once a word that could be used of any “god”. Woden included. But when we look out across the vast landscape of the Indo-Europeans, the gods whose names bear some semblance of the name Tiw do not at all resemble Woden.
The belief that Tiw was “most likely” a name of Woden seems almost as reaching as the casual presumption of Tiw’s Eddic ancestry. Certainly, Woden is the father of all the gods in Snorri’s Edda, but in the older poetic material one finds the etin Hymir named as his father.
That being the case, there really is nothing substantive that makes this theory “most likely”. From a more speculative point of view — looking at the issue less as one of Tiw and Woden, and more as one of hero (Tiw) and poet (Woden), or even of tiv/sacral glory (Tiw) and ve/sacral mystery (Woden) — one can see how sound arguments can be made in either direction, representing something of a Germanic yin-yang equation. A riddle that is intended to be entertained, but never solved. An honouring of the mysterium tremendum even as we happily engage in the inevitable product of the et fascinans.
Similar theories have been proposed in the past, that Woden and Tiw are in fact not separate deities at all, but one and the same; which of course runs counter to everything we know from the Norse-Icelandic Eddas to the interpretatio romana and interpretatio germanicum, to Tacitus’ clear delineation of the Germanic Mercury (Woden) from the Germanic Mars (Tiw) in terms of sacrifice, and his placing them side-by-side in his Annals as the two gods at the heart of the aforementioned custom of the mass disposal of the spoils of war.
I can appreciate an argument that Tiw is the son of Woden. Afterall, do we not know what we know of him because he is extolled in language and song? The very gifts of the appropriately named Allfather Himself? But as for one and the same — neither here nor there in the subject of this critique I suppose — that’s just not palatable. Not without more evidence and stronger reasoning anyway.
“One of the favored ideas related to Tyr as sky-father is the connection between him and the Irminsul, because it looks like his run, Tiwaz.”
The author goes on to refute this connection via his own line of reasoning; which I won’t get into as a result of the fact that I entirely agree with the sentiment that Tiw is not identified with the Irminsul. By my own line of reasoning , the god Irmin is associated with the Irminsul as per Widukind of Corvey. And of course, the Old Norse form of the name Irmin is Jormun, which is itself listed as one of the by-names of Woden in the Prose Edda. Furthermore, Widukind of Corvey also described Irmin, in so many words, as a “Marslike Mercury”. That is, he described him in terms very much befitting what we know of Woden. And finally, even as the Irminones were the predominant people of Tacitus’ Germania, so to does Snorri relate (Prose Edda) that Woden was first known in Germany and only from there made his way up into (Ingvaeonic) Scandinavia.
Now, if people like the bent palm tree image found on the Extersteine relief in Germany and want to use that image as an expression of their beliefs in modern times, no problem. But this image does not match the terms Rudolph of Fulda used to describe the Irminsul, and it is not likely that the actual Saxon Irminsul resembled this. This is not to say that the monk who carved the image did not intend it to represent the Irminsul, which is another argument altogether, only that the Saxon Irminsul did not look like this “palm tree”.
“If you really… still think Tyr is the original sky-father and was once the highest god of our pantheon, just consult the lore. Odin is the creator of Midgard and of humans, teacher of runes, the one who grants wishes and gives success in all endeavors. Could there really be a higher duty than these? You can’t usurp the role of creator-god, you either created the earth and our folk or you didn’t. If we had to accept that Tyr once held all of these positions then Odin, who many have named our faith thereafter, would be a fraud and a liar and Tyr a defeated weakling subservient to the god that stole his position.”
There is a lot to unpack in this statement. Such as the conflation of the Skyfather with the creation of “Midgard and of humans”. Our lore is certainly clear that Woden (and his two “brothers”) engaged in the killing and dismemberment of Ymir, from whose body parts the world was formed. And yet, from a broader Indo-European perspective, while we certainly find likenesses of Ymir, eg. Atlas, Purusha, we do not see those gods whose name literally translates to and gave us the title Skyfather (Dyaus, Zeus) engaging in it’s death and dismemberment. Such Skyfather gods tend to unite with an “Earthmother” so as to produce the flora and fauna and to populate the heavens with stars. And ultimately, this seems to occur/continue as a collective effort. This is reflected in the Voluspa,
“Then gathered together the gods for counsel, the holy hosts, and held converse; to night and new moon their names they gave, the morning named and mid-day also, forenoon and evening, to order the year.”
The same can be said for the creation of man, ie. is not definitive of the role of Skyfather. In the Greek belief this was the role of Prometheus and only indirectly of Zeus, while more poignantly, in Indic belief the first men came from their namesake Manu rather than Dyaus. And of course, according to the AD 1st century Irminonic beliefs of the tribes of Germania, mankind issued, not from Woden, but from their own divine namesake, Mannus, whose name is of course cognate to that of Manu.
Once again, we find that the achievement of the creation of man is not requisite to the role of Skyfather.
And this is to say nothing of the runes.
The notion of a single creator god simply is not at all apparent in the greater cultural weave of Indo-European beliefs; though once again Germanic belief cannot be shoehorned into a theoretical proto-Indo-European model and as the god of language, I see every reason to be sympathetic to the notion of Woden as “creator-god”, for all that all gods would seem to also engage in the ongoing process of Creation. Nevertheless, that is speculative and not evidence of an ancestral belief.
As for the notion of some god usurping the position of another, and how that would make one a fraud and the other a weakling; this is just coming at the matter from entirely the wrong perspective. This as a result of a very poor use of semantics on behalf of the scholars that first advocated the theory of Woden’s ascension. And also a lack of awareness of the evolution of human knowledge; in which one thing can seem primary for an extended amount of time only for it ultimately to be discovered that it is in fact secondary and itself a mere product of a formerly unknown primary. And so, the theory, the myth, grows to encompass the new awareness, as though it had ever been. Because human ignorance aside, it had ever been. Now, one could call that a “usurpation”, but on that note, this is like calling a king’s successor a usurper, or more appropriately, like calling Konungr a usurper of Jarl’s position, ie. Rigsthula, when in fact he just reached more encompassing heights than his predecessor; such as an Allfather in contrast to a Skyfather. More encompassing, more “irminic” one might even say. There is no weakening required on anyone’s behalf, only an acknowledgement of the stronger or more able, and so a strengthening of the overall whole.
Whether the issue is one of Tiw having been the original Skyfather that gave way to Woden and/or Thunor, or one of Tiw, Woden and Thunor all being the mutual heirs of the functions of the original P.I.E. Skyfather, I see less a Veda-like usurpation involved, ie. Indra and Dyaus, and more of a passing of the torch and an acknowledgement of the better suited. Even as we see in the myth of the war between the AEsir and Vanir, in which the Vanir reduced the walls of Asgard to rubble and ruled the field, and even beheaded one of the hostages sent by the AEsir as part of the truce, but, without any subsequent hostilities, the AEsir still ended up as the ruling powers, the one’s calling the shots.
There is no usurpation. Ultimately, there is only the natural evolution of mortal understanding of the “divine mystery”; a thing our mortal minds are entirely unfit to deduce the ultimate reality of.
As the Havamal states, “the minds of men are small, and not all men are equally wise”.
“Tyr is the god of war, period. We know this from the Prose Edda, mainly. As Snorri attests (Gylf.25), the story of his hand lost as a pledge so Fenris could be bound is a testament to his bravery, and that is it. All sorts of guesswork has been used to give him several other duties among the gods based on this story alone, but the passages in Gylfaginning simply relate to us the divine image of what military generals should aspire to: cleverness and bravery.”
Certainly, the Romans equated their Mars to our Tiw, and our ancestors accepted and maintained that association. But we know from Tacitus that Woden was also associated with warfare as the recipient of sacrificed battle captives; and directly in conjunction with Tiw in regards to the custom of the mass disposal of the spoils of war, which of course battle captives were a part of. We must assume, given the attribution of Mars to Tiw (and Mercury to Woden) that Tiw was the primary “god of war” among the peoples of Germania at that time. Woden it would seem existed as a secondary figure within the Irminonic cult of warfare. We might imagine the relationship between the two, in the context of war, being one of the *teuta (Tiw) to the *koryos, of glory and martial aesthetics (Tiw) to death and martial necessity (Wod).
According to Kris Kershaw (The One-Eyed God),
“Razzias (raiding) was the business of the adolescent boys, who functioned as highly mobile guerrilla bands and at the same time learned hardiness, self-control, stealth and strategy, and other warrior qualities … The *koryos was the band of these warrior-novices. It was a cultic warrior-brotherhood, that is, the youths’ formation was as much religious as it was martial, and the ties that bound them were as strong as blood.”
“In opposition to the *koryos is the *teuta, “stamm”, the tribe, the totality of the people. And who are “all the people?” Why, the adult males of course! In other words, the *teuta are also warriors, adult warriors”
Of course, as we move into the Migration Age, our descriptions of the “Germanic Mars” become increasingly Wodenic (ie. associations with human sacrifice, kingship, etc.), while by the Viking Age, and despite the veritable horde of data we have at our disposal in comparison to earlier centuries, Tiw is virtually absent in the overwhelmingly Wodenic martial lore. There is the Sigdrifumal reference, that counsels one to carve the Tiw rune upon their weapon and call twice upon Tiw for victory, but even here, the physical evidence for such a custom is virtually non-existent or, at best, subject to considerable doubt.
If indeed Tiw was “the god of war, period”, the evidence, such as it is, would seem to leave him all dressed up with no place to go. Little more than a mythic figure. As much an obsolete product of a by-gone era as the P.I.E. Skyfather himself. But the evidence, such as it is, shows us that this is certainly not the case.
While Snorri credited Tiw with both great boldness and great wisdom; and while the story he related, regarding the binding of the Fenriswulf, while it certainly demonstrates boldness, I don’t think you could use it as testimony to any sort of cleverness on Tiw’s behalf. It was afterall the collective gods that came up with the idea to meet deception with deception (ie. Loki, the Father of Lies) and bind Fenris with a magical fetter. And it was the svartalfar that forged that fetter. Both very clever. Nor was it Tiw that spelt out the terms of the contest, ie. that if the Wulf could not break the fetter either the gods would remove it or one of then would pay with a hand. And once the fetter was laid upon the Wulf, and it proved unbreakable, ie. mission accomplished, Tiw, who alone of all the gods stepped up to do what was necessary for the sake of honour, did not display even the simple “cleverness” of pulling his hand out of the maw of the Wulf.
The Gloryfather was not at all concerned with demonstrating any sort of cleverness. Rather, he lost his hand. As per the stipulations of the contract that was drawn up between the gods and the Wulf. He anted up the “wergild”, paid the fine, as per the basic functioning of crime and punishment within the context of the Thing system.
If the myth could be said to reveal any one association of Tiw — and there is a lot to unpack in the Fenriswulf myth — it would be found in the by-name for him that grew out of this myth (or vice versa, ie. that this myth grew out of), the “Leavings of the Wolf”. The meaning of this by-name becomes evident when one understands the association of the wolf with death and the grave in Germanic thought.
And so, to paraphrase the Havamal,
“Cattle die, kinsmen die, and the wolf of the grave shall eat it’s fill, but I know one thing that shall endure, the righteous renown of each man dead.“
The by-name, as we see reflected in the etymology of the very name Tiw, means nothing other than Glory itself. The Leavings of the Wolf. And as already been noted, Tiw shares his name with both gods and exceptional men alike. This might gives us some insight as to why he is praised, not only as the Leavings of the Wolf in the Old Icelandic Rune Poem, but also as as the “ruler of the temple”.
To my thinking, whatever the origins of Tiw in ancient times, we see less of a diminution of him in the Eddas and more of an ascension of his own; taking on a likeness similar to what is known of the Baltic Dievas, and best known himself, in the fullness of his glory, when “the gods gather together for counsel” to shine their collective light on existence. He personifies the quality of tiv that is part and parcel with godhood and heroism, even as Woden personifies the quality of ve that is suggestive of mystery and used similarly to tiv in reference to god and the collective gods, ie. Ve (god), Vear (the gods).
“There is only one piece of hard evidence I have seen that could possibly link Tyr to the Thing. This is an inscription from the 3rd century C.E. on a votive altar set up by Frisian legionares stationed at Housesteads on Hadrian’s wall (North England). The inscription mentions a god by the name of Mars Thingsus (Deo Marti Thingso). Of course, Mars is typically identified with Tyr, but I believe there is reason to suspect that, in this instance, another deity is intended.“
The connection between Tiw and the Thing stands, primarily, on three legs. The first is Tacitus’ reference in Germania in which the doling out of capital punishment (as well as imprisonment or flogging) was pronounced “in accordance to the will of the god they believe accompanies them to the field of battle.” In other words, the “Germanic Mars”; of who the same author if we recall makes a clear and present delineation of in relation to the “Germanic Mercury”.
The second is of course the Frisian votive stones mentioned in the quote above, which links the “Germanic Mars” to the Thing. Also of peripheral interest here is the inscription’s grouping of Mars Thingsus with two female spirits, as there is a recurrence of “twos” in the lore regarding Tiw. We see this is the Hymskvidha, where Thunor and Tiw are paired up in a duo — while the gods generally travel alone or in groups of three — and also in the two attempts Tiw made to lift the cauldron of Hymir. We also see it in the Sigdrifumal and the counsel to call twice on Tiw. More philosophically, we see it in the dualistic, adversarial nature of martial and legal conflicts, as well as in competitions of all forms.
It is indeed very fair to say that Tiw is both “no peacemaker” and ultimately “the onehanded of the gods”, as there are always two parties to any competition, but only ever one winner.
He is not a peace-maker, but rather an “edge-whetter”.
The third leg that Tiw’s association with the Thing stands on is the name given to dies Martis in German, which alone of the Germanic tongues did not name this day after Tiw, as per the standard interpretation. Rather, it is, for whatever reason, named Dienstag, which is generally interpreted as “Day of the Thing”.
A fourth leg could be added via Tiw’s ancient association with warfare among the Germanic peoples. Particularly his association with the *teuta, the men of which, beyond comprising the body of the army, also comprised the body of the Thing; which is also were they were recognized as men.
All of that said, it is worth pointing out here that, in variance to what Tacitus had to say about capital punishment among the 1st century tribes of Germania, it was upon the “Rock of Thor” that capital offenders had their backs broken in Viking Age Iceland; which, if indicative of a general phenomenon among the Viking Age Norse (which it need not be), could point to Thunor taking over aspects of Tiw’s old portfolio in terms of legal judgement, much as Woden did in terms of war.
“There is a deity known among the Frisians who is particularly devoted to law and justice, by the name of Fosite“
There is no doubting the role of Fosite in relation to the Thing. All we know of him speaks towards this. He is however no Mars of the Thing. And he has no martial associations other than those we might find among any of the gods, and even among more than a couple of the goddesses.
“The idea was that conflicts were ended and peace was restored by the Thing, even if a dispute had to end in battle. The holmgang, or “island-going”, was a form of single-combat that may or may not have ended with the death of the defeated. No matter who won, the case was then settled, with the victor having his way in the proceedings. This use of battle to settle some disputes has been used as a justification for Tyr being considered the god of the Thing. But Tyr is the god of war, not of duels.”
This estimation fails to note the Germanic martial aesthetic, the ideal mode of combat, as being precisely that of the duel, engaged in by equals; even where two opposing forces road out to the battle en masse. This ideal continued to be preserved long after it’s practical limitations were shown up — by the martially collectivist Imperial Romans in their conflicts with the martially individualist Celts — in the Viking Age name for the denizens of Woden’s Valhalla; the einherijar or single combatants.
That a martial god was associated with the Thing is demonstrated in the title Mars Thingsus, while Tacitus relates that a martial god was associated with divine judgement in cases involving life and liberty. The implication would seem to be that even as Tiw acted as divine judge of warfare, he also acted, via direct appeal, as divine judge within the Thing (in regards to exceptional cases and their punishments), and perhaps also associated in a more general sense with the institutions fundamentally adversarial nature, and even the general judgements of the Thing in regards to it’s more usual functioning, ie. cases involving fine.
That the judge of warfare, who is also the judge of capital offenders, might also have been considered the judge of judicial combats is of course completely reasonable.
And one need but read through a couple of the Icelandic sagas to know that, not only was there was a poignantly adversarial aspect to Thing disputes, but moreso that the settlement of a case did not always ensure any sort of peace; though peace was of course the overall, long term purpose, not to mention the clear historical achievement, of the Thing-based system of law, crime, and punishment. Call it a “nurturing adversarialism”, the fruits of which might be less evident in the details of any particular case — and of course the sagas only relate to us the most prolific and dramatic of cases and feuds — and more evident in the organic evolution of the community over the long term; as the community works through it’s internal problems, organically, to inevitably come to organic solutions that make for a sincere and lasting peace, and a strengthening of a common identity.
That the spirit of judgement and adversarialism and mediation all exist within the context of law seems to me a moot point. No big surprise. Each play a role in it’s overall function and mission. Likewise the common purpose of both law and war in preserving the peace of the community is fairly evident. These things are not mutually exclusive.
“If we were going to label a god as a representative of duels, it would have to be Thor. After all, in the myths Tyr is never known to actively participate in or represent duels, whereas Thor engages in them time and time again, making up the bulk of his adventures.”
A fair argument, made much more poignant by the fact of Thunor’s Viking Age Norse-Icelandic association with divine judgement in the context of the Thing. And of course his possible association with legal oaths under the ambiguous by-name “Almighty Asa”.
Nevertheless, as far as our evidence goes, Thunor was never a god that mortal men looked to for victory in martial conflicts of any kind. He was always looked to as a defense against the hostile forces of nature, ie. the thursar and etins. As a result, none of Thunor’s mythic duels took place within the context of the Thing and/or the presence of the collective gods at council, ie. none represent a trial by combat.
Indeed, as far as the evidence goes, the Prose Edda states of the obscure North Germanic god UllR that, “It is also good to call on him in duels”.
This UllR is said to be the step-son of Thunor via his wife Sif and an otherwise unnamed god from a prior union. It is a curious fact that his name, not unlike that of Tiw, means glory.
In the Danish sources, Ollerus (Latinized UllR) was said to have taken Woden’s place while he was in exile.
While there is no mention or indication of Ullr, places name included, outside of Viking Age Scandinvia, the word that forms his name can be founded in such deific titles used by the Anglo-Saxons as wuldorfæder (gloryfather).
Some have speculated that UllR is another name for Tiw. And certainly the association between the two, ie. glory, is clear and evident. Alternately, he might have taken up part of the mantle left by Tiw as he shed his martial (and perhaps his legal) associations of other times and/or places. Perhaps as much Tiw’s son as Thunor’s step-son?
From here the author’s arguments either become fanciful or circle back around to the case of Fosite. An example of the former can be found in the argument,
“No other deity better exemplifies this ideal than Balder. It may seem romantic to have the valiant god of war representing the Thing, but consider the possibility of being a defendant in a criminal case brought against you. Would this be a time when you would want to pray to a god of war, or a god of compassion?”
One might well reason the same in terms of an invading army (rather than a law suit) being brought against one; in which case a god of compassion could conceivably be, by the same merit, equally preferable. That merit, in either context, presumably being a conviction in one’s own inferiority and inability to adequately defend one’s self. But our ancestors show no signs at all of any such inclination, be it in law or war or any endeavor, to concede victory to another without proofs of superiority, as provided by the best judge of all… competition, adversity, ordeal.
As the Bard said, “Bid them achieve me and then sell my bones.”, itself echoed in the Old English poem the Battle of Maldon centuries prior, “It seems a great shame to let you go to your ships with our treasures unfought — now you have come thus far into our country. You must not get our gold so softly. Points and edges must reconcile us first, a grim war-playing, before we give you any tribute.”
And truly, would you want compassion, beyond that implicit in the very nature and functioning of the Thing (ie. alternative to feud, predominantly fine oriented) shown to a man proven to have stolen or otherwise damaged your property or person or people? Should they pay less than the law stipulates you are owed? As a matter of mercy or compassion? Should you leave yourself impotent and reliant upon nothing more than “mercy” in the case of false accusations brought against you? Should we have compassion for the slanderous? Is that really the god you want to pray to? Or do you want to pray to a god that inspires you to rise to the righteous defense of you and yours, no matter the personal costs, able and confident that when the harsh fires of ordeal subside, only the truth shall remain? A god who yields, perhaps not the “compassionate” judgement, but rather the RIGHT judgement, in which you get your due, even in the most unclear and precarious of situations, as we see in Tiw’s righteous dealings in the dispute that existed between the AEsir and the Fenriswulf?
By the Tiwic ideal, rooted as it is in warfare, the very act of bringing a matter before the community, before the Thing, even if only to invoke the trial by combat, was an act of mercy and compassion in one regard or another.
The mediation of Fosite was always a remedy available to those involved in disputes, be it socially prior to filing suit or legally after filing suit, but such mediators played a largely reactive role and had no right to impose itself on men. One need but look to the official conversion of Iceland, where a mediator was chosen to decide the matter out of fear that the dispute would tear the country apart.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Anglo-Saxon, Asatru, Germanic, Heathen, Indo-European, Nordic, Odin, Tiw, Tyr, Woden on October 22, 2018 by jameybmartin.
After Death: Certitude or Mystery?
The importance of the remains of the dead, their treatment, their burial, the tending of graves and honouring of one’s dead kinsfolk and heroes. It was an important aspect of the elder Germanic beliefs; with enough parallels in both the beliefs of their fellow Indo-European cultures and the associated archaeological record, to nail it down as a very ancient, very significant, and very enduring thing.
But was Hell simply the grave and grave mound? Was the soul truly and irrevocably bound to it’s remains? Was there in fact no Germanic “afterworld”, beyond life in the grave-mound, as more than one well informed person has proposed? And indeed if the remains of one’s ancestors were lost and/or forgotten so to were their souls to the kindred?
Well, I like this perspective. It’s something that began to dawn on me a couple of decades ago after reading Gronbech’s “Culture of the Teutons”; in which he drew a parallel between the cosmology of the Eddas and the physical realities of a tribe’s surroundings. And there is a lot in elder Germanic lore that certainly points in this direction.
However, while this understanding is a very good foundation — rightly shifting our attention, energy and emphasis away from the otherworld and on to this world, away from the goldstar we will get in some otherworld and on to the legacy we leave for the benefit of our community and descendants that remain in this world after we have departed, ie. world accepting — it nevertheless presents certain inconsistencies with other aspects of both Germanic and Indo-European lore; which, from subtle indications of language and elder figures of speech to ship-burials are suggestive of both a journey, and hence a destination, following death … undertaken from within the gravemound it would “certainly seem”.
For all of that, I still find that the Eddas, paint too detailed and too certain of a picture about such things. Who knows what lies ahead in that great journey taken after death? The dead … of which none of us are at this moment. As with the nature of the Tivar, I tend to dislike sharp and certain definitions of things a person doesn’t really know anything more-or-less about than anyone else. Certainly we have a sense of “life after death” … a sense that is of course the strongest in the presence of the bones of our ancestors, but if the ancient Greeks are any testament, a mound is a mound is a mound, each as the other a gate to Hades apparently, whether or not their ancestors or heroes were actually buried in “that” particular mound or worshiped at many different mounds in different localities. But no, certitude was never a promise or pretense of elder Germanicism, which was always happy to own it’s sense of things while happily letting those things be whatever they actually are apart from their sense of them. As can be gleaned in the following passage from Bede’s History of the English Nation, the elder culture knew how to honour to *mystery*,
“The present life man, O king, seems to me, in comparison with that time which is unknown to us, like to the swift flight of a sparrow through the hall wherein you sit at supper in winter amid your officers and ministers, with a good fire in the midst whilst the storms of rain and snow prevail abroad; the sparrow, I say, flying in at one door and immediately out another, whilst he is within is safe from the wintry weather. But after a short space of fair weather he immediately vanishes out of your sight into the dark winter from which he has emerged. So this life of man appears for a short while. But of what went before or what is to follow we are ignorant. If, therefore, this new doctrine contains something more certain, it seems justly to deserve to be followed.”
And in the poem Beowulf as it pertains to the death, funeral and otherworldly fate of Scyld Sceafing,
“Men do not know
truth be told, neither counselors
nor heroes under heaven, who unshipped that cargo.”
And in Book I of the Gesta Danorum,
“she drew him with her underground, and vanished… <snip> … purposed that he should pay a visit in the flesh to the regions whither he must go when he died. So they first pierced through a certain dark misty cloud, and then advancing along a path that was worn away with long thoroughfaring… <snip> … Going further, they came on a swift and tumbling river of leaden waters, whirling down on its rapid current divers sorts of missiles, and likewise made passable by a bridge… <snip> … Then a wall hard to approach and to climb blocked their further advance. The woman tried to leap it, but in vain, being unable to do so even with her slender wrinkled body; then she wrung off the head of a cock which she chanced to be taking down with her, and flung it beyond the barrier of the walls; and forthwith the bird came to life again, and testified by a loud crow to recovery of its breathing.
Did our ancestors believe in life after death? Certainly. But certitude about such things as no man can be certain about is not a selling point of the elder beliefs. As ever, truth is more about questions and less about answers. Beware the man who is certain about things no man could possibly be … for within him grow the seeds of evil.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Afterlife, Anglo-Saxon, Asatru, Burial, Death, faith, Germanic, Heathen, Relationships, Religion, Spirituality on April 14, 2017 by jameybmartin.
In Their Ancient Hymns: the Ethnogenesis of the Germanic Peoples
“In their ancient hymns (which amongst them are the only sort of records and history) they celebrate Tuisto, a god sprung from the earth, and Mannus his son, as the fathers and founders of their people. To Mannus they asign three sons, after whose names so many people are called; the Ingaevones, dwelling by the seashore; the Herminones, in the interior; and all the rest, Istaevones. Some, borrowing the liscence that pertains to antiquity, maintain that the god had more sons; that thence came more denominations of people, the Marsians, Gambrians, Suevians, and Vandalians, and that these are the names truly genuine and original.” (Tacitus, Germania)
Such is what we have of the first recorded ethnogenesis myth of the Germanic peoples. It is preserved in the works of both Tacitus and Pliny, both hailing from the 1st century A.D., and was, presumably, considered “ancient” by the tribes of Germania at the time of it’s recording. Indeed, certain aspects of the “myth” as we have it predate the emergence of Germanic culture in southern Scandinavia by over a thousand years, as we see in the case of the figure Mannus and his Aryan (aka. Indo-Iranian) cognate, Manu. Of this Manu, who’s name, like Mannus’, means “man, human”, the Mahabharate states,
“And Manu was endowed with great wisdom and devoted to virtue. And he became the progenitor of a line. And in Manu’s race have been born all human beings, who have, therefore, been called Manavas. And it is of Manu that all men including Brahmanas, Kshattriyas, and others have been descended, and are therefore all called Manavas. Subsequently, O monarch, the Brahmanas became united with the Kshattriyas. And those sons Manu that of were Brahmanas devoted themselves to the study of the Vedas. And Manu begat ten other children named Vena, Dhrishnu, Narishyan, Nabhaga, Ikshakus, Karusha, Saryati, the eighth, a daughter named Ila, Prishadhru the ninth, and Nabhagarishta, the tenth. They all betook themselves to the practices of Kshattriyas. Besides these, Manu had fifty other sons on Earth. But we heard that they all perished, quarrelling with one another.“
Both Mannus and Manu gave their name to us men, both had kingly children that rose to glory among their respective tribes, and both had many other son’s of, ahem, “lesser fame” and/or more local significance. If one goes on to relate Mannus to the Viking Age Heimdal — not an uncommon comparison based on his Eddic appellation “Father of Mankind” — and factors the Rigsthula into the comparison — which tells of how Heimdal fathered and united the various castes of men into a cohesive tribe — the match with Manu is complete. But really, the existing Mannus-Manu correspondence is already quite remarkable and adequately demonstrates the ancientness of (certain aspects of) the lost hymn.
On the other hand, the geography of the tribes would suggest that other elements of it were more recent and pertained specifically to the Germanic peoples; being no earlier than the first waves of migrations that spread and established Germanicism throughout Central Europe and gave rise to the Herminonic (interior) and the Istaevonic (everywhere else) branches of the Folk as found in the hymn. Needless to say perhaps, the Ingvaeonic tribes were made up of those people who remained in the ancestral homeland along the seashores of southern Scandinavia. This would date these elements of the hymn to somewhere in the ballpark of the 1st century B.C. at the latest, and certainly no earlier than the advent of the Celtic Iron Age and the corresponding collapse of Nordic Bronze Age culture (c.500 B.C.).
As such there does seem to be considerable truth indeed to Tacitus’ assertion that this hymn was ancient. It demonstrates a deep awareness of common heritage and shared identity that walked hand-in-hand with the evolution of a “Common” or “Proto-” Germanic tongue (c.500 B.C.) and which, to various degrees, endured the evolutionary divergence of the Germanic language into its various branches , the Migration Age, and even “the Conversion” (ie. of the Anglo-Saxons). It was in fact this enduring memory of common heritage that inspired the first Anglo-Saxon missionaries to evangelize their Danish and Continental brethren in the late 7th century A.D.
For those more familiar with Eddas, the Ancient Hymns seem at first glance an odd thing with little to no relationship to grand and “otherworldly” nature of the Viking Age Creation myths or even to the Anglo-Saxon Caedmon’s Hymn. And sometimes this is cited as evidence of the great changes that took place within Germanic culture between the Iron Age to the Viking Age … and usually for some less than honest reason that has to do with validating the misappropriation of Germanic culture for modern culturo-political ends as exemplified in Universalist Asatru, and which dismisses the numerous commonalities that thread the weave of Germanic identity together and which endured it’s spread over time or space … thus allowing for the quantification of a thing as Germanic. But really, trying to force the Ancient Hymns into the Voluspa or Gylfaginning or Caedmon’s Hymn is to mistake an ethnogenesis for a genesis. The former tells of the origins of a people, the latter the origins of the cosmos. As such, they are not different versions of the same thing. Rather they are different components of the same thing, as can be seen by those with a due familiarity with such legends that tell of the origins of tribes and aetheling (royal) houses as found in the Heimskringla or Gesta Danorum, and related in the tales of such figures as Ingui, Scyld Sceafing and Merovech. The ancient hymns are the “rainbow bridge” that link the abstract, otherworldy mythology to the more concrete and historical evolution of the people. This in the same way that the Old Testament “Genesis” gives way to the legends of the Jews, their rulers, their earthly ordeals, and their own (ethno-culturally specific) evolving relationship with the “divine mystery”.
Tuisto and Mannus
As for the figures to be found in the ancient hymns — Tuisto, Mannus, Ingui, Irmin, Istaev (and the others) — while I have already touched on Mannus above, he is named alongside Tuisto as the co-progenitor of the Germanic people. Linguistically speaking, the name Tuisto is obscure. It could be a corruption of the Proto-Germanic Tiwisko (son of Tiw/God) as Grimm suggested, or it could be some concept built upon the fairly evident Proto-Germanic twa- root, from whence we get the Modern English word two (as in the quantity) … such as twin or twist (the latter of which means dispute/conflict in all of the Germanic languages save the English). While I have been very much inclined to see Tiw himself in Tuisto over the years, and so preferred (and in fact formulated) the possible relation of Tuisto to twist (dispute; ie. Mars Thingsus, TyR is not a Peacemaker), it seems today far more likely that the name was either Tiwisko or Twin. Either would suffice, as either one will ultimately point us back in the direction of the other.
And here is why; the notion of co-progenitors is very well established in the creation of new tribal identities among the Germanic peoples and their various Indo-European relatives. It can be seen in Aggo and Ebbo for the migrating Lombards, Roas and Raptos for the migrating Asdingi, most famously in Horsa and Hengist for the migrating Anglo-Saxons, and even perceived in such Vandal co-rulers as Ambri and Assi, and Vinill and Vandill. In the greater Indo-European world we see it in Romulus and Remus for the tribes of Rome and in Castor and Pollux among the Greeks, and most specifically among the Spartans who modeled their dual kingship after the Dioscuri (Sons of God) wherein one king ruled the peace and the other ruled at war. Such a dual kingship among the Germanic peoples, made up of a priest-king and a warrior-king, is observed in the literature as early as Tacitus, and so contemporary with the “Ancient Hymns”, and as late Jordanes, rears it’s head here and there throughout the better known legends and histories of our folk, eg. Hrothgar and Halga, and can even be gleaned in the relationship between the strongly martial Carolingians and the more sacral Merovingians of France. Moreover, the iconography of the “Divine Twins” and the supremacy of the intimately related “cult of the sun” saturates the rock-art and twinned deposits of the Nordic Bronze Age and continued in high style on the Gallehus Horns and the “twin dancers” of Anglo-Saxon art.
While Tacitus names Mannus as the son of Tuisto rather than his brother, this seems more likely some form of mistake in interpretation. Take for a handy example that the Aryan Manu is remembered as the father of mankind, while his fellow Aryan, Yama (Twin), is remembered as the first mortal to have died. One could be left with the impression that Manu is Yama’s father. And yet, in fact, Manu and Yama are remembered as brothers. As such, I tend to favor the theory that Tuisto and Mannus are in fact brothers, a Germaniversal expression of the “Divine Twins” as the co-progenitors of tribes and peoples.
The Ancient Hymns and the Elder Futhark
Here it is interesting to note that the Germanic mystery alphabet, called the futhorc by the Anglo-Frisians — but more widely remembered simply as “the runes” — was formulated over a time in which the Ancient Hymns were pervasive; marking the “alphabets” beginnings with the experimentation found etched on one of the Negau helms in the 2nd century B.C. and ending with the fully crystallized elder futhark of the 2nd century A.D. This is curious because at least two of the eight staves that make up the 3rd aett or family of the futhorc share the names of the deities of the Ancient Hyms. Namely, Mannus and Ingui.
Now, I am certainly not the first person to have made this observation. And this certainly fed into my desire to equate Tuisto with Tiw, as Tiw’s rune stands at the head of the 3rd aett. The notion began to fall apart however when the notion that Tuisto and Mannus were actually brothers fell into the mix and proved itself the stronger. Nevertheless, as mentioned above, Castor and Pollux were themselves known as the “Dioscuri” or “Sons of Zeus/God”, likewise were their Baltic (Latvian) counter-parts called the “Dieva deli” or “Sons of Dieva/God” … of which Grimm’s Tiwisko (Son of Tiw/God) would represent a Proto-Germanic cognate of in the singular.
And so we find the rune of Tiw standing right where we might expect it if the theory holds water. But where then is Tuisto? I would suggest that he is to be found in the “ehwaz” stave, which means horse and stems from the same Proto-Indo-European root that gave us such other appellations for the Divine Twins as the Lithuanian “Asvieni” and the Sanskrit “Ashvins”. And so we have in the first four staves of the elder futhark the notion that Tiw (Glory father) and Birch (the fertility principle, ie. the earth, a cow, a mortal woman) gave rise to the Divine Twins as embodied in the staves for Horse and Man; even as Zeus fathered Pollux on the mortal woman Leda (and on her Pollux was made the brother of mortal Castor by the King of Sparta).
These four staves are then followed by the staves named for Water, Ingui, Day, and Homeland; which all but tell the same tale made evident in the legends of Scyld Sceafing and Merovech … of the sea bringing (Water) a divinely favoured one (Ing) who, with the wisdom of the gods (Day), went on to establish a homeland/identity for the folk (Homeland) … or, alternately, who went on to establish a homeland/identity for the folk (Homeland) and the dawning of the first day (Day).
I dunno … it all falls into place a little too conveniently to be casually dismissed.
Well, my time is burning, so I’ll have to leave the sons of Mannus for another time; which mostly means Irmin as I’ve already dealt with Ingui here while the others brothers, Istvae included, are far too obscure for anything more than sheer speculation and passing commentary.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Anglo-Saxon, Asatru, Creation, Culture, English, faith, Germanic, Heathen, History, Mannus, Religion, Spirituality, Tacitus, Tuisto on December 6, 2016 by jameybmartin.
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Anti-Social Lullabies Sound Like How You Feel
The Little Rebellion February 19, 2009 1
By Pierce Lydon
Photo courtesy of Anti-Social Lullabies Myspace
It’s the summer. You’re 19 years old and you’re at a youth conference in Indiana with your brother. They are having an open mic night and you think this would be a great time to show a few kids some of the stuff the two of you have been working on at home. Before you know it, there are over a hundred kids there and you haven’t even played a note. It’s okay though. You started. They like you.
Like Oasis, My Chemical Romance, Good Charlotte and The Jonas Brothers, Anti-Social Lullabies (ASL) is a band of brothers. But ASL doesn’t sound anything like most of those bands. Instead, the twins’ sound ranges between cute, folky pop songs to harder drums and bass tracks that recall Death From Above 1979. You might be thinking that doesn’t sound right at all. Oh but trust me, it does.
Growing up in the Long Island hardcore scene, the Young brothers musical education began with much more classical training before they fell into rock n’ roll. Travis took up the cello and Jared played the flute but once they entered high school things started to change a little.
Travis’s cello eventually led him to pick up the bass guitar and Jared had a more dramatic transition from flute to drums. Naturally, the boys formed a band with some of their friends called The Claim. But something was missing.
“The other three people in the band just were not dedicated and didn’t have the same creative drive Jared and I share,” Travis said. “We started doing our own thing as a side project and then we said ‘This is it for us.’ ASL is who we are now.”
For Jared, college led to even more changes. He started getting heavily into the music of Bob Dylan and Donovan after seeing Jenny Lewis play at Irving Plaza in 2006. He bought himself a guitar and learned songs from tabs while also writing his own material.
“Seeing [Jenny Lewis] felt like I was looking at the past. She had a presence to her that kind of opened me up musically,” he said. “For a while I was writing, but not playing music. It was like being a painter with only a canvas; when I started playing music I found my brush.”
Travis found many of his influences in much heavier music like Death From Above 1979, Norma Jean and The Chariot, so the twins decided to incorporate it into their sound. Half of their debut album, “Sounds Like How You Feel,” is made up of heavily distorted drum and bass tracks that are an interesting contrast to their acoustic songs. The decision to include such diverse songs didn’t come without some trouble included.
“We just decided to embrace both sounds and make one band out of it. We hadn’t really seen anything done like that before. People tend to argue over what style of music is better, but to us music is music, if it makes you feel good who cares,” Jared said.
“It would be pretty cool to reach out to kids that only listen to certain genres and have them come to a show and stand next to other kids who only listen to the other genres and have them both enjoy the show together. Figuring out how to do that, without sounding like a train wreck, was the challenge. We struggled with that big time on the record.”
But Anti-Social Lullabies insist that they get along despite the history of many bands that include brothers as members (We’re looking at you Noel and Liam.) and that the EP they have planned for January 2009 will draw on many more of their own musical histories.
“When it comes to music and what we’re doing Jared and I don’t really disagree,” Travis said. “It will be pretty much totally different from ‘Sounds Like How You Feel.’ The bass and drum songs will have very different vibes. There will be a cello song, a couple of acoustic tracks and a full band song.”
“Sounds Like How You Feel” is a mild success garnering generally positive reviews. But, in their eyes, it is something that can always be improved. Fortunately, the evolution of Anti-Social Lullabies is something that the Young brothers will always take on together. Jared made it very clear that if Travis left “It would be over, neither of us can be replaced.”
So the constant struggle continues. The Youngs continue to nitpick over their sound and their lyrics and their recordings, but such is the practice of all artists. As J.D. Salinger once said, “The only bad thing about being an artist is being slightly unhappy constantly.”
Posted in ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, CULTURETagged #Anti-Social Lullabies
The Little Rebellion
One thought on “Anti-Social Lullabies Sound Like How You Feel”
Bass Guitar Dude says:
Anti-Social Lullabies certainly sound like an interesting band. With such an in-depth history even though the group is so young.
“It was like being a painter with only a canvas; when I started playing music I found my brush.”
I love that quote… I know exactly what that feels like to have a way to express yourself as a musician.
Really well written piece and an interest read. Thank you.
Doug Nash: Breaker of Wills
Thu Feb 26 , 2009
By Will Kamerman Doug Nash reclines on a giant couch, lumberjack style – bearded and with beer in hand – enjoying some long awaited time off from work. He works as a cameraman for Cablevision in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., as well as behind the counter at Convenient Deli in New […]
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US ‘strongly supports’ release of Taliban prisoners: Bass
The Frontier Post / November 12, 2019
KABUL (TOLO News): The United States government welcomes and “strongly supports” President Ashraf Ghani’s “courageous decision” to release three Taliban prisoners, the US Ambassador to Kabul, John Bass, told TOLOnews on Tuesday.
President Ghani at a news conference on Tuesday confirmed that Anas Haqqani, Haji Mali Khan and Hafiz Rashid, three Haqqani Network commanders, have been “conditionally released” in exchange for the release of two Haqqani-held professors who were abducted while working for the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF).
“We believe this important step reflects the strength of the Islamic republic and of the Afghan Security Forces and their ongoing efforts to protect and defend the Afghan people,’ he said.
About two weeks ago, the National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib confirmed that recent meetings between President Ghani and Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation had focused on the release of the two AUAF professors.
“This is the latest in a series of courageous steps that President Ghani and the Afghan government have taken to respond to the Afghan people’s overwhelming desire for peace,” Bass said.
“We hope the Taliban responds to this important humanitarian gesture with its own humanitarian gesture through the release of prisoners they’re holding, particularly Afghan security force prisoners and western prisoners,” Bass said.
“But regardless of how the Taliban responds, the United States will continue to strongly support the Afghan government, the Afghan security forces in defending the people of this country, and supporting the Islamic republic.”
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CBN Israel | The Torah’s Compelling Case for a “Why Do” List
By Mark Gerson
A married man with a loving family goes on a trip and has an affair that ruins his marriage, damages his kids, and destroys his family. A successful executive buys the stock of a corporation that his company is ready to acquire, is immediately fired, and is then prosecuted for insider trading. A promising young attorney has several drinks at a firm event, drives home, and gets into a devastating car crash.
None of these is good as a story, and Aristotle explains why. A good ending, he says, should be “surprising, yet inevitable.” One can debate whether the aforementioned endings were inevitable. But there is nothing surprising about any of them—or anything else in the stories. This is what should be surprising. Why do people so frequently make catastrophic and obvious mistakes? The Torah, and the Jewish tradition around it, has a lot to say about that question. And the conclusion of this Torah portion (Parsha Shelach, in Numbers 13-15) has a deeply sublime, entirely practical and eternally relevant answer.
Read more at The Torah’s Compelling Case for a “Why Do” List.
© Kairos Company 2020
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From one of the world’s largest universities to Hollywood’s most prolific television producer to America’s largest communities of faith to multiple presidential candidates and a multi-billion-dollar financial services firm, Johnnie Moore has been America’s go-to communications strategist when the stakes are high and the mission is critical.
Johnnie Moore founded KAIROS after running public relations across multiple sectors including higher education, entertainment, and politics. He has worked with every major print, digital and broadcast outlet in North America and has extensive experience in more than 50 countries around the world.
He began his career at the 100,000-student Liberty University where he served as the school’s Senior Vice President for Communications during the time when Liberty University added more than 75,000 students to its annual enrollment and added more than $1.2 billion to its endowment and cash reserves. After a dozen years at Liberty University, and before founding KAIROS, Moore was personally recruited by Emmy award-winning mega-producer Mark Burnett (“Survivor,” “Shark Tank,” “The Voice,” “Celebrity Apprentice“) to serve as Chief of Staff and Vice President of Faith Content for his United Artists Media Group (an MGM company).
Rev. Johnnie Moore is also a member of clergy. As a noted evangelical Christian leader he is best known for his consequential work at the intersection of faith and foreign policy in the Middle East. In 2020, he was named one of America’s ten most influential religious leaders, he is the President of The Congress of Christian Leaders, serves on ADL’s “task force for Middle East minorities,” and is the youngest-ever recipient of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s prestigious “medal of valor” for his efforts rescuing Christians from ISIS in 2015. He is also a Commissioner on the bipartisan U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom, appointed by the President of the United States.
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Home / History of art / Bloomsbury Look, The
Bloomsbury Look, The
Wendy Hitchmough
Bloomsbury Look, The quantity
Categories: Biography: literary, Biography: writers, Fashion & textiles, Fashion and textile design, History of art
An in-depth study of how the famed Bloomsbury Group expressed their liberal philosophies and collective identity in visual form”[Fascinating and wide-ranging. . . . Will be enjoyed by both Bloomsbury aficionados and newcomers alike.”-Lucinda Willan, V&A Magazine The Bloomsbury Group was a loose collective of forward-thinking writers, artists, and intellectuals in London, with Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, and E. M. Forster among its esteemed members. The group’s works and radical beliefs, spanning literature, economics, politics, and non-normative relationships, changed the course of 20th-century culture and society. Although its members resisted definition, their art and dress imparted a coherent, distinctive group identity. Drawing on unpublished photographs and extensive new research, The Bloomsbury Look is the first in-depth analysis of how the Bloomsbury Group generated and broadcast its self-fashioned aesthetic. One chapter is dedicated to photography, which was essential to the group’s visual narrative-from casual snapshots, to amateur studio portraits, to family albums. Others examine the Omega Workshops as a design center, and the evidence for its dress collections, spreading the Bloomsbury aesthetic to the general public. Finally, the book considers the group’s extensive participation in 20th-century modernism as artists, models, curators, critics, and collectors.
Walter Gropius: Visionary Founder of the Bauhaus
Francis Bacon: Painting, Philosophy, Psychoanalysis
Ben Ware
Jan Tschichold and the New Typography: Graphic Design Between the World Wars
Paul Stirton
Art: Vintage Minis
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Foster Boondoggle
Wouldn’t exactly the same reasoning apply to many other products of GMOs, such as corn syrup, corn starch, vegetable oils and sugar? These are all purified and don’t contain DNA. But they’re not exempt from labeling in VT, and people fearful of gmos certainly don’t seem willing to give them a pass in the same way they do chymosin.
Benjamin Edge
Then by the same argument, sugar from GM sugar beets, or HFCS or starch from GM corn should not require a GM label. It’s pretty difficult to use mental gymnastics and legalities to exempt your preferred product without the same rules applying to other products.
Charles M. Rader
Actually, Ben, once you strip away the goals of the propaganda crowd, it’s ridiculously easy. Let the law be written so that it names the ingredient instead of triggering a vague and scary sounding phrase. A reasonably intelligent consumer can understand that sucrose from a GMO sugar beet is a different thing from cottonseed oil from a Bt cotton plant or a vitamin made by a genetically modified microorganism. The problems arise when the law is written to give some producers an advantage over other producers.
In Vermont, Blessed Are the Cheese Makers
Vermont’s contentious GMO food labeling law goes into effect this month. Identifying exceptions has been complicated.
Top: Should this be labeled a GMO product? Visual: iStock.com
By Aleszu Bajak and Tom Zeller Jr.
This month, a contentious food labeling law went into effect in Vermont, requiring most grocery products containing genetically modified ingredients to bear the words “produced with genetic engineering.” It’s the first law of its kind in the U.S., and one that the grocery industry and its patrons in Congress are still working to undermine.
But even in Vermont, there are some key exceptions to the rule, and for a hint of that, one can’t avoid turning, momentarily, to Monty Python’s “The Life of Brian.”
Cheese is big business in Vermont, generating some $650 million in sales annually. Fluid milk racks up $400 million a year for the state. But in a world awash with genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, teasing out where the new labeling rule ought to be applied (and where it shouldn’t) has been complicated for the state’s lawmakers from the start, and a variety of foods — milk and related dairy byproducts, for example — were left in a sort of legal limbo.
What if a cow was raised on genetically modified feed? Should its milk be considered genetically modified as well? The production process for cheese typically involves use of genetically modified ingredients. Ought it carry the label? (Hat tip to Jason Reitman’s 2005 film “Thank You for Smoking”):
When the state’s governor, Peter Shumlin, first signed Vermont’s bill into law in 2014, the state’s attorney general was tasked over the next two years with sorting out these pressing questions. Updated guidance addressing a number of these gray areas was published last month, and among other things, milk is in the clear. “Foods consisting entirely of or derived entirely from an animal that is itself not produced with genetic engineering,” the guidance noted, “regardless of whether the animal has been fed or injected with any food, drug, or other substance produced with genetic engineering” are exempt from the law.
And then there are the cheese makers. The new guidance does make exceptions for processed foods that “include one or more processing aids or enzymes produced with genetic engineering,” and even for foods that contain a teeny bit of genetically modified stuff: “[I]f the aggregate weight of the genetically engineered materials in the food is no more than 0.9 percent of the total weight of the food,” the updated regulations state, it is exempt.
But in most cases, scientists suggest, cheese ought to be exempt on its face. The only real hitch might have been chymosin, the rennet-like enzyme used to coagulate milk into cheese. It’s made by genetically-engineered yeast – or mold or bacteria – that are fermented to produce massive quantities of the enzyme. This technique was approved in 1990 as an alternative to slaughtering calves to extract the enzyme from their stomachs.
That might seem to argue for GMO labeling under Vermont’s new law, but the devil is in the details: Once chymosin is purified and all cellular material is cleared away, it is just isolated protein. “Chymosin is not genetically modified,” said John Lucey, a professor of food science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It wouldn’t be scientifically accurate to call the enzyme itself genetically modified. That’s not true.”
Most scientists, of course, suggest that fears over genetically modified ingredients are overblown, and that the push for labeling is misguided. But for cheese lovers who aren’t so sure, the purification of chymosin might come as a relief (cue 1993’s “Benny & Joon):
In fact, it’s chemically identical to the rennet isolated from calves, says Lucey. That was just one of the stringent stipulations the FDA required when it approved what it called fermentation-produced chymosin using the same process the pharmaceutical industry uses to produce insulin, clotting factors, and other clinically useful proteins.
“When the pharmaceutical-like purification technology was first approved it hadn’t been done for a food ingredient before,” he said. “They had to put in multiple, redundant steps to make sure there was no part of the bacteria left in there and show that the enzyme wasn’t different in any shape or form from the calf one.”
The chymosin purification process, employed worldwide by enzyme manufacturing companies like Christen Hansen and Danisco, is one of the cleanest in the food industry. And by stripping away all cellular material – genetically modified or otherwise – what’s left is pure protein. No genetically modified organism remains, says Tonya Schoenfuss, a professor of dairy products technology at the University of Minnesota.
“All the yeast or bacteria, whatever they have cloned the gene into, are purified out,” wrote Schoenfuss in an email message. “That is the beauty of the process.”
It’s also why GMO-uncertain Vermonters shouldn’t have to approach cheese like this — even if it isn’t labeled (h/t “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” 2010):
Can Biotechnology Transform the Cattle Industry?
By Dyllan Furness
In Ghana, Mixed Views on GM Cowpea
By Ankur Paliwal
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Jodie Ferneyhough
CCS Rights Management
Jodie Ferneyhough brings years of knowledge and expertise to the always important and vital world of intellectual property. Ferneyhough spent ten years as the head of Universal Music Publishing Group, which included him leading the amalgamation of BMG Music Publishing Canada to UMPG Canada. He spent the previous five years at the helm of peermusic Canada. Throughout his career his artists have been nominated for or were awarded accolades from the Juno Awards, SOCAN Awards, Country Music Awards, Much Music Video Awards, Grammy Awards and Latin Grammy Awards. Jodie sits on the Board of Directors of CMRRA and is the President of the Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA). He is active in lobbying, copyright reform and monitoring ongoing entertainment industry developments on behalf of our clients and partners.
Catherine Saxberg
Catharine Saxberg has been VP, International Relations for SOCAN since January 2014. Prior to that, she was the executive director of the Canadian Music Publishers Association since May of 2005. She has spoken about music publishing, copyright and other music industry issues at events in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Other music industry experience prior to CMPA includes two years as the executive director of the Radio Starmaker Fund and consulting projects for the Canadian Country Music Association.
Catharine’s experience before working primarily for the music industry was in content development, strategic planning, marketing, sales and research for the broadcast industry, where she worked in progressively senior positions for over twenty years for a number of major broadcasters. She has also worked as a media executive for a major international advertising agency, and taught at the Harris Institute of the Arts for fifteen years.
Catharine holds an undergraduate degree from Ryerson University in radio and television arts, an honours BA and a masters degree (SCL) in cultural history from the University of Toronto, and did her doctoral studies in cultural history at York University.
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Guess what happened to the little boy who was using the faint light outside of McDonald’s to study
by Heather Peirce
A homeless Filipino boy has been overwhelmed with aid after a photograph of him studying on the pavement using faint light from a McDonald’s outlet went viral on the internet.
Nine-year-old Daniel Cabrera will now be able to fulfill his dream of becoming a policeman after donations of cash, school supplies and a college scholarship poured in, his mother, Christina Espinosa, said on Friday. “We’re overjoyed. I don’t know what I will do with all of these blessings,” said Ms. Espinosa, a 42-year-old grocery store employee and domestic helper. “Now, Daniel will not have to suffer just to finish his studies.”
The photograph, posted on Facebook last month by a college student, showed Daniel doing his homework on a wooden stool placed close to a McDonald’s window to catch the light from the store. The 20-year-old medical technology student, Joyce Torrefranca, captioned her Facebook post: “I got inspired by a kid.”
It was then shared close to 7,000 times on the social networking site and reported by local television. Local politician Samuel Pagdilao, of the Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement & Support (ACT-CIS) party, awarded Daniel an unspecified “scholarship grant”, ABS-CBN reported. The local police force also raised funds and provided groceries for the family. Ms. Espinosa and her three youngest children, including Daniel, have been living in her employer’s mini-grocery store since their shanty home was gutted by fire five years ago.
Ms. Espinosa described her son as a tenacious child with a single-mined focus on getting an education. “He is a very studious and determined boy… he would insist on going to school even without his lunch money because I have no money to give,” Ms. Espinosa said. “He always tells me: ‘Mama, I don’t want to stay poor. I want to reach my dreams’.”
Ms. Espinosa said, aside from the cash, school supplies and a scholarship offer that would guarantee his education through college, people had given school uniforms and a reading lamp. The local church and government social welfare office had also received aid on his behalf. “Our problem is how to manage all this financial assistance,” said Violeta Cavada, the city’s social welfare office chief. “He has become a symbol of poor slum boys in the city who can’t study because they don’t have electricity.”
education inspiration
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Has COVID-19 changed the public perception of nursing? – The Open University
During the midst of the pandemic, nurses and other frontline staff were the subject of praise from the government and public with the weekly NHS clap, dedicated shopping hours and shared gratitude for their lifesaving work. But, with restrictions beginning to ease and the public eager to return to normality, how long will nurses remain at the forefront of our mind? Dr Rebecca Garcia, Lecturer in Nursing at The Open University shares her thoughts.
Since 2009, it has been a requirement for nurses to be qualified to degree level. Nurses from all fields of practice are highly skilled professionals, with a magnitude of knowledge that is vital to the healthcare sector. However, despite the extent to which nurses are educated, the public perception of the nursing profession has been tainted by media coverage, portraying nurses in a subordinate role to doctors, as their ‘handmaiden’ and other negative stereotypes (Bridges, 2004; Gordon and Nelson, 2005). Prior to March 2020, the majority of the public had little awareness of nurses true roles (Girvin, Jackson and Hutchinson, 2016; Hayes, 2019), unless they had the misfortune of being unwell themselves (or that of a close family member).
In late 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) were making their final plans for ‘2020, The Year of The Nurse’ to celebrate Florence Nightingale’s bicentennial year and showcase nursing across the world; but by December 2019, coronavirus (COVID-19) had made an untimely appearance, demanding attention from the public and healthcare staff, albeit in different ways. This placed the nursing profession at centre stage, although not in the way that WHO had envisaged when planning its campaign.
In the UK, the NHS responded by realigning to meet the expected large numbers of acutely ill patients, with nurses rapidly trained and/or redeployed to meet the demand of COVID-19 cases. Third year student nurses were asked to volunteer to help; a staggering 22,000 signed up to the temporary Nursing and Midwifery Council register in just three weeks, while a further 10,000 ex-nurses returned to the profession to support the pandemic effort (Ford, 2020).[1]
Media reports captured nurses caring for patients in a variety of settings, from acute and highly technical environments such as intensive care wards to older residents in nursing homes. The public was able to experience first-hand the reality of nursing and how crucial nurses are. This previously and often-unseen view from inside hospitals and caring facilities was a refreshing insight that positioned nursing as central to the care of patients.
In response to the public’s increasing awareness and appreciation of NHS staff and key workers, including nurses, organisations and local communities have shown gratitude with the Thursday evening street-wide applause, posters and signs displayed at windows. NHS employees have seen a wealth of commercial privileges to acknowledge their valued contribution in saving lives during COVID-19. However, the government remains unsupportive of salary reviews for nurses, claiming that nurses had recently received a significant pay increase, when in real terms the pay review was merely bringing nurses up-to-date following many years of austerity measures, including pay freezes on wages.
It is widely accepted that there are just not enough nurses, yet, figures are showing that numbers of qualified nurses have risen slowly over recent years. As of January 2020, there were 298,309 registered nurses employed across NHS trusts in the UK (Workforce Statistics, 2020), with growing numbers of male applicants. Following the recent positive portrayal of the nursing profession during COVID-19, it is hoped that larger numbers of aspiring nurses and nursing associates will join this highly rewarding profession; but without fairer pay, could this be a barrier to attracting interested applicants? It’s important that we maintain the momentum of a more accurate portrayal of nursing, keeping the importance of nursing and its standing as a highly skilled profession at the top of the agenda in parliament, within the sector and more widely in the public domain; with all past, present or potential patients. Let’s not forget what nurses have done for us throughout the pandemic and continue to deliver as we step back to normality.
Content retrieved from: https://ounews.co/education-languages-health/health/has-covid-19-changed-the-public-perception-of-nursing/.
Tagged Blog, COVID-19, NHS, NHS clap, Nursing, Nursing and Midwifery Council, OU, Pandemic, Public percecption, The Open University, WHO
How the pandemic has changed public perception of nursing, urgent study launched into the long-term effects of COVID-19 and academic share their frontline experiences – 6th July
COVID-19 and mobility, conflict and development – SOAS
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USARA Distinguished Speaker Series - BG (ret) Craig Nixon
Brigadier General Craig Nixon is a Distinguished Military Graduate of Auburn University, retired General Officer, successful entrepreneur, passionate supporter of veteran non-profit organizations, and a proud husband and father of four. He is a member of the Ranger Hall of Fame and was named as one of Auburn University at Montgomery’s Top Fifty Alumni in 2017.
Over a 29 - year Army career, Brigadier General Nixon served in a wide range of assignments including seven tours in special operations units. He spent over four years in combat including tours in Afghanistan and Iraq as the Director of Operations for Joint Special Operations Command and the Commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment. Following an assignment as the Director of Operations for United States Special Operations Command, he returned to Iraq as the Deputy Commanding General of 25th Infantry Division / Multi-National Division North, Iraq.
Brigadier General Nixon participated in numerous contingency and combat operations including the invasion of Panama, Task Force Ranger Operations in Somalia, Operation JOINT GUARDIAN in Bosnia, and seven deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. He is a combat decorated soldier whose awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, three Bronze Stars, and the Purple Heart. He has been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (2nd Award), Master Parachutist Badge (with Combat Jump Star) and Ranger Tab.
After retiring from the Army in 2011, he joined McChrystal Group as one of the original partners and helped create a highly-successful leadership consulting company. He left to become the CEO for ACADEMI and over three years thru a combination of organic growth and acquisitions built Constellis Group - one of the world’s largest private security firms. He currently balances his time between consulting, boards, episodic investing, coaching/mentoring, and non-profit organizations.
Webinar is over, you cannot register now. If you have any questions, please contact Webinar host: Joseph Sroka.
Hi there, You are invited to a Zoom webinar. When: Jan 15, 2021 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: USARA Distinguished Speaker Series - BG (ret) Craig Nixon Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qosHEXOESQegomiKjbummg After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. ---------- Webinar Speakers BG (ret) Craig Nixon
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Archaeology Professors on Pseudoarchaeology in Theosophy
Dominique Johnson 22 May 2018 3 Comments
There is no objection to teaching about Theosophy in an Archaeology college class. This will explain why archaeologists and paleontologists, or biologists would even do so, by explaining the views on evolution and human origins in the nineteenth-century Theosophical literature, where it all began. However, the idea Heinrich Himmler was inspired by Theosophy is highly misleading and cannot go uncorrected.
Popular myths and legends of antiquity were not based always purely on inventive fiction, and have demonstrated often times to be based on history. In the writings of Theosophist, Helena P. Blavatsky however are assertions made, rather than mere beliefs about an evolutionary tale of human origins, that contradicts Darwinian evolution. Blavatsky is aware of this when she states in The Secret Doctrine, that the partial truth is many of the secondary laws of the Darwinian evolution theory are unquestionable. She argues, there is design and designers, but these designers are not omnipresent, or omniscient, nor is it the God of Theology. It is further claimed, that secret fraternities possess lost manuscripts, and physical evidences of antiquity about human origins.
According to her:
“The keys to the Biblical miracles of old, and to the phenomena of modern days; the problems of psychology, physiology, and the many “missing links” which have so perplexed scientists, are all in the hands of secret fraternities.” (Helena P. Blavatsky, Isis Unveiled, Vol. 1., pp. 558-59)
“But how?” anyone would ask.
“There are, scattered throughout the world, a handful of thoughtful and solitary students, who pass their lives in obscurity, far from the rumors of the world, studying the great problem of the physical and spiritual universes. They have their secret records in which are preserved the fruits of the scholastic labors of the long line of recluses whose successors they are. The knowledge of their early ancestors, the sages of India, Babylonia, Nineveh, and the imperial Thebes; the legends and traditions commented upon by the masters of Solon, Pythagoras, and Plato, in the marble halls of Heliopolis and Sais; traditions which, in their days, already seemed to hardly glimmer from behind the foggy curtains of the past; — all this, and much more, is recorded on indestructible parchment, and passed with jealous care from one adept to another. We must bear in mind that authentic treatises upon ancient magic of the Chaldean and Egyptian lore are not scattered about in public libraries, and at auction sales. That such exist is nevertheless a fact.” (Helena P. Blavatsky, Isis Unveiled, Vol. 1, pp. 557-558)
Archaeologists therefore have tried this decade the most to do away with Blavatsky’s ideas, using her as an example in helping young archaeologists learn about pseudoarchaeology and pseudo-history. We will explain some ideas on evolution in the Theosophical writings.
Evolution and Emanationist Theory in Theosophy
In the Theosophical system nature evolves along three lines of evolution, and not just the physical. It is a story of evolution and cyclical time — the journey of Man, the Cosmos, and Anu.
Blavatsky’s Alternative Theory of Human Origins in Theosophy
In the Biological Evolution theory of Darwin, to account for mutations in organisms, humans did not evolve from monkeys; and although humans are more closely related to modern apes than to monkeys, humans didn’t evolve from apes either. The position in the Theory of Blavatskian Emanation has a concept of Evolution and Involution, and refers to a process not only biological, but cosmic. Evolution is seen as a process in nature arising from an innate impulse in all things within it to unfold their potential, and this includes the idea that this potential in man is not rooted, or limited to the animal-mammalian side. This root-source is divine, celestial, of the stars and beyond, and that man has a link to this source. Discovering this link initiates a spiritual evolutionary process. Blavatsky uses Occult Philosophy, Religions and Mythology to explain, if spiritual evolution exists, why?
The proponents of these theories hold, that man was not descended from anthropoids, but that the common ancestor of humanity is of a celestial origin; and neither is man (a) the result directly from the anthropoid, or (b) directly a creation of God as in the Biblical creation account. You can see why this immediately alarms Archaeologists. Blavatsky writes that “there are centres of creative power for every ROOT or parent species of the host of forms of vegetable and animal life. . . . In the creation of new species, departing sometimes very widely from the Parent stock, as in the great variety of the genus Felis — like the lynx, the tiger, the cat, etc. — it is the “designers” who direct the new evolution by adding to, or depriving the species of certain appendages, either needed or becoming useless in the new environments” (The Secret Doctrine, Vol. 2:732). The Secret Doctrine explains that the apes descended from an early root race, and the earlier types of the Root-races were not like us in form, but contained our germs or seeds.
So, it is said, that we descended from pre-physical humans, and them, from primitive, or advanced intelligences consequently themselves of divine origin. The Anthropogenesis myth of the Stanzas of Dyzan basically goes: the Gods, born from the celestial abode, reign on earth after merging in nascent man and emerging as the first Dynasties, Kings and Rulers, teaching mankind sciences, &c. Man, the Book of Dzyan commentaries tell us, in their nascent genealogy were beings without solid bones or flesh, the shadow-doubles (“chayyas”) of pre-human beings, or gods of a double nature (an astral body within an ethereal one). So, they held that the composition of their germs were that of an ethereal and astral type. Moreover, these ancestors were “lunar Beings.” The first human stock, it teaches, were projected by higher and semi-divine beings out of their own essences, and although they are called human, the human-type such as ours evolves much later. When Blavatsky is explaining this, she makes certain in the sentence, that she recognizes how crazy this sounds to anybody, as no one has ever really heard of such a process in any religion. Yet, it is found in Buddhism, Hinduism and Zoroastrianism.
Blavatsky’s claims and commentary on the book upon which her magnum opus is based, holds that Man preceded the mammalia of this Round, or geological epoch. Man began as an astral being, descended from lunar deities, who are, it calls our real ancestors. H.P.B. goes so much as to remind us in her Collected Writings on Reasons for Secrecy, that it was a forbidden secret of the initiates, regarding the knowledge that lunar beings inhabited the moon hiding in dark valleys. Therefore, it is natural, that skeptics and scientists of astronomy and archaeology react with repudiation.
Questionable Occult Phenomena
Occult phenomena in the Theosophical Society History have been contested in the past by skeptics, and these cases have included:
The Cup and Saucer;
Astral Bell Ringing;
The “doubling” Ring;
Olcott’s crystal he claimed to see visions in that was just glass;
Olcott’s Cures in Ceylon by Mesmerized Water and Hand-Passing;
Magnetism passed through objects like cigarettes;
Table-Rapping;
Raining inside rooms;
Letters falling from thin-air and hidden cupboards and floor openings, &c.
The result is that skeptics found it underwhelming, or explainable by hoax or by some mechanism of trickery. It isn’t what they found, so much as to what they just concluded, because it could be explainable by other means, rather than through spiritualist, or complex occult theory. Just take this into consideration.
A glimpse into the logic of the claims put forth as lost history:
“It is a tradition among Occultists in general, and taught as an historical fact in Occult philosophy, that what is now Ireland was once upon a time the abode of the Atlanteans, emigrants from the submerged island mentioned by Plato. Of all the British Isles, Ireland is the most ancient by several thousands of years. Inferences and “working hypotheses” are left to the Ethnologists, Anthropologists and Geologists. The Masters and keepers of the old science claim to have preserved genuine records, and we Theosophists — i.e., most of us, believe it implicitly. Official Science may deny, but what does it matter? Has not Science begun by denying almost everything it accepts now?” (Helena P. Blavatsky, Miscellaneous Notes, Collected Writings, Vol. 11, pg. 304)
Evidently, the tone is always in her writings — “this is a fact.”
Questionable Archaeology
Archaeologists have critiqued Theosophical theories, because H.P.B. and her colleagues believed in lost and submerged continent theories, made obsolete and now replaced by the theory of plate tectonics.
The assertions made in the The Secret Doctrine and Mahatma Papers:
Land-masses under the name of Lemuria (sunk under the waves by ancient disasters — earthquakes and subterranean fires);
The continent of Atlantis was said to have been later broken into seven peninsulas or islands of the Atlantic Ocean (the Atlantic Ridge being a remnant of this continent); and
Pre-human origins and lost civilizations of remote ages, which includes the existence of lost races of giants.
So, lets cover the last one, on lost races of giants thoroughly. It is important to understand, that some of the ancient philosophers we respect believed in these things, and often have claimed to be a witness, or to know. A clue, Blavatsky merely follows and attempts to explain. Although, her masters definitely believed races of giants existed, and H.P.B. found it suspicious, that many species were once giant, but the same theory is never applied to the human species. This is why she brought out the lore on the topic of Giants.
There have long existed myths, folklore, and archaeological digs and hoaxes surrounding the tales of giants. In India and amongst the Celts, Welsh, Greeks, Norse, Persians, and Jewish lore, there are legends of prehistoric races of giants, or the gigantic stature of humans. The main issue we take with the reason why people want to prove the existence of giants, is that they only want to view it from the Biblical viewpoint, concerning “fallen nephilim” and rephaim who were said to mate with humans. So, from this, the conspiracy derives about bloodlines, hollow earth theorists, etc. Just as stated, there are different myths and legends about the giants, and there is no reason to prioritize the Jewish account over the others myths.
The lore of giants remains apart of fringe history, due to the credulity of many of us, and those doubting it are ignored. It is considered, because of the serious claim made of it, by several classical renowned men, including K.H. and M. in the Mahatma Papers. No contemporary Theosophist ever seems to doubt it, or consider, that maybe these men were just convinced by the fantasy of the mythical lore, but this would discount the fact, that they say, they have or seen evidences of their existence. This is never satisfactory to people, who in suffering reputably the perception of being a crackpot by the larger scientific community or their peers.
Unfortunately, as stated, there are too many hoaxes that have already been uncovered, but remain passed around by “fringe historians” — that categorical designation of Hel, because of the coldness of scientists to such persons. For example, the Grand Canyon myth about a Tibetan-style underground civilization in the Arizona Gazette (April, 1909) is a hoax. The characters in the story never existed, and there is no evidence whatsoever that the cave in question ever existed, yet people still use that as some evidence.
Lost Races of Giants
The Secret Doctrine (1888) asserted things, even present-day students may think are absurdities, or unbelievable. Vincente Hao Chin in the Theosophical Encyclopedia, explains Blavatsky’s views, that ancient peoples and legends retain some fact of an ancient record of giants —
“Helena P. BLAVATSKY, in her The Secret Doctrine, affirms the factual existence of giants in history. She adduces several reasons for considering such an allegation:
a. Existence of fossil bones of giants. Blavatsky cites that while the science of her time still did not validate the existence of bones of giants, she mentions various reports of such fossils, even among well-known personages such as Tertullian, Philostratus, Pliny, Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus, Homer, Plutarch, etc., some of whom saw the bones themselves.
b. Traditions and legends — Blavatsky regards the myths and legends of various cultures as not entirely fictitious but based on facts. Examples are the Danavas and Daityas of the Hindus; the Rakshasas of Ceylon; the Titans and Cyclops of the Greeks; and the Emims, Og, and Anakim of the Jews.
c. Relics of civilizations — there exists today colossal statues in the Easter Islands and Afghanistan (the Bamian statues) whom Blavatsky said were the relics of the giants before. She stated that the Bamian statues, the tallest of which is 173 feet high, and which were destroyed in 2001 by the fundamentalist Taliban government, depicted the sizes of human beings in the different root races. The stones of Stonehenge, Carnac and West Hoadley were also mentioned as evidences that those who arranged them were themselves huge to be able to move stones as heavy as 500 tons.
d. Biological reversion — Blavatsky takes the existence of extremely tall people today as examples of biological reversion to earlier types. She quotes Darwin who wrote that when different types of animals are cross-bred, they “always betray a tendency to revert to the original type” (SD II:277).
e. Esoteric teachings — using her own sources, Blavatsky states that esoteric teachings affirm that the earlier root races of humans were of such heights that we would consider them as giants, particularly the Atlanteans. The reported skeletons in the mounds of America that measures up to 11 feet high, are, if true, those of the early 5th root race humanity. The Easter Island statues belong to the 4th root race. Humanity, she says, will eventually revert back to its gigantic stature in accordance with the law of cycles (CW XIII:134).
Giants Buried and Bones Pulverized under the Ocean
“And if the skeletons of the prehistoric ages have failed so far (which is positively denied) to prove undeniably in the opinion of science the claim here advanced, it is but a question of time. Moreover, as already stated, human stature is little changed since the last racial cycle. The Giants of old are all buried under the Oceans, and hundreds of thousands of years of constant friction by water would reduce to dust and pulverize a brazen, far more a human skeleton. But whence the testimony of well-known classical writers, of philosophers and men who, otherwise, never had the reputation for lying?” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol. 2., pg. 277)
Hidden Caves Full of the Skeletons of Giants
“And, as the very existence of those gigantic ancestors of ours is now questioned — though in the Himavats, on the very territory belonging to you we have a cave full of the skeletons of these giants — and their huge frames when found are invariably regarded as isolated freaks of nature (…)” (K.H., The Mahatma Letters, no. 1., October 15th, 1880.)
Bamian Statues are not Giant Buddhas
“It is at the entrance of some of these [viharas in Bamian] that five enormous statues, of what is regarded as Buddha, have been discovered or rather rediscovered in our century, as the famous Chinese traveller, Hiouen-Thsang, speaks of, and saw them, when he visited Bamian in the VIIth century (…) The Buddhist Arhats and Ascetics found the five statues, and many more, now crumbled down to dust (…) The largest is made to represent the First Race of mankind, its ethereal body being commemorated in hard, everlasting stone, for the instruction of future generations, as its remembrance would otherwise never have survived the Atlantean Deluge. The second — 120 feet high — represents the sweat-born; and the third — measuring 60 feet — immortalizes the race that fell, and thereby inaugurated the first physical race, born of father and mother, the last descendants of which are represented in the Statues found on Easter Isle; but they were only from 20 to 25 feet in stature at the epoch when Lemuria was submerged, after it had been nearly destroyed by volcanic fires. The Fourth Race was still smaller, though gigantic in comparison with our present Fifth Race, and the series culminated finally in the latter (…) These are, then, the ‘Giants’ of antiquity, the ante- and post-diluvian Gibborim of the Bible. They lived and flourished one million rather than between three and four thousand years ago.” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol. 2, pg. 338-340)
Classical Naturalist Philosophers believed in Races of Giants
“(…) we may turn to the scientific journals of 1858, which spoke of a sarcophagus of giants found that year on the site of that same city. As to the ancient pagan writers — we have the evidence of Philostratus, who speaks of a giant skeleton twenty-two cubits long, as well as of another of twelve cubits (…) nevertheless, it was that of a giant, as well as that other one discovered by Messecrates of Stire, at Lemnos — ‘horrible to behold,’ according to Philostratus.
Is it possible that prejudice would carry Science so far as to class all these men as either fools or liars?
Pliny speaks of a giant in whom he thought he recognised Orion, the son of Ephialtes (Nat. Hist., vol. VII., ch. xvi.). Plutarch declares that Sertorius saw the tomb of Antaeus, the giant; and Pausanias vouches for the actual existence of the tombs of Asterius and of Geryon, or Hillus, son of Hercules — all giants, Titans and mighty men.” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol. 2, pg.)
“(…) the Abbe Pegues (cited in de Mirville’s Pneumatologie) affirms in his curious work on ‘The Volcanoes of Greece’ that ‘in the neighbourhood of the volcanoes of the isle of Thera, giants with enormous skulls were found laid out under colossal stones(…).’” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol. 2, pg. 278)
“Certain excavations in America in mounds and in caves, have already yielded in isolated cases groups of skeletons of nine and twelve feet high. These belong to tribes of the early Fifth Race, now degenerated to an average size of between five and six feet. But we can easily believe that the Titans and Cyclopes of old really belonged to the Fourth (Atlantean) Race, and that all the subsequent legends and allegories found in the Hindu Puranas and the Greek Hesiod and Homer, were based on the hazy reminiscences of real Titans — men of a superhuman tremendous physical power(…).” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol. 2, pg. 293)
Cyclopean Sites are not Druidical
“(…) these gigantic monuments are all symbolic records of the World’s history. They are not Druidical, but universal. Nor did the Druids build them, for they were only the heirs to the cyclopean lore left to them by generations of mighty builders (…) both good and bad.” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol. 2, pg. 754.)
“(…) the rocking stones of Ireland, or those of Brinham, in Yorkshire (…) them are evidently the relics of the Atlanteans (…)” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol. 2, pg. 347)
“(…) had there been no giants to move about such colossal rocks [as in a Stonehenge], there could never have been a Stonehenge (…) Who then, if not giants, could ever raise such masses (especially those at Carnac and West Hoadley), range them in such symmetrical order that they should represent the planisphere, and place them in such wonderful equipoise that they seem to hardly touch the ground, are set in motion at the slightest touch of the finger, and would yet resist the efforts of twenty men who should attempt to displace them. We say, that most of these stones are the relics of the last Atlanteans.” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol. 2, pg. 341-343)
Easter Island Relics of Ancient Human Groups
“Easter Island was (…) taken possession of (…) by some Atlanteans; who, having escaped from the cataclysm which befell their own land, settled on that remnant of Lemuria only to perish thereon, when destroyed in one day by its volcanic fires and lava.” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol. 2, pg. 326)
“The Easter Island relics are, for instance, the most astounding and eloquent memorials of the primeval giants. They are as grand as they are mysterious; and one has but to examine the heads of the colossal statues, that have remained unbroken on that island, to recognize in them at a glance the features of the type and character attributed to the Fourth Race giants.” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol 2. pg. 224)
“(…) most of the gigantic statues discovered on Easter Island, a portion of an undeniably submerged continent — as also those found on the outskirts of Gobi, a region which had been submerged for untold ages — are all between 20 and 30 feet high. The statues found by Cook on Easter Island measured almost all twenty-seven feet in height, and eight feet across the shoulders.” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol. 2., pg. 331)
“The Easter Isles in ‘mid Pacific’ present the feature of the remaining peaks of the mountains of a submerged continent, for the reason that these peaks are thickly studded with Cyclopean statues, remnants of the civilization of a dense and cultivated people, who must have of necessity occupied a widely extended area.” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol. 2., pg. 322)
“‘Even at the date of Cook’s visit, some of the [Easter Island] statues, measuring 27 feet in height and eight across the shoulders were lying overthrown, while others still standing appeared much larger. One of the latter was so lofty that the shade was sufficient to shelter a party of thirty persons from the heat of the sun. The platforms on which these colossal images stood averaged from thirty to forty feet in length, twelve to sixteen broad (…) all built of hewn stone in the Cyclopean style, very much like the walls of the Temple of Pachacamac, or the ruins of Tia-Huanuco in Peru…. THERE IS NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT ANY OF THE STATUES HAVE BEEN BUILT UP, BIT BY BIT, BY SCAFFOLDING ERECTED AROUND THEM’ — adds the journal very suggestively — without explaining how they could be built otherwise, unless made by giants of the same size as the statues themselves.” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol. 2., pg. 337)
Jewish and Christian Lore on Giants
In the Book of Numbers 13:1 and 17 of the Jewish Torah, Adonai sends the tribes of Israel to go settle in Canaan, and ordering Moses to find it, the god says to Moses, to search the land, and this land is declared that of the “children of Israel.” Moses spied, and found they found the land abundant and rich, great walls, and a strong tribe, descendant of Anak, a giant (see Numbers 13:25-28; 30-32). After searching or scouting the land, they remark of the giants, or sons of Anak, that “we were in our sight as grasshoppers; and so we were in their sight.”
Biblical names associated with giant lore:
Amalekites
Amorites
Anakims
Ashdothites
Aviums
Avites
Caphtorims
Ekronites
Emins
Eshkalonites
Gazathites
Geshurites
Gibeonites
Giblites
Girgashites
Gittites
Hittites
Hivites
Horims
Horites
Jebusites
Kadmonites
Kenites
Kenizzites
Maachathites
Manassites
Perizzites
Philistines
Rephaims
Sidonians
Zamzummins (or Zuzim)
Zebusites
Speaking of giants, many giant versions of creatures today existed:
spiders (e.g., the bird-eating spider, up to 12-inch leg span)
moths (e.g., the Atlas moth, with a wing span of 11 inches)
centipedes (up to 13 inches long)
snails (e.g., the African giant snail, up to 15½ inches long)
frogs (e.g. Beelzebufo, 16 inches high)
dragonflies (e.g., Meganeura, with a wing span of more than 2½ feet)
rats (e.g., Josephoartigasia, with a conservatively estimated body mass of 750 pounds)
beavers (e.g., Trogontherium, about 7½ feet long)
scorpions (e.g., the sea scorpion Jaekelopterus, estimated at more than 8 feet long)
crabs (e.g., the giant spider crab, with a claw span more than 12 feet)
armadillos (e.g., Glyptodon, up to 13 feet long)
turtles (e.g., Archelon, up to 16 feet long)
fish (e.g., Xiphactinus, 19 feet long)
sloths (e.g., Megatherium, which stood about 20 feet)
worms (e.g., the giant earthworm, up to 22 feet long)
sea cows (e.g., Hydrodamalis, 25 feet or more in length)
crocodiles (e.g., Sarcosuchus, up to 40 feet long)
snakes (e.g., Titanoboa, over 42 feet long)
crustaceans (e.g., supergiant amphipods 10 times larger than those previously discovered)
squid (e.g., Mesonychoteuthis, 50 feet or more in length)
sharks (e.g., Rhincodon, up to 65 feet long)
octopuses with 100 foot long tentacles.
Blavatsky simply asked in The Secret Doctrine — “why not humans?”
Giants drowned with Atlantis
“It is not, however, by the dead-letter of the Hebrew Bible that we shall check the tenets of the Secret Doctrine; but point out, rather, the great similarities between the two in their esoteric meaning. It is only after his defection from the Neo-Platonists, that Clement of Alexandria began to translate gigantes by serpentes, explaining that “Serpents and Giants signify Demons.” (Genesis, chapter v.) We may be told that, before we draw parallels between our tenets and those of the Bible, we have to show better evidence of the existence of the giants of the Fourth Race than the reference to them found in Genesis. We answer, that the proofs we give are more satisfactory, at any rate they belong to a more literary and scientific evidence, than those of Noah’s Deluge will ever be. Even the historical works of China are full of such reminiscences about the Fourth Race.” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol. 2., pg. 280)
“That no gigantic skeletons have been hitherto found in the “tombs” is yet no reason to say there never were the remains of giants in them. Cremation was universal till a comparatively recent period — some 80, or 100,000 years ago. The real giants, moreover, were nearly all drowned with Atlantis. Nevertheless, the classics, as shown elsewhere, often speak of giant skeletons still excavated in their day.” (ibid.)
Pre-Historical Races of Giants believed in by Ancient World
“If we turn to the New World, we have traditions of a race of giants at Tarija on the eastern slopes of the Andes and in Ecuador, who combated gods and men. These old beliefs, which term certain localities (…) “the fields of giants,” are always concomitant with the existence of pliocene mammalia and the occurrence of pliocene raised beaches. “All the giants are not under Mount Ossa,” and it would be poor anthropology indeed that would restrict the traditions of giants to Greek and Bible mythologies. Slavonian countries, Russia especially, teem with legends about the bogaterey (mighty giants) of old; and their folklore, most of which has served for the foundation of national histories, their oldest songs, and their most archaic traditions, speak of the giants of old. Thus we may safely reject the modern theory that would make of the Titans mere symbols standing for cosmic forces. They were real living men, whether twenty or only twelve feet high. Even the Homeric heroes, who, of course, belonged to a far more recent period in the history of the races, appear to have wielded weapons of a size and weight beyond the strength of the strongest men of modern times.” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol. 2., pg. 754-55)
“That which is known and accepted is, that several races of gigantic men have existed and left distinct traces. In the journal of the Anthropological Institute (Vol. 1871, art. by Dr. C. Carter Blake) such a race is shown as having existed at Palmyra and possibly in Midian, exhibiting cranial forms quite different from those of the Jews. It is not improbable that another such race existed in Samaria, and that the mysterious people who built the stone circles in Galilee, hewed neolithic flints in the Jordan valley and preserved an ancient Semitic language quite distinct from the square Hebrew character — was of a very large stature. The English translations of the Bible can never be relied upon, even in their modern revised forms. They tell us of the Nephilim translating the word by “giants,” and further adding that they were “hairy” men, probably the large and powerful prototypes of the later satyrs so eloquently described by the patristic fancy; some of the Church Fathers assuring their admirers and followers that they had themselves seen these “Satyrs” — some alive, others pickled and preserved. The word “giants” being once adopted as a synonym of Nephilim, the commentators have since identified them with the sons of Anak. The filibusters who seized on the Promised Land, found a pre-existing population far exceeding their own in stature, and called it a race of giants. But the races of really gigantic men had disappeared ages before the birth of Moses. This tall people existed in Canaan, and even in Bashan, and may have had representatives in the Nabatheans of Midian. They were of far greater stature than the undersized Jews. Four thousand years ago their cranial conformation and large stature separated them from the children of Heber. Forty thousand years ago their ancestors may have been of still more gigantic size, and four hundred thousand years earlier they must have been in proportion to men in our days as the Brobdingnagians were to the Lilliputians.” (The Secret Doctrine. 1888. Vol. 2., pg. 755-56)
Geological Time-Scale of the Giant Atlanteans
Helena Blavatsky proposed the idea in The Secret Doctrine, that the root-races lived as far back as the Eocene period, and Olcott in Esoteric Buddhism stated, that the main continent of Atlantis submerged, and began in the Miocene period. At the time of the 1880’s, the Miocene period according to science was proposed to be 850,000 years, and H.P.B. proposed that the age of the Miocene period was millions of years ago, since the main continent of Atlantis perished. There existed giant Atlanteans, who perished 850,000 years ago, and their last remnant died out 11,000 years ago, she adds. The continent submergence coincided with the elevation of the Alps, and remnant pieces broken into islands sunk far into the ocean.
The Atlanteans come after the Lemurians who come first, and 700,000 years elapsed between the sinking of Lemuria (Third Epoch) and the beginnings of the Atlanteans (Fourth Epoch). What happened to Lemuria, K.H. stated, will be the fate of the British Islands and then following France, &c. When these lands reappear in the last seventh sub-race of the seventh Root race of this present humanity’s Epoch (the Fifth Root race or epoch), the lands of Lemuria and Atlantis will reappear, and very few seas will exist, with the reappearance and disappearance of land-mass.
This is all in accordance to an idea of land-mass shifting across great time and during the geological disturbances of the axis.
The earliest Paleolithic men, it is further stated, were of both Atlantean and mixed African and Atlantean stock. The Fifth root race, i.e., most of humanity today, referred to by the title of Aryan, are mostly descended from a common root ancestry, while the Dayak of Borneo, the Australoid and Capoid races are descended from Lemuro-Atlantean bloodlines. H.P.B. claims that the Lemurian epoch ended by the time of the early Eocene period, and their relics live on in some of the aborigines of the islands and continent of Australia. Scientifically, it is known that the Earth’s conditions 40 million years ago were not suitable for any human civilization to have existed. Blavatsky gives dates that are approximations of the geological ages, and then says however, that ‘not one of the exact numbers will ever be given out, as they pertain to the Mysteries of Initiations and to the Secrets of the occult influence of Numbers’ (Helena P. Blavatsky, Collected Writings, Vol. 13, pg. 306). Science has dated the Age of the Earth (Terra) to be over 4 BY. H.P.B. has stated based on Vedic astronomy — about 2 BY.
Archaeologists teaching College Students about Pseudoarchaeology however falsely claim Theosophy influenced Heinrich Himmler and the National Socialists
Archaeologists, and other scientists for the most part consider Theosophy as only worthy of space in their topics under pseudo-science and pseudo-archaeology category. There are good reasons they give, and bad inaccurate reasons they give, that create further confusion. What we want is the accurate criticism. So, one must say, criticism of the Theosophists is warranted, but when we observe the critiques and cons, it can be often dishonest and inaccurate, by asserting things about Theosophy, that are not true; rather than just elaborating on what ideas held by the Modern Theosophists are pseudo-archaeological.
Take this as a clear example in mischaracterizing the intent of the Theosophists:
“As we learned in class, the motivations for pseudoarchaeology are clear: money, fame, nationalism, religion, and romanticizing the past. We as humans prefer to have a sort of security and affirmation that we are not crazy. When certain benefits come into play, people learn to capitalize their beliefs in the most imaginative ways.
The mixture of danger and imagination plays a tragic story for the history of Theosophy. Theosophy as a belief system was actually created as a countermeasure for the popular religions of the time. In doing so, the founders of Theosophy ended up forming a new belief system which was quick to gain many followers. In separating humanity into seven root races, Theosophists formed a new explanation for racism and differential treatment based on looks. Their blatant claim that Aryans were evolved from Atlantians put the fifth race on a high pedestal of sophistication. Heinrich Himmler, as we learned in class, firmly believed in Theosophy and used the seven root races idea to help mastermind the most infamous Holocaust in History. [***all of this is false]
The founders of Theosophy had no scientific evidence to support their beliefs. They had simply taken their main principles from the other religions which they had deemed as untrue and wrong. In summation, the founders of Theosophy allowed their imaginations to cross into reality, forming a new belief system which was used and capitalized on, as an excuse for the mass murder of a certain “inferior race.” This is when the imagination can run too far and have too much freedom.” (Anthropology Class on The Dangers of Pseudoarchaeology)
“One such idea is Theosophy. Theosophists believe that no one religion is correct but rather you must combine all the ideas of religions in order to learn the Truth. (…) However, when you look deeper into this religion you see their beliefs are absurd and contain minimal historical evidence to back up their beliefs. They believe current humans have evolved from the fifth root civilization, from Atlantis. There is no archaeological evidence that leads us to believe that there ever was a continent of Atlantis. Despite the evidence backing up their beliefs there were still many people willing to follow this religions teachings. One such individual is Heinrich Himmler from the Nazi party. Himmler used his religion to justify his killing of people during the holocaust.” (Theosophy and the Nazis)
Theosophists did not form a new explanation for racism and differential treatment. This is false. H.P.B.† perpetually mocks the idea of categorizing peoples as superior and inferior. K.H. and M. mock the superiority-complex of the English, especially since these men are handing their philosophy in partial bits to English persons who consider them “niggers” and inferior. Many other brothers they noted did not want to help the “Pelings” (Tib. phyi-gling, foreigner). Lastly, the early Theosophist proponents rejected the idea that all religions are correct, or the same in that simplistic way it is understood today. Theosophists in my view, seem to have fallen into the same bad habits of logic that plague the creationists and religious. Scientists and Skeptics have taken great note of these habits and argumentation. One could say, that a “contemporary Theosophist” is nothing like Hypatia, or a modern scientist, unless that person is a scientist. The attempt made by Annie Besant and C.W. Leadbeater in their science circle, that led to the publishing of Occult Chemistry was some effort to alleviate this issue.
Nevertheless,
“(…) there is a silly arrogance in continuing to disdain something and to condemn it as false just because it seems unlikely to us. That is a common vice among those who think their capacities are above the ordinary.” (trans. by M.A. Screech; Michael de Montaigne, Essays: A Selection, I:27., pg. 74., Penguin Classics, 1993.)
Published by Dominique Johnson
View all posts by Dominique Johnson
National Socialism, Theosophy
anthropology, Archaeology, Fascism, Giants, Helena Blavatsky, Mythology, National Socialism, Nazis, pseudo-archaeology, pseudo-science, Science, skepticism, Theosophy
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“The Great Master’s Letter”: Chief Abbot of Transhimalaya Brotherhood explain Enlightenment and the Mission of Theosophy
The Swastika and the Star of David, a combined Theosophical Emblem
Jean Varenne on the Reactions to Julius Evola on Buddhism || From ‘Introduction’ to The Doctrine of Awakening
Good and Bad Adepts | The Force and its Sides in Star Wars and Theosophical Literature
The Spanish Alumbrados: Origin of the Term ‘Illuminati’
Sex in Occult Philosophy: Suffering, Desire, Sex and its Complications
The Nineteenth-Century Popularization of the Desatir | Theosophists, Ishraqis, and Zoroastrianism
Blavatsky and Christianity: Her Fundamental Christological Disputes and Her Defense of the Theosophical Position
John Tavener: “Hymn to the Mother of God”
Blood, the Universal Proteus: Significance of Blood in Ancient Magic and Religion according to Theosophy
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Adolf Hitler’s Religion and Ideological Influences in National Socialism
Gordon S. Wood on Republicanism and Monarchy in the Eighteenth-Century
Irregular Theosophist says:
The comment about beings “living in deep valleys on the moon” is an analogy used by Socrates, not Blavatsky’s viewpoint. (see BCW XIV, pp. 35-6, footnote, “The Secrecy of the Initiates” (?).) I think “anu (the ultimate atom)” is a neo-theosophical term, isn’t it?, as HPB said the “atom was infinitely divisible.” The “Lunar Ancestors” were ourselves of course, as were the races of giants. It takes a whole lot of study to get a decent handle on much of what Blavatsky discusses in the SD, which I don’t have personally. On Giants, some recent, and local books by Fritz Zimmerman I find really interesting. He takes local published Histories, newspaper articles, to collate accounts of hundreds of giant skeletons dug up in the Ohio Valley, much variety of types also. (“The Nephilim Chronicles, Fallen Angels in the Ohio Valley.”)
Some of the drawings in Leadbeater’s “Occult Chemistry” were plagiarized from an 1870’s book and author, as Victor Endersby brings out in a paper in his “Theosophical Notes.” Endersby was Engineer in “Who’s Who in Science.” I don’t think “Theosophical Notes” is online, but if you’d like to add him to your study material, I could send along a digital set. markrjaqua@gmail
I tried to give him the little credit I could. Guess not . . . Sad.
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San Francisco Officials Push to Reduce Jail Population to Prevent Coronavirus Outbreak
The public defender and district attorney both directed their staffs to keep individuals who are more vulnerable to the virus out of jail.
The San Francisco Hall of Justice.
(Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
Darwin BondGraham Mar 11, 2020
The two public officials on opposing ends of San Francisco’s criminal legal system are taking action to prevent the holding of individuals at greater risk of dying from the COVID-19 virus in the county’s jails.
San Francisco Public Defender Manohar Raju issued a statement Tuesday that his office’s attorneys “will begin filing motions to seek the immediate release of all clients being held pre-trial in San Francisco county jails who are at heightened risk for illness from coronavirus.” This includes people over 60 years of age and those with medical conditions like heart and lung disease. Raju called San Francisco’s jails “cramped and unsanitary.”
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin directed his prosecutors not to oppose motions to release pretrial detainees facing misdemeanor charges or drug-related felony charges if the person is deemed to pose no threat to public safety. Boudin also directed his staff to “strongly consider” credit for time served in plea deals so that more people can be released.
As of Tuesday, 14 people in San Francisco had contracted the coronavirus, according to county health officials. The city’s jails, which hold approximately 1,200 people each day, haven’t yet reported any cases of the dangerous virus.
Raju is also seeking earlier release for some who are already sentenced. In a letter sent to San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto on Tuesday, Raju requested the sheriff immediately assess all sentenced persons in the jails for immediate release on electronic monitoring and work release programs.
In a response to Raju, the sheriff wrote that “those who are under our care receive medical treatment that is among the best in the country.” The sheriff’s office told The Appeal that its jails have access to medical test kits through the Department of Public Health, and dedicated medical isolation units for those who show symptoms.
An enormous number of people are booked into California’s jails each day, making it quite possible the coronavirus will soon appear behind bars where many are forced to live in close proximity with hundreds of strangers, often in unsanitary conditions.
Across San Francisco Bay, the Santa Rita Jail located in Alameda County, one of the nation’s largest with an average daily population of 2,600, has already been dealing with two influenza incidents this year. In February, three people tested positive for Influenza Type A, a viral infection of the respiratory system that can sometimes require hospitalization.
Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office told The Appeal that the incident resulted in a quarantine affecting 70 people. The quarantine was lifted after no others tested positive, but on Monday another detainee was found to have Influenza Type A, and a new quarantine affecting 50 people is in place.
Kelly said the flu outbreak was good preparation in advance of the coronavirus, and that the jail and county medical staff are taking extra steps to screen people booked in the jail.
“We know if we get one COVID case in the jail it probably is going to bring a major disruption to the criminal justice system in Alameda County,” Kelly said. “It will affect the courts, jail, and officers on the street who may not be able to book arrestees into our jail.”
Many people in jail are also at greater risk of dying from the virus.
“We’re dealing with a very at-risk population with a lot of underlying health problems,” Kelly said. “Some have compromised immune systems, HIV, cancer, and hepatitis. This is like the most at-risk group in society who ends up in jail.”
Santa Rita recently added a nurse in the jail’s public intake area to screen people for symptoms of coronavirus as they arrive. The Sheriff’s office has also reached out to local police asking them to use their discretion and not book people into the jail for misdemeanors, if the person isn’t a threat to public safety.
Other California jails are also bracing themselves for the COVID-19 virus.
In Los Angeles, site of the largest jail system in the nation, the sheriff’s department announced plans to closely monitor and isolate those who show symptoms. Those who test positive will be relocated to the jail’s medical ward. The Los Angeles jails have yet to report any COVID-19 cases. The Los Angeles Department of Public Health will also monitor people after they are released from jail for symptoms, according to a press release from the sheriff.
Incarceration Chesa Boudin Coronavirus COVID-19 COVID19 jail health care Jails Manohar Raju Paul Miyamoto pretrial detention San Francisco San Francisco District Attorney's Office
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By BlondeAtTheFilm on October 26, 2018 • ( 7 Comments )
Blonde Ice (1948)
via: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blonde_Ice Unless otherwise noted, all images are my own.
“Ice in her veins…icicles in her heart!” It’s time for Blonde Ice (1948), a film noir that you can watch at TheFilmDetective.tv starting November 1 as part of Noir November!
The Film Detective is a really cool site with a large library of classic films available to stream on a bunch of apps (Amazon Fire, Roku, Apple TV, etc.) and online. You can watch the movies for free with ads, or subscribe for $3.99 a month or $34.99 a year for an ad-free experience. Click here to learn more about the site and check out their selection of movies here.
I was delighted when The Film Detective asked me to review one of their new noir titles, and extra pleased when I got to choose Blonde Ice. The movie was based on Whitman Chambers’ 1938 novel Once Too Often, though it took ten years to get to the screen. It’s a B-movie noir (made with a smaller budget and intended to be the second half of a double feature) produced by Martin Mooney Productions. Mooney was a screenwriter and producer who also produced one of the most famous B-movies, Detour (1945).
Fun fact: some of the large studios had production units that cranked out B-movies to accompany their A-films, but there were also studios that only made B-pictures, like Monogram or Republic Pictures. Blonde Ice appears to be the only movie made by “Martin Mooney Productions,” though it wasn’t uncommon for small companies to make just a few B films before folding or re-organizing under a different name.
Blonde Ice is a great pick for Noir November because it is packed with film noir tropes and style. Film noir literally translates to “black film,” and was first used in 1946 when French critic Nino Frank wrote an article called “A New Police Genre: The Criminal Adventure.” Frank wrote about the Hollywood films Laura (1944), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and Double Indemnity (1944), among others, noting their brutality, darkness and cynicism, and labelling them “film noir.” (The term had been used in France in the late 1930s to describe poetic realist movies like Le Quai des brumes (1938), but most agree that Frank was the first to use it in its modern, Hollywood sense).
It’s not surprising that it was a French critic who called attention to the dark tendencies of these American movies; after all, Hollywood films had not been shown in France during WWII, but when the war ended, French theaters were flooded with a backlog of Hollywood imports. This circumstance helped critics like Frank detect themes and tendencies that were less noticeable to Americans who didn’t have the option of watching Double Indemnity and The Maltese Falcon back to back, for example.
Anyway, the term film noir stuck, though it remains an incredibly sticky, contested label. Some scholars and critics refuse to grant film noir the status of “genre,” preferring terms like “tendency,” “category,” “mood,” “phenomenon,” “cycle” or “style.”
Part of the problem with the term film noir is that it was only applied retroactively; unlike musicals or gangster films, Hollywood studios did not have a category of “film noir,” and the filmmakers never described their films as such. Instead, most canonical film noirs were called “melodramas” when they were produced.
Low-key lighting in Double Indemnity
But there are certain characteristics that shout (or suggest) film noir: an urban setting, a private detective, a femme fatale, an anti-hero, crime, a mood of cynicism and pessimism, corruption, moral ambiguity, fatalism, violence and brutality, erotic elements, a hardboiled style of narrative and dialogue, flashbacks, voiceover narration, a dreamlike quality, and sometimes a hopelessly tangled plot.
Film noir also has a certain visual style, which includes expressionist flair (composition, angles, etc., visit The Lost Weekend for more on German Expressionism), and iconography like rain-slicked city streets, neon signs, Venetian blinds, and cigarettes. But perhaps the most notable element of film noir style is low-key lighting, which means darker-than-normal photography. (For more on that, visit my Double Indemnity post.)
Blonde Ice has a healthy dose of film noir qualities: a femme fatale, an anti-hero, violence, pessimism, corruption, expressionist photography, low key lighting, Venetian blinds, hardboiled newspapermen, gruff policemen, plenty of cigarettes, and psychological themes. It’s also a poor man’s Double Indemnity in a lot of ways, but I’ll get to that later.
To the film! We open at a wedding in a lovely mansion in San Francisco. As I wrote about in History Through Hollywood: Love, it was very common to be married at home. In this case, it’s the wealthy groom’s house.
Les Burns (Robert Paige) and Al Herrick (James Griffith) discuss the bride, Claire Cummings (Leslie Brooks), as they wait for her appearance. Both men are reporters at the newspaper where Claire wrote the social column, and both were once in relationships with her. In fact, she gave both men cigarette cases engraved with the same message, just a different name. As we learn through the movie, she probably bought the cases in bulk and had an engraver on standby to fill in the names!
As Claire walks down the stairs at the beginning of the ceremony, she gives Les and Al knowing looks. So we know she is no good! But in case we missed it, our first glimpse of Claire are her feet in sexy sandals. So she’s definitely a bad lady!
Usually, when women are introduced “feet first,” there is something shady going on. Remember Phyllis Dietrichson’s (Barbara Stanwyck‘s) appearance in Double Indemnity?
Fun fact: you may recognize Leslie Brooks from Cover Girl (1944) where she plays a frenemy of Rita Hayworth. This was Brooks’ biggest role, but she retired from movies in 1949.
Brooks on the bottom right
Anyway, as the wedding ceremony gets underway, Claire looks away from her husband-to-be, Carl Hanneman (John Holland) to watch Les leave the room. Not great when the bride can’t stay focused on her fiancé during their wedding ceremony!
Things get even worse (for Carl) just after the ceremony when Claire sneaks away to talk with Les on the terrace. She tells him she still loves him and fully intends to continue their relationship despite her marriage. “I’ll think about you on my honeymoon…” she says as she embraces him. That’s cold!
Then things go from inappropriate to ridiculously inappropriate with a big old smooch. In full view of the wedding reception. Three minutes after the ceremony.
You can watch the scene here:
Carl sees his new wife kiss Les, but she tells him she was just kissing him goodbye, and really they have a brother-sister relationship, so don’t worry! Carl is an idiot, and Claire is very pretty, so he believes her.
Off they go on their honeymoon to Los Angeles, but it’s a rocky start. She loves spending her rich husband’s money, but he’s a thrifty man and her profligacy troubles him.
Also, she wasn’t kidding about continuing her affair with Les. If you thought Claire’s decision to kiss her ex-boyfriend at her wedding reception in full view of her new husband was bad, get ready for this doozy. She writes a love letter to Les but hides it under a letter to a girlfriend when Carl enters the room.
She hands him the papers, assuming her “transparency” about the letter will relieve Carl’s suspicions. But then he drops the letters and sees the one to Les. Nice job, Claire. She’s bad, but not very smart.
Carl decides to file for divorce, and says he will use the love letter to prove adultery and thus get out of paying any alimony. Claire is horrified. She was fine with a divorce, but wanted that sweet cash!
Carl goes back to San Francisco alone. But that night, Claire pays a crooked pilot named Blackie Talon (Russ Vincent) to fly her to San Francisco in secret. The movie cuts from the airport back to hotel the next morning, so we don’t know what exactly she did on her trip…but it probably wasn’t good.
The next day, Claire calls Les and says that Carl had to go to New York on business for the week. She wants to come back to San Francisco and spend her free days with Les, so he arranges a flight for her and even drives her home to Carl’s mansion.
When they arrive, Les makes a grisly discovery: Carl’s body in the living room. He is dead from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. But we know better. Just look at Claire’s face as she watches a shaken Les call the cops!
Now Carl is out of the way, and as his widow, Claire gets everything. And this money was all she cared about, so she is feeling pretty good.
But the cops realize there is something fishy going on. There were no fingerprints on the gun and no powder burns, but they don’t have enough evidence to charge Claire, thanks to her (false) alibi of being in Los Angeles. And there isn’t any strong evidence tying Les to the murder, either, though he is an obvious suspect. Venetian blinds make great shadows, don’t they? So very noir.
Over the next few weeks, Claire and Les pick up their love affair as though her week-long marriage never happened. But Carl’s money isn’t enough for Claire. Now she wants position, and she knows who can provide it: a big time lawyer named Stanley Mason (Michael Whalen) who is currently running for Congress. She spots him when she is at dinner with Les, but the presence of her current lover doesn’t inconvenience her in the slightest. And like all good femme fatales, she has a certain something that draws men to her and renders them pliable and stupid.
She tells Stanley she needs a good lawyer to handle the transfer of Carl’s estate, and he agrees to help her. But soon their relationship becomes much more than attorney-client.
Meanwhile, the police come after Les for the murder of Carl, and he also gets suspicious as he learns more about the holes in the suicide theory. Eventually, he finds out about the secret flight Claire took with Blackie. He confronts her, which leads to this amazing exchange:
Hurray for saying the title in the movie itself! This is one element that makes me call this movie the poor man’s Double Indemnity. It gets corny and over the top in a way Double Indemnity and the best film noirs don’t. Even at its most intense, Double Indemnity remains spooky and cool, and doesn’t verge into the obvious or silly. That film, like other classic noirs such as Out of the Past (1947) or The Maltese Falcon have something mystical and mythical about them, and also about the femme fatale at the center of the story.
The dangerous but fascinating woman exercises a strange and powerful hold on the men around her. Claire sort of has that, but not in the way that Phyllis Dietrichson or Kathie Moffat in Out of the Past do.
We don’t really see Claire’s power or understand why these men fall for her. Instead, she says things like, “They say the female of the species is deadlier than the male,” rather than acting it out in a sexy, mystical way. And we know that Claire is bad from the very beginning, but we never get more depth to her character besides learning that she wants money and power. She’s just evil.
Back to the film! That same evening, Blackie, the pilot, resurfaces to blackmail Claire. He needs cash, so he threatens to tell the cops about flying her to San Francisco unless she pays up.
Claire gives him some jewelry and hopes to never see him again. Then she goes about her romancing of Stanley. At dinner one evening, the couple is joined by a psychologist, Dr. Kippinger (David Leonard) who sees through Claire. Finally, a psychological element enters in the form of a very perceptive, stereotypical shrink! He even has a vaguely German accent.
Anyway, the police eventually close Carl’s murder because they can’t find strong evidence that would convict Claire or Les. So she is free to continue her life, though Blackie pulls her back into the morass when he shows up once again. So she kills him. NBD.
Then she goes back to her public life and stands by Stanley when he wins the election. At the victory party, he announces that they are going to be married. Les is horrified: he is losing Claire once again to a rich, powerful man.
But just after the announcement, Claire finds Les and promises him she still loves him. It’s a replay of her wedding to Carl, down to Stanley walking in on Claire and Les kissing. Will she never learn?
Amazing expressionistic cinematography with Claire’s face in the extreme foreground!
Anyway, Stanley decides to break off their engagement. He also mentions that Dr. Kippinger had just warned him about Claire. Unfortunately, he doesn’t take the warning very seriously. As soon as he turns his back on her, she stabs him. No one leaves Claire! Then she waits for Les to return and pins the murder on him.
The police arrest him, but Dr. Kippinger and a few others know that Claire is the culprit. So they confront her in her office at the newspaper.
But guess what? Claire has already written her confession explaining that she killed Carl, Blackie, and Stanley. It’s unclear why she has decided to come clean, so it’s quite a shock. But she wants to take one more life before she is finished, and pulls a gun on the doctor. In the struggle, she shoots herself accidentally. It’s all very exciting.
And weird, because after she dies, Les and a bunch of other people file into the office and stare at her dead body. So much for crime scene contamination. Eventually, it’s just Les looking down at her, though he too leaves and shuts the door on her corpse! So strange. But very noir, I suppose.
This movie was in production for a few weeks in February 1948 and premiered soon after on May 20 (most B-movies were made very fast). Motion Picture Herald‘s review was lackluster. The paper called Blonde Ice a “routine murder yarn” that should “go over in those situations where patrons enjoy crime films.” Variety was more critical. Its review claimed that “Miss Brooks, who has the looks and enough ability for better roles, is surrounded by a fairly capable cast that appears to have been misdirected by Jack Bernhard. The story, of course, is too implausible to make much on the screen” and “Vehicle screams its limited production values.” Finally, the movie “has little for the marquee excepting the title and lurid pictures. Film, at best, is only lesser dual fare.”
Fun fact: speaking of “dual fare,” the movie played as the second part of a double bill with several other movies, including Easter Parade, The Emperor Waltz, and The Street With No Name.
via: The San Francisco Examiner, June 29, 1948
via: The San Bernardino County Sun, Aug 15, 1948
The Oakland Tribune, July 16, 1948
Another fun fact: Box Office magazine recommended exhibitors exploit the relationship between the movie and the book, Once Too Often, by creating tie-ins with libraries and bookstores. “Blonde Ice” hairdos and makeup at salons were another advertising recommendation, as was the rather farfetched “Blonde Ice” cocktail or ice cream sundae.
I love the suggested catchlines, too: “There was Evil in her Tender Touch…Death in her Warm Embrace…And the Men in her Life were Marked for a Tragic, Pitiless Doom.” No beating around the bush here!
via: Box Office, May 22, 1948
Blonde Ice will be available to stream on The Film Detective’s site and apps on November 1 as part of Noir November. As I mentioned, you can watch the movie for free with ads, or subscribe for $3.99 a month or $34.99 a year for an ad-free experience. Click here to learn more about the site and check out their selection of movies here.
For more, follow me on Twitter, tumblr, pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. As always, thanks for reading! And happy Noir November!
Categories: Drama, Film Noir
Tagged as: 1940s, Film Noir, Jack Bernhard, John Holland, leslie brooks, Martin Mooney Productions, Michael Whalen, Robert Paige, Russ Vincent
I love these B Noirs where there’s not much budget but they make up for it with elegant sets, very nice lighting and backdrops, and great one liners. Thanks for this recommendation! Pete
BlondeAtTheFilm says:
Yes, they’re fascinating! Hope you enjoy it!
I love watching this genre of film because of how the characters are portrayed. I really like when women are depicted as powerful personas instead of the submissive ones pictured in some movies.
True, noir has some amazing, powerful women. Often they end up dead or behind bars, but they’re very active villains!
Do you have a favourite villain?
Probably Phyllis Dietrichson in DOUBLE INDEMNITY
Müjde says:
She was really an evil woman. Thank you very much.
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Former telecommunications exec joins economic development team
By The Business Times Staff on January 24, 2012 Comments Off on Former telecommunications exec joins economic development team
A former telecommunications executive has joined the leadership team at the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (COEDIT).
Teresa Taylor serves as an executive advisor focusing on statewide industry growth.
Taylor previously served as chief operating officer of Qwest Communications based in Denver prior to the acquisition of the company by CenturyLink last year. The $12.2 billion deal combined the third- and fourth-largest traditional telephone companies in the United States.
“I welcome the opportunity to bring together the many resources available to deliver the message that Colorado is open for business,” Taylor said.
Ken Lund, executive director of COEDIT, said Taylor’s experiences align with the goals of the office and a new statewide economic development initiative. “Her experience in the technology, media and telecom sectors is a tremendous asset as we foster a more competitive Colorado to drive job growth,” Lund said. “We are delighted to have her join our efforts to retain, build and recruit the industries key to Colorado’s economy.”
At Qwest, Taylor supervised the operations of a corporation with 30,000 employees and $12 billion in annual revenue.
Taylor also serves on the Global Leadership Council for the Colorado State University College of Business as well as the Colorado Technology Association. Her past positions include appointments to the Colorado State Technology Institute and Colorado State Job Cabinet.
Former telecommunications exec joins economic development team added by The Business Times Staff on January 24, 2012
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Simon Horobin
Professor of English Language and Literature, University of Oxford
Simon Horobin is Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Magdalen College. He is the author of The English Language: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2018), How English Became English (OUP, 2016), and Does Spelling Matter? (OUP, 2013). He has appeared as an English language expert on radio and television programmes such as BBC Breakfast, Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show and Radio 4's Stephen Fry's English Delight. His latest book Bagels, Bumf, and Buses: A Day in the Life of the English Language (OUP, 2019) looks at the fascinating histories of everyday words.
Bagels, Bumf, and Buses: A Day in the Life of the English Language, Oxford University Press
The English Language: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press
How English Became English, Oxford University Press
Does Spelling Matter?, Oxford University Press
@SCPHorobin
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A Savage Journey beyond the Event Horizon of the Singularity
The Examined Life
“Everyone takes the limits of his own vision for the limits of the world.”
Postcards from the Edge of the Internet
February 8, 2017 jimdroberts1 Comment
At the start of this week I was thrown a curve ball and caught on the hop, the careless mixing of the metaphors alone left me conjuring up an image of one of baseball’s more surreal moments. I was totally unprepared when I was asked, at very short notice, to cover the “Global Citizenship” class for a few weeks. Although it’s a subject that I’ve never taught before, I would be teaching it to a class of grade twelve students that I have taught English to for the previous three years, because of this I had no qualms about covering the class until a replacement teacher could be found.
Having had no time to plan a lesson, or for preparing any materials, my plan had to be formulated during the ten-minute motorcycle journey to work. I decided that the first week we would have a debate, and I allowed the students to decide the topic from a choice of three:
Is there a difference between being a global citizen and a citizen of your own country?
Is technology causing us to become less human?
Does the freedom of speech mean that all opinions should be respected equally?
The students narrowed it down to between numbers two and three, which pleased me as these were the two questions that I had given the time and effort to thinking of on my way to work, the third one being someone else’s idea that I had taken the time and effort to steal off of the internet.
Eventually, the students decided that they would discuss the topic of whether technology was causing people to become less human. From initial conversations, it became apparent that the students’ opinion was split evenly between those who felt technology was causing us to become less human and those who felt that it wasn’t. As I allowed the students to research and prepare their arguments, I casually circulated around the room in an awkward manner that only a 40-year-old male with little self-awareness can. As I listened to their conversations with one another I couldn’t help but get involved. What became apparent very quickly to me was how at ease both groups were with the role that they allowed technology to play in their lives. Most students felt that conversations over a webcam lacked none of the intimacy of a conversation conducted face to face. A number of students expressed the idea that they actually felt less awkward communicating through digital formats, whether it be text messaging, emails, chat-rooms, or webcams. After a short amount of time, both groups had discussed the proposition and despite the fact that they were meant to be preparing for a debate, they had concluded that progress is good, or at least that progress is inevitable so you might as well enjoy it, and that technology is inextricably linked to progress and therefore it too must be good. The arguments of both groups had run aground on a sandbar of technological apathy. It occurred to me that these students experience the world almost as much through technology, as they do through any of their other senses. To them discussing the benefits of technology was akin to discussing the benefits of using your eyes. It appeared to me that technology had almost become an extension of their senses, and debating whether it’s beneficial was, to the students, redundant. When I asked them whether a conversation over a webcam had less value than a face to face discussion, they looked at me in a way that was at first confused, but then gave way to sympathy as they realized how the teacher was “so old, and just doesn’t get it”. When at last they were able to comprehend the meaning of what I had just asked them, they just casually responded that there were no advantages to having conversations face to face and that a webcam is perfectly capable of capturing the essence of communication, maybe even of what it means to be human. I looked disbelievingly at them and asked for clarification, which they provided for me by rolling their eyes and returning my look of disbelief wrapped up in an air of unhealthy cynicism.
It started to become obvious to me that the teacher and the student were looking at the same issue from two totally different perspectives. Being forty years old, I had seen computers evolve from machines that had struggled to do anything more advanced than the most basic mathematical calculations. This had left me cautious and skeptical as to their ability to replace, or even enhance, the fundamental requirements necessary for meaningful human communication. These students, however, expressed no reservations about embracing any technology into their daily routine, trusting that its benefits will always outweigh any problems it might create. Because after all, technology is progress and progress is good.
I was starting to feel my age, and so, as I withdrew from their conversations I started to understand how alienated my lack of faith in technology had left me, how much the world had moved on during the time I’d spent researching Japanese pornography.
A metaphor of what it feels like when one of your students answers a question with an unexpected and inappropriate response.
Technology Failures
Back in the early nineties, I was a teenager struggling with my sense of identity. I had a low self-esteem and I was trying desperately to figure out who I was. I was insecure and unsure of my place, my purpose and my reason for being in the world. In short, it was a challenging time. Some would have called it teenage angst, others might have seen it as an existential crisis, when in all reality it was probably nothing more than just good old fashioned puberty.
The world was moving quickly, the dawn of the digital age and the personal computer was upon us. As a student, I was told that my ability to get a job, to fend for myself, to provide for my family, would be inextricably linked to my ability to use a computer. Failure to adapt to the computer revolution would result in my becoming a technological pariah, pushed to the fringes of society and laughed at. While I could understand the potential of computers and the role that they would inevitably go on to play in society, my predisposition for self-loathing wasn’t helped by the fact that somebody, somewhere, had decided that the public would be more likely to accept the digital revolution, if it was presented to them through the medium of talking pieces of inanimate office stationary. Struggling to appreciate your sense of self-worth becomes infinitely more challenging once you start taking advice from a narcissistic paperclip that talked down to you. I was never that scared of using computers, I was open to the idea, and could even see the benefits of using them to complete my school work. What I did become affraid of was being second-guessed by a paperclip with all the personality of sundried fart, and the agenda of a dogmatic demagogue. Who can ever forget the irritatingly malevolent, froideur bastard Clippy? A character dreamt up by the twisted mind of a perverse, failed software engineer, somewhere in rainy Seatle, entombed deep in the bowels of Microsoft. The instant I would start to type something Clippy would appear in my field of vision at some sinisterly oblique angle, questioning me as to what my purpose was, whether my intentions were aligned to that of the software. Clippy went about his job with the sort of enthusiasm and zeal of a Nazi on his first day at work, guarding a concentration camp.
What made Clippy particularly malevolent was how his abhorrent personality had been disguised by the form of a doe-eyed paperclip. His appearance succeeded in fooling many of my friends, but I knew a bastard when I saw one. And so it was that I embarked upon several years of psychological warfare with a talking paperclip, and just when I appeared to be getting the upper hand Clippy called in the reinforcements.
Admittedly Clippy had at least gone to the trouble of enlisting the help of sentient beings to undermine my fragile confidence, but there was something not quite right about the fact that I’d gone from taking the advice of a paperclip to taking advice from the twentieth century’s foremost physicist Einstein over a relatively brief period of time. Inevitably this led me to question the likelihood of Einstein not just having a talking paperclip as a colleague, but also a talking cat and a pagan wizard. All this ended up doing was for me to develop a heightened suspicion towards any of Einstein’s theories.
Nearly thirty years on and the memory of Clippy lingers and can still be the cause of a restless night’s sleep, so enduring has been the pernicious nature of the damage he wrought upon my fragile psyche. The confidence of a thirteen-year-old boy can’t be expected to wrestle with both Oedipus and Clippy in some kind of bizarre, Freudian tag team at a morally corrupt Wrestlemania, whilst a fanatical crowd bays for the youth to be emasculated by random pieces of office stationery.
At the beginning of the 1990’s computers were being used by students more and more for school work. For example, all Business Studies projects had to be submitted after being typed up on a word processor. Today that seems like no big deal, but you have to remember what the ‘technology’ was like back then, what with the continuous feed printer paper with the tear off holes down the side. In essence, it was little different than handing your ideas in on a piece of high tech toilet paper. I remember my parents bought me a word processing program for my computer, the Commodore Amiga. Now the Amiga was primarily a computer for playing games, and using it to produce academic work would today be comparable to trying to do your accounts on a Sony Playstation. Of course, the neo-Luddites in society did their usual thing and claimed that spell check would destroy people’s ability to spell, leaving society as nothing more than a severely dyslexic, gibbering mess. Of course ten years earlier they had been shouting and screaming similar things about how the calculator would render us incapable of performing even the most simple mental arithmetic ever again. If history has been able to tell us one thing, it’s that those who try and stand in the way of progress run a high risk of ending up looking like a complete arse.
Generally speaking, the track record of man to predict the impact that a technology will have on society in the future has often at best been hit and miss. Take for example Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, who completely failed to grasp the full potential his invention had to change the world when he said:
“One day there will be a telephone in every major city in the USA”
Worst tech predictions of all time from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/0/worst-tech-predictions-of-all-time/
Thomas Watson, 1943
The president of IBM from 1914 to 1956, Watson said he thought there was a world market “for maybe five computers” and “5,000 copying machines”. Thankfully for IBM, Watson’s prediction was woefully inaccurate.
Sir William Preece
In the 1890s Preece, the chief engineer at the British Post Office, said “the Americans have need of the telephone, but we do not. We have plenty of messenger boys.”
How I would have loved to meet this man. You know that his idea would have worked as well given the threat of a fatal beating dispensed to any tardy delivery boy. It was this mentality that put the ‘great’ into Great Britain.
John Henry Pepper
A Victorian-era celebrity scientist, Pepper advised people not to sell their gas shares in the 1870s as “the electric light has no future”
If Messrs. Watson, Preece and Pepper weren’t able to see the technological benefits of the internet, telephone, and electricity respectively, I can only speculate as to the future they would have predicted for Clippy. They’d have probably endorsed him as a candidate for president of the United States.
And finally, you might have been wondering about the title, yes I did intend for it to be a reference to Carrie Fischer, the first childhood crush of a generation of boys in the mid-eighties. She made it possible for many of us to understand that people with a significant mental illness can still lead a somewhat productive life; sometimes.
Clippy, Education], Gonzo, Humour, UncategorizedClippy, computers, Microsoft 97, neurosis, Office Assistant, technology
Chicken Soup for the COVID Soul (Part II) – Surviving COVID-19, and Knowing where to Find Hope
Chicken Soup for the Soul (Part I) – Surviving COVID-19, Isolation, Race Wars, Rioting, and the Inevitable Economic Collapse
Ozymandias - Percy Shelley's Advice on Pandemics, Race Wars and the Arrow of Time
Wilder Fury 2 - More Wild More Furious
Divas, Primadonnas, Narcissists, and Teachers
Ruiz Vs. Joshua - A Gold Rush in a New Golden Era of Heavyweight Boxing
Lost in the Twittersphere - Trapped inside a Humanist Echo Chamber with the Global Village Idiot
Prince Andrew Impersonates David Brent in Covert Audition for Britain's Got Talent
A Country in Chaos - Fueling the Flames with Democratic Disaster
Send in the Clowns – The Evolution of the Joker – A Jungian Perspective
Jibberish and ramblings of a dumb beast
Alternative right Alt Right American madness blood sports Boxing Capitalism chicken soup Civil liberties Conspiracy theory consumerism coronvirus COVID-19 Current affairs Education] Gonzo Gonzo journalism Hate crime Humour internet Internet privacy ISIS Islam Milo Yiannopoulos News Satire societal collapse technology U.S.A UK Politics Uncategorized
I love to receive comments, the ruder and more outrageous the better. You never feel more alive than you do after offending someone
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E-Mail : incigumus sabanciuniv.edu
Title : Faculty Member
Ph.D. in Economics, University of California, Los Angeles, 2006 M.A. in Economics, University of California, Los Angeles, 2003 B.A. in Economics, Bogazici University, 2000 B.A. in Management, Bogazici University, 2000
University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Economics, 2001-2006 University of California, Los Angeles, Anderson School of Management, 2005
Areas of Interest : International Macroeconomics, International Finance
2018 Bilim Akademisi BAGEP Ödülü - Bilim Akademisi 2018
Gümüş, İnci (2017) "How costly are borrowing costs? An analysis of alternative fiscal policies during crises", Macroeconomic Dynamics, Vol.21, No.5, 1141-1157 (SSCI)
Bahadır, Berrak and Gümüş, İnci (2016) "Credit decomposition and business cycles in emerging market economies", Journal of International Economics, Vol.103, 250-262 (SSCI)
Demiralp, Seda and Demiralp, Selva and Gümüş, İnci (2016) "The state of property development in Turkey: facts and comparisons", New Perspectives on Turkey, Vol.55, 85-106 (SSCI)
Gümüş, İnci (2016) "Fiscal uncertainty and currency crises", Review of Development Economics, Vol.20, No.3, 637-650 (SSCI)
Gümüş, İnci (2016) "The relationship between sovereign spreads and international reserves: does the exchange rate regime matter?", Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Vol.52, No.3, 658-673 (SSCI)
Gümüş, İnci and Taşpınar, Emine Zeren (2015) "Real exchange rate volatility and business cycles in emerging market economies", Economics Letters, Vol.134, 127-129 (SSCI)
Gümüş, İnci (2013) "Debt denomination and default risk in emerging markets", Macroeconomic Dynamics, Vol.17, No.5, 1070-1095 (SSCI)
Gümüş, İnci (2011) "Exchange rate policy and sovereign spreads in emerging market economies", Review of International Economics, Vol.19, No.4, 649-663 (SSCI)
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« IDF launches fresh strikes in Gaza in response to rocket attacks
Rouhani warns Muslim countries against ‘friendship’ with Israel »
Khamenei: When Iran speaks of wiping out Israel it refers to regime, not Jews
Source: Khamenei: When Iran speaks of wiping out Israel it refers to regime, not Jews | The Times of Israel
( Gee, I feel better already… – JW )
Supreme leader claims frequent statements only refer to abolishing rule of ‘thugs’ like Netanyahu; however, many past remarks have threatened to flatten Tel Aviv and Haifa
By TOI STAFFToday, 1:36 pm
In this picture released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting with thousands of students in Tehran, Iran, November 3, 2019. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
When Iran speaks of wiping Israel off the map, it doesn’t mean the mass slaughter of the country’s Jews but rather eliminating the Jewish state’s “imposed regime,” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday.
“The disappearance of Israel does not mean the disappearance of the Jewish people, because we have nothing against [Jews],” Khamenei said, speaking alongside senior Iranian officials at the so-called 33rd International Islamic Unity Conference.
“Wiping out Israel means that the Palestinian people, including Muslims, Christians and Jews, should be able to determine their fate and get rid of thugs such as [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” Khamenei continued, according to Iranian media.
Khamenei further argued that “had the Islamic world been committed to unity, there would have been no tragedy in Palestine.” He lamented that Muslims couldn’t even adhere to what he called the lowest level of unity — non-aggression between Muslims.
“We are not anti-Semitic. Jews are living in utmost safety in our country. We only support the people of Palestine and their independence,” he said.
“Our position on the case of Palestine is definitive,” he said. “Early after the victory of the [1979 Islamic] revolution, the Islamic Republic gave the Zionists’ center in Tehran to the Palestinians. We helped the Palestinians, and we will continue to do so. The entire Muslim world should do so.”
A Shahab-3 surface-to-surface missile is on display next to a portrait of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at an exhibition by Iran’s army and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard celebrating “Sacred Defense Week” marking the 39th anniversary of the start of 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, at Baharestan Square in downtown Tehran, Iran, September 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iran regularly threatens to annihilate Israel, viewing the country as a powerful enemy allied with the United States and Sunni countries in the region against Tehran and its nuclear ambitions.
Contrary to Khamenei’s claims, those threats commonly refer to the physical destruction of Israeli cities, rather than of just the regime.
In September, Abbas Nilforoushan, the deputy commander of operations of the IRGC, threatened that if Israel attacks Iran, it will have to collect “bits and pieces of Tel Aviv from the lower depths of the Mediterranean Sea.”
“Iran has encircled Israel from all four sides. Nothing will be left of Israel,” said Nilforoushan in an interview with the Iranian news agency Tasnim.
“Israel is not in a position to threaten Iran,” he said according to a translation published by Radio Farda, the Iranian branch of the US government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Iranian senior cleric Ahmad Khatami delivers his sermon during Friday prayer ceremony in Tehran, Iran, on January 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Last year, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a key leader of weekly Muslim prayers in Iran, reacted to reports that Israel viewed a war with Iran-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah as likely by saying: “If you want Haifa and Tel Aviv to be razed to the ground, you can take your chance.”
In September, the commander of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that destroying Israel was now an “achievable goal.”
Four decades on from Iran’s Islamic revolution, “we have managed to obtain the capacity to destroy the impostor Zionist regime,” Major General Hossein Salami was quoted saying by the IRGC’s Sepah news site.
Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami speaks at Tehran’s Islamic Revolution and Holy Defense museum, during the unveiling of an exhibition of what Iran says are US and other drones captured in its territory, on September 21, 2019. (Atta Kenare/AFP)
“This sinister regime must be wiped off the map and this is no longer … a dream [but] it is an achievable goal,” Salami said.
Iran has lately been on edge, fearing an attack on the country over a drone-and-missile strike on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry in September attributed to Tehran. Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed the attack, but the US and others allege Iran was behind it.
The attack in Saudi Arabia was the latest incident following the collapse of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, over a year after US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from the accord. The nuclear deal was meant to keep Tehran from building atomic weapons — something Iran denies it wants to do — in exchange for economic incentives.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a sharp critic of the nuclear deal negotiated under the administration of former US president Barack Obama, and welcomed Washington’s pull-back from the accord, urging further pressure on Iran.
Agencies contributed to this report.
This entry was posted on November 15, 2019 at 3:54 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
One Comment on “Khamenei: When Iran speaks of wiping out Israel it refers to regime, not Jews”
Wingate Says:
iranian dictators + hitler :
driven by same spirit/demons –
their fate is same as well !
Leaving the God of Israel (the one + only God) out of the equation is a tragical error : HE is in control and HE said that HE is taking down Israels enemies. Throughout history
this happened many times, but :
“history shows, that menkind doesnt
learn from history”.
So, iran is next – wait + see…
” He who watches over Israel doesnt sleep nor slumbers !”
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Home Yukon Outside Yukon Winter Ready or Not, Here It Comes!
From Father to Son: Hooked on Dog Mushing
It's Here! Are You Ready?
Ready or Not, Here It Comes!
by Claude Chabot
It has been an unseasonably warm fall, but winter is going to settle in whether we like it or not. So why not enjoy it with some outdoor activity?
This column, which will appear sporadically through the winter season, will be about skiing (specifically cross country skiing), how to get the most out of it and how to really enjoy it. Because that's the object of the exercise (if you'll excuse the pun).
Along the way, I'll toss in some trivia and tidbits of information.
I'll be focusing on skiing at the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club, one of the most successful ski clubs in the country, and not just because it keeps turning out top-notch racers. While the racers get lots of publicity, they're only a small part of the club – as with most clubs, for that matter.
A typical season sees the Whitehorse club membership top out at around 1,300 members. That's a fair chunk of the local population. Add in all the casual users who purchase day passes and you have an idea why the club has become such an integral part of the community.
Members range in age from three to 90-plus (now there's something to aspire to).
The club boasts some stellar national-level racers, but the average member is a recreational skier, not a racer. He or she is out to enjoy some of the best trails in the country, trails replete with superb grooming.
Depending on who you ask, the trail system adds up to something like 70 or 80 kilometres. Given its location – only five minutes from downtown – it's no wonder it's a popular spot.
Skiers of all abilities can be found out on the trails day and night, seven days a week. While the wax room may close occasionally, the trails never do.
And while it may not be the biggest club in the country, its membership is right up there. When you compare membership with the population base it draws from, it's certainly the most impressive club in the land, if not the continent.
The Whitehorse club traces its roots to the early 1970s, when the start of the current trail system was developed so the City of Whitehorse could host the 1972 Arctic Winter Games.
It's been growing ever since, both in membership and the facilities and programs it has to offer.
The recreational skiers who make up the bulk of the club are also responsible for hosting some great events over the years, helping boost the club's reputation around the country. These events can be pretty exciting for racers, spectators and volunteers alike.
Building from these humble AWG beginnings, the club even acted as host to a couple of World Cup races back in 1981. More recently, of course, the Canada Winter Games and the Haywood Nationals were great successes by all accounts.
There have also been lots of other events, too numerous to mention.
As the 2010-11 season gets going full steam, I'll be writing about events at the club, offering ski tips and giving some background about club operations.
I also hope to help de-mystify the wonderful world of cross country, so that you can enjoy your skiing experience just a bit more.
In the meantime, do a snow dance and think snow. Even if it doesn't work, it will help improve your fitness level!
See you on the trails.
Claude Chabot is executive director of the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club. If you have questions about the club or its extensive network of trails, you can reach Claude at ed@xcskiwhitehorse.ca
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Deluxe Reports Fourth Quarter 2015 Financial Results
Press release from the issuing company
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Deluxe Corporation (NYSE: DLX), a leader in providing small businesses and financial institutions with products and services to drive customer revenue, announced its financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2015. Key financial highlights include:
Q4 2015 Q4 2014 % Change
Revenue $463.5 million $448.5 million 3.3%
Net Income $59.7 million $58.0 million 2.9%
Diluted EPS – GAAP $1.20 $1.16 3.4%
Adjusted Diluted EPS – Non-GAAP $1.26 $1.19 5.9%
A reconciliation of earnings per share on a GAAP basis and adjusted earnings per share on a non-GAAP basis is provided after the Forward-Looking Statements.
Revenue was near the high-end of the range in the prior outlook and adjusted diluted EPS exceeded the high-end of the range in the prior outlook driven primarily by strong operating results in each of the three segments and a better than expected effective tax rate.
“Our team delivered another strong year of financial results - growing revenue for the sixth consecutive year and growing cash flow from operations for the seventh consecutive year,” said Lee Schram, CEO of Deluxe. “Throughout 2015 we made substantial progress on our transformation and we further strengthened our marketing solutions and other services product offerings by aggressively expanding our focus and investments into the Financial Services segment where we added comprehensive data analytics and enhanced treasury management solutions and products. In addition, we added even more robust technologies for web-hosting customers and expanded our direct sales channels to expose more small businesses to our extensive assortment of marketing capabilities. Looking into 2016, we expect to continue our track record of growth in revenue, EPS and cash flow from operations and we expect that marketing solutions & other services will account for over one third of our total revenue.”
Fourth Quarter 2015 Highlights:
Revenue increased 3.3% year-over-year, primarily due to the Small Business Services segment which grew 3.3%, as well as the Financial Services segment which grew 7.3% and included the results of Datamyx LLC which was acquired in October 2015.
Revenue from marketing solutions and other services increased 12.3% year-over-year and accounted for 33.1% of consolidated revenue in the quarter.
Gross margin was 63.0% of revenue, flat compared to 63.1% in the fourth quarter of 2014. Unfavorable product revenue mix and increased delivery and material costs were offset by previous price increases, an increase in service margins and improvements in manufacturing productivity.
Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense increased 4.0% from last year primarily due to additional SG&A expense from acquisitions, but was partially offset by continued cost reduction initiatives in all segments. SG&A as a percent of revenue was 43.1% in the quarter compared to 42.8% last year.
Operating income increased 0.8% year-over-year and includes restructuring and transaction-related costs in both periods and a loss on the sale-leaseback of a facility in 2014. Adjusted operating income, which excludes these items, increased 2.8% year-over-year from higher revenue and continued cost reductions.
Diluted EPS increased 3.4% year-over-year. Excluding restructuring and transaction-related costs in both periods and the loss on sale-leaseback in 2014, adjusted diluted EPS increased 5.9% year-over-year driven by lower interest expense and stronger operating performance, partially offset by a higher effective income tax rate.
Segment Highlights
Revenue was $303.7 million and increased 3.3% year-over-year due primarily to growth in marketing solutions and other services, and from a channel perspective, growth in the online, Safeguard® distributor, dealer and major account channels. Previous price increases also benefitted the quarter while unfavorable foreign exchange rates negatively impacted revenue growth by approximately 1.0 percentage point year-over-year.
Operating income increased 4.4% from last year to $54.4 million. Adjusted operating income, which excludes restructuring and transaction-related costs in both periods, increased 7.8% year-over-year due primarily to cost reductions, partly offset by product revenue mix and investments in revenue-generating initiatives.
Revenue was $120.3 million and increased 7.3% year-over-year. The increase in revenue was primarily due to growth in marketing solutions and other services, which includes Datamyx revenue of approximately $8 million, as well as the impact of previous price increases, partially offset by the secular decline in check usage.
Operating income decreased 9.3% from last year to $22.3 million. Adjusted operating income, which excludes restructuring and transaction-related costs in both periods, decreased 5.5% year-over-year and includes costs associated with the Datamyx acquisition and the impact of the secular decline in check usage, partially offset by previous price increases and the continued benefits of cost reductions.
Direct Checks
Revenue of $39.5 million declined 6.8% year-over-year due primarily to the secular decline in check usage and the elimination of marketing expenditures that no longer met the Company’s return criteria, partially offset by higher conversion rates from email marketing offers and an improved call center incentive plan.
Operating income increased 5.2% year-over-year to $14.1 million. Adjusted operating income, which excludes restructuring costs and a loss on sale-leaseback in 2014, decreased 0.7% year-over-year, due to lower order volume partly offset by lower costs and a higher mix of reorders.
Cash provided by operating activities for 2015 was $307.9 million, an increase of $27.5 million compared to 2014, driven primarily by lower interest payments and improved operating performance, partially offset by higher income tax and performance-based compensation payments.
The Company repurchased an additional $13 million of common stock in open market transactions in the fourth quarter bringing the full year common stock repurchase amount to $60 million.
At the end of the fourth quarter, the company had $631 million of total debt outstanding.
On January 25, 2016, the Board of Directors of Deluxe Corporation declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.30 per common share on all outstanding shares of the Company. The dividend will be payable on March 7, 2016 to all shareholders of record at the close of business on February 22, 2016.
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Home > Articles > The Art of Not Falling Apart: Rethinking Failure and Shame
The Art of Not Falling Apart: Rethinking Failure and Shame
Christina Patterson
experienceoftherapy , failure , shame , work
Journalist Christina Patterson realised that 'failures' to live up to others' and her own expectations meant she often felt ashamed
Her book The Art of Not Falling Apart encourages us to rethink failure
Some years ago, in the green room at Sky News, a political editor asked me about my holiday. When he realised I had been away on my own, he couldn’t hide the expression of pity on his face. I tried to smile, but I felt a rush of blood to my cheeks I have learnt to recognise as shame.
Shame is a feeling you get used to. When I was a young woman, I was ashamed of the acne that plagued me. When I went to friends’ weddings, I was ashamed that I didn’t have a boyfriend. When their children played together, I was ashamed that I had no children of my own.
I was lying on a couch when a therapist said something that made me jump. I was seeing him because I had just been dumped and then had surgery after finding out that my breast cancer had come back. I had good reason to feel fed up, but what didn’t help was the feeling that I had failed. I had failed to do the things I thought you were meant to do. I hadn’t had a long-term relationship. I hadn’t had a family. My mother often told me that she was the only person she knew who didn’t have grandchildren. And then one day, the therapist said “I’m not convinced that you really want a partner”, and I realised with a shock that it was true.
I also realised how lucky I was to have such an interesting work life. I was a writer and columnist at The Independent. I was interviewing poets, rock stars, Nobel laureates and politicians. I was writing the lead column in the paper once a week. And then, on a cold, dark day six years ago, the editor told me that he wanted to “freshen the pages up”.
I lost eight pounds in four days. I didn’t stop shaking for two weeks. I didn’t know how I was going to earn a living. And without my job, I didn’t know who I was.
I knew I couldn’t have worked harder. I knew I couldn’t have done a much better job. I was poleaxed by grief and I felt I could blast the surface off the earth with my rage, but I didn’t feel that I had failed.
Perhaps it was that rage that gave me the energy to write about it. I didn’t know if I would get another job in journalism. Newspapers have been decimated by the internet and if you lose your job, you’re not very likely to get a job like the one you had before. But I decided to use my journalistic gifts to talk to other people about how they had coped when their lives had gone wrong.
I met Grant Feller at a networking dinner. We were all meant to say something about ourselves and he said that losing his job as a senior editor at a national newspaper was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Some months later, he told me the truth. He said that he had been too ashamed at first to tell his children that he’d lost his job. He said he wanted to smash a glass in the face of the people who had fired him. I told him about the programme I was meant to be developing about compassion and how I had told the producer that I was now much more interested in making a programme about revenge.
I met Melanie at a wedding. Melanie found messages on her iPad that showed that her husband had been having an affair. There were days, she said, when she would “either be in bed sobbing” or “stomping around, the angriest person in the world.” She changed her password to “brutal” because, she said, she now felt that that’s what life was.
I went for a drink with my friend and former colleague, Claire. I knew that Claire, like me, had struggled with acne, but I never knew how bad those struggles had been. Claire’s acne started the summer she was fourteen. By the end of that summer, the boys in her class were calling her Pizza Face and Gangrene. People started, she said, to treat her differently. “It’s as if,” she said, “somehow by being ugly you failed on every single level”. For years, she left parties before the lights came on.
Since my book, The Art of Not Falling Apart, came out last year, I’ve had hundreds of emails from people telling me how touched they have been by the stories in it. They say they’re touched by the rawness and the honesty of the people I spoke to and by the rawness and honesty of my own story, which is the interlinking thread. The book isn’t meant to be a self-help book. It’s more a kind of anti self-help book. There’s collective wisdom in it, I hope, but there aren’t clear answers, because there aren’t clear answers in life.
Grant, Melanie and Claire all told me how cathartic it was for them to tell their stories, and so did most of the other people I interviewed for the book. I found it cathartic, too. I loved writing it more than anything I’ve ever written before. As I poured my shame and anger and grief and joy on those pages, I felt as if I was swimming in a pool of fresh, clear water, a pool that was washing away the pain and shame and setting me free.
“The truth,” says the Bible, “will set you free.” You don’t have to believe every story in it to agree. Truth is liberating. Truth is vital. Life is too short for lies. I’ve decided that I’m going to live my life in the way I want and I don’t care what any political editor thinks.
The Art of Not Falling Apart is published by Atlantic
Why we feel shame and how to let it go
On confidence and overcoming failure
Why we internalise shame in childhood
The psychological costs of body shame and self-objectification
Rejecting shame and rethinking failure
Find Welldoing therapists near you
Experiences of therapy
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Classical music: The University of Wisconsin Pro Arte Quartet in Belgium — Day 6: The quartet plays its final concert -– a midday concert in an old converted farm barn on a new campus in an old country. A reception and dinner follow. Then the quartet splits up, one member traveling on and the others departing for back home and braving U.S. customs.
Editor’s note: The Well-Tempered Ear has asked people on tour with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Pro Arte Quartet (below, in a photo by Rick Langer) to file whatever dispatches. updates and photos are possible — from iPads, computers, cameras and smart phones — so that they can to keep the fans back here at home current with what is happening on the concert stage and off.
By now it has become apparent that the Pro Arte Quartet’s week-long tour of Belgium is as big an event to the Belgians and to local residents there as it is to Madisonians, Wisconsinites and alumni of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
All week long, Sarah Schaffer, who manages the University of Wisconsin-Madison Pro Arte String Quartet, sent text and photo essays.
Current members are violinists David Perry and Suzanne Beia; violist Sally Chisholm; and cellist Parry Karp.
Today’s Part 6 covers the final concert and events at the Belgian campus of Louvain-La-Neuve (LLN) and the return to the U.S.
Once again, ones sees that a concert tour keeps a frenetic pace loaded with hard work. A concert tour is no vacation!
If you want background or need to catch up, here links:
To Day 1:
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/classical-music-the-university-of-wisconsin-pro-arte-quartet-lands-in-belgium-gets-detained-at-customs-and-is-rescued-in-time-for-practicing-and-playing-concerts/
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2014/05/24/classical-music-on-day-2-the-university-of-wisconsin-pro-arte-quartet-is-offered-rehearsal-time-in-a-bar-meets-descendants-of-the-original-members-of-the-quartet-and-performs-its-first-concert-to/
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2014/05/25/classical-music-on-day-3-in-belgium-the-university-of-wisconsin-pro-arte-quartet-plays-at-the-royal-library-gives-a-gift-to-king-philippe-and-keeps-performing-a-lot-of-hard-and-varied-music/
To Day 4, Part 1:
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2014/05/27/classical-music-here-is-a-photo-essay-of-the-pro-arte-quartets-day-long-homage-stop-at-the-belgian-hometown-of-dolhain-linburg-of-the-groups-founding-violinist-alphonse-onnou/
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2014/05/29/classical-music-the-pro-arte-quartet-in-belgium-day-4-part-2-the-quartet-performs-in-the-town-of-dolhain-limbourg/
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/classical-music-the-uw-pro-arte-quartet-in-belgium-day-5-the-belgian-premiere-of-a-belgian-work-at-the-royal-conservatory-draws-a-big-enough-crowd-to-run-out-of-programs-and-bring-three-c/
DAY 6: Sarah Schaffer (below) writes about the Last Day:
Disembarking the train from Bruxelles Centrale we were once again greeted by paparazzi on the platform — the inveterate translator Alain Boucart (below right holding camera, with tour organizer Anne van Malderen on the left) is always on hand, camera at the ready!
The university at Louvain-la-Neuve or LLN (below) was created from scratch, out of nothing, in 1976, a consequence of the language/culture split, Flemish-Walloon, in 1968.
The Dutch campus of this Catholic college remains in Louven, the new French campus here in Louvain. There are about 15,000 students, and a town of about 40,000 has grown up around it, all brand new, hence “neuve,” and something of a dissonance where everything else “belgique” has been “tres ancien.”
The campus was built literally out in the fields around the remains of four abandoned farms, at last explaining the curious name of the concert hall: La Ferme du Biereau.
It’s an old grange or barn, beautiful old timbers exposed in the renovation that transformed it into a concert hall with a surprisingly attractive acoustic; warm and forthcoming; invitingly beautiful and comfortable as well.
One of the students in audio engineering, Thomas Vanelstlande (below, with his assistant Marine Haitt), will be recording the concert as his final exam for the reception. The recording set-up is below bottom.
The concert is one on the afternoon series sponsored by LLN , under the guidance of Guillaume Wunsch. Programs are offered every couple of weeks.
Again, the capacity audience brought an impressive attentiveness and concentration to Belgian composer Benoit Mernier’s new work, String Quartet No. 3, which was commissioned by the Pro Arte Quartet for its historic centennial and which asks a lot on a first hearing.
It is such a pleasure to be in the company of such intentional engagement. We’d thought the famous Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber a strange closer, coming after the Mernier, but it turns out to be in fact a rather appropriate coda.
Happy for a chance to meet Benoit’s wife Helene (below with her husband beside her and his father in the background). She reminds us she’s heard the piece once already, when it was streamed live from Wisconsin Public Radio on its “Sunday Afternoon Live From the Chazen” broadcast on March 2, at its Madison world premiere, and we once again mourn the loss — announced two weeks ago — of that distinguished statewide concert series.
We were alerted that a reception would follow the concert, and assumed the champagne in the lobby was it, appropriate for 2:30 in the afternoon.
What we were UN-prepared for was the formal lunch, for us and about 20 guests, that ensued. It was a beautiful buffet, quite elaborate, with very nice wines. Many interesting conversations, many new friends, many promises to follow up and stay in touch.
And after THIS, we are ferried to Waterloo in cars, for a more private supper with Alain and Anne and the Prevost brothers (below, Michael Arthur on the left, Jean Marie on the right). Helene and Benoit Mernier, still not feeling well, and in fact now feverish, have to decline. It is, in all, a very sweet closing to our time in Belgium.
Many toasts and congratulations, but most thanks and special tribute to Anne, who put together this special week. “I em veery ‘appy!” she tells me quietly.
Alain has purchased our train tickets, and Michel Arthur Prevost accompanies us to Brussels Centrale. He has ambitious ideas for a return trip.
A CODA
Parry went on to the UK for a couple of weeks of concerts. “Having a wonderful time in England,” he emails.
The rest of us parted company at the Brussels airport — three quartet members on United Airlines to Chicago, John and I went through Amsterdam.
BUT — and this is the coda to the dispatches:
Sally exited Belgium and returned to the US without incident.
The “fish” lady (the agent of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that enforces the CITES law about protecting endangered species) was waiting for her at O’Hare, whisked her through in 4 minutes, and even got her a shortcut through the lines and out to Van Galder. (She’d made appointment the required 48 hours ahead).
Below are her instrument “passport,” her CITES documentation. It is readily accepted this time, unlike on our arrival in Belgium.
All goes smoothly.
Sally is so relieved.
I’ll see Sally today — we’re writing up the experience to be ready for an article and other inquiries — and will learn if she’s heard about Parry’s England entry. I’m guessing she has info. I guessing he was fine, with the “EU” stamp received in Belgium.
Thanks for keeping up with us while we zoomed around Belgium. It was extraordinary to be there with these musicians, and to feel the gravitas and all the promise of the incredible legacy they continue to carry on.
Tags: Amsterdam, Arte, Arts, Belgian, Belgium, Benoit Mernier, Brussels, Cello, Chamber music, Chicago, CITES, Classical music, David Perry, IPad, Jacob Stockinger, Louvain-La-Neuve, Madison, Mozart, Music, O'Hare airport, Pro Arte Quartet, U.S., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, UK, United Airlines, United Kingdom, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin
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NÎ
FBM
1FM0
Former Tim Cahill teammate Archie Thompson praises retiring star's legendary work ethic
Former Socceroos great Archie Thompson has lauded retiring great Tim Cahill for his work ethic and professionalism during his storied international career.
Thompson shared the Socceroos locker room with Cahill at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and said Cahill’s drive and determination will inspire future Socceroos for generations to come.
“His best trait was his professionalism,” Thompson told Wide World of Sports.
“As you get older, you need to look after yourself a bit better and I think as he got older he knew what he had to do and he did it to a tee.
(AAP)
Thompson praised Cahill for his legendary work ethic throughout his career (AAP)
“That’s something a lot of the younger guys he played with would see, his professionalism and the confidence he had in his own ability.”
Cahill was the poster-boy of the legendary Socceroos squad that captured the hearts of a nation, and Thompson said the nation’s greatest goalscorer was the man most responsible for bringing the Socceroos into the hearts and minds of Australia’s mainstream.
“He’s arguably the best player to ever wear the Australian jersey,” he said.
“When he put an Australian jersey on, he just had a knack of scoring goals and getting us out of trouble.
Cahill shot to prominence after his brace against Japan in Australia's 2006 World Cup opener (AAP)
“He contributed in making football a brand and in making the Socceroos a brand.”
Thompson called Australia’s all-time leading goal scorer “a special talent” and praised Cahill’s unwavering confidence in his own abilities, explaining how the former Everton striker used doubters as motivation throughout his career.
“He never doubted what he was capable of,” Thompson said.
“Whenever there was someone that made him question that, he always stepped up to the forefront and delivered.
Cahill and Thompson spent the best part of a decade together as Socceroos (AAP)
“He’s left something pretty special that he can be very proud of.”
Standing at 180cm, Cahill wasn’t the most physically imposing player, but Thompson said he compensated for that through sheer hard work, a trait that will inspire Socceroos youngsters.
“What youngsters will draw from [Cahill’s career] is someone who wasn’t gifted with blistering pace or wasn’t technically better than some players, but worked hard and kept working even harder at the attributes he had,” Thompson said.
“I think that’s what a lot of people, especially myself, admired about him.”
Cahill retires as Australia's leading goal scorer and second in international caps (AAP)
Thompson revealed one of Cahill’s favourite post-training drills, where he honed his aerial skills that made him so lethal in the box for Australia.
“There were a certain amount of balls after every training session that he would practice his crossing and heading and just being in the right place at the right time,” he said.
“[Young players] forget all the finer details it takes to become a pro and he did that and I think that’s his legacy for some of the younger ones coming through.”
tim cahill
archie thompson
Fitzy doubts Usain Bolt will play for Central Coast Mariners in A-League
Football: Usain Bolt's agent confirms A-League Central Coast Mariners talks
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Bruce on his way to visit 49ers
Feb 29, 2008 at 9:51 AM • --
Alex Marvez of FOX Sports reports that former Rams wide receiver Isaac Bruce is on his way to meet with the 49ers at their facility.
Bruce spent the past 14 seasons with St. Louis, including six (2000 to 2005) when Martz was head coach. The Rams released Bruce on Thursday to avoid paying him a $2 million roster bonus.
FOX Sports article
49ers CB Jason Verrett praises organization's role in his comeback, says it could impact his free agency decision
If cornerback Jason Verrett decides to stay with the 49ers past the 2020 season, perhaps the team's training staff may deserve some credit for an assist. Verrett is one of the most intriguing cases among the long list of impending free agents on whom the 49ers must come to a decision before the start of the 2021 league year on March 18. Verrett has a long and difficult injury history that limited him to just six total game appearances from 2016 to 2019. But at age 29, he was finally able to stay mostly healthy throughout 2020 and put on a performance that showed he is still capable of being the type of player he was early in his career when he was selected to the 2015 Pro Bowl as a
Trent Williams calls 49ers his No. 1 destination but is curious about his free agency value
Veteran left tackle Trent Williams may be one of the San Francisco 49ers' most important offseason decisions. During last year's draft, the team traded for him as a replacement for the retired Joe Staley. William was to anchor the offensive line. Some questioned whether there would be some rust after the tackle missed all of the 2019 season. Williams finished the season as Pro Football Focus' highest-graded tackle and second-highest-graded offensive lineman. The 49ers cannot use the franchise tag on Williams. That was part of his deal's restructured final year, which was reworked following the trade from Washington to San Francisco. Now, Williams is slated to become a free agent. He would like to return to the 49ers, and the team would certainly like
Kyle Juszczyk emotional while discussing his future, wants to return to 49ers
Kyle Juszczyk hopes to return to the San Francisco 49ers next season. Like so many of his teammates, he is scheduled to become a free agent. The fullback knows the situation, though. The team is pressed up against a salary cap that is expected to fall in 2021. That means some tough decisions are to be made, and Juszczyk is already by far the highest-paid fullback in the league. He is also the best and a key component in the 49ers' rushing attack. Juszczyk spoke with reporters on Monday via Zoom and was noticeably emotional while discussing his NFL future. "To be honest with you, it's just kind of a sense of (being) unsure," Juszczyk said of his NFL future. "I'm not totally sure what's ahead for me. I don't want it to be a sense of finality. Honestly, it's just
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Cool Listings, Design, Interiors, Park Slope
This renovated Park Slope co-op, asking $995K, has its own Instagram account
By Emily Nonko, Wed, September 13, 2017
If there was a contest for most popular apartments in New York City, this one would be in the running as the winner. Apartment #3L at the Park Slope co-op 749 Union Street has been profiled in Lonny and Architectural Digest. It has its own Instagram account. And it was designed by Dan Mazzarini, the former director of store design at Ralph Lauren who went on to open his own design firm, BHDM. Envisioned as a black-and-white bachelor pad with a sleek, modern kitchen, the apartment is now looking for its next owner at an ask of $995,000.
Read more about the reno
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Sex and the City Reboot Coming to HBO Max
December 28, 2020 Entertainment Daypop
A Sex and the City reboot is coming. Deadline confirmed that HBO is set to bring back the show as a limited series for its premium streaming service, HBO Max.
Sex and the City was undoubtedly one of the most iconic shows of the 2000s. The series, created by Darren Star based on Candace Bushnell’s book, ran for six seasons and 94 episodes between 1998 and 2004. It starred Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw, Cynthia Nixon as Miranda Hobbes, Kristin Davis as Charlotte York, and Kim Cattrall as Samantha Jones.
Bradshaw, Nixon, and Davis are all interested in the reunion, though Cattrall will likely not be featured. After releasing two follow-up films in 2008 and 2010, the Sex and the City cast was set to make a third feature film in 2017 that was shelved due to a feud between Cattrall and Parker.
Hollywood buzz says ‘Sex and the City’ getting reboot on HBO Max
Via pagesix.com
There’s buzz again in Hollywood that “Sex and the City” is coming back. A…
Editorial credit: Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com
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Gallery Bike of the Month (BOTM)
August 2016 BOTM
winner - Loosenut
Gallery Bike of the Month (BOTM) 592
December 2016 BOTM 4
November 2016 BOTM 8
October 2016 BOTM 4
September 2016 BOTM 4
August 2016 BOTM 3
July 2016 BOTM 2
June 2016 BOTM 3
May 2016 BOTM 6
April 2016 BOTM 5
March 2016 BOTM 4
February 2016 BOTM 3
January 2016 BOTM 7
December 2015 BOTM 10
October 2015 BOTM 10
May 2015 BOTM 10
January 2015 BOTM 11
December 2014 M.B.O.M. 9
November 2014 M.B.O.M. 11
October 2014 M.B.O.M. 8
September 2014 M.B.O.M. 9
August 2014 M.B.O.M. 23
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July 2014 M.B.O.M 10
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March 2014 M.B.O.M. 11
February 2014 M.B.O.M. 13
January 2014 - M.B.O.M. 13
December 2013 - M.B.O.M. 15
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Past Winners 187
May 2013 - M.B.O.M. 7
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March 2013 - M.B.O.M. 8
February 2013 - M.B.O.M. 8
December 2012 - M.B.O.M. 6
November 2012 - M.B.O.M. 8
October 2012 - M.B.O.M. 7
August 2012 - M.B.O.M. 7
July 2012 - M.B.O.M. 8
April 2012 - M.B.O.M. 8
March 2012 - M.B.O.M. 10
January 2012 - M.B.O.M. 8
December 2011 - M.B.O.M 8
June 2011 - M.B.O.M. 6
Gallery Bike of the Year (M.B.O.Y.) 24
2013 Member Bike of the Year 12
FZ1 Galleries 183
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FZ1 Artwork 2
Misc Galleries 55
Misc Cool Bike Photos 49
Motorcycle Artwork 0
Members Faces 2
Member Galleries 300
May - 2011 M.B.O.M. 1
April 2011 - M.B.O.M 0
March 2011- M.B.O.M. 1
February 2011 M.B.O.M. 2
January 2011 - M.B.O.M 7
2010 December M.B.O.M 1
2010 November M.B.O.M. 1
2010 October M.B.O.M. 0
2010 September M.B.O.M 1
2010 August M.B.O.M 0
2010 July M.B.O.M 1
2010 June M.B.O.M 0
2010 May M.B.O.M. 1
2010 April M.B.O.M. 1
2010 March M.B.O.M 0
2010 February M.B.O.M 0
2010 January M.B.O.M 0
2009 November 1
2009 October 0
Klurejr
H2blade
jnor
Mario m
Apexit69
Kangaroo Valley climb
Alterjor
Loosenut
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Ben Stokes to be made Freeman of Allerdale
Jonathan Irving
Cricket World Cup hero Ben Stokes will be made a Freeman of Allerdale to reflect the superstar’s amazing achievements in the sport.
Allerdale borough councillors voted unanimously last night (September 25) to approve a motion put forward by Cllr Paul Scott calling for an extraordinary general meeting to be held to bestow the honour on Mr Stokes, who grew up in Cockermouth.
The 28-year-old cricketer moved to Allerdale from New Zealand at the age of 12 when his father Gerard was appointed head coach of Workington Town Rugby League Club. He attended Cockermouth School and played cricket for Cockermouth Cricket Club, winning the North Lancashire & Cumbria Cricket League Premier Division title with the club as a 15-year-old in 2006.
As well as holding a number of cricketing records, the sportsman played a pivotal role in helping England win the Cricket World Cup in July and was the star England performer in the Ashes series this summer.
Cllr Scott said:
“Ben Stokes has put so much hard work and dedication into his sport and has become one of the best cricketers in the world. He is a shining example to all young people in Cockermouth and Allerdale and really shows what can be achieved.
“He used the facilities in Cockermouth and went on to greatness.”
Cllr Smith said:
“It is a great pleasure to second this motion. I remember several years ago he came to Cockermouth Town Council for a grant to help with his sporting aspirations, I think it was for £150. I’m sure this is the best £150 we’ve ever spent. It is quite right we honour him in this way.”
Arrangements will now be made for an extraordinary general meeting to be held.
Other people who have been honoured with freeman status in the past include Lord Campbell-Savours, Bill Lowther and Malcolm Wilson.
– Back to Overview –
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Beyond Meat’s sales jump as more try plant-based burgers
KFC announced it is testing a Beyond Meat chicken nugget in the U.S.
Aug. 10, 2020 3:00 p.m.
More people are throwing plant-based burgers on the grill this summer.
Beyond Meat, which makes pea protein-based burgers and sausages, said Tuesday its second quarter revenue jumped 69% to $113 million as more households tried its products in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Sales far outpaced Wall Street’s forecast of $99 million, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
The El Segundo, California-based company reported a net loss of $10 million for the April-June period. Adjusted for one-time items, including coronavirus-related expenses, Beyond Meat lost 2 cents per share. That was in line with analysts’ expectations.
Normally, Beyond Meat sells half its output to restaurants and food service, Beyond Meat President and CEO Ethan Brown said. The company had to make a rapid pivot when those sales cratered this spring due to coronavirus-related closures.
Burgers and sausages that were packaged for food service were returned to factories and repackaged for consumers. In mid-June, for example, the company launched a 10-burger value pack for $15.99 at Walmart, Target and other groceries. Normally, two four-ounce patties cost $5.99.
As a result, Beyond Meat’s U.S. retail sales nearly doubled during the quarter, even as food service sales dropped 61%.
“It’s not a small exercise, when it’s physical goods, to make a change like that over a quarter,” Brown said. The company spent $5.9 million repackaging goods during the quarter.
Brown said that by June, 4.9% of U.S. households had tried Beyond Meat products, up from 3.5% in January. More important, half of those who bought Beyond products bought them again, up from 45% in January, Brown said.
International retail sales were up 167%. Brown said Beyond Meat is now sold in 84 countries, up from 51 a year ago. International food-service sales, however, dropped 56.5%.
Beyond Meat continued to invest in international expansion during the quarter. In June, it opened a manufacturing facility in the Netherlands with its Dutch partner, Zandbergen. Brown said Beyond Meat also plans to start production in China by the end of this year.
“We believe the magnitude of the opportunity in Asia merits significant investment,” Brown said.
In April, Beyond Meat debuted in at Starbucks, which sells the company’s imitation beef in lasagna, pasta and a spicy wrap. Brown said Beyond Meat products were also offered for a limited time at Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC restaurants in China through a partnership with their parent company, Yum Brands.
KFC is also testing a Beyond Meat chicken nugget in the U.S.
Beyond Meat declined to give forward-looking financial guidance, citing the pandemic.
It shares rose 6% to close at $142.25 Tuesday. But they fell 7.5% in after-hours trading following the release of the earnings report.
Dee-Ann Durbin, The Associated Press
Statistics Canada says country gained 419,000 jobs in July
CMHC reports annual pace of housing starts climbed nearly 16% in July
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Architecture Firm Award
The AIA's Wall of Honor, located at AIA National headquarters in Washington, DC.
Every year, the AIA recognizes one firm that has produced notable architecture for at least a decade. It’s our highest honor—given to firms on par with past recipients Ehrlich Architects, Eskew+Dumez+Ripple, and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects—firms whose passion and practice have earned them a permanent place on our granite Wall of Honor at AIA headquarters.
The Architecture Firm Award is open to any individual firm or successor firm or organization of architects whose home office is based in the US.
Members of the AIA Board of Directors, Strategic Council, and members of their firms may not be nominated.
AIA Honors & Awards
The 2022 application will open summer 2021.
Honors & Awards review
AIA conducts review of Honors & Awards programs to further foster justice and equality in our organization, in our profession, and in our communities.
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1920s - 1970s
February 2, 1912 in New York City, NY
January 5, 1997 in New York City, NY
Stage & Screen Vocal Classical
Tin Pan Alley Pop Show/Musical Vocal Music
Burton Lane
Biography by John Bush
+ Follow Artist
A distinguished American composer for films and the stage active from the late 1920s through to the late '70s.
Biography ↓
Discography ↓
Songs ↓
Awards ↓
Artist Biography by John Bush
The Broadway and Hollywood composer best-known for Finian's Rainbow, Burton Lane was born in New York in 1912. He began writing songs before his teens and after dropping out of high school, worked as a song plugger and staff composer. Influenced by Gershwin, Lane met his idol through a family friend and began composing for the theater while still a teenager. Teaming with lyricist Harold Adamson, he wrote songs for Earl Carroll's Vanities and Artists and Models in 1930. The pair wrote songs for several other shows, then traveled to Hollywood under the aegis of Irving Berlin's publishing company; after authoring two major film hits, "Everything I Have Is Yours" (from Dancing Lady) and "Says My Heart" (from Cocoanut Grove), Lane ended up staying for over two decades. He contracted with MGM, then Paramount, working on more than 30 pictures during the 1930s. After working at MGM for several years during the '40s, Lane returned to Broadway in 1947 to present Finian's Rainbow with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. The show became a big success thanks to songs like "How Are Things in Glocca Morra," "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love," and "Something Sort of Grandish."
Despite the grand homecoming, Burton Lane returned to Hollywood and worked on films, including Royal Wedding, Give a Girl a Break, and Jupiter's Darling. Lane's last major success, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, appeared in 1965. Written with Alan Jay Lerner, the show launched a hit with the title song and became a feature film in 1970. Though he rarely composed during his last two decades, he worked tirelessly as the president of the American Guild of Composers and Authors.
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About Amanah
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What is the Zakat on a Shariah-compliant investment account based on Wakalah?
June 2, 2019AdminFatawa, Zakat
Question: What is the Zakat on a Shariah-compliant investment account based on Wakalah? In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh. The Answer: Zakat on a Shariah-compliant investment account depends on the nature of the investment. If such investments are made into Shariah-compliant money market products, the entire...
Is there Zakat on an investment in a start-up company?
Question: Is there Zakat on an investment in a start-up company? In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh. The Answer: Zakat on a start-up depends on the underlying net Zakatable assets of the company. An investor will pay Zakat (2.5%) on the percentage of shareholding in net...
What is the Zakat liability on a fixed-term annuity?
May 30, 2019AdminFatawa, Zakat
Question: What is the Zakat liability on a fixed-term annuity? In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh. The Answer: Zakat is not due on the total amount in a fixed annuity yet to be received. The Fiqh (jurisprudence of the answer): An annuity is a contract between you and...
How are raw materials, goods in progress and finished goods valued for Zakat?
Question: How are raw materials, inventory and finished goods valued for Zakat? In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh. The Answer: 1. Raw material – for Zakat purposes, will consider its current value (usually difficult to determine, so may use cost price alternatively) 2. Work in progress...
What is the Zakat treatment for prepaid expenses on one’s balance sheet?
Question: What is the Zakat treatment for prepaid expenses? In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh. The Answer: The prepaid sum is no longer in one’s ownership and as such, it is not Zakatable. Prepaid expenses are future expenses that have been paid in advance. In other words, prepaid expenses are costs that have...
Is Zakat due on Sukuk al-Ijarah investments?
Question: Is Zakat due on Sukuk al-Ijarah investments? In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh. The Answer: Ijarah Sukuk is based on an underlying Ijarah structure. Certificates are issued by a special purpose vehicle that entitles the holders to an ownership interest and a right to a return in proportion to...
Zakat on Aviva Life Insurance Plan
August 18, 2017AdminFatawa, Zakat
Question: Is there Zakat on Aviva Life Insurance Plan? In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh. The Answer: Zakat is not binding on the premiums paid to the policy. More importantly, life insurance policies are prohibited. Entering into such contracts without any legal requirement or necessity is...
The Obsession with Possession in Islamic Finance
The Life of a Transaction in Islamic Finance
Making Sense of the 30% Rule in Islamic Finance
What makes a company a ‘Fintech’?
Is Gold the Currency of Islam?
The Obsession with Possession in Islamic Finance January 3, 2021
The Life of a Transaction in Islamic Finance December 27, 2020
Making Sense of the 30% Rule in Islamic Finance December 14, 2020
Copyright 2020 Amanah, All Right Reserved
Developed by Dawah Solutions
Executive Director & Head of Shariah Advisory
Mufti Faraz Adam is a well known UK-based Islamic finance & fintech consultant. He is the advisor to a number of well-known global Islamic financial institutions and serves across the Islamic economy in Islamic banking, SME financing, Zakat, Waqf and estate planning. He is on a number of global Shariah boards in countries such as Switzerland, Bahrain, Canada, Singapore, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Canada and the United States. He has published over a dozen research papers in contemporary Islamic Finance matters and has published many chapters in Islamic fintech.
He holds a Masters Degree in Islamic Finance, Banking and Management from Newman University and has attained various finance-industry qualifications. Mufti Faraz completed a six-year Alimiyyah program in the UK after which he went on to complete the Iftaa course in South Africa. He holds a Master’s Degree in Islamic Finance, Banking and Management at Newman University, UK in 2017.
He has attained various finance-industry qualifications such as the IFQ, CIFE and is a Certified Shariah Advisor and Auditor (CSAA). He has completed an MBA diploma and has completed a Fintech specialisation from the University of Michigan. He also has an accounting qualification from ACCA
Aysh Ahmed Chaudhry
Legal Advisory Counsel
Aysh is a Corporate Finance Lawyer and our Advisory Counsel. He advises on a range of corporate finance transactions in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Middle East.
Aysh specializes in Investment and Joint Venture Real Estate transactions with a focus on investment strategies and structuring of acquisitions and developments across London. He has lived and worked in various jurisdictions including the UAE, Egypt, and Spain.
He has practical knowledge of Islamic Commercial Law and is a lecturer at the University of London on the Islamic Finance and Islamic Law modules.
First Class (with honors) LLB Law (University of London, 2013)
Diploma in Classical Arabic (Fajr Institute of Arabic Language, 2013)
Hondamir Nusratkhujaev
Head of Accounting and Audit
Hondamir Nusratkhujaev has worked for IsDB for over 7 years (since 2013) managing financial statements, management reporting and analysis of the Bank and its Funds (circa US$ 40B in assets), being involved in sukuk issuances, financial sustainability and international rating exercises. He is a member of the Accounting Board of AAOIFI (since 2016, re-elected in 2019) whereby he was directly involved in developing and revising Financial Accounting Standards for the Islamic Finance Industry.
He is one of the first active promoters and contributors toward the birth of Islamic banking and finance in his home country Uzbekistan. His efforts have been recognized during the CIS Islamic Banking and Finance Forum (May 2019) where he has won the Award for “Extraordinary Performance in Islamic Finance”.
During 1998-2013, Hondamir worked in the three Big4 international accounting firms, where he has led major auditing and consulting engagements across the CIS region.
He has thus accumulated substantial (23 years+) international experience and expertise in Islamic finance, AAOIFI, IFRS, COSO, internal controls, international auditing, accounting advisory and corporate finance.
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Egypt: Recent security force policing 'reminiscent of Mubarak' era
22 Feb 2012, 12:00am
*Over 100 protesters killed in last five months
*Recently-imported US tear gas played a key role in excessive response
A year after the uprising, Egypt's security forces continue to kill protestors with the same brutal tactics used in Hosni Mubarak’s last days in power, Amnesty International said after concluding that riot police used excessive force in policing recent protests in Cairo and Suez.
The protests earlier this month followed the Port Said tragedy in which more than 70 supporters from Al-Ahly club were killed after a football match on 1 February. In Amnesty’s view, between 2 and 6 February the Ministry of Interior’s Central Security Forces (riot police) used excessive force as they dispersed the protests, killing at least 16 people and injuring hundreds of others in the process.
Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said:
“The behaviour of the security forces in dealing with these protests is unfortunately very reminiscent of a time many Egyptians thought they had left behind after the ‘25 January Revolution’.
“Promises of reform of the security forces continue to ring hollow in the face of the killing of more than a hundred protesters in the last five months.
“Not only have the authorities not reformed the security forces, but evidence of the use of rubber bullets and live ammunition is met with denial and accusation of foreign interference by Egyptian officials.
“Police should not use firearms against persons except in self-defence or defence of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury. Intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.
“Security forces have a duty to restore law and order, however, the recent use of excessive force by the security forces show a complete disrespect for human life.
“It is now very clear that the newly-elected parliamentary assembly must urgently tackle the long overdue reforms to the way security forces have been policing demonstrations.
“Unless the Egyptian security apparatus is reformed with the aim of providing security and upholding the right to peaceful protest, we fear more bloodshed will follow.”
Previous calls for reform of the security sector only led to piecemeal changes while the authorities continued to inappropriately use teargas and live ammunitions.
The Egyptian authorities ostensibly announced investigations into incidents leading to the killing or severe injury of protesters. Yet no lessons were learnt and no clear instructions seem to have been given to the security forces, including military personnel, to uphold the right to peaceful assembly and to police demonstrations in line with international standards.
Lethal force was used without prior warning to disperse protesters in Cairo and Suez who were, for the most part, peacefully demonstrating and chanting. Some protestors were, however, throwing stones at the security forces and Amnesty heard occasional reports of protesters throwing Molotov cocktails at the riot police. In rare incidents, shotgun ammunition and fireworks were also fired at riot police.
The Cairo University Hospitals alone received some 269 injured people during the protests as well as seven of the 11 deaths that took place in the capital. Most of those injured were suffering from tear gas inhalation or injuries from shotgun pellets, which, in some cases, caused rupture to the eye globe. In one case, a protester died from shotgun ammunition after a pellet reached his brain. Two others died from gunshots to the head and one from a gunshot to the stomach.
In Suez, Amnesty obtained a list of some 85 injured who were treated at the Suez General Hospital, mainly from shotgun pellets and live ammunition. Five people died in the city from gunshots to the chest, head or stomach. The list included four members of the security forces who were also reported to having been injured by shotgun pellets in Suez.
Excessive use of tear gas
Amnesty delegates witnessed riot police relentlessly firing tear gas at groups of anti-SCAF protesters standing in Cairo's Mansur street and Mohamed Mahmoud street, both leading to the Ministry of Interior and which witnessed the worst clashes. Riot police used tear gas disproportionately in instances when protesters did not represent an imminent danger to safety. They never gave notice before firing tear gas canisters.
Volunteer doctors and witnesses in both Cairo and Suez reported that riot police aimed tear gas directly at the very field hospitals that provide first aid treatment to protesters suffering from tear gas inhalation and other injuries. In Suez, some media workers for TV 25 were also targeted directly with tear gas causing respiratory difficulties.
Some US-made tear gas canisters in Suez bore a manufacture date of August 2011, suggesting they were part of a recent US shipment of tear gas delivered to Egypt in November. In December 2011 Amnesty called on global arms suppliers to halt the transfer of tear gas, small arms, ammunition and other repressive equipment to the Egyptian military and security forces.
Illustrative individual cases
Twenty-four year old painter Ahmed Hassan Ali, a protester in Tahrir square, suffered a rupture to his right eye from a shotgun pellet significantly affecting his sight. He told Amnesty he was injured from a rubber bullet in Mansur Street on 4 February at 6am. He sustained the injury as he went to tell other protesters to return to the square and avoid confrontation with the riot police. He said protesters were peacefully chanting against SCAF when police opened fire prior to warning.
On 5 February at around 1.30am, Ahmed Maher, General Coordinator of the “6 April Youth Movement” pro-democracy protest group was injured with a fracture in the top of his skull as he stood at the intersection of Mansur and Mohamed Mahmoud streets, causing internal bleeding. After a meeting with MPs in the parliament he went to tell protesters to move away from the area and end the protest, so that the authorities could build a concrete wall at Mansur Street by the Ministry of Interior. He fell as a result of his injury, losing his blackberry. The Twitter account he administers for the movement was subsequently hacked. Amnesty fears he may have been targeted in this incident as the authorities have been mounting a smear campaign against “6 April”, accusing it publicly of conspiring against Egypt.
On 5 February at around 11pm, 26-year-old Salma Said Abdel Fattah, an activist in the “No to Military Trials for Civilians” and “Mosireen” (Determined) groups, was injured by shotgun pellets as she filmed riot police armoured vehicles attacking protesters from Mansur street rushing towards Falaky square. She told Amnesty that a hooded riot police officer on the top of an armoured vehicle shot at her three times, first at her face, chest and legs, and finally as other protesters were carrying her away.
In Suez, most casualties took place near the Security Directorate headquarters near Paradise Street and Al-Shohadaa Street between 2 and 4 February. The Security Directorate oversees a large square with a garden, from where protesters attempted to approach the building, among other side roads. Access to the building itself was barred by barbed wire. Around sunset, according to protesters, riot police fired indiscriminately tear gas and shotgun ammunition without any prior warning as they approached the Security Directorate.
Mohamed Ahmed Atta was reportedly killed in the evening of 2 February from a gunshot to his upper body while throwing stones at riot police. Rami Mohamed, a 25 year old member of the “Suez Youth Bloc”, told Amnesty he had witnessed security forces shooting at Atta without issuing any form of warning. Rami Mohamed was himself injured the next day from a live round in his pelvis also while throwing stones at riot police near the Security Directorate.
Mohamed Al-Sayed Ahmed Farrag, a 28-year-old daily wage labourer, was killed, apparently by a sniper, in the early hours of 3 February after throwing stones at riot police. Friends of Farrag told Amnesty they witnessed riot police using tear gas intensively near the Security Directorate and climbed to the top floor of a 12-storey residential building still under construction to escape from the effects of the gas. The group said that from the roof they watched security forces shooting live ammunition at protesters and saw snipers at the top of the Security Directorate and in buildings next to it. Every time the police pushed protesters out of the square, the group would throw stones at the riot police. At around 2am Farrag was standing by the window when he was shot in the head and died instantly.
Last June Amnesty's Secretary General presented a copy of its publication “Understanding Policing” to the then Minister of Interior Mansour Essawy. This explains international standards on the use of force and firearms, notably that law enforcement officials must use force only to the extent necessary to achieve a legitimate aim and only in proportion to this legitimate aim. The response should be gradual with an obligation to use non-violent means whenever possible to minimise damage and to protect life. The use of firearms should be limited to situations of threats to life or of serious injury. Both in Cairo and in Suez the intensive and indiscriminate use of force and firearms without prior warning and causing a high number of casualties indicate that these international standards were disregarded in the security forces’ handling of the demonstrations.
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My Kind of Medicine: Real Lives of Practicing Internists: Valerie J. Lang, MD, FACP
ACP Fellow:
Valerie J. Lang, MD, FACP
Current Occupation:
Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
SUNY Health Science Center
College of Medicine, Syracuse, NY
University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
"Organic compounds-i.e., matter in its various forms containing carbon atoms-form the basis of all earthly life." --Wikipedia
It's not every day you hear someone express a passion for organic chemistry, but it's not surprising when such sentiment is expressed by an internist. "I guess we're kind of a nerdy group," laughs Dr. Valerie Lang, who admits she loved studying organic chemistry in college.
Internists, with their passion (some might say "obsession") for science, might well be considered the nerds of medicine; except that, unlike the socially-inept stereotype, internists possess exceptional social skills. As highly-trained, skilled specialists who study complex illness, they are equally adept at building relationships with their patients, establishing a rapport with students, and working collaboratively with other specialists. A more fitting description might be that internists are the great communicators and collaborators of medicine.
Dr. Lang, who laughs easily, likes to ask questions, and is comfortable talking to strangers, is an example of a great communicator and collaborator. She's also a busy hospitalist and medical educator who is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Director of the Inpatient Internal Medicine Clerkship program at the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry. In addition to teaching medical students 48 weeks out of the year, she is currently serving as President-elect of Clerkship Directors Internal Medicine (CDIM), and is Editor-in-Chief of MedU's virtual patient program, Simulated Internal Medicine Patient Learning Experience (SIMPLE).
Dr. Lang prefers teaching at the bedside of patients rather than inside a classroom, and believes the inpatient setting offers students a unique opportunity to learn clinical care, communication skills and teamwork. "Hospital patients are sicker," says Dr. Lang, "so the problems students see are more complex." "Also," she explains, "the inpatient setting has lots of moving parts and hospitalists are responsible for coordinating all of the care offered by various team members, from social workers to surgeons."
From stalls to halls
Growing up in the Finger Lakes region of New York state, Dr. Lang enjoyed an "earthly life," including outdoor activities like horseback riding, swimming and boating on Honeoye Lake in the summer and ice skating in the winter. But the best part of her childhood, she says, were the years she spent working on a horse farm.
"I loved riding," says Dr. Lang, "so I worked on the horse farm in exchange for riding lessons." As a high school senior bound for college, she had her sights set on becoming an equine veterinarian, but changed her mind after spending that year as an exchange student in Denmark. "One of my host families gave me an opportunity to follow an equine veterinarian, and I guess I became disillusioned," says Dr. Lang, "I discovered that owners did not care about the animals the way I did. For them, it was an industry."
While majoring in biology at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA, but uncertain what direction it would lead, Dr. Lang had the good fortune to meet several pre-med students. It was their influence and path to medicine that helped her discover her own.
After graduating magna cum laude from Allegheny, Dr. Lang earned her medical degree from SUNY Health Science Center College of Medicine in Syracuse, New York. She enjoyed her rotations, particularly surgery, and considered specializing in thoracic surgery until her rotation in internal medicine changed her mind. "I found I loved medicine," says Dr. Lang, "the approach was holistic, not narrow, and the people in the field were brilliant, managing lots of details and looking at the big picture."
The power of words and weeds
During her residency at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York, Dr. Lang met fellow resident and future husband, Dr. Alexander Solky, who is now an oncologist at Interlakes Oncology and Hematology in Rochester. She recalls watching her husband pull up a chair to sit and talk with a patient receiving chemotherapy and says his ability to care about his patients and ease their anxiety has always been a source of inspiration for her.
Another source of inspiration for Dr. Lang has been her mother, a single mom who raised three children and went back to college in her 40's to get a master's degree in education. Dr. Lang shares her mother's passion for education and can-do spirit, and is currently earning a master's degree in Health Professions Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
"I learned early on that I had a passion for teaching," says Dr. Lang, "but when I was asked to take over as Clerkship Director for 3rd year medical students, I wanted more of a foundation in designing educational programs and doing research."
Wearing multiple hats-physician, teacher, editor-Dr. Lang describes her career in internal medicine as diverse and rewarding. "Clinically speaking, I see how care helps sick patients get better, and on the teaching side," she says, "I get a kick out of seeing students who might be struggling with something and then the light bulb goes on-that makes me walk on air."
In a two-physician marriage, where both partners are caring for very sick people, there needs to be an emotional release valve. For Dr. Lang and her husband, it's spending time outdoors, traveling when they can, and enjoying their 6-year-old son who loves riding his bike, digging in the dirt, and telling jokes. Dr. Lang, who loves to garden, shares her son's enthusiasm for getting her hands dirty. "Gardening is a great antidote to the harder parts of the clinical work I do," she says, "It's gratifying to deadhead plants and pull weeds, to take the bad parts and just get rid of them."
Great collaborators
Dr. Lang's involvement with CDIM and Med U gave her an opportunity to work on a project with ACP, when AAIM, the umbrella organization for CDIM, decided to make High Value Care a priority. Working closely with seven of her CDIM colleagues and ACP's Daisy Smith, MD, and Phil Masters, MD, Dr. Lang helped create an interactive, online HVC curriculum for medical students. "Daisy and Phil are such good collaborators," says Dr. Lang, "and the synergy between the 3 groups is so impressive. I don't think we would have produced educational materials this good without such collaboration."
Dr. Lang is proud to be an ACP Fellow. "Having a home for internists is important," she says. "ACP sets a high standard for providing services to a huge group of physicians, their educational programs are top notch, and they are leaders in High Value Care."
For students who are considering a career in medicine Dr. Lang offers valuable advice, "It's important to understand that medicine is a service profession and will create some inconvenience in your life, but it also comes with the reward of helping others. As physicians, we are very fortunate. People entrust us with the most confidential information and allow us to lay hands on them. It's a huge responsibility."
Reflecting on her advice, "I believe I made the right choice," says Dr. Lang "I'm glad I didn't become a vet." Copy that, Dr. Lang. The internal medicine community, the students you teach, and the patients you serve, would all agree.
Back to July 2014 Issue of IMpact
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Abu Dhabi government grant to support balance of payments in Maldives
Abu Dhabi,12 Sep 2017
Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), the leading national entity for development aid, is extending an Abu Dhabi government grant worth AED18.4 million to the Maldivian government.
The grant seeks to support the balance of payments in the Maldives, improve the overall economic situation in the country, and aid the Maldivian government in achieving its development plans.
His Excellency Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD, and His Excellency Dr Hussain Niyaz, Maldivian Ambassador to the UAE, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlining the terms of the collaboration at ADFD’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi. ADFD’s senior management and several high-ranking Maldivian officials were also present at the signing.
Highlighting the keenness of the wise UAE leadership to provide development aid where it is needed most, His Excellency Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi said: “The grant re-affirms our nation’s dedication to supporting developing countries and helping them overcome their most pressing economic challenges. The funds are earmarked to finance key projects that will boost sustainable development in the Maldives.”
He added: “ADFD is proud of our four-decade-long association with the Government of the Maldives. The Fund is determined to continue the collaboration through financing infrastructure projects and economic reform programmes that will elevate living standards in the island country and stimulate the growth of key economic sectors.”
For his part, His Excellency Dr Hussain Niyaz praised the UAE’s role in assisting developing countries in achieving their strategic growth objectives. He added that with the help of ADFD’s financial assistance, the Maldives was well on track to achieving its sustainability outcomes.
Since 1976, ADFD has financed infrastructure, telecommunications, transport, housing and energy projects in the Maldives valued at more than AED109 million.
Related:Maldives,,
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What it Takes to Be an Economist
By Clayton Browne
Jobs in Behavioral Economics
Laurence J. Peter of the "Peter Principle" once said of economists, "An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn't happen today." While this tongue-in-cheek definition has a kernel of truth, our understanding of economics, the complex relationship between resources and production, has come a long way over the last 50 years. Twenty-first century economists analyze historical data for patterns and apply the understandings they gain to make short- and long-term economic predictions.
A bachelor's degree in economics, math or statistics is a minimum educational requirement for an economist. An undergraduate degree is a sufficient qualification for a number of entry level economics-related jobs, but if you want to pursue more senior positions in policy research or management, you will likely need a master's or Ph.D. Undertaking an internship at some point in your academic career will give you some valuable experience and a leg up in your job search.
The number of jobs directly related to economics is relatively small, so if you just have a bachelor’s degree, you will likely end up in a related job such as a research assistant, financial or market analyst, technical writer and similar positions. Economists with advanced degrees typically work as industrial or organizational economists, macroeconomists, microeconomists, monetary or financial economists, labor or demographic economists, international economists, public finance economists and econometricians. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over half of the economists in the U.S. are employed by the federal, state or local government.
The basic job of an economist is to analyze data. That means economists collect economic data, compare it to historical data or heuristic models, and derive conclusions from the results. In a nutshell, an economist's job is to study data and use their understanding of economic relationships to uncover trends. They can then produce forecasts relating to these economic trends, discuss the implications, and make recommendations based on their findings.
Pay and Employment Prospects
Economists earn a comfortable living. According to the BLS, economists took home a median salary of $89,450 a year in 2010. Economists working in science and research and development earn the most with a median salary of $109,720, and those employed by state governments earned the least, only taking home $61,620 a year. Employment prospects are not great for economists given the budgetary constraints at all levels of government. The BLS projects a mere six percent job growth through 2020.
2016 Salary Information for Economists
Economists earned a median annual salary of $101,050 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, economists earned a 25th percentile salary of $73,890, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $138,120, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 21,300 people were employed in the U.S. as economists.
Highest Paying PhD Degrees→
What Jobs Can I Get With a BA in Liberal Studies?→
Architectural Drafting Salaries→
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook -- Economists
Prospects: Economist Job Description
American Economic Association: Careers
CBS Moneywatch: The Smartest Things Ever Said About Market Forecasting
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Economists
Career Trend: Economists
American Economic Association: About the Association
Clayton Browne has been writing professionally since 1994. He has written and edited everything from science fiction to semiconductor patents to dissertations in linguistics, having worked for Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Steck-Vaughn and The Psychological Corp. Browne has a Master of Science in linguistic anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
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Home » Europe » Archaeology find ‘rewriting’ English history proved 1,000-year-old legend ‘was reality’
Archaeology find ‘rewriting’ English history proved 1,000-year-old legend ‘was reality’
The Dig: Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes star in Netflix trailer
Netflix will release its new film ‘The Dig’ later this month depicting the events of the incredible excavation in Woodbridge, Suffolk. The area was at the centre of a huge discovery in 1939 when an Anglo-Saxon burial was uncovered. Archaeologists found two early medieval cemeteries that dated from the sixth to seventh centuries and they have continued to probe the area ever since.
Dr Sue Brunning is the is the curator of Early Medieval Europe Collections at the British Museum – where most of the artefacts are now held – and she detailed how the story unfolded.
She told Express.co.uk: “The estate of Sutton Hoo was owned by a lady called Edith Pretty, who features in the upcoming film.
“She was aware of a group of burial mounds on her property, which you can visit today.
“She had an interest in archaeology and was keen to investigate them further, so she employed archaeologist Basil Brown.
“In 1938 he opened a couple of the smaller mounds and found they had been looted in the past and there was not much left except a few fragments of early Medieval objects.
“In 1939 he returned to Mrs Pretty’s estate and opened the largest burial mound – known as Mound 1 – that contained the ship burial.”
Dr Brunning detailed how things developed thereon, adding that the museum became involved with the excavations early on.
She explained: “The first thing that he discovered inside were a number of iron rivets, so he recognised he had a ship burial on his hands.
“He proceeded to follow their line and expose the imprint of the ship – the wood itself had rotted away, but it was left imprinted into the sand.
“At that point, it became clear that he had a really significant discovery on his hands.
“The British Museum and the Office of Works were consulted for advice and they appointed a professional archaeologist called Charles Phillips to supervise.”
And the expert in Early Medieval material culture revealed why the find was so significant.
She continued: “He put together the team who excavated the burial chamber discovered in the middle of the ship – it was inside there that the famous treasures were discovered.
“In the course of that discovery, they realised what they had was something completely unprecedented for this pored.
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“It proved that the impression that we have of this medieval period told in poems like Beowulf – which described warriors wearing glittering war gear – thought to be just poetic – was actually a reality.
“This was a place of really sophisticated artistic culture with far-reaching international connections and quite complicated belief systems.
“It completely changed our understanding of this period.”
Beowulf is one of the most important and most translated works of Old English literature.
The story is set in pagan Scandinavia in the sixth century.
Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by the monster Grendel.
After Beowulf slays him, Grendel’s mother attacks the hall and is then defeated.
Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland (modern Sweden) and becomes king of the Geats.
Half a century later, Beowulf also defeats a dragon, but is mortally wounded in the battle.
After his death, his attendants cremate his body and erect a tower on a headland in his memory.
The ship burial has also prompted comparisons with the world described in the poem as it partly set in Gotaland in southern Sweden – which has archaeological parallels to some of the finds from Sutton Hoo.
Sutton Hoo: Expert speaks in 2009 about helmet discovery
The famous helmet retrieved from Sutton Hoo has been central to the theory, too.
With its panels of tinned bronze and assembled mounts, the decoration is directly comparable to that found on helmets from the Vendel and Valsgarde cemeteries of eastern Sweden.
But it differs from the Swedish examples in having an iron skull of a single vaulted shell and has a full face mask, a solid neck guard and deep cheekpieces.
These features have been used to suggest an English origin for the helmet’s basic structure – the deep cheekpieces have parallels in the Coppergate helmet, found in York.
Although outwardly very like the Swedish examples, the Sutton Hoo helmet is said to be a product of better craftsmanship.
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World Queerstory
We're still setting up — pardon our dust!
Before Common Era
Common Era
Classical Antiquity (1 – 500 CE)
Post-Classical Period (500 – 1500 CE)
Late Middle Ages (1250 – 1500 CE)
Early Modern Period (1500 – 1774 CE)
The Renaissance (1500 – 1700 CE)
Age of Enlightenment (1700 – 1774 CE)
Modern Age (1774 – 1945 CE)
Age of Revolutions (1774 – 1849 CE)
Victorian Era (1837 – 1901 CE)
Machine Age (1880 – 1945 CE)
World War I Era (1914 – 1918 CE)
The Roaring Twenties (1920 – 1929 CE)
Great Depression Era (1929 – 1939 CE)
World War II Era (1939 – 1945 CE)
Contemporary Era (1945 – Present)
The Forties (1940 – 1949 CE)
The Fifties (1950 – 1959 CE)
The Sixties (1960 – 1969 CE)
The Seventies (1970 – 1979 CE)
The Eighties (1980 – 1989 CE)
The Nineties (1990 – 1999)
The Two Thousands (2000 – 2009 CE)
The Tens (2010 – 2019 CE)
Women Who Loved Women
Men Who Loved Men
Intersex People
Asexual People
Category: Legacy Walk Honorees
June 23 is a pretty big day for LGBT+ people, apparently. Not only is it my birthday (and isn’t that enough?) and the birthday of Alan Turing, it is also the birthday of Alfred Kinsey. You might be thinking “gosh, that last name sounds super familiar” but more likely you immediately associated the name with the Kinsey Scale. But Kinsey’s contributions to society and to LGBT culture went far beyond a simplified way of explaining fluid sexuality.
Alfred Kinsey was born in 1894 in Hoboken, New Jersey (his first mistake). Kinsey’s family was poor for the majority of his childhood, which meant they could not provide proper medical care for a number of illnesses that Kinsey contracted — including Rickets, which left him with a slight stoop. This would later prevent Kinsey from being drafted into World War I.
Kinsey also had a love of nature and enjoyed camping — he became one of the first Eagle Scouts in the Boy Scouts of America in 1913. In high school, Kinsey showed a keen aptitude for science — particularly biology, botany, and zoology. He cited his high school biology teacher Natalie Roeth as the most important influence on his decision to become a biologist. (A decision which seemed to cause a rift between Kinsey and his seriously overbearing father.)
Kinsey got his doctorate and traveled widely, studying gall wasps and other insects. Of the 18 million insect samples at the American Museum of Natural History, an estimated 5 million are gall wasps collected by Kinsey. He also published “An Introduction to Biology” in 1926, which was widely used in high schools (and I swear was the textbook we used at my high school. I’m kidding. I think.)
Kinsey is most known for his work as a sexologist. He became interested in the topic while discussing the mating habits of gall wasps with a colleague. Early on in his studies, he developed the Kinsey Scale — where a person’s sexual orientation could be rated from 0 (for exclusively heterosexual) to 6 (for exclusively homosexual). Kinsey believed everyone was bisexual ot varying degrees, probably because of his own bisexuality. He did later add a rating of “X” for “no socio-sexual contacts or reactions”. In his youth, Kinsey had routinely physically punished himself for his homoerotic feelings — so this scale was likely not just an effort to normalize for society, but to normalize them for himself.
Kinsey, through his two books (“Sexual Behavior in the Human Male”, 1948 & “Sexual Behavior in the Human Female”, 1953) that are collectively called “The Kinsey Reports” also laid the groundwork for the sexual revolution of the 1960s. He argued against the commonly accepted (by men) belief that women were not sexual beings. He insisted that clitoral orgasms were superior to vaginal orgasms. Both books became bestsellers, and Kinsey attained celebrity status.
Unfortunately, that celebrity status came with a lot of controversy. Kinsey was criticized for his research methods, for his own participation in sexual experiments, and for filming some of these experiments in his attic. Others criticized his survey samples, which were heavily homosexual and even more heavily white. He also caught the attention of U.S. Customs because he traveled around the world and brought back his research material, and Customs confiscated a lot of said material.
Kinsey died on August 26, 1956. He was inducted into the Legacy Walk, an outdoor museum honoring LGBT history, in 2012. (He is the third person I’ve covered so far who is honored there, the others being Alan Turing and Christine Jorgensen.)
(Adapted from this Facebook post.)
queerstorian Bisexual Men, Legacy Walk Honorees, Men Who Loved Men, New Jersey, North America, People, United States of America 1 Comment June 23, 2017 March 22, 2019 2 Minutes
Christine Jorgensen
Christine Jorgensen was the first US citizen to receive gender reassignment surgery (or, gender confirmation surgery, as we call it now). She was born May 30, 1936 in the Bronx, New York and given the name George William Jorgensen Jr.
In 1945 she graduated high school and was drafted into the army. She served in World War II. After the war she attended Mohawk Valley Community College, the Progressive School of Photography in New Haven, and the Manhattan Medical and Dental Assistant School.
At some point after returning home from the war, she learned about gender reassignment surgery and decided that was something she wanted to pursue. Guided by Dr. Joseph Angelo, the husband of a classmate at the Manhattan Mental and Dental Assistant School, she learned everything she could about the surgery. At the time, the only doctors who would perform the surgery were in Sweden. While traveling there, she met a Dr. Christian Hamburger who specialized in rehabilitative hormone therapy. Christine opted to stay in Denmark a have hormone replacement therapy with Dr. Hamburger. She ultimately chose the name Christine for herself in Dr. Hamburger’s honor.
Christine managed to get special permission from the Danish government to undergo the surgeries she was seeking at a hospital in Copenhagen. On October 8, 1951 — only partially through the series of surgeries — she wrote a letter to friends in the United States where she stated:
“As you can see by the enclosed photos, taken just before the operation, I have changed a great deal. But it is the other changes that are so much more important. Remember the shy, miserable person who left America? Well, that person is no more and, as you can see, I’m in marvelous spirits.”
After her second surgery (a penectomy), she returned to the United States where she would eventually get vaginoplasty, with the help of Dr. Angelo, once it was permitted in the country.
On December 1, 1952, the New York Daily News put Christine on their front page with the headline “Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Bombshell: Operations Transform Bronx Youth”. The article claimed that Christine was the first person to receive a “sex change”. Because of this article, Christine became an instant celebrity — and Christine used this platform to speak up on behalf of transgender people everywhere.
After her vaginoplasty, Christine tried to marry twice. First, she became engaged to a labor union statistician named John Traub, but the engagement was called off. In 1959 she got engaged to a typist named Howard J. Knox. Knox lost his job when news of the engagement became public — and their request for a marriage license was denied because Christine was still legally considered a man.
Christine began working as an actress and a nightclub performer — noted for singing songs like “I Enjoy Being a Girl”. One of her performances was recorded and is available on iTunes — or so I’m told by Wikipedia; I haven’t checked yet but I did check Spotify and it definitely is not there. (Though I did find a song called “Christine” by a Jimmy Jorgensen but I’m really sure there’s no connection.) She toured and spoke at college campuses throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s, giving transgender people even greater visibility.
In 1989, Christine stated that she had given the sexual revolution a “good swift kick in the pants”. She passed away on May 3 of that year due to bladder and lung cancer. In 2012, she was inducted into the Legacy Walk.
queerstorian Connecticut, Denmark, Legacy Walk Honorees, New York, Outside Cisnormativity, People, Sweden, Transgender Men & Women, Transgender Women, United States of America, World War II 2 Comments June 16, 2017 July 20, 2018 2 Minutes
This post is like SUPER long, but this man did a LOT of stuff that is really important even to this day and he deserves to have it all celebrated. Let’s get into it:
Alan Turing was born on June 23, 1912 in London. (He was one of a handful LGBT+ figures who were born on this day — the birthday is shared by Alfred Kinsey, and myself. 😛) Turing is often known as the father of theoretical computer science as well as artificial intelligence, and is known for his work in code-breaking. In truth, he accomplished a great deal more than that before his death on June 7, 1954. (And that’s why we’re doing his post today!)
Alan Turing displayed signs of genius early on in life, showing incredible gifts at science and math, which were recognized by his teachers. At the age of 13, he was sent to Sherborne boarding school — however, his aptitude for math and science was not appreciated by many of the staff there, who sought to create more well-rounded students. Nevertheless, Turing would find inspiration for much of his later work at the school — by working on advancing his own education alongside his “first love” (albeit unrequited) Christopher Morcom. On February 13 of 1930, Morcom died from complications related to bovine tuberculosis, which he had contracted several years earlier. To work through his grief, Alan dedicated himself even more fully to his studies of math.
Turing attended university at King’s College in Cambridge. (That’s Cambridge in England, not in Massachusetts, for the Bostonians reading this.) At this point, Turing began writing and publishing dissertations on things that I am truly not smart enough to explain, so I’m just going to tell you what they were and let you Google them. In 1935, Turing wrote a dissertation that proved the central limit theorem. He was elected a fellow of King’s College as a result, because neither Turing nor the committee realized that the theorem had already been proven in 1922. I guess that’s what happens when you go to university before the invention of the Internet. In 1936, Turing published a paper called “On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem.” (I’ll admit to copying and pasting that last word there because wtf Germany, is that word for real?) In this paper, Turing essentially planned out the devices that would be called Turing machines, and proved that the-then hypothetical machine would be able to solve any computation that could be solved by an algorithm — and also apparently proved that you couldn’t mathematically prove whether or not his hypothetical machine would ever stop, or something. I mentioned that this is way over my head, right?
Apparently, someone else also beat Turing to the punch with the things he was proving about the Entscheidungsproblem (seriously, Germany, wtf?) — but Turing’s answers were considered far more accessible than those provided by Alonzo Church. As a result, Turing machines became central to the science of computers and are apparently still studied as part of the theory of computation. Likely because of their common interest in developing machines that could computer literally anything, Turing began to study under Alonzo Church at Princeton University from 1936 to 1938. It was here that Turing began to study cryptology, or code breaking. After earning his PhD, Turing returned to Cambridge to give lectures, and he also joined the British code-breaking organization called the Government Code & Cipher School (GC&CS).
The day after Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, Turing reported for duty at Bletchley Park — which was the wartime headquarters for the GC&CS. He is credited with essentially five different code-breaking techniques, including the bombe which was the primary automated method used by the GC&CS during World War II. For a time, he led Hut 8 — the British group in charge of breaking German naval ciphers. Never one to stop being a scholar, Turing also published two papers on mathematical approaches to codebreaking — however, these papers contained such valuable information to the British codebreaking organization that they were not actually released until 2012.
Turing’s work is estimated to have saved thousands of lives during World War II, and is said to have shorted the war by as much as two years. In 1946, King George IV awarded Turing the Order of the British Empire even though Turing’s work remained secret for years to come.
In 1945, Turing began working on an Automatic Computing Engine (ACE). He also wrote and presented a paper on a hypothetical computer that could store programming — unheard of at the time. (Once again, Turing was beaten to the punch on the *idea* but the paper that preceded him was apparently too vague to be taken seriously.) On May 10, 1950 a pilot version of the ACE enacted its first program — although Turing was at Cambridge at the time and did not witness the event. Turing’s ACE would not be truly completed until after his death.
Turing also became interested in other, more obscure forms of mathematics at about this time. He developed what is known as the Turing test — a test to determine whether or not a machine had true intelligence. This test is still used today, and in fact every one of those CAPTCHA tests that drive us all nuts is a reverse Turing test. He also worked on creating a chess program for computers — even though computers capable of running the program did not exist. The algorithm was completed in 1953, but could only be demonstrated by Turing flipping through his work to play the game of chess out on and actual chessboard. He also became keenly interested in mathematical biology (which I frankly did not even know was a thing until I started researching him) and particularly in morphogenesis (I don’t know what that is either). Despite publishing his work on morphogenesis before DNA was discovered, his paper is still considered relevant by biologists to this day.
In December of 1951, Turing began a relationship with an unemployed nineteen year old named Arnold Murray. Shortly afterwards, a burglar broke into Turing’s house — Murray said he knew the man, and Turing reported the crime to the police. However, during the course of the investigation, the sexual relationship between the two men was discovered. Homosexual acts were still illegal in the United Kingdoms at the time, considered “gross indecency” under Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885. Both men were charged with the crime.
Turing pled guilty to the crime. The case Regina v. Turing and Murray went to trial on March 31, 1952. Turing was convicted, stripped of his security clearance, barred from doing anymore cryptographic consulting, and given a choice: imprisonment, or probation with a hormonal treatment to lower his libido for one year. He opted for probation. The hormonal treatment, however, rendered him impotent and caused gynaecomastia (the growth of breast tissue in men). As a result of the conviction, Turing was also denied entry in the United States of America.
On June 7, 1954 Alan Turing died of cyanide poisoning. His body was discovered by his housekeeper the next day. Because there was a half-eaten apple by his bed, it was assumed that he committed suicide by ingesting the cyanide with the apple. There are theories, however, that his death was actually an accident as he was keeping some lab equipment in his bedroom, which used cyanide to dissolve gold. Yet others believe he intentionally put the equipment in his room to make his suicide look more like an accident. Some are still calling for a renewed investigation into his death.
In 2014, Turing was officially posthumously pardoned for the crime of gross indecency by the Queen. His was only the fourth royal pardon since the end of World War II. As of 2016, in what is informally called the “Alan Turing Law”, others convicted of historical laws that outlawed homosexual acts are being pardoned in England and Wales.
On June 5, 2019 Alan Turing received an obituary from the New York Times as part of their “Overlooked” series.
queerstorian Alan Turing Law, England, Homosexual Men, Legacy Walk Honorees, Men Who Loved Men, People, Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885, United Kingdoms, World War II 2 Comments June 7, 2017 June 8, 2019 5 Minutes
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It took years to beat his brother in chess. He's been winning ever since.
Rebekah Tuchscherer
When he first started playing chess at 5 years old, Nels Truelson couldn't win a single game.
Almost every day after school, Truelson would challenge his older brother Roy, the champion of the neighborhood chess kids. Despite thousands of matches, he got creamed every time.
But one day, Truelson got a win — and he became unstoppable.
Today, Truelson is a two-time national chess champion and has the hardware to prove it.
“Every time you lose, there’s gotta be a lesson there,” he said, crediting Roy for helping craft his game-winning tactics. “Thousands of such lessons forge a pretty good player.”
Since he picked up his first trophy back in 1978 at the U.S. Junior Open, Truelson has racked up a number of titles, including 10 South Dakota state titles, countless tournament wins with his brother and a ‘national master’ ranking, making him one of the top chess players in the nation.
A family of scholastic kings
While Truelson eventually won the battle of the brothers, there are a few more family members that have taken up the scholastic torch in competition.
Five members of the Truelson family have won state chess titles, including Nels, his sons Nick and Zack, brother Roy and nephew Joseph.
The youngest of the chess kings, Joseph traveled with Truelson to Georgia to compete at the national tournament at the end of June and placed second in the junior open division, putting in the work to fill his uncle’s big shoes.
While Nick and Zack have grown and moved to pursue their careers in different states, both were successful from elementary through their early 20s in chess, quiz bowls, geographic bees and spelling bees. Nick even made the national stage, making finals in both the national geographic and spelling bees within the same year.
With so many academics under one roof, Thanksgivings and Christmas tend to be filled with speed rounds of chess and a dining table full of spectators.
“We don’t play for blood,” Truelson said. “Just for fun.”
Creativity over calculations
Though Truelson’s success in competitive chess started in high school, he continued to play at the collegiate level as he attended Princeton for his undergrad and the University of Minnesota for his graduate education.
He’s jumped in and out of the competitive scene over the years, but keeps coming back to feel what he calls “the magnitude of victory,” whether that include playing against other master chess players or eight exhibition games while blindfolded.
“There are so many parallels with life and the lessons you learn there,” said Truelson. “It teaches the differences between the superficial and the substantive.”
A game of mental prowess over physical endurance, Truelson said that the best chess players know how to calculate with precision, concentrate for long periods of time and know how to outwit an opponent.
“Chess is more of a creative exercise than a mechanical, calculating exercise,” said Truelson.
Truelson continues to travel the competitive circuit — occasionally accompanied by his nephew — but also makes sure to spend time in the Sioux Falls community judging the state science bowl, playing at state chess tournaments and at the occasional local exhibition match.
Locally, chess nights are held every week at Dragon's Den Comics & Games from 6 p.m.- 10 p.m. on Thursdays.
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The incident occurred in October 2009, when Bertram fired his shotgun, fatally killing his fiance, Leonila Stickney, who was 26 at the time.
Gregory County law enforcement initially thought Stickney's death was accidental.
Bertram, who had served as police chief in Harrisburg, told authorities he was putting a 12-gauge shotgun back into his trunk after pheasant hunting in October 2009 when it accidentally went off and shot Stickney in the abdomen, the Associated Press previously reported.
State authorities took over as a cold case in 2010 after the victim's estranged husband received an insurance processing claim from Bertram, who was the beneficiary of a $750,000 life insurance policy and $150,000 accidental death benefit, according to the Associated Press. The man contacted the Attorney General's Office criminal division, which reopened an investigation.
The case was investigated by the Division of Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by the Gregory County States Attorney's Office and Attorney General's Office.
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in: A Man's Life, On Manhood, Women
Brett • December 13, 2010 • Last updated: October 14, 2020
A Generation of Men Raised by Women
“We’re a generation of men raised by women. I’m wondering if another woman is really the answer we need.”
This comment, made by the Tyler Durden character in the movie Fight Club, is one of the most memorable lines of that film and has oft been repeated and discussed. It’s sticking power is surely due to the way it resonated with many men–how it so succinctly summed up their life’s experience. Products of divorced parents, single mothers, or fathers who spent more time at work than at home, these men lacked a vital example of manhood growing up. Oftentimes, not only was their dad not around, male mentors in other areas of their life were few and far between as well. They understand well Nathaniel Hawthorne’s lament in The Marble Faun:
“Between man and man there is always an insuperable gulf. They can never quite grasp each other’s hands; and therefore man never derives any intimate help, any heart sustenance, from his brother man, but from women-his mother, his sister, his wife.”
Without male mentors, many men of this generation have felt adrift, unsure of how to deal with an indescribable but acute lack in their lives.
How did we get to the point where it is possible, as Edward Abbey put it, “to proceed from infancy into senility without ever knowing manhood?”
There are three primary social institutions that have historically served to mold young boys into men: family, religion, and education. Yet the masculine influence of these institutions diminished over the last century. Let’s take a closer look at each.
During the pre-industrial period, a man’s home was also his workplace. For the farmer and the artisan, “bring your kid to work day” was every day. Father and son worked side by side from sunrise to sunset. Fathers taught by example, not only apprenticing their sons into the trade, but subtly imparting lessons on hard work and virtue.
This relationship was disrupted by the Industrial Revolution, as fathers were forced to abandon the land and the workshop for a place on the assembly line. A clear line was drawn between the home and the workplace. Dad left the tenement in the morning and did not return for 10-12 hours at a time. As we’ve discussed previously, the result of this economic shift was that the home became thought of as the women’s sphere, a feminine refuge from the rough and dirty professional and political realm, the “man’s world.” Children spent all their time with mom, who, as the repository of virtue and morality, was expected to turn her boys into little gentlemen.
The ideal (which was always more ideal than reality) of mom at home and dad at work would persist into the 1950s. This is still a romantic standard many would like to return to, ignoring the fact that such a set-up kept dad away from his children for the bulk of the day, depriving them of his mentoring and creating a culture where his parenting role was deemed subordinate to mom’s.
But at least in that situation dad was around. The divorce rate began to climb at the turn of the century and peaked around 1980 when many states legalized no-fault divorces. And the courts, as they still do today, typically favored the mother when issuing custody rights. Whereas boys once didn’t see their fathers while they were away at work, now they only saw dad on weekends or holidays. And of course, many dads voluntarily fled from the responsibility of their children; the percentage of single parent households (84% of which are headed by single mothers) has doubled since 1970.
Until the mid-nineteenth century, the vast majority of teachers were men. Teaching was not considered a lifelong career but was rather undertaken by young men during the slow periods on the farm or while studying to become a lawyer or minister. Children were thought to be inherently sinful and therefore prone to unruly behavior; they thus needed a strong male presence to keep them in line. As some Christian denominations became more liberal, the emphasis on children’s sinfulness was replaced by a focus on their need to be gently nurtured into morality, a task believed to be better suited to the fairer sex. At the same time, women were marrying and having children at a later age, allowing them more time to teach before settling down. The result was a complete reversal in the gender make-up of the education profession.
In 1870, women made up 2/3 of teachers, 3/4 in 1900, 4/5 in 1910. As a result, boys were spending a significant portion of their day at school but passing the time without the influence and example of an adult male mentor.
The third institution that has historically socialized boys into men is religion. And during the past century, that religion for a majority of Americans was Christianity. But if the home had become a thoroughly feminized place, the church was hardly a refuge of masculinity.
Women are more likely to be religious than men-and this holds true across time, place, and faith. This means they have historically been more likely to attend religious services and be active in a congregation. And Christian ministers, whether consciously or not, naturally catered their style and programs to their core audience. The Jesus men encountered in the pews became a wan, gentle soul who glided through Jerusalem patting children’s heads, talking about flowers, and crying.
A push back against the perceived feminization of Christianity began around the turn of the 20th century. Referred to as “Muscular Christianity,” its proponents linked a strong body with a strong faith and sought to inject the gospel with a vigorous virility.
The most visible and popular leader of this movement was the evangelical preacher, Billy Sunday. Sunday had been a professional baseball player before undergoing a conversion to Christianity and deciding to devote himself to spreading the faith. Sundays’ preaching style was charismatic and physical; peppering his sermons with baseball and sports references, he would run back and forth, dive to the stage like he was sliding into a base, and smash chairs to make his point.
Obviously struck by the difference in Sunday’s preaching versus the typical “effeminate” style of the day, a journalist described Sunday in action:
“He stands up like a man in the pulpit and out of it. He speaks like a man. He works like a man…He is manly with God and with everyone who comes to hear him. No matter how much you disagree with him, he treats you after a manly fashion. He is not an imitation, but a manly man giving all a square deal.”
Sunday presented Jesus as a virile, masculine Savior; he was “the greatest scrapper who ever lived.” Here was a strong Messiah, an artisan with the rough worn hands of a carpenter, a man who angrily chased money changers out of the temple and courageously endured a painful execution. Faith was not for the meek and sedentary. Sunday believed that a Christian man should not be “some sort of dishrag proposition, a wishy-washy, sissified sort of galoot, that lets everybody make a doormat out of him. Let me tell you, the manliest man is the man who will acknowledge Jesus Christ.” “Lord save us from the off-handed, flabby cheeked, brittle boned, weak-kneed, thin-skinned, pliable, plastic, spineless, effeminate, ossified, three karat Christianity,” he prayed.
Operating on the principle that “The manly gospel of Christ should be presented to men by men,” in 1911 Sunday started “The Men and Religion Forward Movement.” Week long revivals just for men were held to great success; male church attendance increased a whopping 800%.
Yet Sunday didn’t solve the problem of getting men into the church-going habit. With the advent of new sources of entertainment, Sunday’s popularity, and that of revivals generally, died out and the gender imbalance in religion remained thoroughly entrenched.
The Current State of Affairs
With fathers missing in action, schools staffed by female teachers, and churches struggling to connect with their male members, many of the current generation might rightly feel they were “raised by women.” Where does that leave them and the future of masculinity?
It’s truly a mixed bag. Many things remain less than ideal, but there is also room for justified optimism.
The gender imbalance for Christian churches has continued to increase. In 1952, the ratio of female to male active church goers was 53/47; now it is 61/39, and the complaint that the culture of Christianity is overly feminized remains. But churches continue to try to attract men into the fold, with attempts that range from the sincere and thoughtful, to the patently ridiculous (Football Sunday — wear your favorite team’s NFL jersey and do the wave!).
The numbers aren’t too rosy when it comes to education either. In the last 30 years the percentage of male teachers in elementary schools has fallen slightly, from 17% to 14-9% (depending on the source). The number is even lower for pre-k and kindergarten teachers; only 2% are male. While more male teachers can be found in secondary schools, there has been a decline there as well, from 50% in 1980 to around 40% today. With boys falling behind girls in academic performance, some education experts are actively trying to recruit men into the profession.
Despite continuing problems in the familial sphere and its attendant hand-wringing (1 in 3 American kids will grow up in a home where the parents are either divorced, separated, or never married), there are reasons to be optimistic about this vital institution and the man’s role in it as well.
While it is popularly thought that the divorce rate is increasing, it has in fact been falling for the last three decades and is currently at its lowest level in 30 years. Among those couples who are college-educated, the divorce rate is only 11%.
I’m also hopeful about the future because of the marvelous wonders of technology. I think our modern advancements will allow a greater and greater number of men to work, at least part of the time, from their homes. And I think this will usher in a new archetype of manliness: the Heroic Artisan 2.0.
While it’s easy to feel nostalgic for a time period like the 1950s, I’m happy to be a dad in the modern age. I don’t work 10 hours a day at a job I hate, come home, play with my kids for a few minutes and then crack open a beer in front of the tv. My father traveled a lot and never changed a diaper. He was a great dad, but I’m loving having a much more hands-on role with our new arrival. Say what you will about the feminism movement, but I’m happy to have been “liberated” from the Industrial Revolution ideal of being the absentee bread winner. If there’s one generational difference I notice between my parents’ generation and mine, is that my generation values time over money. And not because we’re lazy either, but because we’re not willing to trade time with the people we love most for a gold watch at retirement.
Me and the Gus
According to a recent survey, 76% of adults said their family was the most important element of their life, and 40% say their current family is closer than the family in which they grew up.
These statistics bear out the real reason for my optimism about manhood and the family, which is truthfully simply based on the gut feeling I get from engaging and talking with other men in my life. The guys I know who grew up feeling like they were “raised by women” are earnestly dedicated to doing better by their kids than their dads did by them. They want to be as much a part of their kids’ lives as possible. Although it’s not a very scientific sample, in the situations I know of where a family has broken up, it was the guy who wanted to keep the marriage together and wanted more custody of the children. Even when divorce couldn’t be avoided, these men do all they can to remain part of their children’s lives.
Perhaps the biggest reason for my optimism about the future of manliness is, well, the popularity of this website. I’ve been rather astounded and quite humbled by how quickly it has grown over the last 3 years. Some people say that it’s “sad” that men need to learn how to be men from a website. Such criticism seems to be born of an assumption that boys pop out of the womb with an innate sense of everything there is to know about being a man. Of course that’s not the case—we learn how to be a man from the mentors in our lives. And for many men, those men simply weren’t around growing up. Or even if they were–and in what is yet another reason I am optimistic about the future-they still desire to improve themselves, to learn as much as they can and utilize their potential to the utmost. Yes, ideally you should learn manliness from your father and other mentors, and the art of manliness should be passed down from generation to generation. But where there’s a link missing in that chain, we’re happy to stand in the gap–imparting information that you can pass down to your kids, a generation that will hopefully be raised by women and men.
Manhood in America by Michael Kimmel
Sunday Firesides: Contentment Through Contrast
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Dr. Greene is a board-certified ophthalmologist with subspecialty training in Vitreoretinal Diseases and Surgery. Dr. Greene specializes in retinal and vitreous medicine and surgery. His retinal services will include examination and treatment for peripheral retinal disease including retinal holes and retinal detachments, and central retinal disease including macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
He was raised in Philadelphia and received his BS in Ecology and Evolution from the University of Pittsburgh, where he graduated magna cum laude. He was admitted to several academic honor societies as an undergraduate including Golden Key, Tri-Beta and Alpha Epsilon Delta, for distinguished pre-medical students. He received his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine where he was a member of the Medical Outreach Society. He did his medical internship at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, followed by an Ophthalmology residency at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Hyde Park, NY. Following residency, he did a surgical retina fellowship at Indiana University.
He is in private practice at Philadelphia Retina Associates.
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Austin Vida
You are here: Home / City & Culture / [9/25] Preview: Pulitzer Prize winning author Junot Díaz at BookPeople
[9/25] Preview: Pulitzer Prize winning author Junot Díaz at BookPeople
September 24, 2012 By Austin Vida Staff
Junot Díaz (promo photo by Nina Subin)
Dominican-born author and M.I.T. professor Junot Díaz released his third book, This Is How You Lose Her, on Sept. 11. The follow up to the successful and critically praised modern classic The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Díaz’s latest looks just as promising. On Tuesday, Sept. 25, Díaz will be at BookPeople in Austin to read from his latest and sign copies of the book for attendees. The event will begin at 7 p.m.
This Is How You Lose Her synopsis:
On a beach in the Dominican Republic, a doomed relationship flounders. In the heat of a hospital laundry room in New Jersey, a woman does her lover’s washing and thinks about his wife. In Boston, a man buys his love child, his only son, a first baseball bat and glove. At the heart of these stories is the irrepressible, irresistible Yunior, a young hardhead whose longing for love is equaled only by his recklessness—and by the extraordinary women he loves and loses: artistic Alma; the aging Miss Lora; Magdalena, who thinks all Dominican men are cheaters; and the love of his life, whose heartbreak ultimately becomes his own.
BookPeople is located at 603 N. Lamar Blvd. The speaking portion of this event is free and open to the public. Wristbands are required for the signing portion are available only with the purchase of a copy of This is How You Lose Her from BookPeople. BookPeople will begin distributing wristbands at 9 a.m. on Sept. 25.
Austin Vida Staff
Entertainment and culture in Texas, with a Latino twist.
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Filed Under: City & Culture Tagged With: books, Junot DÃaz, preview, previews
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The ABC's of Widowhood
by Pat Nowak
I wish there had been a primer written for widows. There are books for children entering school, for your high school years, college manuals, and self-help novels for new moms, old moms, menopause, and everything else under the sun. But I have read nothing that tells you what to expect when a part of your life ends.
When a spouse dies, through a process of trial and error, most women tread the tightrope of life not fully understanding all that is going on around them. And there is really no one who can get to the depths of the pain, anger and fright. Your days are spent walking alone through a haze, not fully comprehending what you should do next and yet you must go forward. There are arrangements to be made, family to cope with, and countless other duties that come with the new title “WIDOW”.
My widowhood came suddenly. My husband had been sick for five years with a non-threatening illness made worse by alcohol and not taking care of himself. After beating the alcohol addiction, our lives were sailing smoothly along. Since both children were away at school, our routine was fairly normal. We had come to mutually respect each other’s space and were great friends. However, one day at 7:20 AM, I received a call telling me my husband had been killed. He had been crossing the street when an uninsured motorist, in a hurry, ran into him and he died instantly. I remember screaming but nothing else. I know that someone took me to the hospital, that I did call my daughter at school, and that I enlisted her fiancée to go to my son's apartment to talk to him, as there was no answer to my phone call.
I was definitely making decisions in an out-of-body state. It was like I was in a dream world and was just waiting to wake up. I chose the funeral home because it was close not from any personal experience. I was lucky, as they were wonderful. I chose the casket by its name, Titan. My son’s high school football team was called the Titans. My floral pieces were personal favorites and the clothes he wore were items he had just received for his 51st birthday. However, because his family was also involved, I became overly sensitive to making everyone feel comfortable with my decisions.
The one thing I remember most vividly is waking up early the morning after his death and sitting in my family room. It was February and here in the Midwest, it was cold. I made myself a cup of coffee and stared out at the stars. One shot across the sky and I remember tears coming to my eyes and thinking, “What am I going to do now? How will I get through this?" I had two children in college and knew something about finances. But I was not prepared for making my life’s decisions knowing that my future was riding on those decisions.
Since my husband's death was an accident, it suddenly became news and reporters, began hounding me, asking for any tidbit of information. I gave them none. This was a personal moment, not one to be played over and over on the six o'clock news. The days preceding the funeral were another matter. As the PR director for a large regional supermarket chain, I came in contact with hundreds of people on a regular basis and many were kind enough to show up at the viewing. However, I was not prepared for the 236 floral baskets and 1500 people that stood in line to speak to me. The minutes melted into hours and I could not tell you, from one minute to the next, who was there and who was not
I chose my husband's boyhood church for his funeral services and since we were not members, I only spoke briefly to the priest. I was amazed and gratified how eloquently he spoke about someone he had personally never met. Our daughter recited a beautiful poem, one that she had brought back from college, filled with haunting words to a song by a local rock group. I am sure my husband would have approved.
Dimensions : E-Book
One morning you get a call-- your husband has been killed by an uninsured motorist. You are instantly alone, saddled with debt, bombarded with questions, required to make decisions, and completely clueless about most of what it takes to manage personal and family affairs. And if that wasn't enough, eighteen days later your home burns to the ground, destroying the remains of your sanctuary.
If this seems like a harrowing, mind numbing situation to you, imagine how it feels to the 700,000 women, who join the existing 11.3 million over the age of 15, to become new widows each year in this country. A few are prepared, some are able to cope, but for most, their time of personal anguish becomes a living, overwhelming hell. It needn't be that way.
The ABC's of Widowhood is a book that every woman should read before she is widowed and which every widow needs at her side when the time comes. Written by a woman whose life was turned upside down by her husband's sudden death, it the voice of experience in an easy to read, easy to access alphabetical format. Pat Nowak, a successful public relations executive, thought she had a handle on her life. She discovered how unprepared she really was.
No widow has the time, or the inclination, to wade through the text of the numerous books out there today written by psychologists or financial writers to find the answer that she needs. The ABC's give her direct, honest, and succinct answers. One doesn't have to "read the book", you can simply look up the answers by topic as the questions arise. This is not a book in the traditional sense; it is a dictionary for living.
Besides practical advice, a new widow needs solace and hope. The ABC's of Widowhood brings her that with first hand, anecdotal messages about the feelings a new widow finds herself feeling - or not feeling. It allows her to take comfort in the fact that others have had exactly the same feelings - or lack of feelings - and that their experience is a perfectly normal part of life and the healing process.
Most women will become widows. This book can make their transition easier.
Pat Nowak is a Toledo native, one of the four daughters of Robert and Hedwig Stack.
Her career as a fashion director for two local department chains, the owner of a Public Relations firm and her subsequent position at Seaway Food Town Supermarkets have allowed her access to the highly visible world of broadcast and print media. She has been a media spokesperson for over twenty years, directed and co-hosted a highly visible morning radio talk show, written, produced and appeared in company advertising and for televised preview shows.
Her journalism career began out of necessity. Suddenly, as new widow, fluent in writing press materials and a Lifestyles column, she searched for something readable that could help her grieving soul. Finding great stories about personal triumph helped but there was little that addressed precisely and with clarity what every new widow faces. Thus The ABC's of Widowhood came about, the help all women over the age of forty (widowed or not) need to get their emotional and financial worlds in balance. The book celebrates the spirit of hope and allows a woman to discover the path to being reborn through perseverance, courage and determination.
Pat's family includes son Martin (Heather), daughter Laura Nowak-Glover (Douglas) and grandchildren Liam Casimir and Rae Isabella. She resides in Holland, Ohio.
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Syllabus for Global History Since 1500
by Ken Hammond
History 112G Global History since 1500 MWF 10:30-11:20 Hardman-Jacobs Learning Center 230 Ken Hammond Breland 245 khammond@nmsu.edu This is a course on the history of the world over the last five centuries. As such it is of necessity devoted to the study of major patterns and processes, rather than the detailed coverage of all places at all times. We will be largely concerned with several themes, including the development of global economic and political systems, the dynamics of nationa...
Published Fall 2020 in Volume 25:2 (Fall 2020): Teaching Asia’s Giants: China.
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China, Global History, and the Sea: Pedagogical Perspectives and Applications
by Eugenio Menegon, Eytan Goldstein, Grant Rhode, Robert Murowchick, Thomas Kennelly, William Grimes
China has had a long and complex relationship with the sea. Although regarded primarily as a continental power within the context of global history, China’s maritime history has taken place within the context of the Asian region, and more recently within the broader scope of global affairs. The maritime history of China, distinct from its continental history, has its own stories, evidence, scholars, and scholarship. This article will tell some of these stories with notes on evidence, and intro...
References China, Asia General, China and Inner Asia
EAA Interview, Resources
Eurasia and Teaching World History: A Short Conversation with Professor Xinru Liu
by Lucien Ellington
XINRU LIU (PhD, University of Pennsylvania) is Professor Emeritus of early Indian History and World History at the College of New Jersey. She is the author of Ancient India and Ancient China, Trade, and Religious Exchanges, AD 1–600; Silk and Religion, an Exploration of Material Life and the Thought of People, AD 600–1200; Connections across Eurasia, Transportation, Communication, and Cultural Exchange on the Silk Roads, coauthored with Lynda Norene Shaffer; A Social History of Ancient India...
References China, India, Asia General
Supplements for “Teaching Students about Mindfulness and Modern Life”
by Andrew O. Fort, Mark Dennis
Published Spring 2020 in Volume 25:1 (Spring 2020) Asian Philosophies and Religions.
References China, Japan, Tibet, United States, Asia General
Facts About Asia: Religious Freedom in Asia
by EAA Editorial Office
Article 18 of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights is perhaps the strongest international endorsement of Religious Freedom ever written: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” It is particularly imperative in this special sec...
References Cambodia, Fiji, Hong Kong, Japan, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, Asia General
Teaching Students about Mindfulness and Modern Life
Are your students often distracted, seemingly addicted to their phones? Have you noticed, as suggested in the quotation above, that anxiety, depression, and other forms of mental and emotional suffering have been rising steadily among the young people you teach, especially in the time of the coronavirus pandemic, which began during final editing of this article? While perhaps a slight exaggeration, we remain convinced that some of our students would more likely give up food, sleep, and even actu...
Resources, Teaching Resources Essay
Using the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index to Teach Social Science: A Plan for a Facilitated Discussion
by Paige Tan
The Lowy Institute, one of Australia’s most well-regarded think tanks, released its second annual Asia Power Index in May 2019 (available at https://power.lowyinstitute.org). High school and college educators can use this resource to get students doing hands-on explorations of Asian political, military, economic, and diplomatic power using data. Students can learn about Asia while enhancing their data literacy and critical-thinking skills. This essay provides a plan for an interactive discussi...
Published Winter 2019 in Volume 24:3 (Winter 2019): Asian Literature in the Humanities and the Social Sciences.
References Japan, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, Asia General, China and Inner Asia, Northeast Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Economics, International Relations, Political Science
In Memoriam: Jean Elliott Johnson
by Donald Johnson, Karen Johnson, Mark Johnson
Jean Elliott Johnson passed away at the age of eighty-two after spending a lifetime advancing the movement of world history throughout her teaching and writing. She is survived by her husband and professional partner of fifty-seven years, Donald Johnson, three children, and three grandchildren. Jean will long be remembered for her commitment to teaching, students, peace, equity, and justice.
Published Fall 2017 in Volume 22:2 (Fall 2017): Water and Asia.
References Asia General
Columns, Resources, Web Gleanings
Web Gleanings: Major Universities in Asia
by Judith S. Ames
For those who wish to study at a university in Asia, there are thousands of choices. To narrow the choices, it is helpful to consult with sites that rate the universities on a number of factors. Below are several important evaluation sites: A) Best Global Universities in Asia Source: US News and World Report URL: http://tinyurl.com/jap4d6x B) QS University Rankings: Asia 2015 Source: Top Universities URL: http://tinyurl.com/j4tgchc C) Asia University Rankings 2015 Source: Time...
Published Spring 2016 in Volume 21:1 (Spring 2016): Asia in AP, IB, and Undergraduate Honors Courses.
References China, Japan, Singapore, Asia General, Instructional Technology
Resources, Web Gleanings
Web Gleanings: Food, Culture and Asia
ASIA, GENERAL The Rhythm of Rice Production URL: http://on.natgeo.com/rewF5U The National Geographic Society, in its Xpeditions section, provides this lesson plan for young elementary school students about the importance of rice in the economy and culture of Asia. A link to a handout is also available. Food Timeline: Asian-American Cuisine URL: http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodasian.html Short overviews of the history of Asian food in America are accompanied by reviews and quotes from p...
Published Winter 2011 in Volume 16:3 (Winter 2011): Food, Culture, and Asia.
References Asia General, Instructional Technology
The Asian Soul of Transcendentalism
by Kent Bicknell, Todd Lewis
The treatment of Transcendentalism by twentieth-century teachers of literature and American history has followed a long tradition of focusing primarily on the European and American cultural influences on its major figures, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, and Bronson and Louisa May Alcott. Their work is seen as fitting into various Western currents such as German Romanticism, Unitarian theology, neo-Platonism, and American utopian thought. In this framework, the...
Published Fall 2001 in Volume 16:2 (Fall 2011): U.S., Asia, and the World: 1620-1914.
References China, India, United States, Asia General, American History, Literature, Philosophy, Religion, World History
Asia’s Turtle Crisis and Conservation: Environmental Education and Cultural Geography
by Bradley R. Reynolds, Thomas P. Wilson
By Bradley R. Reynolds and Thomas P. Wilson Turtles are heavily exploited in Asia, not only for the pet trade, but also as a food source and for use in traditional Asian folk medicines. Along with habitat destruction, increased urbanization, and pollution, such over-exploitation is driving what conservationists are calling the Asian turtle crisis, a precipitous decline in Asian turtle populations. Currently, over half of Asia’s ninety turtle species are classified as endangered or critically ...
References Asia General, Environmental Studies, Science Education
Teaching Asia: Exploring Online Curriculum with Catherine Higbee Ishida
by Linda S. Wojtan
Interviewed by Linda S. Wojtan Editor’s Note: What follows is an interview with Cathy Ishida, who is earning an excellent national reputation for her stellar work with teachers. Cathy is on the staff of the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Program for Teaching East Asia (TEA), where she has a number of professional development responsibilities. In addition to her work with the TEA program, Cathy played a major role in building the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Asia Com...
References Asia General, Education, Instructional Technology
Web Gleanings: US, Asia, and the World: 1620–1914
Americans in Eastern Asia URL: http://tinyurl.com/3mqdsly The focus of this book, published in 1922, is on the relations between the United States and Korea, China, and Japan in the nineteenth century. The author relies greatly on Consular correspondence, but also refers to books and articles written in the last half of the nineteenth century. Trading Places URL: http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/trading/tradingplaces.html This is part of the British Library’s Learning Series. It ex...
References China, India, Indonesia, Asia General, American History, Instructional Technology, World History
Essay, Resources
Advice to Students Choosing a Foreign Language: Go Asian
by John F. Copper
Having been a college professor for more than three decades, I have come to expect that one or two students will ask—almost weekly—what language he or she should study in college and why. First, I tell my students that studying a foreign language requires a considerable commitment of time and energy, and it should be viewed as a lifetime endeavor; thus, the choice deserves careful consideration. Then I tell them that to answer the question, one must ask: What languages are going to be the...
References China, Asia General, Chinese Language, Economics, Geography, International Relations
Education About Asia: Spring 2011 Table of Contents
FEATURES EAST ASIA AND THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS 5 By Ronald G. Knapp THE RISE OF EASTERN CHINA: FROM HOE CULTURE TO FACTORY CULTURE 12 Understanding China’s New Geographies By Robert W. McColl ENTRY INTO CHINA AND MARKET INTELLIGENCE 17 Machine Tool Exporters as a Case Study in Human Geography By Dawn M. Drake and Ronald Kalafsky...
Published Spring 2011 in Volume 16:1 (Spring 2011): Teaching the Geographies of Asia.
Teaching Resources Essay
Thinking Geographically about Asia: Online Case Studies and Collaborative Projects for High School and Undergraduate Students
by Michael Solem, Waverly C. Ray
By Michael Solem and Waverly C. Ray Improving Geographical Understanding of Asia: A Crucial Educational Challenge America’s future in virtually every sense is tied inextricably to Asia’s. As a continent with subregions encompassing a stunning array of industrial activities, technological innovations, economic inequities, political systems, and environmental habitats, Asia provides a seemingly endless supply of opportunity, worry, mystery, and possibility. Also, Asia is a source of enormous...
References Asia General, Education, Geography
Web Gleanings: Teaching the Geographies of Asia
Asia URL: http://continents.pppst.com/asia.html One can keep busy for days simply exploring the links on this site. For the most part, these are links to PowerPoint presentations by teachers. Some presentations are more detailed than others. The links are grouped by geographic region in Asia: Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia, etc., and by Asian country. HowStuffWorks: Geography of Asia URL: http://geography.howstuffworks.com/asia/geography-of-asia.htm The Discovery Company p...
References Asia General, Geography, Instructional Technology
Book Review, Columns
Taiwan: Nation State or Province
by Hans Stockton
John F. Copper’s Taiwan: Nation-State or Province? remains as insightful, instructive, and relevant in its fifth edition as it was in its first printing in 1990. While the question posed in the title continues to be prone to political “spin,” Copper presents an objective narrative that paints an accurate, rich, and multi-faceted view of Taiwan’s development that has largely been separate from that of mainland China for more than a century. This new edition includes events up to about 200...
Published Winter 2009 in Volume 14:3 (Winter 2009): Asia in World History: The Twentieth Century.
References Taiwan, Asia General, American History, Cultural Studies, Economic History, Economics, Geography, Sociology, World History
The Twentieth Century: Asia Returns to the Sea
by James R. Holmes
While the history of human experiences at sea has always elicited a certain amount of interest, it has grown into a discipline in its own right. The first step for newcomers is to conceive of maritime history as a distinct field of inquiry and endeavor, and to do so without oversimplifying. This is harder than it might seem. It is commonplace, even among those well versed in oceanic affairs, to reduce maritime history to a chronicle of naval derring-do, and understandably so. Sea warriors have ...
References Asia General, Economic History, Geography, Political Science, World History
New to EAA?
Before viewing the full archives, view Editor’s Choice Articles, handpicked by EAA Editor, Lucien Ellington, which provide a good overview of EAA and introduction for new readers.
The Philippines: An Overview of the Colonial Era
The Middle Class in India: From 1947 to the Present and Beyond
"Give Me Blood, and I Will Give You Freedom": Bhagat Singh, Subhas Chandra Bose, and the Uses of Violence in India's Independence Movement
India: “The Emergency” and the Politics of Mass Sterilization
A Brief Essay on my Key Issues Book: The Philippines: From Earliest Times to the Present
The History of Economic Development in India since Independence
Music as a Gateway to Learning about East Asia
Exploring Indian Culture through Food
On the Difference Between Hinduism and Hindutva
Contemporary Chinese Short-Short Stories: A Parallel Text. Reviewed by Hui Faye Xiao
Education About Asia Articles
© 2009 The Association for Asian Studies. All rights reserved.
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SIG Westside Breakfast
Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services - 4760 South Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City, CA 90230
Didi Hirsch Guests
When You Just Don’t Feel Like It: Using Mindfulness Techniques To Help You Prepare for a Coaching & Training Session
Mindfulness is all about self-awareness and maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment. In this interactive learning lab, Gena Yuvette Davis, MBA, CCP, BCC will walk you through some tools to develop a practice of mindful awareness when preparing for any coaching or training session. The impact of practicing mindfulness has been well-documented, including a reduction in toxic stress, an increase in emotion regulation, and an improvement in sustained attention, focus and executive functioning.
The role mindfulness plays in communication and interaction
How to work with thinking that arises while practicing mindfulness
Practices that cultivate positive states of mind like gratitude, kindness, joy & compassion
Techniques for meeting and navigating negative or intense emotions
Learn a basic mindfulness meditation
Other tips for developing a mindfulness practice
About Gena Yuvette Davis
Gena Yuvette Davis, MBA, CCP, BCC has a strong marketing background that is rooted in experience gained through some of the giants of the entertainment industry, including Fox Entertainment Group, The Walt Disney Company, and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Today she uses the lessons learned in corporate America to help her audiences hone their career skills and become more successful in both their work and personal lives. What she teaches has the power to put professionals on the fast track to career and business achievement. Ms. Davis speaks to audiences throughout the US and Internationally, sharing her message that is rich in strategies and skills attendees can put to use the day they return to the workplace. She is passionate about helping people become their best selves, and her enthusiasm quickly spreads to those fortunate enough to hear her speak.
About the Special Interest Group
For additional information or questions kindly contact Rachel Karu at rachel@raedevelopment.com (310) 441-1104
Please bring in books you wish to donate. Each month we rotate who will bring breakfast. Whoever brings breakfasts gets to choose one of the donated books as a "thank you."
Location: Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services - 4760 South Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City, CA 90230
About Scott Wimer and Marc Campbell
Scott is an OD consultant and executive coach with over 30 years experience. He specializes in leadership development, 360º feedback, change management, team building, and conflict management, and he leads seminars and workshops on Coaching for Performance, Communication, and Managing Change. As a coach, Scott works with CEOs, executives, managers and professionals across a wide range of industries. He helps people identify and capitalize on their strengths, and also overcome areas of difficulty and potential derailment. Scott teaches at UCLA, and he has created and led the Mid-Career Makeover at the Anderson School of Management. Also, Scott has published in TD (Training and Development), Executive Excellence, The OD Practitioner, Consultation, and the Los Angeles Times.
Marc heads up TCI’s Life Strategy Practice. His strong passion for helping people lead even happier and more fulfilled lives, coupled with TCI’s time-tested and fully transparent wealth management offering provided the perfect backdrop for this unique financial advisory practice. Prior to joining TCI, Marc was a regional director at Dimensional Fund Advisors, serving as an advisor to wealth management firms across the country. With a focus on strategy and business development, Marc began his career at JP Morgan, and has worked in the field of financial services for over 15 years. Marc also has a background in the world of comedy. In addition to regularly performing stand-up and improv comedy in New York and LA around the turn of the century, Marc also founded an online comedy video startup, and is now an owner at M.I.’s Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica.
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Series:Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research
Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Management, Education Technology and Economics (ICMETE 2019)
Bibliographic information:
Prof. Hongxia Zhao
Prof. Zhong Chen
Dr. Feng Liang
Part of series
AEBMR
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The copyright of all articles published in these proceedings remains with the Authors, i.e. Authors retain full ownership of their article. Permitted third-party reuse of the open access articles is defined by the applicable Creative Commons (CC) end-user license which is accepted by the Authors upon submission of their paper. All articles in these proceedings are published under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, meaning that end users can freely share an article (i.e. copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt it (i.e. remix, transform and build upon the material) on the condition that proper attribution is given (i.e. appropriate credit, a link to the applicable license and an indication if any changes were made; all in such a way that does not suggest that the licensor endorses the user or the use) and the material is only used for non-commercial purposes. For more information, please refer to the Open Access and User Licenses section in the Atlantis Press Open Access & Article Sharing policy.
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Politico Writer Plays Race Card by Calling Millennials Racist
In a Politico article Sean McElwee of Demos argues that, in the words of his title, “ Millennials Are More Racist Than You Think .” In fact, the Pew study he cites shows the contrary and reflects on his own race-tainted ideology.
HOW TOLERANT ARE MILLENIALS?
Using Pew data, McElwee acknowledges that Millennials [those born after 1980] “are indeed less likely than baby boomers to say that more people of different races marrying each other is a change for the worse (6 percent compared to 14 percent).” Further, he notes that 92 percent of Millennials are okay with interracial dating.
However, he notes that by both these measures Millennials are pretty much on par with GenXers, those born from 1965 through 1980. So what? You’d think two generations that are more tolerant than the previous ones would be occasion for applause.
MCELWEE EQUATES LEFTISM WITH ANTIRACISM
So where’s the racism? McElwee tells us that questions like the above “don’t really say anything about racial justice” and that Millennials “simply ignore structural racism rather than try to fix it.”
McElwee complains that to the question, “How much needs to be done in order to achieve Martin Luther King’s dream of racial equality?” the opinions of white Millennials are little different from those of previous generations—42 percent of them answer “a lot” compared to 41 percent of white GenXers and 44 percent of white baby boomers, those born from 1946 through 1964.
McElwee then lets his full dogma spill out. He supports his contention by citing the work of Professor Spencer Piston who “examined a tax on millionaires, affirmative action, a limit to campaign contributions and a battery of questions that measure egalitarianism.” The professor found that young whites were not enamored of those policies, evidence for McElwee that they are racists. And McElwee is even more depressed because in the Pew data “there is also evidence that young blacks are more racially conservative than their parents, as they are less likely to support government aid to blacks.”
THE DAMAGE OF LEFTIST ATTITUDES ON RACE
So the racism is really in McElwee’s ideology. To begin with, the policies of race-based privileges and handouts run completely contrary to King’s goal of a world in which individuals “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
Those policies have encouraged in many blacks an entitlement mentality with a resentment at having to earn their way in the world rather and having the world given to them. Affirmative action policies and the ideology that goes with them have discouraged entrepreneurship and personal responsibility.
McElwee mentions the problem of “deep disparities in criminal justice” faced by blacks. Let’s grant that there are problems: the drug war hasn't helped poor blacks, that's for sure. But let's take note of the elephant in the room: disproportionate black involvement in violent crime. Since King’s inspiring speech five decades ago, over 400,000 blacks have been murdered mostly by other blacks. Blacks make up 12 percent of America’s population. Half of murder victims are blacks. About 38 percent of the murders are committed by blacks, with about one-third committed by whites and most of the rest by assailants of unknown race.
The deep racial problems in this country today are no longer the result of Southern bigots or Klan members but, rather, they are caused the ideology accepted by leftists like McElwee and promoted by race hustlers like Al Sharpton—as well as by the man Sharpton has visited in the White House over 60 times: President Obama.
MILLENNIALS AS THE INDIVIDUALIST SOLUTION
Pew data also show that Millennials are very cynical about politics and politicians. For example, half of millennials consider themselves political independents, compared to only 37 percent of baby boomers, and only 31 percent believe there is a big difference between Republicans and Democrats, compared to 49 percent of boomers. Millennials overwhelmingly supported Obama in 2008 but, like much of the country, have become disillusioned with him.
The fact that Millennials are anything but naïve means there is a good chance today that they will challenge that leftist racial orthodoxy. Rather than being more racist, as McElwee assets, they could help turn the country away from that collectivist orthodoxy and in the direction of King’s dream, so that individuals “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” and so that our characters will manifest the best in all of us.
Edward Hudgins, “ Martin Luther King's Dream and Today's Racial Nightmare .” August 27, 2013.
William Thomas, “ How Racist Are We? ” Summer, 2010.
William Thomas, “ Objectivism is Not Anti-Family ,” August 13, 2014.
Edward Hudgins is research director at the Heartland Institute and former director of advocacy and senior scholar at The Atlas Society.
Race and Immigration
Ideas and Ideologies
GOP 2015 Second Debate Rundown
Google, Entrepreneurs, and Living 500 Years
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You cannot rely on this record in your tax affairs. It is not binding and provides you with no protection (including from any underpaid tax, penalty or interest). In addition, this record is not an authority for the purposes of establishing a reasonably arguable position for you to apply to your own circumstances. For more information on the status of edited versions of private advice and reasons we publish them, see PS LA 2008/4.
Edited version of your written advice
Authorisation Number: 1051499651490
Date of advice: 12 April 2019
Subject: Assessability of a lump sum payment from an overseas retirement fund
Is the lump sum income received from a Country Y based retirement fund assessable income in Australia?
This ruling applies for the following period:
Year ended 30 June 2018
The scheme commences on:
Relevant facts and circumstances
You are an Australian resident for tax purposes.
You became a resident of Australia for tax purposes in the 20XX-XX financial year.
Prior to migrating to Australia, you lived in Country Y where you became a member of Fund Z in 20XX.
The last deposit to the fund was made in 20XX.
Relevantly, Country Y Fund’s policy document contains the following withdrawal conditions:
A Roth IRA is a retirement account that allows your contributions and earnings to grow tax-deferred, regardless of your age. While contributions are not tax-deductible, you can take withdrawals at any time without incurring federal income taxes or penalties.
The first withdrawal from the fund occurred late 20XX.
You received other foreign sourced income which places you over the tax free threshold in Australia.
Relevant legislative provisions
Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 section 99B
Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 subsection 99B(1)
Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 subsection 160AF(1)
Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 subsection 160AFE
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 subsection 6-5(2)
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 subsection 6-10(4)
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 10-5
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 subsection 295-95(2)
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subdivision 305-B
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 305-70
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 subsection 770-70
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 subsection 995-1(1)
Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 section 19
Lump sum payments from foreign superannuation funds
Subdivision 305-B of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) deals with the tax treatment of superannuation benefits paid from certain foreign superannuation funds.
In accordance with section 305-60 of the ITAA 1997, where a lump sum paid from a foreign superannuation fund is received within six months after Australian residency and relates only to a period of non-residency; or to a period starting after the residency and ending before the receipt of payment, the lump sum is not assessable income and is not exempt income.
If a person received a lump sum payment from a foreign superannuation fund more than six months after the person becomes a resident of Australia, section 305-70 of the ITAA 1997 applies to include the applicable fund earnings (if any) in the person’s assessable income.
Meaning of ‘foreign superannuation fund’
A foreign superannuation fund is defined in subsection 995-1(1) of the ITAA 1997 as follows:
(a) a superannuation fund is a foreign superannuation fund at a time if the fund if not an Australian superannuation fund at the time; and
(b) a superannuation fund is a foreign superannuation fund for an income year if the fund is not an Australian superannuation fund for the income year.
Relevantly, subsection 295-95(2) of the ITAA 1997 defines an ‘Australian superannuation fund’ as follows:
A superannuation fund is an Australian superannuation fund at a time, and for an income year in which that time occurs, if:
(a) the fund was established in Australia, or any asset of the fund is situated in Australia at that time; and
(b) at that time, the central management and control of the fund is ordinarily in Australian; and…
Based on the above, a superannuation fund that is established outside of Australia and has its central management and control outside of Australia would not qualify as an Australian superannuation fund and would therefore be a ‘foreign superannuation fund’ in accordance with subsection 995-1(1) of the ITAA 1997.
Meaning of ‘superannuation fund’
Subsection 995-1(1) of the ITAA 1997 defines a ‘superannuation fund’ as having the same meaning given by section 10 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 (SISA), that is:
(a) ‘a fund that:
(i) is an indefinitely continuing fund; and
(ii) is a provident, benefit, superannuation or retirement fund; or
(b) a public sector superannuation scheme’.
The High Court examined both the terms superannuation fund and fund in Scott v. Commissioner of Taxation of the Commonwealth (No.2) (1966) 10 AITR 290; (1966) ALJR 265; (1966) 14 ATD 333 (Scott). In that case, Justice Windeyer stated:
…I have come to the conclusion that there is no essential single attribute of a superannuation fund established for the benefits of its employees except that it must be bona fide devoted as its sole purpose to providing for employees who are participants money benefits (or benefits having a monetary value) upon their reaching a prescribed age. In this connexion “fund”, I take it, ordinarily means money (or investments) set aside and invested, the surplus income therefrom being capitalised. I do not put this forward as a definition, but rather as a general description.
The issue of what constitutes a provident, benefit, superannuation or retirement fund was discussed by the Full Bench of the High Court in Mahoney v. Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1967) 41 ALJR 232; (1967) 14 ATD 519 (Mahoney). In that case, Justice Kitto held that a fund had to exclusively be a ‘provident, benefit or superannuation fund’ and that ‘connoted a purpose narrower than the purpose of conferring benefits in a completely general sense…’ This narrower purpose meant that the benefits had to be ‘characterised by some specific future purpose’ such as the example given by Justice Kitto of a funeral benefit.
Furthermore, Justice Kitto’s judgement indicated that a fund does not satisfy any of the three provisions, that is, ‘provident, benefit or superannuation fund’ if there exist provisions for the payment of benefits ‘for any other reason whatsoever’. In other words, though a fund may contain provisions for retirement purposes, it could not be accepted as a superannuation fund if it contained provisions that benefits could be paid in circumstances other than those relating to retirement.
In section 62 of the SISA, a regulated superannuation fund must be ‘maintained solely’ for the ‘core purposes’ of providing benefits to a member when the events occur:
● on or after retirement from gainful employment; or
● attaining a prescribed age; and
● on the member’s death (this may require the benefits being passed on to a member’s dependants or legal representative).
Notwithstanding the SISA applies only to ‘regulated superannuation funds’ (as defined in section 19 of the SISA), and foreign superannuation funds do not qualify as regulated superannuation funds as they are established and operate outside Australia, the Commissioner views the SISA (and the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994) as providing guidance as to what ‘benefit’ or ‘specific future purpose’ a superannuation fund should provide.
In view of the legislation and the decisions made in Scott and Mahoney, the Commissioner’s view is that for a fund to be classified as a superannuation fund, it must be exclusively provide a narrow range of benefits that are characterised by some specific future purpose. That is, the payment of superannuation benefits upon retirement, invalidity or death of the individual as specified under the SISA.
The information provided indicates that you could access your benefits in Fund Z for pre-retirement purposes. For example, a member may withdraw their after-tax contributions from their account at any time, for any reason.
It is considered that Fund Z does not ultimately provide the narrow range of benefits required by the definition of a superannuation fund.
Further, as the benefits in Fund Z can be accessed for pre-retirement purposes, Fund Z does not meet the ‘sole purpose test’ and therefore cannot be considered a ‘superannuation fund’ for the purposes of subsection 10(1) of the SISA.
Therefore, on the basis of the information provided, any payments made from Fund Z will not be considered to be paid from a ‘foreign superannuation fund’ as defined in subsection 995-1(1) of the ITAA 1997.
Assessable income
The assessable income of a resident taxpayer includes ordinary income and statutory income derived directly or indirectly from all sources, in or out of Australia, during the income year (subsection 6-5(2) and subsection 6-10(4) of the ITAA 1997).
Your withdrawal from your Fund Z account would not be ordinary income (subsection 6-5(2) of the ITAA 1997).
‘Statutory income’ is not ordinary income but is included in assessable income by a specific provision in the tax legislation (subsection 6-10(2) of the ITAA 1997).
Section 10-5 of the ITAA 1997 lists those provisions about statutory income. Included in this list is section 99B of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936) which deals with receipt of trust income not previously subject to tax.
Subsection 99B(1) of the ITAA 1936 provides that where, during a year of income, a beneficiary who was a resident at any time during the year is paid a distribution from a trust, or has an amount of trust property applied for their benefit, that amount is to be included in the assessable income of the beneficiary.
Subsection 99B(2) of the ITAA 1936 modifies the rule in subsection 99B(1) and has the effect that the amount to be included in assessable income under subsection (1) is not to include any amount that represents either:
● the corpus of the trust (paragraph 99B(2)(a) of the ITAA 1936)
● amounts that would not have been included in the assessable income of a resident taxpayer (paragraph 99B(2)(b) of the ITAA 1936), and
● amounts previously included in the beneficiaries income under section 97 of the ITAA 1936 (paragraph 99B(2)(c) of the ITAA1936).
Paragraph 99B(2)(a) of the ITAA 1936 requires regard to be had to whether or not the amount derived by a trust estate was of a kind that would have been assessable if derived by a resident taxpayer. Thus, for example, if, in accordance with the terms of the trust, income were accumulated and added to corpus and the capitalised amount is subsequently paid or applied for the benefit of a beneficiary, the beneficiary would be assessable on the amount provided (subject to other paragraphs of subsection 99B(2) of the ITAA 1936).
In your case, the withdrawn amounts are a distribution from a trust, any amounts distributed (withdrawn) or credited from Fund Z are assessable under subsection 99B(1) of the ITAA 1936.
Any distribution from the fund is assessable in your hands subject to the exclusions under subsection 99B(2) of the ITAA 1936.
The foreign tax credits - 2008 and earlier income years
For the 2008 and earlier income years, subsection 160AF(1) of the ITAA 1936 provides that where the assessable income of a resident contains foreign sourced income and foreign tax has been paid on that income a foreign tax credit will be allowed. The foreign tax credit allowed against Australian income tax is the lesser of:
● the amount of that foreign tax paid, reduced in accordance with any relief available to the taxpayer under the law relating to that tax, or
● the amount of Australian tax payable in respect of the foreign income.
Where the foreign tax paid is greater than the Australian tax payable, a taxpayer is only entitled to a credit equal to the value of the Australian tax payable and cannot recover any excess foreign tax paid.
However under section 160AFE of the ITAA 1936, any excess foreign tax credit can be carried forward for a maximum of five years for application against any tax payable on foreign income earned in the future.
Foreign income tax offset (FITO) - from 1 July 2008
From 1 July 2008 the foreign tax credit system was replaced by the foreign income tax offset system.
A foreign income tax offset is a non-refundable tax offset, that will reduce the Australian tax that would be payable on foreign income which has been subjected to foreign income tax.
Section 770-10 of the ITAA 1997 is the primary provision under which a foreign income tax offset arises. FITO can be claimed for foreign income tax paid by a taxpayer in respect of an amount that is included in their assessable income.
When claiming a FITO, you are required to gross up your income for the foreign tax paid (or which is taken to have been paid) in respect of that income.
The amount of the tax offset is the sum of all foreign income tax that has been paid by the taxpayer for the income year subject to a limit (cap) (section 770-70 of the ITAA 1997).
The foreign tax offset cap is based on the amount of Australian tax payable on the double-taxed amounts and other assessable income amounts that do not have an Australian source.
If foreign tax has been withheld from amounts paid, the taxpayer is entitled to claim a FITO only for the proportion of the foreign income tax which equates to the proportion of foreign income included in the assessment subject to the foreign income tax offset cap.
In your case, you are entitled to FITO for any income tax withheld from your income in Fund Z limited to the amount to which you are entitled under section 770-10 of the ITAA 1997.
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Mergers / Acquisitions Attorneys
Oakland, CA Mergers and acquisitions lawyers (433 results)
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Mergers / acquisitions lawyers help businesses buy other companies, or merge with them to become a single company. For example, America Online and Time Warner merged in 2000 to form AOL Time Warner. There are many reasons companies merge–for example, corporate strategy and finance, economies of scale, increased revenue or market share, and cross-selling opportunities. Mergers and acquisitions attorneys understand business law, are often trained negotiators, and will be able to draft detailed agreements describing the new relationship.
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Covid-19: implications from a legal perspective
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Jersey foundations: key uses
A decade since the introduction of the Foundations (Jersey) Law 2009 (the "Foundations Law"), the Jersey foundation has an established role in private wealth structuring. Key uses are for succession planning, as orphan structures for specific purposes, and for philanthropy.
Choosing Jersey
With foundations available in a number of jurisdictions, it is important that families choose a location, and a form of foundation, which suit their requirements.
Factors in Jersey's favour are as follows:
Experience, expertise and quality of service: Jersey's finance industry has developed over more than 50 years, and offers an extensive range of highly-respected services, together with a network of more than 13,000 professional advisers.
Stability: The island offers political, economic and geographic stability at levels not often seen in other jurisdictions.
Robust and highly-regarded regulatory regime: Jersey adheres to and is often an early adopter of global standards set by the United Kingdom, the European Union, the United States of America, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Rule of law: Jersey has a well-respected judicial system, with adherence to the rule of law and ready access to the courts.
Central time zone: With a central time zone, Jersey is accessible for families across the globe.
Proximity to the UK: Jersey has several daily flight connections and a flying time to London of under an hour so that, for those with business interests or family connections in London or elsewhere in the UK, choosing the island makes logistical and practical sense.
Choosing a Jersey foundation
The Jersey foundation is not an exact equivalent of a foundation found in any other jurisdiction. The island's foundations should therefore be considered on their own merits without assuming, for example, that they will give rise to the same rights and duties, nor that they will be interpreted in the same way, as foundations established elsewhere.
Some of the key features of the Jersey foundation are as follows:
Incorporated vehicle: Differing from a trust, a foundation is an incorporated vehicle which is brought into existence following the completion of a registration process.
Legal personality: A foundation is a separate legal entity which holds assets, and enters into contracts, in its own name. By contrast, as a trust is not an entity in its own right, transactions in relation to a trust are entered into in the names of the trustees, rather than in the name of the trust.
Public record: A foundation's existence can be determined as a matter of public record, by conducting a search of the register of foundations. The entry of a foundation's name in the register is conclusive evidence that the foundation has been incorporated and that the requirements of the Foundations Law in that regard have been complied with.
No ultra vires: The doctrine of ultra vires does not apply and a foundation can exercise all the functions of a body corporate, save only that it cannot directly acquire, hold or dispose of immovable property in Jersey or engage in commercial trading that is not incidental to the attainment of its objects (although these limitations can be overcome by using an underlying company).
Orphan vehicle: As Jersey foundations do not have shareholders or other owners, they can be used to simplify planning arrangements.
Indefinite existence: As with Jersey trusts, foundations can continue to exist indefinitely and are therefore well-suited to dynastic planning across the generations.
Amendments: Amendments can be made so that, for example, a foundation's objects can be changed as circumstances evolve, enabling them to remain relevant and appropriate.
In terms of the structure of the Jersey foundation, the following are core elements:
Constitutional documents: A foundation will have a charter (which is registered and open to public inspection) and regulations (which are not registered and are therefore private). The Foundations Law specifies certain content for each of these documents and also allows for considerable flexibility so that, in particular, regulations can be tailored to address family governance and other specific requirements.
Objects: A foundation's objects can be tailored to reflect individual requirements, and can be to benefit people and/or to carry out purposes (whether charitable or non-charitable).
Principal roles:
The founder: The founder is the person upon whose instructions a foundation is incorporated. A founder need not endow assets upon the foundation and (unlike a trust) it can come into existence without assets.
Council: A foundation has a council, which is similar to a company's board of directors. Its role is to administer the foundation's assets and to carry out its objects. The council can have one or more members, with one member being a "qualified person" with the appropriate regulatory licence pursuant to the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998: this member is known as the qualified member. Council members are required to act honestly and in good faith with a view to the foundation's best interests, and to exercise the care, diligence and skill that reasonably prudent persons would exercise in comparable circumstances. These duties are similar to the statutory duties of a Jersey company's directors, but are narrower than the duties owed by the trustees of a Jersey trust.
Guardian: The guardian's role is to take such steps as are reasonable in all the circumstances to ensure that the council carries out its functions. The founder and the qualified member (but not others) can act as both council member and guardian. There is no regulatory requirement for this role, and nor is it necessary for the guardian to be resident in Jersey.
Who is using Jersey foundations?
Families from across the globe are using Jersey foundations, for a variety of reasons:
For some families – such as those from civil law jurisdictions in Europe and Latin America and from the Middle East and Russia – foundations are more familiar than trusts and so are their preferred choice for structuring.
For other families, the Jersey foundation is chosen because its particular features suit their specific requirements.
What are foundations being used for?
Whilst each family has its own reasons for choosing a Jersey foundation, three broad categories of use can be identified:
succession and estate planning
orphan ownership
For families focusing on succession and estate planning, the Jersey foundation is attractive because of its flexibility: it can be tailored to individual requirements, and can also allow for amendments to be made over time as family priorities and dynamics change. As well as this over-arching flexibility, the following features of the Jersey foundation are often important:
Reservation of powers: The founder can be a member of the foundation's council and/or its guardian, and can also be given rights in relation to the foundation and its assets, so that concerns regarding retention of control can be addressed.
Retention of assets: A foundation can be drafted with the express object of holding certain assets and this can be important where, for example, the founder is planning to transfer a family business into a structure and would like to know that the business will be retained into the future, notwithstanding changes in family dynamics or the profitability of the business.
Fiduciary duties: For some founders, it is important that the beneficiaries of a Jersey foundation have no interest in its assets and are not owed fiduciary duties by the foundation, the council, the guardian or anyone else appointed under the regulations to carry out a function in relation to the foundation. Nevertheless, if the constitutional documents provide that a beneficiary is entitled to a benefit, the beneficiary can apply to the courts in Jersey for assistance if that benefit is not provided. A beneficiary is also a "person with standing" and therefore able to apply to court for directions or other orders in accordance with the provisions of the Foundations Law.
Information disclosure: Save to the extent expressly required by the Foundations Law or by its constitutional documents, a foundation is not required to provide beneficiaries (or others) with information about the foundation. In relation to express statutory requirements, the Foundations Law provides for copies of the regulations to be supplied to those appointed under the regulations (viz. council members, the guardian and anyone else appointed under the regulations to carry out a function in relation to the foundation). This feature of the Foundations Law can be very important as it allows for a tailored and individual approach to be taken in relation to the topic of disclosure. For some, it may be desirable that there should be no disclosure whilst, for others, it may be considered that beneficiaries should be given information, but not until a pre-determined age or in pre-defined circumstances. The ability to make such decisions can often be very helpful particularly, for example, where younger family members are concerned and efforts are being made to encourage them to develop their own careers and independence.
Legal personality: A foundation (unlike a trust) is an incorporated vehicle with a separate legal personality and this is important for some families.
Separate existence: For some families, it is important that assets will be held in the name of the newly created foundation and will continue to be held in that name throughout the foundation's existence. By contrast, where a trust is created, the assets will typically be held in the name of a professional services provider (with whom the family may not be wholly familiar at the time of the trust's creation) and will be transferred into the names of new service providers as and when trustees change during the lifetime of the trust.
Family governance: A foundation's regulations, whilst required to contain certain information, can also incorporate additional material as required. They can therefore be used as a key document for family governance purposes. Regulations are private documents which allow for considerable flexibility in drafting and can, for example, detail an approach in relation to the future operation and retention of a family business and/or the involvement of future generations (whether as council members or otherwise).
Orphan structures for specified purposes
A Jersey foundation (with no shareholders or other owners) is often an ideal choice for families focusing on the creation of bespoke structures. This might, for example, arise in the context of a family office, with family wealth (and associated trusts, foundations and companies) being consolidated to provide increased efficiency and simplicity and to help with reputation management.
PTCs: A private trust company (PTC) is frequently an important element with such structures, providing a dedicated trustee to act in relation to family trusts. A Jersey foundation can own the shares in the PTC or, alternatively, can act as the PTC itself.
Other examples: Families often establish dedicated protector or enforcer vehicles as part of their trust structuring, or vehicles which will be council members, or the guardian, of a foundation. A Jersey foundation can own all of these vehicles or, alternatively, can fulfil each of the roles itself.
Jersey foundations are very popular for families interested in philanthropy. Flexibility is again very important, with the following additional factors also influencing a family's choice:
Choice of objects: Philanthropy is often a very personal matter, and a Jersey foundation can be drafted to pursue the causes that really matter to a family, whether or not those causes are technically charitable. It is also possible to provide for philanthropy and for benefit to family members or others within one foundation, and this option has frequently been chosen.
Preferred structure: Foundations have traditionally been used for philanthropy and many families are therefore naturally drawn to the Jersey foundation as being an appropriate choice of structure.
Ongoing involvement: One of the key attractions of Jersey foundations for philanthropy is that they allow opportunities for ongoing involvement. For example, the founder or other family members might be council members (and so might participate in a giving committee, distributing the foundation's assets) or might be the guardian (with a monitoring role, to ensure that the council administers the assets and carries out its objects as required by the constitutional documents).
Incorporated vehicle: A foundation exists as a legal entity which holds assets, and enters into contracts, in its own name. The ability to refer to a foundation as such - and, for example, to use the foundation's name when distributions are made – can be important for families when considering how their philanthropic giving will work in practice.
Public profile: For some families, the ability to publicise their philanthropy is important, whilst others prefer to maintain a lower profile: Jersey foundations can accommodate them all. For those seeking publicity, the foundation might carry their family name, and full details of the chosen causes and/or of the council members and guardian can be included in the charter so that they are publicly available. For those favouring a lower profile, a neutral name can be used, details of the chosen causes can be specified in the regulations (which are private), and only the name of the council's qualified member needs to be made public.
Charity registration: For those establishing a foundation with charitable objects, Jersey offers the additional choice of a charity registration. This is important for many families and, again, preferences in relation to public profile can be accommodated. The innovative Jersey charity register offers registration on either the restricted or the general section. The former is available for those using their own moneys (rather than public donations) and provides for only limited information (including the charity's registered number but not its name) to be made publicly available.
How can Bedell Cristin assist you?
Our international private client team can assist with the preparation of foundation documents and with issues arising during a foundation's existence. If you would like assistance, or any more information, please contact one of our team and we will be happy to help.
Where can I access more information?
For additional information on Jersey foundations, please see our briefings on:
- Jersey foundations
- Foundations: migrating to Jersey
- Foundations: mergers
Related Service: International Private Client
Edward Bennett
Partner | Jersey
edward.bennett@bedellcristin.com
Nancy Chien
nancy.chien@bedellcristin.com
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Facebook removes French, Russian accounts active in Africa
by: ANGELA CHARLTON and DAVID KLEPPER, Associated Press
FILE – This March 29, 2018 file photo shows the Facebook logo on screens at the Nasdaq MarketSite, in New York’s Times Square. Individuals linked to Russia and the French military used fake Facebook and Instagram accounts to wage a covert disinformation campaign in the Central African Republic ahead of elections there this month, Facebook announced this week. Facebook said on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020 it took down hundreds of accounts and groups linked to France and Russia accused of “coordinated inauthentic behavior” in CAR as well as other countries in Africa and the Middle East. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
PARIS (AP) — Individuals linked to Russia and the French military used fake Facebook and Instagram accounts to wage a covert disinformation campaign in the Central African Republic ahead of elections there this month, Facebook announced this week.
Facebook said it took down hundreds of accounts and groups linked to France and Russia accused of “coordinated inauthentic behavior” in the CAR as well as other countries in Africa and the Middle East.
While accounts traced to Russia have been repeatedly accused of such activity, Facebook told The Associated Press this is the first time it has taken action against a network tied to individuals associated with a Western government. It has taken action against networks tied to political parties in the West in the past.
Facebook’s move came ahead of elections Dec. 27 in the Central African Republic, which Facebook identified as the main target of the disinformation, at a time when both France and Russia have been jockeying for influence in the region.
The company said its investigators traced the French accounts to “individuals associated with French military.” However, Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of security policy, said in a statement that “we did not see evidence that the French military itself directed the activity.”
Graphika, a New York City social media analysis firm that investigated the accounts with Facebook, said it found no evidence of direct institutional involvement by the French government or military.
The French military said in a statement Thursday to The Associated Press that it “firmly condemns” such disinformation efforts and is working alongside the U.N. and European partners to bring peace to the CAR.
“We are examining the results (of the Facebook-Graphika investigation), but at this stage, we’re not able to confirm any responsibility. There are many stakeholders in this struggle, public and civilian, which makes it difficult to assess the situation clearly,” the statement said.
France was once the colonial power in the Central African Republic and nearby countries that Facebook also identified as being targeted. Russian companies also have growing interests in the region.
Facebook said it removed the networks for “violating our policy against foreign or government interference which is coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB) on behalf of a foreign or government entity.”
Russian officials have not publicly commented.
Facebook said its investigation found links to individuals associated with Russia’s Internet Research Agency, a so-called troll farm accused of meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, and Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has ties to the Kremlin and has been indicted by the U.S. Justice Department. Prigozhin has repeatedly denied any connections to the troll farm and its activities.
The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned mining businesses and employees tied to Prigozhin in the Central African Republic and claims his business activities there are coordinated with the Russian government. In a statement published this week on Russian social networks in response to media queries, Prigozhin claimed that Facebook is a tool of U.S. intelligence agencies and “a group of oligarchs” serving to advance American interests around the world.
Facebook said it has taken down the network of accounts that tried to meddle in the Central African Republic, which were among almost 500 inauthentic Facebook and Instagram accounts, pages and groups that targeted users in several African and the Middle Eastern nations with posts about COVID-19, politics or the military.
“While we’ve seen influence operations target the same regions in the past, this was the first time our team found two campaigns — from France and Russia — actively engage with one another,” Facebook said in its report on the networks.
In the Central African Republic, the dueling French and Russian troll operations tried to counter one another with Facebook posts, and at some points tried to expose the other, according to a report by Graphika.
The Russian operation, primarily conducted in French, posted pro-Kremlin videos and applauded the Central African Republic’s incumbent President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, according to Graphika.
The French operation, meanwhile, strayed away from talking about upcoming elections in posts. It began as early as May 2018, focusing on the Central African Republic and security in Mali.
One Russian page that promoted Touadéra had 50,000 followers. Meanwhile, the largest following a French group amassed in the Central African Republic was 34 followers.
“Facebook’s takedown marks a rare exposure of rival operations from two different countries going head to head for influence over a third country,” Graphika said in a statement.
Klepper reported from Providence, Rhode Island. Amanda Seitz in Chicago, Daria Litvinova in Moscow and Carley Petesch in Dakar, Senegal contributed to this report.
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Bicycle Crashes are Not “Accidents.”
Bike Law USA
By Peter Wilborn
We've used the word "accident" on our site for years. As of today, that changes.
The crash that sent our webmaster and blogger Mike Dayton to the ICU (still in critical condition) and that injured three others has garnered much attention around the country. We have reported on his condition, and the weak charges filed against the reckless driver.
Thanks to so many for your kind words and thoughts to Mike. We have received thousands of messages of support and concern. It is a comfort to be reminded of the power of community. Cyclists are the best.
The attention prompted an overdue, critical look at our site, the words we actually use, and the message we send.
We have long argued that bicycle crashes are not “accidents.” North Carolina attorney Ann Groninger (who proudly represents Mike) has made the point on these pages. Lawyers in our Network have represented injured cyclists in thousands of cases. We know, first hand, that our clients are rarely injured “accidentally.” On the contrary, in the overwhelming number of occurrences, a driver made a choice (or failed to make a choice), and that choice caused injuries, often life-changing, sometimes fatal.
Let me / Peter get personal. My brother, Jim, was killed on his bicycle by an underaged driver running a red light. It was no accident, because 10 minutes before, the driver’s mother decided to give her unlicensed daughter the keys to drive to school.
Likewise, we know that the crash that has left Mike in such dire condition was no accident.
Same is true in so many of our other cases: read about Matthew Burke, Patrick Wanninkhof, and Dale Thomas, just to name three.
And yet, as was pointed out by a few of you out there, we still clung to the word “accident” on the Bike Law site. Most noticeably, we titled a box on each page: “Report a Bicycle Accident.” We appreciate that you guys care enough our mission to point out our inconsistency.
Yes, we used the word “accident” on every page of our site. We did so on purpose. We did so in order to be more visible to Google. In the current state of legal marketing, lots of personal injury lawyers (most with no track record in cycling or cycling advocacy) are flooding the internet, trying to attract injured cyclists. Because “accident” is by far the most searched relevant term, because “bicycle accident” is what is used by the general public, we used it too. We want to be visible, and we want to represent injured cyclists, regardless of whether they know or understand the distinction in word usage.
But as of today, we are changing. It is no longer ‘Report a Bicycle Accident.” It is “Report a Bicycle Crash.” And we will be making similar changes across the site in coming days. We want to be true to you guys, true to our mission, and be a part of changing how bicycle crashes are viewed and understood.
We realize that the distinction does make a difference.
It is worth quibbling over semantics.
A BICYCLE CRASH IS NOT AN ACCIDENT.
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Amgen Inks $240 Million Autoimmune Deal with Tiny EVOQ Therapeutics
Published: Jan 13, 2021 By Mark Terry
Michael Vi/Shutterstock
Amgen is partnering with Ann Arbor, Michigan-based EVOQ Therapeutics for a license and collaboration deal to discover and develop drugs for autoimmune disorders. Amgen is paying EVOQ $240 million up front in addition to royalties on subsequent sales.
EVOQ’s focus is on autoimmune diseases, although its original intent was targeting oncology. It is a spinoff from the University of Michigan (U of M) in 2016. It was co-founded by James Moon and Anna Schwendeman, both from U of M. Moon is the chief scientific officer and Schwendeman is the vice president of preclinical development. William Brinkerhoff is also a co-founder and acts as the chief executive officer. Their technology platform is called NanoDisc, a high-density lipoprotein platform, that they believe can be used to deliver peptides directly into the lymph nodes.
The two companies will work together to use dendritic cells to develop immune tolerance. The company’s in-house pipeline includes two compounds that target MOG antibody disease, a new condition that results in neuro-spinal swelling and is typically misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis (MS), and type 1 diabetes.
A big driver of Amgen’s autoimmune portfolio is Otezla (apremilast). Amgen acquired Otezla for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in November 2019 from Celgene. Bristol Myers Squibb acquired Celgene, but was forced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to divest Otezla because of a competing product in their pipeline, deucravacitinib (BMS-986165). In fact, in November 2020, deucravacitinib beat out Otezla in the POETYK PSO-1 Phase III clinical trial in one of the key secondary endpoints. The drug otherwise hit the co-primary endpoints on psoriasis.
Amgen paid $13.4 billion in cash for access to Otezla, which is approved in the U.S. for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis patients who are candidates for phototherapy or systemic therapy; adults with active psoriatic arthritis; and adults with oral ulcers associated with Behcet’s disease. The drug is approved in more than 50 markets outside the U.S. and has patent protection through at least 2028 in the U.S. In 2018, Otezla sales were $1.6 billion.
In other news, Amgen announced new data from its oncology pipeline in lung cancer will be presented at the 2020 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) from January 28-31, 2021. That will include Phase II data from the CodeBreaK 100 clinical trial of sotorasib in KRAS G12C-mutated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). They will also describe updated Phase I data from AMG 757, a first-in-class BiTE molecule that targets delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3) in small cell lung cancer (SCLC).
“We are incredibly excited to present the first complete Phase II non-small cell lung cancer data set for an investigational KRAS G12C inhibitor, including novel biomarker analyses,” said David M. Reese, executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen. “This is an historic moment not only for us, but for the scientific community working on the 40-year quest to target KRAS, one of cancer research’s toughest challenges. Additionally, following recent regulatory submissions to the FDA and European Medicines Agency, we remain focused on rapidly bringing this potential foundational KRAS G12C therapy to patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer harboring this mutation.”
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Student Recitals
Berklee City Music Summit
The Checkout – Live at Berklee
Visiting Artist Events
Commencement FAQs
Commencement Memories
Welcome New Alumni
PAST COMMENCEMENTS
Past Honorary Degree Recipients
2020: Mikhail Baryshnikov, André De Shields, Sheila E., John Legend, Cassandra Wilson
2019: Missy Elliott, Alex Lacamoire, Justin Timberlake
2018: Rosanne Cash, Nile Rodgers, Esperanza Spalding
2017: Shin Joong Hyun, Neil Portnow, Lionel Richie, Todd Rundgren, Lucinda Williams
2016: Rita Moreno, the Isley Brothers, Lucian Grainge, Milton Nascimento
2015: Julio Iglesias, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Harvey Mason, Doug Morris
2014: Jimmy Page, Valerie Simpson, Geri Allen, Thara Memory
2013: Carole King, Willie Nelson, Annie Lennox
2012: The Eagles, Alison Krauss, Mulatu Astatke
2011: Mavis Staples, Michael McDonald, Chucho and Bebo Valdes, Kenny Garrett
2010: Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, Paco de Lucia, Angelique Kidjo, Kenny Barron
2009: Smokey Robinson, Linda Ronstadt, Juan Luis Guerra, George Massenburg
2008: Philip Bailey, Maurice White, Steve Winwood, Howard Shore, Rosa Passos
2007: Gloria and Emilio Estefan, the Edge, Andrew Hill
2006: Melissa Etheridge, Aretha Franklin, Andy McGhee, Elliot Scheiner
2005: Anita Baker, Ron Carter, Kevin Eubanks
2004: Lee Eliot Berk
2003: Dianne Reeves, Steven Tyler
2002: David Foster, Shirley Horn
2001: Steely Dan, Larry Linkin, William Davis
2000: Herb Alpert, Patti Austin, John Sykes
1999: David Bowie, Wayne Shorter
1998: Carly Simon, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller
1997: Chick Corea, Andraé Crouch, Henry Mancini
1996: Pat Metheny, Patti LaBelle
1995: James Taylor, Natalie Cole
1994: Sting, Nancy Wilson
1993: Billy Joel, Johnny Mandel
1992: Bonnie Raitt, Joe Smith
1991: Ahmet Ertegun, Phil Collins, Al Jarreau
1989: George Martin, Dizzy Gillespie
Chick Corea Delivers Commencement Address
I'm very excited right now to be here. It's kind of like a completion of a circle in my life because Boston is my hometown. Actually, when I went out on the road from Boston I left after high school in 1960, and I've been traveling constantly since then. So I kind of lost touch with Boston for awhile. And recently I've been coming back and touching my roots again. Being invited here by Berklee completes my reestablishing my touch with Boston. I'm very happy about that, and that Berklee becomes a focal point of creativity here in town. I'm very happy to finally accept [Berklee's invitation] to come here and be here with you all.
My mother...my uncles aunts and cousins are here—so we've all come here to congratulate you. All of us—the whole Corea clan.
This is a very unusual thing for me to do—to express my sentiments in words and just speak to you...but I do have a couple of sentiments, so I'm going to make an attempt to express them. How much time do I have? (Looks at Vice President Gary Burton, chuckles.) Just kidding.
One of my overall sentiments is the sentiment of congratulations and, really, acknowledgment for the accomplishments. Accomplishments, to me, are on a lot of different levels. The ones that I really want to acknowledge in you all are the ones that mainly that you know that you've achieved.
The thing that binds us all together here, I think, is that we all love to put creativity and music into the world and brighten each other up, and brighten the environment up with what we do. And basically, I think if we surveyed each other, we'd probably word it differently, but we'd come up with a similar reason why we all got into it in the first place.
Like, "Why did you become a musician? Why do you want to pursue the life of art? What's the attraction?"
I'll betcha that we'll all come up with very similar answers, very simple ones, that maybe sometimes you don't state because they seem inconsequential. But I don't think they are. It's a desire that we have, one way or another. Something that we saw at one point in life attracted us to pursue the life of creating music. We started to do [create] it, and it was fun, and joyous, and brought wonderful feelings all around us and we just kept going.
Now every time you make a step toward that—by practicing, performing, and finally accomplishing one little thing that you wanted to accomplish—whatever the success is in your minds, you build on it. That's what I want to congratulate you all on, and the college on, and all of us on—in pursuing that intent of putting beauty out into the environment, which I think, is the thing that gives all of us incredible pleasure. So congratulations.
Now that I've congratulated everybody, I have one other sentiment that I'd like to share with you. I think that one of the things we probably could agree upon is that advice is cheap. So I'm going to give you some cheap advice.
I selected one piece out of the sea of advice, that I thought was a pretty cool piece of advice. There's knowledge and there's second-hand knowledge, I think. What you gain, when you make an accomplishment—and you know what you can do musically, and it comes out in an action—that's knowledge that's yours, that you can build upon, and that's what you build your skills and confidence on. Only you know that.
So this other thing that we all call knowledge, which comes in the form of—books, study, me "yacking" at you today—whatever comes at you through the newspapers and media, data and opinions, it's all data. You could call it knowledge, but the real trick, is your own selection of what you consider important and what you like to try out and test.
So you take the piece of knowledge, or whatever it is, and you test it out. If it works for you—if it gets you "grooving"—if it gets you toward that thing you want to accomplish, then you know that it's a valuable piece of knowledge for you. So, my piece of cheap advice is that the most valuable quality that we all have is the quality of freedom of choice—the idea that out of all of the sea of information that comes toward you, there you are, and you really do have the freedom to choose what you want to do and what you think about what's coming your way.
What kind of music you want to play, who you want to associate with, what things you do and don't want to do, down to every little choice you make when you're writing your music and acquiring your skills—you discard that piece, and keep this piece—I just want to remind you that you've got it [the freedom to choose]. It's a freedom we all have, and it's something I feel should be incredibly cherished and understood and valued.
There's this subject that's developed in the past hundred years or so called human rights. We have the Bill of Rights. We try to state what our natural rights are. Over and over again, no matter how it's stated, it comes down to, "We want to keep this freedom to decide what we like, what our tastes are, and apply them to our lives." So, that's my little bit of cheap advice. I don't know if I'm getting my point across, or stating it the way that I feel it, but, there you have it.
I think you should cherish that freedom, and go out into life and really accomplish everything that you want to accomplish
There's one other thing.
I want to promote the idea of being and artist, and being a musician, because I know you can come through school and gather up a bit of this and that, and [make it through] an incredible bit of training, and developing your skills. But I can tell you from the viewpoint of having been out on the road for a lot of years now, playing music, that being involved in the arts, being a musician, playing for people, is a very, very fulfilling life. It really is kind of a magical life, because we live on a planet that's not really conducive to what we do. It's not easy to go out and just be creative...you have to survive. You have to make money, you have to keep the body healthy—you have to do all these various things. The planet is not, to put it mildly, at peace with itself, so we live in an environment that's kind of shaky.
But as artists, and musicians, we've sort of played a trick on the rest of the world. The rest of the world wants everybody to conform to the beat, to be a nine-to-fiver, to get up and do your job and not get too excited about anything, and just agree with everything that's going on. But in music and art, there's this little window that we've got that the whole planet agrees upon is a cool thing to do. It's all right to make music. It's all right to be yourself. In fact, the more yourself you are, the more money you make, I think, anyway. [Students applaud.]
So you see what I mean? We're in this little niche that is a really cool niche to be in...I want to encourage you to really go for it and do it, and accomplish it. Don't buy these opinions of, "Oh it's really hard, really difficult, man. I can't find anyone to play with and nobody's into my thing, and it's hard to get a gig," and this and that—just throw all that out the window. All that is no good.
So I'm trying to give you this picture of the fact that we really have rigged it so that in music and the arts the whole planet agrees that it's okay to create. Isn't that wild? I'm continually amazed...Gary [Burton, VP. of Berklee/jazz vibraphonist] and I went to Switzerland the other night and played a couple of concerts. I was just thinking about the concerts. We'd walk out into the hall and we'd play this wild music, and have an absolute blast for two hours, and people loved it. They sit there and applaud, and take it in, and smile...and then we get paid. We actually get money for it.
And it's amazing. There's this "agreement"—the human race needs to be uplifted...it can't exist without it [being uplifted]. We'd lose ourselves...become robots. So, I see it that it's our job, in a sense, to keep on reminding people of this creative nature that everyone's got. Not just us [artists]. All human beings are innately creative. So when we play, they wake up, and it's inspiring. It takes their mind off of troubles and war and when we put each other in a state like that, we're more able to enjoy life, to do something creative, to make a right decision and do right things.
So...you've chosen probably the only thing on the planet that you can do where you have the agreement to be yourself and do your thing and be creative. You're encouraged to be creative. You have to be creative. You have to be yourself. [Sarcastically] What a terrible thing to be. I encourage you to carry it the whole way. Don't get stopped by barriers and the kind of [talk] that makes it seem like it's going to be difficult [to be a musician]. I believe that you can accomplish what you want if you just continue to do it.
So that's my cheap advice. I'm again very pleased to be amongst you all, I feel we're friends in music. We're doing the same thing. The school is here as a focal point to bring us all together, to bring young people to a place to learn techniques and share ideas, and it's really great. So, class of 1997, go out and kill. Thank you very much.
Miami’s Hitmaker
Saturday / March 20, 2021 / 8:00 pm
Saturday / May 15, 2021 / 8:00 pm
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Lady Gaga's Lessons
Ben Levin
Ben Levin, a Berklee student guitarist, performs. . . not with Lady Gaga.
Photo provided by the artist
I recently had the opportunity to audition for the guitarist position on Lady Gaga's international arena tour. I made it to the final 15 and learned a few valuable things about the music business. The experience was fascinating.
The opportunity fell in my lap by sheer luck: My brother's girlfriend saw it on an acting forum. I emailed the casting company, saying I was a guitar performance major at Berklee with experience in rock, pop, electronic, jazz, and funk. I sent links to my Myspace page and a performance video, adding that of course I would dress "Gaga-esque" when playing her music.
After I was chosen to audition, I immediately began learning as many Lady Gaga songs as possible, starting with the ones that have guitar parts and then moving on to her hits and newest songs. I also bought an outfit that reflected her videos at a used clothing store.
The first day of auditions was Monday, January 18 in New York. It was supposed to start at 11:30, so I arrived at 10:50 to warm up and get used to the environment. The waiting area was full of people dressed in insane outfits straight out of The Matrix. Many looked like they were headed to a rave in the year 2070. I felt intimidated, but most were friendly, with a few exceptions. I was fortunate enough to see a few of my friends from Berklee waiting, as well.
Read about Berklee alumni who perform with Gaga, the Black Eyed Peas, Kanye, and Matisyahu
A few hours went by. Finally, the casting staff told the guitarists to line up. I turned to the guitarist in front of me and said, "I can't believe I am really about to do this!"
She replied, "Why? We are musicians. This is our job."
"Yeah, but this is the biggest band in the world right now," I said.
She answered with a longwinded response about how she went to jazz school and blah blah blah. . . I stopped listening and started thinking about what it must feel like to be that jaded.
The audition room was a big hall with stadium seating and a huge mirror. There was a panel of four judges who looked like they were pulled straight out of American Idol. They actually seemed pretty friendly. There was a full band setup, including a drum set, keyboard, and guitar and bass amplifiers. The guitar amp was a Fender Twin Reverb.
One of the judges explained that they were looking for a guitarist who can rock a whole stadium with great stage presence. The first guitarist played for about six seconds before the judges told him to stop. I realized that I would have to grab their attention immediately, and I began planning. Keep in mind this audition did not allow backing tracks.
When it was my turn, I stated in a monotone, "Hello. My name is Ben Levin, and I am going to play 'Summer Boy' by Lady Gaga." Then I screamed "ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!" and began to play "Summer Boy" as if it were a cut off a Rage Against the Machine record. I flailed around and jumped and the cable came out of my guitar. I ran up to the judges' table so they could hear my guitar acoustically. That made them laugh and they applauded. They told me I should plug back in and show them a "rocking mad crazy shredding solo." I cranked the distortion all the way and played a Gaga riff, then soloed over it.
I left, and the casting director told me that I had made it to final callbacks. I was thrilled!
The next day I practiced and arrived for the 4:30 callback at 3:50. I found out that Lady Gaga would see selected musicians in a third audition the following day. I cringed at the thought of missing three days of school but realized I was learning a lot that I couldn't learn anywhere else. The other guitarists were generally really nice. A Berklee graduate who had moved to L.A. gave me a lot of advice. Two hours passed, and the guitarists finally lined up. I had the misfortune of being called second.
So, there I was . . . with 15 guitarists from all over the world dressed up like vampire bikers, about to play for managers, casting directors, famous musicians, and who knows who else, for a spot on an international arena tour with the biggest name to hit pop music in a long time. It was so surreal. I couldn't help but smile. I figured, let's take yesterday's fiasco up a notch.
I played all of the open strings really loud, then a bunch of over-the-top shred. I simulated the love act with my guitar and then I picked it up by its whammy bar and held a really high harmonic while pointing to the sky. I looked the judges right in the eye and started playing "Just Dance" by Gaga. They stared at me blankly. I knew that I wouldn't get to the next round. I forgot to groove and phrase well. Some players made my playing seem average. A couple went really crazy literally smashing guitars, which made me seem even more average.
If I had gone later, my strategy would have changed, but that's just how it goes. The truth is that a lot of the guitarists were very good. Here are some things they all had in common:
They made great use of effects pedals.
They avoided moving around too much at first so they established a great groove.
They shredded a little—not a ton.
They played as long as they could.
Here are some things I found disturbing:
One finalist was an attractive girl. The judges asked her to remove her coat so they could see her body better. I thought it was demeaning, since they never inspected any of the male guitarists, and it was my first significant brush with the sad but predictable reality that the pop industry has a shallow and rotten side.
They never asked the instrumentalists to play in a band setting, and I think that made the audition less effective.
Prepare as thoroughly as possible, and have a resume ready.
Learn how to shred, how to groove, how to improvise, how to move while you play. Tone and groove are just as important as chops, at least for this audition.
Dress the part, but don't put too much weight on that.
If there's one thing you can count on, it's chaos and surprises. A friend told me, "Luck is when good preparation and opportunity meet." I definitely believe that now.
Dreams So Real
Berklee Stars Dance for a Cause
Sunday / October 3, 2021 / 8:00 pm
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Indian universities need to give emphasis to innovation: PM
Indian Universities and higher educational institutions need to give equal emphasis to innovation as they give to knowledge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Saturday stressing that life would become a burden without innovations.
He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of 'Conference on Academic Leadership on Education for Resurgence' organised by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The prime minister also emphasised the importance of character building over literacy and called for 'wholesome' education in the country. "Knowledge and education are not restricted to books. The purpose of education is to enable balanced growth of every dimension of a human being which is not possible without innovation," Modi said.
"Innovation is very important because without it, life seems like a burden. In our ancient universities like Takshshila, Nalanda and Vikramashila, innovation was given emphasis along with knowledge. "I insist that students should give knowledge in classrooms of college, university but they also add them to the aspirations of the country," he added.
Stressing upon the need for "interlinking" the institutions, Modi said no country or person can live in isolation. "Our universities and colleges should be leveraged to find solutions to the challenges facing us. We should interlink institutions to innovate and incubate. The students should link their classroom learning to the aspirations of the country," he said.
Modi also stressed upon the importance of character-building. "Ambedkar, Deen Dayal Upadhya and Ram Manohar Lohiya always emphasised on character-building over literacy. Swami Vivekananda stressed on wholesome education that makes us a human," he said. The prime minister stressed the importance of preparing good teachers for society.
"Scholars and students can take responsibility for spreading digital literacy, and generating greater awareness of government programmes that can improve the ease of living. Youth has given 'Brand India' a global identity," he said. The conference is being attended by vice chancellors and directors of over 350 higher education institutions.
It is being organised jointly by University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education, Indian Council of Social Science Research, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University. The theme of the conference is to deliberate on the challenges facing the Indian education system and to work out a plan for a paradigm shift both in terms of achieving academic outcomes and also in regulation of education.
Some of the topics that will be covered during the conference include improving pedagogy for learner centric education, use of artificial intelligence for customised learning, improving quality of research, bringing synergy among educational institutions, participatory governance models and promoting value education by building in universal values and life skills into education.
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Who Killed John Lennon?
NarratorRebecca Gethings Lesley-Ann Jones
BiographiesArt & Literary BiographiesNon-fictionMusic & Films
Late on 8 December 1980, the planet stopped spinning for millions when news broke that the world's best-loved rock star had been gunned down in cold blood in New York City. In this enthralling exploration, acclaimed music biographer and journalist Lesley-Ann Jones unravels the enigma to present a complete portrait of the man, his life, his relationships, his untimely death and his eternal musical legacy as never before.
Peeling back the layers, Jones tracks the highs and lows of both his professional and personal life that led Lennon to relocate to New York, where he was shot dead on the street outside his apartment building that fateful winter night. But who, or what, really killed him? And when did the 'real' John Lennon die?
Using fresh first-hand research, unseen images and exclusive interviews with those who knew Lennon best, the author's search for answers offers a gripping, 360-degree view of one of our most iconic music legends, four decades on from his tragic death.Having interviewed many people over the years who had been connected to Lennon, including his first wife Cynthia, his firstborn son Julian, fellow Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, John's former girlfriend May Pang and Andy Peebles - the last British broadcaster to interview him, a couple of days before he was murdered - Jones draws on an astonishing personal archive. There have been countless books about the Beatles and John Lennon. There has never been one quite like this.
PublisherJohn Blake
© John Blake (Audiobook)
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Spearfishing is an ancient method of fishing underwater that has been used throughout the world for millennia.
Spearfishing is an ancient method of fishing underwater that has been used throughout the world for millennia. Early civilizations were familiar with the custom of spearing fish from rivers and streams using sharpened sticks. Over the years, it has evolved into a sport; its modern form uses heavy rubber bands or pneumatic gas to power underwater spearguns. With knowledge of the viscosity of water compared to air, such advanced tools have allowed us to traverse the waters and catch the agile and fast fish.
The sport has always been a passionate hobby for Andre Wicaksana, who is from Indonesia. He grew up in Bali, the Island of the Gods, which is renowned for its beaches surrounded by crystal clear seas. When he was in 6th grade, he grew fond of the sea and tried several aquatic sports. Andre was first taught spearfishing during his first year of high school by his family. He then became immersed in the sport, spending time in the sea – almost every day – using his family’s spearguns.
Desiring a speargun of his own, he created one with wooden blocks, making it similar to a real speargun. It took about a month to complete his first hand-made speargun using traditional tools. After several attempts of crafting several spearguns, he grew eager to commercialize his product along with his growing customer portfolio. However, due to the laborious hours to produce one speargun, he searched for alternative methods to increase productivity; the use of power tools.
Since Andre’s parents run a wood furniture business, he understands the function of several power tools. Wood cutting has become easier with the use of a power tool – it is effortless, rapid, and even guarantees the adroit precision of the angle.
Water, particularly those in the sea and ocean, has completely different characteristics from air. The density of saline water is greater than that of air. The deeper we swim underwater, the higher the viscosity of water, making it more difficult to drag objects – not to mention that big fish usually swim in deep waters. It is essential to be able to drag a speargun into deep waters; therefore, it needs to be right weight with a hydrodynamic design.
“For simple and cheap maintenance, a heavy wooden rubber-powered speargun is a must! It also depends on the type of fish that we want to hunt. I have built numerous spearguns using several types of wood, but nothing can beat teak wood from Java. It has the right weight to drag underwater, and you can be sure of its quality if uncertain: long-lasting and able to endure all sorts of environments. We use them under saline water!” said the entrepreneur.
Nevertheless, Andre couldn’t find the right power tools to support his work until he tried Bosch. Their light weight and durability has contributed so much to his work. “I have been using these power tools for almost a decade. I have had the big machine GCM 10S for almost 10 years!” He uses it to cut big wooden blocks as its powerful 1800 W motor has a large cutting capacity with the highest precision.
His collection of Bosch power tools doesn’t stop there. Andre has been using the GWS 5-100 Angle Grinder – a handheld power tool used for cutting, grinding, and polishing, making the gun very hydrodynamic. “The gun should be able to swim with you. It shouldn’t slow you down due to the water friction, especially when you are swimming in deep waters.” However, the angle grinder is quite multifunctional. It can cut, sand and polish metal or in this case, stainless steel. Wood and metal are 2 main components used for the spear and the trigger.
For the assembly of the different elements of the speargun, Andre binds the materials together with the GSR 10,8-2 LI – a cordless drill used to drill metal to wood. “It is very light, making it effortless to use and the reason behind our increased productivity.”
Since he started commercializing his handmade spearguns in 2000, Andre’s company has continued to grow, employing 12 people under his supervision. His team is able to craft up to 60 spearguns every month with approximately 80 percent of the products are exported to diverse countries, such as Australia, the United States, and Thailand.“
The interest in spearfishing in Indonesia is considerably still low therefore it explains the large number of speargun exports overseas. “Only recently – around 2-3 years ago – has spearfishing become a trend in Indonesia. You wouldn’t expect high demand here, as I have been crafting spearguns for over a decade.” Andre Speargun was founded in 2000, making the company the first manufacturer of spearguns in Indonesia. It is still the only speargun shop in the nation.
Bali is known for its large number of international tourists who are passionate about the sea and diverse water sports, such as surfing, diving, snorkeling, and spearfishing. The latter has grown in demand, driving Andre to increase production. “Looking back at the journey I have gone through, it’s actually interesting how many challenges I’ve overcome,” uttered Andre with a smile. “Bosch has accompanied me, witnessed my journey, and assisted my business to what Andre Speargun has become now. Hopefully, there will be a growing interest in spearfishing because it is a fun and legal sport that does not damage the ecosystem.”
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Gervonta Davis Feels He is the One To Become the next American PPV Superstar
By:Bryant Romero
Gervonta “Tank” Davis is working his way and building towards becoming the next American PPV superstar in boxing. His next step towards that journey is a chance to become a two time world champion when he faces former champion Jesus Cuellar (28-2, 21 KOs) this Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. In what the organizers of the event say is for the vacant WBA Super World super featherweight title. That is confusing since the WBA already promised not to create anymore title belts and if this bout is truly for the vacant Super title then Alberto Machado the current world champion for the WBA at super featherweight has been downgraded to regular title holder, in favor of Davis challenging Cuellar who hasn’t fought in 16 months and is coming off a loss in a lower weight category.
Nevertheless, Davis (19-0, 18 KOs) is a significant favorite to win the bout, but admits he hasn’t done much studying of his next opponent.
Photo Credit: Jose Pineiro/SHOWTIME
““I’m not really into researching my opponents—or other fighters other than the ones that I like. I just train hard and fight who is in front of me. I know a little bit about him [Jesus Cuellar]. I know that he can hit, that he’s not going to back down and that he’s a tough opponent. I believe he’s my toughest opponent to date. On April 21, we will see if he is ready. I know for sure I will be,” Davis said.
Davis is coming off his best year as a professional prize fighter winning his first world title last January when he stopped previously undefeated Jose Pedraza in 7 rounds. He followed that up with an impressive stoppage win over mandatory challenger Liam Walsh in less than three rounds in his opponent’s backyard. However, he ended the year with a minor setback in losing his world title on the scales and not having the most impressive performance against the undefeated but unheralded Francisco Fonseca.
Because of the minor setback, Davis has decided to make a change heading into his second world title opportunity by heading to West Palm Beach to join veteran trainer Kevin Cunningham and train alongside with former 4 division world champion Adrien Broner.
““I was actually going to go to Colorado to train, but Adrien invited me to come down here to West Palm Beach to check out the camp. He said I should come to Florida to train with him and Kevin. So I came down, I saw Kevin’s routine and I really liked it.
“There were a lot of distractions in Baltimore and I think they were a problem for me. I needed to straighten my head and focus on the things I have to work on. It was time to set my camp somewhere else.
“I needed a change after my last fight. I let myself down. I learned to be a different fighter, more responsible. I let others down, but think I let myself down more than anything,” Davis said.
With the change of scenery and more added discipline, expect a more explosive performance this time around from Tank Davis this Saturday. What the future holds for this exciting young fighter is what’s truly intriguing as rumblings that a falling out with current promoter Floyd Mayweather could perhaps produce a change in representation for the career of Tank Davis in the near future.
Whatever happens, Davis obviously feels he’s the one, the next great American PPV superstar the boxing world is searching for.
““I want to win more belts. I want to become a big star in boxing. I am going to put my work in the gym, put on a great performance in the ring and get back on track to become a world champion again.
“Being a world champion again is just a step closer towards my goal: I want to be a pay-per-view star. I want to be able to fight on pay-per-view against the big fighters and do big numbers,” Davis said.
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Tag Archives: sampson
Boxing Insider Notebook: Cotto, Mayweather, Pacquiao, Canelo, Ward, Kovalev, and more…
Compiled By: William Holmes
The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of May 16th to May 23rd, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
Miguel Cotto to Face Yoshihiro Kamegai on August 26th
Miguel Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs), the only four-division world champion in the rich boxing history of Puerto Rico, will return to the ring on Saturday, August 26 to take on the always-exciting Yoshihiro “El Maestrito” Kamegai (27-3-2, 24 KOs) in a 12-round match for the vacant WBO Junior Middleweight World Championship from the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. Cotto will attempt to secure a sixth world championship in four weight classes as he makes his 23rd appearance on HBO.
Cotto, a surefire, first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, has held world titles in the super lightweight, welterweight, junior middleweight and middleweight divisions and has fought and defeated a who’s who of elite fighters over the last 15 years including Kelson Pinto, Demarcus “Chop Chop” Corley, Ricardo “Mochuelo” Torres, Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi, Zab “Super” Judah, Sugar Shane Mosley, Antonio “El Tornado de Tijuana” Margarito, Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga and Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez.
“I’m very excited to be back and showcase a high level fight for the fans,” Cotto said. “Kamegai is a great, tough fighter, but I will be ready for him and to capture the world title. I can’t wait to start training for this fight and get back in the ring on August 26.”
Kamegai is known as one of the highest-action fighters in the sport having engaged in a fight of the year candidate against Jesus “Renuente” Soto Karass in 2016 and taking champions and contenders including Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, Alfonso Gomez and Johan “El Terrible” Perez into deep water.
“I fully understand who I am going to be in the ring against, but Cotto’s record and history won’t matter once we are toe-to-toe,” Kamegai said. “I am looking forward to giving fans the kind of aggressive fight that they have seen from me before and having my arm raised in victory.
“Miguel Cotto is a legend who is still fighting for title belts more than a dozen years after first being crowned a world champion. It’s remarkable,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “But I’ve seen Kamegai in action many times, and the guy doesn’t ever take a step back. Miguel will have his hands full on August 26.”
“August 26 will mark the return of Miguel Cotto pursuing his sixth world title,” said Hector Soto, Vice President of Miguel Cotto Promotions. “Cotto vs. Kamegai will be another epic battle that promises fireworks in the ring between Puerto Rico and Japan. Miguel Cotto is back on the big stage of boxing, fighting in Los Angeles on HBO. Nobody can miss it.”
Floyd Mayweather Invites Anthony Joshua to Las Vegas to Train
Floyd Mayweather Jr. recently spoke to Fight Hype and invited Anthony Joshua to come to the Mayweather Boxing Club and train with him in Las Vegas. Mayweather met with Joshua in London on Sunday and praised him for his victory over Wladimir Klitschko.
Mayweather stated, “You have to respect AJ. He showed that he had heart but we have to bring hum up to the Mayweather Boxing Club as we want to tighten that defense up until it’s real, real sharp and real, real slick.”
Maayweather, who was in London for his Gervonta Davis’ fight, continued by stating , “I’m not trying to move his trainers out the way but there’s things we want to tweak. You saw what we did to Tank [Gervonta Davis]…nobody knew who this kid even wa. But we brought him up and now he’s world champion.”
View Mayweather’s comments at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxavXE7Gs6Y
Manny Pacquiao’s Coach is Wary of Jeff Horn’s Punching Power
Manny Pacquiao is set to face Australia’s Jeff Horn on July 2nd at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.
Many people consider this to be an easy fight for pacquiao, but Hall of Fame Trainer Freddie Roach recently told ABC-SBN that he has some concerns and isn’t underestimating Horn’s power.
He stated, “This guy can punch. He’s knocked out his last few opponents.” He continued, “He’s dangerous with the right, he has a real good right hook, and that’s something Manny’s been hit with before. We’re fixing all that now and it won’t be a concern by fight time.”
Read more at http://sports.abs-cbn.com/boxing/news/2017/05/23/manny-pacquiao-s-coach-wary-jeff-horn-s-punching-power-26396
Canelo Cements Status as Top Draw in Boxing As Pay Per View Numbers from May 6th Fight Set to Eclipse Seven Figures
The Canelo Alvarez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. fight on Cinco De Mayo weekend will generate more than one million buys on HBO Pay-Per-View, locking in Canelo’s status as the brightest light in boxing, Golden Boy Promotions announced today.
“Everything I do is for the fans, and I want to express my gratitude for everyone who watches my fights and shows their support,” Canelo said. “My fans are the greatest in the world and this year in September on Mexican Independence weekend, everyone can look forward to another incredible performance.”
Some facts about Canelo’s PPV performance:
•Canelo will be the youngest A-side fighter in history to generate a seven-figure pay-per-view audience;
•This will be the largest Pay-Per-View audience to watch in a boxing match in two years;
•Canelo will be the first A-side fighter in 15 years not named De La Hoya, Mayweather or Pacquiao, to draw a million buys.
“These numbers solidify Canelo as the undisputed biggest name in the sport of boxing-simple as that,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “At 26 years old, there is no limit to Canelo’s star power as he continues to cross over to mainstream audiences. Canelo only wants to take on the best and the biggest, and we’re confident he will continue to shatter records as boxing’s new pay-per-view king.
24/7 Ward-Kovalev II Premieres June 2nd on HBO
In advance of the highly anticipated light heavyweight championship rematch between world-class prizefighters Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev, HBO Sports will air “24/7 Ward/Kovalev 2,” an exhilarating 30-minute special examining the upcoming encounter. The intriguing pay-per-view event featuring the two pound-for-pound aces takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
The “24/7 Ward/Kovalev 2” special will premiere Friday, June 2 at 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The special will look back at their first fight and will preview the hotly anticipated rematch between two accomplished and tenacious ring warriors who first met last November under the red-hot Las Vegas spotlight. Ward, who has not lost a fight since his teen-age years, scored a razor-thin decision over Kovalev and collected all the title belts that the Russian knockout specialist had accumulated. The special will provide all-new content including portraits of both fighters’ path to this impactful showdown. Each has set up training camp on the west coast; Ward in his hometown of Oakland, CA and Kovalev farther south in both Big Bear and Oxnard, CA.
The 30-minute special narrated by Liev Schreiber and produced by HBO’s Emmy-Award-winning “24/7” production team will also be available on HBO On Demand®, HBO GO®, HBO NOW and affiliate portals as well as at www.hbo.com/boxingandvarious other new media platforms that distribute the show.
Thomas Hearns Visits Claressa Shields in Training at Berston Field House in Flint
Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and Women’s NABF Middleweight Champion, Claressa “T-Rex” Shields had a very special visitor at her gym yesterday, none other than all-time Michigan great Thomas “Hitman” Hearns.
Hearns, from Detroit, is the 1980 and 1984 The Ring Magazine “Fighter of the Year” and the first boxer in history to win world titles in five weight divisions: welterweight, light middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight.
22-year-old Shields (2-0, 1 KO) of Flint, is currently preparing for her eight-round main event against Mery Rancier (7-8-3, 5 KOs) of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for the WBC Silver Super Middleweight Championship at Salita Promotions’ “Detroit Brawl” on Friday, June 16, 2017 at the Masonic Temple in Detroit.
“I came out to see her because I want her to do well. I think it’s wonderful that a female fighter is the best from Michigan right now,” said Hearns. “The world is all about change and this is change for the better. I feel good about it. The champions from the past from Michigan are passing the torch to the next great fighter from here and that’s Claressa. The fans in Michigan should come out and help support her because she is the future.”
Shields said she was humbled to have such an all-time great supporting her.
“To have Tommy Hearns come out to my gym means a lot to me, I feel like I’m moving my career in the right direction and getting the right attention. I’m not just some girl putting on some gloves. It means a lot to be the latest big-name fighter to come from Michigan. I’m glad Tommy Hearns chose to come here and it does feel like a passing of the torch. He is very supportive and it feels great to be respected by such a great world champion.”
Shields says her training is going extremely well for her third professional and second championship fight.
“Training so far has been going really good. We’re 29 days out of the fight and I’m in the best shape of my life. I trained hard for my six-rounder and that only went four rounds and I feel like I’m still in shape from that. Now I’m getting ready for eight rounds and I feel great. I’m fighting at 168 pounds and I’m at 168 right now. I haven’t been having weight problems and I’m eating right and running every day.”
Shields promoter, Dmitriy Salita, says Hearns indicated he was very impressed with Shields’ gym work.
“Claressa is the next boxing superstar from the state of Michigan,” he said. “It’s a very special passing of the torch from such a living legend who lives in Detroit as Tommy Hearns. Mr. Hearns, who is a Detroit boxing icon and a great ambassador of the sport, was very impressed with Claressa’s skills and training regimen.”
Salita says he sees Shields’ potential for superstardom and her ability to revive the energy in Michigan boxing.
“Detroit is Americas Greatest Comeback city. We are going to see a revival of world-class boxing, ushered in by a young lady from Flint who despite growing up in very difficult circumstances, is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, the most accomplished boxer every to come out of the USA boxing program. This is only her third pro bout, and she is fighting for the WBC Silver title on June 16. We are witnessing something very special here and it’s very ironic that it’s all taking place close to Detroit, which is fighting back for its own recognition again as one of Americas Greatest cities.”
Sampson Lewkowicz Congratulates David Benavidez for Sensational KO of Porky Medina
Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz wishes to congratulate his fighter, David “El Bandera Roja” Benavidez of Phoenix, Arizona, for his sensational eighth-round knockout over Mexico’s Rogelio “Porky” Medina on Saturday night at the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas.
With the star-making victory, Benavidez (18-0, 17 KOs) becomes a mandatory challenger for the WBC Super Middleweight Championship. And, depending on when it happens, a win in that fight could make 20-year-old Benavidez the youngest super middleweight world champion in boxing history.
“We were hopeful David would win the fight,” said Lewkowicz, “but I am amazed at how he won. He was incredible. Have you ever seen a knockout like that? An eight-punch combination that almost put Medina out of the ring? David is the best super middleweight in the world. No one can take his punches.”
Lewkowicz, who is often credited for spotting the early talent in champions Manny Pacquiao and Sergio Martinez, has been predicting stardom for Benavidez since early in his career. He now says the sky is the limit for his young charge.
“David’s first fight with me was in November 2015. I said after that fight he was something special and he will be champion by the end of 2017. Medina is a very good fighter. He gave (IBF Super Middleweight Champion) James DeGale a very tough fight not long ago. And David beat him up to the head and body. He works very hard to be who he is and deserves everything he gets.”
Lewkowicz says Benavidez will take a short time off to rest and then get back in the gym to begin training for his championship challenge.
“It doesn’t make a difference who he fights for the title. David will roll over everybody he fights. He is the new boss at 168 lbs. I am very happy to be his promoter and my congratulations also go to his father, Jose, who does a great job getting him ready for his fights.”
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Legal alert - High Court assumes guardianship of nine year old boy to provide him with HIV treatment
Alastair Hercus, Peter Chemis, Hamish Kynaston, Alastair Sherriff, Natasha Wilson, Amy de Joux, Catherine Miller
A recent decision has highlighted the rare but important ability for the High Court to be appointed as a child's guardian in order to safeguard the child's best interests and ensure the child receives recommended medical treatment (even when that is against a parent's wishes...).
A DHB applied to the High Court for guardianship orders in relation to a nine year old boy 'John Dee' (John Dee was a fictional name provided by the Court - the child's real name and other personal details relating to the family involved are subject to permanent suppression orders). John had been diagnosed with HIV during infancy and, in accordance with recognised clinical practice, he had been prescribed antiretroviral medication.
However, John's father (and sole legal guardian) did not accept John's diagnosis and objected to the provision of antiretroviral medication. To quote the Court: "John's father James, and his stepmother, as the Board accepts, are highly responsible parents, and it has no wish to displace them. But James has never accepted that there is any such disease as HIV. Nor has he ever accepted that it might lead to AIDS or expose John to other unacceptable risks to his health or his life. James considers that AIDS results from the antiretroviral medication prescribed to counter HIV".
In recent years it had become apparent that John's father was not giving John his medication. While the clinicians accepted that John had not yet shown any illness or symptoms of concern, John's more recent tests showed that his immunity had reduced to dangerous levels and "[a]ccording to an international clinical benchmark he must now resume antiretroviral medication daily to avoid a real risk of serious, or even fatal, illness".
At the time of the hearing, John's father had "reluctantly" agreed to enter into an "agreement to treat" and as a result, a public health nurse was visiting John each morning to give him his medication. However, John's father continued to dispute both the diagnosis and the necessity of the medication and the DHB therefore applied for orders under the Care of Children Act, requesting that the Court be appointed as John's legal guardian until John turned 16.
The Court's decision
The Court set out the key legal principles and relevant case law. Consistent with previous cases, the Court accepted that it had a power to assume legal guardianship of a child but noted that "it must first be convinced that this is the only way to serve John's welfare and best interests".
The Court also recognised the father's rights and responsibilities as the sole guardian and emphasised that "[w]hether such orders would serve John's welfare and best interests has to be set against the principles in s 5, one of which is that a child's care, development and upbringing should rest 'primarily' with his or her parents or guardians".
Ultimately, the Court concluded that it was "satisfied that the only way to safeguard John's welfare and best interests, given James' fixed opposition to John's diagnosis and treatment, is for this Court to become his guardian until he becomes 16". The Court therefore granted the guardianship order and then appointed John's clinicians as the Court's agents to manage John's on-going clinical care (subject to a number of specific terms that are further set out in the Judgment). John's father was also appointed as the Court's agent and is to be responsible for all aspects of John's day-to-day care, subject to the condition that he must ensure that John is always available for treatment as specified by his clinicians.
What about John's views?
Interestingly (and somewhat surprisingly) John was not represented by a lawyer and (despite section 6 of the Care of Children Act) his views were not sought.
According to the Judgment, this was because John had not been told about his diagnosis (his father believed he was too young to be told) "and that is why no attempt was made before the hearing to elicit John's views, and why a lawyer for John was not appointed". The Court then went on to state that "[i]t was then accepted that John's interests would be adequately protected and promoted at the hearing by James and by John's responsible clinicians".
The Court did however note that John's clinicians intended to tell him about his diagnosis "in the next 18 months" and stated that "[i]f after John learned of his diagnosis, he had any difficulty with his treatment regime the Court would need to know". The Court then went on to say "[a]t this point I need only note that, if John were then to contest his need for medication, that would be significant. It could not be decisive".
How long will the orders last?
As well as opposing the orders, John's father also asked (in the alternative) that any orders be limited to 18 months. The Court rejected this idea, finding that "[o]n the evidence John's condition will remain unchanged until he is 16…" and stating that "[a]n order ending after 18 months, or at any other time within the next seven years, is at odds with that clinical reality". However, the Court did set the matter down for review in two years' time, at which point a lawyer is to be appointed to represent John and to set out his views on the matter (assuming that he has been told of his diagnosis by that time).
The case discussed in this update is A District Health Board v James Dee [2015] NZHC 304. A full copy of the Judgment can be found here.
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Why Hillary's Likability Shouldn't Matter
By s.e. smith
Get ready: Tonight's first Democratic primary debate at 8:30 p.m. EST will give audiences a chance to see Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Jim Webb, Lincoln Chaffee, and Martin O'Malley face off on the national stage to demonstrate their presidential chops. Yet when it comes to Clinton, many in the media are more concerned with her "likability" — and what she's going to wear — than her actual policies. The sexist assumption that her personality is more important than her politics is an ongoing problem, and it's only going to get worse.
Clinton is one of the most powerful women in politics, with a lengthy career that includes extensive years as a high-powered attorney (she even advised Congress on impeachment proceedings during the Watergate scandal), a dynamic and driven First Lady, a stint as a senator, and a tenure as the Secretary of State. Throughout her time in politics, Clinton has demonstrated that she's driven and focused, with particular attention on rights for women and girls, health care policy, and other social justice issues.
For those who think the era of judging female politicians on their looks and tone is mostly over, it's time to wake up.
However, it's Clinton's pantsuits that often obsess the media far more than her political experience, and journalists continue to speculate over whether her favorability ratings are high enough in a way that borders on the obsessive.
For those who were around for the 2008 presidential cycle, this may feel rather a lot like déjà vu. And it should, because the media breathlessly followed her approval ratings and speculated on her likability on a daily basis, even as it made fun of her every time she dared to show any emotion. "Can Hillary Cry Her Way Back to the White House?" Maureen Dowd asked in The New York Times.
For those who think the era of judging female politicians on their looks and tone is mostly over, it's time to wake up. Clinton is frequently depicted as stony and cold in a way that men in politics simply aren't, and what's treated as "go-getter" behavior from men is considered "bitchy" from Clinton. She was even once afraid herself that she would be perceived as too aggressive for politics. She's not "assertive," but "bossy." And of course Republicans are already harping that she's too old for the Oval Office, drawing upon tired stereotypes about women. Older male candidates are experienced statesmen, but Clinton's nearing her expiration date.
In a piece with the rather loaded title "The Bureau for a Likable and Authentic Hillary (BLAH) is Faltering," Ed Rogers of The Washington Post exemplifies these kinds of attitudes. He describes her recent Saturday Night Live appearance as "cringe worthy," digging into the candidate with a series of statements strongly reminiscent of the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" conundrum that she faces in the media. She can't appear too scripted and cold, he tells readers, and she's not able to handle spontaneous interactions. Rogers suggests that when she recognizes her popular reputation with dry, self-deprecating humor, the public isn't buying it — though the media is always highly entertained when President Obama does the same thing. "Clinton did not have any authentic-sounding responses and came across as uncomfortable and cold, despite her efforts to appear enthusiastic and relaxed," he writes.
Clinton's campaign, Rogers ultimately concludes, is a "slog." But he dodges the fact that three of the official Democratic candidates are virtual nobodies. Because Clinton can't meet Rogers' standard for playing the dutiful role of friendly, fun lady politician, she's obviously an insufficient fit for the presidency. That's despite the fact that she may be the most experienced and electable Democratic candidate, something even Rogers has to grudgingly admit when he notes that "Clinton does have a decent lead in the polls," despite her apparent unlikability.
In a feature exploring expectations for the debates, Amy Chozik at The New York Times discusses Clinton's finely-honed abilities, but can't resist adding: "But there are times when she can hardly veil her sarcasm and disdain," highlighting the fact that the public expects Clinton to disagree with things in a polite way. "Her biggest victories," Chozik writes, "have come in those fleeting and poignant moments when she allows herself to be vulnerable." It's a statement that seems unlikely to be applied to male politicians, who are free to focus on getting their points across and engaging directly with the questions from the moderator and statements made by their opponents.
For Clinton, the demand is much tougher, reflecting how women are consistently expected to perform at a higher standard to receive as much credit as their male counterparts. As a woman, she's expected to play a very specific part, going above and beyond to soften her image and make herself accessible, even though these aren't necessarily traits we need in a president.
Of course, the press has a responsibility to explore many aspects of political candidates, and there is a legitimate conversation to have about personality when it comes to a person who could become the figurehead, chief diplomat, and negotiator of the United States. However, there's a line between honest commentary and disingenuous statements, and Americans should be smart enough to know the difference.
Does Clinton have the skill to interact successfully with foreign powers and domestic politicians? Her stance on issues like reaching an accord with China and recognizing climate change as an emerging national security threat suggest that she's smart and flexible as she approaches foreign policy issues — something that is not the case with candidates like Donald Trump. On the domestic front, she's a strong advocate for gun control, wage equality, women's safety, and equal access to health benefits for LGBQT employees (something she implemented during her time at the State Department).
Furthermore, the very traits that make so many people rail against her are actually assets in a ferociously divided political climate. The ability to swiftly cut through nonsense is far more important than whether she can sufficiently perform femininity. With an aggressively obstructionist GOP and a radicalized country, any Democratic president taking the White House will need considerable public acumen, and that's something Clinton demonstrably has, even if she's not always Miss Congeniality.
Endlessly speculating over whether Clinton will meet likability standards feeds the notion that women in politics need to be likable, which heavily influences public opinion. There's a reason women are so underrepresented in Congress and elsewhere in politics, and that women in politics have to spend so many hours carefully fine-tuning their public image in a way that men do not. They may live in a "lean in" era, but any woman who's actually tried asserting herself knows that it's easy to become a bossy bitch in the eyes of the public, and it's a problem that may hound Clinton as well.
She's not the only female politician who faces the same kind of discrimination, of course — Nancy Pelosi is often referred to as bitchy and controlling, and when Carly Fiorina performed well at the recent Republican debate, she was treated by the media as though she was a dog that had suddenly started walking on her hind legs.
If you're tuning in for tonight's debate — and you should — interrogate how the media talks about Clinton and demand more from major outlets.
In the inevitable dissection of the debates, the number of stories leading with discussions about the color of Clinton's suit and whether she was sufficiently likable is likely going to be depressingly high, because these are the things that apparently matter more than her actual fitness for office. If you're tuning in for tonight's debate — and you should — interrogate how the media talks about Clinton and demand more from major outlets. Twitter's #AskHerMore demands better treatment of women by the media, and it should be getting a workout on your keyboard tonight.
For that matter, it's worth examining how your own internalized sexism plays a role in your interpretation of Clinton's performance. Unreasonable expectations come from ourselves as much as the media, and it's important to deconstruct these narratives. This is a classic case of "if you see something, say something." Call out sexist comments on social media, link to coverage that's doing it right with a focus on Clinton's performance and not her lipstick, and ask friends and family why they're intent on her likability and not her politics. Because until we push back on sexism in conversations about female politicians, the cycle will repeat itself.
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6 Podcasts To Listen To If You're Feeling Anxious
By Kaitlyn Wylde
If you suffer from anxiety, you how how difficult it can make even the simplest tasks. Anything from getting out of bed to mailing a letter to going on a date can be crippling. If you're proactive in working on your anxiety, you probably have a few tricks up your sleeve — calming music, books on tape, deep breathing, stretching, meditation, visualization, self talk. But sometimes, when you're really anxious, you don't want to think. You just want to be distracted and to feel better.
While what works for one does not work for all, I've found that certain podcasts can not only help reduce and ward off anxiety attacks, but can help you learn more about the condition and how to keep anxiety from affecting your life. Part of controlling your anxiety is understanding it. Being able to conceptualize the chemical reactions occurring in your brain, the way they affect you physically, in addition to the more obvious mental effects. The following are some of the best shows to listen to both before you partake in an anxiety-inducing behavior, and while you're in the throws of it. You'll be surprised by how powerful the calmness of someone else's voice can transfer over to you through your earbuds.
The Anxiety Coaches
The Anxiety Coaches are not medical professionals, they're just regular people who suffer from anxiety, just like you. They welcome professionals onto their show as guests, and take listener questions. They keep the tone light, interesting and informational.
Meditation Minis
Don't have a lot of time but have a lot of anxiety? Chel Hamilton is a hypnotherapist who packs a heady dose of calm into her 10 minute meditations. Take use your lunch break to plug in or download an episode before bed.
The Anxiety Podcast
This is not an informational segment. It's a storytelling show that just happens to focus on tales of overcoming anxiety and stress. It's empowering, entertaining and very encouraging.
Anxiety Slayer
Like the name suggests, this podcast is about eradicating anxiety. It aims to kick its ass. You'll learn techniques, listen to some peaceful conversations, and come out of it with tools to use in between episodes.
The Overwhelmed Brain
This podcast does not coddle its listeners. It speaks to them frankly and deeply encourages you to let go of stress and anxiety and live your life. He's not the most calming vibe, but it's definitely a kick in the ass if you're looking for one.
If you aren't looking for anything specific, and you just want to listen to a voice that's so freaking calm it will soothe your brain, then this is the podcast for you. This woman's voice is like butter. So good for the soul.
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No, Trump's Maternity Plan Won't Win Over Women
Alex Wong/Getty Images News/Getty Images
By Jon Hecht
Good afternoon! Donald Trump changed his position on a major issue again. This time it's about paid family leave! Dovetailing on the "Trump-Pence Women's Empowerment Tour," there is a new plan from Trump to provide six weeks of paid maternity leave to working mothers. According to The Washington Post, Trump worked out the plan with the help of his daughter, Ivanka, who spoke at the Republican National Convention in July about Trump's commitment to working mothers.
At the time, Ivanka's remarks were met with confusion. Not only had Trump never mentioned any commitment to policies for working mothers before, he had actually made comments last October to Fox Business News' Stuart Varney seemingly rejecting the idea of paid family leave, saying "We have to keep our country very competitive, so you have to be careful of it," and, "I'm not a big fan."
But now Trump has come out in favor of it, and the reason isn't hard to find: Trump is doing terribly among women, especially working women. A recent Ipsos/Reuters poll found Hillary Clinton beating Trump by seven points among women, which widens to 16 points among women working full time. Clinton is leading by 27 percent among women with college degrees, a somewhat shocking result for a group that has historically supported the Republican party by large margins — Trump is on pace to be the first recent Republican nominee to lose college educated whites.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
So Trump responds by focusing on an issue that Clinton has repeatedly highlighted in her appeal to voters. And in a manner that shouldn't be shocking for someone who until just a few months ago said that he didn't want the policy, the version of paid family leave that Trump has proposed is far smaller than Clinton's. His proposal of six weeks of paid leave is noticeably less than the 12 weeks the Clinton campaign has advocated for. Though full details are still coming, it seems that Trump's plan applies specifically to maternity leave and not to a general parental leave policy — which would presumably continue the disparity in male/female caregiving balance, a key cause of the gender pay gap.
Trump's proposal also differs from Clinton's in how benefits will work:
Clinton's proposal, in comparison to Trump's put in place a specific government benefit for working parents, with a minimum of two-thirds of normal income paid during parental leave. Trump's piggybacks on an already existing benefit — one that usually pays just 50-60 percent of income.
And whereas Clinton has backed up her proposal with a plan to pay for it by taxing wealthy Americans, Trump claims he won't need that, that he can pay for it by cutting some fraud in the existing unemployment benefits system. This adds to a long list of not-clearly-paid-for Trump proposals:
So to recap, less than two months before the election, Trump unveiled a brand new policy that doesn't do as much as his opponent's, with no real way to pay for it. And this is after he recently said this policy was a bad idea. Something tells me he's not especially committed to it...
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Jaden Smith Wore A Dress To Coachella
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
By Lauren Turner
There are a lot of fashion moves that can warrant you an unofficial fashion award. And when Jaden Smith wore a dress to Coachella, he definitely won one. Although this isn't necessarily the first time Smith has donned a dress, it totally re-establishes the fact that a) Jaden has one of the most unique fashion senses out there and b) clothes are just clothes (so everyone can just calm down, OK?).
We all know that Smith is a cool kid out there in Hollywood, so it's no surprise that he's one of the first to try something so androgynous. On his way to the first day of Coachella, Smith was spotted in a long-sleeved black dress over denim cutoffs. He styled the dress with a crocheted tank top, cheetah print socks, and black Nikes. And in my opinion, this is the perfect outfit for a day at a music festival; it's not too bohemian, while still being comfortable.
But the Internet is freaking out because yes, he's a boy and yes, he's wearing a dress. This is definitely not a look we have really seen, which to me, is even more of a reason to love it. Smith seems like the type of person who wears what speaks to him. I mean, isn't that the reason we love people like Lady Gaga, and anyone else who dresses outside the box? I'm happy that Smith (and his sister Willow) are bold enough to push the boundaries of fashion, instead of just recreating the same styles as everyone else. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a change in the way gender norms and fashion connect.
Check out his Coachella outfit here:
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Carlisle Area School District » Academics » Subject Specific » World Languages » ELD: English Language Development
The Carlisle Area School District is home to students from multiple linguistic backgrounds including immigrants as well as children of international fellows of the Army War College. The education of students whose dominant language is not English and who are identified as English Learners (ELs) is the responsibility of every Local Education Agency (LEA). Title 22, Chapter 4, Section 4.26 of the Curriculum Regulations requires the LEA to provide a program for every student who is an EL.
The goal of the Carlisle Area School District Language Instruction Educational Program (LIEP) is to facilitate the development and attainment of English proficiency and academic achievement of students whose native or first language is not English. Without instruction in social and academic English and appropriate support for learning academic content, these students are at risk of losing the educational opportunities provided to non-EL students.
English Language Development (ELD) is a required component of an LIEP. ELD takes place daily throughout the day for ELs and is delivered by both English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and non-ESL teachers. ELD instruction delivered by a licensed ESL teacher is its own content area. ELD in this context is driven by language, but it draws from general education content as a vehicle for instruction in order to contextualize language learning. It must be codified in a dedicated and planned curriculum specifically designed to develop the English language proficiency of ELs so that they are able to use English in social and academic settings and access challenging academic standards. ELD instruction provides systematic, explicit, and sustained language instruction designed to prepare students for the general academic program by focusing, in meaningful and contextualized circumstances, on the academic language structures that underpin social and academic constructs.
In addition to ELD delivered by ESL teachers, ELD must be incorporated into all classes taught by non-ESL licensed teachers in which ELs are enrolled. These teachers are responsible for deliberately planning for and incorporating language instruction as well as supports, modifications, and accommodations needed to allow ELs to access the standards to which the course is aligned.
Pennsylvania's English Language Development Standards for English Learners (ELDS for ELs) have been carefully developed to meet compliance with federal requirements. The ELDS provide a framework for standards-based instructional and assessment planning for ELs so that they may attain English proficiency, develop high levels of academic attainment in English, and meet the same challenging academic content standards that all children are expected to meet.
Family Engagement/ Communication
To effectively meet the parent communication requirements mandated by federal law, the District maintains a Primary Home Language Other Than English (PHLOTE) list which includes the names, grades and home language of every non-English speaking family in the district. This list is updated monthly during the school year and is utilized by district staff to guide their communication with families. To facilitate this communication the District contracts a variety of telephonic and in-person interpreter services and has established policies and procedures for their use.
In order to provide professional multilingual parent notification documents, the District makes use of TransAct, an online school document translation site with PDE-approved translations of hundreds of school-related documents in multiple languages.
District ELD Instructional Approach
The District provides English Language instruction by both EL-specific English-only instruction and Mixed classes with English-only support. At the elementary level, all ELs receive English Language instruction in core content classes; Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies with a period of targeted ELD support only for ELs. During this pull-out time, the ELD teacher teaches and reinforces specific language skills such as pronunciation, language usage, and decoding and comprehension strategies. At the secondary level, ELs receive English Language instruction in all their content classes where content-area teachers are responsible for modifying and adapting instruction and assessment. English Language/English Language Arts instruction is delivered through a Sheltered English program model by an ESL specialist who is also certified in grade-level English Language Arts.
Identification of EL Students
At the time of enrollment, the Home Language Survey (HLS) is completed by all families entering the district. If the HLS indicates a language other than English the complete record is reviewed by an ESL Specialist who determines the need for a family interview or screening for English language proficiency (ELP). (When available, previous school records are reviewed prior to ELP screening for indications of ELP.) [In the event of an extended school closure, a preliminary identification is conducted (via Zoom or similar platform) based on the WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test to assess Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking proficiency.] Grade 1-12 students whose overall composite proficiency level is below 5.0 on the WIDA ScreenerTMare placed into the program. Kindergarten students who have an oral composite score of 19 or lower on the Kindergarten WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test (or between 20 and 24 oral composite score with reading score of ≤6 or writing score of ≤4) are also placed into the program.
Program of Services for ELs
The CASD ELD program helps ELs improve their proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing in English. Some states have similar instructional programs called English as a Second Language (ESL), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) or English as a New Language (ENL). These programs aim to provide ELs with social and academic language skills as well as cultural aspects of English that are necessary for career and college readiness.
The CASD ELD program is a research-based, rigorous, student-centered program designed to promote academic literacy. The curriculum is aligned to the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s English Language Development (ELD) Standards and Pennsylvania’s Core Standards (PACS) for English Language Arts (ELA). At the elementary level, ELs are pulled from their ELA block to work with the ESL teacher in a small group setting. At the secondary level, ELs are scheduled for a sheltered ELD/ELA course that modifies and adapts the core ELA content to specifically meet the language proficiency levels of the ELs enrolled.
To effectively teach language through academic content, ESL teachers and classroom teachers work and plan together. Collaboration between ESL and classroom teachers is one of the best ways to serve ELs. ELD is incorporated into all classes in which ELs are enrolled. These content-area/classroom teachers deliberately plan for and incorporate language instruction as well as supports, modifications, and accommodations needed to allow ELs to access the standards to which the course is aligned.
Staffing and Resources
In order to maximize the reach and impact of our ELD program, the District has centralized our K-8 ELD support resources to three elementary schools and one middle school. Students who do not live in the attendance zone of one of these centralized schools are offered district transportation to and from school as long as they are enrolled as active ELs in our program. As there is only one high school within the district, all ELD support services for 9-12 are housed there. Each of our ELD Hub buildings as well as the high school has at least one full-time ESL specialist as well as a part-time aide.
For EL students who have been identified for inclusion in a specialized program (AEDY, Life Skills, etc.) an Individualized English Learner Plan will be developed and facilitated by either a district or contracted ESL specialist.
Reclassification and Re-designation of ELs
An EL must demonstrate the ability to access challenging academic content and interact with others both academically and socially in an English language setting in order to be considered for reclassification as a Former English Learner (FEL). Evidence of this ability is demonstrated by the student on the annual English language proficiency assessment, ACCESS for ELLs®, and gathered by teachers using standardized Language Use Inventories. The inventories, which are completed by the ESL specialist and one content-area/classroom teacher, in conjunction with the ACCESS score combine for a reclassification score. Students who have IEPs are also eligible for reclassification based on a rigorous examination of their ACCESS score and the input of a school-based team of experts on the student’s abilities and needs.
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ABOUT CHADWICK
VOCAL COACHING WITH CHADWICK
STORMY LOVE ALBUM CREDITS
Singer + songwriter, Chadwick Johnson is known for his soulful sound and genuine style, fusing together elements of Pop, Soul, and Bluesy Jazz.
Chadwick approaches his songwriting as a storyteller, creating soul stirring compositions that unearth the complexities of the human experience. His reimagined versions of classic songs, compel audiences to comment on Chadwick’s poignant phrasing and connection to a lyric, allowing them to experience a familiar song in a new and exciting way. His ability to explore vulnerabilities and nuances in every song is paramount to his performances.
Chadwick has played for and worked with some of America’s most celebrated icons, including recording sessions with legendary producer, David Foster. In live performances, he has shared the stage with such music icons as Olivia Newtown John, Katharine McPhee, and Susan Anton.
Performing both nationally and internationally, Chadwick’s shows have been enjoyed at prominent venues including performances at Feinstien's at Vitellos, The Purple Room, and the prestigious Smith Center for the Performing Arts where he recorded his 2018 live album, ‘Live In Las Vegas’.
Chadwick was recognized with the Hollywood Music in Media Award for “Song Of The Year”.
In 2016 Chadwick released his critically acclaimed single ‘Remember Love’, co-written with Hollywood actor/ songwriter Kalani Queypo, about the haunting effects of Alzheimer's from the perspective of a loved one. Proceeds from this song are donated to the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.
Chadwick's new album, 'Stormy Love' was released September 25th, 2019. The first single off the album is an original song entitled, 'Addicted' featuring Grace Kelly on Saxophone. Chadwick and Grace interact with a soulful banter as they bring to life the feelings of trepidatious excitement one feels when finding themselves "addicted" to a new love.
Chadwick keeps true to his heart and continues to impassion his audience with the soul and sincerity of his music, while remaining on the cutting edge of the entertainment industry.
Chadwick’s music can be found on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, YouTube.
photographybykalani.com
stardustfallout.com
© 2020 by Chadwick Johnson.
Facetune_03-02-2019-23-22-46
Hangin with Spencer Day
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Cardinal Burke
Divine Love Made Flesh - Book Launch in Rome
On October 14, while the Synod Fathers were gathered from around the world in Rome discussing issues related to the family, the Italian version of the book written by Cardinal Burke on the Holy Eucharist was launched in the Eternal City. Divine Love Made Flesh: The Holy Eucharist as the Sacrament of Charity was presented in a public venue held at the Pontifical Lateran University. The keynote speaker highlighting the importance of this book was His Eminence Robert Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
The program was held in the Pius XI hall and was well attended by members of the hierarchy, priests, religious and many other dignitaries from prominent organizations and institutions, many notably from the Sovereign Military of Malta for which Cardinal Burke serves as the Cardinal Patron of the order.
The moderator was the well-known Italian journalist Matteo Matzuzzi from the daily newspaper Il Foglio. He first introduced Thomas McKenna, President of Catholic Action for Faith and Family who published the English edition and coordinates its international publications. Mr. McKenna explained that he has known Cardinal Burke for more than twenty years and felt blessed to have had the support, collaboration and inspiring example of His Eminence throughout the years. He stated “it was through this personal collaboration and friendship that I came to appreciate and understand the profound spiritual life and deep love of Holy Mother Church that Cardinal Burke possesses.”
He commented that some say that Cardinal Burke is not reasonable and pastoral when he suggests that public figures who openly defy Church teachings should be denied reception of Holy Communion. He stated for that reason he thought it would be good for people to know what he knew, “that is, that Cardinal Burke is so profoundly concerned about reverence and respect for the Most Holy Eucharist because of his profound love and devotion to It.” Mr. McKenna announced that a Polish edition of the book will be published before the end of the year and that negotiations to publish it are in progress in Portugal, Brazil, France, Germany and Croatia in the near future.
The keynote address was given by Cardinal Sarah who began by saying that because of the Synod which he was participating in, “these days have been obviously quite full of work, but because of the importance of the topic, I wanted to participate in the launching of this book that I consider a distinctive and true jewel, especially because of the many ideas it gives for our participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar in a more conscious, active and fruitful way.”
He went on to explain that if the Mass lost its special flavor, it would become a mere habitual act for the individual, making trivial the greatest gifts offered by it. He said he could give several examples but wanted to site one. He said he was struck when recently attending the World Meeting on the Family in Philadelphia. He said that during the Holy Mass with the Holy Father he witnessed several priests, who during the procession to receive Holy Communion, were happy to take pictures or “selfies.”
He continued, “it seems clear that the beautiful face of Christ was replaced by the images of a ‘smartphone,’ with the significant loss of valuable opportunities of the foretaste of the heavenly banquet, and the profound lack of understanding of being in front of the majesty of God and entering into intimacy with a great mystery which inspires awe, fear and devotion.”
“True beauty is what will save the world and in no other field is it as clear as in the liturgical field. For my part, particularly in the role of Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, I sincerely thank, with fraternal affection, Cardinal Burke for this most beautiful contribution regarding the most important and delicate discussions of our days. I wish you all a fruitful reading of this precious book offered to the Church and which has placed the Eucharist as the source and summit of the Christian life.”
Following Cardinal Sarah, Cardinal Burke gave the final discourse thanking all who made the publication of the book possible in Italy and especially thanking Cardinal Sarah for attending and giving the keynote address. He expressed his gratitude to the publishing house Cantagalli for publishing the beautiful Italian version and organizing the launching.
Cardinal Burke noted that his intimacy with the Holy Eucharist began when he was an altar boy and could assist the priest at the altar. From the age of ten he said he observed close up the rich beauty of the Holy Order of the Mass and especially the irreplaceable service of the priest in offering the sacrifice of the Mass, a grace that he has continued to be grateful for throughout his life.
As Bishop of La Crosse and later Archbishop of Saint Louis, he explained how he found a guide and an extraordinary aid in the teaching on the Sacred Liturgy through the works of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI as he wanted to illustrate to the faithful in his pastoral care. He expounded how he did this through the diocesan newspaper where he commented on the Encyclicals Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia and the Post-Synodal Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis.
He concluded by saying: “I conclude this reflection with the hope that what I have written, inspired by the organic continuity of the Sacred Liturgy through the centuries, will help the reader to appreciate the goodness, truth and beauty of the Sacred Liturgy as the action of Christ in glory among us where we find the meeting of heaven and earth. I hope that reading the book will, in some way, help the reader learn more about our Eucharistic Lord and to love Him more and more ardently. That the humble adoration of the Eucharistic Mystery, the Mystery of Faith, inspire us and strengthen us to a Eucharistic life, a life of pure love and caring for our neighbor, especially the most needy neighbor. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Woman of the Eucharist, lead us to her Son in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, so, in His Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament, through the divine motherhood of the Virgin Mary, we can always follow his mother's maternal advice: 'Do whatever my Son tells you'."
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Eating disorders among teens and adults surge during pandemic
Experts believe the problem is related to the stress, uncertainty and isolation that stems from the pandemic and related-restrictions and say it's not only a problem in the province but around the world.
Experts say isolation and stress are thought to facilitate this mental health disorder
Colleen Underwood · CBC News · Posted: Dec 14, 2020 6:03 PM MT | Last Updated: December 15, 2020
Sophie Balisky, 26, who sought treatment for her battle with anorexia and bulimia, says some issues resurfaced when COVID-19 hit. (Submitted by Sophie Balisky)
Sophie Balisky, 26, says she struggled with anorexia and bulimia through most of her teens but got help three years ago and was doing great — until COVID hit and she lost her job as a flight attendant.
She found herself reverting to old coping patterns in dealing with stressful and uncertain situations.
"I was actually quite shocked, I was a bit taken aback, because I consider myself to be quite strong in my coping against my eating tendencies," said Balisky.
Advocates for those who struggle with eating disorders say the pandemic is exacerbating the problem — prompting a greater need for community supports.
Some eating disorder support groups in Alberta who connect with people of all ages say they have seen a steady rise in demand since the pandemic hit.
With the isolation … eating disorders really are taking hold and people are needing support more than ever. - Colleen Hauck, Calgary Silver Linings Foundation
The Eating Disorder Support Network of Alberta is reporting a 5½ times increase in participants year-over-year between the period from March to the end of August.
"So a huge surge through this," said Lauren Berlinguette, executive director of the support network.
Another community-based agency that offers support to those who are struggling as well as their families, the Calgary Silver Linings Foundation, says it's experiencing a substantial increase in demand, too. The number of participants in all of its adult programs went from 37 to 64 participants, year-over-year.
"With the isolation, you know, eating disorders really are taking hold and people are needing support more than ever," said Colleen Hauck, executive director of the Calgary Silver Linings Foundation.
COVID-related triggers
Dr. April Elliott, a Calgary pediatrician, works with teens suffering medical complications from eating disorders. She says it's important that people realize eating disorders are complex mental health issues that require both medical and mental health support.
She says that from 2019 to 2020, during the period of March to September, there's been a 155 per cent spike in the number of new cases, whether it's for heart issues or severe malnutrition.
"These are obviously smaller numbers of patients, but the increase is significant," said Elliott, chief of adolescent medicine at the Alberta Children's Hospital.
She says current research points to social isolation as a major factor, which she says is an unintended consequence of the COVID-related restrictions that are in place to protect public health.
"So some of the hypotheses that we all have, and it's supported by what people have written so far, is that there's lots of anxiety around the pandemic measures and the pandemic itself, you know, the need to control an environment.… [One] of the things that we can control is what we put into our bodies," said Elliott.
Balisky, who now volunteers at Silver Linings, says she contacted her therapist and wrote about it in a blog — because she says isolation and secrecy help this disorder thrive.
"I knew that if I felt this way and some of my other recovery friends felt this way, it must be 10 times worse for the people who are really in the depths of their eating disorder," said Balisky.
COVID-impact on services
Alberta Health Services operates an eating disorder treatment program for teens and adults in Edmonton and Calgary.
AHS had to reduce some of its inpatient and outpatient programs due to COVID-19.
In Edmonton, AHS is still able to offer 12 designated beds at the University of Alberta Hospital, but it has had to limit the number of people attending an intensive day program.
In Calgary, the Foothills normally provides four to six designated treatment beds, but currently there are none. Two are scheduled to reopen in January.
However, a spokesman for AHS says anyone suffering acute medical or mental health problems related to an eating disorder can still be admitted through another unit at the hospital.
Wait times in Calgary for those needing an assessment to enter treatment are longer now than they were pre-pandemic.
A new report says anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa kill an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 Canadians each year. It notes the number is likely higher as eating disorders are often not listed as the cause of death. (Darren Tunnicliff/Flickr)
Currently, there are 78 people on the wait list in Calgary.
For adults over the age of 21, the average wait time is 12.7 weeks — compared with 5.4 weeks before the pandemic.
For people under the age of 21, the average wait time is about 5½ weeks — compared with one week prior to the pandemic.
A spokesperson for AHS says wait times also tend to grow around Christmas time.
Still, the wait times and reduction of beds at the Foothills have impacted the need for community support programs, according to Hauck.
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"Treatment for eating disorders in Alberta has always been less than ideal. There is a lack of resources for the community. But certainly since COVID has hit, the access to service has decreased even more, unfortunately. So there is a real need for both inpatient hospital care as well as community care, Hauck said.
Hauck says that long term, Silver Linings would like to build a facility that would provide a residential program for people who may need more intensive support than a weekly therapist or support group, as is found in other provinces. She says they are at the conversation level with both the provincial government and other partners.
Both Hauck and Berlinguette say they have started to offer more support groups, which have also moved online, in order to keep up with demand.
"If the stress associated with the pandemic has encouraged more people to come forward and look for support or treatment, we can guess there's still people that are on their own with this … and we'll just do our best to adapt as things change," said Berlinguette.
If you, your child or someone you know may need help with an eating disorder, help is available.
Speak to your family doctor or connect with a local AHS Addiction and Mental Health clinic to speak to a counsellor. For services or support near you, call the AHS Mental Health Helpline at 1-877-303-2642.
Or you can reach out to silverliningsfoundation.ca or edsna.ca
Or call the National Eating Disorder Information Centre help line 1-866-NEDIC-20 or go to nedic.ca/contact
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NAACP president says Biden cannot take African American vote for granted
By Audrey McNamara
Updated on: May 22, 2020 / 4:31 PM / CBS News
NAACP leader on Biden and black voters
NAACP leader on Biden and black voters 06:57
NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said on CBSN Friday that Joe Biden should not assume he has the full support of the African American community during the election. "You cannot take the African American vote for granted," Johnson told CBSN's Reena Ninan in response to Biden's remark that if black voters are undecided between him and President Trump, then they "ain't black."
In a Friday morning interview with Charlamagne Tha God on the popular radio show "The Breakfast Club," Biden argued that his presidential campaign was doing enough to reach out to black voters.
"If you have trouble figuring out if you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black," Biden said.
Johnson acknowledged that Biden has significant support in the African American community, but said the presumptive nominee should work to maintain that critical support. "You either win or lose with the support of the African American community," he said.
When asked if Biden should apologize for his comments, Johnson said the Biden campaign should take the backlash as a "lesson" moving forward. "In order for his campaign to win he must garner more support from the African American community, and those comments take away from that," he said.
"If his campaign is not taking that serious at this juncture, there's a lot of questions that still need to be answered," he said.
In the appearance with Charlamagne, the host asked Biden if he believes Democrats take black voters for granted, and Biden noted that he had overwhelmingly won the black vote in the South Carolina primary.
"I won every single county. I won the largest share of the black vote that anybody had, including Barack," he said. But despite Biden's past victories, Johnson said the Biden campaign has "more work" to do.
"We cannot take the black vote for granted. It is the vote that brought him this far — I think he recognizes that, and there has to be stronger preparation when you go on platforms like 'The Breakfast Club,' because it is an aggressive platform, but it's also a platform where many a millennial and younger African American voters listen to, and it will and can leave an impression."
After Johnson's interview, Biden expressed regret about his remarks, saying he "should not have been so cavalier" on the show. "I've never, never, ever taken the African American community for granted," he said.
Biden's senior adviser Symone D. Sanders wrote on Twitter that his comments "were in jest."
"He was making the distinction that he would put his record with the African American community up against Trump's any day. Period," she said.
MORE: "I shouldn't have been such a wise guy," @JoeBiden said later in the call with the @usblackchambers "I shouldn't have been so cavalier. ... No one should have to vote for any party based on their race, their religion, their background."
— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) May 22, 2020
Johnson also spoke about the NAACP's We Are Done Dying campaign that encourages people to contact their representatives if they are frustrated by the disparity of deaths and economic inequality suffered by the African American community.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "as of April 18, when comparing to residents who live in COVID-NET counties, non-Hispanic Black people were disproportionately hospitalized with COVID-19."
The NAACP's campaign was launched in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but Johnson said its need has been tragically reaffirmed by the shooting deaths of African Americans Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.
"Recent incidents are reminiscent of an atrocious era of hate and domestic terrorism where police officers and white protesters routinely brutalized African-Americans," reads the organization's website. "The senseless death displays the continuance of systematic racism and privilege granted to white people in America."
Johnson said he wishes public health experts, not politicians, would lead a national conversation about the disproportionate effect the pandemic has taken on the communities of color.
"We are losing individuals for reasons that can be avoided," he said.
First published on May 22, 2020 / 4:06 PM
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02-04: Can land administration foster gender equality?
Session Chair: Rumyana Tonchovska, UNFAO, Italy
Improving gender equality in land tenure in the Republic Geodetic Authority of Serbia
Vasilija Zivanovic1, Borko Draskovic1, Rumyana Tonchovska2, Sasa Rikanovic1
1Republic Geodetic Authority, Serbia; 2UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Serbia is one of the countries participating in the Western Balkans regional initiative, aiming to address the challenges to increase female land ownership. Gender disaggregated data have been produced from the administrative systems in the region, indicating a low percentage of female land ownership across the region. After the adoption of the Global Agenda, the work is focused on developing capacities to collect data and report progress on the SDGs land indicator under target 5.a: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Serbia is one of the first countries in the world, which produced the baseline data for SDGs indicator 5.a.2. and is taking serious actions to achieve the indicator. The paper will present the results from applying the methodology for monitoring and reporting on SDGs indicator 5a.2 and good practices from Serbia in improving gender equality in land ownership and its impact in the next coming years.
From laws to action: Achieving SDG indicator 5.a.2 in the Western Balkans
Naomi Kenney1, Adela Llatja2, Margreet Goelema2, Rumyana Tonchovska1, Lovro Tomasic3, Margret Vidar1, Bianca Wengenmayer3
1FAO, Italy; 2GIZ, Germany; 3UINL, Italy
With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, gender equality has become more and more present in the agendas of the governments and the international community. This paper will present how the countries of the Western Balkans, assisted by the German Government, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Union of Notaries (UINL) have moved forward in strengthening women’s access to land. The Session will focus on the implementation gap between the law (de jure) and the practice (de facto) in the region and introduce a set of practical guidelines that invite notaries and registration officers to use their unique position to protect and strengthen the rights of spouses, partners and daughters. It will also explore how the experience from the Western Balkans could be applied in other regions of the world.
Using open data to analyze participation in the labor market and property registration of women in Kosovo
Brikene Meha, Barlet Meha
Marin Sh.P.K., Kosovo
In this study two analyses are conducted on the participation rate in the labor market and the registration of immovable property of women in Kosovo. This analysis is conducted using two main open data sources such as the Labor Force Time Use Survey and the Kosovo Geoportal. Estimations from the adjusted sample size show that the labor participation rate for women in Kosovo is 22% and for men is 52%, while the employment rate for women is 14% and 47% for men. The analysis is extended by using real time cadastral data on the registration of immovable property by all men and women in Kosovo from 2014-2018. Large gender discrepancies are found among the data in regards to the registration of immovable property, particularly, in 2018, women's registration of immovable property was 17.05% and 80.96% for men, and the remaining percentage belongs to the legal entities registered as property owners.
Women, Financial Inclusion and the Law: Why Property Rights matter for Women's access to and use of financial services
Tazeen Hasan, Nayda Almodovar
World Bank Group, United States of America
Property (including land and housing) rights are a focus of the project analyzing linkages with underlying legislation such as family, inheritance laws and land laws, and its impacts on areas such as women’s ability to access credit. Owning and being able to leverage their property, especially land, is essential for women when pursuing economic opportunities, particularly as entrepreneurs. Women, Business and the Law sheds light on specific areas of the law that are relevant for women’s access to financial services.
For example, our new research shows that women's account ownership is lower in places where their legal rights to work or own property are restricted. Women, Business and the Law 2018 finds that unequal legal rights can affect women’s financial inclusion both directly and indirectly.
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Media Moves at MSNBC & Politico, a Departure at NPR
December 07, 2018 / in Media Blog / by Anna Marevska
The Washington Post has hired Ben Golliver as national NBA writer based in Los Angeles. He began his duties on Dec. 3. Golliver spent the last six years as an NBA writer for Sports Illustrated, and most recently chronicled LeBron James’s arrival in Los Angeles as a member of the Lakers. He is also the co-host of the popular NBA podcast "Open Floor" and appears on national radio and television broadcast outlets to discuss basketball and the league.
Anieze Osakwe has joined MSNBC as associate producer. She comes from ABC News, where she joined as an intern in 2016, and most recently served as production assistant. Osakwe is a recent MSc graduate of The London School of Economics and Political Science.
Fox Business has launched "WSJ at Large with Gary Baker," a 30-minute, weekly show hosted by former top Wall Street Journal editor Gary Baker. The show's debut was Nov. 30 and runs Fridays at 9:30 p.m. It features interviews with major industry leaders impacting Wall Street, Washington and business in America. Bill McColl has joined as senior producer, after spending three years as a producer at Fox Radio.
Politico is preparing for the 2020 political campaign by hiring a handful of reporters, and shifting the beat for one on its existing roster:
Laura Barron-Lopez is a new national political reporter covering politics and the upcoming 2020 elections. She comes from the Washington Examiner, where she spent the last year as political reporter. Before that, she served as congressional reporter for HuffPost, and a reporter for The Hill.
Holly Otterbein has joined as national political reporter also covering the 2020 presidential campaigns. She comes from the Philadelphia Enquirer, where she most recently served as clout reporter.
Anita Kumar will join the staff in January as White House correspondent and associate editor. She is currently wrapping up her duties as national correspondent at McClatchy Newspapers, where she has been on staff since 2012. Before that, she worked for the Washington Post and The St. Petersburg Times.
Sarah Ferris, has shifted her coverage to the House. She has reported on budgets since January 2017, and before joining Politico worked for The Hill as a congressional reporter for three years.
NPR's "Fresh Air" has severed ties with film critic David Edelstein after a joke he made on social media about the death of director Bernardo Bertolucci drew backlash. He continues to be the head film critic for New York magazine and a contributor to CBS Sunday Morning.
Neil Woulfe is the new morning daypart executive producer at WLS-TV, Chicago's ABC station. He comes from WOIO-TV in Cleveland, Ohio, where he served as senior executive producer for a year. Before that, he worked for WMAQ-TV in Chicago for four years.
The Cision research team makes over 20,000 media updates to our influencer database each day! If you have a media move, send it to mediamoves@cision.com. Also, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/media_moves.
About Anna Marevska
Anna Marevska is an editor and writer for Cision Blog, and writes media updates, media influencer and industry features. She is also manager of content and research at Cision’s research department, and the editor of FashionFilesmag.com. Find her on Twitter at @Anna_Mar3.
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Explorer claims to have found Columbus' ship
Traci Watson
Special for USA TODAY
What might be one of the world's greatest archaeological treasures nearly slipped through Barry Clifford's grasp.
Back in 2003, Clifford, an underwater archaeological explorer, and his crew discovered a tantalizing shipwreck off the coast of Haiti. The wreck sat in exactly the spot where Clifford reckoned Christopher Columbus' flagship, the Santa Maria, had sunk on Christmas Day in 1492, less than three months after Columbus reached the New World for the first time.
Archaeologists "eliminated the site as not being what we were looking for," Clifford told USA TODAY in an interview Tuesday. He went on to make an exhaustive survey of the waters off Haiti, "spending a small fortune … (and) eliminating every other possibility, to the point where I threw my hands up in the air, and I don't do that very often."
Today, a few weeks after returning to the wreck, Clifford, who discovered the pirate ship Whydah, says he thinks there's strong evidence his team has indeed snagged one of the most sought after archaeological sites in the history of human exploration. He says the once-scorned shipwreck is the Santa Maria, the slow, tubby but solidly built rental vessel that carried Columbus and his men on the voyage that revealed the existence of the New World to the Old.
"This shipwreck altered the course of human history," Clifford said. "We're very excited."
The team's return to what could be the bones of the Santa Maria sprang out of a late-night revelation about nine years after the team located the wreck. Clifford, who'd been studying 15th-century ordnance, bolted awake to the realization that a tube his son had photographed in the wreck in 2003 was a lombard, an open-ended cannon popular during Columbus' day. That led to the realization that he'd probably found the Santa Maria, only to abandon it.
He and his team returned to the site a few weeks ago, only to find it looted of the lombard, several wheels that would've been used to maneuver the cannon and a piece of the rudder mechanism. Other evidence from the site strongly points to the wreck being the Santa Maria, he said.
Columbus wrote that the wreck was 1½ leagues from La Navidad, the fortified encampment he founded in what is now Haiti after the loss of the Santa Maria, Clifford said. The wreck sits the equivalent of 1½ leagues from the site suspected to be La Navidad.
The wreck's resting place lies near breaking waves, as Columbus reported. It was in a sandy spot, as implied in Columbus' journal.
At the site, the team found a field of stones 40 feet long and 20 feet wide. That corresponds to the likely dimensions of the Santa Maria, which would've carried ballast stones in her hold.
"Everything fit the equation," said Clifford, who added that the team ruled out other wrecks in the same vicinity. He has a Haitian permit to explore the wreck but doesn't plan to proceed immediately. The top priority, he said, must be the protection of the wreck from looters.
Clifford suspects treasure hunters nabbed the most accessible artifacts, including the lombard. He has only a photograph of it, and he hopes a benefactor will step in to offer a reward for information on the whereabouts of the artifacts.
There may be much more to find. There could be wooden remnants of the ship buried in the sediments, Clifford said, and more.
"It's a big pile of rocks," he said, "but there's a lot more to it than that. I'm not going to tell you what it is."
One outside expert says Clifford may be onto something.
"There is some very compelling evidence from the 2003 photographs of the site and from the recent reconnaissance dives that this wreck may well be the Santa Maria," Indiana University's Charles Beeker told The Independent, the British newspaper that first reported the discovery.
Another expert expresses caution.
"If this is a very early Spanish shipwreck, it should be looked at by a number of different people who are experienced in … archaeological sites from that time period," said Roger Smith, Florida's state underwater archaeologist, who has long experience studying shipwrecks.
To be sure the ship is the right vintage, experts would have to examine the design of the hull, evidence for how the ship was rigged, the placement of its arms and how it was built, Smith said. When an early shipwreck was discovered off Pensacola, Smith and his colleagues brought in experts on coins, old wood, stones and plant and animal remains to help identify the vessel.
"It's easy to jump to conclusions when people keep asking, 'Is this Columbus's ship?' " Smith says. "The ship will tell its own story."
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Watch ice boaters race on a frozen Lake Erie
Ice boats on Lake Erie - "Hard water sailing"
By Laura Johnston, cleveland.com
TOLEDO, Ohio – John Greiner built his first ice boat when he was 10. He’s 82 now, and he’s never beaten the thrill of the boat’s blades across the ice.
He still sails every winter on Lake Erie’s Maumee Bay. Now, though, he makes his grandson, Brian Goldberg, push him up to speed.
There are more than 200 Toledoans like Greiner. Mostly men, the members of the Toledo Ice Yacht Club can’t wait until the lake freezes, so they can race across its smooth expanse at speeds up to 70 mph.
Many of them are “soft-water sailors,” as they call boating in liquid, rather than frozen, water.
“That’s boring compared to this,” said Les Lashaway, commodore of the Ice Yacht Club, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
Ice boating, or ice yachting, dates to the 17th century in Europe. In 1790, the first American ice boat appeared on the Hudson River. And in Ohio, men began racing ice boats on Lake Erie in the late 1800s.
“Around here, most people have heard of it,” Greiner said. “You get very far, they look at you kind of funny.”
Read all about the sport of ice boating.
The Toledo Ice Yacht Club boats on the ice of Lake Erie. They're celebrating their 100-year anniversary.
Ice boats need snow-free, smooth ice – plus plenty of wind to move.
When RocktheLake visited the club on a February Friday, the wind was too slight and the layer of snow too crusty to get a boat to take off.
“It’s a futile sport,” said Tim Crites, whose grandfather was the first commodore in 1919. “If you don’t get your boat on before it freezes, it may be gone the next week.”
The men were optimistic they’d sail at some point, though.
Michael Sheehan of Bainbridge came with his brother and two sailing friends. They bought four DNs – small boats named after the Detroit News, which sponsored a boatbuilding contest in 1947 -- to try the sport for the first time.
“It’s like riding a bike,” Sheehan said. “You just gotta do it.”
Want more Lake Erie news? Like RocktheLake on Facebook.
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Ohio Politics
The Equal Rights Amendment - its history in Ohio and what comes next: Q & A
In this Jan. 8, 2020, file photo, Equal Rights Amendment supporters demonstrate outside the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Va. Virginia ratified the amendment last week, although the measure's future nationally remains in doubt. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)AP
By Sabrina Eaton, cleveland.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Nearly a half century ago, freshman Ohio legislator Mike Stinziano Sr. of Franklin County introduced the first bill of his career: Ohio’s version of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
His colleagues signed off on it after a long battle in 1974, making Ohio the 33rd state to ratify the proposed constitutional amendment that declares equal rights under the law “shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex,” and grants enforcement powers to the U.S. Congress.
But momentum to pass the so-called ERA stalled a few years later. To be adopted, constitutional amendments need approval from 38 states - a three-quarters majority. The amendment that suffragist Alice Paul first proposed in 1923 had support from just 35 states when a congressionally set 1982 deadline expired.
ERA advocates continued pressing their cause even after the deadline. As the Me Too movement heated up while Democrats won control of some state legislatures, they renewed their push for the measure they hoped would block job discrimination against women, guarantee equal pay for equal work, and strengthen protections against sexual harassment and domestic violence.
Nevada became the 36th state to ratify the ERA on March 22, 2017, 45 years to the day after its passage by Congress. The next year, Illinois became state 37. Last week, Virginia became state 38.
Even though the 38-state threshold has been reached, it’s no sure bet that ERA will become part of the U.S. Constitution. Here are some details.
Q: Why do ERA advocates think it’s not too late for passage?
While ERA foes argue the measure has been dead since the 1980s, its proponents contend that because the text of the amendment itself didn’t include an expiration date, it’s eligible for ratification if Congress repeals the old ratification deadline. All the Democrats in Ohio’s congressional delegation have signed onto a bipartisan bill to do that.
Supporters of that approach note that most constitutional amendments don’t have ratification deadlines. For example, the Constitution’s 27th amendment - which was meant to keep Congress from voting itself pay raises without accountability from voters - was ratified in 1992, more than 200 years after Congress approved it.
Q: What does the Trump administration say?
Earlier this month, Trump’s Justice Department released an opinion that said it’s too late: the ERA’s passage deadline expired, Congress can’t revive it, and ERA advocates must start over again.
An added wrinkle is the fact that legislatures in Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, Tennessee and South Dakota rescinded the ERA approval they’d granted in the 1970s. ERA backers note that in past cases where legislatures canceled their approval of constitutional amendments, such as decisions by Ohio and New Jersey to rescind approval of the post-Civil War 14th amendment that guarantees people of all races equal protection under the law, the federal government counted their initial approval and ignored the rescissions when it came time to put them in the Constitution. Ohio and New Jersey didn’t ratify the 14th amendment again until 2003.
The matter will likely be decided by federal courts.
Q: Why do ERA advocates say it’s needed?
Even though opportunities for women have increased dramatically since the days of Alice Paul and even since the 1970s, the League of Women Voters, which has pushed for the ERA for decades, says sex-based discrimination persists.
“The symptoms of this systemic discrimination are clear in the ongoing fights against unequal pay, workplace harassment, pregnancy discrimination, domestic violence, and limited access to comprehensive health care,” said a recent letter the group sent to congressional leaders. “It is not enough to treat the symptoms; we must address the root cause of inequality by amending the Constitution.”
A state legislator who sponsored the Nevada measure, Sen. Pat Spearman, cited Pew Research Center statistics that indicate women in the United States earn just 85 percent of what their male counterparts earn, with black women making just 60 percent and Latinas making 50 percent of what their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts make.
She also noted that college and professional sports often provide unequal funding and compensation for women.
“How is it that the U.S. Women’s National Team received a bonus of only $2 million when it won the 2015 Women’s World Cup, and when the 2014 U.S. men’s team finished in 11th place, it collected $9 million?” she asked at a House Judiciary Committee hearing last year.
Former Stanford Law School Dean Kathleen Sullivan told that hearing the United States is now an outlier among the world’s major industrial democracies in failing to have an express constitutional guarantee that men and women are equal under the law.
“The ERA would make clear that sex discrimination has not been just an idiosyncratic and occasional instance of irrationality, like animus toward red-heads or Scorpios, but rather a persistent and pervasive practice that has systematically undervalued women’s worth and capabilities, and systematically distributed the burdens and benefits of public life unequally, based on stigmatizing stereotypes and overbroad generalizations about the proper roles of men and women,” she testified.
Q: What do opponents say?
At a House Judiciary Committee markup of a bill that would remove the time limit for passing the ERA, Arizona Republican Rep. Debbie Lesko cited numerous anti-abortion groups who argue its passage would force courts to treat limits on abortion as a form of sex discrimination that violates the Constitution.
The head of the Phyllis Schlafly Eagles organization, whose founder led opposition to the ERA years ago, says equal pay for equal work and “a host of other protections” are already part of U.S. law. According to the organization’s president, Ed Martin, the amendment would “serve no other purpose than to confuse the law and create a nightmare of lawsuits.”
“We have long known that the ERA is not really about women’s rights,” said a statement from Martin. “What the ERA would do in reality is solidify abortion-on-demand as a taxpayer-paid constitutional right, give men a constitutional right to be in women’s restrooms and locker rooms, strip churches of religious liberty protections, and eliminate sex-specific aid programs like WIC and government funding of battered women’s shelters.”
Louisiana Republican Rep. Mike Johnson argues the ERA would have far reaching consequences. He says it would enshrine “the infinitely fluid concept of gender identity” in the Constitution, “require doctors to perform treatments and surgeries on minors that render them permanently infertile without parental involvement,” allow “biological men to invade the private spaces of women,” and also let biological males dominate female sports.
“The Equal Rights Amendment would ironically and tragically completely erase women’s protections under the law,” Johnson said at the Judiciary Committee markup.
That committee’s top Republican, Georgia’s Doug Collins, says the deadline to pass the amendment has expired, insisting Congress “doesn’t have the constitutional authority to retroactively revive a failed constitutional amendment and subject citizens in all 50 states to the current political trend in just one state.”
Q: What exactly does the amendment say?
The text of the proposed amendment is quite simple, despite the hoo-ha over its potential repercussions:
Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Section 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3: This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
Q: How was the ERA passed in Ohio?
Stinziano says he was elected in 1972 with backing from many women, including a campaign manager who ardently supported ERA ratification. He made passage his first legislative priority, and believes it’s still important that equal rights for women be guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.
“There are still some parts of the country that don’t think equal rights are important,” says Stinziano, a Democrat whose son, also named Mike, serves as Franklin County auditor. “Having it as a constitutional right would trump any effort not to provide equal rights.”
Stinziano says Ohio was a “huge battleground for ratification,” and politicians including Schlafly opposed approval. He recalled that some unions were concerned that protections they secured for female members in collective bargaining - like telephone operators who finished their shifts after dark getting company escorts to their cars - would be sacrificed if ERA was implemented.
Other objections included concern that the ERA would require that women be drafted into the armed forces, and would hinder women from fulfilling their domestic responsibilities.
“The children of those families of the welfare, they’re going to be affected,” one of Ohio’s few female legislators at that time, Ethel Swanbeck, an Erie County Republican, warned as she voted against the measure.
Longtime Republican state legislator William Batchelder of Medina, who went on to become House Speaker, contended the nation would be “wading into a left-wing swamp of problems,” if the amendment passed. Butler County’s Thomas Kindness - a Republican who subsequently became a U.S. congressman - delivered his speech to oppose ERA while wearing a kilt to get his colleagues’ attention.
He argued the amendment would “allow the Congress to rip off the powers of the state like nothing since the Commerce Clause,” and let the federal government usurp functions regulated by states, like marriages, divorces, property rights, education, child support, occupational licensing, insurance regulation, and probate and commercial transactions. He also said other laws, like the Civil Rights Act, protect both males and females from sex discrimination.
“They say that their main desire is to have the Constitution state that females are equal citizens, but they fail to state that men would gain more in a purely selfish way from this proposed amendment than would women,” said Kindness.
In his own speech to support the amendment, Stinziano argued that without constitutional amendments that were adopted to ensure the rights of black citizens, those in many states would still have been denied basic civil rights, including the right to vote, during the 1970s. He likened the objections to ERA to objections against past efforts to ensure racial equity.
He said most women in the U.S. labor force work “because they have to, not because of any desire to get away from their children, but because without their income, the family budget would collapse under our high cost of living.”
“It’s time to get on with the job started 50 years ago,” he continued. “We will not be able to legislate equality in the minds of all Americans, nor is that our intention. But the ERA is a start.”
Stinziano said future House Speaker Vern Riffe, a Democrat, helped secure organized labor’s support for the ERA’s passage and Democratic black caucus head C.J. McLin of Dayton played a major role in getting support from the African American community.
Ohio’s House passed the measure by a 56 to 40 vote on March 28, 1973. Of the 57 Democrats who voted, 45 supported the amendment. Of the 39 Republicans who voted, 11 were for it.
It took almost another year for Ohio’s Senate to pass it by a 20-12 vote on February 7, 1974. Six Senate Republicans and 14 Democrats voted yes, while 10 Republicans and two Democrats voted against it.
Years later, Stinziano says he still believes it’s important for the ERA to become part of the Constitution.
“Equal pay for equal work comes to mind,” said Stinziano, who now serves as an Ohio liquor control commissioner after spending 22 years in the legislature. “While society has come a long way, there’s still a lot to be done before women and men are equal in the eyes of the law. Those who oppose enshrining equal rights in the Constitution are on the wrong side of history.”
ERA From Cong Research Svc (PDF)
ERA From Cong Research Svc (Text)
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Rep. Bob Latta helps pass law to hang up on robocalls
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April 13, 2009 | Part Of AEI: The Taiwan Relations Act at Thirty
U.S.-Taiwan Relations
2009-04-13T09:06:39-04:00https://images.c-span.org/Files/5f1/285234-m.jpgIn the first of two panels focusing on the Taiwan Relations Act’s impact on U.S. China policy over the past 30 years focused on issues such as trade relations, military and diplomatic challenges, as well as human rights and democracy in the region. Danielle Pletka moderated.
In the first of two panels focusing on the Taiwan Relations Act’s impact on U.S. China policy over the past 30 years focused on issues such… read more
In the first of two panels focusing on the Taiwan Relations Act’s impact on U.S. China policy over the past 30 years focused on issues such as trade relations, military and diplomatic challenges, as well as human rights and democracy in the region. Danielle Pletka moderated. close
Filter by Speaker All Speakers John R. Bolton Arthur C. Brooks C.J. Chen Danielle Pletka Paul D. Wolfowitz
John R. Bolton Senior Fellow American Enterprise Institute->Foreign Policy
Arthur C. Brooks President American Enterprise Institute
C.J. Chen Ambassador (Former)
Danielle Pletka Vice President American Enterprise Institute->Foreign and Defense Policy Studies
Paul D. Wolfowitz Visiting Scholar American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise InstituteAmerican Enterprise Institute
AEI: The Taiwan Relations Act at Thirty
U.S., China and Taiwan Security
Aug 29, 2009 | 5:53am EDT | C-SPAN 3
Apr 14, 2009 | 12:32am EDT | C-SPAN 3
Aug 28, 2009 | 3:01pm EDT | C-SPAN 3
See all on Taiwan
Panelists spoke about U.S. diplomatic, military and economic relations with both China and Taiwan in the 30 years since…
Future of Taiwan
Representative Joseph Wu talked about the presidential election to be held in Taiwan on March 22, 2008. Topics included…
The Legacy of President Truman and China
A panel discussion was held on the Truman administration’s foreign policy in East Asia following World War II, focusing on China.…
U.S., Taiwan, and China Relations
Mr. Wu talked about relations between China and Taiwan and U.S. foreign policy goals in the region in light of the recent…
User Clip: TRA Explanation
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» The Story of Guitar Heroes
If you like music and guitars you will LOVE this show! We all love a bit of guitar wielding in a song, it’s iconic, soulful and – oh what a beautiful instrument! The Story of Guitar Heroes is an awe-inspiring, dynamic show which transports you through time: from the 1950’s with artistes such as Chuck Berry and Hank Marvin from The Shadows, including gifted legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, through to modern day players such as the great Brian May and the electrifying Steve Vai, to name but a few!
Presented by guitar virtuoso Phil Walker - this show’s extraordinarily talented band uses over 30 guitars to recreate and accurately reproduce the sound and ambiance of each guitar hero. Featuring video footage of historical moments, with state-of-theart lighting and delivered with a light hearted vibe – this makes for a truly sensational and enjoyable evening.
Now in its 5th year, The Story of Guitar Heroes has become increasingly popular not only with many guitar players and musicians, but with people and families of all ages. Don’t miss out on this spectacular show. You won’t be disappointed!
Thursday 9 Sep 2021 19:30
Excellent availability - Book early to avoid disappointment!
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HonHoneywell Onondaga Lake Cleanup
The Onondaga Lake cleanup was the result of more than two decades and millions of hours of intensive effort. The project was completed through an unwavering focus on sound science, technical excellence, community engagement, sustainable practices, and a commitment to health and safety. Hundreds of local scientists, engineers, and skilled craft laborers worked with Honeywell to achieve innovative and sustainable results. About 90 acres of wetlands have been restored and more than 250 wildlife species are now calling these areas home. Honeywell completed dredging in November 2014, a year ahead of schedule. About 2.2 million cubic yards of material was removed from the bottom of the lake using hydraulic dredges. Onondaga Lake capping was completed in December 2016. Habitat restoration, a major focus of the cleanup, was completed in 2017.
Categories: Engineering
Honeywell Onondaga Lake Cleanup
301 Plainfield Rd. Ste 330
Rep 1: John McAuliffe - Send an Email
Rep 2: Steven J. Miller - Send an Email
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Media Agency Head of the Year 2020: Natalie Cummins
Cummins' journey to the top of Zenith began more than 20 years ago when she joined as a graduate.
UK chief executive, Zenith
This was a fiercely contested category between three media agency leaders who are among the top operators in UK media. The judges concluded Cummins stood out as an "aspirational and inspirational" leader, as befits a woman whose journey to the summit of Zenith began more than two decades ago when she joined as a graduate in 1998.
She has put her stamp on the Publicis shop since becoming chief executive in summer 2018 and notched up a strong performance during her first full year in charge, as like-for-like revenue rose 6% in 2019. Cummins propelled Zenith up the new-business tables with £92.8m in net new billings, beefed up the management team, generated more than half of revenue from "non-core" media services for the first time and scooped a string of awards for its work.
Zenith’s pitch record was strong – it came within a whisker of Havas at the top of Campaign’s media new-business league standings at the end of 2019, as Cummins’ team landed some key wins, including Three in the UK and Disney as part of a global pitch.
Work for existing clients was also good, with campaigns for Bodyform, Costa Express, H&M and NatWest shortlisted for a string of prizes at this year’s Campaign Media Awards, which will take place in April. Good client satisfaction scores added to the impressive picture – with 36% giving top marks to Cummins’ team.
Cummins knows Zenith well, after her two-year stint at the start of her career and return to the agency in 2006, and she was ready to drive change when she stepped up from managing director to chief executive. She promoted Sannah Rogers and Jon Stevens to managing directors at the start of 2019 and persuaded Richard Kirk, a Zenith alumnus who moved to Amazon, to rejoin as chief strategy officer.
A quarter of Cummins’ leadership team comes from a BAME background and she is a champion of flexible working. Cummins herself has eloquently written about how she juggles life as a chief executive, a widow and a mother.
"Natalie is a resilient and hard-working leader," one judge observed. "Her dedication to diversity is strong and her client satisfaction record is great."
With her leadership, Cummins has shown there is plenty of life in the network agency model.
Former UK chief executive, Havas Media Group
The judges hailed Adams for presiding over a "genuine turnaround story" at Havas, which topped Campaign’s new-business league for the first time in years with a £94.3m haul, and they praised his focus on clients by "spending time with them first hand". Wins included Dreams, Homebase, Legal & General and Starbucks. He also won credit for improving staff churn, which fell from 26% in 2018 to 17%, and gender balance, as female representation reached 50% on the board – compared with just 6% in 2017 when he took charge.
Adams was also candid about his own challenges as he wrote about giving up drinking alcohol. It is a sign of his progressive reputation that he was headhunted by performance agency Brainlabs to become its global managing director in January 2020.
Tim Pearson
Chief executive, OMD Group UK
It has been another excellent year for Pearson, who just missed out on this prize but will gain some consolation from Manning Gottlieb OMD’s win for Media Agency of the Year – for the second year in a row – in these awards.
The judges described Pearson as "not just supremely capable but an all-round nice guy", who won promotion midway through the year from chief executive of MGOMD to a bigger role running parent company OMD UK. 2019 was not such a stellar year in terms of new business for MGOMD, the judges noted, but bedding in the government’s £150m-a-year buying account was a considerable feat.
Winning agency of the year for MGOMD at the Media Week Awards in October was another feather in the cap.
Media Zenith
Advertising Agency Heads of the Year 2020: Tammy Einav and Mat Goff
Media Network of the Year EMEA 2020: UM
Advertising Agency of the Year 2020: Adam & Eve/DDB
Media Agency of the Year 2020: Manning Gottlieb OMD
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Sunday 24 February 2019 18:00
Mats Rits: “More in it for us”
The reigning emotion after the draw at Anderlecht was disappointment, and no different for Mats Rits.
"I believe we conceded to avoidable goals, which is a pity as we can't do much with this one point. So much more was in it. We suffered a real blow on Thursday, even if that 4-0 was a bit exaggerated. We really wanted to conclude this hefty ten days of games with a win, but it was not to be, and there's nothing we can do about it anymore. We now need to focus on our three remaining games in the league. Starting with the home game vs STVV, where we need to keep the three points at home. It's only then that we can think about the trip to Eupen, and our home game vs Mouscron." (JDN)
Mats Rits
Mats Rits: “We put one step forward again”
Mats Rits: “Didn't make the most of our chances”
Mats Rits at Club until 2024
Mats Rits: “We never gave up”
Mats Rits: “More was in it than this draw”
Mats Rits: “Great to be scoring twice"
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America has suffered great loss before. Here's how we may learn to cope with coronavirus death toll.
Marco della Cava / USA TODAY
During World War II, 407,317 Americans died in a fight for global democracy. The dead were heralded as representatives of the Greatest Generation and honored in books, movies and memorials.
The Vietnam War claimed 58,220 lives in a bitter battle that divided the nation. Heroic tributes eluded both the deceased and survivors as a new generation developed a deep skepticism toward government.
And on Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists killed 2,977 as the country recoiled in horror. Strict surveillance measures were embraced as the military plunged into wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that have lasted the better part of two decades.
The U.S. has suffered horrific death tolls throughout history, from one-day cataclysms to wars to pandemics such as the 1918 Spanish flu, which killed a staggering 675,000 Americans. Another 116,151 died in those same years fighting in World War I.
Each wave of death brought unprecedented societal changes. Historians expect the coronavirus outbreak will be no different, even if their exact nature remains elusive. The final COVID-19 death toll andhow Americans judge the government's response to the virus are sure to color how we look back on this crisis.
Will this be another World War II moment, where a nation rejoices in its unified effort to vanquish a common enemy, or another Vietnam stalemate with citizens debating whether the actions of leaders led to needless deaths and suffering?
"If it starts to appear that this situation is badly bungled and leaders have failed us resulting in more deaths than necessary, the potential is greater for a national upheaval," says Mark Atwood Lawrence, historian and Vietnam War scholar at the University of Texas, Austin.
Since the first U.S. coronavirus death was reported in Seattle on Feb. 29, more than 33,000 lives – about one-fifth of the global toll – have been lost to COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the pathogen.
Coronavirus deaths may soon match those of warU.S. deaths from COVID-19 are approaching the number of casualties in major wars.Civil War* | 1861-65Spanish Flu | 1918World War II | 1941-45World War I | 1914-18Vietnam War | 1964-75Korean War | 1951-53COVID-19**Iraq/Afghan wars | 2001-20Sept.11, 2001Hurricane Katrina | 2005Oklahoma City bombing | 1995750,000675,000407,317116,15158,22036,57433,2886,7462,9771,833168* – Scholarly research in 2012 updated deaths to 750,000, but some sources cite 620,000 deaths; ** – As of April 17; SOURCE USA TODAY reporting and research; Johns Hopkins University; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; American Battlefield Trust; Congressional Research Service; National Archives; Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum; 9/11 Memorial & Museum; GRAPHIC George Petras/USA TODAY
While a national self-quarantine seems to be helping slow the outbreak, the grim meter keeps ticking. For those who have lost loved ones, the pain is omnipresent. For others,sobering images provide a window into what has been lost, from caskets being laid into a field on New York City’s Hart Island to white body bags in a vacant room at Detroit’s Sinai-Grace Hospital.
Initial models forecast as many as 2.2 million American deaths from the coronavirus if no social distancing measures were implemented. That number dropped into the hundreds of thousands as states enacted a range of stay-at-homemeasures, from issuing fines to violators to simply urging greater personal responsibility. The nation's de facto infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, now says deaths could be capped at 60,000.
The most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that in 2017, 647,457 Americans died from heart disease, 599,108 died from cancer, 169,963 from accidents (nearly 40,000 of those due to cars), 146,383 from strokes, 83,564 from diabetes and 55,672 from influenza or pneumonia.
As much as holding the number of coronavirus victims at 60,000 will be viewed as a victory to some, a death toll reached in mere months that equals 11 years of fighting in Vietnam will leave a lasting scar, says Douglas Brinkley, historian and author at Houston's Rice University.
“This is a seismic event in U.S. history that will be recalled for generations to come, and what will be remembered more than the economic woes is the death toll,” says Brinkley, who predicts memorials will be erected to honor the doctors and nurses who died helping people, if not the virus victims themselves.
Brinkley says this loss may be felt even more acutely across the country than the deaths resulting from post-World War II conflicts or tragedies such as 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina, which killed 1,833 people in 2005. The reason: the ubiquity of the shared experience.
“The sheer scale of COVID-19 matters,” he says. “We’re not talking about an isolated region or city that was hit, this has canvassed the country and given everyone a giant timeout to deal with an unwelcome reality.”
Part of what must come out of any national trial where lives are lost is a narrative that most of the country can agree on, says Carolyn Marvin, professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School of Communications and author of “Blood Sacrifice and the Nation: Totem Rituals and the Flag.”
That critical collective story is what allows people to understand the sacrifice and gain something from the experience, she says. But with the U.S. bitterly divided along political lines, it’s possible a unified post-COVID-19 narrative won’t come together quickly or perhaps at all.
“If that happens,” Marvin says, “then we will have lost the opportunity to understand ourselves better as a country capable of coming together as a stronger unified group.”
1918 Spanish flu hit mostly the young
Previous moments of great loss in U.S. history elicited varying reactions.
The Civil War, which took 750,000 lives between 1861 and 1865, ended slavery and brought a fundamental reshaping of a nation that had been at risk of imploding under its differences.
In 1918, the nation had fewer people and wasn’t connected by technology as it is today. That means the devastating Spanish Flu pandemic took its toll town by town, with some suffering greatly and others less so. Mostly what caught the public’s attention was the ghastly nature of the illness, says John M. Barry, author of “The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History.”
“It wasn’t so much about the numbers as the way people were dying, some within 24 hours, turning dark blue due to lack of oxygen, some bleeding from the eyes and ears and 28 being the peak age of death,” Barry says.
The big lesson from that epidemic that may apply today is the devastating second wave of Spanish flu deaths that hit after the country reopened prematurely, allowing the virus to spread more.
“If we can keep our deaths to 60,000, that would be a victory, but it involves keeping our current measures into May,” he says.
World War II killed nearly half a million Americans, but because the outcome was a triumph over fascism those deaths were lionized, says historian Brinkley. Not only that, but the nation as a whole reveled in its collective sense of accomplishment.
“That event was so costly in terms of lives, but it also gave rise to a sense of American exceptionalism and can-do-ism,” he says.
In fact, much like the horrors of the Spanish flu and World War I were followed by the Roaring '20s, a period of fiscal prosperity and cultural renaissance, the post-WWII years were marked by both a baby and economic boom that cast those who died as heroes that helped usher in better times.
While so far COVID-19 has “pulled back the curtain of Oz and revealed a nation unready for a medical crisis,” Brinkley is hopeful that the resulting deaths will not be in vain and instead will bring about a re-dedication to scientific rigor and national preparedness for future pandemics.
The Vietnam War likely presents the most stark example of when a large number of Americans died for a cause that did not triumph, as the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam only to let the Communist regime it had been battling at great cost take charge.
The war, which lasted from 1964 to 1975, had a notable turning point in the court of public opinion. It happened when CBS anchor Walter Cronkite said in a 1968 broadcast that he believed the war was, at best, a “stalemate.” Weeks later, President Lyndon Johnson sensed he had lost public support and declined to seek reelection.
Historian Lawrence hopes that our coronavirus tragedy echoes the Vietnam conflict “in the sense that it could produce an intense debating about the role of government in our lives, something I sense the upcoming presidential debates will be full of.”
COVID-19 to change US in a 'deep way'
When it comes to shocks to the national nervous system, few events seared more than 9/11, which, much like COVID-19, had its biggest effect on New York City.
But the pandemic “already has and will continue to affect us in a deep way for a much longer period of time because of the scale of deaths and the economic impact,” says Joseph Margulies, professor at Cornell Law School and author of “What Changed When Everything Changed: 9/11 and the Making of National Identity.”
Margulies says that while 9/11 “gave the powerful sensation of carnage falling from the sky on a cloud-free Tuesday morning,” the way COVID-19 has unfolded gradually and nationally means “we are still starting to sort out what this means to us all and it may take time.”
In some ways, one could argue that the exact number of those killed in a tragedy doesn’t matter simply because the unexpected loss of even one American life can have the same impact as the passing of thousands. Consider the shock that swept the nation after the Boston Marathon bombing, when three people were killed.
Instead, what is of paramount importance in the wake of any deadly event is simply sharing a sense of loss and grief, says Kari Watkins, executive director of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
“This virus is a modern-day terrorist attack on us all, so if I lost my father or friend to 9/11 or Oklahoma City or COVID-19, the loss is the same,” Watkins says. “The sacrifice is the same.”
Twenty-five years ago on April 19, a bomb placed in a truck by Timothy McVeigh ripped through a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 128. The dead included children at a day care center. A nation reeled, domestic terrorism took center stage and government buildings were wrapped in protective monoliths.
Watkins has been planning a big remembrance event for Sunday, one set to include dignitaries and victims alike. Because of the outbreak, it will be cut back and livestreamed.
Nonetheless, she says, there is no mistaking the mission behind marking that dark day in 1995.
“Whenever we go through these national tragedies, people have to have a chance to rebuild their lives and move forward,” Watkins says. “So many are dying now, but we have to make the very best of the very worst. We might take baby steps together, and maybe there will be mistakes on both sides of the political aisle. But we should all be working together now for America.”
Follow USA TODAY national correspondent Marco della Cava: @marcodellacava
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Criminal International Media Politics
Hong Kong Media Tycoon Jimmy Lai Jailed After Bail Revoked
December 31, 2020 December 31, 2020 ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bail bonds, China, Hong Kong, Journalism, national security
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, arrives the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong on Thursday. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s highest court on Thursday revoked media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s bail after prosecutors succeeded in asking the judges to send him back to detention.
Lai had been granted bail on Dec. 23 after three weeks in custody on charges of fraud and endangering national security. His appeal hearing is slated for Feb. 1.
The court said Thursday that it was “reasonably arguable” that the previous judge’s decision was erroneous and that the order of granting bail was invalid.
Lai is among a string of pro-democracy activists and supporters arrested by Hong Kong police in recent months as authorities step up their crackdown on dissent in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
He was charged with fraud on Dec. 3 for allegedly violating the lease terms for office space for the Next Digital, the media company he founded. He was later charged again on Dec. 12 under the sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces and endangering national security.
Lai entered the Court of Final Appeal without making any comments to supporters and media, many of whom swarmed the tycoon as he made his way into the courtroom. His bail conditions included surrendering his travel documents and a ban on meeting with foreign officials, publishing articles on any media, posting on social media and giving interviews.
Chinese state-owned newspaper People’s Daily posted a strongly worded commentary on Sunday criticizing the court for granting bail to Lai, stating that it “severely hurt Hong Kong’s rule of law.”
The People’s Daily said that it would not be difficult for Lai to abscond, and called him “notorious and extremely dangerous.” It also warned that China could take over the case, according to Article 55 of the national security law which states that China can “exercise jurisdiction over a case concerning offence endangering national security.”
Hong Kong’s judiciary on Tuesday uploaded a 19-page judgment on its website, laying out the reasons why High Court Judge Justice Alex Lee had granted Lai bail. Lee said that he was satisfied that there was no flight risk in Lai’s case, and noted that Lai was willing to have his movements monitored if it had been a feasible option.
On Tuesday, Lai resigned as chairman and executive director of Next Digital, which runs the Apple Daily newspaper, according to a filing made to the Hong Kong stock exchange. He did so “to spend more time dealing with this personal affairs” and confirmed that he had no disagreement with the board of directors, the filing said.
By NICOLE KO and ZEN SOO Associated Press
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Government Latest Headlines
NYC’s First African American Mayor, David Dinkins, Has Died
November 24, 2020 November 24, 2020 ASSOCIATED PRESS
mayors, NYC, obituary, race
David Dinkins delivers his first speech as mayor of New York City on Jan. 2, 1990. (AP Photo/Frankie Ziths, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — David Dinkins, who broke barriers as New York City’s first African American mayor, but was doomed to a single term by a soaring murder rate, stubborn unemployment and his mishandling of a riot in Brooklyn, has died. He was 93.
Dinkins died Monday, the New York City Police Department confirmed. The department said officers were called to the former mayor’s home in the evening. Initial indications were that he died of natural causes.
Dinkins’ death came just weeks after the death of his wife, Joyce, who died in October at the age of 89.
Dinkins, a calm and courtly figure with a penchant for tennis and formal wear, was a dramatic shift from both his predecessor, Ed Koch, and his successor, Rudolph Giuliani — two combative and often abrasive politicians in a city with a world-class reputation for impatience and rudeness.
But the city he inherited had an ugly side, too.
AIDS, guns and crack cocaine killed thousands of people each year. Unemployment soared. Homelessness was rampant. The city faced a $1.5 billion budget deficit.
Dinkins’ low-key, considered approach quickly came to be perceived as a flaw. Critics said he was too soft and too slow.
“Dave, Do Something!” screamed one New York Post headline in 1990, Dinkins’ first year in office.
In recent years, he’s gotten more credit for those accomplishments, credit that Mayor Bill de Blasio said he should have always had. De Blasio, who worked in Dinkins’ administration, named Manhattan’s Municipal Building after the former mayor in October 2015.
“The example Mayor David Dinkins set for all of us shines brighter than the most powerful lighthouse imaginable,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, who herself shattered barriers as the state’s first Black woman elected to statewide office.
“I was honored to have him hold the bible at my inaugurations because I, and others, stand on his shoulders,” she said.
Results from his accomplishments, however, didn’t come fast enough to earn Dinkins a second term.
After beating Giuliani by only 47,000 votes out of 1.75 million cast in 1989, Dinkins lost a rematch by roughly the same margin in 1993.
Giuliani, now President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, tweeted his condolences to Dinkins’ family. “He gave a great deal of his life in service to our great City,” the former mayor said. “That service is respected and honored by all.”
Political historians often trace the defeat to Dinkins’ handling of the Crown Heights riot in Brooklyn in 1991.
The violence began after a Black 7-year-old boy was accidentally killed by a car in the motorcade of an Orthodox Jewish religious leader. During the three days of anti-Jewish rioting by young Black men that followed, a rabbinical student was fatally stabbed. Nearly 190 people were hurt.
A state report issued in 1993, an election year, cleared Dinkins of the persistently repeated charge that he intentionally held back police in the first days of the violence, but criticized him for not stepping up as a leader.
In a 2013 memoir, Dinkins accused the police department of letting the disturbance get out of hand, and also took a share of the blame, on the grounds that “the buck stopped with me.” But he bitterly blamed his election defeat on prejudice: “I think it was just racism, pure and simple.”
Born in Trenton, New Jersey, on July 10, 1927, Dinkins moved with his mother to Harlem when his parents divorced, but returned to his hometown to attend high school. There, he learned an early lesson in discrimination: Blacks were not allowed to use the school swimming pool.
During a hitch in the Marine Corps as a young man, a Southern bus driver barred him from boarding a segregated bus because the section for Blacks was filled.
“And I was in my country’s uniform!” Dinkins recounted years later.
While attending Howard University, the historically black university in Washington, D.C., Dinkins said he gained admission to segregated movie theaters by wearing a turban and faking a foreign accent.
Back in New York with a degree in mathematics, Dinkins married his college sweetheart, Joyce Burrows, in 1953. His father-in-law, a power in local Democratic politics, channeled Dinkins into a Harlem political club. Dinkins paid his dues as a Democratic functionary while earning a law degree from Brooklyn Law School, and then went into private practice.
He got elected to the state Assembly in 1965, became the first Black president of the city’s Board of Elections in 1972 and went on to serve as Manhattan borough president.
Dinkins’ election as mayor in 1989 came after two racially charged cases that took place under Koch: the rape of a white jogger in Central Park and the bias murder of a Black teenager in Bensonhurst.
Dinkins defeated Koch, 50 percent to 42 percent, in the Democratic primary. But in a city where party registration was 5-to-1 Democratic, Dinkins barely scraped by the Republican Giuliani in the general election, capturing only 30 percent of the white vote.
His administration had one early high note: Newly freed Nelson Mandela made New York City his first stop in the U.S. in 1990. Dinkins had been a longtime, outspoken critic of apartheid in South Africa.
In that same year, though, Dinkins was criticized for his handling of a Black-led boycott of Korean-operated grocery stores in Brooklyn. Critics contended Dinkins waited too long to intervene. He ultimately ended up crossing the boycott line to shop at the stores — but only after Koch did.
During Dinkins’ tenure, the city’s finances were in rough shape because of a recession that cost New York 357,000 private-sector jobs in his first three years in office.
Meanwhile, the city’s murder toll soared to an all-time high, with a record 2,245 homicides during his first year as mayor. There were 8,340 New Yorkers killed during the Dinkins administration — the bloodiest four-year stretch since the New York Police Department began keeping statistics in 1963.
In the last years of his administration, record-high homicides began a decline that continued for decades. In the first year of the Giuliani administration, murders fell from 1,946 to 1,561.
One of Dinkins’ last acts in 1993 was to sign an agreement with the United States Tennis Association that gave the organization a 99-year lease on city land in Queens in return for building a tennis complex. That deal guaranteed that the U.S. Open would remain in New York City for decades.
After leaving office, Dinkins was a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
He had a pacemaker inserted in August 2008, and underwent an emergency appendectomy in October 2007. He also was hospitalized in March 1992 for a bacterial infection that stemmed from an abscess on the wall of his large intestine. He was treated with antibiotics and recovered in a week.
Dinkins is survived by his son, David Jr., daughter, Donna and two grandchildren.
By DEEPTI HAJELA Associated Press
Associated Press writer David B. Caruso and former Associated Press writer Larry McShane contributed to this report.
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The M.O.’s Wishful Thinking Issue: “The Cocoon”
By Louis Rakovich
Cover Art: Tobie Ancipink
We're proud to present “The Cocoon” by Louis Rakovich, the latest crime fiction selection for The M.O.!
This submission received the most votes from our shortlist previews, expressing your Wishful Thinking to read the whole thing here!
Today, for the second time since my return, Gloria woke me up before going to work. Afterward I fell back asleep and dreamed about the cave. It wrapped around me like a cocoon, knitting strings of rock and soil over my face. I couldn't move; I waited patiently until the time came for me to get out, and then I woke up.
It's been four months since I left the cave. Gloria works for the both of us now, six days a week from seven to nine. But I don't think I'm deluding myself in believing she doesn't mind. I think I see a faint happiness in her, shining through the inconvenience and the late hours. I know there are pride and strength in her face which weren't there before. This scares me.
Sometimes I think of going back to work, but I can't be outside longer than a few hours. The people on the street recognize me, or I imagine that they do. I know I didn't imagine the tall, tall man—a mountain of white skin and sharp bones—who put his hand on my shoulder at the coffee shop and said, “Hey, aren't you the guy…?” and then the voice faded from his throat. He coughed and looked me in the eye. He said, “Life is strange. Strange and dark.” He handed me his card. He was a pastor; his eyes glowed with the same heat as my wife's new face.
Life is strange and dark. I think he spoke more of his own life than of mine when he said this. It must be strange to see a man, a man just like the rest of them, and remember a deranged, bloody animal. I don't envy the people who recognize me from the news.
I remember the reporter, her white raincoat and black hair. She was the first thing I saw when they dragged me outside. She's all I remember—a distant white figure and a woman's voice relaying the details of my disappearance.
The next memory is the hospital, and the doctor telling someone I couldn't see—probably Gloria—of the worms in my stomach. Then the policemen. They entered and ordered the doctor and the invisible Gloria out of the room. I told them the only conceivable thing. I told it how I had seen it told before, in the adventure stories I'd read as a child.
A week had passed, and the hunger had become unbearable. One of my colleagues suggested it, and I protested, but not for long, because as I did, I could see the two eying me from top to bottom, and I knew they were both thinking the same thing. We drew straws. One of the two lost. They fought between themselves and I watched. One died. The other stood up bloody-handed. He leaped at me, holding the same red rock he had used on the other. I dodged his raised arm, the rock was dropped. I picked it up and struck in self defense. Two days later, after much hesitation, I took the first bite. In the following two months, I kept eating, even after the meat had become dark and putrid and the stench penetrated every corner of the cave, for it was the only thing that stood between me and death.
That was my report, and it pleased the policemen. That was the story the pastor heard on the news. Only my wife knows the truth. The truth is the reason she works while I sleep, the reason she's still here after four months. She's gone mad, and so she loves the truth.
The truth is we never drew straws. It wouldn't have come to that. My colleagues were bigger and stronger than myself, and on that hunting trip, I had proved a coward and a weakling. If either of them had thought of it before me, they wouldn't have given me the opportunity to be saved by chance. I know, as I know that the sun's still in the sky, as the giant pastor knows the places of truth in the word of his Lord, that they would have eaten me had I not killed them first.
There was no hesitation. There was worry, and queasiness, and a suddenly foreign and heavy heart, but no hesitation. I waited in the dark, listening to the sounds of their breathing. Finally they fell asleep, and I lifted the red rock—it wasn't red at the time—and bashed their heads in.
It's true that I ate the two men. It's true that for two months I lived in pulsating, swaying darkness. Sometimes spots of light came shining through the rocks, but it was never bright enough, and I never saw my shadow. I drank the muddy water from the floor of the cave, I chewed the ever-darkening, ever-hardening meat. The stench settled in the roots of my hair. After one month, I became very sick.
I prayed that someone would find the truck. It stood on the side of the road, with everything we'd taken with us on the trip save for the clothes on our backs. We left it there, loaded and ready to go, just for a moment. One of the two suggested we take a look at the cave before heading home. Even for that alone, they deserved to die.
Sometimes, I'd think of the people who would find me, and for their sake, I'd stop praying. Rather, for their sake and for my own, because I knew that the man who left the cave would not be the one who had gotten trapped in it.
There were moments when, lying there in the stench, I thought I could feel some strength of spirit awakening in me, some power of endurance. When those moments coincided with the moments of delirium, I thought that the change had been brought on by the consumption of human meat. I thought of the brutes I'd killed and eaten, and I was proud, because I'd gone mad.
Now, my wife looks at me with the same madness. She does her best to steer me away from guilt; she says, “You only did what had to be done.” But something in her face gives her away. She's proud of me. She walks around carrying the secret that her husband is not as weak as she once thought.
Sometimes, I think her madness is God's peace offering. He knew I would commit horrors in the cocoon, and come out a different man, and so he gave me a wife who would welcome the change.
Sometimes, when I sleep, I think that what Gloria loves in me now is the power acquired from the meat. I dream and I think that the ghost of the brutes' strength resides in me, because I've killed them and eaten their bodies. In my dreams I go mad again.
Sometimes, I fear that I will bite off my own tongue in my sleep, and I remember the tongues of the dead men. Then, I think I've become my old, scared self at last. But I see the smile on Gloria's face and the heat in her eyes, and I know that I will never get back what I left in the cocoon.
Copyright ©2015 Louis Rakovich
Louis Rakovich's fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in The Fiction Desk, Goldfish Grimm, Phobos Magazine and other places. He grew up in Jerusalem, Israel, and currently lives in NYC, where he's working on his first novel—a literary psychological thriller. You can follow him on Twitter at @LouisRakovich.
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Annual meeting for Christian Scientists
The Church of Christ, Scientist, convening its 91st Annual Meeting in Boston June 2, focused its attention on fulfilling the denomination's ``mission of Christ-healing.'' In a taped video presentation, The Christian Science Board of Directors stressed the church's founding purpose, dating from 1879, to commemorate the teachings and life of Christ Jesus ``which should reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing.''
For the first time, videotapes of the Boston meeting will be shown at Christian Science churches around the world, enabling members of the century-old denomination to be part of the meeting in their respective cities and countries.
Reports from the field -- from Christian Scientists around the world -- were also delivered via video recordings.
A speaker from New York State described a healing ``through prayer'' of a toxic condition that doctors feared would endanger her unborn child; a woman from New England told of being lifted from destitution and suicidal tendencies to hope and new purpose; a man from the Philippines recounted his recovery from a serious gunshot wound. Asked what he felt was the most important element in the healing, he referred to forgiveness for the man who shot him:
``Forgiveness helps a lot in healing because if you forgive, there is love. When you demonstrate love, you feel you are already in the kingdom of God and all is possible.''
Those attending the two-hour afternoon meeting also heard reports from church officers and committees, including the following:
Michael Thorneloe, chairman of The Christian Science Board of Directors, discussed the various church activities that focused on peace. These included more than 700 public lectures during May that underscored a Christian perspective of peace.
Church treasurer Donald Bowersock thanked members for their contributions during the past year. These not only supported the church's various worldwide denominational activities, he said, but also enabled it to contribute to a variety of humanitarian relief organizations.
Nathan Talbot, manager of the church's information office, spoke about court cases challenging the legitimacy of spiritual healing as practiced over several generations by Christian Scientists. ``The real controversy is a struggle over the underlying concept of looking fully to God for healing.''
A panel of editors, including Katherine W. Fanning, editor of The Christian Science Monitor, discussed the church's publications:
Members were brought up to date on the Monitor's activities, on the latest moves to enhance the newspaper's quality, and the expansion plans for broadcasting.
The editor of the church's religious magazines, Allison Phinney Jr., reported an increase in accounts of spiritual healing submitted for publication. Mr. Phinney noted, ``The Sentinel and its readership confirm the fact that spirituality has `come of age' and is relevant to every contemporary topic.''
The newly appointed clerk of The Mother Church, Virginia S. Harris of Birmingham, Mich., reported on last summer's international gathering for young Christian Scientists who are members of Christian Science Organizations on university campuses. The meeting on ``Individual Spirituality and the Future of Mankind'' drew some 2,500 students and faculty members from 22 countries.
It was announced that Timothy A. MacDonald of Washington, D.C., and Marianne Bauer of Frankfurt, West Germany, have been appointed to three-year terms as Readers at The Mother Church. They will read from the Scriptures and from the denominational textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. Jean K. Weida of Boston, Mass., was named to the one-year-long post of president of The Mother Church.
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Montgomery had 6,538 yards in eight seasons with the Eagles (1977-84). McCoy has 5,473 yards in five seasons. Steve Van Buren (5,860 yards) and Brian Westbrook (5,995) are also ahead of him.
When asked if he considers it a given that he'll get the record this season, McCoy replied: "I won't say a given. Nothing's a given. But that's another goal to put into my list of things to get done ... I think in this offense, I can get it done."
Defense not resting
There's no way to quantify it, but The Eagles are convinced the defense is a lot better than it was at this point last season.
"It's 100 times better, and I say that not lightly," linebacker Mychal Kendricks said. "We're so far along now than we were last year. It's the second year with the same guys, the same coaches, and it's a good thing. It feels good."
Momah impresses
Eagles coach Chip Kelly said wide receiver Ifeanyi Momah, who hasn't played in a game since tearing his ACL in the season opener while at Boston College in September 2011, has improved greatly even since last season, when Momah was cut in training camp.
The 6-foot-7 Momah mostly has worked with the second team in drills.
Wing tips
Cornerback Curtis Marsh intercepted Matt Barkley on an out pattern Wednesday when Barkley didn't seem to get enough on the ball. It was Marsh's second interception in the practices open to the media ... Kelly said the heat over the past two days hasn't been a factor. Practices have gone their usual length, and each player has been monitored ... The Eagles will hold their final day of practice Thursday before breaking until training camp starts in late July.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com.
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