pred_label
stringclasses 2
values | pred_label_prob
float64 0.5
1
| wiki_prob
float64 0.25
1
| text
stringlengths 9
1.03M
| source
stringlengths 37
43
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
__label__wiki
| 0.511231
| 0.511231
|
Whose Religion? Whose Liberty?
There is something seemingly odious happening to the concept of religious liberty in our country.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments in a case about (depending on how you look at it) religious liberty, reproductive rights, corporate personhood or the Affordable Care Act. In short, two corporations—the craft supply store chain Hobby Lobby and furniture manufacturer Conestoga–are suing the government to be exempt from the requirement that they pay for their employee’s health care coverage of certain contraception. Their argument is that the law should not compel employers and business owners to violate their religious liberty by forcing them to pay for medical coverage that they deem to be a violation of their beliefs.
Earlier this year, this issue came up in our state when the Legislature was considering for the second time the Reproductive Parity Act. This piece of legislation would require health plans offered in our state to cover termination of pregnancy, and while it advanced in the House, it died in the Senate. The argument of the opponents of the RPA is again religious liberty and the rights of employers—employers should not be compelled to pay for something that violates their religious beliefs.
A variation of this argument was also advanced in Arizona, in which the Legislature passed a law that would protect businesses that refuse services to gay couples based on a religious opposition to same-sex marriage. The bill was vetoed by the Governor after a public outcry.
What is troubling about these religious liberty arguments is twofold. One, while seemingly instituted to protect religious minorities, the concept of religious liberty is being invoked by the religious majority, sometimes at the expense of minorities. While I do not deny that everyone is entitled to the same rights—including those in the Christian majority—we must be careful when it is the case of a majority vs. a minority. We Jews have benefited greatly from guarantees of religious liberty because of the fact we are a religious minority in a place where Christianity and Christian culture is the norm.
The second troubling aspect is that in these cases, the concept is being invoked in a way that will cause harm to others, either through decreased access to health care (and the financial burden that comes with it) or outright discrimination. Religious liberty is being used as a sword, not a shield.
The fact that the Supreme Court case (and the RPA) is about reproductive rights makes it a good test of these principles. Support it or not, abortion is a legal right in this country. And as with any right, whether or not one chooses to exercise that right is up to each individual’s conscience. But that does not give license to restrict another whether or not another he or she can exercise that right. (The other complicating factor is that the heart of the argument in Hobby Lobby is not abortion per se but rather emergency contraception which opponents claim is the same as abortion and proponents claim otherwise.)
While not condoning the practice as routine, Judaism does take a more permissive approach to the termination of a pregnancy. A fetus holds the potential for life, but according to Jewish tradition does not hold the same status as a person. Based in a verse in Torah (Exodus 21:22ff), in which a woman who miscarries after accidentally being struck is compensated financially (and no murder charge is levied), a fetus is seen as part of the mother and may be aborted if the mother’s life is in jeopardy. For another variant of this principle—according to Jewish law if a pregnant woman converts to Judaism, then her child is born Jewish. In other words, the mother’s conversion affects the unborn child as well. If that fetus was seen as a separate person, then one would assume he or she would not be born Jewish but would have be converted once born.
A Jewish employee of Hobby Lobby, therefore, may have a different approach to birth control and termination of pregnancy that the company has. And should Hobby Lobby prevail in its lawsuit, then that employee’s free exercise of her legal rights and religious conscience would be curtailed because of her company’s legal rights and religious conscience. This is troubling.
[Maybe the fight for marriage equality is partly to blame for the direction of these arguments. In many of the marriage equality legislations moving across the country, including in Washington, proponents have compromised in writing in religious exemption language that states a religious leader will not be compelled to officiate at a wedding if it violates the tenets of his or her faith. The problem with this language is that it was completely unnecessary. As a member of the clergy, I am not compelled to officiate at any marriage. I have colleagues who will not officiate if one of the parties is not Jewish. We are not even compelled to officiate if both parties are Jewish if we find a reason not to. Just because the state allows two people to be married, doesn’t mean a member of the clergy must officiate. So the language was extraneous. However, it gave a foot in the door for religious exemptions in neutral law that is now being exploited. That’s my two-bit non-lawyer legal analysis.]
Meanwhile, a bill in our state that does much to promote true religious liberty is languishing, waiting to be signed by Governor Inslee. The bill, SB 5173, would create “holidays of faith and conscience” for public employees and school children. Anyone, regardless of faith tradition, would be allowed to take two unpaid days off in observance of religious holidays without being penalized by the employer or school.
For Jews, this is huge. With our holiday cycle based on a lunar calendar, our festivals and celebrations shift from year to year and do not always fall on weekends or even the same date each year. The same is true for our Muslim brothers and sisters, who did much to push this bill in the legislature. (I had the honor of testifying on behalf of the Jewish community. You can hear it here starting at 3:04) If signed into law, our Jewish kids and public employees will be allowed to take time of for the High Holidays, for example, without impunity.
Aside from the practical nature of having leverage in taking time off and (hopefully) not having to negotiate, plead and argue with recalcitrant supervisors and teachers, this bill makes the statement that we live in a religiously diverse environment, and we want to extend the same rights and privileges to all. As I said in my testimony, the First Amendment guarantee to free exercise of religion means the right to worship and celebrate as one sees fit. However, this free exercise sometimes runs up against practical difficulties. This bill is a step at alleviating those obstacles. (If you want to help this bill along, I urge you to send a note to Governor Inslee asking him to sign it.)
While it passed unanimously in the Senate, the bill did meet some opposition in the House. First, an amendment was introduced and approved that would allow an employer to deny the request for time off if it created an “undue burden.” Then, some Representatives voted against it because how to determine that undue burden was not, they believe, made explicit enough in the bill.
Some of the same Representatives who voted against this bill, which explicitly guarantees religious liberty, also voted against the Reproductive Parity Act in the name of religious liberty. While on its face it may seem to be, it is not a contradiction—its just that the consistency lay elsewhere. The consistency is supporting the employer over the employee. It is not in religious liberty per se but in who exercises it. In other words, the message is religious liberty is worth guaranteeing if you are an employer, but not if you are an employee.
And herein lies the irony, and the danger. The guarantee of religious liberty is meant to protect the weak from the strong. Recently, however, it is being invoked to strengthen the strong against the weak. The passage of the holiday bill is a victory for the former. The fear comes with the potential victory of the latter.
Hobby Lobbyreligious libertyReproductive Parity ActSB 5173
Who Loves a Good Mystery? We Don’t.
Holidays and Red Lights: On Dayenu and Social Change
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2648
|
__label__wiki
| 0.79938
| 0.79938
|
#TGW: That's the Spirit!
By Jon Cooper | The Good Word
– It’s recruiting season for one of Georgia Tech’s key athletic teams and, on April 2, McCamish Pavilion is going to play a big part in it. The team doing the recruiting is neither the men’s nor women’s basketball team, although both will be somewhat effected. It’s Georgia Tech cheerleading.
With it’s acrobatic routines, Tech cheerleading is a unique group that fires up the crowd and pumps life into the dead time of timeouts. Members of the team rightfully consider themselves athletes, and, as such, are extremely competitive within what is a growing community. Also, like the players in the sports for which they cheer, they can be actively recruited by colleges.
The latter point is the focus on April 2, when McCamish hosts the second annual Southeast Cheerleading Showcase, which features Georgia Tech and 14 other schools from around the region, including rivals Georgia and Clemson.
“It’s one of a kind. Nobody else does it,” said Georgia Tech head cheerleading coach Katie Hodges (Class of 2007), a four-year letter winner for Tech, and an NCA All-American, who is in her fifth year at the helm of Yellow Jackets cheerleading. “It’s a three-hour event and is a pretty cool thing. It’s incredible for Georgia Tech. We are such a good host because the facilities are amazing, and we’re centrally located for all these schools.”
Tickets are $15 at the door (entry is free with a Buzz card), with competition beginning at noon.
Hodges considers it a win-win for everyone.
The Showcase provides the schools a final tune-up leading into next week’s NCA & NDA Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship, which takes place April 6-10 at Peabody Auditorium in Daytona Beach, Fla., while offering prospective cheerleaders — be they high schoolers or middle schoolers — valuable insight into college cheerleading, first giving them an opportunity to observe the teams, then allowing them to go more in-depth by meeting the coaches at booths in a job fair-like setting on McCamish’s Mezzanine Level.
“What we do is we reach out to college teams from all around the area, and we ask them to perform. It’s a really big recruiting effort for them,” said Hodges. “They put up booths and people can come and meet the head coaches, which is a really big deal. Fifteen squads are performing but 20 teams are going to host booths there.
“We’re not necessarily picking out recruits, which we want for our programs,” she added. “We’re showcasing the personality of each program and what it’s like to cheer there, both from the style of cheerleading that they see in the performance and then also meeting with the coaching staff after the performances.”
This Southeast Cheerleading Showcase is something Hodges wishes she’d had when she went through the process of choosing a college.
“This is a chance for prospective cheerleaders, people who think they might want to cheer in college, to line up all the programs next to one another and figure out which is best for them,” she said. “Is it a big school? Is it a small school? Is it a competitive program? Is it a non-competitive program? The last step is to talk to the head coach. Is this someone who is going to take care of me? Is this someone I want to be with for the next four or five years of my cheerleading career? For a lot of these kids this is the highest level at which they can cheer, the college level.”
The Showcase also serves as a useful tool for the coaches in gauging their program against some of the region’s best and where they feel the sport is headed.
“The Showcase last year was a great opportunity for me as a head coach just to kind of compare different programs,” Hodges said. “We in collegiate cheerleading compete against each other at Nationals, but really we back each other up and want to learn about each other as much as possible, because it helps your program to grow. So that’s really what I got out of it.”
Hodges added that Showcase bore fruit for her team.
“Caroline and Kimberly Lemons, they’re freshman twins on my team, I actually met them at the Showcase last year for the first time,” she said. “Immediately after that we went into tryouts. It was good for them because it gave me a chance to get to know their personalities, so I could pick them out when they showed up at tryouts.”
She’s hoping for a bigger turnout this year as the sport continues to grow and receives greater commitment from schools.
“We’ve got these big gyms that are doing really well holding competitions, they’re growing,” she said. “Georgia Tech has an athletic trainer, who is amazing. That could be a big draw for an incoming freshman. Georgia Tech competes at NCAA Nationals in Daytona. They also compete at CHEERSPORT. Prospective girls and guys grow up in the sport, they grow up competing a lot. In college it changes a little bit because they compete a lot less and so that could help them form their decision. At the end of the day, our foundational reason for why we’re here is to support football and basketball and volleyball — some schools, like UGA, cheer for gymnastics, too, they cheer for more than just the core sports. That is something that we want to show in the Showcase, too. Show the evolution of the sport, there are a lot of guys in the sport, and it’s really one of your top athletic individuals.”
Hodges is spreading the word through social media and hopes that the Georgia Tech sports teams for which her squad cheers will reciprocate and support them at the Showcase.
“Last year the whole football team came. That was really nice,” she said. “A lot of the basketball team came, our strength and conditioning staff came as well. We’d love to have people come out. Last year’s support was pretty good. We need to get the word out and get people there to support your No. 1 supporters, your cheerleaders.”
For more information on the Southeast Cheer Showcase visit the Showcase website, and follow it on Facebook (Georgia Tech Cheerleading), Twitter (@GTCheerleading) and Instagram (@secheershowcase).
July 11, 2019 Podcast: From the Flats (Episode 27)
Preseason football chat with LB Curry, WR Camp; thoughts from VB senior Kodie Comby
Podcast: From the Flats (Episode 27)
July 9, 2019 196 Yellow Jackets Named to ACC Honor Roll
Five Georgia Tech student-athletes earn honor for fifth time
196 Yellow Jackets Named to ACC Honor Roll
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2651
|
__label__wiki
| 0.616842
| 0.616842
|
Tag Archives: museum
July 11, 2019 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment
Saratoga National Historical Park was the site of two 1777 Revolutionary War battles at Freeman’s Farm on September 19 and Bemis Heights on October 7, which together are considered the turning point in the war. Following this decisive victory when 6,000 British soldiers surrendered, the French King officially entered the war on the side of the Americans, providing the equivalent of $1.4-billion in aid by war’s end.
Museum, film, Neilson Farm, Boot Monument, Bemis Heights, the Great Redoubt
Start at the National Park Service (NPS) visitor center where displays describe the two separate battles that took place here. The 10-mile driving tour has ten stops that provide more details. Do not look for Saratoga, New York on maps today, it was renamed Schuylerville in honor of a Revolutionary War general. Nonetheless, since 1883 it has been home to the 155-foot tall Saratoga Monument commemorating these battles.
There are a few short trails accessed along the driving tour, but you should at least plan to park and climb the stairs at Breymann Redoubt. At the top, an unmarked monument draped with a boot commemorates the leg injury suffered in the fighting by General Benedict Arnold, whose name would go down in history synonymous with his later traitorous actions downstream at West Point.
The American defensive location at Bemis Heights was chosen by Colonel Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish engineer serving in the Continental Army, to block the British army from moving south down the Hudson River. It still provides commanding views of the valley.
https://www.nps.gov/sara/planyourvisit/hours.htm
Not far north on Interstate 87, Moreau Lake State Park offers a campground with running water.
Inside the visitor center
Scott dressed up like a British “redcoat”
Diorama showing the American patriot’s “uniform”
The Neilson House is a reconstruction
Thaddeus Kosciuszko designed the fortifications at Bemis Heights
Tiff and Wondon with a British cannon at the Great Redoubt.
Maple leaf turning in September
Breymann Redoubt has the unmarked Boot Monument to General Benedict Arnold.
If you love cannons, then this is a great park to visit in New York.
Explore More – Although France had not officially entered the war at the time, how many muskets had they donated to the American cause by the beginning of the Battles of Saratoga?
American RevolutioncannonfilmhikinghistorymemorialmuseumNational Historical ParkNew Yorktrail
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is home to Independence National Historical Park, one of the most popular units in the National Park Service (NPS) System with approximately 5-million visitors annually. The “City of Brotherly Love” was the site of many important moments before, during, and after the American Revolution. Independence Hall is a World Heritage Site where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776 and the U.S. Constitution was created in 1787.
Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, City Tavern, Carpenters’ Hall, Ben Franklin’s grave
We do not recommend watching the two films at the NPS visitor center, but plan to arrive early as the free timed tickets to tour Independence Hall are all claimed first thing each morning. It is free to enter the Liberty Bell Center to see the famous cracked bell. While waiting in the security screening line, you will be on the grounds of the house used by the country’s first two presidents, Washington and Adams. Less busy is Carpenters’ Hall, where the First Continental Congress met in 1774. Nearby non-NPS sites include the National Constitution Center, Benjamin Franklin Museum, and new Museum of the American Revolution, all of which charge an admission fee.
Walk the streets of Philadelphia past Ben Franklin’s grave, Betsy Ross’ house, the reconstructed City Tavern (where you can grab a bite to eat), and the Todd House (the home of Dolley Madison and her first husband).
Less iconic than the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, Washington Square is a small park that contains to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution.
https://www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvisit/hours.htm
None, except for parking (there is an underground parking garage at the NPS visitor center) and visiting some museums and historic buildings (like Betsy Ross’ house).
All roads paved, but street parking is limited.
None in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but there are options in its suburbs.
Scott in the security line for the Liberty Bell Center
Tiff with the Liberty Bell
Grounds of the house of the country’s first two presidents, Washington and Adams .
Scott outside Independence Hall
Our founding fathers used to hang out at the City Tavern
The site of Ben Franklin’s house next to the Benjamin Franklin Museum .
Tiff outside Betsy Ross’ house (not run by the NPS)
Fountain in Washington Square
Tiff next to Ben Franklin’s grave
Explore More – When did Philadelphia serve as the nation’s capital?
American RevolutionarchitecturecemeteryfilmhistoryhousemuseumNational Historical ParkPennsylvaniatourWorld Heritage Site
June 25, 2019 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment
A little known Revolutionary War battle took place northwest of Wilmington, North Carolina on February 27, 1776. It pitted American rebels with cannons against Loyalists primarily armed with broadswords. In its aftermath, North Carolina became the first state to pre-approve its delegates to sign the Declaration of Independence, hence the “First in Freedom” motto on their license plates. It is well worth the detour for a short history lesson on your way to the beautiful beaches of southeast North Carolina.
Film, History Trail, Women’s Monument, Tarheel Trail
After watching the film in the National Park Service visitor center, walk to the reconstructed bridge. At this site, a British force of 1,600 soldiers marching towards the Atlantic Ocean was halted at a narrow bridge that had its planks removed and girders greased. After the difficult crossing, British troops were met by entrenched patriot forces that killed 30 and wounded 40 while suffering only one casualty. It would prove a pivotal victory in dissuading British military efforts in the Carolinas for the next two years.
The 0.7-mile History Trail leads past the major points of interest, as well as reconstructed earthworks and cannons, in a beautiful forest setting. The 0.3-mile Tarheel Trail describes the production of naval stores (tar, pitch, and turpentine).
The Women’s Monument is one of several statues at Moores Creek National Battlefield.
Summer, though it can get muggy and buggy.
https://www.nps.gov/mocr/planyourvisit/hours.htm
Carolina Beach State Park in Wilmington, North Carolina has a nice, forested campground a short drive inland from the beach; plus it is home to unique carnivorous plants.
Scott with baldcypress trees
Reflections in Moores Creek
Scott on the famous bridge disassembled before the battle started
British troops weren’t going to make it past patriot artillery like this cannon.
Reflections in the creek
With corporal punishments like being locked in a pillory, no wonder American patriots were ready for rebellion.
The park ranger playing bagpipes outside the visitor center
The short film in the visitor center is well made
Explore More – Why are North Carolinians called Tarheels?
American RevolutionfilmhikinghistorymemorialmuseumNational BattlefieldNorth Carolinastatuetrail
Minute Man National Historical Park
The events that occurred at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775 were immortalized by Ralph Waldo Emerson as “the shot heard round the world.” First of all, a “Minute Man” was a colonial militiaman who was always ready to fight at a minute’s notice. Secondly, when the colonial militia fired upon British troops at North Bridge, it was considered an act of treason against the Crown and truly started the Revolutionary War at a time when the majority of colonists did not want independence.
Films, Hartwell Tavern, North Bridge, the Wayside, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
If your memory on what exactly happened here is a bit foggy, start with the multimedia presentation at either of two National Park Service (NPS) visitor centers, located in the suburbs west of Boston. At Lexington, you will learn the true story of how Paul Revere’s ride ended early when he was captured by British soldiers and that he did not mention redcoats, instead yelling “the Regulars are coming out!” At Concord, you will learn about “the shot heard round the world.”
Battle Road Trail stretches 5 miles between Fiske Hill in Lexington to Meriam’s Corner in Concord, and is open to bicycles. It passes many historic sites, including Hartwell Tavern.
We recommend a walk up Author’s Ridge in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. The graves of famous local writers, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, are located here.
Hours for the many historic buildings vary and most are not open every day of the week.
https://www.nps.gov/mima/planyourvisit/hours.htm
None, except at some historic buildings (like the Wayside) which require guided tours.
Harold Parker State Forest (28 miles northeast) has campsites with running water. There is no camping at Walden Pond State Reservation.
North Bridge reflection
Scott with a minute man statue near the North Bridge
Grave of British soldiers killed at the North Bridge
Tiff at a boathouse used by Henry David Thoreau near the North Bridge
Inside the main visitor center
The visitor center’s multimedia presentation about Paul Revere’s ride
Wondon at the Wayside
Tiff walking Author’s Ridge in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
Explore More – Which famous authors once resided at the Wayside in Concord, Massachusetts?
American RevolutionarchitecturebikingcemeteryfilmhikinghistoryhouseMassachusettsmuseumNational Historical Parktourtrail
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2654
|
__label__wiki
| 0.810375
| 0.810375
|
‘Us Conductors’ by Sean Michaels
Fiction – paperback; Tin House Books; 459 pages; 2014.
Sean Michaels’ debut novel, Us Conductors, is a fictionalised account of the life of Russian engineer and physicist Lev Sergeyevich Termen (1896-1993) — later known as Leon Theremin — who invented the electronic musical instrument that takes his name: the theremin*. After living in the US for many years, he was repatriated to Russia and imprisoned in a gulag, where he worked in a secret laboratory inventing devices for Soviet espionage.
A book featuring a scientist as the lead character may sound like a strange concept, but it works extraordinarily well, probably because Michaels gives Dr Theremin such a compelling voice — part arrogant, part naive, often bewildered and constantly lovelorn — and adds a few fictionalised elements to his character — he practices kung fu, for instance — which gives the story an almost surreal quality.
I’m going to be completely up front and stake my colours to the mast, or the flag to the pole, or whatever that saying is and confess that this is my favourite novel on this year’s Giller Prize shortlist. It’s the kind of book that takes you on an adventure and is told in such a refreshingly intimate way that I felt slightly bereft when I finished the book (about a month ago) because I did not want the journey to end. And ever since, I’ve been thinking about Lev/Leon and marvelling at his extraordinary life.
A confession at sea
The book opens with Leon onboard a ship “plunging from New York back to Russia” .
But the door to my cabin is locked. I do not have the key. Just a typewriter, just paper and ink, just this story to set down in solitude, as the distance widens between us.
This story is essentially a love letter to a young American musician called Clara —”the finest theremin player the world will ever know” — who has spurned Leon’s advances and married someone else.
His tale is divided into two main sections: his life in the US, where he pursues the idea of mass producing the theremin so that every home has one; and his life back in Russia, sent to a gulag for the rest of his life for a reason that is never quite made clear. But the one constant in his life is his unrequited love for Clara, which thrums like a theremin throughout.
Admittedly, the first section, set in glitzy Manhattan during Prohibition, is far more exciting than the second, but each informs the other, because it allows us to experience both Leon’s (almost spectacular) success followed by his dramatic fall from grace. Once courted by the rich and famous, showcasing his invention in Carnegie Hall and performing with the New York Philharmonic orchestra, and hanging out with the likes of Einstein, his life takes an unexpected twist when: (1) he finds out he hasn’t paid his taxes in six years and is going to become bankrupt; and (2) he’s coerced into becoming a Soviet spy, informing on people and institutions he appears to know little about.
A compelling voice
What makes this story so interesting is something I mentioned earlier: Leon’s voice.
It’s not that his voice is unreliable, but when he becomes a spy it’s hard to determine to what extent this is deliberate or accidental — we can never be 100 per cent certain that he is telling us everything he knows. Is he being economical with the truth, is he merely naive or has he become caught up in events his scientifically minded brain can’t comprehend?
At times he seems alarmingly trusting — for instance, he leaves all his business decisions to a man he knows little about and then seems unfazed when he’s barely got a dime to rub together. But just when you have Leon pegged as being a passive character, he does something completely left of field (I can’t reveal it here, because it’s a bit of a plot spoiler) and you realise you should never under-estimate him.
This is what makes Us Conductors such an intriguing read. But it’s also an intriguing read because it’s so ambitious in scope and theme. It’s a story about music, invention, emigration, science, love, espionage, money, fame, crime and punishment. It’s part New York novel, part prison memoir, part espionage tale, part romance. But, most of all, it’s epic, life-affirming — and fun.
UPDATE — SUNDAY 9 NOVEMBER 2014 : The Shadow Giller Prize jury has chosen Us Conductors as our winner. You can find out more via the official announcement on KevinfromCanada’s blog.
UPDATE — TUESDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2014: The REAL Giller Prize has also chosen Us Conductors as its winner! How wonderful! You can find out more via the official announcement on the Giller Prize website.
* You can see a clip of Leon Theremin playing the theremin on YouTube. Brits of a certain age may be more familiar with musician John Otway playing the instrument.
November 8, 2014 by kimbofo Canadian literature, CanLit, Giller Prize 2014, gulag, music, romance, scientists, Sean Michaels, Shadow Giller, Shadow Giller Prize 2014, theremin
18 thoughts on “‘Us Conductors’ by Sean Michaels”
I’ve wanted a Theremin for so long! This novel has to go straight on to my wishlist. Good Vibrations is also noted for using a Theremin – the Ooh-eee-ooooh-eeee-ooh bit!
I think this would appeal to the scientist in you, Annabel. It’s a fun read: who would have thought a physicist’s life story could be so fascinating! 😃
This is my favorite from this year’s shortlist as well. I had some quibbles about the language as the dialogue felt awfully familiar for the time period in which the novel is set, but a month later and this is the one book of the four I’ve read off the shortlist that really stands out in my mind. And, like you said, it’s a fun read with a intriguing theme.
This one has stayed with me, as has Itani’s “Tell” but I’ve not been overly impressed with the list as a whole. I think the real Giller will go to Toews, the one book I’m yet to review.
Have you reviewed Us Conductors? If so, please do leave a link so others can read your thoughts.
I’ve actually enjoyed the titles I’ve read off the longlist more than those on the shortlist. Go figure.
Most of the speculation I have seen has Toews heavily weighted as the winner, but I have yet to read her novel or Itani’s ‘Tell’ since Toews won’t be published in the States until Nov. 18 and Itani in January.
I have reviewed Us Conductors. My thoughts are here: http://ardentreader.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/us-conductors-by-sean-michaels/
You make this sound fantastic. I hope to read it soon! And the links you provided of the instrument being played were fun! I also loved All My Puny Sorrows, but haven’t read any of the others.
It is a fantastic read — in all senses of the word 🙂
I’m afraid I didn’t much like the Toews. I read it in the spring, way before the longlist came out, and took some notes, so really need to get my act together and pen a review tomorrow, before the real Giller winner is named on Monday!
Pingback: The 2014 Shadow Giller Prize winner is… | KevinfromCanada
Claire 'Word by Word' says:
This sounds like an intriguing read with a bit of everything.
It’s such a great read, Claire, and thrilled that my fellow jurors thought so too. And it’s one of the very few that is available to purchase in the UK.
Alright: thanks for finding the perfect book to give my husband for Christmas.
You’re welcome… don’t forget to read it, too 🙂
annabelsmith says:
This sounds really interesting and different. I like a book that can’t easily be pigeon-holed.
Oh it’s a really wonderful read, Annabel. I’m chuffed it won the Giller.
Pingback: Us Conductors by Sean Michaels; 2014 Scotiabank Giller Prize Winner | Consumed by Ink
Pingback: My favourite books of 2014 | Reading Matters
Pingback: 10 books on the International Dublin Literary Award longlist 2016 | Reading Matters
Leave a Reply to kimbofo x
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2659
|
__label__cc
| 0.646502
| 0.353498
|
Status Candidate
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. iOS before 11.3 is affected. Safari before 11.1 is affected. iCloud before 7.4 on Windows is affected. iTunes before 12.7.4 on Windows is affected. tvOS before 11.3 is affected. watchOS before 4.3 is affected. The issue involves the "WebKit" component. It allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) via a crafted web site.
Gentoo Linux Security Advisory 201808-04
Posted Aug 23, 2018
Authored by Gentoo | Site security.gentoo.org
Gentoo Linux Security Advisory 201808-4 - Multiple vulnerabilities have been found in WebKitGTK+, the worst of which may lead to arbitrary code execution. Versions less than 2.20.4 are affected.
tags | advisory, arbitrary, vulnerability, code execution
systems | linux, gentoo
advisories | CVE-2018-11646, CVE-2018-11712, CVE-2018-11713, CVE-2018-12293, CVE-2018-12294, CVE-2018-4101, CVE-2018-4113, CVE-2018-4114, CVE-2018-4117, CVE-2018-4118, CVE-2018-4119, CVE-2018-4120, CVE-2018-4121, CVE-2018-4122, CVE-2018-4125, CVE-2018-4127, CVE-2018-4128, CVE-2018-4129, CVE-2018-4133, CVE-2018-4146, CVE-2018-4162, CVE-2018-4163, CVE-2018-4165, CVE-2018-4190, CVE-2018-4192, CVE-2018-4199, CVE-2018-4200, CVE-2018-4201
MD5 | 5f0385617a3cb454f5a2e9982381b1a2
Ubuntu Security Notice USN-3635-1
Authored by Ubuntu | Site security.ubuntu.com
Ubuntu Security Notice 3635-1 - A large number of security issues were discovered in the WebKitGTK+ Web and JavaScript engines. If a user were tricked into viewing a malicious website, a remote attacker could exploit a variety of issues related to web browser security, including cross-site scripting attacks, denial of service attacks, and arbitrary code execution.
tags | advisory, remote, web, denial of service, arbitrary, javascript, code execution, xss
advisories | CVE-2018-4101, CVE-2018-4113, CVE-2018-4114, CVE-2018-4117, CVE-2018-4118, CVE-2018-4119, CVE-2018-4120, CVE-2018-4122, CVE-2018-4125, CVE-2018-4127, CVE-2018-4128, CVE-2018-4129, CVE-2018-4133, CVE-2018-4146, CVE-2018-4161, CVE-2018-4162, CVE-2018-4163, CVE-2018-4165
MD5 | 85531931d71d0277a373662193a6ba19
WebKitGTK+ Code Execution / Memory Corruption
Authored by WebKitGTK+ Team
WebKitGTK+ versions prior to 2.20.0 suffer from various memory corruption vulnerabilities.
tags | advisory, vulnerability
MD5 | 69f9b7066a3558144e6084f87e6aebee
Apple Security Advisory 2018-3-29-8
Authored by Apple | Site apple.com
Apple Security Advisory 2018-3-29-8 - iCloud for Windows 7.4 is now available and addresses buffer overflow, code execution, and denial of service vulnerabilities.
tags | advisory, denial of service, overflow, vulnerability, code execution
systems | windows, apple, 7
advisories | CVE-2018-4101, CVE-2018-4113, CVE-2018-4114, CVE-2018-4117, CVE-2018-4118, CVE-2018-4119, CVE-2018-4120, CVE-2018-4121, CVE-2018-4122, CVE-2018-4125, CVE-2018-4127, CVE-2018-4128, CVE-2018-4129, CVE-2018-4130, CVE-2018-4144, CVE-2018-4146, CVE-2018-4161, CVE-2018-4162, CVE-2018-4163, CVE-2018-4165
MD5 | 5159368594b492a7a1fa30f912b8bb64
Apple Security Advisory 2018-3-29-7 - iTunes 12.7.4 for Windows is now available and addresses buffer overflow, code execution, and denial of service vulnerabilities.
systems | windows, apple
MD5 | 0b10f3fc739228ad2a5ae93a2ff0fa41
Apple Security Advisory 2018-3-29-6 - Safari 11.1 is now available and addresses code execution and denial of service vulnerabilities.
tags | advisory, denial of service, vulnerability, code execution
systems | apple
advisories | CVE-2018-4101, CVE-2018-4102, CVE-2018-4113, CVE-2018-4114, CVE-2018-4116, CVE-2018-4117, CVE-2018-4118, CVE-2018-4119, CVE-2018-4120, CVE-2018-4121, CVE-2018-4122, CVE-2018-4125, CVE-2018-4127, CVE-2018-4128, CVE-2018-4129, CVE-2018-4130, CVE-2018-4133, CVE-2018-4137, CVE-2018-4146, CVE-2018-4161, CVE-2018-4162, CVE-2018-4163, CVE-2018-4165
MD5 | fa287f9616cd902e6ae803074263bb14
Apple Security Advisory 2018-3-29-3 - tvOS 11.3 is now available and addresses buffer overflow, code execution, and denial of service vulnerabilities.
advisories | CVE-2018-4101, CVE-2018-4104, CVE-2018-4113, CVE-2018-4114, CVE-2018-4115, CVE-2018-4118, CVE-2018-4119, CVE-2018-4120, CVE-2018-4121, CVE-2018-4122, CVE-2018-4125, CVE-2018-4127, CVE-2018-4128, CVE-2018-4129, CVE-2018-4130, CVE-2018-4142, CVE-2018-4143, CVE-2018-4144, CVE-2018-4146, CVE-2018-4150, CVE-2018-4155, CVE-2018-4157, CVE-2018-4161, CVE-2018-4162, CVE-2018-4163, CVE-2018-4165, CVE-2018-4166, CVE-2018-4167
MD5 | 49e690c94aa097210c07843e80cb86ca
Apple Security Advisory 2018-3-29-2 - watchOS 4.3 is now available and addresses buffer overflow, code execution, and denial of service vulnerabilities.
advisories | CVE-2018-4104, CVE-2018-4113, CVE-2018-4114, CVE-2018-4115, CVE-2018-4117, CVE-2018-4121, CVE-2018-4122, CVE-2018-4125, CVE-2018-4129, CVE-2018-4142, CVE-2018-4143, CVE-2018-4144, CVE-2018-4146, CVE-2018-4150, CVE-2018-4155, CVE-2018-4157, CVE-2018-4158, CVE-2018-4161, CVE-2018-4162, CVE-2018-4163, CVE-2018-4166, CVE-2018-4167
MD5 | 296e3f458cbf5f44d50ba3eb77b4d1e5
Apple Security Advisory 2018-3-29-1 - iOS 11.3 is now available and addresses buffer overflow, code execution, and denial of service vulnerabilities.
systems | cisco, apple
MD5 | 5b92704b509fc3379df8205091238791
Back1Next
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2666
|
__label__wiki
| 0.501972
| 0.501972
|
University of Edinburgh part of VALUE-Dx partnership to fight AMR
Monday 1st April 2019, 9:30am
The University of Antwerp, bioMérieux and Wellcome Trust announce the launch of VALUE-Dx, an Innovative Medicines Initiative consortium project involving the University of Edinburgh, that will combat antimicrobial resistance and improve patient outcomes.
A MAJOR PARTNERSHIP
VALUE-Dx is the first Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) project initiated by six in vitro diagnostic companies who join forces with 20 non-industry partners to tackle the challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). ValueDx, IMI and EU logosVALUE-Dx is a major partnership supported by over €14 million over 4 years.
The purpose of VALUE-Dx is to transform medical practice to achieve more personalised, evidence-based antibiotic prescription and use in community care settings through the widespread use of clinical and cost-effective innovative diagnostic strategies.
VALUE-Dx is co-funded by the European Commission (IMI), the Wellcome Trust and private companies, with a total budget of around 14 million euros over 4 years.
"This is an exciting and groundbreaking opportunity to address one of the greatest barriers to adoption of rapid diagnostics. It will shift the focus from the cost to the added value diagnostics provide in the fight against AMR. Specifically, the project targets rapid diagnostics of community acquired acute respiratory tract infections which are a main cause of antibiotic overuse in humans. Value-Dx brings together leading groups and stakeholders and I am absolutely delighted to be part of this fantastic consortium. This will further enhance University of Edinburgh's leading position in AMR diagnostics and strengthen the AMR Strategy of Edinburgh Infectious Diseases."
Til Bachmann, member of the VALUE-Dx Consortium in the Division of Infection of Pathway Medicine, University of Edinburgh
Diagnostics are key to guiding health care professionals in treating infectious diseases. However, in community care settings antibiotics are often overused and unnecessarily prescribed, accelerating AMR.
VALUE-Dx is a European-wide approach to generate evidence on the medical, economic, and public health value of diagnostics in tackling AMR. It will focus on acute respiratory tract infections acquired in community care settings as they are the most frequent cause of medical consultation and inappropriate antibiotic use.
The outcomes of VALUE-Dx could apply to other common infections such as urinary tract infections, blood stream infections, and hospital-acquired respiratory tract infections.
The VALUE-Dx kick-off meeting is taking place in Madrid, Spain from 1st to 4th April 2019 and brings together major stakeholders and key experts in the field of diagnostics and AMR.
The public-private partnership includes 26 partners:-
Academia: University of Antwerp, University of Edinburgh, Universidad De La Rioja, University Hospital Antwerp, University Medical Center Utrecht, Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen, University of Oxford, Rambam Health Corporation, University of Verona
Industry: Accelerate Diagnostics, Alere (Abbott), Becton-Dickinson, bioMérieux, Bio-Rad France, Janssen Diagnostics
Professional and other types of organisations: Berry Consultants, Bioaster, Boston University, European Respiratory Society, European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, Fondazione PENTA, Gesundheit Österreich GmbH, Integrated Biobank of Luxembourg, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Wellcome Trust, ZonMw
Source: The University of Edinburgh
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2674
|
__label__cc
| 0.727352
| 0.272648
|
Recovery After Stroke
A Community And Podcast For Stroke Survivors And Carers
Blue light and sleep | Alex Fergus
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS
Recovery After Stroke Podcast
#11 Blue light and sleep | Alex Fergus
Rate episode on iTunesRate episode on Stitcher
Blue light and Sleep
Blue Light. Alex Fergus a New Zealander living in Sydney at the time of this recording coaches some of Australia’s top executives; helping them look and feel amazing through natural lifestyle choices.
Alex has a passion for improving health and fitness. He grew up in New Zealand participated in a lot of sports.
He represented his country in Rowing, won national bodybuilding titles and broke powerlifting records.I always wanted to be healthier, faster and fitter.
This thirst to improve lead Alex into the world of health coaching. Others came to me to learn what I was doing.
He continues to read, study, experiment, listen and learn.
Like most of us Alex has suffered his own health woes – from being a horrible sleeper, embarrassingly low levels of testosterone and gut issues. Through these setbacks he has learnt even more about the body – not only how to heal from these issues, but how to avoid them altogether.
Today Alex continues to learn ways to optimise his own and his clients health and fitness, but also the people around him, family, friends and society as a whole.
Can I decrease the risks of Blue Light?
Alex also is the founder of www.blockbluelight.com.au selling products that help people improve sleep by living in sync with their natural light cycles. Alex is personally driven towards optimising his own health & performance by combining ancestral protocols and modern day science. He shares his knowledge in his blog at www.AlexFergus.com
Check out these links referred to during the interview podcast
Book – TS. Wiley – Sex Lies and Menopause.
Jack Kruse – https://www.jackkruse.com
Alex’s – www.alexfergus.com
blueblockers –www.blockbluelight.com.au
Discount code for listeners:
BILL 10 for 10% off – that will expire in 3 months from June 27 2016
https://www.alexfergus.com/blog/how-technology-blue-light-is-ruining-sleep-making-you-sick-fat-tired-and-how-to-fix-it
https://www.alexfergus.com/blog/how-to-improve-your-sleep-with-morning-sunlight
Alex 0:00
What they found now is that there’s a particular wavelength, and that’s blue light, that when the body senses that, whether it’s through the eye or even for the skin, which is quite fascinating.
Bill 0:11
Yeah, I’m predominantly through the eye. Obviously, that makes sense. Because you know, that’s we will our lenses to the world, I guess. Um, but the found that whenever we’re exposed to this blue light, you know, the four, 415 to 480 kind of nanometer wavelength light, it disrupts melatonin production.
So it tells the body that there is still sunlight or there’s light out there, you don’t start begin to feel drowsy. So you can go to sleep.
Hundred percent, like
Intro 0:46
this is recovery after stroke with Bill Gasiamis, helping you go from where you are to where you’d rather be.
Welcome to the program Alex.
Thank you. It’s a pleasure being here.
Tell me how’s the weather up there today? Because we have freezing down here in Melbourne?
Yes, it’s actually not too bad. Oh, she’s down at the park getting my morning sun, sunlight exposure, I was t shirt and shorts. I mean, there’s a few people getting the weird looks, but it’s not too bad.
You’re running around with a T shirt in the middle of winter.
Yeah. I figured what 10, 15 minutes outside, you’re not going to die from it are you? It’s um I’m a big fan of cold thermogenesis. And, yeah, maybe we can save that topic for another day. But yeah, just, I think a lot of people are quite soft these days, we’re but when it comes to temperature.
Okay, okay, softer alright. We’ll leave it at that because I’m one of those people.
So dude um, we’ll get chatting about blue blockers, because the way I came about you was through a little bit of my own sort of journey. In kind of under trying to understand how I can enhance my well being, including my eyes, you know, my brain, my I’ve had some challenges that I’ve had to overcome. And I’m curious, what was it that sort of got you into a place where you are today? Where you’re looking at trying to protect people’s eyes with your awesome products?
Yeah, it’s, um, it’s, it’s a long story, I guess. But I’ll try to keep it brief. Pretty much. I’ve been a personal trainer for six, seven years, and, you know, is into health used to be quite competitive athlete, various sports. And, you know, I just, in a way I guess i was just selfish. I just wanted to learn what you have to do to perform better. And thankfully, I, I managed to find a job and a career where I could pass on this knowledge to others, and in terms of training and health, and I thought I knew it all in terms of diet and nutrition, supplements and all that.
And, you know, I end up getting really sick and, you know, pretty much 25 years old, here i was winning bodybuilding comps, but had no libido and no energy. So this is this is wrong, this is messed up. So that sent me on my own health journey. And yeah, just just start looking at and I have a university degree background. So I’ve done a little bit of research work and stuff, so sort of opened up PubMed and stumbled upon some books, and you just realized that okay, maybe what you’re taught was, was wrong.
And over the years, like, so much has changed. I mean, I wish I knew half what I knew now, back then I would have been a completely different athlete, and I’m sure my clients who’ve reap the benefits as well. But throughout that process, you know, like, everything changes, like your outlook on saturated fat, that’s a big one grains, obviously, all that sort of stuff. But you once you go through that level of, okay, food, nutrition training, I then stumbled upon another level of health and wellness. And that’s more like environmental factors. So now all of a sudden, you’re looking at things like light cycles, light itself, obviously, temperature, which I touched on before,
External environmental factors such as like, EMF, you know, pollution and, and it’s funny because like, you know, again, once I go to that nutrition, new, new found nutrition level with like, more of a primal, ancestral type diet, you know, I thought sleep, I’ve found it, you know, and I know everything. And, and now I look back on that, you know, which was only a couple of years ago, and I look back then think, geez, there’s still so much I don’t know. So it’s crazy to think, you know, in couple years time, I’ll look back on this moment right now. And thing, I still didn’t know anything. But yeah, pretty much going through all those layers, just like peeling the layers of an onion, right?
If you’ve had a stroke, and are in recovery, you’ll know what a scary and confusing time it can be, you’re likely to have a lot of questions going through your mind. Like, how long will it take to recover? Will I actually recover? What things should I void in case I make matters worse, doctors will explain things. But obviously, because you’ve never had a stroke before, you probably don’t know what questions to ask. If this is you, you may be missing out on doing things that could help speed up your recovery. If you finding yourself in that situation, stop worrying, and head to recoveryafterstroke.com, where you can download a guide that will help you. It’s called seven questions to ask your doctor about your stroke. These seven questions are the ones Bill wished he’d asked when he was recovering from a stroke. They’ll not only help you better understand your condition, they’ll help you take a more active role in your recovery. head to the website now, recoveryafterstroke.com and download the guide. It’s free.
And we find and Yeah, kind of about two years ago, I stumbled upon to circadian rhythm, importance of the so fascinating topic, like the amount of studies and stuff out there just showing how any slides disruption of circadian rhythm leads to a ton of health issues. So just stumbling upon that. And then from there, yeah, looking at light cycles. So looking at blue light. And
Alright, what I’m going to do is we’re going to start at the end, so to speak, and then we’re going to move through the beginning, right, so the end is I’m looking at you now you’re wearing glasses that have got an orange tint on them. And they’re really cool. I’ve ordered a similar pair, and I’m waiting for them to arrive. And they haven’t arrived yet. I hope that that we’re gonna be here before we got to talk. So that’s all good. So I can, so I can also be wearing them. But
did you order these ones? the orange ones?
They’re the ones I ordered yeah
These are you’re nighttime ones, I use these during the day.
Okay. So it’s even more, you know, more interesting than I thought it was I thought there was one pair to do everything. But that’s all good. So tell me about why are you wearing these weird orange glasses on your head man?
Um, well, look, yeah, so like I said, before we got, we got two types, I don’t wear glasses. By the way, I don’t have contacts or anything. So these are purely blue light blocking glasses, or UV light blocking glasses.
So the reason I use these during the day is to actually protect myself from from blue light, which has been emitted from the screens, right. So a lot of people, not a lot of people, some people is discovering the impact of blue light in relation to sleep, and melatonin. And if you use an iPhone, for instance, and you’ve updated to the latest version, you’ll see that night shift mode, right, and that applies a filter, or it’s a software setting, it’s not that effective, but it reduces the blue light exposure.
So I’ll get to that in a second. And that’s why I’d use these ones come not time. But during the day, I use this now these are, um, you might have heard of gaming glasses, like computer glasses and stuff, these are effectively these are gaming glasses, you can wear them if you’re a gamer and stuff and these are actually designed to protect the, sorry I should hold them up a bit higher. These are designed to protect protect the eyes retina.
So if you pull up a light spectrum, if you do a Google search of like visible light, and you see the the rainbow with all the wavelengths and everything, you’ve got down one and like the purple, the violet, colour and then down the other end, you’ve got the red, so that spectrum, obviously changes, you know, violet, blue, green, yellow, into red, okay, and that’s the visible, visible light spectrum. And so as you increase the wavelength, and you go from the red to the purple and beyond, then you get into UV light, then you get into x rays, gamma rays and stuff.
Those are the ionising rays. wavelength and that’s, that’s what’s harmful. That’s why you don’t want to be hanging out and x rays and stuff like that all the time. You go the other way from violet through to red, and then you increase the wavelength. But you decrease the energy and then you’ve got infrared waves, radio waves, TV and all that sort of Jazz, but ther is the blue light in particular, as well as having an impact on melatonin, which I’ll get to say that blue light is it’s it’s high energy, it’s high.
It’s shorter. Yeah, shorter wavelength, but it’s got more energy in it. And then um, that that light can damage the eyes retina. So pretty much a blue light in the 400 to 415 to 450 nano meter range can actually penetrate the eye. Like blue light from a screen, because you gotta remember, like, we haven’t designed with screens, and you know, all these technology things, right? So it’s new to us. It’s, it’s, it’s our body doesn’t expected it.
Yeah. So when you say can penetrate the retina? Where does it go? Once it does, that will be what?
Alex 10:00
Yeah, so so penetrates like, the eyes, natural filters. And, and, and it can destroy like cells in the retina.
So and it’s a cumulative thing. So like, you know, like looking at computer right now, I’m not destroying eyesight or anything. But, you know, if you’re sitting behind these computer screens, for hours upon hours, every day years upon years, you know, all of a sudden, you’re getting eye diseases, macular degeneration and stuff like that. So that’s why from day to day, you know, because I’m behind a computer, I do a lot of health coaching, blogging and stuff. So I use computers. So that’s why I’m, I’m trying to protect my eyes. From a health health point of view.
There’s nothing really from a sleep point of view here. But look, this is a really deep topic. And it’s, it’s something that I’m still learning about in terms of the eye health, but these guys out there, you know, showing how technology and the UV, HEV, high energy, visible light, can destroy things like DHA omega3 fat, so that i is one of the body’s highest stores of DHA and and it’s it’s been shown that blue light can destroy the DHA. And you know, if you don’t eat enough seafood, there’s all sorts of sorts of issues thats going on because obviously, you know, people know about DHA and omega3 is an anti inflammatory, but it also does things like on insulates the neurons and myelation. I don’t know if you’ve heard of that?
Bill 11:31
So you’re destroying that then all of a sudden, the body has less omega3’s and all of a sudden, you’re more prone to, you know, neuro transmitter issues. I’m
so hang on a second
sorry, I’m
not it’s all good. So what you’re saying, what you’re saying to me is, at the deeper level, blue light can affect us in the brain. Like it can affect the neurons and the modulation, myelination, which is for people that don’t know the wrapping around the neurons that protects the neurons, it helps them fire properly, you’re telling me that long exposure to that damages eventually, our neurons in our body?
Yeah, hundred percent. And again, like this side of the blue light, this wasn’t why I say don’t blue blockers. And in fact, this has been a the last few months, this has been more of an eye opener no pun intended I guess and I’m still, you know, learning a lot about it. Um, but yeah, I mean, and again, if you think about it, purely from ancestral evolutionary point of view, whatever, like we weren’t designed with like these bright screens, you know,
What were we designed to do? sit in front of the campfire, look at the fire?
Yeah, well, and this, this thing gets into the circadian rhythm side of things with the blue light. So, so yeah, just in a nutshell, you’re right. That’s why I wear these during the day. These aren’t, I could wear these, but obviously, if I’m doing works with graphics and stuff, you know, these give a pretty orange glow. And ah can be tricky to do some design work. But the other ones I have, you know, I think it’s about 40 50% filter, but it’s also designed to block all the UV light as well. So that that protecting my eyes during the day, and I don’t wear them all the time. We’re as these glasses, these bad boys designed to block all blue light. Now, I wear these as soon as the sun goes down.
And the reason behind that is again, if you think if you put your ancestral hat on, hundred hundred and 40 years ago, hundred 50 years ago, light bulbs didn’t even exist. All right. Prior to that, we had fire obviously. Who knows when fire was invented prior to that, you know, we only had natural light, okay, and I guess you could say fires and natural light as well. So way way way back then, when the sun was Sun was up, great, there’s light.
Sun goes down, there’s not much lighter, you know, there’s no, there’s a moon puts a little bit of light stars, obviously a little bit light. But there’s nothing like today we’ve got fluorescent lights here, screens and all that sort of emitting all this light so we designed in a way where we evolved in a way where when it was dark we’d go to sleep alright, like that’s what you did. When the light light settings when it got darker as the sun was going down on Twilight and even when we had fire it’s less light and it’s particular light as well.
So again, going back to before we’re not saying the visible light spectrum, how you got your, your violet through the red fire, for instance, is a is high in red light. You know, red and orange light and it’s very, very low blue light. And I’ve actually, I’ve got a really, if anyone wants to like delve into this big time I’ve got an article on my website, I can send you the link you can even post it in the notes
I will definitely
in that article i’ve actually got a diagram showing the makeup of every light source. So you’ve got a candle you’ve got LED light bulbs, you got fluorescent, you go um, incandescent light bulbs alright and it’s really fascinating because candles and even incandescent light bulbs, which are now banned here in Australia, we’re predominantly red light, you know, it’s that’s why they give that orange sort of grow glow. Yeah, whereas today, you’ve got like these white bright, you know, fluorescent lights. And they’ve got a lot more green and blue and sure that are more energy efficient. But they are emitted another source of light.
So just let’s get back for one second. You said the incandescent light bulbs, the one that Edison invented, he had been banned in Australia, what are you talking about?
Yeah, I mean, look, again, I’m from New Zealand. No, you can’t, I think the law
Are they stopping manufacturing them or something like that
And so those light bulbs thats um I keep going off track. Yeah, so going back to that fire evolutionary point of view, when the sun went down, will limit it to either no light or moonlight, which is very, very there is not much light brightness behind there, or fire, right,? And then that fire is, you know, if anyone else has look at a fire, not looked at a fire. It’s a lot of red light, you know, there’s not much blue or green light being emitted from that fire. And that is how, obviously, we evolved. You know, whatever you believe in, that’s how we grew up.
Yeah, yeah, I mean, you can hunt them down, like I know, some like Chinese kinda two dollar stores, you know, I see them there. But pretty much like if you go into a Woolworths or Coles, and you go to light bulb section, they’re all the energy efficient light bulbs, right, which, which of the fluorescent You know, um I think there is some led ones now. And they emitt, I mean, you notice. I live in an apartment building, I look at the apartment across the road at night, and you’ll see an apartment with a really orange colour, which is the older incandescent light bulbs, they obviously still have them. And then underneath, you’ll see this new newly renovated apartment, it’s like this white, you know, like, glowing light. And you see that difference, right.
And that impacts everything from melatonin cortisol, you know, our circadian rhythm. So, um, yeah, pretty much what they found that is that there’s a particular wavelength, and that’s blue light, that when the body senses that, whether it’s through the eye or even for the skin, which is quite fascinating. Wow. Yeah, um predominantly through the eye. Obviously, that makes sense. Because, you know, that’s we will our lense to the world, I guess. But they found that whenever we’re exposed to this blue light, you know, the 4, 415 to 480 kind of nanometer wavelength light, it disrupts melatonin production.
So it tells the body there is still sunlight or there’s light out there, you don’t start begin to feel drowsy. So you can go to sleep.
Hundred percent. Like, if you’re, it’s 10 o’clock at night, the sun’s been down, and you’re under fluorescent lights, watching a bright, brightly backlit, you know, computer screen with your iPhone going as well. That’s a lot of light, a lot of blue light. The brain, the body, the eye is thinking, Okay, it’s another day. We don’t need to start releasing melatonin now. Because it’s the middle of the day, then of course, you go to bed and you know, why can’t I sleep? Obviously, people still sleep. But what’s happening is that melatonin has been on phase the life I shifted back.
So Melatonin is released a couple hours, three to four hours after low light after it stops sensing blue line
So you’re going to be let’s say in that example before you watching a movie, you got your phone, you’re reading them bed with the screen right in front of your eyes, sure you can go to sleep and might not be the best late, but that that Melatonin is going to be delayed. Whereas if you were watching the movie with a filter on your screen, and you were blue blockers, or let’s say you weren’t even watching watching TV, you’re just reading or, you know, having dinner over candlelight, or whatever it may be, you’re already a couple hours ahead, right? Because you’re blocking that blue light um reaching the eye due to due to the glasses.
Wow. So what you’re saying what you’re saying, Alex, is that basically what we’re doing is we’re disrupting our sleep cycle. People are sleeping less, as we know anyway, like there’s, you know, research finding that people are sleeping less than seven hours a day, which is not recommended, but also the quality of their sleep then gets interfered with because they’ve looked at a blue screen.
the the sleep cycle starts three or four hours later, even though their eyes are closed and they appear to be sleeping. Melatonin hasn’t kicked in. And as a result, they’re they’re having this disrupted or not very sort of high quality level of sleep.
Yeah, totally and pretty much nailed it, but the other funny thing is people a lot of people don’t understand this. They just think of melatonin sleep hormone, right? Like that. That’s association which is true. But Melatonin is also one of the most powerful antioxidants in the body. It’s a natural antioxidant, right? And there’s a lot of links between melatonin output and things like cancer and, and this is why you know, if you miss a couple of days sleep you have a bad sleep. You know,
you’re more likely to catch cold you just run down a little bit more susceptible to getting a cold and flu and look, there’s a there’s a ton of reasons behind that. It’s not just melatonin like obviously. Yeah, growth hormone and all that sort of stuff.
immune function the lot laser level yep,
yeah, but but Melatonin is actually a key element in that immune function. A lot of people don’t don’t understand that. Um, and that’s why, like, I just finished reading a book a few months ago, by TS Whiley, it was called sex and menopause. It was obviously written for menopausal woman woman, but I like reading. So you
you cut, you cut out there, what was it called?
Sex lies and menopause by TS Wiley. Anyway, I read that and yeah, it’s written for females and stuff. But she looks at the link between breast cancer and disrupted circadian rhythms. And going further like low level in between, I guess, the low levels of melatonin due to the disrupted circadian rhythms. And then she’s saying, you know, she ties all this blue light, and everything into it. And it just shows like everyone knows you touched on this earlier how important sleep is.
But you know, it’s not, it’s not just sleep, it’s how we sleep. It’s when we sleep, like you could be sleeping in the night shift is night shift workers, for instance, they might still get six, seven hours of sleep, but it might be daytime, they pretty much exposed to bright light all the time. Like even when they sleep during the day, you know, unless they’re using blackout curtains in there. Again, they are more prone to all these illnesses and diseases and ageing and all that that um someone else who sleeps at night. Like it’s really, really fascinating. And yeah, you’re right, though that blue light is is delaying the melatonin production, which is obviously impacting how deep we sleep. But then in turn, it’s impacting our health and things like melatonin cortisol, run in opposite as well. So, um,
yeah, there is there’s a lot of research and a lot of work and some stuff that I read about what happens to people who don’t sleep enough or don’t get enough sleep and how it makes them lack of sleep makes people fatter. And the reason being is because the lack of sleep causes the body to not be able to utilize insulin. So when somebody eats a certain meal, and the insulin gets kicked in sugars, carbs, that kind of thing, to help process them the body’s ability to activate that process decreases. And they become insulin resistant, quicker, and they gain weight and they’re more likely to go into type two diabetes.
Yeah. And, and this is why, okay, calories in calories out, obviously, there’s so much fruit behind, you know, how that’s not valid. But even taking another step further. And people you know, I I study bodybuilding people get get into the whole macros If It Fits Your Macros and stuff like that, like that’s still there’s still more to health and even fat loss, then then diet and macros, right? Like because you got things like this, you could have a, you could be switched on when it comes to insulin sensitivity and in the lower carb diet and stuff, but then all of a sudden, you’re only getting five, six hours of sleep now, you’re undoing all this work you’ve done with your diet anyway, and this is why now I’m with the clients I work with, by Tanya small element, it’s all the lifestyle choices, environmental choices, and obviously it’s like
it’s the cheapest and most effective. I don’t know what the word is the label is but uh, you know, all these kids that come to me and they want to get stronger or rugby players and they want to get fitter, faster or corporate guys, I want to lose weight. And they’re like, Hey, what about this supplement? What about this diet plan? What about this? Look, just fix your sleep first, and then focus on all that other stuff like that should be the foundation. And it’s free. You don’t have to pay for pay for supplements or anything right. But so many people are caught up in the TV shows and addicted to technology. So
yeah, and the quick fix, right? Well, probably a pretty good way to fix things. I mean, all you gotta do is lay there and sleep right. But some people can’t switch their heads off. And it seems like this could be due to the fact that they’re doing all this blue screen stuff at at the time just before bed or even a few hours before bed. So you had away I’ve become that I know there’s glasses. Yeah, but what else can we do to minimize exposure from computers, because a lot of people bring home work from you know, from the bring home work, and they’ve got to sit down and they’ve got to do an email or whatever, you know, at eight or nine after dinner when everyone’s gone to sleep. So how do we minimize that?
Yeah, the answer is simple. You just get rid of technology and go live in the bush and live on the beach. But yeah, obviously, that’s not practical for everyone. So obviously, look, the glasses are a big part of it. But everything from making your sleep environment as dark as possible. So there’s been studies showing, again, I touched on this before, where it’s not just the eyes, the skin. So there’s one particular study where they had study participants in a pitch black room. So when I say pitch black, I tell my clients that they shouldn’t be able to see the hand in front of your face, you shouldn’t be able to count how many things like that. That’s how light, there might be a little bit of light, but it’s pretty dark yeah.
So I’ll come back to that. But there was a study done where the participants were in a pitch black room, and they had a light LED, I don’t know what exactly it was fibre optic cables on me strapped to the back of their knee. And then that ran off to a machine. And that was taped. So it was all covered over with tape. And the participants didn’t know whether the light was on or off, you know. And now it’s like and it was a blue green, green light that was being emitted because greens very close to the blue and in the spectrum
And yeah the sleep participants through the night and they were monitored for levels of melatonin throughout the night. And they found that the participants who the machine was on the light was on on the back their knee tiny little light. And again, they had no idea the participants had no idea if it was on or off, right and they couldn’t see it, there was no light being exposed to the eye, it was pitch black, but the participants where the light was on had lower levels of melatonin at night.
So sure, you want to you want to block the light, pre bed prior to bed but you also want to block it at night when you’re sleeping. So I just got back from a trip to paleo FX and I was in Asia and stuff and we actually just put put together a blog that will be out in a few days on my website. But it’s my sleep Sleep tricks sleep hacks. And obviously, there’s a few supplements in there for you know, international travel and stuff. But I actually travel with a roll of black duct tape. I travel with this.
And I travel with I’m asked obviously, and I travel with I think it’s here somewhere. It’s a throw like a black throw right in wherever I travel. Even if I’m traveling domestically here in Australia or New Zealand, I’ll take these things with me. And the reason being once you get to a hotel, you know, you’ve got that blinking smoke alarm light bulb above your head, you’ve got you’ve got the alarm clock, you’ve got the air conditioner there, you know, I was in Hong Kong and I wanted the aircon on because it was it was 30 something degrees and humid.
So you want the aircon on. But of course, it’s got this bright blue LED light, like just and obviously, you know, the hotel I stayed in, in Hong Kong, for instance, have blackout curtains great. But still you turn off all the lights and it’s still all these little lights are glowing everywhere. So I actually take the duct tape and cover all those LED lights
And I’ll use the throw if there is like some some hotels, for instance, might have a little window, you know, above their head above the bed that doesn’t ever curtain on it, right? So just tape that up and cover the light, cover the window and then obviously sleep with the eye mask. Because even though you want to make the room as dark as possible, it is the eye that is the most most sensitive. So again, you make the you make you sleep environment as dark as possible.
Wow, that’s really cool. So I’ve got another question for you. Because we touched on it before we actually got to talk via our emails in the last couple of days.
And 40 I had cataract surgery. At 41, I had brain surgery and at 42 I had thyroid surgery. So I’m really conscious of the fact that I’ve probably done a fair amount of things in the past to keep me not very well for quite a long period of time. And then in the last few years, you know, all the stuff that I’ve done has sort of bit me on the but.
And you mentioned something when I said about the cataracts, and you mentioned something about cataracts and blue light. And you said something along the lines of the cataracts are the are the way the body tries to protect the eye tell me a little bit more about that.
All right, again, I’m not a doctor, and I’m not a specialist or anything. And, and this topic is very new, like similar to the the blue light and the retina during day. Like it’s something that I’m still looking into. So, you know, if there’s any doctors out there, listen to this, like, you know, throwing their arms up in the air. Like, again, it’s more than I need to learn that. But
it’s your point of view I want you know, the doctors have got their point of view. And that’s cool. We love them. And we can’t do without them. I couldn’t have had cataract surgery without them. So I’m not saying they have got no idea. We love doctors, believe me if if it wasn’t for doctors, Alex, I’d be probably, you know, brain damaged blind. And you know, my hormones would be all over the place. So yes, thumbs up to the doctors. So we just want to your point of view
Alright okay, well, this is my understanding. And there’s a neurosurgeon in the states who is very, very passionate and very, very knowledgeable about this sort of thing and the impact of blue light and eye health and stuff. And his name’s Dr. Jack Kruse. So for someone like yourself, or if anyone else out there is, you know, cataracts or wants to know more about this, just google Dr. Jack Kruse and you can ah go down that rabbit hole.
But my understanding is that I’m cataracts are a natural mechanism, I guess that where by the I is trying to filter out all this excess blue light.
So it’s a you know, if you do have the individual his around TVs and computers and all over time, and again, it’s cumulative. This is why you don’t see a 20 year old having cataracts. But you’ll see 40, 50, 60, 70 year olds having cataracts. So that’s saying that the eye is bringing in its own natural, blue light filters. And again, I’m like i’ve read one or two articles about this. And this is about as deep as I go. So then what they’re saying is by having that cataract surgery, and not changing your environment, you know, the body’s trying to protect you just like diabetes and everything, you know, you eat too many sugars over and over again, the body develops diabetes as a protective mechanism, right?
And then all of a sudden, you take drugs or you take insulin, and you keep eating the sugar is you set up for problems. And so I guess the same thing could be said with cataracts. I’m so based on my understanding and my limited knowledge on this area Yeah, I’d be saying to you, yeah, like, make sure you wear the filter, the glasses um wear ,put filters on your screen, minimize screen time, get outside as much as possible, you know do all those things to minimize that environmental thing impact they could potentially have on your eye, because in a way, and again, this is just one understanding the eyes telling you or the body’s telling you. Hey, look, there’s too much. Too much blue light being too too much blue tight exposure.
Yeah, okay. Well, there is some other bit of research that I did to understand what might have been the cause of my own cataracts. What tends to happen when you’re in a high sugar diet, and I found out that I was very allergic to sugar, actually, you know, probably not in an allergy test where I pop up, you know, with, you know, pimples or that kind of stuff, but my body doesn’t deal with it. So sugar actually also damages the collagen in your eye.
as well as the rest of your body blood vessels, you know, your connective tissue, your joints are connected, damaged sugar everywhere, but in my case, specifically, and in the thyroid gland. So I’ve kind of done a lot of work over the last four years to understand what it was that I was doing that was causing that. And it’s very likely that sugar played a massive role, blue light, bring that on board, there’s another environmental factor, so two environmental factors, and who knows what else that I’m not aware of?
but I really like what you said about, I’ve now got to change my environment, because if it’s happened to me once, well, I stopped consuming sugar because I understand how bad it was for my body.
But also, perhaps the exposure to blue light needs to be decreased. Because that, again, is only me doing half the job taking out one of the environmental factors not taking out the other one as well.
Hundred percent. I mean, you touched on this before with sleep and insulin sensitivity, right? Like someone with diabetes. Hopefully, you know, they’ll realize all right, this is brought on by chronic carb consumption. But it’s not just that these other variables as well, you know, they can cut out all their carbs, but then they can still own 80% of the carbs, or sugars. And then they’re only getting four or five hours sleep every night. They are still, you know, they don’t like it’s not just blue light, there’s probably a ton of other factors. And if I was in your situation, I’d be trying to discover what all those factors are, and addressing and it also goes back to what I’ve touched on a few times now that it’s not just food, you always have to look at better environment as well, for all sorts of health issues, or every health issue.
It’s fascinating, man, I’m really found this topic. Really interesting. So the glasses that you wear during the day, are they glasses that you were outside as well? Or do you just wear them when you’re inside?
Yeah, I just wear them when I’m exposed to blue light from a computer screen unnatural blue light. Blue lights good. Don’t Don’t think that blue lights the devil or anything like that we need blue live right um there’s even studies showing that office workers who are exposed to blue light or sunlight during the day are more productive have enhanced cognitive function and creativity and stuff, right. So it’s all about balance and cycles at night time, you don’t want a new light. at daytime, you want the light, but you want sunlight, you want natural light.
Because that’s full spectrum light, you know, you got your infrared you got your UVA, you got UVB needed for vitamin D synthesis, we need all that. And obviously, there’s some good from that blue light as well. But I think it’s about 50% of natural, sorry, 50% of sunlight is ah red light, you know, it’s more red, purple, I think purple is about 10% blue lights, smaller amount. But again, we need that to trigger the body to say, hey, it is daytime, what we don’t need is concentrated amounts of that blue light all day, 12 hours a day from a computer screen.
So I know people you know, like you may have heard about SAD seasonal affective disorder, you know, people that live close to the polls, for instance, you know, low levels of UV, sorry, low levels of vitamin D, due to a lack of UVB exposure and stuff. So you know, they’re not getting that full spectrum of sunlight because the sun is lower in the sky for big periods, right. So there are a lot of machines and light bulbs and devices now where you can actually go out and supplement with that light. So those guys are getting these bright, you know 10,000 Lux full spectrum light bulbs I know biohackers that have got tanning beds, UVA UVB tanning beds on which is putting out some blue light as well and then they got infrared lights you know so it’s not look stay away from blue light and never use it it’s just stay away from that constant And that’s the same with a lot of things like your carbs everything right? It’s not it’s not carbs the bad the devil it’s look don’t have carb don’t have sugar and every single meal
um so yeah,
Be aware I supposed it’s be aware of what consuming and what we’re consuming whether it’s in the form of light or food or whatever it is to be aware and know what you’re putting either in your mouth or exposing yourself to and if you know that then you can do something about it and if you notice a difference in how you’re feeling because you’ve made a change then that’s what you need to go by and not just take it for granted that everyone else who’s manufacturing all these products has got our best interests at heart right?
Yeah, totally. Totally. So what what do I do on a day to day situation I actually just released an article on my blog I’ve got a website a personal website its just alexfergus.com and an article I had out a couple days ago was titled was, how to improve your sleep with morning sunlight, morning sunlight, right. So a lot of my readers is people who are my followers and everything obviously are quite up to speed with blue light and lack of blue light at night in regards to sleep, but they weren’t really aware of morning light.
And so morning light, you’re getting that hit of blue light, plus your infrared plus your, the UVA and plus your red light. And that’s actually setting off a cascade of events where you know, you didn’t serotonin release, you’re getting the spike in cortisol, which is what we want in the morning, which sets sets you up for a melatonin like a dropping cortisol in 12 hours time which then in turn spikes, melatonin, you know what I mean. Um, so yeah, like I if someone’s fascinated about sleep and all this, like, definitely check that article out.
But pretty much like the way I do it in a day to day basis is I’ll get up and then you wake up 6:30 you know that half an hour, an hour before sunrise. And I’ll try to sun exposure on my face on my eye, no contacts, no glasses, no hats, you know, I got clients, and they do it with their contacts. I was like, No, take your contacts out. Because that again, it’s just a filter, right?
You want full spectrum exposure, I get that sunlight on my face. And then thats why I was down at the park you know T-shirt and getting some sun on my skin and you know, you don’t need much like 5, 10 minutes is great. Um, and then I’ll come back and do my work and the phone behind a computer. I’ll be I’ll be using these. And then lunchtime. Again, I’ll go back outside and get some UVB because that’s not present in the morning unless it’s middle of summer. So I’ll get some UVB. And then I’ll come back. And then obviously, soon as the sun goes down five, six o’clock at the moment here in Sydney, then I put these on.
And that’s what I do. And, look, the easiest way to think about it is people like oh, what are you doing how you do it, you just want to be as close to the natural cycles as possible. And if that means it’s simple, you get sun, you get light during the day, and you don’t get light at nighttime. And if it’s artificial light from computers, then you filter that to match the natural light cycle outside.
Awesome. Curiously, again, I want to hear your thoughts. The Australian Government is making us all energy efficient. And they’re telling us to change our halogen lamps.
To LED down lights.
What kind of lighting is LED?
Yeah. So that goes back to the incandescent light bulbs and stuff, look LEDs aren’t as bad as the fluorescent and the halogen. The other problem with those fluorescent lights is the flicker effect. So you know, people can be sensitive to migraines and all that sort of stuff. I’m into tracking EMF non non native EMF pollution. And I’m, you know, I just got one of these,
what’s EMF?
electromagnetic frequencies. So, Wi Fi cell phones, everything I mean, I’m light you know, that’s the electromagnetic spectrum. But the dangerous ones, obviously, cell tower, Wi Fi, all that sort of stuff, right. And I go into these devices where I can go around measuring it and it just arrived the other day and we’ve got some fluorescent light bulbs here in this apartment, we never turned them on. Because come night time, you know, we we have red light bulbs. And so they are never on, but I turned one on the other day, and I put the sensor up there.
And it was emitting quite a lot of like, harmful. um you know harmful electromagnetic pollution, right? And so. So there’s a whole issue, it’s not just the blue light. And then you’re also looking at all these flicker effects, you know, the the output of EMF. So LED’s don’t have a lot of that. So in that regards, it’s actually pretty good. Um, because I couldn’t stand fluorescent light, like if I had to work under fluorescent, light.
But even you know, if I get if I visit a client in his office, and I’m under fluorescent light for an hour or two I don’t know, maybe I’m just super sensitive and a precious little butterfly. But I do notice that like, I do notice,
hey you just feel a little bit off after for a long time.
So so so LED are not as bad as people are making out or?
no from from that side of side of things. No LED is actually pretty good. We sell LED red LED is on our website, the very very energy efficient which is great you know, you know,
Red LED’s but you’re, where talking about the normal color LED’s, LED Down lights.
Yeah, yeah. Yep. So sorry, I just want to say like we sell them as in, I’m perfectly fine with the LED’s, you know, like, I wouldn’t be selling them the if I thought they dangerous in any way. So a typical down light with LED light. Again, it all comes down to the spectrum, color spectrum being emitted. So
if you get into white LED down light, then you’ve got similar problems that you’re getting from a white halogen light from the blue light thing. But the beauty is that the LED’s can easily be modified to create different light spectrums.
Oh, ok
so like a halogen or fluorescent light is fixed, right? Whereas a LED, you know, you see these little sensors where you can change the light bulb, change the light color.
Okay, all right,
3so that that’s a big plus, um, and people already switched on to this. So this company’s coming out now that have these natural light bulbs. So they’ll admit a little bit more blue white light in the morning, and during the day, and then naturally, like as you sync it with your phone or whatever, and then it will start going more warmer colors, like yellows, and then as the sun goes down, it goes more red glow, right? And that’s just one bulb. You don’t need to change the balls or anything. So companies are coming out with this. And in fact, GE American electrical company just released a white paper couple days ago.
Yeah, and it saying how, you know, that aware of the impact that blue light has, and they’re going to do something about it. And it’s, it’s great. So, look, if I was building a home, I’d be using LED’s instead of your fluorescent whatever.
Personally, here in our apartment, we use, we don’t use any lights at all. We have a Himalayan rock salt lamp with it with an incandescent light bulb. Two things the incandescent light bulbs release a lot of red light, so it’s great. But then you put it inside that, the the salt itself and it makes more orange glow. So that’s the only light we use at night. We don’t have light bulbs in our fridge, we took them all out.
And then we have a lot of I think I’ve got one here. These are the sorry.
So that stops you from snacking at night as well. You cant see what is in the fridge.
We have to tell you about the experiment we did for five weeks where we got rid of all light. But then we have these red LED night lights. So okay, so we have these all around an apartment. And you know, these are not bedside table lamps. We have couple in the kitchen. So when the sun goes down, we um curtains are obviously down because the street lights outside. So we’re blocking all there. And then yeah, we’ve got a Himalayan salt, salt lamp on and then we’ve got this and the kitchen and the bathroom in the hallway. Because the beauty of these is you don’t need you don’t even need your orange glasses on because there’s no blue, it’s just pure rd light, it makes your bedroom look like a Amsterdam
red light district.
Exactly. Not that I know what that is. Someone told me.
Exactly, exactly. I read about it somewhere um, mate curiously. So the million dollar question is, so what do you now notice that’s different from you today, as we wrap up this interview that’s from you today and the way that you are today in the way that you feel compared to what you were like before you were doing all the sleep stuff. What do you notice that’s different about you?
Oh, I’m completely different. I mean, it. Yeah, I was pretty sick. I’m not as sick as yourself. But I was, you know, no energy, no drive, nothing rock bottom testosterone and through the roof estrogen levels. And obviously, that’s not the case now. But a lot of things have changed, you know, everything’s been, it’s not just one day, I just discovered all the stuff about light. And you know, it was food, it was training and everything. But nowadays, like, I sleep like a baby, you know, 9, 930 at night after wearing the glasses for an nhour or two. And I still watch movies and stuff, we just use them with the computers use them with
with the glass,
Yeah Yeah, I’ll go to bed. And you know, we have our red light on, I might read a book and instead of my phone or instead of a Kindle. And I just fall asleep like that. Like it’s that’s just the new normal, if I have a bad night, it’s six and a half hours, maybe I woke up during the night. Like, that’s a bad night sleep for me. And that alone in terms of it energy throughout the day, like, you know, three o’clock comes around, and I don’t have that slump in energy that I used to have a year ago,
Um, you know, like, more resilient codes and all that stuff. I can you know, just all those little thing.
What about, what about your mood and stress?
Yeah, I mean, look at again, it’s hard because so many things have changed throughout the last couple years since we set all this up. So I know I’m more resilient, happier and healthier I I just know that my girlfriend know that. But again, like I used, when I used to work as a PTA I’ll do the mornings, maybe we wanted to at midday in a gym, and then obviously nighttime. And so I’ve cut out a little bit nighttime clients over winter, because, you know, I don’t want to be under fluorescent lights at eight o’clock at night, and then have to travel home, you know, when the sun’s been down for three, four hours.
So the big, big thing for me it’s just sleep like I just sleep so much better now and even on that recent trip, like soon as I got that to my hotel, you know, it was blue blockers on red lights in block or the light, ok it’s not going to be as good as you know, when you’re in a stable sort of environment and light cycle. But
that’s okay.
Yeah, like I just I think sleep is one of the biggest biggest changes and obviously, all of that the host of the array of benefits that come with their
Yeah, so sleep is or lack of sleep is you know, link to so many health issues, especially especially, like we are already talked about diabetes, it’s also linked to depression. It’s also linked to you know, other disorders of the mind of the brain, for example, all sorts of things. So it’s really important your sound like a, you’ve researched that a fair amount, you’re pretty, pretty passionate kind of bloke when it comes to sleep. Tell me how, how supportive was your girlfriend at the beginning, when you were taking the lights out, turning him red and doing all this stuff.
So look she’s put up with a ton of things . When I when I threw out the cornflakes and skim milk and started having bacon and eggs for breakfast every morning. You know, that was that was a huge change.
She is I mean, I love her to bits like she’s a nanny. But she’s um, she’s fully open to all this and just through just through hanging out with me and stuff like she gave is she picks up on everything she’s not as keen in terms of the initial change. So she might get a few weeks or months behind. But used to laugh at me for everything. Like she’s just like, You’re an idiot. And now every night like she wears them without glasses on if she travels or she packs them like.
And I mean, look, obviously I’m biased because I sit up this company, which by the way is a very small, it’s not what I do, I don’t consider myself like a ecommerce guy, I consider myself a health coach, I set the blue blockers out purely because I saw an opportunity, my clients couldn’t buy these glasses. So I said yeah im going to set it up. So obviously biased, but I anyone I’m like look, just just try it just for a couple of nights switch off the overhead lights, wear the glasses when you’re watching TV and just see how you feel
if you don’t, if you don’t feel any change, then whatever was like 15, 20 bucks for glasses, chuck them out give them to someone else. But every one thats tried that it’s like wow, I feel better. And they soon realized. But uh, you know, we did a five week experiment where we had it was last Wednesday, we we had no artificial light, no technology after 7:30 at night. So that’s when we took out a light bulbs in the fridge and no phones nothing. And we both did that. And this is before I had those red LED light bulbs.
So we actually had candles all around the house. And it was fascinating, obviously sleep improved, but so many other things changed in our relationship and well being like, you don’t have that distraction of always wanting to check your phone because the phone’s gone it’s locked away. So you end up talking and sound silly, right? You know, talking to a girlfriend but after four or five years of living together, like just all of a sudden you having these deep and meaningful and I ended up reading a ton of stuff like I i’d print out some articles during the day and just have a book and and so much changes like you appreciate food all the sudden like instead of coming I’m looking forward to some silly TV show you’d come home and look forward to like a really good meal and and you knew after that there was nothing so you’d sit in the joint it was it was huge. It was a really big change. So after that experiment, she was like totally on board with the whole light thing. So
your girlfriend sounds like my wife very prepared to just let me do what I need to do to find things out and then at some point if she feels like it’s useful for me, if she notices a different in me the difference in me then she kind of considers it for herself. So yeah, I’m a bacon, I’m a bacon and eggs guy in the morning. I better like it’s going out of fashion. I put it in my coffee you probably do as well?
Actually I don’t drink coffees.
but I’m big fan of butter.
Yeah. So you know, I’m she started to come on board. And we are doing all these little we, we’re re-learning what we need to know to be healthy. And when I say we re-learning, we thought we knew it all. Like I did think that the standard advice from the big corporates and from all those people was designed with my well being in mind It turns out that a lot of that stuff was designed with their hip pocket in mind.
Yeah,, I say that to my clients. Like, again, I do a bit of PT but I do a lot of health coaching now. And I tell them, Look, you’re paying me for my expertise. And obviously I want the best results for you. But just remember, no one is more about the health than you, like no one and on the health coach, right. So obviously, I’ve got a lot of invested interest in and getting the results. But still, at the end of the day, no one cares more like yourself.
So you sometimes have to be the one and you’re done this yourself, i’ve done this myself who has to go out, do you own research and do your own experiments. And you soon realize that you’re right, like what’s coming out of, you know, these government recommendations or mainstream media and stuff in regards to health and diet and like, it’s often not necessarily in the best interest for you, which is sad, but it’s the hard truth. So, yeah, anyone listening? Yeah, totally anyone listening like, you know, don’t don’t get your health advice from like, the morning Herald, or, like some fashion magazine.
Yeah, and don’t even take it from us, like direct our lives in a life, we could be talking rubbish as well, we’re not, but we could be. And you may as well just search for yourself and find out I before I believe anything, or look at anything or try anything and use myself as a guinea pig. Like i’ll I’ll try and find it in 10 or 15 different places that say the same thing that come from different sources, different backgrounds, different experience, so that I can feel better about Okay, let me give this a try. It’s not likely to be detrimental to my health. So I’ll give it a try.
And then I pay attention what was different between where I started and what’s, what is it like now, and if the difference is something that has worked for me has served me, then I’m all for it. Because I people that have had strokes or bleeds in the brain, surgery, brain damage of any type are more likely to experience things like epilepsy later on in life, dementia, and all those types of things. Mate I have already had those problems, I’m not interested in going down that path when I’m 50, 60 or 70. And I don’t want my parents, sorry, and I don’t want my children, you know, having to look after me at that extent,.
I would rather be independent and you know, diet 85 or 90, by getting hit by a bus, then, you know, losing my marbles. So that’s kind of where I’m about and I encourage, and as a health coach myself, I see a lot of people that are suffering day to day, you know, they’re cranky, they’re angry, and they’re not realizing that it could be their food, it could be their lack of sleep, it could be their lighting, you know, it could be all these environmental factors that are just chipping away at their resilience, that their ability to stay strong, you know, and, and often, you can shed some light in a conversation with somebody like this, that we’ve had that that just, pardon the pun, the light bulb goes on for them, you know, the know, the nice warm, you know, light bulb goes on for them. And then you know, from there, they gain health or they gain vitality or they gain an experience and never gained before. So I really appreciate this opportunity to talk with you your your time. And
It’s been great.
I’m curious, where can people find out about you? I know we mentioned that a couple of times, but just mentioned your you know, your social media and your website.
Yeah, so yeah, obviously, the blue blockers website where you can buy these glasses and the red LED’s which will be in stock in a few days. and a bunch of other products that’s blueblockers.com.au we’ll do a discount for your listeners. So I’ll set something up, how about we go with Bill, Bill10.
Plug that into the checkout, you’ll get you’ll get 10% off any purchase? Yeah, blueblockers.com.au That’s the shop and there’s bit of information there in terms of blue light and everything and Bill10 is the discount code. And then my personal website is my name AlexFergus.com. And look, this thats just a blog. I like um I build up. I’m using this as a bit of a knowledge base for my clients. So for instance, I’ve got her quite in depth article on on blue light, you know, and that was I don’t have to repeat myself every time I have a client I just send them there. So yeah, AlexFergus.com. I don’t really do much on social media. I do a weekly newsletter where I send up articles I like so I’m going to
ok so people can sign up at the at the website, blog, etc.
yeah, sir. And otherwise it just reach out to me if you got any questions, you will find my email and on that website. Or, blueblockers and I’m happy to answer any questions. I know for some if they’ve never heard of this before. It’s a bit like what the hell is
listen to the, voice to the interview twice, three times and share it with your friends especially if we if you know people that have had cataract surgery especially if you know people that suffer from headaches, migraines, all that type of thing like share, let them know yeah
know anyone that wants to improve the sleep right? And you know, it’s funny, I used to, I’ll finish on this I used to get riddiculed for setting it up and people like what do you on about this blue light, and i usd to just throw all these studies at them. Because there’s a ton of studies and and that’s still you know, don’t even take the time to read it. And now, Apple comes out with the update on their phone, right? It’s built into the phone and I don’t know how many billion people have iPhones but it’s like look, this is one of the biggest companies in the world saying this does exist like and then all of a sudden people coming to me oh that blue light thing. I’m like I told you so.
And it’s a nice I told you so I’m looking forward to them releasing their update for them for the Mac books and further in iMac’s.
f.lux. Google get flux f.lux and it’s some that’s been around for years so I have that running on my computer does exactly the same thing and it actually blocks more blue light than the iPhone version. So you can make it really really red so look everyone should have that on it’s free download on Mac I think it’s on Windows as well. So um
yeah, good that iflux all this information guys will be in the notes in the description of the podcast so you’ll be able to find that easily. Alex, thanks for your time. I really appreciate it.
No worries. It’s been good anytime.
All the basement,
discover how to support your recovery after stroke. Go to RecoveryAfterStroke.com
Check out other episodes at www.recoveryafterstroke.com and subscribe on itunes
Previous EpisodeHigh cholesterol and brain health? | Dr Jonathan Colter
Next EpisodeHow Reiki supports healing | Deb Dalziel
Share your story and experiences about stroke recovery.
Accelerate Your Recovery By Asking The Right Questions.
7 questions you need to ask your doctor aboutyour stroke.
DOWNLOAD FREE PDF
Join the Recovery After Stroke Community
Private coaching and training for stroke survivors and carers.
Discover More Podcast Episodes
When You Join Recovery After Stroke Community
You get private, one-on-one coaching with Bill Gasiamis,
You have instant access to online training materials in the form of expert interviews, videos, PDF documents and audio files
You can access the site 24 hour a day, 7 day a week and complete training at your own pace and without needing to leave home.
You get access to member only, monthly group live training calls on topics related to healing the brain and strategies to manage your deficits
You can harness the support of a community that understands you and can relate to what you are experiencing
View Membership
NEW PODCAST EPISODE ANNOUNCEMENTS
© Recovery After Stroke | All Rights Reserved | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Who designed this website?
It has been sent.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut accumsan quam sed orci pellentesque dignissim. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nulla pharetra risus id mi venenatis, nec pretium metus rutrum. Nullam luctus sapien tortor, in aliquam tortor vestibulum at. Morbi sit amet varius augue. Morbi ac turpis vestibulum, malesuada libero et, mattis ligula. Maecenas eu tempor velit. Suspendisse ut sem vel nibh vulputate vulputate. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Sed velit tellus, vulputate ac mattis a, posuere a purus. Duis pharetra pharetra massa id sagittis. Pellentesque at sapien massa. Quisque arcu turpis, congue ut quam in, pellentesque sollicitudin leo. Nullam semper diam lorem, nec consectetur magna pretium sit amet. Suspendisse ac egestas neque, et rhoncus metus.
Recovery After Stroke Community
Accelerate Your Recovery By
Asking The Right Questions.
7 questions you need to ask your
doctor about your stroke.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2676
|
__label__wiki
| 0.734711
| 0.734711
|
For the past sixteen years, in compliance with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, we have had in place protocols for reporting abuse to law enforcement, background checks for anyone working with youth, ongoing training in awareness and prevention of abuse, and policies to ensure appropriate interaction between youth and adults in all our programs. In the wake of recent national reports of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy, on August 18, 2018, I informed Catholics in northern Nevada that I wanted a review of our commitment as a diocese to safeguard all minors. I asked the Diocesan Review Board, comprised of lay women and men, to conduct this review. Since then the members of the board have diligently undertaken this task. In addition to an examination of current policies and procedures, I also asked them to review the clergy files because I decided, as a measure of transparency and accountability, to make public the names of clergy and religious who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.
As a result of this review, the Diocesan Review Board recommended the following list of names of priests and religious who have been credibly accused. The determination of a “credible” accusation was based on such factors as corroborating evidence or criminal prosecution or admission of guilt by the accused. The process of determining credibility was not a formal legal process. In publishing this list, it is our hope that it may bring some healing to those who have been abused. We can read the names of the perpetrators, but what is not seen in print are those men and women who have suffered the harm inflicted and the pain they have carried through their lives. That clergy inflicted such grave injury on minors fills me with shame and sorrow. In the name of the Diocese of Reno I offer my profound apology to them and to their families.
The clergy files examined extend back over eighty years from the inception of the Diocese of Reno. The following list includes names of clergy and religious who served in the twelve counties that currently comprise the diocese: Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lyon, Mineral, Pershing, Storey, and Washoe. In the first three categories, the priests and religious were accused of committing sexual abuse of minors in the state of Nevada. Those listed are:
1. diocesan priests who formally belonged to the Diocese of Reno, i.e., permanently dedicated to its service (the technical term is “incardinated”):
Robert Anderson (deceased)
Edmund Boyle (deceased)
Eugene Braun (removed from ministry)
Robert Despars (deceased)
William Duff (deceased)
Florence Flahive (deceased)
Harold Vieages (deceased);
2. diocesan priests incardinated in another diocese who worked on a temporary basis in the Diocese of Reno:
Carmelo Baltazar (deceased)
Timothy Ryan (deceased);
3. religious order priests who worked in the Diocese of Reno:
David Brusky SDS (deceased)
Stuart Campbell OP (deceased);
4.a diocesan priest who was ordained for service in another diocese and then transferred to and was incardinated in the Diocese of Reno. Many years after his incardination in Nevada, his diocese of origin (the Archdiocese of Louisville) found credible allegations of sexual abuse committed by him when he was part of the Archdiocese of Louisville and has posted his name on its list of credibly accused:
Robert Bowling (deceased).
Most of the priests on the list are deceased and for some of them, an accusation of sexual abuse was made after their deaths. Nevertheless, the Diocesan Review Board found evidence to conclude the accusation was credible.
Recently, allegations have been investigated regarding Philip Napolitano FSR, a member of the Brothers of the Holy Rosary here in Reno. These allegations concerned incidents that took place at St. Christopher’s School in Las Vegas between the years 1964-1974. In accordance with the Essential Norms promulgated pursuant to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, a canonical process will be initiated to determine Brother Philip’s guilt; at its conclusion, the results will be made public.
The Diocesan Review Board will continue to evaluate all information as it is received and thus the list of names may be updated or expanded in the future.
Anyone who has been sexually abused by a member of the clergy, a church employee or volunteer is encouraged to contact civil authorities and/or the Victims’ Assistance Coordinator (Eastern Nevada): Marilyn Janka at 775-753-9542, or (Western Nevada): David Caloiaro at 775-450-3618 or the Diocesan Victim’s Assistance Hotline at 1-844-669-8911).
Attached to this letter is the list of the assignments of each of the priests named above.
May God strengthen our resolve as a church to protect children from abuse and to uphold the dignity of every human being.
Sincerely in Christ,
Most Reverend Randolph R. Calvo
Bishop of Reno
Members of the Diocesan Review Board:
Ms. Rota Rosaschi, MPA, LSW (Chair)
Mrs. JoAnn Baird, MFT
Mr. Frank Flaherty, Esq., Attorney & Counselor at Law<
Mrs. Margaret Graham, Coordinator of Marriage, Annulments and Funerals, Our Lady of the Snows Parish, Member of the Diocesan Seminary Board
Mr. Stacey Hill, Retired Law Enforcement
Mrs. Annabelle Kozel
Hon. Joanne C. Parrilli (Retired)
Ms. Linda Remington
Mrs. Marna Zachry
Rev. Joseph Abraham, JCL
Mrs. Karen Barreras, M.Ed., Superintendent Diocesan Schools
Rev. Robert Chorey, Chancellor, Diocese of Reno
Who is on the list?
The following list includes names of priests and religious who served in the 12 counties that currently comprise the Diocese of Reno: Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lyon, Mineral, Pershing, Storey, and Washoe. The Diocesan Review Board determined that these men have been credibly accused. None of them are still in ministry. In the first three categories, the clergy and religious were accused of committing sexual abuse of minors in the state of Nevada. Those men listed include:
diocesan priests incardinated in (formally belonging to) the Diocese of Reno and permanently dedicated to its service;
diocesan priests incardinated in another diocese who worked on a temporary basis in the Diocese of Reno; and
religious order priests who worked in the Diocese of Reno.
Also included is:
a diocesan priest who was ordained for service in another diocese and then transferred to and was incardinated in the Diocese of Reno. Many years after his incardination in Nevada, his diocese of origin (the Archdiocese of Louisville) found credible allegations of sexual abuse committed by him when he was part of the Archdiocese of Louisville and has posted his name on its list of credibly accused.
Where are these priests today?
There are 12 names on the list. Of those, 11 are deceased and the one remaining was removed from ministry in 1974. Some of the accusations of sexual abuse were made after the accused died, but the Diocesan Review Board found evidence to conclude the accusation was credible.
Detailed information on clergy and religious assignments and their dates of service in the Diocese of Reno can be found here. The Review Board will continue to evaluate all information as it is received and this list of names may be updated or expanded at a future date.
How did you determine what names to place on the list?
The process began with a review of clergy files dating back over 80 years. This review was conducted independently by the Diocesan Review Board, which is primarily comprised of lay men and women with a variety of expertise and experience in areas such as law enforcement, social work, mental health, the practice of law and education. The intent of the file review was to identify clergy who worked in the Diocese of Reno who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor. Determination of credible accusation was based on the presence of one or more of the following factors:
corroborating evidence;
criminal prosecution; or
admission of guilt by the accused.
Describe the process the Diocesan Review Board underwent to determine whether to place the name of a clergy member on the list.
The Diocesan Review Board:
Selected members to conduct the initial review of clergy files. These Review Board members evaluated clergy files and identified those needing further review because there might have been potential for sexual abuse of minors. Those files were brought to the full board for examination.
Developed criteria for credibly accused to be used throughout the review process. Determination of credible accusation was based on the presence of one or more of the following factors:
• corroborating evidence;
• criminal prosecution; or
• admission of guilt by the accused.
Conducted a thorough review of each clergy file that had been flagged for potential abuse of a minor. The committee determined whether the case met the established criteria for credible accusation based on the material available. Those meeting any one of the three criteria were included on the list.
How were decisions made regarding placing a name on the list?
Decisions were made based on review of the available information.
Is anyone on this list still serving in any of our parishes or schools?
No. All but one are deceased and the one who is living was removed from ministry 45 years ago. Moreover, today, if an allegation is made, the accused is reported to civil authorities as mandated by law, and per our policies which have been in place since 2003, is immediately placed on administrative leave.
Does this list include the names of all clergy in Nevada who have been accused of abuse of a minor?
This list includes those clergy and religious who served in the 12 counties that currently comprise the Diocese of Reno: Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lyon, Mineral, Pershing, Storey, and Washoe who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor in Nevada as determined by the Diocese of Reno. Credibility was based on corroborating evidence, criminal prosecution or admission of guilt. If none of the criteria for credible accusation was met, the person’s name was not included on this list.
It also includes one priest who was ordained for service in another diocese and then transferred to and was incardinated in the Diocese of Reno. Many years after his incardination in Nevada, and a few months before he died, his diocese of origin found credible allegations of sexual abuse committed by him when he was part of the Archdiocese of Louisville and has posted his name on its list of credibly accused. Because he was incardinated in the Diocese of Reno, we chose to include him on our list.
In addition, there are religious and clergy not incardinated in the Diocese of Reno, but who formerly served in the Diocese of Reno, whose names have been placed on lists composed by other dioceses or by religious orders, based on conduct that occurred outside our diocese. They are not included on our list because the Review Board did not have access to the underlying information about the allegations and was unable to investigate those claims. However, the Review Board did examine those clergy files to verify the absence of claims in the Diocese of Reno. None of those persons is in ministry in our Diocese or would be allowed to minister in our diocese.
Why did Bishop Calvo publish these names?
In the wake of recent national reports of sexual abuse of minors by clergy, Bishop Calvo asked the Diocesan Review Board to examine diocesan policies and procedures established to safeguard young people. In addition, he also asked them to review clergy files to identify cases of credible sexual abuse of minors by clergy in order to publish those names as a matter of transparency and accountability. All of this was done for the safety of our youth and to bring healing to the men and women who were abused.
What exactly is the Diocesan Review Board?
n accordance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, the Diocesan Review Board is primarily comprised of lay men and women with a variety of expertise and experience in areas such as law enforcement, social work, mental health, the practice of law, and education. They advise the bishop on matters involving allegations of abuse of minors and vulnerable adults.
How is the diocese helping the victims?
The diocese encourages all victims of clergy abuse to report the abuse to civil authorities and to call one of the Diocese of Reno’s Victims’ Assistance Coordinators or the Victims Assistance Hotline. The diocese has provided counseling to those victims desiring it. In some cases, the diocese has also paid settlement claims.
How much has the diocese paid to settle claims?
Since 1998, the diocese had paid $1,385,100. Settlements were paid through insurance and from unrestricted general operating funds of the diocese.
Are my donations to the Catholic Services Appeal or the Capital Campaign being used to pay settlements?
No. Funds raised for the Catholic Services Appeal and for the Capital Campaign are restricted in use and can only be used for the purposes identified by those campaigns. Donations made to individual parishes remain in those parishes. Additionally, the Catholic Community Foundation is a separate charitable foundation and those funds may not be used to pay settlement claims.
What is the diocese doing to protect minors from abuse now?
The Diocese of Reno has been in compliance with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People for the past 16 years. This Safe Environment Program works to ensure that children and vulnerable adults are protected from harm. Clergy, religious, employees and volunteers in the Diocese of Reno working in a ministry that puts them in contact with children are required to complete the mandatory Safe Environment training. They also undergo a criminal background check. This program is in place in every parish, mission and school in our diocese. Nearly 10,000 people in this diocese have been trained to recognize the signs of abuse and how to report those suspicions to law enforcement since the diocese implemented the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2003. This program mandates that suspected abuse is reported to authorities according to law.
Anyone who has been sexually abused by clergy, a church employee or volunteer of the Diocese of Reno is encouraged to contact civil authorities and the appropriate Victims’ Assistance Coordinator or the Diocesan Office of Safe Environment.
Victim’s Assistance Coordinators are:
Eastern Nevada: Marilyn Janka 775-753-9542
Western Nevada: David Caloiaro 775-450-3618
Diocesan Victim’s Assistance Hotline: 1-844-669-8911
What happens today when abuse is reported?
First, civil authorities are notified. Nevada Revised Statutes demand that any suspicion of child abuse must be reported within 24 hours to civil authorities for investigation. If the clergy member, lay employee or volunteer is currently in ministry, he or she is placed on administrative leave. The Diocesan Review Board conducts a review of the matter and advises the bishop on recommended action. Civil authorities conduct their own, independent investigation. If the allegation is found to be credible, then the process established in the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People is initiated and could result in sanctions such as the dismissal from the clerical state for clergy or termination of employment/volunteer status for laity.
How does the diocese evaluate the mental and spiritual health of men seeking vocations?
Prior to their full acceptance, candidates to the seminary or permanent diaconate must undergo a complete physical and psychological evaluation. After this initial process, the candidate may formally apply for admission. Prior to admission, the diocesan Seminary Board or Diaconate Formation Board, whichever is appropriate, fully assesses the candidate’s maturity, life experience, character and interpersonal skills as well as any other personal issues that may need to be addressed.
Candidates undergo a thorough background check and are required to complete the mandatory Safe Environment training as well as ongoing education on best practices to ensure the protection of minors. They are also educated on the mandatory reporting requirements in the case of suspected abuse.
Priests of the Diocese of Reno credibly accused of sexual misconduct with a minor
Robert Anderson
Served in the Diocese 1942-1978
Status: Deceased in 1978
List of assignments
Edmund Boyle
Served in Diocese 1943-1986
Status: Deceased 1974
Eugene Braun
Status: Removed from ministry
Robert Despars
William Duff
Florence Flahive
Harold Vieages
Those who belonged to a Religious Community and served within the Diocese of Reno
David Brusky SDS
Stuart Campbell OP
Those under the authority of another diocese but served within the Diocese of Reno
Carmelo Baltazar
(Diocese of Malolos Bulacan)
Served in the Diocese 1980
Status: Deceased
Timothy Ryan
(Diocese of Juneau)
Those clergy under the authority of the Diocese of Reno but were accused elsewhere prior to their moving to the Diocese
Robert Bowling (Archdiocese of Louisville)
Sacred Heart (Ely)—–1942- 1944
St. Joan of Arc (Las Vegas)—– 1944
St. Andrews (Boulder City)—–1944-1947
Catholic Welfare (Ely)—–1947
St. Michaels (McGill)—–1947-1948
Bishop Manogue Catholic High School—–1948
Cathedral (Reno)—–1949
St. Albert the Great (Reno)—– 1950-1952
Immaculate Conception (Sparks)—–1952-1952
St. Patricks (Fallon)—–1953
Cathedral (Reno)—–1953-1961
St. Christopher (N. Las Vegas)—–1962-1963
St. Peter the Apostle ( Henderson)—–1963-1969
Our Lady of Tahoe (Zephyr Cove)—–1969-1978
St. Therese of the Little Flower (Reno)—–1947
St. Michael’s (McGill)—–1948
Sacred Heart( Ely)——1949
Diocese of Salt Lake City—–1952-1955
Leave of Absence—–1955-1958
St. Joseph’s( Elko)—–1958-1961
Incardinated in Archdiocese of Seattle—–1961
St. Mary’s Hospital (Reno)—–1966
Our Lady of the Snows( Reno)—–1957
Our Lady of Perpetual Help ( Hawthorne)—–1957
St. Christopher’s (Las Vegas)—–1957
St. Joan of Arc (Las Vegas)—–1958
St. Teresa of Avila (Carson City)—–1958
St. Josephs (Elko)—–1960
Our Lady of the Snows(Reno)—-1961
St. John Vianney (Las Vegas)—–1963
St. John Bosco (Battle Mountain)—-1964
Leave of Absence—–1965
St. Francis de Sales(Las Vegas)—-1970
removed from ministry—–1974
St. Albert the Great (Reno)—–1953-1954
Our Lady of Perpetual Help(Hawthorne)—–1954
Bishop Manogue Catholic High School–1954-1962
Holy Family (Yerington)—–1962-1967
St. Christopher (Las Vegas)—–1968-1970
St. Therese of the Little Flower (Reno) 1970-1975
St. Bridget’s (Las Vegas)—–1975-1979
St. Peter the Apostle (Henderson)—–1964-1965
St. Joseph (Elko)—–1965-1968
Our Lady of Las Vegas (Las Vegas)—–1968-1968
Our Lady of the Snows(Reno)—–1968-1970
St. Thomas Aquinas (Wells)—–1970-1973
Sick Leave—–1973
Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Hawthorne)—–1973-1974
St. Therese of the LIttle Flower (Reno)—–1976-1977
St. Francis de Sales (Las Vegas)—–1978-1982
St. John Bosco (Battle Mountain)—–1982-1988
Retired—–1993
St. Joan of Arc (Las Vegas)—1940-1941
Our Lady of the Snows (Reno)—1942-1943
St. Josephs (Elko)–1943-1944
St. Brendans (Eureka)–1947-1948
Sacred Heart (Ely)–1951
Holy Family(Yerington)–1952-1958
St. Teresa of Avila (Carson City)—–1968-1971
St. John the Baptist (Lovelock)—–1971-1988
Our Lady of the Snows (Reno)—-1973-1973
St. Robert Bellarmine (Fernley)—–1971-1973
St. Patricks (Tonopah)—–1973
St. Mary’s (Virginia City)—–1974
Washoe Medical (Reno)—–1980
Holy Child (Caliente) —1955-1959
Robert Bowling
St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral (Reno)—–1971-1974
The Diocese of Reno is committed to the safety of our children and vulnerable adults.
We are in full compliance with the Dallas Charter and remain diligent in maintaining this compliance.
Through the "Protecting God's Children" program we train all adults who are employed as well as those who volunteer within our parishes and agencies who have contact with children. This training helps all to be more aware of how to protect children and vulnerable adults, and also the possible warning signs of abuse and neglect.
As well, each year all children within our Religious Education programs and within our schools are provided the opportunity to participate in Personal Safety.
Together, all of us working together, can help to create safe environments in our parish, schools, facilities and even beyond.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2679
|
__label__cc
| 0.636609
| 0.363391
|
Enviado por Avirup Sarkar
salvarSalvar QUADCOPTER para ler mais tarde
The Quadcopter Controller
Mechanical Model for Quadcopter UAV
Quadcopter Dynamics, Simulation, And Control
autonomus quadcopter
Quadrotor Bible
download quadcopter.pdf
Quadcopter Math Model (Amazing)
Quadcopter.pdf
Design and Manufacturing of Quadcopter
Quad Copter
ECE402 Quadcopter Final Paper
Quadcopter Full Control
QuadCopter Flight
Development of autonomous manoeuvres in a quadcopter
QuadCopter Workshop Proposal
Quadcopters Presentation
ArduCopterManual
First Semester Report Fall Semester 2011
- Full report
by Matt Parker Chris Robbiano Gerad Bottorff
Prepared to partially fulfill the requirements for ECE401
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
Project advisor: Bill Eads
The military use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has grown because of their ability to operate in dangerous locations while keeping their human operators at a safe distance. The larger UAVs also provide a reliable long duration, cost effective, platform for reconnaissance as well as weapons. They have grown to become an indispensable tool for the military. The question we posed for our project was whether small UAVs also had utility in military and commercial/industrial applications. We postulated that smaller UAVs can serve more tactical operations such as searching a village or a building for enemy positions. Smaller UAVs, on the order of a couple feet to a meter in size, should be able to handle military tactical operations as well as the emerging commercial and industrial applications and our project is attempting to validate this assumption. To validate this assumption, my team considered many different UAV designs before we settled on creating a Quadcopter. The payload of our Quadcopter design includes a camera and telemetry that will allow us to watch live video from the Quadcopter on a laptop that is located up to 2 miles away. We are presently in the final stages of building the Quadcopter but we still improving our design to allow us to have longer flight times and better maneuverability. We are currently experimenting with new software so that we will not have to control the Quadcopter with an RC controller but will instead operate by sending commands from a remote laptop. Our project has verified that it is possible to build a small-scale Quadcopter that could be used for both military and commercial use. Our most significant problems to date have been an ambitious development schedule coupled with very limited funds. These constraints have forced compromise in components selected and methods used for prototype development. Our teams Quadcopter prototype is a very limited version of what could be created in a production facility using more advanced technology. Currently our Quadcopter has achieved only tethered flight because it cannot maintain a stable position when flying. Our next step is to fix the software so that we can achieve controllable untethered flight. We are also working on integrating our own Graphical User Interface (GUI) which will allow us to have direct control over all systems. Although there are many enhancements that we could do to the design, we have proven that it is possible to produce a small scale UAV that performs functions of interest to the military as well as commercial/industrial applications.
Quadcopter .................................................................................................................................................... i Abstract: .................................................................................................................................................... ii List of Figures: ........................................................................................................................................... v List of Tables: ............................................................................................................................................ v Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2: UAV Background and Project Motivation ............................................................................... 3 Chapter 3: Quadcopter Technology .......................................................................................................... 6 3.1 Concept exploration:....................................................................................................................... 6 3.2 Flight Platform: ............................................................................................................................... 8 3.3 Payload Components: ................................................................................................................... 10 3.4 Graphical User Interface (GUI): ..................................................................................................... 12 3.4.1 Sensors Tab: ........................................................................................................................... 13 3.4.2 Mission Tab: ........................................................................................................................... 14 3.4.3 Navigation Tab: ...................................................................................................................... 14 3.4.4 Log Tab: .................................................................................................................................. 15 3.4.5 Manual Control Tab: .............................................................................................................. 15 Chapter 4: Progress ................................................................................................................................. 15 4.1 Progress to Date:........................................................................................................................... 15 4.2 Development Challenges: ............................................................................................................. 20 4.3 Current problems: ......................................................................................................................... 23 Chapter 5: Markets, Challenges Ahead, and Ethics ................................................................................ 24 5.1 Target Markets: ............................................................................................................................. 24 5.2 Challenges Ahead: ......................................................................................................................... 25 5.3 Ethics: ............................................................................................................................................ 27 Chapter 6: Conclusions and Future Work ............................................................................................... 28 6.1 Future work: .................................................................................................................................. 28 6.2 Future risks:................................................................................................................................... 29 6.3 Conclusion: .................................................................................................................................... 30 Appendix: ................................................................................................................................................ 31 UAVforge: ............................................................................................................................................ 31 Appendix A: ............................................................................................................................................. 33
Appendix B: ............................................................................................................................................. 33 Appendix C: ............................................................................................................................................. 34 Letter to Dan Ferguson, Agilent: ......................................................................................................... 34 Acknowledgements:................................................................................................................................ 36 References: ............................................................................................................................................. 37
List of Figures:
Figure 1: Global Hawk ................................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2: Micro Air Vehicle ............................................................................................................................ 4 Figure 3: Quadcopter .................................................................................................................................... 9 Figure 4: Remote Control ............................................................................................................................ 10 Figure 5: Linksprite JPEG Color Camera ...................................................................................................... 11 Figure 6: XBee -PRO module ....................................................................................................................... 12 Figure 7: Current GUI .................................................................................................................................. 14 Figure 8: Testing .......................................................................................................................................... 18 Figure 9: Indoor Tethered Flight ................................................................................................................. 19 Figure 10: Outdoor Tethered Flight ............................................................................................................ 20 Figure 11: First Test ..................................................................................................................................... 21 Figure 12: DARPA Competition ................................................................................................................... 31
List of Tables:
Table 1: Buget ............................................................................................................................................. 33
Chapter 1: Introduction
UAVs for military use were reduced to practice in the mid-1990s when the Global Hawk [1] and the Predator [2] were developed. These were very large fixed wing aircraft with wingspans in the 50 100 foot range. Payloads for these large UAVs included radar, laser designators, cameras, and missile systems. The introduction of these aircraft removed the pilots from harms way plus added the ability to remain in the target area for many hours at a time. These very successful UAVs represent a fundamental change in the way conflict is managed by the U.S. However, these UAVs are large and very expensive and they beg the question of whether smaller UAVs could also play a role in military applications. Likewise, on the other extreme, there is considerable work in micro UAVs some of which are bio-inspired designs. There are designs modeled after insects and birds, but just as the large military UAVs are too
expensive, we felt that these micro-UAVs were too small to be practical and required technology that was not readily available to a senior design project group. It was therefore a vehicle in the one foot
to one meter class size that caught our teams interest and is the basis for our project. Specifically, our team is very interested in whether these smaller UAVs can be used not only for military applications but also for commercial and industrial use. Although most of the large military UAVs are fixed wing aircraft, we felt that a small UAV should have greater maneuverability and versatility since it was likely to be useful for a broader range of applications than the larger or smaller versions. We were also motivated by the DARPA UAVforge [4] challenge which required a vertical takeoff UAV design. We selected the Quadcopter design because of its maneuverability, stability, and large payload capacity. The
UAV that we are building is a prototype unit that could be used for commercial use but is not rugged or robust enough for military use. Although we will meet the goal of producing a small UAV that could perform useful missions in both military and commercial arenas, time and funding constraints forced us to design a UAV to meet our functional requirements but not to meet harsh environmental conditions such as those encountered during military missions. However, our UAV design certainly could be re-implemented with newer and more robust technology which would allow it to be used for military functions. The Quadcopter configuration UAV will be capable of being remotely controlled to fly specific pre-determined missions. I plan to select a few mission scenarios, in conjunction with my faculty advisor, to show the range of control and monitoring capabilities of such a platform. Such missions might include inspection of a difficult to reach location, rapid deployment video from the location of a fictitious campus incident, or surveillance video from a pre-planned route around campus. As a stretch goal for my project, I will attempt autonomous flight where the UAV must, for example, avoid objects or sustain a flight path in the face of side winds. A scenario requiring autonomous flight would be a search and rescue situation where a building has collapsed and the search route is blocked by unknown objects that must be avoided during the search. This report is organized into chapters. Chapter 2 contains background on UAVs and motivation for our project. Chapter 3 contains the technical description of the system and subsystems with a discussion of design decisions. Chapter 4 provides a description of the work on this project to date with a discussion of progress, and problems encountered. Chapter 5 presents the target markets that we envision for the UAV, issues related to production for these
markets, as well as the ethical issues involved with developing military platforms. Chapter 6 includes the conclusions and future work.
Chapter 2: UAV Background and Project Motivation
UAVs for military use were reduced to practice in the mid-1990s with the High-Altitude Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrator (HAE UAV ACTD) program managed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office (DARO). [1] This ACTD laid the groundwork for the development of the Global Hawk
Figure 1: Global Hawk
shown in Figure (1). The Global Hawk flies at altitudes
up to 65,000 feet for up to 35 hours at speeds approaching 340 knots while costing approximately 200 million dollars. The wingspan is 116 feet and it can fly 12,000 nautical miles which is considerably greater than the distance from the U.S. to Australia. Global Hawk is designed to meet domestic needs including homeland security and has been demonstrated in drug interdiction. Global Hawks are also approved by the FAA to fly in U.S. airspace. Another very successful UAV is the Predator which was also created in the mid-1990s but has since been enhanced with Hellfire missiles. Named by Smithsonians Air & Space magazine as one of the top ten aircraft that changed the world, Predator is the most combatproven Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) in the world. [2] The original version of the Predator, built by General Atomics, can fly at 25,000 feet for 40 hours at a maximum airspeed of 120
knots. In addition to missiles, the Predator can carry cameras, high resolution all weather radar and laser designators. The Predator is a little smaller than the Global Hawk but still has a wingspan of 55 feet. At the very other extreme of size are the Micro Air
Vehicles (MAVs) which are an interesting research focus area. There are many designs, some of which are bio-inspired such
Figure 2: Micro Air Vehicle
as the flapping wing version shown in Figure (2). [3] This design is being developed in Germany at the Biomimetics-Innovation-Centre and is inspired by a bird called the swift. Micro air vehicles are also modeled after various insects and generally use exotic designs and materials and are physically small. Additionally, although this design claims to be able to glide, the erratic motion caused by flapping wings could make this a difficult platform to operate a camera from. Although the designs in this class of UAV are fascinating, our interest was in attempting to produce a small UAV which could support a broad mission capability and these MAVs were dismissed as being too small. In addition to reviewing very large and very small UAVs, we were also intrigued by the requirements of DARPAs UAVforge [4] competition which was posted around the time we started our project. The UAVforge challenge uses crowd sourcing techniques to design and build a micro-UAV that can take off vertically, go to a designated distant location, monitor the location for up to three hours, identify specific objects and then return home. We found this challenge interesting because, since it was a DARPA research project, it represented pushing
beyond the limits of what a small UAV had ever achieved. The requirement for vertical liftoff also aligned with our thinking about the optimum form factor for a small UAV. Many of the deployed UAVs are fixed wing aircraft; however, we were looking for something more versatile that we believed could be built in small scale. The Quadcopter, like other helicopter designs, is able to take off without a runway, take video from a fixed hovering position, and finally maneuver through tight spaces as required. The Quadcopter also provides a superior payload capacity when compared to the helicopter and is a more stable platform. Since the Quadcopter was a vertical liftoff design, it aligned well with both our team goals as well as the DARPA UAVforge goals and therefore it became our baseline form factor. In addition to the military uses of the small UAV, we were interested in evaluating applications in the commercial and industrial sector. Our premise was that if smaller and cheaper UAVs become readily available, new markets and uses will emerge. Potential new markets in commercial and industrial applications include inspecting pipelines or even inspecting dangerous areas like a meltdown site at a nuclear power plant. Disaster relief or crop assessment seems also to be likely areas where small UAVs could be useful. We were also motivated by on-campus uses such as monitoring parking or quick-look video of an incident, or monitoring hard to reach locations, or exploration of a collapsed building or other dangerous location. The state of the art in small UAVs seems to be a few hand launched vehicles used by the military which are far too expensive to be of interest to our project and the amateur community represented by the DIYdrones [5] website. This community is dedicated to open source development and distribution of information and technology related to UAVs. They
have developed control modules, software, and various sensors that can be mixed-andmatched to build a low cost UAV. They also produce a low cost rudimentary Quadcopter system that is available for purchase. The existence of this resource makes a Quadcopter senior project feasible because some of the component parts can be reused instead of reinvented. It would not be feasible for a small three person team to create all the technology required for a Quadcopter for a very limited budget and compressed time schedule. From the perspective of our senior project, DIYdrones provides components for a quick baseline implementation that will allow us to focus on the problems of flight stability, payload management, and mission applications with more resources than if we had to reinvent the base technology. The DIYdrones components are also most importantly very low cost when compared to military alternatives and they are well documented and understood. For all these reasons, we decided to take the DARPA UAVforge as the starting point for performance metrics and the DIYdrones components as the baseline design and then test our hypothesis from that starting point.
Chapter 3: Quadcopter Technology
3.1 Concept exploration:
After deciding to create the Quadcopter, we had to decide what electronics to use and which sensors we would incorporate into it. After a lot of research on the web, we found a couple forums that discussed open source electronic and software components suitable for making a Quadcopter. Also, very basic but highly customizable Quadcopter bodies were available that were suitable for us to use to create our baseline system. The DIYdrones forum provided good information on what was being done in the amateur drone community and
provided important information on what would be possible for us to use for our project. Motivated by the UAVforge challenge, we believed that the Quadcopter would be a good design starting point since it could lift off vertically, travel some distance to a specific location, record video of an object, hover if necessary, and return home upon completion. This scenario led us to the conclusion that we would need sensors including gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, GPS, and a battery monitor. We would also need payload components including a camera and a telemetry system to send imagery back to the liftoff site. Furthermore, we would need a control mechanism that would allow flight beyond the line of sight since that was also a requirement. We thought of two approaches for control beyond the line of sight. One was to use the camera and video to allow us to view the flight path from the Quadcopter point of view while guiding it with an RC controller. Second, a more ambitious approach would be to use onboard GPS and guidance and a waypoint system to send commands to the Quadcopter via the telemetry link which the Quadcopter would execute autonomously. We decided to attempt the second goal as a stretch goal for our project. At this point in the design process, we believed that it would be possible to perform most of the maneuvers and tasks required by the UAVforge challenge but we had no idea if the components we would be able to assemble would meet the performance requirements. We also had to realistically scope our project given a very small budget, a small team, and a limited amount of time to complete. We therefore decided to leverage as many commercial components as possible, get a baseline system working as quickly as possible and then focus on problems we encountered in the areas of payload design, body design, system integration, and mission evaluation.
3.2 Flight Platform:
At the start of the summer, Gerad and I began to build the Quadcopter. We started by researching many different types of Quadcopter platforms and looking at current frames in use. We decided that we would use a commercial frame and then build around it with the electronics that we wanted. With the frame, we also got the motors and propellers. These components determined how much room I had for the electronics as well as how much weight I could put on the helicopter and still have lift. The next thing we chose was the microcontroller which was an open source Arduino board which allowed us to put our own software on it. In addition to a microcontroller, we chose a sensor board called the IMU Shield. This board included all of the major sensors that we would need to achieve flight. On the IMU Shield board there is a gyroscope, barometer, compass, and accelerometer which all need to work together to make sure the Quadcopter maintains stable flight while moving or hovering. Finally we purchased a Lithium-ion polymer (Lipo) battery because they have the best ratio of weight to power. The particular battery we chose has been sufficient to complete the design, assembly, and testing of the Quadcopter systems and our experiments have shown that since we have plenty of thrust we can chose a larger battery for our mission flights to improve the flight time. Figure (3) shows the final product of our Quadcopter system.
Figure 3: Quadcopter
We also had to provide a way to control the Quadcopter from the ground. We decided to use an RC controller which is displayed in Figure (4) below. We bought the Futaba 6EX series which has 6 channels and runs at 2.4 GHz. Currently we are using 4 channels for up/down movement, pivot, left/right, and finally forward/backwards. We also can program the other two channels to perform functions such as altitude hold, a takeoff command or control the payload.
Figure 4: Remote Control
3.3 Payload Components:
The camera which provides surveillance capability for the Quadcopter is a Linksprite JPEG color camera that employs a transistor-transistor-level (TTL) logic signal. The camera has the ability to display a series of images through a serial communication output as well as 30 frames per second (fps) National Television System Committee (NTSC) formatted output. All of the sensors and electronic hardware used in this project communicate over a TTL serial connection, including the wireless telemetry module we are using. The ability to integrate the video over the serial connection seamlessly was the main reason that we chose this camera. Other reasons included the fact that it operated from a 5 V power supply, just like the rest of our sensors, and that the power consumption was low at less than 100 mA. The camera has the ability to capture VGA, QVGA, and QQVGA picture formats as well as allow the image to be
compressed with various degrees of compression. This allowed us to shrink the image file size to under 30 kb per image frame which is small enough to allow us to reach a frame rate of about 2.5 fps while transmitting at 115200 bps. This frame rate should be sufficient to guide navigation or to perform surveillance. An image of the camera can be seen in Figure (5). [7] The camera is controlled by the Arduino processor board. A series of hex commands are sent to the camera from the Arduino to initialize and then start a series of image collects. The images are sent from the camera serially in hex format to the Arduino and then transmitted via the XBeePRO telemetry modules to the ground-based computer for processing.
Figure 5: Linksprite JPEG Color Camera
The XBee-PRO telemetry module is the second payload function on the Quadcopter today. A telemetry module was needed In order to control the Quadcopter from a distance without the use of an RC transmitter. It was also needed to communicate payload camera images back to the ground control computer. The module we chose for the project is a 900Mhz XBee-PRO XBP09. The XBee-PRO modules are capable of deploying point-to-point, peer-topeer and point-to-multipoint networks. Designed for maximum range, the XBee-PRO is ideal for
solutions where RF penetration and absolute transmission distance are paramount to the application. [8] In our setup we use two of the modules. One is connected to the Arduino processor board on the Quadcopter while the other one is connected to a computer on the ground and together they allow communication between the GUI that we are developing on the computer and the Arduino board. The XBee-PRO communicates with the computer serially, through a virtual com port at a baud rate of 57600. An image of the XBee-PRO module can be seen in Figure (6). [9]
Figure 6: XBee -PRO module
3.4 Graphical User Interface (GUI):
The GUI that we will eventually be using to control flight of the Quadcopter is currently under development. It will be comprised of different tabs all having a specific purpose for the project. It was decided by the team to create a custom GUI so that we could tailor it to our specific environment and needs.
The GUI, shown in figure (7), is comprised of two areas which are the toolbar at the top which will not change and the tab bar which will allow the operator to switch which information he will be viewing. The tool bar at the top of the program will have various status indicators such as a battery level, distance from the base station, signal strength of the XBee system and GPS Lock. As all of these indicators are highly important, so this toolbar will be available at all times during execution time of the GUI. The tabs each have a specific purpose for the project. The tabs were designed to be independent from one another and with different purposes in mind.
3.4.1 Sensors Tab:
This tab was the first to be designed and plays a key role in the setup process of the Quadcopter in that it will be used to upload firmware to the Arduino and calibrate the sensors to set zero. Also in this tab we will be able to see the current status of the sensors in near real time and determine if any one part is not working properly.
Figure 7: Current GUI 3.4.2 Mission Tab:
The mission tab is one of the most important parts of this program. It is here a user will be able to see the current position of the Quadcopter on a map and also plan out a mission. The user will accomplish this by using waypoints which will be translated into GPS coordinates which will be sent to the Arduino. Upon the start of the mission, the Quadcopter will go to the desired waypoint and complete a task that has been scheduled for that particular point. When complete, if there are more waypoints, the UAV will move on to those or finally come back to the base station.
3.4.3 Navigation Tab:
The navigation tab will play a key role in watching the Quadcopter as it completes missions. In the navigation tab we will be able to see the current position of the copter on top of a map, a live camera feed and the current pitch, yaw, and roll of the Quadcopter.
3.4.4 Log Tab:
The log tab will have the important job of displaying the after-flight logs. It will be able to show the data that was obtained by the onboard logs collected during the flight as well as the flight course on a map.
3.4.5 Manual Control Tab:
In the manual control tab, the operator will be able to take control of the Quadcopter remotely and use the keyboard to control the elevation and position of the copter. This will be the most functional tab for watching the copter in flight as it will have the ability to show video as well as give various commands to the copter including takeoff and land.
Chapter 4: Progress
4.1 Progress to Date:
Our needs analysis determined that we had to design a UAV that had a battery that lasted for an extended period of time, could fly up to two miles, and was able to take surveillance for extended periods of time. After we began the design phase and factored in the constraints of time and budget however, we realized that we would not be able to afford the right technology to achieve the goals of this competition. Although the individual tasks of the competition like vertical take-off and flying two miles seemed feasible with the technology that was within out project constraints, the combined mission was not practical. The endurance was the limiting factor because available battery power compared to the rate of consumption of our motors and electronics limited the expected duration to something on the order of 15 minutes. So, at this point in the project we decided to drop out of the competition but decided to keep
the same types of goals at a reduced scale. Our revised goals became a small UAV that would operate for up to a half hour, fly up to two miles, and include a camera payload so we could capture video of targets. With our new and more realistic project goals we began the project last summer before the fall semester to get a head start on the baseline platform. Gerad a teammate, and I did all the background research for what type of UAV we would develop then we found the parts we needed to build the baseline. We ordered parts from many different companies, physically built the Quadcopter frame and put together main electronics that contained the sensors that the Quadcopter would need to fly. We had to solder all the electronics together as well as produce a power distribution board that would power the entire Quadcopter. We explored forums on the Internet where other groups were using similar components of other projects. With the help of this information we were able to get our basic systems including the distribution of power working correctly. Since our team ordered parts from many different companies, one of our main challenges was integrating all the parts to work together. Our first challenge was figuring out where to fit everything on the frame we had bought. The frame came with generic mounting shelves in the central body which allowed us enough room to mount all of our electronics. However, since the shelves were not designed to mount our specific components, mounting and cable management were a significant problem. We have approached this problem by zip tying all the electronics down as well as their wires to make it a little cleaner. At the end of the summer we did not have all electronics working on the Quadcopter perfectly, but we were able to get some basic software loaded onto our main control board. With this basic software on the board, we were able to communicate with the Quadcopter
through a command prompt interface. This allowed us to calibrate sensors, motors, and Electronic Speed Controls (ESCs). The summer ended with a test flight of the Quadcopter with not all of the electronics working correctly. The Quadcopter never left the ground and immediately flipped over and snapped the protective case around the GPS. At the start of this fall semester, we therefore began with a long list of problems with the Quadcopter from the summer. Our problems included broken blades, gyroscope not working, battery monitor not working, telemetry not working, and compass not working. Broken blades meant I would have to order new ones from a company in Thailand which would take three weeks to receive. The sensors including gyroscope, battery monitor, and compass were all not working at the beginning of the semester so we had to figure out why those werent working. Finally the telemetry was not installed because it was not ordered during the summer with the other electronics. We had just ordered the telemetry at the end of the summer so when we got it, it needed to be built and integrated into the Quadcopter. After the many problems that we had, we wanted to begin testing under more controlled environments. The first test we did was far from controlled as you could see in Figure (11). We had to come up with a better way to test the individual components including sensors and then move on to test flight. For the sensor testing we removed both the control board and the sensor we wanted to work with and hooked them into a computer to make sure the output data was correct. When we were sure that the data was correct, we placed each sensor back on the Quadcopter and hooked that up to the computer. Finally, with the individual components functioning we moved on to flight tests. Our first test required Gerad to hold the Quadcopter over his head while I ran the throttle up for liftoff. By moving the copter around we
were able to monitor sensor data and make sure that it had sufficient thrust and level flight so that when released it would actually fly. This method of testing can be seen below in Figure (8).
Figure 8: Early Flight Test
Although our flight is now more stable than before, we are still in the phase of tethered flight as we continue to work flight stability issues. However, we have replaced Gerad by tying the Quadcopter to a table inside so that it is not being affected by outside weather. The Quadcopter flying while tethered can be seen in Figure (9).
Figure 9: Indoor Tethered Flight
We allow the Quadcopter to lift a couple of inches off the ground but without enough slack to tip enough to break the blades. We continue to do testing this way to make sure that all the sensors will work during flight. We currently are seeing that one of the wings is dipped which will cause the copter to drift in that direction instead of hovering. We have also attempted an outdoor tethered flight where we provided a 5 foot slack line. This outdoor tethered flight can be seen in Figure (10). This test was successful but again it drifted to one side so we will have to fix that before we can do untethered flights.
Figure 10: Outdoor Tethered Flight
In addition to flight testing, payload integration also began this fall semester with the delivery of the telemetry component and the camera. Each of these electronics components had to be connected into the main board so that the program contained there could use them. Our Arduino board had a few extra serial connections which allowed us to connect the sensors. We just got the telemetry and sonar to work correctly through two of the serial connections on the board. Currently we are working on getting the camera to work through another one of the serial connections. The biggest problems we encountered are discussed in the next section.
4.2 Development Challenges:
Although we have encountered many difficulties during this project, we have fixed most of them. The big difficulties we have had include the gyroscope not responding, telemetry not working, random power failures, and finally radio control not working correctly.
The gyroscope was probably our biggest problem; the helicopter would not receive data from the gyroscope fast enough for it to compensate for the slight differences in motor speeds that resulted in non-level flight. During takeoff there is always one motor that spins faster than the others which causes the Quadcopter to tilt. When the Quadcopter tilts, the gyroscope is supposed to sense the tilt and signal the computer to slow down that motor while speeding up the opposite side motor to make the Quadcopter level. This tilt problem is apparent in Figure [11] shown below. We discovered that the Gyroscope was getting powered incorrectly and would not work if power cables were connected in a certain sequence. We remedy this by plugging in the battery monitor first and then plugging in the battery itself.
Figure 11: First Test
Earlier in the development process, when we had just finished putting together all the basic electronics, we were having random power failures throughout the entire Quadcopter.
This was worrying us because it could have meant that one of the components on the main boards had failed which would be very expensive to fix. We finally discovered it was a loose connection on a power distribution board that just needed to be re-soldered. We were delighted to discover this simple fix and fortunate that there were no damaged components. With the power distribution problem solved, we began to try to communicate with the Quadcopter from an RC controller radio. Initially, we had trouble getting our radio to communicate with the Quadcopter correctly. First, our throttle was set in the reverse direction so pushing up on the throttle would mean that the motors would power down. This problem was easy to fix because the radio provided a polarity switch for this purpose. We also had problems with the motors not spinning up until the throttle was advanced 2/3 of the way. This offset meant that only a tiny movement in the throttle would have a big effect on the motor speed. This also meant that when the motors started, they started very fast and the helicopter would jump into the air without any control. We were able to remedy this problem also through control settings on the radio where we were able to scale the throttle. We had to set the minimum throttle to about 45% and the max throttle to 100%. This gave us a lot larger range of throttle which allowed for a more controlled take off and better control of the Quadcopter. Our most recent problem was the telemetry not working at all. We attempted to test the individual components to make sure the right software was loaded on the modules, but we could not communicate with the boards. We figured out that I had soldered the Xbee module incorrectly which caused it not to work. We had to strip the module connector, order new pins, and re-solder the chip. After the re-soldering, we were able to communicate with each board.
We just recently hooked up one Xbee to a computer and the other to the Quadcopter and were able to receive data wirelessly. We have had many problems with the Quadcopter but that is to be expected during a project like this. We are very lucky that we have been able to figure out and fix all of these problems allowing us to continue our work and get closer to a final project demo that will be presented at the end of May.
4.3 Current problems:
At the moment we have only a few unresolved problems. The main one is that the Quadcopter will not liftoff in level flight. We have done some testing and have determined that non-level liftoff occurs when the throttle is not advanced to the maximum. The liftoff seems to be more level when the throttle is set to maximum but with maximum throttle the Quadcopter leaps into the air so quickly that it is difficult to control. We are working and researching on how to fix it so that it will try to self- level at any throttle setting. At the moment we think the problem might be the communication between the motor, the ESC, and the board not sending the right information. The software algorithm may also be a factor in this instability problem, so we are looking into software solutions as well. The only other difficulty we are currently experiencing is creating our GUI. Our GUI is going to have a lot of functions as explained above and the problem we are facing is integrating all those functions in one place. Currently we do not have a lot of documentation on integrating outside open source programs like the Google maps API which would allow us to use their
satellite images for determining a route. This is an ongoing challenge but it is not presently in the critical path of our project. In summary, there are few current problems that we are all working on as a team but there appear to be no show stoppers. We also know that there will continue to be unanticipated problems and obstacles between now and our May demo.
Chapter 5: Markets, Challenges Ahead, and Ethics
5.1 Target Markets:
The Quadcopter is proving to be a versatile tool that appears likely to support a number of markets and missions. Military missions, of course, are beyond the scope of our current project so we evaluated potential missions in the commercial and industrial sector that would be appropriate for the Quadcopter that we are building. For example, we were thinking that the local police here on campus that have to spend many hours looking at parking permits on cars could send the helicopter out to fly down the car line and allow an operator to watch the onboard camera to see the permits. This would cut down on man hours as well as not wasting gas by driving around to inspect cars. Additionally, the Quadcopter could be used during a campus incident to assess a dangerous situation without putting officers or first responders in harms way. Other ideas include inspecting a pipeline. Our Quadcopter would easily fly down a pipeline and allow an operator to watch the onboard camera and check for problems in the pipeline. Pipelines often pass through rugged terrain with very poor roads and using a Quadcopter would mean they wouldnt have to drive the entire route. They should be able to
fly down the pipeline a lot faster and also they would be able to maneuver the Quadcopter when they needed to inspect a certain area in closer detail or even from other angles. It might also be possible to fly an infrared imager on the Quadcopter to look for areas of different temperature which might indicate a spill or a weakness in the pipeline. During the recent week of presentations, we were also approached by someone who worked with Xcel Energy. He had seen us demonstrate the Quadcopter and he had mentioned that the Quadcopter would be very helpful for the company. We learned that they have to inspect the power transmission lines on a regular basis which takes a lot of man hours. They would use our technology by flying the Quadcopter down the power line while video recording the flight so an operator can go over the footage to make sure there are no problems. This was a neat idea because there are many power lines all over the United States and it must cost a lot of money just to inspect them. Also, this is a great application because the lines are difficult to access and they are dangerous for humans to approach. So, even though we did not get to compete in the UAVforge competition with DARPA, we still know that there are many interesting uses for this technology.
5.2 Challenges Ahead:
The identified challenges that we have ahead include increasing battery life, integrating the hardware into our new GUI, and getting everything to work together correctly for flight. For the battery life challenge, we will be looking at alternative larger capacity batteries so we will have a longer sustained flight. Fortunately, this relatively simple solution is feasible because our experimental results so far indicate that we have plenty of thrust and can accommodate the
added weight of a high capacity battery. Our fallback is to keep the battery we have and demo the Quadcopter with a shorter flight time. The GUI development challenge is mostly a matter of resources. The coding of the GUI is mostly being done by Gerad but I will be assisting him when he needs it. Coding the GUI and integrating the hardware into the GUI is going to be difficult. The way we will approach this is by integrating one sensor at a time and we will use references from other projects to help us. Trying to get everything to work correctly at the same time to sustain a flight is the grand challenge and will not happen until we are able to get everything to work on its own correctly. This will be one of the most difficult parts of the flying the Quadcopter because so many little things can go wrong. If any one thing goes wrong on the Quadcopter, it will cause it to malfunction and most likely crash. Our fallback for GUI development is to drop some features if we believe that the resource limitations are going to prevent us from completing this task. Although production is beyond the scope of our current project, there are several challenges that would be faced by someone wishing to produce the Quadcopter. Our prototype is an evolving project consisting of components and subsystems from many different sources tied together in a manner sufficient for demonstration of concept mission support. Basic electronics subsystems could be built and delivered in large quantity but the Quadcopter would have to be redesigned to accommodate rapid assembly and test, and better sensor payload interfaces would have to be created to make customization easier. Also, the UAV technology base is rapidly changing because of the significant interest in this field. This rate of change results in rapid component obsolescence and makes technology freezes difficult.
However, at least for the challenges we have identified for ourselves, I believe that we are well prepared to get through them. We are also aware that anything can go wrong and that we will have to use our resources wisely to get through them to our final goal of a flying Quadcopter that can perform missions.
5.3 Ethics:
Ethics is becoming a more important aspect of engineering as research moves closer to impacting humans in fundamentally new ways, such as genetic engineering of crops or human organs. The National Academy of Engineering maintains a website [10] for the discussion of ethics issues related to engineering. Topics like energy, climate, and synthetic biology all receive significant attention since they are topics where ethics guidelines are being formulated. There are also codes of ethics for performing research which apply to all engineering projects and disciplines. Our specific project on UAV design is not at the center of any of the current ethics controversies but two potential issues come to mind. Both cases involve the use of UAVs and not the design itself. The first issue is a privacy issue. As the number of sensors and sensor platforms increases, citizens are concerned about their privacy rights. UAVs, including the ones we are constructing, could certainly be used to invade the privacy of individuals by tapping into phone conversations or video recording. We are specifically building a platform that can be used for many applications and as such we believe that any ethical concerns lie with those who might
apply a UAV in such a way that it violates privacy. There is nothing specific in the design that either enables or inhibits that use. The second issue relates to the use of a UAV as a weapons platform. There are certainly legitimate ethical discussions about this topic. The UAV we are building could not be used for such a purpose although it might be conceivable that a small UAV could be designed to carry a small weapon. Again, this ethical issue rests with others who might try to create such a weapons platform.
Chapter 6: Conclusions and Future Work
6.1 Future work:
This coming semester is going to be filled with many tasks our team still needs to accomplish before Engineering Day in May. We will want to complete the coding and integration of the GUI so that we can achieve full control with a computer rather than an RC control. We will be working on optimizing power consumption as well as looking at alternatives to the current battery system that we are using now. One of the biggest steps we will have this coming semester is getting a completely stabilized flight that will allow the Quadcopter to hover untethered in a single location. With the stabilized flight, we will also be working on getting untethered flight around a local area like the park nearby. The next step after untethered flight in a local area is to give it remote way points where it will have to go on its own to a location and come back. Once we have achieved the ability of the Quadcopter to reach a target location and then return home, we will be almost completely done with this project. We will also be
researching alternative bodies that we can use to protect our Quadcopter as well as looking at upgraded hardware if we receive donations from outside sources. There are certainly a lot of tasks remaining but we will be prepared and on schedule to show a demonstration of this project in May.
6.2 Future risks:
Future risks are a great concern for our team because we want to make sure we are done by the end of next semester. We have to anticipate problems and dedicate time in the schedule to make sure we can resolve unanticipated problems. One future problem discussed in the Challenges section is the integration between the GUI and the Quadcopter. The GUI will be running everything from sensor calibration and logs of flight data to manual control of the helicopter. We will mitigate this risk by software module re-use and by being flexible in the number of features we support in the GUI as time constrains us. The only other risk that we have thought of is pushing the Quadcopter beyond its limits without having a failsafe function. An example of this risk is failing to notice that there is insufficient battery life to safely complete a mission, resulting in the Quadcopter being in the air when all systems shut down. The Quadcopter will then fall to the ground, and most likely break. We also have to watch out for weather conditions as well as altitude ceiling to prevent similar destructive results. We have not begun to design fail safes but we do plan on including features that will try to predict as many different risk factors as we can think of and design the Quadcopter to auto respond appropriately, such as make a decision to land safely to the ground.
There is also the risk with any UAV of losing the control link to the aircraft. Witness the recent problem of the U.S. stealth drone losing communication and crashing in Iran. Our approach to this particular risk is to monitor the control link and have the copter either land or return home if the link is broken
6.3 Conclusion:
The project is presently in the final design stages and we have completed several tethered test flights. We have resolved several issues encountered in this project to date, and we continue to work on outstanding issues. Although a lot of work remains, we continue to be optimistic that we will complete the project on schedule. When the basic flight control systems are complete, the Quadcopter will be ready for experimental missions. At that point the project could go in a variety of directions since the platform seems to be as flexible as we initially intended. As a team, we can completely change what function it performs and we are able to integrate any technology that would prove to be useful. This project will clearly demonstrate the goals of proving that small scale UAVs are useful across a broad range of applications.
UAVforge:
Details of the UAVforge provided below are copied from the UAVforge website. The two figures below shown a concept drawing of the proposed challenge course as well as a summary of the performance requirements for the competition.
Figure 12: DARPA Competition
Appendix A:
1. UAV (Unmanned Ariel Vehicle) 2. GUI (Graphical User Interface) 3. HAE UAV ACTD ( High altitude Endurance Unmanned Ariel Vehicle Advance Concept Technology Demonstrator) 4. DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) 5. DARO (Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office) 6. UAS (Unmanned Ariel System) 7. DIY (Do It Yourself) 8. GPS (Global Positioning System) 9. IMU(Inertial Measurement Unit) 10. TTL (Transistor Transistor Level) 11. NTSC (National Television System Committee) 12. FPS (Frames Per Second) 13. BPS (Bits Per Second) 14. ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) 15. Lipo (Lithium ion Polymer)
Appendix B:
Table 1: Buget
object futaba 6 channel 2.4GHz transmitter and reciever battery charger and balancing board cost 199.99 89.99 5.95 Double sided tape (vibration) Soldering tip (1/64) solder electrical tape x 10 header female 08POS .1" 1x20 right Angle Pin headers 3x8 right angle pin headers 2x arms for the body 2x propeller set 4x motor ESC (power the motors) Xbee Telemetry kit Full ArduPilot Mega kit Lipo battery 2200 MAH 2.89 6.45 2.89 2.19 12 1 1.99 9 12 72 72 150 250 22.88 reason to control the heli this charges the battery and makes sure the cells are charged at the same rate (battery last longer) connector for the battery to the power distribution board this was put on the bottom of the board to help prevent vibration needed a lot finer tip in order to do the soldering on the board needed solder for wires that the rubber could not cover
2x4 wood Dean connectors (male) gps soldering iron servo leads (longer cables) 2S-3S camera 1x motor 1x ESC 2X propeller 6X propeller sonar / propellers cables Total cost so far
6.06 3.75 29.99 149.99 5.9 5.39 54.96 18 18 12 45 80 7 1349.26
needed wood to solder the button connectors correctly
spare parts to get battery level prediction working to have a camera.....
We planned a budget of 1000.00 dollars when we started. We have gone past this as you can see in table 1. We received a 100 dollar donation from Dan Ferguson at Agilent. We have paid for 1049.26 on our own, 200 from the ECE department and 100 from Agilent. We have had to order all these parts from Thailand which incurred many shipping costs. All of our costs are included above in the table.
Appendix C:
Letter to Dan Ferguson, Agilent:
Dan Ferguson Agilent Technologies
QuadCopter Team: Matt Parker, Gerad Bottorff, Christopher Robbiano Supervisor: Bill Eads
http://www.engr.colostate.edu/ece-sr-design/AY11/quadcopter/index.shtml We are a senior design team at Colorado State University in the Electrical Engineering department. We are under the tutelage of Professor Bill Eads for the development and construction of an Unmanned Aerial Quadcopter (UAQ). Our team is comprised of three members. Matt Parker, a senior in Electrical Engineering is the team leader and responsible for all of the physical hardware that resides on the UAQ. Gerad Bottorff, a junior in Computer Science is in charge programming the firmware for the UAQ. Christopher Robbiano, a senior double majoring in Electrical Engineering and Physics is in charge of the wireless video and communications systems. The final goals of the UAQ are autonomous flight, waypoint missions and video surveillance up to two miles. A practical application for our UAQ would be the inspection of remote locations, such as a tall rooftop or pipeline, to prevent human endangerment. There are a number of components/sensors that send signals to the UAQs onboard microcontroller, which processes these signals and controls the motors appropriately. The sensors include two accelerometers, two gyroscopes, a barometer, a
compass and the electronic speed controllers (ESC). The UAQ has attained tethered level flight that lasts for a maximum of five minutes. Each week the team spends a minimum of 18 hours on the project. This includes performing test flights, writing software to integrate all of the hardware together as well as testing the wireless communications system. We have spent $1300 on this project from personal funding but to achieve our end goals we need additional funding of $800. This would include the following: Carbon fiber shell Sonar Spare parts (props, motors, screws, servos, etc) Battery Foam for body Camera mount IR Camera $200 $150 $100 $100 $100 $50 $100 Total: $800 This money would be used to purchase the items listed above and used in the following manner. The carbon fiber will be shaped around the foam to create a rigid, but light weight body that will allow us to keep all of the electronics contained. Sonar will assist with obstacle avoidance during autonomous flight. Spare parts will be used in testing and as replacements for broken parts. A larger battery will provide the UAQ with a longer sustained flight time and additional power for the video surveillance system. We will use servos to control a camera mount which will provide us with the ability to change the camera viewing angle and direction, allowing focus to maintain on target while the UAQ moves. We appreciate that you have considered us for a donation, and would like to thank you for spending the time reading our inquiry. We look forward to hearing from you.
Regards, Matt Parker Gerad Bottorf Christopher Robbiano
We would like to thank Bob Parker for most of the funding. We would like to thank Dan Ferguson for donating some money towards our project. We would like to thank the ECE department for their contributions. We would like to thank Bill Eads for accepting to advisor our project. We would like to thank those who have shown support for our project.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. http://www.as.northropgrumman.com/products/ghrq4a/index.html http://www.ga-asi.com/products/aircraft/predator.php http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110701203725.htm http://www.uavforge.net/ http://diydrones.com/ http://www.helikraft-rchelicopters.com/store/1909/futaba/6ex-2-4g-airp-heli-radio-set-noservo-with-r617fs-6ex-ss.html (picture of RC controller) http://dlnmh9ip6v2uc.cloudfront.net/images/products/10061-01b_i_ma.jpg http://www.digi.com/products/wireless-wired-embedded-solutions/zigbee-rf-modules/pointmultipoint-rfmodules/xbee-pro-xsc#overview http://www.iflyrc.com.au/images/xbee%20900.jpg http://www.onlineethics.org
Quadrotor
Veículo Aéreo Não Tripulado
General Atomics MQ-1 Predator
Documentos semelhantes a QUADCOPTER
Orhan Karakoçoğlu
matteoragni
Fajar Prima
Boppudi Sasi Bindu
Sumit Dhall
ankush2020
Ola Fonda
Joseph Oberholtzer
abhiarora4
Debashish Behera
Edwin Joshua Samuel
noumanscorpion
Sandeepsrivatsa
asso2412
marcsure
Vignesh Meganathan
nkhilwani007
ManikVerma
George Echeverria
Bashish2711
Quad Copter Simulink Paper
Nguyễn Thành Trung
Synopsis Quadcopter
NamithaMahale
Quadcopter Flight Dynamics
Honest meena
Quadcopter Project Proposal
Draculag
BE - Thesis of UAV-Quad Copter
Tehseenakhtar
Wireless Control Quadcopter
Kishore Singh
Mndrive Kumar
Francis Dominic
DESIGN AND CFD ANALYSIS OF AN AMPHIBIOUS QUADCOPTER
Sruthi Sadanandan
Mais de Avirup Sarkar
GATE-Mathematics-K Manikantta Reddy (gate2016.info).pdf
Avirup Sarkar
How We Hear - Acoustics Listening Measurement
avalon_moon
AVR Micro Controller) - An Introductory Course - J. Morton (Newnes, 2002) WW
Populares em Software
Rama Chandra Rao _ITIL.docx
santuchetu
WARP3UG
Matija Turcic
Adjust 1
raju221756_843567682
Torque Sensor - Series2000.pdf
Stephen Bridges
Ян Вантомм - Processing 2 креативное программирование - 2012.pdf
MBA-Ds
jaidhillon
Grids and Datums_Photogrammetric Engg & Remote Sensing
Mil Std 961e
designbase
CD20 Serial Control Rev4
80quattro
Arnel Dodong
Guide to Astromapping.pdf
Rashard Dyess-Lane
Ms Bi [PDF Library]
Sudith Paladugu
FortiOS Handbook - ver.5.0
Baker221
4AA0-8465ENW
Victor David Montañez
Docfoc.com-Xubuntu With a _pure_ Debian Base From Scratch
Franco Cárdenas
Subscriber Controlled Input via Internet
Thanh le Van
MBA BI subjects
Manjula.bs
Banyugea
Trac Wiki Formatting Cheat Sheet Raw
RhysU
Stored Procedures
swaroop24x7
Gambit Combustor Tutorial
Hari Krishna Nagisetty
STM32 F-4 Series Marketing Presentation Customer Presentation
trlp1712
2gcs304019a0070 Pqf Pamphlet
Anil Joshi
ss66m6
Programming language concepts definations
Suchindra Palem
9781783559886_Mastering_Adobe_Captivate_7_Sample_Chapter
Vignette Dialog Product Datasheet
vignettecorp
CSCU Module 04 Data Encryption.pdf
Sandeep Roy
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2681
|
__label__wiki
| 0.524324
| 0.524324
|
Medical council appeal posthumous death warrant!
A while ago, I wrote about a bizarre set of circumstances that led to a ruling which authorised what otherwise would be the murder of a supposedly dying cancer patient, a Robert Stransham-Ford. Capetonian advocate, Stransham-Ford, in a further turn of fate, was quite dead as the Pretoria based judge read out the verdict.
I referenced a case in the British commonwealth, where a court authorised the killing of a Siamese twin, to save the life of its equally young sibling, and where the court also sought to claim it was not creating a precedent. I thought the Pretoria Euthanasia ruling might not protect any doctor involved from actual prosecution, due to a concept known to lawyers as ripeness.
The court in the British case was the highest in the land, and it had the necessary constitutional authority to make the decision it had, to authorise a medical operation which would save one life and end another. In any case, the court specifically stated that it was not setting a precedent, and the death of the Siamese twin was never prosecuted.
The primary problem for me, with the current euthanasia ruling, lay in the court pre-judging a matter which was not yet ripe for trial, in that the killing had not yet taken place. I have little trouble with a court in a criminal matter developing our case law to allow euthanasia, after a killing has occurred, assuming it has enough authority to overturn the accepted practice of dealing with euthanasia in sentencing but still convicting of murder. This case however does not involve facts already at play, but facts which would not happen without the warrant to break with the current standing decisions of the South African courts, and to kill, issued by the court.
Any law student will be taught in Constitutional Law that the courts cannot be allowed to decide on matters that are as yet merely theoretical, and not yet arrived upon. My Constitutional law lecturer, was quite the activist type, he used to say that if you wanted a law changed, you should find someone prepared to break it, and defend them after the fact. The courts only have jurisdiction over matters which are already pressing, that is to say, over ripe matters. The judiciary furthermore, do not have jurisdiction over matters which are moot, that is, matters which their rulings will no longer affect.
The place of the courts, where there is established law, is reactive. It is not the place of the courts to judge matters which have not yet occurred. Were this not the case, I could at this moment ask the courts to decide the fate of the famed cannibals of the future: the Speluncean Explorers. They certainly can rule that certain laws are unconstitutional, but were the high court to do so, for instance, where a statute infringes on the constitution, it would need the endorsement of the Constitutional Court to back up its decision. Courts can also issue declarations on the law, or interdicts in accordance with it, but they cannot authorise its breaking ahead of time without invalidating the law for the rest of us. Even the law involving criminal informants who break minor laws, is heavily regulated by case law. In effect, the decision, by basing itself on facts as yet to occur, and contradicting set criminal law, was in danger of pre-empting a criminal law case, and one, what is more, likely in a different territorial jurisdiction.
One cannot imagine the nightmarish predicament the judge adjudicating a murder trial would find themselves in, had another judge already ruled in his matter before the facts had occurred. Imagine if the cancer patient had at the last minute backed out and told his doctor he did not want to die, and the doctor decided to go ahead with the euthanasia. This is a major variation of the facts, which would call into question the decision to authorise the killing, but were this or another variation to occur, it would hurt the perception of justice and make the job of the trial judge extremely difficult. Also, it would create a presumption that the cancer patient still wanted to die, even if he had decided contrary. Would the doctor now no longer need to prove that the man still desired death to the end? In Dignitas, a suicide clinic, the patients are asked if they still want death throughout their medically induced demise.
The practical problem with such a case as the present matter, would lie in a new authority created for the courts, to warrant the breaking of the law ahead of time, without bothering to set aside the law itself as unconstitutional... Not the Constitutional Court, but mere high court judges, and judges before whom the otherwise criminal act-to-be has not even occurred.
I argued at the time of the judgement, that any reliable precedent would only occur if there were a decision to prosecute the doctor who administered the suicide, and if a court in the jurisdiction of the murder were then to uphold the pre-emptive decision.
The decision in fact occurred and was given when the whole thing was already moot. As Hans Fabricius, the judge in the case read out the decision, after his spending much of the trial emphasizing his concern for the cancer patient's wellbeing - the cancer patient was already lying dead, allegedly of natural causes. Media state that Dignity SA, and the man's lawyers were unaware that he had passed away and did not purposely deceive the court of law.
In today's Stop Press, from LexisNexis Current Awareness, there is an update on this fascinating incident. It was already well established that the state would be appealing the unusual decision which sought to bar it from prosecuting what the standing precedent setting decisions of the courts consider to be a murder. Joining the state however, report The Times, is the Health Professions Council of South Africa, the body that regulates the medical profession. The HPCSA is quite upset with the part of the decision which would see the doctor not lose their medical licence for acting in what otherwise would be classed as unethical medical negligence and the intentional ending of the life of their patient.
'Robert Stransham-Ford, who won the right to die with a doctor’s help, was wrong when he said his terminal cancer had robbed him of his constitutional right to dignity.
This is according to the Health Professions Council of SA’s appeal against the landmark ruling that Stransham-Ford be allowed to commit doctor-assisted suicide.
Stransham-Ford, 65, argued that his slow death was undignified.
In appeal papers filed this week the council said: “The process of dying does not constitute an insult upon human dignity. Infirmity, incompetence, dementia and immobility, all of them of natural origins, limit human possibility. But sooner or later they are unavoidable, the products of inevitable bodily and or mental decay.”
An appeal has been lodged by the state and its papers, filed by the minister of health, minister of justice and the director of public prosecutions, assert: “Dying is part of life; its completion.”' (The Times | 'Medics, state line up to challenge euthanasia ruling' 27th May 2015)
Notably, Dignity SA is quoted as saying that they welcome the matter being appealed, and that rightly the Constitutional Court should be the court to decide the matter. Indeed, it would be, but for such a precedent setting case, why it wasn't approached as court a quo on an urgent basis is beyond me.
As it is, we sit with a situation where a court of law states that it can authorise the breaking of standard law beforehand, and that each decision in such regard must be made based on its own merits. This is a scenario where two doctors both euthanise a patient, one with a court order and another without one, and where one goes to jail and the other does not. It is a strange scenario indeed. Perhaps it will become our standing law, but it is up to the Constitutional or other appeal court to decide that now.
Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice.
(SAST/CAT: GMT+2), this article was posted by: Marc Evan Aupiais On Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Only the long-dead will be surprised by the slight...
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2685
|
__label__wiki
| 0.882235
| 0.882235
|
National Geographic Magazine’s April 2016 Issue Features 10 Different Covers for the First Time in Publication’s History
by - March 21, 2016
Awesome African Safari News and Information http://press.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/15/national-geographic-magazines-april-2016-issue-features-10-different-covers-for-the-first-time-in-publications-history/
Fantastic updated information on African Safaris at the Safari Traveler, your complete resource for all things Safari.
WASHINGTON (March 15, 2016)—In a publishing first for National Geographic magazine, the April 2016 issue has 10 different covers featuring the work of well-known National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore. U.S. subscribers will receive one of the covers at random in their homes, and print newsstands similarly will offer a selection of the covers.
The April covers highlight the National Geographic Photo Ark project, a multiyear effort with Sartore to photograph all captive species and inspire people to save these animals before they disappear. For many of Earth’s creatures, time is running out. Species are disappearing at an alarming rate. To motivate people to care and help stop the crisis, Sartore is creating intimate portraits of an estimated 12,000 species of birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. To date, he has photographed nearly 6,000 animals. Once completed, Photo Ark will serve as an important record of each animal’s existence and a powerful testament to the importance of saving them.
The 10 published covers feature portraits of the following animals: waxy monkey tree frog, hippopotamus, Reimann’s snake-necked turtle, snowy owl, Malayan tiger, Brazilian porcupine, southern three-banded armadillo, Indian peafowl, mother and baby koalas, and Coquerel’s sifaka. Sartore shot the cover images at a number of locations, including Rolling Hills Zoo, the San Antonio Zoo, Zoo Atlanta, Raptor Recovery Nebraska, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, the Saint Louis Zoo, Lincoln Children’s Zoo, the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital and the Houston Zoo.
With so many animals to choose from, the magazine staff had a difficult time selecting the 10 to use on the covers.
“We wanted species diversity, from the charismatic and cute to the often overlooked. A mix of engaging characters that started to hint at the scale of Joel’s project was key,” says Susan Goldberg, National Geographic Partners editorial director and National Geographic magazine editor in chief.
Adds Emmet Smith, National Geographic Partners creative director: “Eye contact was key, as one of the hallmarks of the Photo Ark is creating a direct connection between the viewer and the animal.”
Published alongside the story is an extensive photo gallery of Sartore’s portraits and a new interactive that asks readers questions to allow them to discover which of the 10 cover animals they are most like. The “What Animal Is Most Like You?” quiz will feature questions such as, “Do you like warm weather, or snow? Are you a night owl or do you just like to sleep all the time?” The quiz, which will be published at www.natgeo.com/animalquiz, will let readers find out what animal most closely matches their own behavior while learning about the species on the covers. At the end of the quiz, readers can choose to download their animal’s wallpaper.
Consumers are asked to call 1-800-777-2800 (813-979-6828 outside the U.S./Canada) to purchase their favorite animal cover if they did not receive the cover they like best.
National Geographic magazine’s “Every Last One” feature (April 2016 cover story): http://on.natgeo.com/1WkPr6h
National Geographic magazine’s “What Animal Is Most Like You?” interactive quiz: www.natgeo.com/animalquiz
About National Geographic Partners LLC
National Geographic Partners LLC, a joint venture between National Geographic Society and 21st Century Fox, combines National Geographic television channels with National Geographic’s media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic Studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children’s media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, catalog, licensing and e-commerce businesses. A portion of the proceeds from National Geographic Partners LLC will be used to fund science, exploration, conservation and education through significant ongoing contributions to the work of the National Geographic Society. For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.com and find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
Stay on the lookout for more from http://safari-traveller.com/
in Africa 0
National Geographic Magazine,...
National Geographic Society...
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2686
|
__label__wiki
| 0.661109
| 0.661109
|
Indevotion
Palm Door on Sabine
401 Sabine St
Listen to Pretty Little Liar
Indevotion - Pretty Little Liar
THIS EXCITING SWEDISH ROCK/POP BAND started off during the summer of 2008. The band consists of the award-winning frontwoman My Helmner, guitarist Simon Westerdahl and drummer Johannes Andersson.
SINCE THE START the band has focused on the Swedish market with great success. They have competed in several national band contests and done very well. In 2011 they competed with their song ”Go Go Go Go Go” in ”Metro on Stage” and won third place out of 2000 competitors. Throughout the years, the band has been touring extensively, by themselves, and together with other bands (Beating Hearts Tour, Atticus Invasion Tour, Spring Break Tour, etc.). The band has also been acknowledged by publications like Kings of A&R, Buzznet, Daily Unsigned, AU Review and The Round Table.
DURING APRIL, 2012, the band gained a lot of new ground. They visited Amsterdam to open for the Dutch band ”Destine” at their release-show. Not long after thei...
Show the rest
DURING APRIL, 2012, the band gained a lot of new ground. They visited Amsterdam to open for the Dutch band ”Destine” at their release-show. Not long after their return to Sweden they were announced the 9th hottest rock band of the year, out of a hundred, (even leaving great bands like The Hives behind) in the Swedish magazine Slitz. After this their songs turned up on national radio.
IN MAY, 2013, the band released their second EP, ”Hearts” and started to work with Catapult Music Group. Combining that and the release of the single ”Originals” the interest in the band has started to grow internationally. As a result of this they were invited to CMJ Music Marathon in New York late October the same year. Generating more attention from the press and some very well received showcases.
DURING 2014, the band has been in the studio with well known co-writers and producers in Sweden and recently signed with one of the biggest booking-agencies in Sweden, United Stage. Now they have created what they believe to be their best material yet and are very proud and excited to show the new songs to the world at SXSW 2015. This is sure to be an exciting year for Indevotion, so keep your eyes and ears open!
Hide the rest
http://indevotionmusic.com
Music Badge, Platinum Badge, Music Festival Wristband, Artist Wristband
Oskarshamn, SWEDEN
Age Policy: 21+
The show at Palm Door on Sabine on Wednesday, March 18
8:00PM Indevotion
⋆ 9:00PM Freedom Fry
⋆ 10:00PM Magic Giant
⋆ 11:00PM The Magnettes
⋆ 12:00AM ELEL
⋆ 1:00AM Ball Park Music
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2698
|
__label__cc
| 0.598645
| 0.401355
|
Dott raises $34 million to build a sustainable scooter startup
In Dott, Europe, France Newsletter, Fundings & Exits, Scooter, Startups, TechCrunch - Funding & Exits, Technology News
Dott raises $34 million to build a sustainable scooter startup2019-07-032019-07-04https://shotventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/shot-ventures.pngShot Ventureshttps://shotventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Dott-1-6-1.jpg200px200px
European micro-mobility startup Dott is about to raise a $34 million Series A round (€30 million). Compared to many scooter companies out there, the startup is taking a careful approach when it comes to growth in order to build a good reputation and a sustainable service.
EQT Ventures and Naspers are leading today’s found. Existing investors Axel Springer Digital Ventures, DN Capital, Felix Capital, FJ Labs and U-Start Club are also investing again.
Dott had previously raised a $23 million round (€20 million) from EQT Ventures, Naspers and others.
Some scooter startups are aggressively expanding in dozens of cities. They’re often buying a ton of scooters and putting them on the streets without thinking about a long term plan.
Dott has made many promises ticking all the right boxes to go against this “move fast, break things” motto. The company works with local governments to get approval.
It then rolls out a reasonable fleet of scooters. Dott is currently live in Brussels, Paris, Lyon and Milan. The company has around 1,000 to 2,500 scooters per city.
The company has its own warehouses to charge and repair vehicles. There’s no juicer who collect scooters at night and charge them at home. Dott hires full-time employees and works with third-party logistics providers.
Scooters are also supposed to be sturdier thanks to a dual brake system and bigger wheels. Every part is supposed to be replaceable.
And the company is now going one step further by including insurance coverage for no extra cost. Dott is partnering with Zego and La Parisienne Assurances to cover personal injuries and third-party liability in France, Belgium and soon Italy.
Up next, Dott plans to release a second generation of scooter with swappable batteries, which should make fleet management much easier. And the company is already working on a third generation of vehicles.
Dott also plans to launch a new type of vehicles, e-bikes. They aren’t ready for prime time yet — they will be produced in Europe and China, and assembled in France. And of course, the company plans to gradually expand to new cities in Germany, the U.K. and Netherlands.
Now let’s see if Dott can keep all its promises as it scales around Europe. Taking a sustainable approach will require a ton of capital. Dott is betting that other scooter companies will crash before Dott runs out of cash.
And it’s clear that many scooter companies didn’t realize how brutal the scooter market could be. Les Echos reported earlier this week that Bolt, Wind, Hive, Ufo, Voi and Tier had all halted their services in Paris.
Lime, Bird, Circ, Dott, Jump and B-Mobility are still around, but I’m sure there will be more consolidation over the next 12 months.
PayU, Naspers’ global fintech firm, enters Southeast Asia with acquisition of Red Dot Paymentafrica, Asia, ceo, Co-founder, eastern europe, economy, Europe, Facebook, finance, financial services, financial technology, Funding, Fundings & Exits, Google, india, Israel, Japan, latin america, MDI Ventures, money, Naspers, Payments, payu, red dot payment, series B, Skype, Southeast Asia, TechCrunch - Funding & Exits, Technology News, Toivo Annus
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2699
|
__label__wiki
| 0.909771
| 0.909771
|
Tag Archives: Duke of Sutherland
Trentham Hall could have been Staffordshire’s first University
Posted on 12 Apr 2018 by David Martin
TRENTHAM HALL
Not many students and staff who attend Staffordshire University’s award ceremonies on the Trentham Estate know that Trentham Hall could have been home to a leading Russell Group university like Manchester or Birmingham.
On February 12th, 1890, Francis Elliot Kitchener, the headmaster of Newcastle High School, attended the North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner at the North Stafford Hotel.
While proposing the toast to “the staple trades of Staffordshire”, he suggested establishing a University College in Hanley which specialised in chemistry and engineering. Both the Sentinel and Thomas Turner (Staffordshire County Council’s director of technical education) supported the idea.
However, nothing was done until 1900 when a Council for the Extension of Higher Education in North Staffordshire was set up to help finance Oxford University’s Extension Courses in the district.
Taking up Kitchener’s idea, the council launched a public appeal to build a North Staffordshire College in The Potteries.
The proposed college, which would have had University status, was going to run full and part-time degree courses, train teachers and provide vocational training for men and women working in industry and commerce.
Although the estimated cost of the college was £20,000, there was widespread support for the project.
By the end of 1904 pottery manufacturers, colliery owners, professional bodies and local town councils had promised to give between £10,000 and £11,000 towards the cost.
Staffordshire County Council offered to give £12,500 if matching funding could be raised. The Council for the Extension of Higher Education in North Staffordshire made plans to launch a final appeal. Before it could be launched, the Duke of Sutherland stepped in and offered to give Trentham Hall to the county council if it agreed to establish the college there.
Believing it had achieved its objective, the Council for the Extension of Higher Education disbanded, and the county council made plans to transform the hall into a regional college.
While these plans were being made, a campaign to reform local government in The Potteries by replacing its six local authorities with a county borough council was gaining momentum.
Realising change was inevitable and that responsibility for education would be taken from it and given to the new county borough, Staffordshire County Council withdrew its support for the North Staffordshire College.
Hanley, which was already a county borough, refused to take over the project and the county council erected temporary buildings to house a mining school and a pottery school on land near Stoke Station.
At the end of the First World War, another attempt to give North Staffordshire a University College failed.
The mining school and the pottery school became the Central School of Science and Technology, one of the technical schools in The Potteries from which Staffordshire University can trace its descent.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2706
|
__label__cc
| 0.564589
| 0.435411
|
SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has invited Pope Francis to visit, saying he would be "ardently welcomed", South Korea's presidency said Tuesday, adding it would pass on Pyongyang's message to the Vatican.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in will have an audience with the Pope during a visit to the Vatican from October 17 to 18. "During the meeting with Pope Francis, he (Moon) will relay the message from chairman Kim Jong Un that he would ardently welcome the pope if he visits Pyongyang," Moon's spokesman, Kim Eui-kyeom, told reporters.
Moon is embarking on a nine day tour of Europe from October 13 to 21 that will include stops in France, Italy and Denmark on top of the Vatican. The doveish Moon has pushed rapprochement with Kim, meeting him three times in the last year. During the most recent face to face - a visit to Pyongyang last month - Moon was accompanied by South Korean Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong.
During a conversation with the visiting archbishop, Kim urged him to let the Vatican know his intention to build peace, according to Moon's spokesman. The young leader of the isolated, impoverished but nuclear-armed North has taken a series of reconciliatory gestures since early this year, including a land summit with US President Donald Trump in June.
During last month's summit, Kim also reaffirmed efforts to ease military tension on the flashpoint peninsula but remained vague on measures on how to dismantle his widely-feared atomic arsenal.
Religious freedom is enshrined in the North's constitution, but all religious activity is subject to extremely tight restrictions and completely banned outside of state-sanctioned institutions.
In the early 20th century before the division of the peninsula, Pyongyang was a regional missionary hub with scores of churches and a thriving Christian community that earned it the title of "Jerusalem of the East".
But Kim Il Sung, the North's late founding leader and the current ruler's grandfather, viewed Christianity as a threat to his authoritarian rule and eradicated it through executions and labour camps.
The North's regime since then has allowed Catholic organisations to run aid projects in the impoverished country, but direct relations with the Vatican are non-existent.
When Pope Francis visited South Korea in 2014, he held a special mass in Seoul dedicated to reunification of the two Koreas.
A 2014 survey by Korea Gallup showed 22 percent of South Koreans identify themselves as Buddhist, while nearly 30 percent are Christian.
Kim Jong-un leaves North Korea for Vietnam by train
North Korea develops software to teach ideology
North Korea accuses Australian of ‘spying’
Putin meets Pope, Italian leaders on visit to Rome
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2707
|
__label__wiki
| 0.609976
| 0.609976
|
Home NASCAR Monster Is Johnson’s Time Slipping Away?
February 10, 2019: #48: Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro Ally during qualifying at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fl. (HHP/Barry Cantrell)
Is Johnson’s Time Slipping Away?
Cover Photo by HHP/Barry Cantrell
Adam Fenwick
CONCORD, N.C. — At age 43, Jimmie Johnson has accomplished a lot during his nearly 20-year Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career.
He’s a seven-time series champion, one of only three drivers to accomplish the feat. He’s won 83 Cup Series races, which includes victories in the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, Southern 500 and Coca-Cola 600.
That success all but guarantees Johnson will be a Hall of Famer upon his retirement, but that doesn’t mean the California native is satisfied. He wants more victories, more trophies and another championship.
In order to do that, Johnson will have to shake off the slump he has been in since mid-2017 that has seen him go winless for the last 76 races, the longest such streak of his career.
“It is challenging. There is no way around it,” Johnson acknowledged Friday.
The challenges have continued this year. Johnson has only earned one top-five result this year, a fifth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway in March. His most recent outing at Kansas Speedway resulted in a sixth-place finish, but it could have been much better had a late-race restart gone his way.
Jimmie Johnson in action at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this year. (HHP/Harold Hinson photo)
“I was pretty frustrated when I got out of the car at Kansas,” Johnson said. “The first half of the race was pretty bad. I brought it back to sixth and was respectable. Then as I took a couple of deep breaths as you probably heard, I realized I was in fourth before that (final) restart. I was hopeful the outside lane could advance and maybe I’d have a look at a win or maybe a second-place finish behind Erik (Jones). It was nice to be back in that moment, but certainly the frustration has come through.
“I’ve never worked so hard to run where I do. I’ve never seen our team work so hard to … not to be able to get back to where we want to in a short period of time. That’s the hard part.”
Johnson will be the first to admit he’s not getting any younger and he knows his time as a driver is closer to ending than he prefers to admit. Therein lies much of his frustration — he knows he has a small window to accomplish the things he wants to accomplish.
“The real reality is I don’t have 10 years left. I probably don’t have five years left,” said Johnson, whose current contract with Hendrick Motorsports expires after the 2020 season. “There is less runway than there was when I first started. I’ve been able to be patient through my career in a lot of ways and it has served me well.
“Now where I am, I don’t have that luxury any longer. If I want a shot to win eight, nine (championships), whatever it is, more wins, I don’t have that luxury. This year is almost halfway through and next year will be here before we know it. I’m just aware of my opportunities to accomplish what I want to. There are just fewer of them left.”
While his contract expires in 2020, Johnson has no plans to walk away. He plans to begin contract negotiations with team owner Rick Hendrick soon so that he can keep doing what he loves for as long as he can.
“I’m not smart enough to walk away. I love what I do. I want to be out there racing,” Johnson admitted.
Previous articleCrafton Earns Charlotte Truck Series Pole
Next articleParsons Puts UNCC Tribute Truck In The Show
Adam Fenwick is the News Director of SPEEDSPORT.com and SPEED SPORT Magazine. Both a writer and photographer, you can find him at race tracks across the Southeast covering anything from asphalt late models to dirt sprint cars.
PHOTOS: Hell Tour Finale At Oakshade
KNUTSON: Cost Cap Coming To F-1
PHOTOS: Badger 40 At Wilmot Raceway
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2709
|
__label__wiki
| 0.922712
| 0.922712
|
Wednesday 5th July 2017
Loy returns to Falkirk
Falkirk have signed striker Rory Loy on a two-year contract following his departure from Dundee.
The 29-year-old, who has also played for Rangers, Dunfermline and Carlisle, had a successful spell on loan at St Mirren last season and now begins his second stint at the Falkirk Stadium.
Bairns boss Peter Houston told the club website: "I am thrilled to be able to bring a player of Rory’s quality back to the club. I was disappointed to lose Rory two years ago so when it became apparent that he may be available I was determined not to lose out."
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2710
|
__label__wiki
| 0.517676
| 0.517676
|
← The Politics of Bioshock Infinite – a review
An Uncritical Critique of The Critical Net Critic →
A Call for a Leftist Front a la Mont Pèlerin
Posted on 10/04/2013 by Jerome Nikolai Warren
Mont Pèlerin , an idyllic Alipne town in Switzerland overlooking lake Geneva, where in 1947 the creation of a “utopian liberal” project was concocted by a number of Austrian, English and American intellectuals, the leader of whom was Hayek.
Friedrich Hayek ends his famous essay The Intellectuals and Socialism with the question of whether the intellectual revival of liberalism occurring in some places in the post-WWII world (notably in Germany and the Anglophone countries) was “in time”. It is my argument that it was undoubtedly “in time” (to say such a limit ever existed), and that the intellectual milieu of the subsequent decades is nearly entirely the product of the “radical liberalism” Hayek, and others, advocated. Furthermore, it is going to be my argument here that nowhere is this development more apparent than within the economics profession and its immediate branches. Though the ensuing paragraphs will consider primarily arguments for persuading Left-leaning individuals to choose careers within professional academic circles within the discipline of economics, certainly all of the observations can be read congruently with respect to similar disciplines. The focus, however, will be on economics.
It would seem, at first appraisal, that the intellectual battles and challenges which occurred throughout the 1960s and 70s in the United States and Europe, and which accompanied larger struggles for civil rights and equality worldwide were clear examples of what can be described, first, as challenges to, and, secondly, the eventual re-assertion of, disciplinary boundaries relating to the social scope of various scholarly professions. This was as true for the economics discipline as for sociology, anthropology, history, etc. Within the discipline of economics, these struggles took shape within the context of radically oriented boundary work, frustrated with what Zweig described in a 1969 essay as “small adjustments on the periphery of some large aggregate whose fundamental and overall character is not an issue”, and determined to apply the tools of theoretical research to less abstract, and, arguably, more pressing demands. As one sees from the state of the discipline and the subsequent dominance of theories like the “efficient market” hypothesis, among others, that the status quo ante clearly triumphed. This has occured in a large number of disciplines as well, save, perhaps sociology and a handful of other empirical social sciences.
How much of a role the economics profession’s stalwart conservatism played here is certainly up for debate., but it would certainly appear, for our purposes, that it has been a (at least indirect) contributing factor to the dissuasion of young, radically minded scholars from the profession. The conservatism of the profession is clearly demonstrated in the comment of one attendee of the AEA’s 1971 conference, presided by John Kenneth Galbraith. Galbraith had organized the conference around a platform broadly sympathetic to the demands of the, then burgeoning, class of radical newcomers, like Zweig, and others. The individual commented “It was the worst thing I ever saw”. Conflicts like this reveal that the internal machinations of the discipline act, arguably, as greater impediments to radicals in the profession, in fact, than, even, the influence of ideology in funding discretion. That is, the strict orthodoxy which dominates within the profession can be seen as primary, and not secondary over and against conditionality which may be tied to financial support for scholarly work. In terms of determining the makeup and outlines of the discipline, this makes a big difference, as historical struggles, such as those occurring, most recently, within the Reagan years, where science funding was drastically cut in the wake of bloating budget deficits and stalling government revenues, have shown.Evidence for this conclusion will be outlined as follows.
Some Basic Structural Arguments
The argument that radicals have no place within the economics profession, or within academia at large, is certainly a spurious one, although they represent, historically, the minority of this discipline (formerly dominated by such revilers of the poor as Carlyle, Malthus and Ricardo). This simple fact can be attributed to two main causes: the authority of disciplinary boundaries, explored below, and the former exclusivity of formal education, mainly as a result of historical and social conditions. Nevertheless, there has been a vibrant, if circumscribed, segment of radical economists, concerned not only with abstract modelling, but steeped in the real and present social cosmos, and sympathetic with the plight of the poor (or being themselves of impoverished backgrounds like, for instance, Mollie Orshansky). Of course, it must be stated that, at least in the historical picture, their ability to exert influence has met, on occasion, with certain disciplinary reaction. In the past, when radical economists, even those at prestigious institutions, have strayed too far from the institutional boundaries, they have been marginalized and excluded from conferences, teaching positions, patronage, or worse (losing positions, contract non-renewal, government surveillance, blacklisting, etc.).
This is not to say that these individuals, and groups of individuals, have not had a lasting impact on the profession. This, furthermore, does not prohibit, or, even, discount the ability of the methodologies and given disciplinary boundaries of the field serving as potentially powerful tools to the strictures and demands of radicals in analyzing and interpreting prevailing social problems. Nonetheless, in general, it must be stated that it’s been harder to fund research the further outside of the predominant domain one strays (at one point in the 1979, during a hearing in the US Congress, one Representative criticized the funding of “small esoteric projects” with federal tax dollars as “laughable extravaganzas of Government expenditure”). Institutional mechanics and funding architecture have a, not minor, role to play here. however, they should not be taken as sufficient impediments to respectable, radically-oriented work in the field of economics. In fact, one can lay claim in the law of large numbers, here. One can do this, by interpreting, vice versa, the appel of Hayek (for more “radical liberals” in academia). More Left-sympathetic radicals in academia, working on the frontiers of the economic discipline can, over the course of several decades, certainly act to steer more attention, credentials, information, funding, respect and, ultimately, influence to those who would otherwise be marginalized in relative isolation by their more conservative or reactionary peers.
As a less verbose digression, one might state that there is enough evidence that networks of strong reciprocity are quite persistent, based on their ability to employ both means of collective punishment and reward. It doesn’t take an expert to derive support for the above assertion (that a, growing, network of radical economists would benefit the collective sum position of all parties involved viz. the economics discipline). For those interested in more rigorous analysis of the nature of group behavior and cooperative bonds, the writings of Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis might be of interest (A Cooperative Species, Chapters 9, 10).One can also look at the problem through the lens of “evolutionary epistemology”. Donald Campbell, whose theories of social organization are quite useful, was a major proponent of this idea.
The Historical Picture of Radical Economists
I won’t here go into detail as to the history of radical developments within the economics discipline, as others have done this more exhaustively than the present format would allow. One can, however, consider broad outlines of past intra-disciplinary struggles todetermine possible strategic outcomes, given a certain state of affairs. This is a valid methodology for excavating some of the subtler forces at inter-play for the purposes of the present discussion. If one looks, for example, at the above-mentioned struggles in the 1960’s, one finds a startling repetition of the same pattern. Namely, students and non-tenured faculty who conduct protest by means of their academic work are, generally, very quickly subdued, silenced and, effectively, marginalized.
Marginalization and ostracism occured, famously, to, among others, Staughton Lynd, himself the son of Leftist academics; Sam Bowles and Herbert Gintis, both Harvard-trained economists who were refused positions at Harvard (which has an unusually high retention rate for its grad students later becoming faculty); Richard Wolff, denied tenure at Yale for signing an anti-war petition; Marlene Dixon, professor of sociology at Chicago, refused re-hire because of a political impasse with the administration, inter alia. Without going into further details, we can conclude, from this string of events, and others like them, that a pure inversion of academic disciplines, a blurring of boundaries between teacher and student, and an overturning of fundamental pedagogical convention is not possible within the context of the research University establishment, or that it is at least not possible without necessary and sufficient conditions, being in this case an environment in which radical discussion and debate is, en fait, practicable. The desire to establish such enviroments leads the present discussion. These have been known to develop when a certain mix of institutional funding, motivation, and opportunity presents itself. Having more radicals in seats, in classes, enrolled in economics programs, in general, would increase the chances of such a critical mass from recurring, as it did, for instance at Amherst in the 1970s.
The example of Wolff, Bowles, Gintis, Edwards and others at U Mass Amherst, as well as any number of ideologically oriented think takes (take, for instance, the Heritage Foundation, a degenerated neoliberal scholarly organization) are cases of conditions receptive to concentrated work in keeping with a certain intellectual tradition. One can presume, however, that funding for left wing think tanks, modelled after Heritage or the American Enterprise Institute would become available at a later stage in the strategic trajectory, that the occupation of University faculty positions is primary. Additionally,these conditional requirements, do not, per se, preclude radicals “trail blazing” or ”trend-setting”, neither does it prohibit the likes of “sympathetic” individuals utilizing their positions as respected scholars fo making political endorsements or critiques of any number of underlying notions prevailing in social discourse. Indeed, this position may be suboptimal considering peer pressure, and other disincentives (time, for one) which exist to dispel this, and, arguably, such situations would hopefully be temporary.
Indeed, institutional structures exist, even here, to the aid of “lone wolf” radicals. In fact, you have a tremendously long tradition of intellectuals doing just that. Additionally, “academic freedom” is a right which various multi-disciplinary organizations like the AAUP (The American Association of University Professors) define as a fundamental right of scholarship. Certainly, activism outside of, and supplemental to, academic work would be cumbersome, and these are challenges neoliberal professors and their clientèle can easily circumvent by rote of their position of supporters of the status quo ante (if only by their sheer numbers: even Hayek points out the majority of “liberal” scholars were quite “mediocre”; here, too the law of large numbers applies). These challenges, in and of themselves, however, shouldn’t be a deterrent to the seriously committed (and, there may even be ways around the duality: in-house residency, sabbaticals, “elective” seminars in critical methodology, reasoning etc. more congruent with one’s disciplinary strengths, among others). One simply has to ask if radicals are willing to take up the task.
Being that there is, it seems, a strict distinction between radicalism in one’s work (on the basis of existing institutional structures), and activism or agency external to one’s professional contributions, one shouldn’t confuse the conservatism of the economics profession, in general, as a reproach to political agency. It seems, quite on the contrary, just here is where more contributions from egalitarian-minded individuals, as well as individuals from marginalized communities (the poor, racial minorities, etc.) are needed. These views would lend to a greater balance of voices within the discipline, and establish a firmer legitimacy for some of the claims made on behalf of it. There’s a whole number of interesting avenues for researching effects of inequality, for instance, with respect to “optimal tax” policy research, the sort of stuff people like Thomas Picketty are doing. Indeed, what better affront to teleological arguments with respect to poverty and disenfranchisement (take, for instance, Presidential candidate Herman Cain’s assertion that “if you’re poor, it’s your fault”), “original sin”, or some other arbitrary and spurious assertion than substantive arguments to the contrary produced by individuals from those very groups?
Education Funding: A Dilemma of Choice
There are, of course, some hurdles to achieving this equilibrium. There is research that suggests particularly economics programs are very incubative, and tend to hire selectively from top Universities, so a goal of the Left, seemingly, would be to get as many egalitarian-minded individuals into top-tier or Ivy League schools.“Better said than done”!
Clearly, funding is an issue, but not an insurmountable one. As a recent study by an economics professor at Stanford shows, and as common sense would confirm, more students from traditionally disenfranchised communities are more likely to both apply, and be admitted to top-tier, Ivy League universities if they have adequate information as to their potential scholarship and financial aid prospects. The study has been floating around the Internet, so you can easily find lots of sources reporting on it. Here’s one by NPR, for instance. Of course, this, in itself, is no solution to the chronic education crisis, particularly the United States is facing (other countries, such as Germany, are using the economics downturn as an impetus to reduce, or eliminate entirely the, already low, relative costs of eduction). Clealry, the more young people know about their prospects, the more will apply, and the law of supply and demand tells us, uncontroversially, that if the number of seats at universities do not change, then competition will increase for those seats remaining.
This is, perhaps, not the most optimal situation to engender. However, when taken into context, it would seem that it’s really not as bad as it looks. If more low income young adults stemming from traditionally marginalized communities apply to these schools, then it can only raise the total relative number of these students admitted. This, since an identical share of those applying (namely, those who meet whatever conditions for admittance which are established) will be admitted. Being that the rich wouldn’t change their behavior with respect to new information, since their parents already on the boards of the Ivy League schools, or have donated parks, buildings or established trusts in their department of choice, no more would apply than already do, and ultimately, there is only gain to be made from more low income people applying to good schools.
A Few Strategic Remarks
Of course, all of the above could equally apply to other disciplines with relatively high concentrations of those Hayek referred to as “radical liberals” (take, for instance, law, or journalism). That being said, what can one say of the potential benefit for Leftists choosing to study a discipline like economics (or, any of the others) over any other career path?
I argue, there are certain a clear advantages with the prestige that comes from being part of an intellectual elite. Certainly, part of the motivation here is “signalling” (“social indicators”). Nevertheless, it is clearly a fact that, overwhelmingly, credentials have a non-negligible effect on the breadth of one’s authority. Nobel laureate Kenneth Arrow points this out with respect to the medical profession in a 1963 essay on the health care industry. Of course, this doesn’t mean that modern universities are reduced to acting as networking nodes, like any number of more democratic social media nodes already in existence. Indeed, a great part of the benefit of learning in tandem with other scholars is the “magnet” effect colleges and Universities have as places of exchange of ideas, concepts, and strategies.
Certainly, though, if one wishes to substantively contribute to (and not simply critique) policy making circles, then credentials are a necessity. This may be the product of an overly formalistic society, but, it is, nevertheless, the case (the very few Nobel laureates without PhD’s in their respective disciplines can attest to this). It is easy to see that the most effective way to critique this form of formalism is to do so within keeping of the dominant strategy (for instance, that of Hayek, Schumpeter, Posner, et alia), if the means to do so lend themselves, in the long run. It is, additionally, hard to imagine a more optimal position to render critiques against established conventions than that of a tenured, respected University scholar, with all the benefits of research funding, a community of peers and influence over classroom lectures and discussion this affords. That being the case, getting as many Left-leaning scholars into such positions should be part of the Left’s general long-term strategic thinking (as it has been the Right’s for some time).
Disciplines where the marginal returns are very high would be those, like economics, primarily dominated by neoliberals and their accolades (quasi-neoliberals). Thus, the hope would be to eventually shift the continuum of research (by means of this quantum shift in the discipline’s “center”) into areas more suiting to the needs of social classes and castes traditionally excluded from the institutional jargon. This is all stated without strict reference to ethical or moral principles, which would really be conditions of second order. This posturing would have the advantage of being a strong or dominant strategy (that is, there are no immediate alternatives which pose a more effective approach to combating mistaken and flawed ideas, given the present apoplexy of the Left). The focus, of course, would be to effect long-term change on fundamental social structures.
Conclusion, Further Speculation
If, for some reason, the Left is unable, or unwilling, to take up the task, then it is likely policy discussions will face another “lost decade” (reminescent of the Reagan years, when budgetary restrictions caused a lot of streamlining of University faculties: radicals were typically the first to go, and the last to get hired). This, because of the seemingly predominant role which neoliberal and quasi-neoliberal policies and frameworks play at present in the contemporary nation state, East or West, North or South. Despite opportunities exterior to “elite” circles, this continuing intellectual defeat is certainly an outcome to be avoided and mitigated, considering alternate, less formalistic, alternatives. Of course, for some, the above outline will not suffice to persuade them to pursue an academic career in economics (or a related social science with key policy connections), or to even support this position if they don’t themselves apply it. To those, one can recall Hayek’s criticism of the liberals of his day, mostly businessmen (not women) and administrators, that they were “too practical”. Perhaps a practicable criticism of those on the Left today, conversely, that are unconvinced of the above argument is that they are “not practical enough”.
About Jerome Nikolai Warren
I am a German-American who has ties to both countries. I speak fluent German and English, and passable Spanish and French. I can also mutter and curse in Turkish and Russian. I am at present a grad student of economics in Germany. In a prior life I studied dabbling, basically (religious studies, philosophy, political science) at the University of Alabama. My favorite piece of music is probably the Mass in B-minor by J.S. Bach, my favorite artwork is "The Blue Rider" by Kandinsky; my favorite building is New York's Pennsylvania Station, sadly demolished in 1963. I tweet (rarely) @dagmarholstadt, and also manage this site's Twitter account @OfContradiction.
View all posts by Jerome Nikolai Warren →
This entry was posted in Critique of the Left, Economics, Meta, Philosophy and tagged Left strategies, Mont Pelerin for the Left. Bookmark the permalink.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2711
|
__label__cc
| 0.521941
| 0.478059
|
A smarter War on Drugs
Posted on in Child & Family Policy Context
Source: National Post — Authors: Editorial
NationalPost.com – opinion
Jun. 3, 2011.
Canada received two urgent wake-up calls about its criminal justice system this week -one from Quebec, and the other from the international community. On Tuesday, Quebec Superior Court Justice James Brunton stayed proceedings against 31 people arrested two years ago on drug and gangsterism charges as part of Operation SharQc -a sweeping crackdown on the Hells Angels. He saw no way the accused could be tried before 2015. Canadians are, after all, entitled to a reasonably swift trial, and in the judge’s view, the system could not deliver.
That decision is being appealed. But even if Justice Brunton’s decision was in error, it’s shocking that a judge in a country like Canada should even have to consider a trial taking five or six years to complete. If the appeal is unsuccessful, heads must roll -not least Mr. Fournier’s -for this Third World disgrace. But even if the appeal is successful, it won’t change the fact that justice in Canada moves at an appallingly glacial pace.
Two days later, at a press conference in New York, the Global Commission on Drug Policy issued a starkly convincing, plainspoken report on the War on Drugs. Its most basic message: By any reasonably broad metric, that war has been an abysmal failure. According to estimates by the UN -by no means a liberal organization when it comes to drug policy -worldwide consumption of opiates rose 34.5% from 1998 to 2008, cocaine by 27%, and cannabis by 8.5%. In achieving that abject failure, tens of thousands of people have been killed -not just cruel gang kingpins and their wretched foot soldiers, but the innocent men, women and children trying to eke out an honest existence in the crossfire. Untold billions of scarce policing and security dollars have been spent. The current approach is simply untenable.
This report does not come from an ivory tower. Its signatories include former presidents of Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Switzerland, the sitting Prime Minister of Greece and a former U.S. secretary of state under Ronald Reagan. It is testament to a huge, epochal shift in opinion among intelligent people that the War on Drugs must be comprehensively rethought -particularly with respect to laws on cannabis, which the Global Commission is especially intent be liberalized. We have long been in favour of decriminalizing marijuana, and remain so.
Canada’s experience with drug violence is incomparable to, say, Mexico’s. But the story of Quebec’s Hells Angels and their gangland rivals is part of the larger picture. “We … need to recognize that it is the illicit nature of the market that creates much of the market-related violence,” the Global Commission report argues. “[L]egal and regulated commodity markets, while not without problems, do not provide the same opportunities for organized crime to make vast profits.”
Among the War on Drugs’ unintended consequences, as the report says, are both a “huge criminal black market … financed by the risk-escalated profits of supplying … demand for illicit drugs” and “extensive policy displacement, the result of using scarce resources to fund a vast law-enforcement effort intended to address this criminal market.”
The only thing worse than prosecuting the War on Drugs as currently designed is prosecuting it with insufficient resources to even put the soldiers of the other side on trial. Canadians might well balk at a debate over decriminalizing hard drugs. But to the significant extent that the Angels and their rivals fought to control the cannabis market in Quebec, years of bloody street violence was expertly facilitated by the state.
The entire situation could have been cancelled out by liberating the cannabis market, which has only grown under decades of prohibition, from the criminal class. The resources thereby liberated could have been redirected, for example, towards the slothful justice system that’s threatening to let 31 druggang members go free.
And yet, shockingly, a Conservative Canadian government, which purports to understand capitalism, proposes to re-introduce legislation that would impose mandatory minimum sentences for small-scale marijuana growers. This ridiculous policy seems designed to keep the trade in the hands of criminal lowlifes, who police can then pursue and hopefully catch and prosecute -if there’s room in a courtroom and a judge is free some time in the next seven years, that is.
If liberalizing cannabis laws is too bold a first step for Canada, despite its acceptance in several American jurisdictions, then we need to at least break the political “taboo,” as the Global Commission puts it, on discussing alternative approaches. Liberalizing experiments in other countries are promising. But in any event, there can be no worse outcome than utter failure.
< http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/smarter+Drugs/4884966/story.html >
Tags: budget, crime prevention, ideology
This entry was posted on Friday, June 3rd, 2011 at 10:26 am and is filed under Child & Family Policy Context. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2713
|
__label__wiki
| 0.519881
| 0.519881
|
Meet the New “LAD” in the SA Hockey Fold
Posted on April 25, 2013 August 22, 2018 by Tyron
Hockey, specifically men’s hockey, is often an afterthought in South African sporting circles and more importantly in sponsorship circles. Over the past few years, the ladies game has thrived in South Africa with significant backing, but the Men have struggled and have often had to travel, even locally, at their own expenses. The Lads, as the SA Men are affectionately known, are now adding a Lad to the pack, the brilliant Mugg and Bean.
The sponsorship, announced yesterday, is a two year deal between Famous Brands Limited and the SA Mens Hockey side. One of the Premium brands, Mugg and Bean as the new co-sponsor of the Mens side. This sponsorship will in all likelihood allow South Africa to continually include the likes of Austin Smith, Lloyd Norris-Jones, Rhett Halkett and others that are based in the European leagues.
We are delighted that we have a popular brand like Mugg & Bean on board,” said SA Hockey Association CEO Marissa Langeni.
“We are pleased that this is a two-year commitment which will include the World Cup in 2014. This sponsorship will assist the SA Men’s team in competing in top-class international events and hockey is proud to be associated with the Mugg & Bean brand,” the SA Hockey CEO added.
Famous Brands Chief Marketing Officer Derrian Nadauld stated:“This sponsorship deal will bring a new energy to the game and the Mugg & Bean brand is excited to be involved with the National Men’s team.
“Hockey in South Africa has largely been a Cinderella sport, in desperate need of a sponsor who could give the team the support they so richly deserve. The Mugg & Bean sponsorship of the SA Men’s team is a natural extension of the brand’s involvement with the sport of Hockey.
“Earlier this year, the brand concluded a five-year sponsorship deal of the Varsity Sports Hockey series, currently running across universities across the country,” the Famous Brands CMO added.
Take the time and thank Mugg and Bean for their involvement on Twitter and let the Lads know you are backing them too!
All Things Jabu is a proud supporter of All Things SA Hockey
The English Premier League Team of the Season
#PUMASocialJozi – The Craze Continues
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2714
|
__label__wiki
| 0.736137
| 0.736137
|
NIIF set to make national highway debut with Rs 15,000-crore investment
Megha Manchanda/New Delhi 09 Jul 19 | 01:38 AM
In a major greenfield investment, the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) would be investing Rs 15,000 crore in equity for the marquee Delhi-Mumbai expressway project.
This equity investment would be leveraged to raise close to Rs 50,000-crore debt.
The total project cost is approximately Rs 70,000 crore and the entire construction risk would be borne by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). This arrangement essentially means that the ownership of the project that is planned along the lines of new alignments would be with the NIIF.
It is learnt that foreign sovereign funds are willing to co-invest with the NIIF in road projects. At present, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is a partner with NIIF, which was formed by the Indian government as a private entity.
The Union ministry of road transport and highways would have to seek Cabinet approval for the arrangement. Details like toll collection on the expressway and to whom the proceeds would go to are still being worked out.
The NHAI signed a memorandum of understanding with NIIF for the investment on Monday.
The proposed Delhi-Mumbai expressway would also be connected to the industrial city of Indore and an arm of the erstwhile Golden Quadrilateral.
The partnership would be through formation of a special purpose vehicle. The model would be a funding arrangement for other large-sized road projects, to be executed by NHAI in future.
Union road minister Nitin Gadkari said, “NHAI is raising finances for its mega projects, and is not dependent only upon budgetary support. Several funding models were adopted in the past towards this, which have yielded good results."
This arrangement of innovative alternative sources of funding is being looked into by NHAI to attract international investors and fund houses that are willing to invest in road projects in India. But they are not very keen on taking risk related to the project execution.
This arrangement is expected to bring huge investments at economical rates for highway development in India and reduce the stress of borrowing on the NHAI balance sheet.
Gadkari also said the NIIF mode would provide innovative financial framework for other projects, including the 24,000 km Bharatmala Pariyojana costing around Rs 7.5-trillion.
The first investment agreement between NIIF and a wholly-owned subsidiary of ADIA for $1 billion fund infusion was signed in October 2017.
NIIF would eventually have a corpus of $6 billion (Rs 40,000 crore) but the government’s share in it would be less than 50 per cent in order to keep the ownership non-government.
An India-UK Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF) has also been set up under one of the verticals of NIIF. It has anchor commitments of £120 million each from the Centre (through NIIF) and the British government. Funds through it would be channelised for green energy projects.
NIIF is likely to see more equity participation from strategic partners, like overseas sovereign, quasi-sovereign, multilateral and bilateral investors. ADIA, for instance, is an investor in the Master Fund and a shareholder in NIIF’s investment management company.
NIIF was incorporated as a company and an initial budgetary allocation of Rs 4,000 crore was made for 2016-17 but the funding remained unutilised.
In July 2015, the Union Cabinet decided to set up one or more alternative investment funds or AIFs under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) regulations.
The government had initially planned to get NIIF as an investor in the transfer-operate-transfer (TOT) project. NIIF was to back players that would bid for operation and maintenance of these projects. None of the TOT packages bid so far has NIIF as an investor.
In August 2016, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had approved monetisation of highway projects that are operational and generating revenue for at least two years.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2715
|
__label__cc
| 0.520636
| 0.479364
|
Readers’ Books events in September
August 31, 2007 at 3:45 am (Books, Calendar, Small Town Life, Sonoma)
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 30, 2007*
Information Contact:
lilla@readersbooks.com
Lilla Weinberger, co-owner
130 E. Napa Street
_Calendar_
/Sunday, September 9, 4:30 p.m. *Viana La Place*, author of “My Italian Garden: More Than 125 Seasonal Recipes from a Garden Inspired by Italy,” will be at Readers’ Books, 130 E. Napa St., Sonoma. Refreshments will be served. For more information, call 707-939-1779./
/Press Release/
/Viana La Place, author of “My Italian Garden: More Than 125 Seasonal Recipes from a Garden Inspired by Italy,” will be at Readers’ Books on Sunday, September 9th, from 4:30-6 p.m., to talk about an Italian garden as a state of mind. La Place relishes meals that require only a few of the freshest ingredients. In this book, she brings the earth to the table for readers who want to cook delicious dishes with minimum effort and maximum flavor. She says that cooking from the garden is the most uncomplicated way to cook and, reminding us that the most satisfying food is the simplest, she fills her book with seasonal offerings such as New Fava Bean and Spring Greens Soup, Panini with Grilled Zucchini and Ricotta Salata, and Meyer Lemon Gelato with Fresh Figs and Pistachios. The book is charmingly illustrated and the author firmly believes that any patch of land can become an Italian garden. /
/La Plante is also the author of “Cucina Fresca,” “Cucina Rustica,” and “Panini, Bruschetta, Crostini.” She lives in San Francisco. /
/She lives in/
/Readers’ Books is at 130 E. Napa St., Sonoma. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 707-939-1779./
Tuesday, September 11, 7:30 p.m. *Ruthanne Lum McCunn*, author of “God of Luck,” will be at Readers’ Books, 130 E. Napa St., Sonoma. For more information, call 707-939-1779.
_Press Release_
Ruthanne Lum McCunn, author of “God of Luck,” will be at Readers’ Books on Tuesday, September 11th, at 7:30 p.m., to read from this epic love story that spans two continents.
Ah Lung is separated from his wife, Bo See, at the peak of the 19^th century Chinese slave trade. He is kidnapped and shipped to the deadly guano mines off the coast of Peru. Holding on to their hopes of being reunited, these two strive to stay safe by using their wits and praying to the God of Luck. Much of this novel is set in Pisco, in the part of Peru recently devastated by an 8.0 magnitude earthquake. Readers’ Books will be accepting donations on behalf of the Peru Earthquake Relief Fund, and Ruthanne McCunn will include information on relief efforts there..
McCunn, of Scottish and Chinese ancestry, is the author of “Thousand Pieces of Gold” and “Wooden Fish Songs.” She lives in San Francisco.
Readers’ Books is at 130 E. Napa St., Sonoma. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 707-939-1779.
/_Calendar_/
/Thursday, September 13, 7:30 p.m. *Charlie Price*, author of “Lizard People,” will be at Readers’ Books, 130 E. Napa St., Sonoma. For more information, call 707-939-1779./
/_Press Release_/
/Charlie Price, author of “Lizard People,” and “Dead Connections” will be at Readers’ Books on Thursday, September 13th, at 7:30 p.m., to read from this startling story of madness and identity./
/Ben Mander’s junior year is derailed when his mentally ill mother descends into madness. Visiting her in the psychiatric hospital, Ben meets Marco, who also has a mentally ill mother. Marco tells a story that turns Ben’s idea of reality upside down and soon the story begins to mirror Ben’s own life. //Lizard People// races along the edge of madness as Ben confronts his greatest fear—that he, too, is insane. Recommended for both young adults who are just learning about themselves in a confusing world, and the rest of us as well. In the ‘70s Charlie Price was the director of the Moon Valley School, an alternative school in Sonoma.**/
/“Dead Connections,” Price’s first novel, was widely acclaimed. He lives in Northern California./
/ //
Sunday, September 16, 4:30 p.m. reception, 5 p.m. reading. David Talbot, author of “Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years,” will be at Readers’ Books, 130 E. Napa St., Sonoma. For more information, call 707-939-1779.
David Talbot, author of “Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years,” will be at Readers’ Books on Sunday, September 16th, at 4:30 p.m for a reception and discussion on the new light his research has cast on the inner life of the Kennedy presidency and its aftermath.
Talbot, the founder of Salon.com, has written a new story of a young president and his even younger brother fighting to maintain control over hard-line generals and spymasters who were hell-bent on a showdown with a Communist foe –in Berlin, Laos, Vietnam, and especially Cuba. This is also the story of Bobby Kennedy’s quest to solve his brother’s murder, which may have led to his own. Talbot interviewed over 150 people for this book, giving his narrative an authenticity and insight unmatched to date.
David Talbot is the founder of Salon.com.
Tuesday, September 18, 7:30 p.m. *Kate Christensen*, author of “The Great Man,” will be at Readers’ Books, 130 E. Napa St., Sonoma. For more information, call 707-939-1779.
Kate Christensen, author of “The Great Man,” will be at Readers’ Books on Tuesday, September 18th, at 7:30 p.m., to read from her new novel, a book that detailing the lives of the biographers and women whose lives revolve around “the great man.”
Behind the subject of this book, a famous painter, is one sharp-witted, extraordinary novelist. Christensen has created four women—a wife, a sister, a mistress, and her best friend—all involved with the dead painter, plus two biographers who are looking for the “truth” about his life. The book opens with the painter’s obituary and closes with reviews of the biographies. In between is a scintillating comedy of life among the avant-garde and of jostling for position behind the glossy façade of artistic greatness. The women are lovely, funny, sexy, and brilliant. The story is about aging, about these women reexamining their love lives, and about the skewering of greatness.
Kate Chistensen is also the author of “The Epicure’s Lament,” “Jeremy Thrane,” and “In the Drink.”
Thursday, September 20, 7:30 p.m. *Daniel Pinchbeck*, author of “2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl,” will be at Readers’ Books, 130 E. Napa St., Sonoma. For more information, call 707-939-1779.
Daniel Pinchbeck, author of “2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl,” will be at Readers’ Books on Thursday, September 20th, at 7:30 p.m., to expound on what the Mayan’s end date of 2012 might mean to us today.
Pinchbeck has found that every sign in his search for meaning in modern life points to the precarious balance between greater self-potential and environmental disaster. The Mayan calendar’s “end date” of 2012 seems to define our present age: the end of one way of existence and the return of another in which the serpent god Quetzalcoatl reigns again. This ancient, and to us new, way of living comes from Daniel Pinchbeck’s 21st century aptitude for quantum theory and existential psychology. Pinchbeck has been called a cross between James Merrill, H.P. Lovecraft, and Carlos Castaneda . A seeker, skeptic, and cartographer of hidden realms, his is a voice of lucidity, reason, and informed audacity.
Pinchbeck is also the author of “Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism.”
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2719
|
__label__wiki
| 0.624974
| 0.624974
|
Home » Featured Latest Technology News New Discovery Self-Driving Smart Car Startup Funding Tech Startup News Tech Startups
Autoware open source self-driving startup Tier IV secures over $100 million in Series A round
Tier IV, an open source self-driving startup based in Japan, has raised over $100 million in total in a Series A funding round to commercialize self-driving technology in private areas, depopulated areas, and urban areas. The fresh funding will also enable Tier IV to become a global platform company and scale out its self-driving business. The round was led by Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc., the Japanese major P&C insurance company, with participation from existing investors, Yamaha Motor Co., and other investors.
Founded in December 2015, Tier IV has led the development of open-source software for self-driving technology, also known as Autoware, and applied it for the proof of concept of last-mile driverless mobility and logistics. Tier IV aspires to achieve “Democratization of Intelligent Vehicles”, where any individuals and organizations can contribute to a grander vision of future intelligent vehicles, leading to a better society in which all the people receive new spatio-temporal values.
Autoware is the world’s first “all-in-one” open-source software for self-driving technology, which is now widely adopted by more than 200 companies around the world. Examples of the use cases include the Udacity Nanodegree Program, the CARMA platform developed by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), automotive manufacturers, and many self-driving startups.
With the momentum of Autoware as defacto open-source software, Tier IV and its partner companies, Apex.AI and Linaro 96Boards, launched the Autoware Foundation in December 2018 in order to deploy Autoware in real products and services. As of today, the Autoware Foundation consists of more than 30 member companies from various business sectors.
“Tier IV has a mission to embody disruptive creation and creative disruption with self-driving technology. We have derived a solid software platform and successfully integrated it with real vehicles. It is time to step forward to real services, embracing functional safety and risk management,” says Shinpei Kato, Founder of Tier IV and the chairman of the Board of the Autoware Foundation.
There are more than 60 regions in Japan and overseas, where field operational tests of self-driving vehicles powered by Tier IV have been conducted without any accident. Tier IV will continue pursuing safe and secure self-driving technology, while expanding business opportunities from 2020 Summer Olympics and beyond.
Fintech startup Airfox partners with Mastercard and Zurich Insurance to provide affordable and cost-free banking solutions to customers in Brazil
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2723
|
__label__wiki
| 0.677669
| 0.677669
|
« US author Virginia Eubanks book launch – Auckland
Techweek – TechWomen »
US author Virginia Eubanks book launch – Wellington
‘Automating Inequality’ author on the impact of technology, data and algorithms on the poor and working-class.
US-based professor and writer Virginia Eubanks will visit New Zealand in March for a series of events promoting her new book Automating Inequality and discussing the impacts of technology and big data on the poorest people in society.
For two decades, Eubanks has worked in community technology and economic justice movements, and today is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University at Albany in New York. Her writing on technology and social justice has appeared in publications such as Scientific American, The Nation, Harper’s, and Wired.
In her new book, Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor, Eubanks explores how data mining, policy algorithms, and predictive risk models are increasingly affecting vulnerable people in society – the poor and working-class.
Tohatoha, in association with InternetNZ, is hosting events in Auckland and Wellington where attendees can meet Prof. Eubanks and hear her perspective on how the issues raised in a USA context in her book may also be applicable to New Zealand.
“In an age where New Zealand is increasingly moving towards automation of public systems and social services, this is a prime opportunity to hear from a specialist on the subject and consider whether inequality is becoming automated in New Zealand, why it matters and what can be done about it,” says Tohatoha CEO, Mandy Henk.
Discussion and Q&A at the Auckland event will be led by Mandy Henk. Prof. Eubanks is available for interview in advance of, and during her time in New Zealand. Interview requests can be made via Tohatoha.
Wellington, 6011 New Zealand
Tohatoha
New Zealand Tech Alliance Member
©2019 NZTech
Join Techwomen
Mentoring Circles
ShadowTech
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2724
|
__label__cc
| 0.708281
| 0.291719
|
Susan Griffin
Biker’s Moll.
Hi everyone as you can see from the photo, I am now officially a biker’s moll. This photo was taken after my first ride on a bike in about twenty years, which is a bit scary I can tell you and I very nearly chickened out.
When OH suggested to me, quite some time ago, he was yearning to buy a motorbike again, (after seventeen years gap of not riding bikes), I was dead against it. This was for various reasons I won’t go into, but one of them was, we’ve been there done that and got the t-shirt.
Aren’t we getting a bit long in the tooth for adventures on a motorbike? I argued. This was a road we’d been down many times before. I didn’t have any desire to do it all again. Why I asked him, when you can sit in a comfortable warm car, would you want to ride on the back of a chilly motorbike? The wind in your hair or the sun on your face I hear you saying, rain down your neck while frozen stiff more like. I brokered a sound argument, but it fell on deaf ears, and eventually after much debate OH purchased the bike.
On first sight of the said bike I couldn’t help feeling a tiny bit excited, remembering those heady days of riding on the back of previous bikes. In the past I had travelled to France on the back of a Goldwing, and been to Dorset on the back of a Honda CBR (1000cc sports tourer). And this motorbike: Kawasaki 1700 (see photo) was a cruiser unlike some of the other bikes OH had owned. I was softening towards getting my little-old body onto this Monster-Machine.
But it wasn’t that easy. I had to get geared up first. In the olden days, (as my grandchildren would say) we wore leather gear for protection while riding. OH had bought himself some new gear. Manmade fabric was the way to go this time he said, it was cheaper than the leathers we used to wear and was waterproof. I couldn’t help feeling a smidgen of disappointment. I used to love those black leathers and felt like the bee-knees in them all those years ago. But I agreed the cost involved was a good reason not to buy leather gear this time around – much cheaper. So off we went to the bike shop to purchase these cheaper (but not so sexy) waterproof jacket and trousers.
We arrived at the shop late in the day and I spent a good hour trying on the most unflattering of outfits, telling myself safety came first. But suddenly we had run out of time and the shop was closing. So we put aside a jacket and left the shop promising to return the next day.
By early evening I began itching all over my body and by the middle of the night I had come out in hives. This made me feel very unwell and OH had to go and get me some antihistamines from the Sunday chemist. To cut a long story short I had an allergic reaction to the chemicals in the material, and couldn’t wear the gear I’d tried on. I couldn’t help feeling a bit smug. If I was going on the back of the bike I would have to wear leather gear now, oh dear what a shame I thought, remembering the lovely black leather, with white trim, outfit in the shop. Back we went the following week.
After purchasing my very expensive, leather trousers and jacket (OH looked quite put out as my motorbike gear was twice the price of his), I was at last set up for a ride on the motorbike.
The day dawned and I pulled myself into all the gear feeling a bit claustrophobic. As the motorbike roared into life my heart was beating out of control. I warned OH to go slowly, ‘I always do,’ he reassured me. At first I wanted to cling onto OH for dear life. I tried to remember how years ago I had been all the way to France on the back of a bike, if I could do it then…
Thankfully after about ten minutes I relaxed onto the cushioned seat behind me and began to enjoy the ride. I noticed how when passing other bikes while out riding, OH would nod at them as they passed and they did the same to him. When I asked what this meant, I was told it was a kind of rule of the road with bikers, they nodded at each other to say they were okay. A new respect was born in me after hearing this, for the way bikers look out for each other.
To conclude I have now been on another ride and feel as if I’ve really settled into being on the back of the bike now. So becoming a biker’s moll wasn’t as hard as I thought even after all these years of travelling around in a lovely, warm and comfortable car.
A well earned Gin & Tonic!
Comment August 27, 2017 August 30, 2017 susangriffinauthor
If anyone is out there reading this then I’ll begin my very first blog post. Well that’s not strictly true as it’s actually my third. The first blog was written two years ago on what inspired me to write my first novel and the second was last year when I reviewed the Film, Suffragette.
Ah there’s a theme here I hear you say, Suffragettes. Before I explain further I’ll begin at the beginning. I’ll tell you how my writing journey began, while trying to disguise the scary feeling that no-one will be reading this blog post, no-one at all.
My writing journey began in two thousand and four, after I decided to attend a writing course at the local college. I’d tried writing short stories before but never found the courage to have a proper go at ‘this writing lark,’ and because of job and family commitments, writing was always on hold.
I digress. The day of the course arrived and I felt nervous, I’d had no time to prepare I told myself. What preparation I needed I didn’t know. To find out if I could write or not? To Write or not To Write?
I told myself I had to attend the course, as it would push me into doing more than just dabbling in a bit of prose, when I had a spare moment. It would spur me onto bigger things. Or… assign my writing to the bin forever (more likely).
The course turned out to be good, the teacher was helpful and the other students friendly. I felt I was making progress in my writing. Every week we were given homework which we had to read out in the class, this was nerve racking.
One day the subject of the homework was to write a monologue. We were each given a person and a situation to write about, and mine was: ‘someone who’d been captured and about to be tortured.’ My heart sank, this was a dark subject and not my kind of story at all. How was I to do this? Thankfully the words came easily and I called my story: The Red Shoes.
The theme of the story was moving and I soon realised it would be hard to read this aloud in class. I overcame this by reading it constantly to my long–suffering family. The time came to read it to the class and I managed it fine. There was a hushed silence when I reached the end of the story and I was full of pride, until one student said in a very loud voice, “Yeah but it isn’t a monologue is it?” What’s that they say about pride coming before a fall?
After the writing course ended I decided it was a novel not short stories I really wanted to write. As you will see from my previous blog post, (a whole year ago) I’d had an idea for a contemporary novel, and the research led me to the Edwardian era. This spiked my interest in how women lived then and the fight they had for the vote, making me realise the contemporary novel needed to be historical.
After completing another course, this time online, I finally finished my book. With my novel ‘Bird in a Gilded Cage’ now a finished manuscript I began submitting it to publishers and agents. To my great disappointment I had nothing but rejections. What to do next I wondered?
Self-publishing was my next step. I had spent five long years writing the novel and by publishing it myself it would have readers. Which also meant I could get on with writing the next one. Since then I’ve written another novel entitled ‘Amethyst’ which is a dual timeline story, featuring WW2 and present day intertwined. It’s set in Brighton and a small village called Isfield.
So that’s my writing story so far. I’ve recently returned from the Romantic Novelists Association’s annual conference (I joined their New Writers Scheme last year). While there I pitched Amethyst to an agent, who gave me some valuable feedback on improving the structure of the book.
I’m now in the middle of structural edits on Amethyst and also planning my next blog post as we speak. Is that the truth or fiction I hear you ask? To Write or Not to Write that is the question. I promise you I’ll be back next month when the fun will really start. I’ll tell you all about my struggling writers stuff (not always huge fun but definitely a challenge), and about becoming a biker’s moll. Now that’s got you wondering hasn’t it?
Thank you for reading this blog post (if anyone did) and look out for Sue’s Scribbling this time next month when I’ll definitely (promise) be blogging again.
A link to the short story The Red Shoes can be found at: http://www.susangriffinauthor.co.uk/
Find Susan at https://www.facebook.comauthorsusangriffin
Twitter: @sugriffinwriter
1 Comment July 31, 2017 August 3, 2017 susangriffinauthor
Review of the film: Suffragette
Grim, terrifying, passionate, but immensely inspirational, that’s how I would describe the film, Suffragette. Carey Mulligan’s portrayal of Maud Watts, a working class woman in the East End of London employed in a laundry where abuse of women is commonplace, was incredibly moving. At the start of the film she shies away from being associated with the movement, as getting involved means to court trouble of the very worst kind. Not just from men but fellow women as well.
But Maud’s sense of injustice becomes such she cannot help herself. A way to help womankind have a better life is staring her in the face if only she can find the courage. She eventually relents when a suffragette friend persuades her to join the movement. As Maud becomes embroiled in the cause, as a wife and mother she pays the highest price imaginable.
The film has many violent moments but the scene where Maud is being force fed in prison is particularly harrowing. Even the hardened police officer in the film, who hated these women with a vengeance, was moved to protest at the growing inhumane way they were being treated. In the end a martyr was needed to educate the public on what the suffragettes were fighting for as the newspapers were being silenced. Emily Wilding-Davison became that martyr when she gave her life for the cause, by leaping out in front of the King’s horse at the Epsom Derby on 4th June1913. She died of her injuries on 8th June 1913.
It is barely believable this was how women were treated just over a hundred years ago. Even if you were wealthy or you married a rich man everything was owned by your husband, including your children. Wealth did not mean freedom.
I spent years researching the suffragette movement for my book, Bird in a Gilded Cage, and there are similarities between this film and the story I have written. The book started out as a contemporary story, but whilst in the process of researching an Edwardian piece of clothing, I found that research led me to look at women in this time period and how they lived their lives. Women were trapped in a world where they were denied even the most basic of rights. One of those rights was the right to vote.
My heroine, Beth, is from a privileged background having grown up with every luxury money can buy. But it is freedom Beth is desperately seeking, that and finding a way to help women have a voice. Beth is frustrated beyond reason when she witnesses her brother, James, being allowed privileges she can only dream of while she is effectively imprisoned in her cushioned world.
As in the film Beth meets a suffragette, a young woman called Alice who draws her into the movement. Alice becomes her mentor and falls in love with Beth, but Beth is in love with Finn, a man who is opposed to the suffragette cause. Beth now has more than one fight on her hands in this dramatic portrayal of life during this pivotal time for women. Beth like Maud pays a high price for her freedom, but she never gives up the fight.
Suffragettes had enormous courage and fortitude in their fight for the vote. We must never forget how much we owe them. The freedom women enjoy today is only a result of their immense suffering, determination and brave sacrifice.
Comment September 8, 2016 susangriffinauthor
‘Inspired by Emmeline Pankhurst to write my novel.’
My novel Bird in a Gilded Cage, is a passionate story set against the backdrop of the suffragette movement. The heroine, Beth, is fighting to break free from overbearing and manipulative parents, when she meets headstrong Alice Sparks, and finds herself drawn into the fight for the emancipation of women. Alice’s declaration of undying love for Beth throws her into confusion just as the handsome and mysterious Finn McGuiness appears in her life.
But the real fight has only just begun, as Beth becomes embroiled in a powerful struggle for her own survival, where her beliefs and emotions are threatened and the resulting events lead to dramatic consequences.
An impassioned story of love, women’s fight for equality in the early twentieth century and friendships pushed to the very limits of endurance.
Bird in a Gilded Cage began life as a contemporary novel until early on in the planning of the book I had to look into Edwardian women’s fashion for research. This led me to discover not only the way women dressed but how they lived their lives. Emmeline Pankhurst and the suffragettes were at the forefront of the fight for equality and after reading their story I was inspired by these brave and courageous women.
It was at this point my novel changed from present day to historical and I began to write Beth’s dramatic story.
Emmeline was born in Manchester in 1858 the eldest of ten children. She grew up in a politically active family as her parents were both abolitionists and supporters of female suffrage.
In 1878 Emmeline returned to Manchester after studying in Paris and met Dr Richard Pankhurst. The two married in 1879 and gave birth to five children over the next decade, Christabel, Sylvia, Adela, Frank (who died in childhood) and Harry. Emmeline managed to combine bringing up her children and household responsibilities with campaigning for her husband in unsuccessful runs for parliament and hosting political meetings at their home. She was truly a remarkable woman.
When Emmeline’s dear husband died in 1898 she was consumed by grief and for several years focused her attentions on her children, however she retained a passion for women’s rights and in 1903 she created a new women-only group called the WSPU, Women’s Social and Political Union whose slogan was ‘Deeds Not Words.’ The group was led by Emmeline and her three daughters.
The WSPU was determined on a new approach as the government had refused to support women’s suffrage. The new tactics would be daring, disobedient and more militant than ever before.
After a protest in Parliament Square in 1910 turned violent and police beat many suffragettes, the WSPU waged guerrilla warfare, orchestrating window-smashing and arson attacks. As the movement became more desperate so it became more violent. In 1913 Emily Wilding Davison was killed when she threw herself under the king’s horse at the Derby racecourse. She was the only suffragette to die for the cause.
In 1914 war was declared in Europe and the government released all suffragettes from prison and they suspended their activities. Emmeline and her daughters threw themselves into the war effort.
In 1918 the government passed an act giving women the vote if they were over the age of 30 and either owned property or rented for at least £5/year or were the wife of someone who did. The suffragettes dream was finally realised when in March 1928 a bill was introduced to give women the vote on the same terms as men. However, Emmeline Pankhurst fell ill and died on the 14th June 1928 just before it became law on the 2nd July 1928.
There is no doubt that Emmeline Pankhurst and the suffragettes raised the profile of women’s right to vote to a national level. Emmeline was a woman with an indomitable spirit and gritty determination and is an inspiration to all women everywhere.
The suffragettes and their bravery against all the odds is still a subject which fascinates people today – including me. Earlier this year the BBC broadcast a three part programme on the suffragette movement and equality for women and Radio Six also aired a feature on the same subject. In September of this year the film Suffragette will be screened in cinemas across the country, starring Meryl Streep as Emmeline Pankhurst and is the first film to be shot in the Houses of Parliament with the permission of MPs.
My novel Bird in a Gilded Cage is available now in paperback and eBook.
Pick up today: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bird-Gilded-Cage-Suffragette-Story-ebook/
1 Comment June 23, 2015 October 3, 2015 susangriffinauthor
This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.
Comment May 16, 2015 susangriffinauthor
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2730
|
__label__cc
| 0.667361
| 0.332639
|
The G.A.R. is Gone
The Grand Army of the Republic, the powerful veterans organization of Union veterans of the Civil War, was officially disbanded in 1956, following the death of the last Union soldier, Albert Woolson. At its peak, just before the turn of the twentieth century, the G.A.R. was an association possessed of great demographic, political, and social power. With over 400,000 members, it advocated for pensions and other veterans’ benefits at the national level and played multiple fraternal and civic roles in every city and town which had a post: over 7000 across the nation and 210 here in Massachusetts, of which Salem’s Philip H. Sheridan post (#34) was among the oldest and largest. Because of the decentralized nature of the G.A.R., its membership records are found primarily in local repositories, and its successor organization, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, maintains a register of record locations. Salem’s G.A.R. records–16 boxes in all–are in the Phillips Library of the Peabody Essex Museum, and so gone, with the rest of its material heritage, to a storage facility in Rowley.
Greenlawn Cemetery in Salem, and the 2016 memorial for Medal of Honor recipient Thomas Atkinson.
It is tempting to dismiss the G.A.R. as a dusty and defunct fraternal order which only represented a certain minority of the population, but its impact was consequential: Decoration Day/ Memorial Day as well as more material forms of remembrance and veterans’ benefits are among its legacies. The Library of Congress’s guide to G.A.R. records in its possession highlights several potential subjects for research, including: social and charitable activities of Civil War veterans, the establishment and development of orphans’ and veterans’ pensions, and the post-war political activity of Union veterans as well as the attitudes of Union veterans towards government and the civil service. Many towns and cities–in our region Marblehead and Lynn come to mind immediately–have not only preserved their G.A.R. records but created museums for their interpretation. But Salem’s went to the PEM’s predecessor, the Essex Institute, like the records of most of its organizations, associations, and institutions, because the Essex Institute was Salem’s historical society. The Phillips Library’s finding aid for its G.A.R. records admits that these records create a detailed picture of an active GAR post with a large member base, yet this is a picture we can’t see—or paint—because of their inaccessibility, in apparent violation of the Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title II, Chapter 8, Section 18:
The histories, relics and mementos of the Grand Army of the Republic of the department of Massachusetts and the records of the Massachusetts department of the United Spanish War Veterans, of The American Legion, of the Disabled American Veterans of the World War, of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, of the American Veterans of World War II, AMVETS, and of the Veterans of the Indian Wars shall be accessible at all times, under suitable rules and regulations, to members of the respective departments and to others engaged in collecting historical information. Whenever any such department ceases to exist, its records, papers, relics and other effects shall become the property of the commonwealth.
The Massachusetts State House festooned for a G.A.R. encampment in 1927, Leslie Jones, Boston Globe; images from the History and Complete Roster of the Massachusetts Regiments, Minutemen of ’61 who Responded to the First Call of President Lincoln, April 15, 1861, to defend the Flag and Constitution of the United States (1910).
This entry was posted on Monday, May 7th, 2018 at 6:08 am and tagged with Archives, Cemeteries, Civil War, Peabody Essex Museum, Phillips Library, Research and posted in History, Salem. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
« The Dashing and Devoted Landers
Rolling in Their Graves »
19 responses to “The G.A.R. is Gone”
Stephanie Publicker
What a funny coincidence. Last night I was in Bridgton, Maine with friends and noticed the G.A.R. Hall which looks to be well maintained and now houses a local craft collective. The friends had no idea what G.A.R. stood for and I was glad that I could explain what the G.A.R. had been.
May 7th, 2018 at 10:00 am
That’s great that it’s found a new use!
bonniehurdsmith
Nelson has wonderful photos of GAR reunions at The Willows in his collection!
Well thank goodness for that! Otherwise there would be no trace of them in Salem……..
Nelson Dionne
I have several Salem News clippings about the Salem GAR Post,,in the Military binders at the SSU Archive. The group’s building was is poor condition by the mid 30’s ( as were the members ) . The building was no longer acceptable for use as a public all. It was sold soon after.
I believe that it became a parking lot after the War.
Bonnie’s new book on The Military History of Salem covers the group,
as well as the story of may other local Veterans groups & their activities
& reunions…
Salem Serves: Sites and Stories from the Military and Patriotic History of Salem, Massachusetts
We hope to finally ship i off to the printers very soon. We have many unpublished photographs of Fort Pickering during the Civil War. The
book will be another title worth buying.for military as well as local history
buffs.
Nanny Almquist
Thanks for this informative post and especially the bit about having the GAR’s records available to the public. When is our AG Moira Healey going to take up Salem’s history cause?
I’ll have an update on that tomorrow, Nanny.
ichibanneko@yahoo.com
As I remember it, Salem’s last surviving veteran of the Civil War was Thomas P. Corson, who lived on a street across from the Cogswell (Salem’s other Civil War general and Member of Congress). He was a member of General Lander G. A. R. Post No. 5 in Lynn. I believe that Corson died in the Summer of 1945.
Two more items of interest: Does anyone remember the 20 pounder Parrott Rifle that was up in Mack (Ledge Hill) Park. As I remember it, it was mounted on a granite plinth and overlooked Goodhue Street.
There were two more 20 pounder Parrott rifles mounted in front of the Salem Civil War Memorial at Winter Street and Washington Square West.
The three cannon have all disappeared. I know that the US Government retains ownership of all Civil War ordnance that was loaned to the various cities and towns for use in war memorials, so they must be around somewhere. Does anyone have any ideas?
Interesting info and questions—thanks!
I have quite a bit of information & period photos of cannon in Salem.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1910-SALEM-WILLOWS-pc-CANNON-PARK-VIEW-from-OLD-FORT-LEE-Salem-MA-PostCard/372240116118?hash=item56ab3d6996:g:DTMAAOSwyvBV9HNX
I have a letter from a collector about the cannon shown in the postcard.
I was not aware that there were any cannon at any other Salem parks.
I have many period photos as well as several articles about the memorial
at Winter St by the Washington SQ N intersection. I do not know when
they were removed, BUT, a great number of things were scrapped that
never should have
.Beverly had a brass cannon that was taken from a British warship in
a battle that occurred in local waters that was scrapped.
Bob Albert
Nice article, but the successor to the GAR is the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Only one word off. My gr-gr-grandfather was in the Berry posy in Malden, and I joined the SUVCW in his honor.
Thanks for the correction!
Glenn McDonald
There definitely was a cannon at Mack Park. Even though I’m a Gallows Hill (28 Albion Street) boy by birth and inclination, I spent many happy hours playing on that cannon in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Phil Sheridan Post No. 34 was located at 12 St. Peter Street, next to a livery stable. I don’t know when it/they were razed. All I really remember is that when I was young, the site was a Cities Service gas station. After the building was razed, Post No. 34 moved in with the United Spanish American War Veterans on Beckford ST (also on my paper route, which ended at the Public Library).
Veering way off topic, How many bowling alleys can you remember in downtown Salem? Candlepin Lanes off Canal Street doesn’t count.
I bowled at the tiny alleys downstairs at the Y.
I always bowled my best at Heff’s (Heffernan’s) bowling alley inder the A&P at the NE corner of Bridge and Washington Streets. Heff always offered something like a $500 (?) bonus to anyone who could roll a score of 200, or higher in league competition.. As I remember, only Gordon Brousseau and one other got to claim the prize money.
There were two more, defunct by the time I knew about them, But I was there, and saw what was left.
One, name unknown, was in the basement of the Merchant’s Bank, on the SE corner of Essex and Derby Square. Entrance was from a long stairway on the Derby Square side.
Finally, there was a bowling alley, again, name unknown, under the Old Post Office (later an Eaton’s Drug Store) on the SW corner of Essex and ST. Peter Streets. I remember that you could see the long dead pins lying on the dusty alleys if you were tall enough to look through a dirty safety wired (remember them?) window as you walked down the stairwell on St. Peter Street
Also, there was a bowling alley on Mill Hill before WW I. It was called Hawthorne Lanes, and was at 293 Washington Street, almost exactly where the St. Mary’s Church WW I memorial is in the littlr park at the junction of Washington and Lafayette Streets,
There was another, called Reliable Bowling Alleys, at 53 Washington ST, just East of Federal ST, but that was long gone by WW II.
Wow–that’s a lot of bowling alleys. Where exactly was the G.A.R./ Spanish American Veterans post on Beckford?
Good Evening All;;
I should have this note type by someone else. I no longer have the
digital dexterity that I did. However, I can still research & gather today’s
Salem , paper as it comes out. It”s free for the effort & quirky vanishes..
Your reply as brought up many dim memories.
II started Salem high in Sept. 1961.,after spending 9 years at St. Anne’s.
I too delivered the Salem Evening News around the Jefferson Ave
neighborhood. The cost was 3 cents ! I ended the route at the high
end of Adam’s St, Back then, there was well used path on the ridge
that hill that ended in the back of the Casino Press building…There was a
film processing operation that used to throw away the 35 mm canisters.
A great find for all. A few years later, the building became the “Giant –
Valu ” super market.. I used to hang around Nick’s Variety store. My
great uncle Ernie April as there every night to pick up the final
edition of the Boston American. They published the Treasury balance,
the “Number” that was eagerly awaited by the “Numbers” players !
All the factories had a person who collected the nickle or dime bets from
the “players” of the “N****R Pool.” The Boston bookies were the only
real winners.!
My father was the meat cutter at the Federal St A&P. I earned a lot about
Salem by walking to the store from school. Unfortunately, I was juswt
a bit too young to see the B&M steam engines, or the old depot oor
the huge mess that had the city dug up to rebuild the tunnel I did go
bowling downstairs now & then.
I’m gong to end this now, more later. I can’t type anymore.
PS I’m looking for information about the Boy Scout troops in Salem.
Are you kin to Ernie April, the Salem Fire Dept. Lieutenant? I went through High School with his daughter Judy.
My grandfather used to take me down to the Salem Depot to get the early edition of the Record-American. I can still visualize the big green Railway Express carts. Tuesdays were grocery shopping days in my family, and we were First National people. My mother would do the shopping at the New Derby Street First National, where I later worked when I was at SHS, and my father and I would watch the depot demolition week by week. I can still sorta hear his remonstrances anoyr never lookind directly at the cutting torshes’ arcs as the tracks and support beams for the old tunnel were being cut up on Washington Street..
The April’s were related on my grandmothers side. I may have a photo of his wife at a family wedding in 1939. It shows All of the women & is captioned. I have extras. I do have a portrait of Ernie & Bob in their SFD uniforms.
I also have a huge collection of rail & trolley photos at the SSU inc. the tunnel rebuilding.
Good to hear from you directly. Earlier this year, I found a Post 34 photo in ebay. It is a formal photo of the entire membership of Post 34, in their GAR uniforms, posed on the floor of the lodge room at 12 St. Peter St.
I’m going to frame it for my office. It’s a shame that there’s no one alive today to help identify the veterans.
My mother’s maternal grandmother’s family was in Marblehead in the 1750s, and my gr. gr. grandfather was a member of GAR Post 82 in Marblehead. His name, William H. Atkinson, is carved on one of the stones on the street, next to the building. He died in July 1899, and my grandmother remembered him well, because he lived with the family. I suppose that he’s the reason for my interest in the GAR, from around age 12.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2736
|
__label__wiki
| 0.946053
| 0.946053
|
2010 CSUN water polo review
Monique Muñiz
Filed under Sports
CSUN water polo goal for a Big West Championship almost was in reach this season, but they lost to UC Irvine. Courtesy of Matador Athletics
The 2010 Cal State Northridge women’s water polo team’s journey began with a dream to win the Big West championship, which seemed possible when it was ranked No. 9 in the nation early in the season, for CSUN fell short as it lost to the defending champion, UC Irvine, in the conference championship tournament game (April 25) in Long Beach.
The Matadors had never made it to the championship game in their eight years of existence. This season they finished with an overall record of 28-8, a new school record, and were ranked No. 11 nationally.
Northridge went 4-1 in Big West play, tying with Pacific for first, and won second place in the Big West Tournament.
The Matadors bump in the road came int he form of a shocking sudden death overtime loss to No. 16 Pacific. The Tigers dominated the game by shutting down CSUN in the center two-meter on offense forcing it to shoot from outside, which it could not covert on.
During non-conference play CSUN dominated by going 19-5, and outscored its opponents 249 to 147 in goals.
The Northridge team had chemistry like no other, before games they were very relaxed and having fun with each other and during games it showed. The players relied on each and everyone and it showed with both their defense and offense.
Their offense was dominate scoring 371 goals, with sophomore Whitney Delgado stacking up 80 goals for a single-season school record and had 347 assists led by senior Kirra Kylander with 67. There was only one game this season that CSUN’s offense didn’t have more than one player with more than one goal.
The Matadors explosive offense couldn’t have survived without feeding off their strong defense this season. The team had 297 steals, 59 blocks and 288 kick outs.
With the defense doing its job, in front of the net two-time All-American Jillian Stapf shined as goal keeper. Stapf career ends at CSUN with a total of 1,302 saves, she tied a career best of 20 saves in a game, she also holds a single season record for most saves in a season with 364, and was named 2010 Big West Water Polo Player of the Year.
One area the team could not improve on was defeating top ranked teams. CSUN lost twice to No. 9 Arizona State, No. 2 USC, and No. 5 UCLA. They fared better in its second game against Arizona State, but still lost.
Going into conference play, CSUN had to battle with its opponents, Long Beach scored three straight goals in the conference opener before Northridge took charge of the game.
The Matadors had their first overtime against UC Irvine and won. Their first come-from-behind win came against Santa Barbara in an intense game on the road and the game against UC Davis was a sudden death overtime win.
Going into the Big West tournament CSUN faced Santa Barbara for the second straight season in the semifinals but this time prevailed reaching the championship.
In the Big West championship game, UC Irvine dominated with outside shots, scoring five goals in the first and closed the two-meter area so CSUN could not score or gain the lead in the game.
The Matadors say goodbye to seven seniors, but their future seems bright with sophomores Delgado, who led the team in goals, and Heidi Pettinger, who helped the defense in the two-meter. Pettinger’s three goals in the semifinals against UC Santa Barbara helped the team get to the championship game. Also, Junior Sydney Sonoda was third in team scoring and named first team All-Big West Conference along with Delgado. These are just a few of the players that will come back next season in hopes to win the Big West championship.
Monique Muñiz, Author
Lancers come back late to beat Matadors
Softball doubles record has a new name at number one
Matadors of the Year
Softball drops final home series 2-1
Santa Barbara wins Sunday to sweep Matadors
Gaucho offense steals the spotlight in victory over CSUN
Returning to realize a dream
Matadors of the Week
Grand slam gives CSUN comeback win over Hawaii
Dominant pitching, timely hitting key victory over Hawaii
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2739
|
__label__wiki
| 0.881914
| 0.881914
|
HomeArchivesAlumni Film "Swiss Army Man" Nominated for Independent Spirit Award
Alumni Film "Swiss Army Man" Nominated for Independent Spirit Award
Emerson alumni Daniel Kwan '10, left, and Daniel Scheinert '09 on the set of Swiss Army Man. The film was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature November 22. Photo/courtesy of A24
Emerson alumni Daniel Scheinert '09 and Daniel Kwan '10 were nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature for their offbeat dark comedy Swiss Army Man, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The film stars Paul Dano as a desperate man stranded on a deserted island and Daniel Radcliffe as the bloated corpse that washes up on shore. The pair develop a relationship throughout their journey home, which is filled with moments of tender beauty and punctuated with explosive flatulence.
The directing duo, who are known collectively as Daniels and who made a name for themselves directing music videos, “wanted to start the movie with a fart that would make you laugh, but end the movie with a fart that made you cry,” Scheinert told Emerson College Today in June, prior to the film's national release.
Swiss Army Man premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2016, where it took home a directing award, and was released in theaters July 1. In September, the film was screened as part of the Bright Lights Film Series, with Daniels joining in for a discussion via Skype.
The film's editor, Matthew Hannam, is up for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing.
The Independent Spirit Awards, now in their 32nd year, are presented by Film Independent, a nonprofit dedicated to indie film and filmmakers, and will air on IFC on Saturday, February 25, 2017, at 5:00 pm ET.
One Year Out of Emerson, Alum Has Emmy on Shelf
Pelton Supports Federal Program for Undocumented Students
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2741
|
__label__wiki
| 0.837782
| 0.837782
|
Tag Archives: Osinbajo
May 9, 2019 by topetempler
By Tope Templer Olaiya
There’s presently no challenger; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is the undisputed poster boy of Buhari’s first-term presidency. And by each passing day, the Professor of Law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) carves a niche for himself through his conduct and carriage of rising above the ashes of a floundering administration to earn the sobriquet, Star Boy.
Long before President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated his cabinet in November 2015, one man had been primed to take that space, the former governor of Lagos State. Babatunde Raji Fashola, a.k.a. Eko oni baje, was propelled then as the poster boy of the newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC) that won the hearts of many during the 2015 elections.
And when the cabinet was unveiled with the president assigning three heavy portfolios – power, works and housing – to Fashola, the coast was clear for the Lagos ‘golden boy’ to transit from APC’s poster boy to Buhari’s actualizer, but it is another Lagos ‘golden boy’ that has taken the shine and grabbed the medal of this administration’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. He is by popular acclaim the Buhari administration’s ‘Star Boy,’ the poster boy of efficiency, commitment, honesty and loyalty.
The Star Boy, Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo
Both friends and foes, young and old are left enamored by the vice president’s exemplary and humble lifestyle, especially his ebullient spirit and ability to maintain uncommon composure in the face of threats and barrages of attacks.
Tuesday’s incident was unscripted. It was the latest of the vice president’s recurring civility and addition to his expanding crest lined with badges of honour. Angry youths of Gbagyi village in Abuja had blocked the busy Umaru Yar’Adua expressway connecting the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to protest against the alleged land grab by the Nigerian Army.
The vice president was heading to the airport on his way to Ekiti State to launch the Homegrown School Feeding Programme when he ran into the protesters at Goza village. The protesters blocked Osinbajo’s motorcade and all entreaties by his security aides to appease the youths failed. They were only disarmed and placated when the Star Boy seized the moment, alighted from his bulletproof Mercedes Benz to engage with the angry youths, by proposing to meet with their leaders on the matter and intervene with a view to finding an amicable solution.
Instantly, the people ended the protest and opened the highway for free passage. Still not done, the vice president didn’t order his convoy to squeeze through the congested road, he waited to ensure cars ahead of his convoy went on first and then got back into his car to continue his trip to the airport. Deservedly, the once incensed youths now formed a guard of honour that stretched several miles to bid him goodbye.
That was a simple but classic act of courage and leadership, which has never failed the vice president in the last four years, especially at critical periods when he mounted the saddle as acting president.
NO AIRS: Osinbajo walking down to engage with the protesters
Acting otherwise with an excessive show of force would have been expected but out of character for Osinbajo. A similar incident with a different outcome occurred in December 2015 when the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, ran into the annual procession of the Shiites Muslim sect in Zaria, Kaduna State.
The ensuing clash turned violent, leading to the deaths of over 300 sect members and incarceration of the sect leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife since then. It is, therefore, left to be imagined what would have been left in the wake of such obstruction if it had been the motorcade of the president and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Osinbajo left that rowdy scene, arrived in Ekiti, performed his official function but what makes the man so much loved still trailed him to Ekiti when he visited the man who served as official driver to Chief Obafemi Awolowo. The senior citizen, Pa Olajide Olabode, aged 87 and his family was visibly elated and felt honoured.
Apart from serving as official driver to the late sage, he also functioned in same capacity and had the privilege to interact with the former governor of Western Region, Oba Adesoji Tadeniawo Aderemi, who was also the Ooni of Ife; the former Premier, Western Region, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola and the first Military Governor, Western Region, General Adeyinka Adebayo. Pa Olabode was also the chauffeur of visiting head of states that included Julius Nyerere of Tanzania.
Before then, Osinbajo had sat on a school bench to eat with pupils of St. Michael’s African Primary School, Ado-Ekiti after the launch of School Feeding Programme.
Long before the TraderMoni social intervention scheme was launched that would see Osinbajo visit major markets across the length and breath of the country, he had also being a crowd’s man. Osinbajo in 2017 had almost caused a scare in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, when he went for a state visit.
On arrival at the airport, then acting president Osinbajo had inspected the guard of honour mounted by troops of the Army, Navy and Air Force before proceeding to the palace of the Obong of Calabar for a brief interaction. On the way, a visibly elated Osinbajo stopped his motorcade along the IBB Way to meet the cheering crowd, especially pupils of Federal Government Girls College, Calabar, who trooped out to catch a glimpse of his motorcade.
VICTORIA ASCERTA: Osinbajo being hailed by the protesters after the engagement
He not only walked a long distance just to shake hands with the crowd, an elderly woman from the throng forced her way to Osinbajo bringing freshly harvested vegetables to present to the vice president in a tray. That gesture melted the heart of Osinbajo who couldn’t help but reward the old woman with a tight hug.
Ever since then, the vice president has always been greeted by a mob wherever he goes, a situation even his security details sometimes find difficult to control.
As a polemicist, Osinbajo enjoys sermonizing. He likes to espouse on issues. As a university lecturer and senior advocate, he is in his elements when engaging on issues to win diehards to his side. As a vice president, he has taken his long years of scholarly antecedents with measured steps to tackle the matters of state that begged his attention.
He won hearts, even from unexpected quarters, and somewhat courted some enemies, with his swift response to the blockade of the National Assembly by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) during one of his stints as acting president last year.
While some of the president’s appointees have riden roughshod in their line of duty with no respect for democratic norms and ethos, Osinbajo had stood at variance from such malfeasance like a rare breed cut out from a refined piece. That was what Lawal Daura, the sacked director-general of the DSS, tried to display when he ordered his operatives to take over the National Assembly. He had a mission, to prevent the leadership of the National Assembly from holding their scheduled meeting. But Osinbajo aborted the Daura coup.
It would also be recalled that while Buhari was away on his routine medical trips, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) staged a public show. It demanded a referendum on Biafra. Osinbajo, also acting president at that time, handled the situation with the maturity it deserved.
“Nigeria’s unity is one for which enough blood has been spilled and many hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost. Many have paid for the unity of this country with their lives, and it will be wrong of us, as men and women of goodwill in this generation, to toy with those sacrifices that have been made.
“The truth is that many, if not most nations of the world are made up of different peoples and cultures and beliefs and religions, who find themselves thrown together by circumstance. The most successful of the nations of the world are those who do not fall into the lure of secession, but who through thick and thin forge unity in diversity,” he said.
Osinbajo, subscribing to this civilised tenets of democratic form of government, weaved through the thorny issue of self-actualisation, but once he reverted to his nominal role as vice president, the cart soon turned and a crackdown was ordered on the unarmed and defenceless members of IPOB, codenamed Operation Python Dance. Many lost their lives in the process.
But the vice president is not all out for the show. He brings his intellectual rigour into governance. Last week, the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, though started late due to other state assignments he anchored in the absence of the president, went on late into the night on Thursday. That was not his first time; last year when he had cause to take charge of FEC meeting, the ministers were forced to deliberate for seven long hours.
His forward thinking approach to governance has been the soothing balm in moments of crisis. Once on a tour of duty in Rivers State in 2017, Osinbajo declared that the federal government would work with illegal refineries and help convert them to modular refineries.
His approach to the Niger Delta challenge is an approach of intelligence and diplomacy, which has achieved more in the restive region than the president’s ‘command and obey’ tactics. The man approached the region with compassion and understanding, not with threats and bluster.
He physically visited and toured the region, not to canvass for votes, but actually to get a firsthand on-the-spot assessment of the issues befuddling the Niger Delta. What was the result of his avowed civility, oil production continued to rise and militancy waned.
He is an efficient technocrat in politics. Little wonder he is regarded across combustible and corrosive party lines as Nigeria’s most effective No. 2 citizen ever. He gets the work done. He is down to earth. His brainpower and people management skill more than compensate for what he lacks in a towering physique.
Where many are announced by raw physical presence only, Osinbajo only needs to speak to announce his presence: very articulate, never caught unprepared in situations needing empirical validation; always thinking on his feet and hard as granite under the harmless exterior. And when situations demand it, he is never short on quotable riposte like his anecdote of the looted empty shop and needless security over it during his sparring session with Mr. Peter Obi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the vice presidential debate.
Again, Osinbajo does not strike one as an individual who has been changed by the power of his office. He is still the same good old ‘Jebby’ that his friends called him in the formative years. He appears more comfortable with being called ‘Prof. Yemi Osinbajo’ than being tagged with the awe-inducing ‘His Excellency’ label that tends to create a distance between the leader and the led.
Nigerians won’t forget in a hurry other few incidences where the vice president has shone brightly standing the middle ground between the government and the governed. In February 2017, there had been a mass movement of Nigerians mobilized for a nationwide anti-government protest tagged #IStandWithNigeria.
The protest was championed by music star, Tu Face Idibia, but he later succumbed to threats by the police not to lead Nigerians out on the protest. The rally lost a bit of momentum when the Afro-pop singer pulled out, citing security concerns, but his call to action had received widespread popular support and several civil society organisations keyed into it.
Yet at such difficult moment when responsibility fell on his shoulder to keep the country together in the midst of economic crisis skyrocketing prices of food items, then acting president, Osinbajo, received the protesters in Abuja and said: “We hear you loud and clear, those who are on the streets protesting the economic situation across the country and even those who are not, but feel the pain of economic hardship, we hear you loud and clear. You deserve a decent life and we are working night and day to make life easier.”
That statement, which was also posted on his social media handles, poured cold water on the fire the mass movement was generating.
It was a masterstroke that even disarmed a regular critic of the Buhari presidency, Reno Omokri. He had said then: “The man speaks to Nigerians as a leader should. He does not talk at us like the president. He talks to us. I may have issues with what he says sometimes but I am still impressed by his conduct and courteousness in office. Even if you do not like him, you must respect Vice President Osinbajo.”
Tagged #IStandWithNigeria, APC, Nigeria, Osinbajo, Poster Boy, Star Boy, Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo
June 4, 2018 by topetempler
Reality versus scorecard in Buhari’s declining rating
May 29, 2018, Nigeria’s Democracy Day, was planned to be another chest-thumping occasion marking the third year of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration of change and 19 years of return to democracy, but it turned out to be a rude reality check for the administration.
The day began well from Aso Rock, the seat of power at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, with the president’s national broadcast, where Buhari highlighted his achievements and plans for the next year, the last of his four-year term.
Buhari said his administration came at a time Nigerians needed change, which he is delivering, especially in the three cardinal points of his administration – security, corruption and the economy. He said the capacity of the Boko Haram insurgents had been degraded by his government, leading to release of captives, including 106 Chibok and 104 Dapchi girls, and over 16,000 other persons held by the terrorist group.
He called for utmost sense of fairness, justice and peaceful co-existence ahead of the 2019 general election to have a hitch-free elections as well as a credible and violence-free process. He added that in a few days to come, he would be joined by some promising young Nigerians to sign into law the ‘Not Too Young to Run’ Bill, which he later did two days after.
Angry reactions immediately followed the Democracy Day broadcast, especially as most respondents said the president failed woefully on many fronts. Tackling the issue of insecurity, the Anglican Bishop of Okigwe South, Rt. Rev. David O. C. Onuoha, noted that far greater percentage of Nigerians live in fear of the country’s direction.
“The fears are heightened daily by news coming from the print, electronic and social media, as well as what the eyes can see about the growing level of insecurity in the land. Though Boko Haram has, according to the Federal Government, been decimated and degraded to the point that they no longer occupy territories in Nigeria, I am terribly disturbed that they are still wasting precious human lives and property. The menace of killer herdsmen and their manifest proclivity for killing people in scores, destroying farmland and sacking communities are unprecedented. That they carry sophisticated weapons, operate freely, openly and escape prosecution, is as disturbing as it is intriguing,” Bishop Onuoha fumed.
The voices from the streets also did not spare the Buhari administration. In Lagos State, citizens from all walks of life who last week told The Guardian of their hopes and fears about Nigeria, expressed dissatisfaction over the state of the nation. While they agreed that the nation had been consistent in achieving a democratic rule since 1999, they, however, chided the government for their incompetence in delivering the dividends of democracy to the people.
Despite scoring itself high on its achievements in the past three years, a new poll conducted ‘amongst 4,000 Nigerians’ last week rated President Buhari’s performance below average. According to the poll, he failed Nigerians in his three cardinal campaign promises: Corruption, Security and Economy. The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) launched ‘Buharimeter’ to track the delivery of Buhari’s campaign promises to Nigerians. According to CDD, this year’s poll was conducted in May by telephone amongst 4,000 respondents across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The poll revealed that 40 per cent of Nigerians approve of the president’s performance while 44 per cent disapprove, with the remaining 16 per cent being indifferent.
“This implies that the president is rated below average by Nigerians. The president’s approval rating of 40 per cent marks a decline of 17 per cent from 57 per cent rating recorded in the 2017 Buharimeter National Survey,” it said.As if that didn’t reflect popular opinion enough, former Vice President and presidential hopeful, Atiku Abubakar, handed President Buhari a crushing defeat in another online poll conducted by the president’s own consultant.
A flurry of polls largely promoted by pro-Buhari influencers sprung up shortly after the administration marked its third anniversary on May 29. In the first poll conducted by Mark Essien via his Twitter handle @markessien, Atiku polled 43 per cent while Buhari trailed him with 35 per cent. But in the second the poll conducted by @YNaija, Atiku polled 70 per cent versus Buhari’s dismal 19 per cent. The other participants in the poll, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu and Mr. Fela Durotoye polled six and five per cent respectively.
The poll, which commenced on May 29 and ended 11:00p.m. of June 1 asked respondents: “Which of them will have your vote, if you had to vote today?” At the end of the voting of 7,444 respondents, seven out of every 10 respondents representing about 5,210 settled for Atiku compared to Buhari’s vote of 1,414; Moghalu’s 446 and Durotoye’s 372. The outcome of the poll by YNaija, a youth blog run by Red Media, which played a major role in Buhari’s media during the 2015 elections, is a reflection of result of the latest poll by NOI/Gallup Poll, which saw Buhari’s rating dip to 41 per cent.
Against the run of play of public opinion and ratings however, the Buhari administration’s third year report/factsheet says otherwise. On the economy, the report says the economic growth is back and consolidating after the recession of 2016-2017. The administration’s priority sectors of agriculture and solid minerals maintained consistent growth throughout the recession.
Inflation has fallen for the 15th consecutive month from 18.7 per cent in January 2017 to 12.5 per cent as of April 2018; External Reserves of US$47.5 billion are the highest in five years, and double the size as of October 2016; in 2017, agriculture exports grew 180.7 per cent above the value in 2016; Nigeria’s stock market ended 2017 as one of the best-performing in the world, with returns in excess of 40 per cent; five million new taxpayers were added to the tax base since 2016, as part of efforts to diversify government revenues; tax revenue increased to N1.17 trillion in first quarter of 2018, a 51 per cent increase on the Q1 2017 figure; and N2.7 trillion was spent on infrastructure in 2016 and 2017, an unprecedented allocation in Nigeria’s recent history.
On investment in people, the Buhari factsheet listed four components of its Social Investment Programme (SIP), which have already taken off. The SIP is the largest social safety net programme in the history of Nigeria, with N140 billion released and more than nine million direct beneficiaries so far – 200,000 N-Power beneficiaries currently participating and receiving N30,000 in monthly stipends, with another 300,000 new enrolments being processed, to take the number to 500,000 this year.
Second is the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP). N15.183 billion in interest-free loans ranging from N50,000 to N350,000 have been disbursed to more than 300,000 market women, traders, artisans, and farmers across all 36 states of the country and the FCT. In November 2017, GEEP was chosen as the pilot programme for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Policy Innovation Unit in Nigeria.
Another of its SIP is the Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP), covering currently, a total of 8.2 million pupils in 45,394 public primary schools across 24 states. Over 80,000 direct jobs have since been created from the School Feeding Programme, with 87,261 cooks engaged in the 24 states. Lastly is the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) with 297,973 families benefiting from the scheme, which pays N5,000 monthly to the poorest and most vulnerable households in the country.
For security, while Nigerians have lost count of incessant attacks and galloping death toll across the country, owing majorly to herdsmen/farmers’ conflict, the Buhari’s scorecard list the following: In the Northeast, revitalization of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), aimed at combating trans-border crime and the Boko Haram insurgency; resumption of public secondary schools in Borno State in 2016 after two years of closure; reopening of Maiduguri-Gubio and Maiduguri-Monguno roads; capture of Boko Haram’s operational and spiritual headquarters, ‘Camp Zero’, in Sambisa Forest; return of more than a million displaced persons to their homes and communities across the Northeast; and release of more than 13,000 Boko Haram hostages, including 106 of the Chibok Girls abducted in April 2014, and 105 of the Dapchi Girls abducted in February 2018.
The report listed successful military operations across the country: Operation Lafiya Dole, and Operation Last Hold, to defeat Boko Haram, in the Northeast; Operation Whirl Stroke, operating in Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara states, to tackle the menace of armed herdsmen, cattle rustlers, communal militias, kidnappers and other bandits; Exercise Crocodile Smile I (September 2016) and II (October 2017) to curtail the menace of militant activities in the Niger Delta; Exercise Obangame, a multinational operation aimed at securing and protecting the Gulf of Guinea; Operation Awatse, a joint operation between the military and the police, in the South West, to flush out militants and pipeline vandals; and Exercise Python Dance I (November 2016) and II (September 2017) in the South East, to tackle kidnappers and militant elements.
The government notes that its anti-corruption crusade and corruption war has been hinged on the plank of its fiscal reforms aimed at plugging leakages, one of which is the new Whistleblowing Policy. The policy introduced by the Federal Ministry of Finance in December 2016 has since yielded the following in recoveries: N13.8 billion from tax evaders, and N7.8 billion, US$378million, £27,800 in recoveries from public officials targeted by whistleblowers.
The Ministry received a total of 8,373 communications on contract inflation, ghost workers, illegal recruitment and misappropriation of funds, as a result of the policy. Of this number, the Ministry has undertaken 791 investigations and completed 534. Ten are presently under prosecution and four convictions have been secured. There is also an increased oversight of MDAs. The National Economic Council (NEC), under the chairmanship of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, approved the audit of key federal revenue generating agencies, with revealing results: a total sum of N526 billion and US$21 billion underpaid to the Federation Account between 2010 and 2015.
NEC has now approved the extension of that audit to cover the period until June 2017. The administration is also addressing the issue of poor levels of remittance of operating surpluses by MDAs. From remitting only N51 million between 2010 and 2016, JAMB went on to remit N7.8 billion in 2017, and is on course to remit a similar amount in 2018. How this factsheet or its impact on citizens can halt or sway public opinion from dangerously going south, thereby eroding remnants of the already exhausted goodwill of this administration, will be seen in the next eight months in countdown to 2019 general elections.
https://guardian.ng/features/focus/reality-versus-scorecard-in-buharis-declining-rating/
Tagged Buhari, Democracy Day, Factsheet, May 29, Osinbajo, Reality, Scorecard
September 7, 2016 by topetempler
Change or Chains
Angst as Nigerians feel pains of increasing hard times
These are not the best of times in Nigeria. Long before July 21, 2016, when the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, officially confirmed that the country was ‘technically in recession,’ it had been an arduous battle for survival for citizens, organizations and governments at all tiers.
The first half of the year was rough.
In spite of government’s assurances, Nigerians weathered the storm, bracing the challenge of petroleum scarcity, epileptic power supply amid increase in electricity tariff, removal of subsidy on petrol, hike in cost of food, goods and services, unprecedented scarcity of tomatoes, skyrocketing exchange rate of the naira to a dollar, backlog of unpaid salaries and mass retrenchment of workers.
For this man, RECESSION is not just a word
Government kept repeating that the tide would turn once the 2016 budget was passed and the second half of the year would be better for the country and its citizens.
President Muhammadu Buhari eventually signed the budget on May 6, raising the hopes of turnaround with the injection of government funds across critical sectors of the economy.
With four months left in the year, it’s a stark reality of a depressed economy staring Nigerians in the face as strange things are reported daily.
Organized and petty crimes have been on the increase, unsecured pots of soup have become endangered species, sale of human blood and organs for economic reasons is rife, and frustrations have given rise to rampant cases of domestic violence, child abuse and suicide.
The hunger is so widespread that poultry farmers confess to skipping meals for their birds as the cost of feed has risen by 100 per cent.
Signs of the time: A boy eating crumbs from a pot.
Even in the president’s home state of Katsina recently, there was a massive scramble for unwholesome grain when the truck conveying bags of the suspected poisonous grains for destruction broke down in a village.
When persuasion failed, authorities had to engage the help of task force to retrieve some of the poisoned grains in a bid to avoid devastating consequences.
The new economic reality is affecting the lifestyle of Nigerians.
Today, an exchange of pleasantries is incomplete without the word ‘Change’ in reference to the evocative slogan that brought the present administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to power.
The standard reply to any untoward situation in the country is ‘Chanji’, the street version of APC’s motto – change.
President Buhari takes a peep at the capital city from Aso Villa
A public affairs commentator based in Kano State, Aminu Muhammad Ofs, last week recounted his experience of the times, which has gone viral on social media.
He said: “I was sitting with a guy who sells tea when an elderly man came and said ‘Give me ‘Buhari’s mixture’. Without saying anything more, the man was given some tea and small bread for a sum of N40.
I was baffled, so I asked the seller what the man meant by ‘Buhari’s mixture’. He explained that it means tea without milk plus a small loaf of bread.
“Again the next day, I stopped by a small kiosk to get a battery for my wireless computer mouse. While I was leaving, a guy came who said: ‘Give me Buhari and Osinbajo. I waited to see what he meant and the seller handed him garri and groundnut.
“I inquired from the seller, who explained that garri is the street term for President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is groundnut, while Senate President Bukola Saraki is sugar, slang for the staple foods the poor can afford.”
A drummer bows his head in agony after low patronage.
Before now, Lagos State was often referred to the city that never sleeps, because it is known for its hustle and bustle from dawn to dusk.
The wind of recession has blown all that away.
The bustling nightlife is disappearing in the Centre of Excellence, as the city practically shuts down and becomes a ghost town once it is 10p.m., even on weekends.
Due to the harsh economic conditions in the country, Nigerians have developed some clever methods of dealing with the tough circumstances.
Policemen take to lotto and gambling to make ends meet
According to a public opinion survey by NOIPolls, released on August 10, 2016, 97 per cent of the respondents said the recent economic realities have had a negative effect on the wellbeing of the average Nigerian.
Some survival methods discovered by the polls include cutting down on household expenses and luxury items, resorting to prayers and hoping for a miracle, engaging in subsistence farming, adjusting feeding patterns in place of the regular three-square meals.
A businessman, Emeka Obinna told The Guardian that he has had to adjust the feeding patterns of his family.
“I have a family of six, with several other dependents. That’s the only way we are managing to survive. No more three-square meals. It is either breakfast and dinner, or lunch and dinner. So, it is the 1-0-1, 1-1-0 or 0-1-1 formula I am operating now with the little resources at my disposal,” he said.
Tagged Adeosun, Aminu Ofs, APC, Buhari, Change, Hard Times, NOIPolls, Osinbajo, Recession, Saraki
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2744
|
__label__wiki
| 0.879661
| 0.879661
|
TBS Home
William and Catherine Booth: On a Mission From God
By David A. Tomar
Subscribe & Stay Informed
Some armies make war. Some defend the peace. But in the mid-19th Century, only one army was built to help the poor. We refer, of course, to the Salvation Army, the founding of which is inextricably linked to the present day tenets and practices of Booth University in Winnipeg, Canada.
Both the Salvation Army and Booth University can trace their founding to that age-old story wherein boy-meets-girl; boy gives impassioned speech about the evils of alcohol; boy and girl get married and have eight children. Tale as old as time.
William Booth was born to a modestly wealthy family in Nottingham, England in 1829. Unfortunately for William, the family's fortunes took a turn for the worst during his early childhood. When his father was no longer able to fund William's education, the 13-year-old began an apprenticeship as a pawnbroker. It was during this experience that he adopted the tenets of Methodism and educated himself in religious writing and speech. He styled himself as an amateur preacher while still in his teens.
Meanwhile in Derbyshire...
Catherine Mumford was born in the very same year, likewise to Methodist parents, and to a father who, like her future husband, moonlit as an evangelical preacher. Catherine was also extremely passionate about her religious studies as an adolescent. She is said to have read the bible cover to cover eight times by the time she was 12, a remarkable accomplishment given that literacy was hardly a guarantee for women of the 19th Century.
Rebel Methodists
Two major forces fated the meeting of young William and Catherine: their shared interest in the Temperance Movement (which concerned the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption), and the fact that both had been expelled from the Wesleyan denomination of the Methodist church for their sympathy to a midcentury reform movement.
With William's apprenticeship completed, he struggled to find paying work in Nottingham so he departed for London. There, he landed work as a pawnbroker but the call of God boomed loudly in his heart. By 1850, he had taken to open-air evangelizing on the streets of the big city. Two years later, he went pro, joining the reform movement and gaining his own congregation.
Well, William must have been a natural because he was only at the job for one month when a fiery speech on alcohol abstinence caught the attention of pious Catherine and ultimately led to their marriage in 1855.
Seeking Out the Poorer Quarters, Where the Ragged People Go...
Evangelizing was William's greatest passion, but he increasingly found that his formal connection to the Methodist church stood in the way of this calling. He was generally assigned to pastoral work in spite of frequent requests to undertake missionary campaigns. By the 1860s, William had gone independent, focusing his efforts on the poorest and most ragged corners of London's East End.
Though he had come to attract increasingly larger crowds, he couldn't compare to the popularity of his wife. In 1859, Catherine had issued a groundbreaking pamphlet entitled Female Ministry: Woman's Right to Preach the Gospel. It was truly a landmark publication that rejected clerical claims of female inferiority. She put her ideas into action over the next decade, preaching passionately and actively to spellbound audiences.
On Salvation's Road
William and Catherine would form their own traveling ministry together but the latter would prove so popular and in-demand that she was often called to her own engagements by wealthy audiences. Still, it was the plight of the poor that moved Catherine and her husband.
Both the Salvation Army and Booth University can trace their founding to that age-old story wherein boy-meets-girl.
They formed The Christian Mission in 1865 with the intent of bringing salvation to the poor and urging repentance among criminals, alcoholics and prostitutes. The work was difficult and even dangerous, with William in particular spending long and difficult hours engaging the populations of London's roughest neighborhoods. He would often return home bloodied, bedraggled, and emotionally exhausted from confrontations both with the street urchins that largely rejected his message and the financially comfortable Londoners who mocked his self-sacrifice.
Mobilizing an Army
Though life was hard and the work unforgiving, the Booth's became increasingly militant about their commitment to the cause, a disposition that led the Mission to adopt the name The Salvation Army in 1878. Booth made himself a General and anointed his followers as soldiers. The chosen terminology proved wholly appropriate as the Salvation Army faced staunch, even armed resistance from numerous forces both within and beyond the Christian community.
In particular, the Booth's lifelong crusade against alcoholism raised the hackles of London's spirituous beverage sector. A collective of pro-liquor parties organized the oppositional Skeleton Army, which committed itself to confronting the Salvation soldiers during their various marches against alcohol. Violent clashes often ensued, leading to injury and even a few fatalities.
Unabated, the Booths traveled the world to spread their message and movement. Even after his beloved Catherine passed on in 1890, William continued his work, initiating chapters of the Salvation Army in no fewer than 58 countries before the time of his death in 1912.
Promoted to Glory
Booth would be vindicated by his dogged determination, ultimately turning the tide of public opinion in favor of his charitable organization. His work among the poor had made him a greatly revered figure by the time he was “promoted to glory,” in the parlance of the Salvation Army. Indeed, more than 150,000 people came to pay their respects as his casket lay in the Clapton Congress Hall. 40,000 attended his funeral service, including dignitaries and royalty.
Today, the Booths are honored by numerous institutions of higher learning, including Winnipeg's Booth University College, founded in 1982 and serving a select population of just over 250 students.
To join the Booth University community, click here.
To give to the Salvation Army, click here.
And check out Blood and Fire: The Story of William and Catherine Booth and the Salvation Army to learn more about the Booths, their college, and their crusade.
More from The Best Schools
Popular TBS Articles
The 100 Best Universities in the World Today
The 50 Best Online Colleges for 2019
The 50 Best Community Colleges in the United States
The 25 Best Master of Social Work Degree Programs
Copyright ©2019 The Quad
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2747
|
__label__cc
| 0.726323
| 0.273677
|
Triplebyte Blog
We help engineers join great companies
Try our coding quiz
Take-home interviews
By Ammon Bartram on Jul 29, 2015
Today we're announcing our second experiment, take-home projects. We're going to try a new way of assessing programming ability by having programmers work on a project on their own time instead of coding during an interview. We know there are benefits and drawbacks to this approach, I'll go into more detail into our thinking behind this below.
Anyone who passes our take-home project assessment will get exactly the same service from us as people who do the regular interviews. We'll work hard to find several YC startups they'd be a great fit for, fast track them through the hiring processes, and handle all logistics of flights/accommodations/scheduling.
Several weeks ago, we interviewed a recent college grad. He'd done well on our quiz, had great personal projects, and I was excited to talk to him. As soon as the interview started, however, I could tell that something was wrong. I gave him a programming problem, but he could not get started. He'd start to write one thing, mutter that it was a bad place to start, and go back to something else. He switched languages. His breathing accelerated. He started to shake.
Programming interviews are stressful. Fundamentally, the applicant is being judged. They have to understand the question, produce a working solution in limited time, while explaining everything they are doing with no time to stop and gather their thoughts. At its worst it's adversarial.
Some programmers find that this stress pushes them to do their best in interviews. Others find it debilitating. There are programmers with track records of solving hard problems who simply freeze when subjected to the stress of an interview. They babble. They become unable to program.
This does not mean that they are bad programmers[1]. I gave the fellow in our interview a much harder problem to do on his own time. I assumed that he'd never get back to us. The project was a lot of work. Three days later, however, I had a complete solution in my inbox. We got him back on the phone, and he was able to talk in depth about what he had done, about the underlying algorithms, and about the design trade-offs he'd made. The code was clean. He was clearly a skilled programmer.
To solve the problem of interview anxiety, we're adding a second track to our interview process at Triplebyte. Applicants, if they choose, will be able go through our process by completing programming projects on their own time. They'll still do interviews with us, but rather than doing interview problems, they will just talk about the project they already completed. Those who do well will be matched with Y Combinator companies, just like programmers who go through our regular interview.
The project-based track will require a larger time commitment (and we expect lots of people to stick with the standard track for this reason). However, doing a larger project is almost certainly a better measure of actual ability to do a job then a traditional interview is.
Here's how our process works:
When a candidate books a 45-minute interview, they can indicate that they want to do a project.
Three days before the interview, we'll send them a list of projects, and they'll pick one and start to work on it. We expect them to spend about 3 hours on the project (or as long as they want to spend to show us that they're a good programmer).
During the interview, we'll talk about what they've programmed, go over design choices and give feedback.
People who pass the 45-min interview will go though the same process in the 2-hour final interview. Rather than pick a new project, however, they'll take the same project further, incorporating feedback from the 1st interview. Those who pass the 2-hour will talk to Harj, get intro-ed to YC companies, and start new jobs!
I'm particularly excited being able to see iterative improvements to the project between the two interviews (an important part of doing an actual job). It's an experiment, and I have no idea how it will turn out, but giving people the option to do larger projects and avoid stressful interviews just seems like a good idea. In a few months, after we've done a meaningful number of these interviews, I'll write about how their results compare to our other interviews.
1. The stress of interviewing seems to be different than the stress of performing a job. None of the people we've spoken to who do poorly in interviews report problems performing under deadlines at work, or when a website is down and there's pressure to get it back up. ↩
Get offers from top tech companies
Take our coding quiz
Liked what you read? Here are some of our other popular posts…
How to Interview Engineers
By Ammon Bartram on Jun 26, 2017
We do a lot of interviewing at Triplebyte. Indeed, over the last 2 years, I've interviewed just over 900 engineers. Whether this was a good use of my time can be debated! (I sometimes wake up in a cold sweat and doubt it.) But regardless, our goal is to improve how engineers are hired. To that end, we run background-blind interviews, looking at coding skills, not credentials or resumes. After an engineer passes our process, they go straight to the final interview at companies we work with (including Apple, Facebook, Dropbox and Stripe). We interview engineers without knowing their backgrounds, and then get to see how they do across multiple top tech companies. This gives us, I think, some of the best available data on interviewing.
Bootcamps vs. College
By Ammon Bartram on May 19, 2016
Programming bootcamps seem to make an impossible claim. Instead of spending four years in university, they say, you can learn how to be a software engineer in a three month program. On the face of it, this sounds more like an ad for Trump University than a plausible educational model.
But this is not what we’ve found at Triplebyte. We do interviews with engineers, and match them with startups where they’ll be a good fit. Companies vary widely in what skills they look for, and by mapping these differences, we’re able to help engineers pass more interviews and find jobs they would not have found on their own. Over the last year, we’ve worked with about 100 bootcamp grads, and many have gone on to get jobs at great companies. We do our interviews blind, without knowing a candidate's background, and we regularly get through an interview and give a candidate very positive scores, only to be surprised at the end when we learn that the candidate has only been programming for 6 months.
How to pass a programming interview
By Ammon Bartram on Mar 8, 2016
Being a good programmer has a surprisingly small role in passing programming interviews. To be a productive programmer, you need to be able to solve large, sprawling problems over weeks and months. Each question in an interview, in contrast, lasts less than one hour. To do well in an interview, then, you need to be able to solve small problems quickly, under duress, while explaining your thoughts clearly. This is a different skill. On top of this, interviewers are often poorly trained and inattentive (they would rather be programming), and ask questions far removed from actual work. They bring bias, pattern matching, and a lack of standardization.
Get the Triplebyte newsletter Subscribe
Get the Triplebyte newsletter
Be the first to get the latest Triplebyte content straight to your inbox.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2754
|
__label__wiki
| 0.752572
| 0.752572
|
Home Business Australia’s slowdown threatens 28-year record growth run
Australia’s slowdown threatens 28-year record growth run
Australia’s economy is growing at its slowest pace in almost a decade as consumers cut back spending, raising concerns over how long the country can sustain its record run of almost 28 years without recession.
Figures published on Wednesday show household consumption – which makes up almost 60 per cent of the economy – dropped to 1.8 per cent in the year to March, down from 2 per cent three months earlier. The economy grew 1.8 per cent over the same period, down from 2.3 per cent – a very weak performance for a country with one of the developed world’s highest rates of population growth.
“Household spending is a big drag on growth and one of the fundamental reasons for it is very low wage growth,” said Sarah Hunter, economist at BIS Oxford Economics.
“Falling house prices are also having a ‘wealth effect’, whereby households are reluctant to spend on big-ticket items as the value of their main asset falls.”
New car sales fell 8 per cent in the first four months of 2019, when compared to the same period a year ago. Retail sales unexpectedly fell in April by 0.1 per cent. The household goods component of retail sales, which includes electronics and furniture, dropped 0.9 per cent.
The downturn is visible on the high street where many retailers are struggling. Two of the most recent victims are Focus on Furniture, a household goods retailer with almost 40 stores, and Transit Clothing, which collapsed last month blaming poor sales.
“Falling sales revenue for retailers does come back to consumer confidence, with falling property prices certainly having an impact,” said Daniel Woodhouse of FTI Consulting, which is overseeing the administration of Transit Clothing.
House prices in Sydney and Melbourne have slumped 12 per cent in the year to the end of May. This marks the end of a five-year expansion that saw prices in Sydney rise by 70 per cent and the household debt-to-income ratio increase to above 200 per cent – the fourth highest in the OECD. During this five-year period living standards have flatlined or gone backwards in terms of real disposable household income.
“I’d say we are already experiencing a mild income recession as GDP does not take into account population growth,” says Ben Phillips, associate professor at Australian National University.
The need to boost wages – growing at historically low levels of 2.3 per cent – and household disposable income to address stubbornly low inflation prompted the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates to a record low of 1.25 per cent this week. Philip Lowe, RBA governor, said further rate cuts were likely but insisted the outlook had not deteriorated and economic growth would pick up this year.
“It [the rate cut] will assist with faster progress on reducing unemployment and will help achieve more assured progress towards the inflation target. So that is our rationale,” said Mr Lowe.
But many economists are not convinced it will be enough to return the Australian economy to trend growth rates of 2.75 per cent.
“The economy is off to a rough start in 2019, and we suspect that things won’t get better anytime soon,” said Ben Udy, economist at Capital Economics.
He said households were saving any extra income they received rather than spending – a trend that saw the savings ratio edge up to 2.8 per cent in the first quarter.
The RBA, trade unions and many economists are calling on the newly elected conservative government to do more to stimulate the economy through fiscal policy. It is planning a modest income tax cut in July and a A$100bn ($70bn) pipeline of infrastructure projects, although these are staggered over at least a decade. But Scott Morrison, Australia’s prime minister, has pledged to return the budget to surplus in 2019-20, which could restrict the government’s ability to boost public spending further.
A deterioration in the global economy – potentially sparked by the US-China trade war – is probably the biggest risk to Australia’s record economic run. A prolonged slowdown in China, which is Australia’s biggest trading partner, could dent the domestic economy, which is already battling weak consumer spending and a housing downturn.
But until now Beijing’s efforts to stimulate its own economy through extra spending have benefited Australia by supporting record exports of Australian iron ore, coal and liquefied natural gas.
“This stimulus is providing Australia with a pay rise and helping the economy to perform better than some other peers,” says Chris Richardson, economist at Deloitte Access Economics.
But he warns the outlook is uncertain and the RBA decision to cut rates leaves it with less firepower to tackle any future crisis. “I’m a natural conservative and I think that the RBA interest rate cut would have had more impact in a crisis than using it now.”
SOURCEFinancial Times
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2755
|
__label__wiki
| 0.647654
| 0.647654
|
DAVIDSON, WILLIAM FRANCIS H.
DAVIDSON, WILLIAM FRANCIS H. (1811–?). William Davidson, surgeon in the Texas army, was born in Tennessee. On January 14, 1836, he enlisted for six months in the Volunteer Auxiliary Corps at Nacogdoches and during the San Jacinto campaign served as surgeon of Col. Edward Burleson's First Regiment, Texas Volunteers. During the battle of San Jacinto Davidson was detailed to remain with the sick at the army camp. Sam Houston nominated Davidson as a surgeon, and his nomination was confirmed by the Senate of the Republic of Texas on May 22, 1837. He was married in 1845 and lived in Rusk County. He received a land warrant for 640 acres for his service at San Jacinto. In 1853 he received 320 acres and on June 4, 1857, he received 320 acres in Cooke County. In 1850 he was listed as J. F. Davidson, farmer, with a wife named Mary and one child. In 1860 he, his wife, and three children lived in Cooke County; his occupation was "M.D."
Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Muster Rolls of the Texas Revolution (Austin, 1986). Sam Houston Dixon and Louis Wiltz Kemp, The Heroes of San Jacinto (Houston: Anson Jones, 1932). Thomas L. Miller, Bounty and Donation Land Grants of Texas, 1835–1888 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1967). Pat Ireland Nixon, The Medical Story of Early Texas, 1528–1853 (Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Lupe Memorial Fund, 1946). E. W. Winkler, ed., Secret Journals of the Senate, Republic of Texas (Austin, 1911).
Handbook of Texas Online, Thomas W. Cutrer, "DAVIDSON, WILLIAM FRANCIS H.," accessed July 17, 2019, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fda30.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2756
|
__label__wiki
| 0.913162
| 0.913162
|
WAVELL, ARTHUR GOODALL
WAVELL, ARTHUR GOODALL (1785–1860). Arthur Goodall Wavell, English soldier of fortune and colonial empresario, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on March 20, 1785, the son of William Wavell. He attended Winchester College from 1798 through 1804 and began his military career on April 10, 1805, as a cadet in the Bengal Establishment. Ill health returned him to England that same year, however. He joined the Spanish Army in 1810, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1811. Between 1811 and 1817, for his service against Napoleon in the battles of Cadiz, Barrosa, Tarragona, and Ateca, he was promoted to colonel and received the Cross of Distinction, the Military Cross of San Fernando, and the Order of Charles the III from the crown. In 1817 Wavell resigned his Spanish commission and in July 1820 joined the revolutionary Chilean army as colonel of an infantry regiment. After reaching the rank of major general and deputy commander of the army, he was sent to Mexico as a special aide. There he accepted a commission as a brigadier general in the Mexican army and was quickly promoted to major general. In Mexico he published textbooks on infantry and cavalry tactics and a code of regulation as well as several pamphlets on the defense of various regions of the country. While he was in the Chilean service Wavell had met Moses Austin and developed an enthusiasm for his colonization scheme in Texas. With the death of the elder Austin, Wavell helped Stephen F. Austin transfer the empresario grant to his name. Wavell gave Austin a room in his apartments, and the two men agreed to join forces and share equally in the profits from the Austin Colony. Years later Wavell "boldly affirm[ed] that but for [his] aid both pecuniary, & in his Papers, & urging men in Power to advance his claims . . . his Grant the Cradle of Texas would never have been obtained."
On June 26, 1822, Austin granted Wavell his power of attorney to form a company in England for the development of his Texas colony. Austin's land grant and such capital as Wavell might raise were to be the joint stock. On July 4 the partners agreed that all profits from land sales, mining, or commerce in the colony were to be divided between them. Wavell sailed from Vera Cruz on the French brig L'Azema, bound for Bordeaux. On September 3, however, the ship was attacked and captured by Spanish pirates, and Wavell was robbed of $1,700 and all of his property including copies of Austin's grant and his map of Texas. The French ship then returned to Charleston, where Wavell transferred to the British ship London to complete his voyage. He arrived in Liverpool on November 11 and began his attempts to raise capital for his and Austin's enterprise. In May 1823 he informed Austin of the proposal of a London firm to furnish £20,000 in exchange for a half interest in the company. Austin did not respond to Wavell's letter. Wavell returned to Mexico, therefore, with no arrangement for English capital to support Austin's efforts, and the company that the two men had planned was never formed. Although the terms of the agreement for raising funds for Austin's colony had never been put into effect, Wavell still had claims against Austin for loans made to him in 1822, and in 1826 he appointed Benjamin Rush Milam as his agent to recoup his investment. No money, however, was ever recovered.
In 1824 Wavell wrote to Austin for advice on his own colonization efforts. Austin responded in wholly negative terms. "I am heartily sick of the whole business," he informed his former partner, and advised him that if he wished "to keep out of trouble let Colonization matters alone, either here or anywhere else." Nevertheless, on July 30, 1825, Wavell applied for a grant between Sulphur Fork and Kiamicha River on the Red River-an area recommended by Milam that Wavell himself had never seen. On March 9, 1826, the vice governor of Coahuila and Texas, Ignacio de Arispe, granted Wavell's request, giving him a six year time limit to complete the colonization of what is now Lamar, Red River, and Bowie counties as well as portions of Fannin and Hunt counties and Miller County, Arkansas. Wavell's efforts to promote the colony in England were fruitless, however, and Milam's attempts to draw colonists from the United States were hampered to a large degree by Mexico's hostility to slavery, without which the production of cotton was next to impossible. Too, the great Red River Raft, a log jam stretching 165 miles from Loggy Bayou to Carolina Bluffs, prevented river transport to and from the colony. The United States disputed the eastern border of the Wavell grant, correctly claiming that it was actually within the southwest boundary of Arkansas, and finally, on April 6, 1830, Mexico banned further immigration from the United States and refused to issue land titles to any of the colonists that Milam had recruited.
In 1826 Wavell attempted to visit his colony but was prevented by flood waters. In 1828 he returned to Mexico, but did not visit Texas, and in 1831 an attack of rheumatism stopped him from viewing his grant. With Milam's death at the siege of Bexar in 1835, colonization efforts came to a virtual standstill. In 1837 Wavell divided his share in the grant with Milam's heirs, and only in 1841 was the survey of the grant completed. In August 1843 and again in February 1844 Wavell approached the British chargé d'affaires seeking compensation for the loss of his claim, but was informed on both occasions that Her Majesty's Government would not support his claim. Accordingly, he petitioned the congress of the Republic of Texas for compensation, but as the laws of June 12, 1837, had voided all Mexican empresario grants, making them the property of the government, and forbidden any alien to file suit against the republic, his petition was never acknowledged, and Sterling C. Robertson was awarded part of Wavell's lands. At last Wavell attempted to petition the state of Texas for compensation for the $10,000 that he claimed to have expended toward the colonization of the state, and on March 18, 1853, retained Ashbel Smith as his attorney. Not until fall of 1856 was Smith able to see legislation passed that would allow Wavell to file suit for his claims in a Texas court. Under its terms he could request one league of land for every twenty families settled on his grant. This land would be equally divided with the heirs of Ben Milam. As Wavell and Milam had introduced only 140 families onto the colony, however, the value of the 15,498 acres to which Wavell would be entitled would not equal the cost of the suit. Wavell, therefore, dropped his Texas claims to pursue the study of the gunrafts then being developed by the Prussian navy, and he never again made mention of Texas in any of his correspondence. On May 27, 1827, Wavell was named a fellow of the Royal Society. He claimed to have recommended Gail Borden's meat biscuit to the admiralty as rations for the Royal Navy. He died in London on July 10, 1860. He was the father of ten children and the grandfather of Field Marshal Sir Archibald Wavell.
Robert W. Amsler, "General Arthur G. Wavell: A Soldier of Fortune in Texas," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 69 (July 1965). Eugene C. Barker, "General Arthur Goodall Wavell and Wavell's Colony in Texas," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 47 (January 1944). Thomas W. Cutrer, The English Texans (San Antonio: University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures, 1985). Vertical Files, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.
Colonizers
Handbook of Texas Online, Thomas W. Cutrer, "WAVELL, ARTHUR GOODALL," accessed July 17, 2019, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fwa77.
LAVACA-NAVIDAD MEETING
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2757
|
__label__wiki
| 0.860565
| 0.860565
|
Home » From The Archives » Jackie Collins Takes Hollywood
Jackie Collins Takes Hollywood
Duane Wells February 5, 2010 7:18 am Comments Off on Jackie Collins Takes Hollywood
Vanity Fair dubbed her “Hollywood’s own Marcel Proust,” and the late director Louis Malle called her “a raunchy moralist.” But Hollywood insiders tend to call Jackie Collins the Queen of Hollywood, because no one better understands the players in the city of dreams and what drives them.
While Hollywood itself may be in upheaval, the queen has a lot to crow about in the days leading up to the release of Poor Little Bitch Girl, her latest page-turner, which explores the lives of three very strong but very different women who all attended the same ritzy high school in Los Angeles.
Over the last four decades, Jackie Collins has sold some 400 million copies of her books in more than 40 countries, and not a single book she has written has ever gone out of print. Moreover, she has to her credit a whopping 27 New York Times best sellers, all of which she has delivered with clockwork-like precision.
“It always amazes me when I’m doing television shows that the host will say, ‘Oh, so you’ve churned out another book?’” she says. “I want so say to them, ‘Hey, wait a minute! You had Tom Hanks on. Did you say to him, “You’ve churned out three movies this year?”’ People are always surprised, but I love what I do.”
Collins voiced brims with her love for what she does when she talks about her latest venture — writing a and producing a film that will go directly to DVD and be mass-marketed in much the same way as a paperback novel. She’s also writing a cookbook with recipes from one of her most memorable characters, Lucky Santangelo, and she’s positively over the moon about the hilarious new song Josh Miller has written which is, in both name and spirit, an ode to her new book, Poor Little Bitch Girl.
It’s always fun to talk to Jackie about her new projects, but nothing beats dishing with her about the subject she knows best — Hollywood. In this no-holds-barred conversation, Collins not only talks about her new book but riffs on everything from the late-night television scandals involving Letterman, Leno, and Conan and the recent string of tragic deaths in Hollywood to her 2010 Oscar picks and the double standard Tinseltown maintains for openly gay actors.
The Advocate: I love Poor Little Bitch Girl and I know you love your strong female heroines, but I’m so ready for you to write a gay lead in one of your novels. Do you think you would ever do that?
Jackie Collins: Yes, I absolutely do. You know, Cole DeBarge — the gorgeous black fitness trainer — keeps coming back. He’s been in four books now, and I keep on giving him romances but not main romances. And of course Lucky Santangelo’s brother Dario was gay, and in Chances he had a huge part in the beginning of the book.
It’s so interesting — somebody did a sort of analysis of all the gay characters in all my books, and it was quite amazing the number of gay characters that I had written. But, you know, I write life the way it is.
Poor Little Bitch Girl seems to have been ripped not from the pages of Variety but straight from the headlines in The New York Times. There are shades of Eliot Spitzer, South Carolina’s Gov. Mark Sanford, and even maybe a little Heidi Fleiss and Victoria Sellers in this new novel. How much of Poor Little Bitch Girl was inspired by the headlines?
You’re very, very, very right. The Eliot Spitzer case did absolutely inspire me. So I created [the character] Annabelle, who’s lying in bed with Frankie Romano after they’ve just made love and they’re thinking about what they’re going to do next … they’re lying there reading the paper and they’re reading about Eliot Spitzer. So that’s how that all came about. And then with Carolyn in Washington, I’ve always had that Chandra Levy case on my mind and I wanted to kind of mirror that a little bit.
And also, while we’re talking about this, Annabelle’s parents vaguely — vaguely — mirror maybe someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger if he was married to someone like Gwyneth Paltrow. [Laughs] Do you love that combination?
Without a doubt! That’s an odd pairing, but I think it’s really pretty dead-on accurate for Annabelle’s parents.
I know. I thought to myself, What’s the new accessory in Hollywood? The new accessory in Hollywood is a baby. But what happens when those babies grow up and get older? [These couples] don’t want this great, hulking daughter ruining their image. [Laughs]
So here’s a little chicken-and-egg scenario for you. When you’re writing, which comes first — the characters or the inspiration from the real-life headlines?
When I pick up my pen, I have no idea what’s going to happen. The [characters] just tell me that day, and I guess Spitzer was in the headlines that day and I thought, Yeah, this is what’s going to happen here. I’m writing the new book now. I haven’t actually started it yet, but what it’s going to be is running through my head right now, and that’s Goddess of Vengeance: The Continuing Adventures of Lucky Santangelo. [Laughs] Everybody says to me, “How old is Lucky now?” And I say “She’s the same age as Madonna.” That shuts them up very quickly. [Laughs]
You always have wonderful stories about your raciest characters, whom you talk about as familiarly as if they were your close friends. Who are some of your favorites in Poor Little Bitch Girl?
I was very enamored with Bobby [Santangelo Stanislopoulous]. I think he’s very sexy. He’s got that young John F. Kennedy thing. He’s a good boy, but he can also be a bad boy as is proven with Zeena. I particularly like the scene when she goes into the shower and grabs his balls! [Laughs] You know, it’s typical of a guy — he’s not going to tip her out once she’s there and she’s got his balls in her hand! [Laughs]
Touché. I love that you have such a sense of fun and mischief about your characters.
You know … I try to make my books humorous too. I was reading this thing in The New York Timeson Sunday about James Patterson, and he seems all uptight about the fact that he’s not taken seriously, but if you’re a storyteller, you can tell whatever story you want and it doesn’t matter whether you’re critically acclaimed or not. Who cares?
Speaking of stories, what are your thoughts about the scandals in late-night television surrounding David Letterman and the whole Jay Leno–Conan O’Brien ordeal over at NBC? I have to ask because in your last book, Married Lovers, you wrote about a talk-show host, so it’s almost as if your book foreshadowed the current meltdown in the world of late night.
I know. If I wrote [what’s going on now] would anyone have believed it? No. They would have just laughed me off the page. But here’s what I think. I think that the two best late-night show hosts are Craig Ferguson and Chelsea Handler. I think they’re both fabulous, so who gives a crap about the others? [Laughs]
Well, to be quite honest, Jay and Dave really only have a finite period of time left on television, when you really think about it.
Exactly. And I’m sick and tired of watching Letterman flirt with all those young starlets that come on [his show], and there he is banging half his staff. [Laughs] And Jay is only interested in getting back to his car collection. [Laughs] But yes … I found [the scandals] intriguing.
I loved the jokes they were making about each other. I particularly liked the one Jay made about Letterman when he said, “Well, if you want to be ignored, you better marry him.” [Laughs] It’s gonna get really nasty when they get back on the air. I love that.
While we’re dishing about Hollywood, in the last year or so we’ve witnessed the sudden and shocking deaths of so many young stars …
I know. Isn’t it awful?
It is. But you’re the expert … Have you ever witnessed anything like this before? What’s really going on in Hollywood and what do you think is driving this deadly new trend?
It’s drugs. It’s all kinds of drugs. It’s pharmaceutical drugs … it’s a mixture of drugs … it’s insecurities. I always write about that rags-to-riches dream. They come to Hollywood and if they get everything, then it’s just too much for them to absorb. It’s much better when people are successful later in life. You look at somebody like George Clooney. All of a sudden he’s the movie star, but he’s taken it very well because he had years and years of struggling before this happened for him. I mean, he was on every failed sitcom on television. [Laughs]
Indeed. OK, so what are your thoughts about another trend, which is the slow trickle of openly gay actors coming out of the closet? Why do you think Hollywood has been so slow to embrace openly gay male leading men?
Well, that’s difficult isn’t it? I feel it’s very difficult for an actor to come out because then he’s labeled “gay” and the powers that be think that women don’t want to see those actors in love scenes with women. I think that’s ridiculous. I mean, there are so many gay actresses and they’re screwing away on the screen! [Laughs]
Do you think Hollywood’s reluctance to accept openly gay actors and actresses is a reflection of what we’ve been seeing across the country in the backlash against pro-gay ballot measures from California to Maine?
We live in Hollywood, we go to New York, and we go to the big cities, but when you think of what’s going on across the country, there’s still a great prejudice [against gays and lesbians].
I know because when I did my bus tour last year, I went to 23 cities and there would be [like] … 500 people at every place. I would go to at the Harrah’s casinos, and they would be lining up to get books. Often there would be a young gay guy there and he’d be in some little town and he’d say to me, “Your books have inspired me. I’m saving my money. I’m going to try to move to New York, but thank you so much.” They weren’t accepted in the little towns they lived in, and I remember them so distinctly because there were so many of them. I thought it was very sad because we live in Hollywood where it’s like “what the hell,” but then you go to a little town and there’s still that tension.
And so the battle continues, unfortunately. Now let’s jump from Hollywood to Paris. What’s your latest venture, Paris Connections, all about?
I think it’s [about] the future. The future is selling a movie like you sell a book. You put it on the supermarket shelves and people buy it.
We start shooting [Paris Connections] on February 1 in Paris, and it’s going to go direct to DVD. It’s called Premiere DVD, and all the money for the movie is being put up by Tesco, this huge supermarket in England, which is kind of like Costco. They’re going to have it exclusively for their members for three months, so you can only buy it in Tesco stores. And then we’ll do a sale to America, hopefully through some place like Target or Walmart.
We’ve got Nicole Steinwedell from The Unit, we have Anthony Delon, the son of the famous French movie star Alain Delon — he’s so gorgeous — and we have Trudie Styler [Sting’s wife] and Charles Dance. So we’ve got a fabulous cast.
So Jackie Collins breaks yet another barrier, then?
Oh, absolutely, People are going to be jumping on this bandwagon. It’s exciting, because instead of a movie going direct to DVD because it just wasn’t good enough for the cinemas, we are making this directly for DVD. We don’t want it to go into the cinemas, and it’s going to be a really fabulous production.
And will you be going behind the camera for Paris Connections?
No, I’m just producing along with three other producers, and unfortunately I can’t be in Paris at this particular moment because I’m launching Poor Little Bitch Girl. [Laughs]
Before I let you go, I know you’re a big music fan, so I’ve got to ask who’s on your playlist at the moment.
The new Robin Thicke track with Jay-Z is fantastic. You’ve got to listen to that particular track. [Robin Thicke] is like the modern-day Barry White. I still always love Usher. Whatever he comes up with, I want to listen to. He’s so great.
I love Diddy. He’s got some great new tracks out there. And of course, the Black Eyed Peas — I’m crazy about them.
I very much like Mariah Carey. I think she’s fabulous. I love Norah Jones and Alicia Keys — those are two of my favorites. I’m dying for the new J. Lo, because I love J. Lo, and Marc Anthony, because I love Latin music. And Adam Lambert … thank you very much! I love Adam Lambert! And you know, I kind of like the new John Mayer. I have eclectic taste.
Final question — with the Oscars a month away, who are you betting on to win?
Well, I loved George Clooney in Up in the Air. I thought he gave an incredibly nuanced performance. I thought he was great. For actress I’d say Gabourey Sidibe from Precious. And for movie I’d say Avatar and The Hurt Locker side by side. But my favorite performance of the year wasn’t in movies, it was on television, and that was Michael C. Hall on Dexter, the best show on TV.
Enough said. The Queen of Hollywood has spoken. Who am I to argue? Place your bets, folks.
Jackie Collins’s latest novel, Poor Little Bitch Girl, arrives on bookshelves everywhere February 9.
Originally published at Advocate.com. To read this post and more by Duane Wells at the Advocate, click here.
Entertainment Interview Hollywood Celebrity Authors Pop Culture
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2763
|
__label__wiki
| 0.652786
| 0.652786
|
Josiah Peterson
josiahpeterson
Josiah Peterson is the debate coach at the King's College and the author of the forthcoming book, "The Electoral College: Critical to Our Republic."
No, Jesse Jackson, The Electoral College Isn’t Racist
Rev. Jesse Jackson has made headlines saying that as we get rid of Confederate statues we should also get rid of the Electoral College.
Even If He Wins States, Evan McMullin Won’t Make Hillary Win
It’s close to impossible for Evan McMullin to win the presidency. But it’s also nearly impossible that his campaign will be responsible for giving the election to Hillary.
These Numbers Say A Third Party Can Win The Presidency
You don’t need a majority, or even a plurality, of electors to win the presidency. Let me explain.
Elizabeth Warren Is Totally Wrong About Planned Parenthood
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s speech is rhetorically powerful and warrants a thoughtful response.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2764
|
__label__wiki
| 0.575351
| 0.575351
|
The Humanist Hour #63: Sex and Secularism
A new episode of the Humanist Hour is available for listening. Keep reading to find out about the guests on this month’s show.
In this month’s podcast, Jes Constantine and Todd Stiefel interview organizational psychologist, Dr. Darrel Ray, about his recent empirical study, called Sex and Secularism: What Happens When You Leave Religion? Also, listen to an interview with movie writer and director, Matthew Chapman, about his upcoming film, The Ledge.
This episode contains explicit content and listener discretion is advised.
Segment 1: The Ledge
Is this the Brokeback Mountain moment for atheists? The Ledge is the first drama in Hollywood history to feature an openly atheist hero in a story about religious conflict. Nominated for Best US Drama at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the new thriller is available now On Demand and comes to theatres July 8, 2011.
The Ledge is the first film in Hollywood history that puts an atheist into the hero role in a production that features A-list stars. It is written and directed by Matthew Chapman, the great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin, the scientist who discovered evolution, the biggest challenge to religion since Gallileo. The film was nominated for Best US Drama at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and stars Charlie Hunnam, Sons of Anarchy, Liv Tyler, Lord of the Rings, Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe nominee, Patrick Wilson, Watchmen, and Oscar nominee Terrence Howard, Crash, Iron Man.
On the rooftop of a city skyscraper, Detective Hollis (Terrence Howard) pleads with Gavin (Charlie Hunnam) not to jump. What he does not know is that Gavin, an atheist, is involved in a deadly feud with Joe (Patrick Wilson), a Christian extremist. Joe’s wife, Shana, (Liv Tyler) is caught in the middle as Joe seeks to test Gavin’s faith or lack of it. Cutting between the present and the past, tension escalates as verbal shots give way to deadly threats in a race against time that neither God nor the police can stop. Along the way, the film provocatively explores the intellectual and emotional conflicts between religion and atheism.
Stand up and be counted! See The Ledge anytime through Video on Demand (your cable service), through the iTunes Store (go to the link and click View in iTunes), on the Internet at Sundance Now or through a “test run” that opens July 8 in two theaters:
IFC Center, 323 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY
Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA
Hollywood listens to numbers! The more people see the test run, cable, and online service, the more push it will get nationwide. Visit ledgemovie.com/how_to_help to learn about what else you can do.
Segment 2: Sex and Secularism: What Happens When You Leave Religion
Darrel Ray, Ed.D. is an organizational psychologist, consultant and author of The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture and founder of the organization, Recovering from Religion. For the first 10 years of his career he practiced as a clinical psychologist before moving into the corporate world where he has had an international consulting practice since 1986.
Why Sex and Secularisms Research is Important
In February, he along with Amanda Brown of Kansas University, completed a national survey of over 14,500 secularists that examines the effect leaving religion has on sexuality and sexual practices. The full report can be downloaded for free at ipcpress.com. A wide range of publications, bloggers and journals have written articles on the report including ABC News Health, The Daily Mail (UK), Harper’s Magazine, The New York Post and many others. His next book, Sex and God: How Religion Distorts Sexuality is due to be released winter of 2011.
The Sex and Secularism survey report is out. We have worked hundreds of hours analyzing the data and writing and rewriting the report, going over it with academics, taking feedback and criticism and incorporating a lot of it. Why is this report important enough to spend this kind of time on? Secularists don’t know a lot about their own community. Unlike Baptists or Catholics, we don’t have entire organizations dedicated to researching membership and developing programs to infect more people with religion. No one is asking what are secularists like? Are we same or different from the general population? How are we different from religionists and what happened when we left religion? What religions did we belong to before we left? How many religions did we try out before becoming secular? Are there any residual effects of religion after we become secular? How often do we have sexual fantasies? How kinky are we and do we share these with our partners? Do religious partners inhibit sexual satisfaction?
We think these are important questions to ask. If, as we believe, religion has similarities to disease, there should be signs that people are somehow different – better or worse – after getting away from the disease. Sex and religion is something that seems to be “hands off” for researchers in the field, yet the one thing that seems incredibly important to religionists. From anti abortion to anti homosexual, from Catholic Priest and Nun Celibacy to Priestly pedophilia, anti masturbation to anti sex before marriage – religions seem obsessed with trying to control sex. So what happens to people’s sex lives when they leave religion? Do they go wild? Do they stop educating their children about sex? Do they leave their spouses and families for wild orgies? This report is one of the first to explore the sexual behavior or the non-religious.
While we could not answer all these questions, and may have not answered any definitively, the 14,560 people who participated in our survey gave us plenty of data to make some tentative conclusions about the secular community and secular sex. More research will be needed, but we think this is a good start. Even if you are not interested in sex (which is hard to believe), you may still be interested in the many demographic facts. For example, there seems to have been a huge influx of new atheists coming from Christian Non-Denominational Churches. Catholics were number one a few years ago but are now coming in second by a narrow margin. Who would have thought? All those mega churches are sending us their members. You might also be interested in the educational and income levels as well as gender and ages and what they may tell us about where to look for new people.
We hope you will take the time to examine the report and let us know what you think. If you were one of the thousands who took the survey, we thank you for your participation and support. If you did not get a chance to take the survey, this may give you valuable information about how others view their sexuality outside of religion. For all of us it begins a process of normalization. Humans are sexual creatures. We can do just fine expressing and controlling our sexuality without any religious indoctrination. This survey shows, in many ways, we are more open and less guilt ridden about sex than when we were religious. We feel better about ourselves and our partners than when we were religious. In other words, we are at least as normal as the religionists with some apparent benefits from shaking off religion.
Web Extra: What do atheists say in bed?
Listen to this radio play, inspired by Jeff Swenson’s “Humanists in Love” comic to find out:
Humanists In Love:
(This radio play is sexually explicit, but it’s nothing that you didn’t hear in When Harry Met Sally.)
Links from this month’s episode:
The Ledge official website: LedgeMovie.com
How to Help The Ledge film: LedgeMovie.com/how_to_help/
Recovering Religionists: RecoveringReligionists.com
Download the Study (free, registration required): IPCPress.com
Like the Humanist Hour Podcast on Facebook: facebook.com
Music from this month’s episode (in order of appearance):
Theme Song: “Sound Scientist” by Bill
“Sorry Me” by SIRSY
Tags: darwin, ledge, matthew chapman, movie, religion, sex, sexuality
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2769
|
__label__wiki
| 0.817587
| 0.817587
|
Lawyers drum up support for Buhari/Osinbajo ticket
by Adebisi Onanuga
The A group, ‘Lawyers for Change’has urged Nigerians to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), at the general elections.
The group promised to mobilise the people to endorse the ticket at the poll.
Speaking at the inauguration of the group in Lagos, the National Coordinator, Adesina Ogunlana, said the ticket “represents the best option now for the salvation of our country from the misrule of incompetent and selfish leaders.
He added: “That is why we identify and support credible participants in the political process, irrespective of ethnic, religious or party affiliation, who can lift our country out of her myriad of socio-economic and political problems and move her forward”.
Ogunlana, a former first Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, said when Osinbajo emerged as the vice presidential running mate to Buhari, Nigerians discovered the alternative route to power. He said the election will be very challenging, urging menof goodwill to rise to the occasion.
Ogunlana stressed: “That is why we have come together to let the people know that Yemi Osinbajo is not just any other presidential candidate. “We want Nigerians to know that the distinguished professor of Law and learned Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN) whom the APC has paired with Buhari for 2015 presidential elections is an exceptionally gifted, surpassingly decent and a very progressive-minded individual”.
“Our group is highly interested in and committed to the betterment of the country which we believe is bedevilled by many self-inflicted injuries as a result of which her prosperity, development and stability are badly compromised”, he said adding that what Nigeria needs now is urgent rescue from her myriad of economic and political problems.
Tags: BUHARILawyersOsinbajosupportticket
West Brom fans slam Ideye
A president Nigeria needs
Mbaka’s sermon and Jonathan’s warriors
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2770
|
__label__wiki
| 0.966021
| 0.966021
|
London Stone on temporary display at the Museum of London
London Stone is a historic landmark traditionally housed at 111 Cannon Street in the City of London. It is an irregular block of oolitic limestone measuring 53 × 43 × 30 cm (21 × 17 × 12″), the remnant of a once much larger object that had stood for many centuries on the south side of the street. Currently the stone is housed at the Museum of London pending reconstruction of the 111 Cannon Street building.[1]
The name «London Stone» was first recorded around the year 1100. The date and original purpose of the Stone are unknown, although it is possibly of Roman origin, and there has been interest and speculation about it since at least the 16th century. There are modern claims that it was formerly an object of veneration, or has some occult significance. These assertions however, are completely unsubstantiated.
The present London Stone is only the upper portion of a once much larger object, as described below under History. The surviving portion is a block of oolitic limestone approximately 53 cm wide, 43 cm high, and 30 cm front to back (21 × 17 × 12 inches).[2] A study in the 1960s indicated that the stone is Clipsham Limestone, a good-quality stone from Rutland transported to London for building purposes in both the Roman and medieval periods.[3] More recently Kevin Hayward has suggested that it may be Bath stone, the stone most used for monuments and sculpture in early Roman London and in Saxon times.[4]
Between 1962 and 2016 London Stone was on the north side of Cannon Street, opposite Cannon Street station, in an aperture in the wall of 111 Cannon Street (London EC4N 5AR), surrounded by a decorative Portland stone fascia with an iron grille. Inside the building it was protected by a glass case. The stone and its surround, with the iron grille, were designated a Grade II* listed structure on 5 June 1972.[5][6]
A bronze plaque on the sloping top of the casing, dating from 1962, read:
This is a fragment of the original piece of limestone once securely fixed in the ground now fronting Cannon Street Station.
Removed in 1742 to the north side of the street, in 1798 it was built into the south wall of the Church of St. Swithun London Stone which stood here until demolished in 1962.
Its origin and purpose are unknown but in 1188 there was a reference to Henry, son of Eylwin de Lundenstane, subsequently Lord Mayor of London.[2]
The stone is now on display at the Museum of London.[7][8]
London Stone and St Swithin’s Church as shown on the «Copperplate» map of c.1553–59
London Stone was originally on the south side of medieval Candlewick Street (since widened to create modern Cannon Street) opposite the west end of St Swithin’s Church, and is shown in this position on the «Copperplate» map of London, dating to the 1550s, now in the Museum of London,[9] and on the derivative «Woodcut» map of the 1560s. It was described by the London historian John Stow in 1598 as «a great stone called London stone», «pitched upright… fixed in the ground verie deep, fastned with bars of iron».[10] Stow does not give the dimensions of this «great stone», but fortunately a French visitor to London in 1578 had recorded that the Stone was three feet high (above ground), two feet wide, and one foot thick (90 × 60 × 30 cm).[11] Thus, although it was a local landmark, London Stone, at least that part of it standing above ground, was not particularly impressive.
When London Stone was erected and what its original function was are unknown, although there has been much speculation, discussed below under Interpretations.
The earliest reference to it is usually said to be that noted by John Stow, in his Survey of London (1598). Stow says that in a list of properties in London belonging to Christ Church, Canterbury (Canterbury Cathedral), one piece of land was described as lying «neare unto London stone».[10] This list, he says, had been bound into the end of a Gospel Book given to the cathedral by «Ethelstane king of the west Saxons», usually identified as Æthelstan, king of England (924–39). But it is impossible to confirm Stow’s account, since the document he saw cannot now be identified with certainty. However, the earliest extant list of Canterbury’s London properties, which has been dated to between 1098 and 1108, does refer to a property given to the cathedral by a man named «Eadwaker æt lundene stane» («Eadwaker at London Stone»).[12] Although not bound into a Gospel Book (it is now bound into a volume of miscellaneous medieval texts with a Canterbury provenance (Ms Cotton Faustina B vi) in the British Library), it could be that it was this, or a similar text, that Stow saw.[13]
Wren’s rebuilt St Swithin’s church in 1831, with the casing of London Stone prominent in the middle of the front wall
The stone’s former casing
Like Eadwaker, other medieval Londoners acquired or adopted the «surname» «at London Stone» or «of London Stone» because they lived nearby. One of these was «Ailwin of London Stone», the father of Henry Fitz-Ailwin the first Mayor of the City of London, who took office at some time between 1189 and 1193, and governed the city until his death in 1212. The Fitz-Ailwin house stood away from Candlewick Street, on the north side of St Swithin’s church.[13]
London Stone was a well-known landmark in medieval London, and when in 1450 Jack Cade, leader of a rebellion against the corrupt government of Henry VI, entered the city with his men, he struck his sword on London Stone and claimed to be «Lord of this city».[14] Contemporary accounts give no clue as to Cade’s motivation, or how his followers or the Londoners would have interpreted his action. There is nothing to suggest he was carrying out a traditional ceremony or custom.
By the time of Queen Elizabeth I London Stone was not merely a landmark, shown and named on maps, but a visitor attraction in its own right. Tourists may have been told variously that it had stood there since before the city existed, or that it had been set up by order of King Lud, legendary rebuilder of London, or that it marked the centre of the city, or that it was «set [up] for the tendering and making of payment by debtors».[10][11][15] In 1608 it was listed in a poem by Samuel Rowlands as one of the «sights» of London (perhaps the first time the word was used in that sense) shown to «an honest Country foole» on a visit to town.[16]
During the 17th century the Stone continued be used as an «address», to identify a locality. Thus, for example, Thomas Heywood‘s biography of Queen Elizabeth I, Englands Elizabeth (1631), was, according to its title page, «printed by Iohn Beale, for Phillip Waterhouse; and are to be sold at his shop at St. Pauls head, neere London stone»; and the English Short Title Catalogue lists over 30 books published between 1629 and the 1670s with similar references to London Stone in the imprint.[17]
In 1671 the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers broke up a batch of substandard spectacles on London Stone: «two and twenty dozen [= 264] of English spectacles, all very badd both in the glasse and frames not fitt to be put on sale… were found badd and deceitful and by judgement of the Court condemned to be broken, defaced and spoyled both glasse and frame the which judgement was executed accordingly in Canning [Cannon] Street on the remayning parte of London Stone where the same were with a hammer broken in all pieces.»[18][19] The reference to «the remayning parte of London Stone» may suggest that it had been damaged and reduced in size, perhaps in the Great Fire of London five years earlier, which had destroyed St Swithin’s church and the neighbouring buildings; it was later covered with a small stone cupola to protect it.[20]
Demolition of St Swithin’s church, 1962: the casing containing London Stone is still in the wall.
In 1598 John Stow had commented that «if carts do run against it through negligence, the wheels be broken, and the stone itself unshaken»,[10] and by 1742 it was considered an obstruction to traffic. The remaining part of the Stone was then moved, with its protective cupola, from the south side of the street to the north side, where it was first set beside the door of St Swithin’s Church, which had been rebuilt by Christopher Wren after its destruction in the Great Fire. It was moved again in 1798 to the east end of the church’s south wall, and finally in the 1820s set in an alcove in the centre of the wall within a solidly built stone frame set on a plinth, with a circular aperture through which the Stone itself could be seen. In 1869 the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society arranged for the installation of a protective iron grille and an explanatory inscription in Latin and English on the church wall above it.[21]
During the 19th and 20th centuries London Stone was regularly referred to in popular London histories and guidebooks, and visited by tourists. During his stay in England in the 1850s the American author Nathaniel Hawthorne recorded a visit to London Stone in his journal, noting the indentations on the top «which are said to have been made by Jack Cade’s sword».[22] In 1937 Arthur Mee, founder of The Children’s Newspaper and author of The King’s England series of guidebooks, described it as «a fragment of its old self […] said by some to have been a stone set up in Stone Age days».[23] The American archaeologist George Byron Gordon was more expansive (and fanciful) in the course of his Rambles in Old London, published in 1924. London Stone, he tells us, was «the very oldest object in London streets». «The Mediaeval Kings after their coronations used to strike London Stone with their swords in token of the City’s submission» (followed of course by a reference to Jack Cade). «It was an object of great antiquity when the Romans arrived and their predecessors the ancient Britons found it on their arrival more than two thousand years before. It was erected by the people of the New Stone Age […].»[24]
London Stone, seen through its protective grille
In 1940 St Swithin’s church was burnt out by bombing in the Blitz. However, the outer walls remained standing for many years, with London Stone still in its place in the south wall. In 1962 the remains of the church were demolished, and replaced by an office building, 111 Cannon Street, which originally housed the Bank of China; London Stone was placed without ceremony in the specially constructed grilled and glazed alcove in the new building.[4]
111 Cannon Street and London Stone in October 2012. The ground floor was then occupied by a branch of WHSmith.
The office building was long scheduled for redevelopment, and in October 2011 the then landowners proposed to move the stone to a new location further to the west.[25][26]
Until February 2016 the ground floor of the building was occupied by a branch of WHSmith newsagents.[27] Inside the shop London Stone in its glass case was hidden behind a magazine rack and not usually accessible.
In March 2016, planning permission was granted to allow the building to be demolished and replaced by a new one. The new premises will publicly display London Stone on a plinth. The stone is on display at the Museum of London while the building works are carried out.[7][8]
In 1598 the London historian John Stow admitted that «The cause why this stone was set there, the time when, or other memory hereof, is none».[10] However, his contemporary William Camden, in Britannia (1586), his historical description of Great Britain, concluded that it was a Roman milliarium, a central stone from which all distances in Roman Britain were measured, and similar to the Milliarium Aureum of Rome.[28] This identification remains popular, although there is no archaeological evidence to support it.[29] Camden’s identification has been revived by John Michell in his book The Sacred Centre (2009), where he identifies the stone as the London terminus, a stone sacred to Jupiter that stood at the centre of every Roman city, and which parallels the golden milestone in the Forum in Rome. He believes it was at the intersection of the major axes of the Roman city, the north south Cardo Maximus and the east west Decumanus.[30]
Alternatively, writers in the 18th century speculated that the Stone was prehistoric and had been an object of Druidic worship.[31] Although this suggestion is now generally dismissed, it was revived in 1914 by Elizabeth Gordon in her unorthodox book on the archaeology of prehistoric London, Prehistoric London: Its Mounds and Circles, in which she envisaged London Stone as an ancient British «index stone» pointing to a great Druidic stone circle, similar to Stonehenge, that she claimed had once stood on the site of St Paul’s Cathedral.[32] As we have seen, in 1924 American archaeologist George Byron Gordon claimed a «New Stone Age» date for it, but such claims do not find favour with modern archaeologists.[29]
By the early 19th century, a number of writers had suggested that London Stone was once regarded as London’s «Palladium», a talismanic monument in which, like the original Palladium of Troy, the city’s safety and wellbeing were embodied.[33] This view seemed to be confirmed when a pseudonymous contributor to the journal Notes and Queries in 1862 quoted a supposedly ancient proverb about London Stone to the effect that «So long as the Stone of Brutus is safe, so long shall London flourish».[34] This verse, if it were genuine, would link London Stone to Brutus of Troy, legendary founder of London, as well as confirming its role as a Palladium.
However, the writer in Notes and Queries can be identified as the Revd Richard Williams Morgan, an eccentric Welsh clergyman who in an earlier book The British Kymry or Britons of Cambria (1857) had claimed that the legendary Brutus was a historical figure; London Stone, he wrote, had been the plinth on which the original Trojan Palladium had stood, and was brought to Britain by Brutus and set up as the altar stone of the Temple of Diana in his new capital city of Trinovantum or «New Troy» (London).[35] This story, and the verse about the «Stone of Brutus», can be found nowhere any earlier than in Morgan’s writings, and it seems safe to assume that both are his own invention. No-one before Morgan had called London Stone «The Stone of Brutus», and although the spurious verse is still frequently quoted, there is no evidence that London’s safety has ever traditionally been linked to that of London Stone.[36]
In 1881 Henry Charles Coote argued that London Stone’s name and reputation arose simply because it was the last remaining fragment of the house of Henry Fitz-Ailwin of London Stone (ca. 1135–1212), the first Mayor, although London Stone was mentioned about 100 years before Henry’s time, and the Fitz-Ailwin house was some distance from the Stone on the other side of St Swithin’s church.[37][38]
In 1890 the folklorist and London historian George Laurence Gomme proposed that London Stone was the city’s original «fetish stone«, erected when the first prehistoric settlement was founded on the site and treated as sacred ever after.[39] Later, folklorist Lewis Spence combined this theory with Richard Williams Morgan’s story of the «Stone of Brutus» to speculate about the pre-Roman origins of London in his book Legendary London (1937).[40][41]
The known floorplan of the presumed «governor’s palace«
By the 1960s, archaeologists had noted that in its original location London Stone would have been aligned on the centre of a large Roman building, probably an administrative building, now known to have lain in the area of Cannon Street station. This has been tentatively identified as a praetorium, even the local «governor’s palace«. It has further been suggested – originally by the archaeologist Peter Marsden, who excavated there between 1961 and 1972 – that the Stone may have formed part of its main entrance or gate.[42][43] This «praetorium gate theory», while impossible to prove, is the prevailing one among modern experts.[44]
London Stone has been identified as a «mark-stone» on several ley lines passing through central London.[45][46] It has also entered the psychogeographical writings of Iain Sinclair (born 1943) as an essential element in London’s «sacred geometry«.[47]
There are two recent additions to the mythology surrounding London Stone. The first claims that Dr John Dee, astrologer, occultist and adviser to Queen Elizabeth I, «was fascinated by the supposed powers of the London Stone and lived close to it for a while» and may have chipped pieces off it for alchemical experiments; the second that a legend identifies it as the stone from which King Arthur pulled the sword to reveal that he was rightful king.[48] The first of these may have been inspired by the fictionalised John Dee of Peter Ackroyd‘s 1993 novel The House of Doctor Dee (see In literature below). Both these «legends» seem first to be recorded on the website h2g2 in 2002.
In literature
Jack Cade on London Stone. Illustration by Sir John Gilbert to The Works of William Shakespeare, 1881
So familiar was London Stone to Londoners that from an early date it features in London literature and in stories set in London. Thus, in an often reprinted anonymous satirical poem of the early 15th century, «London Lickpenny» (sometimes attributed to John Lydgate), the protagonist, lost and bewildered, passes London Stone during his wanderings through the city streets:
Then went I forth by London Stone
Thrwgheout all Canywike Strete…[49]
In about 1522 a pamphlet was published by the London printer Wynkyn de Worde with the long title: A Treatyse of a Galaunt, with the Maryage of the Fayre Pusell the Bosse of Byllyngesgate Unto London Stone.[50] It comprised two anonymous humorous poems, the second of which, The Maryage…, just two pages in length, purports to be an invitation to the forthcoming wedding between London Stone and the «Bosse of Billingsgate», a water fountain near Billingsgate erected or renovated in the 1420s under the terms of the will of the mayor Richard Whittington.[51] Guests are invited to watch the couple dancing – «It wolde do you good to see them daunce and playe.» The text, however, goes on to suggest that both London Stone and the Bosse were known for their steadfastness and reliability.
London Stone also features in a tract The Returne of the renowned Caualiero Pasquill of England… published in 1589.[52] Otherwise known as Pasquill and Marforius it was one of three that were printed under the pseudonym of the Cavaliero Pasquill, and contributed to the Marprelate controversy, a war of words between the Church of England establishment and its critics. At the end of this short work, Pasquill declares his intention of posting a notice on London Stone, inviting all critics of his opponent, the similarly pseudonymous Martin Marprelate, to write out their complaints and stick them up on the Stone. Some writers have argued that this fictional episode proves that London Stone was a traditional place for making official proclamations,[40][53]
The Jack Cade episode was dramatised in William Shakespeare‘s Henry VI, Part 2 (Act 4, Scene 6), first performed in 1591 or 1592. In Shakespeare’s elaborated version of the event, Cade strikes London Stone with a staff rather than a sword, then seats himself upon the Stone as if on a throne, to issue decrees and dispense rough justice to a follower who displeases him.[54]
In 1598, London Stone was again brought to the stage, in William Haughton‘s comedy Englishmen for My Money, when three foreigners, being led about on stage through the supposedly pitch-black night-time streets of London, blunder into it.[55]
Later, London Stone was to play an important but not always consistent role in the visionary writings of William Blake. Thus in Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion, his long illustrated poem on engraved plates begun in 1804, London Stone is a Druidic altar, the site of bloody sacrifices. Alternatively in Jerusalem and in Milton a Poem it is the geographic centre of Golgonooza, Blake’s mystical city of London; it is a place where justice is delivered, where Los sits to hear the voice of Jerusalem, and where Reuben sleeps.[56]
In the last years of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st, London Stone has made an increasing number of appearances in novels of imagination and fantasy. In Peter Ackroyd‘s novel The House of Doctor Dee, the character Dr Dee, broadly based upon the historical figure of the occultist John Dee, claims that London Stone is the last remnant above ground of a glorious antediluvian and now buried city of London that he is searching for. London Stone appears as an embodiment of evil in Charlie Fletcher‘s trilogy for children Stoneheart. It also features in The Midnight Mayor, Kate Griffin‘s second Matthew Swift novel about urban magic in London, and in China Miéville‘s Kraken,[7] in which it is the beating heart of London and the sports shop that houses it hides the headquarters of the «Londonmancers» who may know the whereabouts of the Kraken stolen from the Natural History Museum. The third of a series of fantasy novels for children The Nowhere Chronicles by Sarah Pinborough, writing as Sarah Silverwood, is entitled The London Stone: «The London Stone has been stolen and the Dark King rules the Nowhere…» In Marie Brennan‘s Onyx Court series, the Stone is part of the magical bond between the mortal Prince of the Stone and the fairie court beneath London. It is also mentioned in Nicci French‘s crime novel Tuesday’s Gone.
The stone appears in several chapters of Edward Rutherfurd‘s novel, London (1997). In the second chapter we see it as the marker stone for all the roads in Roman Londinium, and also sitting beside the wall of the Governor’s Palace as mentioned above as a hypothesis of its use or origin. It is seen again in the ninth chapter where the main family unit of the novel bring in the character of the foundling who is found propped up against it. The stone is one of the many central focus points in the novel that the author uses to tie the different time periods together.
For London Stone at Staines, and other Thames riverside boundary markers, see London Stone (riparian).
For the «Brutus Stone» in Totnes, Devon, see Totnes.
«Joyful things for Friday – the perambulating London Stone». Histories of Archaeology Research Network. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
Clark 2007, p. 169.
Merrifield, Ralph (1965). The Roman City of London. London: Benn. pp. 123–4.
Historic England. «London Stone (199345)». Images of England. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
Historic England. «London Stone (1286846)». National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
Higgins, Charlotte (12 March 2016). «Psychogeographers’ landmark London Stone goes on show at last». The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
Neilan, Catherine (10 May 2016). «Mythic London Stone is going on show at Museum of London as current home on Cannon Street is demolished». City AM. London. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
Clark 2007, pp. 171–2.
Stow, John (1908). Kingsford, C. L., ed. A Survey of London. 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 224–5.
Grenade, L. Keene, Derek; Archer, Ian, eds. The Singularities of London, 1578: Les Singularitez de Londres, noble, fameuse Cité, capital du Royaume d’Angleterre: ses antiquitez et premiers fondateurs. London Topographical Society. 175. London: London Topographical Society. pp. 103–4, 224. ISBN 978-0-902087-620.
Kissan, B. W. (1940). «An early list of London properties». Transactions of London and Middlesex Archaeological Society. new series. 8 (2): 57–69.
Clark 2007, pp. 179–86.
Groos, G. W. (1981). The Diary of Baron Waldstein: A Traveller in Elizabethan England. London: Thames and Hudson. pp. 174–5.
Rowlands, Samuel (1608). «A straunge sighted Traueller». Humors Looking Glasse. London: William Ferebrand. sig. D3 recto.
«English Short Title Catalogue». British Library. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
«Company History». The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
Law, Frank W. (1977). The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers: A History. London: Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers. p. 11.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel (1941). Stewart, Randall, ed. The English Notebooks: Based upon the Original Manuscripts in the Pierpont Morgan Library. New York & London: Modern Languages Association of America, Oxford University Press. p. 289.
Mee, Arthur (1937). London: Heart of the Empire and Wonder of the World. London: Hodder & Stoughton. p. 281.
Gordon, G. B. (1924). Rambles in Old London. London: John Lane. pp. 45–7.
Nick, Enoch (25 January 2012). «Fury as developers plan to move legendary 900-year-old London Stone». Mail Online. London. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
«City of London Planning Case File: Relocation of London Stone». 20 October 2011. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
«All In London». Retrieved 27 March 2013.
Camden, William (1607). Britannia (in Latin). London: G. Bishop & J. Norton. p. 304.
Michell, John (2009). Sacred Center: The Ancient Art of Locating Sanctuaries. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions. pp. 4–5. ISBN 1594772843.
Clark 2010, p. 42.
Gordon, E. O. (1914). Prehistoric London: Its Mounds and Circles. London: Elliot Stock. pp. 3–4.
Mor Merrion (1862). «Stonehenge». Notes and Queries. 3rd series. 1: 3.
Morgan, Richard Williams (1857). The British Kymry or Britons of Cambria. Ruthin: Isaac Clarke. pp. 26–32.
Coote, H. C. (1881). «London notes: a lost charter; the traditions of London Stone». Transactions of London and Middlesex Archaeological Society. 5: 282–92.
Gomme, George Laurence (1890). The Village Community: With Special Reference to the Origin and Form of its Survivals in Britain… London: Walter Scott. pp. 218–9.
Spence, Lewis (1937). Legendary London: Early London in Tradition and History. London: Robert Hale. pp. 167–72.
Clark 2010, pp. 52–4.
Marsden, Peter (1975). «The excavation of a Roman palace site in London, 1961-1972». Transactions of London and Middlesex Archaeological Society. 26: 1–102 at pp. 63–4.
«Londinium Today: London Stone». Museum of London. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
Webb, Simon (2011), Life in Roman London, The History Press, pp 142, 144, 154-55.
Street, Christopher E. (2010). London’s Ley Lines: Pathways of Enlightenment. London: Earthstars Publishing. pp. 183–9. ISBN 9780951596746.
Sinclair, Iain (1997). Lights out for the Territory. London: Granta. p. 116. ISBN 1862070091.
«h2g2 The London Stone». Retrieved 13 March 2013.
Anon. (1996). «London Lickpenny». In Dean, James M. Medieval English Political Writings. Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University. pp. 222–5 at p. 224, lines 81–2. ISBN 1879288648.
Anon. (1860). Halliwell, J. O., ed. A Treatyse of a Galaunt, with the Maryage of the Fayre Pusell the Bosse of Byllyngesgate Unto London Stone. London: Printed for the Editor.
Stow, John (1908). Kingsford, C. L., ed. A Survey of London. 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 208.
Nashe, Thomas (1958). McKerrow, Ronald B., ed. The Works of Thomas Nashe. 1 (reprinted ed.). Oxford: Blackwell. pp. 65–103.
Anon. (21 April 1888). London Stone. Chambers’s Journal. 5th series. pp. 231–2.
Stock, Angela (2004). «Stow’s Survey and the London playwrights». In Gadd, Ian; Gillespie, Alexandra. John Stow (1525-1605) and the Making of the English Past. London: British Library. pp. 89–98 at p. 95. ISBN 0712348646.
111 Cannon StreetArchitectureCannon StreetchurchCity of LondonEnglandhistorylimestoneLondonLondon StoneMuseum of London
Назад Предыдущая запись: Гармония сфер
Далее Следующая запись: Building stones of London
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2771
|
__label__cc
| 0.515805
| 0.484195
|
« Oh, this is delicious.
10,000th verse, same as the first. »
First Impressions: Symphony X, Underworld
So first off, for a little background: I first discovered Symphony X with 2011’s Iconoclast and 2007’s Paradise Lost and really enjoyed the heavier sounds of those albums. Last year I picked up 2002’s The Odyssey and really enjoyed it as well, though it was more on the melodic side with a lot more cleaner vocals from Russell Allen. To be honest I did like it, though not quite as much as I did the albums after it. If I remember correctly, it was guitarist Michael Romeo who said the band was going back toward the earlier sounds with the new album (which was released last Friday), and I was pretty curious as to how it’d sound. I really liked the first song that was released from it, “Nevermore,” but as you all know, one song is never really indicative of the full quality of an album…
Holy hell, did they ever hit the sweet spot between those two styles. Just as a few examples, the title track and “Kiss Of Fire” may well be the heaviest songs the band has ever recorded, with Allen roaring like a pissed-off demon on both, and the latter even has blast beats! Killer, just absolutely KILLER. And toward the other end of the spectrum, the closing track “Legend” is a thing of utter beauty, as the guys channel the relatively softer tones of songs like “When All Is Lost” and the title track of Paradise Lost, albeit at a faster tempo, about the speed of Iconoclast’s “Bastards of the Machine.” And “Charon” sounds like it would have probably fit right in on The Odyssey. (Side note: There are precious few things that bring out the inner music snob like listening to a song based on Greek mythology.) And the intricate guitars and synthesizers are present throughout, as are the ethereal choral sounds. I could probably write a freaking book on this album, but here’s what it all boils down to:
Classic modern metal, classic Symphony X, quite possibly a desert-island album.
This entry was posted on July 31, 2015 at 09:44 and is filed under music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2774
|
__label__wiki
| 0.955491
| 0.955491
|
Liberal candidate held shares in job placement company
Published September 10, 2009 12:12 pm | Comments
Documents filed under the Financial Disclosure Act show Robin Adair, while running for MLA in May's election, had an interest in the success of the welfare-to-work firm WCG International Consultants Ltd. for which he once worked.
Adair's past connections with the training firm became an issue when The Tyee obtained an auditors report from 2006 that found the government had overpaid WCG by at least $627,000.
Adair, who ran as the Saanich South Liberal candidate, was WCG's vice-president responsible for communications and government relations for several years, including the time of the audit.
On April 22, Victoria's CFAX radio reported Adair "maintains that while he worked in the communications branch of the company, he had absolutely no decision making roles."
Adair had previously told Public Eye that he had stopped working for WCG by the end of October, 2008.
Documents filed under the Financial Disclosure Act show Adair still had an interest in WCG's success as a stockholder, however. His disclosure, signed on March 31, 2009, said he owned stocks in Providence Service Corp., the company that in 2007 bought WCG.
Adair said he bought the shares around the time Providence bought WCG. "I bought some shares like anybody can on the stock market," he said. "I had no controlling interest."
He said he did his best to be forthcoming during the election. "I said I had nothing to do with WCG, and I stand by that," he said. "If I'd thought of it I would have said, 'I do have a few shares in the company.'"
The value of the shares went down soon after he bought them, he said, and he's been waiting for them to come back up before he sells.
In July Adair resigned as the chair of Camosun College's board of directors and took a job as Vancouver's general manager of intergovernmental relations and strategic partnerships.
Previous: Canadians ready to punish Ignatieff for election call: poll
Next: Enviros must watchdog parties and policies: UVic's Weaver
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2776
|
__label__cc
| 0.540287
| 0.459713
|
Bob Mortimer
More Big Night Out for Vic & Bob
Vic & Bob’s Big Night Out is returning for a BBC Two special on Friday 29th December and it has now been announced that a four-part series on BBC Four will follow in 2018. The series will mark their 25th anniversary at the BBC which began with The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer, paving the [...]
First look at Vic & Bob’s Big Night Out
Big Night Out is returning for a one-off special on 29th December and the BBC have released a few preview images. In this special revival of the madcap show that first unleashed Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer on TV audiences, the duo will be introducing us to some new characters as well as reuniting [...]
The festive season is upon us and there’s plenty to keep you entertained on the tellybox. Here’s our roundup of this year’s most essential Christmas viewing… Taskmaster: Champion of Champions Wednesday 13th and Wednesday 20th December at 9pm, Dave Taskmaster series 5 champion Bob [...]
Paul and Bob Go Fishing
BBC Two has commissioned a new show in which Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer go fishing together. Paul is an experienced fisherman while Bob is a complete novice. Their friendship stretches back for decades, but they’ve recently reconnected after both suffering very serious heart problems and [...]
Taskmaster Champion Of Champions
Taskmaster Champion of Champions is coming to Dave later this year. The two-part special will bring together all five of the show’s series champions for the ultimate battle. This means that Noel Fielding, Josh Widdicombe, Katherine Ryan and Rob Beckett will be competing, with the final [...]
Toast International – Matt Berry’s Toast of London goes worldwide
Toast of London – the acclaimed, BAFTA winning Channel 4 sitcom written by and starring Matt Berry – is now available on Netflix worldwide. Co-written and co-created by Father Ted and Big Train writer Arthur Matthews, and directed by Michael Cumming (Snuff Box, Brass Eye) the [...]
September 2, 2017 // 0 Comments
Pipe Produces New Dave Series
A new series is launching on Dave this week, and it boasts a behind-the-scenes TVO connection. Eat Your Heart Out with Nick Helm features the award-winning comedian, and star of BBC’s Uncle, as he sets off on a highly personal culinary journey around the UK and Europe in this brand-new [...]
Coming Up Onions: New comedies to get excited about in the next 12 months
The next 12 months are going to be jam-packed with brilliant TV comedy. Detectorists, Upstart Crow, W1A and The Windsors are among those set to return shortly, and we here at TVO are looking forward to a number of brand new shows too. Here’s a quick guide to the some of the upcoming new [...]
Taskmaster Series 5
The lineup for Taskmaster series 5 has been announced. Following last night’s series 4 finale on Dave, in which Noel Fielding took home the series win, a few exciting details for series 5 were revealed. Joining usual hosts Greg Davies and Alex Horne will be Bob Mortimer, Aisling Bea, [...]
Vic and Bob back for more Big Night Out
Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer are bringing Big Night Out back to BBC Two for a one-off special. Vic & Bob’s Big Night Out will be a reimagining of Vic Reeves’ Big Night Out – the seminal show that ran on Channel 4 in 1990-91. In the special, Vic and Bob will be introducing us to some [...]
Podcast Highlights
So many podcasts, so little time. Here’s a handy list of British podcast episodes that feature the people we cover at TVO. The Comedian’s Comedian In this long-running podcast, stand-up comedian Stuart Goldsmith interviews fellow stand-ups about how and why they do comedy. Things [...]
Postscript: Comic Relief 2017
This year’s charity telethon featured a large TVO contingent amongst its bevy of stars, and raised over £71m for great causes around the world. But it was also a highly divisive evening for audiences. Our editor in chief, Paul Holmes, shares his thoughts on some of the things that worked, [...]
Red Nose Day Highlights
The BBC has revealed the lineup for its Comic Relief broadcast on Red Nose Day – Friday 24th March 2017. Here are the TVO highlights of the night… Philomena Cunk Philomena Cunk (aka Diane Morgan) presents a new ‘Moments of Wonder’ segment about charity, featuring Richard [...]
As Yet Untitled returns once more
Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled will soon be back for a fifth series and the latest guests have been announced. As with previous series of the chat show, there are several familiar TVO faces on the guest list. Here’s what we can expect… Episode 1: Davina McCall, Reginald D Hunter, Jimmy [...]
Preview: Crackanory Series 4
The latest series of Crackanory is looming and this latest set of episodes features a whole host of TVO regulars. While Episode 1 is available to preview on UKTV Play now, Becca Moody took a sneak peek at the whole of series 4 ahead of broadcast on Dave from January 30th. Here are her [...]
Crackanory Returns
Crackanory is set to return for a fourth series on Dave in January with lots of TVO names attached. Here’s what we can expect from the eight new episodes… A Close Shave Monday 30th January at 10pm Written by Tony Way, narrated by Dara O’Briain. Set in ancient Rome, [...]
Vic Reeves Art
A selection of artwork from Vic Reeves is set to be exhibited and sold in November. The exhibition will run from 7th – 13th November 2016 , and any pieces not sold during this time will be available to purchase by auction on the 13th. This is all taking place at The Auction House near [...]
CrackaFOURy
Crackanory will be returning for a fourth series in the new year, and we can exclusively reveal a heavy TVO presence. For the uninitiated, the series is an adult spin on storytime, with big name stars narrating tales which are brought to life by leading comic actors, and written by leading comedy [...]
Bea Joins 8 Out Of 10 Cats
Channel 4 has announced that 8 Out Of 10 Cats and its Countdown spin-off are set to return, with Aisling Bea joining the former as a new team captain. 8 Out Of 10 Cats will be returning for its 19th series (the first since 2014) and a few changes have been made… Jimmy Carr is still [...]
Free Screening/Q&A For My Name Is Emily
My Name Is Emily, an independent Irish film starring Michael Smiley, will be screened in London next week, on 2nd September – for zero pounds! The film is about a Dublin teenager, Emily (Evanna Lynch). Emily was close to her father Robert (played by Smiley), a best-selling author, until he [...]
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2777
|
__label__cc
| 0.710006
| 0.289994
|
Equality, Ethics, Sex and sexuality
The Real Rip Van Winkle – A Self-Identity too far?
I have great news for you. Many of you have been under the false impression that I am a 56 year old Scottish minister with not much hair. This is just not true and I feel I should sue you for hate crime. I am in fact 36 with a full head of hair and I would like to identify as Chinese. I know you think this is a joke – but in a world where we can identify as whatever we want – in a world where a man who is born with XY chromosomes, has male genitalia and a male body can simply say he is a woman – against all the evidence (according to the UK and Scottish Governments)…why shouldn’t someone be allowed to identify as whatever age they like?
We’ve had people who want to identify as animals, or a different race so why not a different age? Step up Emile Ratelband who is suing a Dutch court to be allowed to do precisely that. According to the BBC report:
A Dutch “positivity trainer” has launched a legal battle to change his age and boost his dating prospects.
Emile Ratelband, 69, wants to shift his birthday from 11 March 1949 to 11 March 1969, comparing the change to identifying as being transgender.
“We live in a time when you can change your name and change your gender. Why can’t I decide my own age?” he said.
A local court in the eastern city of Arnhem is expected to rule on the case within four weeks.
“When I’m on Tinder and it says I’m 69, I don’t get an answer. When I’m 49, with the face I have, I will be in a luxurious position.”
Mr Ratelband further argued that according to his doctors he has the body of a 45-year-old, and described himself as a “young god”.
He went on Facebook last year to describe how he had made the decision one day standing in front of a mirror, not because he feared getting old but because he wanted to make the most of life for as long as possible.
He also said he would renounce his pension if he switched his birth date.
Mr Ratelband, a media personality and motivational guru, converted to Buddhism earlier this year and is a trainer in neurolinguistic programming.
Rip Van Winkle eat your heart out….!
In the Second World War Arnhem was a bridge too far…..will this be a self-identity too far for our politicians and cultural elites? How will they answer Mr Ratelband?
WWJD – about Transgender?
November 8, 2018 November 8, 2018 Arnhem, Emile Ratelband, Rip Van Winkle, Transgender
16 thoughts on “The Real Rip Van Winkle – A Self-Identity too far?”
Andrew Brown says:
I really hope he gets his wish.
It will expose the whole sordid “identity” business as the sham it is!
I hadn’t heard of this until today when two different people in different places brought it up and said how daft it was. Also Mr Anthony Ekundayo Lennon who is white but identifies as black. Interesting to hear how people shy away from the obvious conclusion you can no more change your sex than your race or your age. They don’t say that trans is a different things altogether, they notably say nothing. I also saw, on what could be called a rad-fem site, an article that this trans militancy was the fault of the trans activists, the LGB section never did anything like that, erasing biological concepts into meaninglessness…. Stephen Fry is bemoaning the current culture wars, even though he arguably played a role. It’s as though so many people are waking up to the mess we’re in and trying to convince everyone – and themselves – it wasn’t anything to do with them.
As soon as I read this guy was Dutch, the phrase “Doe normaal!” came to mind!
KDuff says:
Ive self identified as a giraffe with a hankering for tall trees but oddly no-one believes me. (Do I really have to post thatI’m kidding in case there are a few other giraffes out there?)
Gylen says:
It’s a Mad , Mad, Mad Mad World , a film produced by Stanley Kramer was a comedy . If only all Madness produced , was funny !
Ever since I read about it in the press, I have been self-identifying as that Persimmon director, who was awarded the £69m bonus. How come it’s taking so long to get my money? The NHS are performing gender re-assignment surgeries in a fraction of the time. I am beginning to wonder if my human rights have been breached…
STEVE L BOGEN says:
Hi Kevin, since I live in Spokane, Washington, USA, I don’t know how much money L69m (sorry, no symbol for pounds on my keyboard) but it must be a lot of persimmons. I applied for gender re-assignment surgery last week but my testosterone levels melted the instruments….ah well, you know how american males are (not to imply carnal knowing, rather by reputation. Hey, this replying to strangers across the pond is fun.
I should be allowed to identify as Mohammed. If one is allowed to change species, sex and age, why not century as well ? Being a victorious warlord with a harem & a prophet whose least action is treated as an infallible oracle by my hundreds of millions of devoted followers, has a lot to be said for it.
Better still, be Captain Jean-Luc Picard. All that tech on the Enterprise would come in handy. If I want to live in the 2300s, who’s to say I’m not allowed to ? It’s my life and my body, not the Government’s; so I can jolly well be Captain Picard if I want to be. And my truth is, that I am Captain Picard. So there. And in the 24th century there are no taxes, because the Federation of United Planets does not need them. So Starfleet does not need it. If Sturgeon and Co. want money from me, they can jolly well replicate it, or win it from the Ferengi.
In a really diverse society, existing would not be necessary for having rights. Existism is discrimination !
You may get away with identifying as said prophet, aren’t there are few references to Biblical persons in the Quran where they aren’t even in the right time period?
James, I hope this link takes you to Monty Python’s “Spot the Loony” sketch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_Nq3xuHkgE&t=71s
If not, just go to youtube and search for it. Very topical, what? Since I live in Spokane, Washington, USA, I’m not familiar with Scottish slang, but I just want to say about your hilarious ramblings, Yer bum’s oot the windae ( You’re talking rubbish). Not really, just having fun with a stranger across the pond.
Ray Kelly says:
Yep, we have crossed the rubicon. As you sow, so shall you reap!!!!
All people everywhere, Turn back to God through Jesus Christ before it’s too late !!!!!!
His patience with this generations wickedness, won’t tarry for ever.
Turn back, before it’s to late!!!
Gavin Millar says:
The man has too much time on his hands but he can’t fool God and he can’t even fool himself as he KNOWS it. I say it again – he hasn’t enough to do with himself,the poor little man.
Mike17 says:
Why not intellectual ability? As well as changing my age a good fifty years I would like to self-identify as an intellectual genius and be admitted to a prestigious university, If anyone questions my self-identity I will immediately notify the police of a hate incident. I will also, of course, complain of bullying and state that the bullies in question are ruining my mental health. In addition I would also like to self-identify as a musical genius and demand that top orchestras play all of my works. When they dare to suggest that I have yet to compse a single work I will again raise the issue of my mental health, not to suggest that I am totally bonkers but that their refusal to play my non-existent works is causing me serious depression. And next time you meet me I will be seriously offended if you don’t tell me that you greatly admire my paintings on display in the most prestigious art galleries. If anybody has the audacity to question any of my abilities in any of these matters I will have to remind the said (sad?) people that intellectual and artistic abilities are merely social constructs.
There is a difference though between birthday and gender and I think it’s a bit silly to conflate the two, both for this gentleman who thinks he can change his birthday and for yourself who thinks one man in seven billion trying to change his birthday represents a ‘sign of the times’.
For the rest of your commenters mocking what is actually a fairly traumatic and life-altering decision for most people, a decision that will increase their risk of rejection, bullying and violence, by saying things like ‘I’d like to identify as a giraffe’, to call themselves Christ-followers I would say is equally absurd. I can understand a rational argument against legal self-identification, but the lack of compassion and empathy evident in this debate from those who claim to be Christians is surely a much bigger crisis for a society claiming to be built in the Word of God.
What represents a ‘sign of the times’ is that identity is something we can just make up – despite biology. It is indeed traumatic and life-altering – which is why we should discourage it.
There is also the element of inconsistency in all of this. David rightly pointed out that the police have an inconsistent attitude to reporting hate incidents. For some it is merely a matter of their own perception. Nothing objective is required. But when David reports what he sees as a hate incident the police tell him a different version. There is no consistency. Same with sex. The point being made is that the powers-that-be currently (and who knows what they will decree in the future) say that if you have all the anatomical features of a man you can nevertheless demand that, if you so wish, everybody else regards you as a woman. Now, if the powers-that-be decree that to be the case then to be consistent these powers-that-be should also allow any other group to self-identify, whatever the biological facts determine. If they don’t allow people to self-identify in these other ways they need to give a reason. But they can’t of course. Or, if they try to it just proves their inconsistency. So self-identification has its limits. And it is the powers-that-be who determine what these limits are. But in doing so they are acting purely arbitrarily. Just like the police. And talking about the future, the powers-that-be currently say that any two people who are in love should be able to get married. And then rule out siblings or parents/children. Purely arbitrarily. But who knows what these people will determine in the future. Same with polygamy. Currently ruled out – but for how much longer?
Oh, and Frederick has it completely wrong. It is not the people who self-identify who are being ridiculed. If there is any ridiculing going on it is the powers-that-be who are being ridiculed for their policy. Their policy is both arbitrary and inconsistent and arbitrariness and inconsistency deserve to be ridiculed.
Previous Previous post: Debating Delusions in St Andrews
Next Next post: Quantum 15 – US Elections; Micheilin; Christmas; Remembrance Sunday; Israel; Finland and Child Sex; IFES in Barcelona; the Sexist Homophobic Snowman
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2779
|
__label__wiki
| 0.892451
| 0.892451
|
Deutschland United States España France
Church of Saint Mary of the Germans
Local nameכנסיית מרים של הגרמנים
LocationJerusalem, Israel
The Church of Saint Mary of the Germans a Catholic church, built in Romanesque style, now in ruins, located in the Old City of Jerusalem on the northeast slope of Mount Zion.
It was in 1126, after the First Crusade, when a German pilgrim and his wife, whose names are unknown, founded a hospice for pilgrims from the Holy Roman Empire. He joined the Hospice of St. John of Jerusalem. Celestine II sets the rules in 1143, taking the hospital under his protection, but with a right of prior review of the Order of St. John. The building was partly destroyed by the attacks of 1187, and rebuilt in 1229. Frederick II assigned it to the Teutonic Knights in April 1229, but then it went to the Order of St. John by order of Pope Gregory IX. As a result of the capture of Jerusalem in 1244, the hospice and church were left in ruins.
Tags Church•Catholic•Christian•Place of Worship•Ruins
Old Jerusalem Remnants… @ Djampa
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Saint_Mary_of_the_Germans
Address Jerusalem
Coordinates 31°46'32.269" N 35°13'58.872" E
Google Trips Alternative What to See in Old City What to See in Asia What to See in Israel What to See in Jerusalem What to See in Jerusalem District Jewish Heritage in Jewish Quarter Church of All Nations Dominus Flevit Church Church of Saint Catherine, Bethlehem Ratisbonne Monastery Church of the Holy Sepulchre Church of the Nativity Cenacle Tomb of the Virgin Mary Church of Mary Magdalene Chapel of the Milk Grotto Church of the Pater Noster Dormition Abbey Church of the Redeemer Monastery of St. Theodosius Church of the Visitation Mar Elias Chapelle Saint Vincent de Paul
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2782
|
__label__wiki
| 0.82731
| 0.82731
|
Deutschland United States Россия
Guadalupe River Park & Gardens
Local nameGuadalupe River Park & Gardens
LocationSan Jose, California, USA
The Guadalupe River mainstem is an urban, northward flowing 14 miles river in California whose much longer headwater creeks originate in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The river mainstem now begins on the Santa Clara Valley floor when Los Alamitos Creek exits Lake Almaden and joins Guadalupe Creek just downstream of Coleman Road in San Jose, California. From here it flows north through San Jose, where it receives Los Gatos Creek, a major tributary. The Guadalupe River serves as the eastern boundary of the City of Santa Clara and the western boundary of Alviso, and after coursing through San José, it empties into south San Francisco Bay at the Alviso Slough.
The Guadalupe River is the southernmost major U.S. river with a Chinook salmon run. Much of the river is surrounded by parks.
Tags Park
The Children's Discovery… @ Pedro Xing
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalupe_River_(California)
Official Website http://www.grpg.org/
Email info@grpg.org
Address 402 Seymour St, San Jose, CA 95110, USA
Coordinates 37°20'44.62" N -121°54'29.139" E
Google Trips Alternative Must Visit Roman Catholic Churches in San Jose What to See in North America What to See in United States of America What to See in California What to See in Santa Clara Happy Hollow Park & Zoo Municipal Rose Garden Plaza de César E. Chávez Overfelt Gardens Park Kelley Park Japanese Friendship Garden Alum Rock Park Lake Cunningham Park Vasona Lake County Park Ed Levin County Park Rosicrucian Park Moitozo Park Saint James Park Wallenberg Park Hakone Gardens
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2783
|
__label__wiki
| 0.608074
| 0.608074
|
College of Teachers
SCHOOL TEACHERS
Waldorf Schools Trust
OFFICE & ADMIN
Crafty Pukeko
Wednesday Window – 12th June 2019
Wednesday Window 29th of May 2019 – SPECIAL EDITION
Wednesday Window – 1st of May 2019
Wednesday Window – 20th March 2019
Wednesday Window – 20th February 2019
Fair & Open Day Photos
A Waldorf Education
Learning Streams
ERO Reports
Parent Caregiver Resources
BOT Governance Manual
Charter & Strategic Plans
WST Governance Documents and Communications
Leadership Model Role and Responsibilities
Waldorf Schools (Bay of Plenty) Trust
The Waldorf Schools Trust is a charitable trust and receives parents donations to enable the special character of the school to be implemented by the teaching staff. It is also responsible for the governance of the Kindergartens.
The Trust is the proprietor of the land and buildings and is responsible for capital developments and the future development of the school site in consultation with the Board of Trustees and School Management.
The Trust was set up to enable the provision of a Waldorf Education in the Bay of Plenty and supports the school to carry the Anthroposophical impulse through all its activities.
Stephen Lane
Chair of the WST Board of Trustees
Replacing Julian as Chair is Stephen Lane. Stephen was the Chair of the first three Board of Trustees of our school moving onto the Proprietors Trust in 2012
I started as a parent within the school in 1995, graduating onto the inaugural BoT and becoming the Chairperson 10 years ago. Currently I have grown into the WST for the last four years. I truly believe in the value of Waldorf Education and supporting the continual delivery of this Art of Teaching to the environment and community we have.
Louise Gawn
Proprietors Rep
Louise is the Operations Manager for the Waldorf Schools (BOP) Trust.
All three of her children attended Tauranga Waldorf School from Kindergarten to Class 7. Louise has been employed by the Trust since 2008 although her association with the school goes back to 1995 when her first child enrolled in the kindergarten. Louise’s depth of knowledge is varied and deep and she plays an enormous role in organising and setting up school festivals, plays and the annual school fair and open day.
Richard McCormick
Richard is a long serving member of the Trust who was with the school through the change from small private school to state integrated full primary school.
Becoming a trustee in 2005 he has served on the WST continuously and has seen two children through the school and kindergarten, now at local secondary schools but regularly seen at school functions and festivals. Richard is affectionately known in Kindergarten circles as the “Royal Woodcutter” and has a great interest in the larger property aspects.
Geraldine Myers
Geraldine first arrived at our School in February 1997 with a two year old and a three month old baby and has been involved with the school ever since! All three of her children were happily educated here and and went on to be successful at local state schools and beyond.
In 2006, Geraldine was elected onto the first Board of Trustees after Integration and served in a governance role for eight years. Geralding joined the WST in 2014.
Geraldine believes it is a privilege for her to be part of the Waldorf Schools Trust which has the mandate to protect maintain and develop the Special Character of the school.
Lois Robertson
Lois joined the school in 2003 along with three of her four children, who were enrolled into the Kindergarten, Class 2 and Class 4. She was a member of the Board of Trustees when it was established at the time of integration.
After serving several terms on the BOT, she had a break from school involvement until joining the WST three years ago. She enjoys being part of the Trust governing body working to maintain and grow the Waldorf education presence in Tauranga.
Sheryl Jenkins
Sheryl began teaching in 1990, having trained at Wellington College of Education. Having taught at many schools over the years she also was the owner operator of Quality Professional Tutoring for students with learning difficulties and those that needed extra coaching.
She joined Tauranga Waldorf School in 2005 as the Class Two teacher and in 2011 became Associate Principal.
Wednesday Window Newsletters
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2789
|
__label__wiki
| 0.964359
| 0.964359
|
Tsai Ing-wen greets supporters at DPP headquarters after her election victory on January 16, 2016 in Taipei. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
Commanding lead
Tsai Ing-wen: What you need to know about Taiwan’s first woman president
On Saturday, Taiwan elected its first female president. Like almost every female political leader, Tsai Ing-wen has been attacked from both sides: for being too strong, or not strong enough. But in the final hours of her campaign she remained clearly ahead, by 20 percent.
The former opposition party leader had been leading in opinion polls for months. As the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) comes to power with her, it displaced the majority Kuomintang (KMT) — the first time they have controlled parliament since the founding of the country in 1949.
“The results today tell me the people want to see a government that is willing to listen to people, that is more transparent and accountable and a government that is more capable of leading us past our current challenges and taking care of those in need,” Tsai told reporters after declaring victory.
The results of this election will resonate far beyond the island nation of more than 23 million. Since General Chiang Kai-shek led his army there, at the end of the Chinese Civil War, the Communist Party has considered Taiwan a renegade province and called to reunite it with the mainland. Taiwan, meanwhile, has asserted its right to independence and, since the late 1980s, multiparty democracy.
Over the past decade, however, the KMT-led government has taken a series of controversial steps to build closer relations with China. A series of trade pacts have aimed at liberalizing their economic relations. Last November President Ma met with Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, at a summit in Singapore. For the first time since the 1949, leaders of the two countries shook hands for a full minute in a highly publicized gesture of rapprochement.
President Xi Jinping and President Ma Ying-jeou (L) during a summit in Singapore November 7, 2015. Leaders of political rivals China and Taiwan met for the first time in more than 60 years. (REUTERS/Edgar Su)
As aggressive Chinese posturing inspires resistance across southeast Asia, pro-Beijing measures have become increasingly unpopular in Taiwan, too. In March 2014, a group of students seized the Legislative Yuan, the central government buildings in Taipei and occupied them for days, to protest the signing of the Cross Strait Service Trade Agreement. In 2015, economic growth was only 1 percent, giving credence to critics who say that President Ma’s economic reforms have failed to deliver any benefits to Taiwanese citizens.
Their discontentment has helped drive Tsai’s rise. But in many ways the new president remains a mystery. Unlike other female leaders in the region — for instance, Suu Kyi of Myanmar or the ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra of Thailand (and unlike, for that matter, Hillary Clinton) — Tsai does not come from a political family. Her relatives are primarily in business in the southern part of the island; before politics she pursued a career in academia. At age 59, Tsai herself has kept her private life intensely private. She is not married and does not have children.
Here’s what you need to know about Tsai Ing-wen.
1: Professor Into Politician
Like Angela Merkel, to whom she often compares herself, Tsai comes from an academic background. She earned a Master’s Degree at Cornell and a PhD at the London School of Economics, and served as a professor at several Taiwanese universities before being appointed chairperson of the Mainland Affairs Council in 2000.
In 2004, Tsai joined the opposition DPP. She was then elected “legislator at large.” Tsai ran for mayor of the capital city, Taipei, in 2010, but lost to her KMT opponent. She ran as the presidential candidate for the DPP in 2012 but lost to Ma.
In her concession speech, Tsai vowed that she would lead the DPP to victory the next time around. “I bear responsibility for this defeat,” she told an audience of disappointed supporters in Taipei. “There will be a future for us. Next time, we will make that final mile.”
2: Feminist Politics
As a woman in Taiwanese politics, Tsai has not risen alone. Indeed, until last fall, the KMT was planning to run a female candidate in the presidential election as well: the Deputy Parliament Speaker, Hung Hsiu-chu. Both have benefited from a quota system that reserves political positions — for instance, one third of all seats in the legislature — for women.
Throughout her campaign, Tsai addressed women’s leadership, workplace equality, and female participation in politics in her speeches. In July, she addressed a forum of female undergraduates and professionals gathered at National Taiwan University. She detailed the work she had done to advance the rights of women during her political career — including supporting last year’s “Gender Equality in Employment Act.” The proposal gave women maternity leave rights, prohibited sex discrimination in hiring, and strengthened anti sexual-harassment laws.
Praising leaders from Sheryl Sandberg — whom she met during a recent visit to Silicon Valley — to South Korean President Park Geun-Hye–Tsai called for a new “female leadership style.”
“Whether you are male or female, we have a great deal to learn by studying female leadership qualities,” she said. “Attentiveness, tolerance, calm, flexibility and organization — not only women, but every leader should strive for these qualities.”
Tsai’s opponent Hung Hsiu-chu performed poorly in polls, and in October the KMT replaced her with Party Chairman Eric Chu. However, Tsai continues to work with an inner circle of female organizers, and is often pictured with groups of women in her social media profiles and campaign materials.
Supporters of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen, attend a rally ahead of the Taiwanese presidential election on January 15, 2016 in Taipei, Taiwan. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
3: Moderate on China
The only politician to have been elected president from the opposition party, DPP Chairman Chen Shui-bian took office in 2000. Chen made a number of symbolic pro-independence gestures that antagonized China, including taking a tour to the United States to meet with Congressmen in 2001, reorganizing school curricula to be more Taiwan-centric, and shifting official materials from referring to the “Republic of China” to “Taiwan” — for instance on passports.
Tsai, however, has continued to chart a middle course, saying she would step back from controversial economic policies that Ma initiated but try to continue to improve relations. While these gestures may help make her electable, they have also disappointed some left-leaning supporters in the DPP.
Last fall, when commenters apparently from China started attacking her in comments on her Facebook page, Tsai turned their aggression into a joke. Referring to the fact that Facebook is blocked by the Chinese government, and can only be accessed by VPN, she quipped: “I hope this rare new experience lets my new ‘Friends’ discover the democracy, freedom and pluralism of Taiwan… Welcome to the world of Facebook!”
4: Support of LGBT Rights
Taiwan has some of the most progressive policies on LGBT rights in Asia, and Tsai has vocally supported expanding them to include same sex marriage. A campaign video that she released on Cixi, Chinese Valentine’s Day, last August, included three same sex couples. When the biggest gay pride parade in Asia took place in Taipei at the end of October, she reiterated these views in a video that she posted on her Facebook page and shared more than 3000 times.
“When it comes to love, everyone is equal,” Tsai says in the video. “I am Tsai Ing-wen, and I support marriage equality. Every person should be able to look for love freely, and freely seek their own happiness.”
A huge rainbow flag is displayed during the annual gay pride parade in Taipei on October 31, 2015. (SAM YEH/AFP/Getty Images)
5: She is conciliatory and seeks co-operation
During the last week before the election, Tsai traveled the length of Taiwan rallying supporters and trying to change the minds of any voters who remain undecided. In recent campaign statements, Tsai has stressed that she will unite an island often starkly divided by political allegiances. In a statement on January 12, she promised: “If elected, I will only recognize the people, I will not see blue or green” — a reference to the colors associated with the KMT and DPP, respectively. “When the DPP takes the central office, all counties will be treated equally.”
The role of women in Taiwan’s transition to democracy
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2792
|
__label__wiki
| 0.774155
| 0.774155
|
Historical Biographies
History Book Reviews
Tipps (DE)
Home American History Native American History The Power of the Cherokee Syllabary: Sequoyah and A-yo-ka
The Power of the Cherokee Syllabary: Sequoyah and A-yo-ka
In 1821, Sequoyah completed a project that had consumed him for nearly twelve years. After much experimentation, he produced a syllabary for the Cherokee language—86 unique characters that allowed his mother tongue to have expression through the written word. This number would later be reduced to 85 characters.
Enduring the skepticism of his friends and the suspicions of his wife, Sequoyah embraced his task with all the fervor of a man possessed. While few believed in the practicality of having a written syllabary for the Cherokee language, Sequoyah knew that it would be a boon for his people. The first person to be taught the syllabary was Sequoyah’s own daughter, A-yo-ka. Sequoyah would write a sentence in the new characters and give it to A-yo-ka, who would then repeat the words to her father.
This would be first exchange of Cherokee from written form to the spoken word. Teaching the syllabary to A-yo-ka was easy. Convincing his peers to recognize the importance of a written language would take more effort.
Di-tsa-la-gis in Action
To demonstrate the effectiveness of his syllabary, Sequoyah invited his friends and neighbors to his workshop. A-yo-ka would wait outside, away from the gathered adults. Sequoyah would then ask his visitors to say something to him in Cherokee. Sequoyah would write the sentence down and send it outside to A-yo-ka. Moments later, A-yo-ka would come into the building and read the sentence from the paper—much to the astonishment of the assembled adults.
These stories were recounted by several of the adults who had witnessed these demonstrations. Some were impressed, while a few expressed horror at what they had witnessed. Cries of witchcraft were even uttered by some of the more traditional skeptics. Sequoyah soon taught his nephew how to read the syllabary and demonstrated its usefulness to even more of his contemporaries. When the brother of a local chief asked Sequoyah to record the speeches at a village council meeting he readily agreed.
To demonstrate the importance of having a written language, Sequoyah undertook a series of experiments. At the urging of the Chatonga town council, he surveyed the border between Cherokee domain and the states of Tennessee and Georgia. Recording his findings in the new syllabary, Sequoyah then presented his report to the council. The assembled leaders were astonished to see the series of strange marks on the paper come to life in the stressed tones of the Cherokee language.
Remembering how white soldiers had communicated with their families during the Creek War, Sequoyah asked several of his friends to dictate messages to relatives in other towns. Taking the letters with him, Sequoyah proved that the Cherokee did not need to rely on English to communicate over distances—they could communicate in their own words and in their own tongue. This was the power of the written word. A power that both impressed and terrified.
Mark C. Carnes, Ed., U.S. History. (New York: Macmillan Library Reference, 1996).
John Ehle. Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation. (New York: Anchor Books, 1989).
Michael Garrett. Walking on the Wind. (Rochester:Bear and Company Publishing, 1998).
Ruth Bradley Holmes and Betty Sharp Smith. Beginning Cherokee. (Norman; University of Oklahoma Press, 1977).
David M Jones and Brian L Molyneaux. Mythology of the American Nations. (London: Anness Publishing, 2006).
Peter Matthiessen, Ed., George Catlin: North American Indians. (New York: Penguin Books, 1989).
James M. McPherson. “To the Best of My Ability: The American Presidents. (London: Dorling Kindersley, 2000).
Marilyn Miller, Ed., The American History Desk Reference. (New York: MacMillan, 1997).
Carl Waldman, The North American Indian. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2000.)
Carl Waldman, Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2006).
History Bot
The Pathfinder – John C. Fremont
Sequoyah and the “Talking Leaves”
Sequoyah at Work: Creating the Cherokee Syllabary
Strife in the West and the Rise of the Qualla Cherokee
The Florida Keys: The Years Before Europeans
Empire of the Summer Moon – A Review
Support the Truth in History
BTC:
13VMC7xLWD4HNicsd2Yj9EHoMAbSi5V6TJ
LTC:
LTs1psaVic6wQgGsfb8ErAUNYZMNdUc5Sr
Faithless Electors
Presidential History © John S. Cooper John S. Cooper - May 29, 2019
We will know on election night in November, or early the next morning, who will be our next President. But in reality, that is...
Teachers in the White House
Education is a major issue in the current election campaign. Many of our past presidents had first-hand experience in the education field. Some were...
Pets in the White House
In the next election, we will choose the next occupants of the White House. But we will not choose all of them. Those we...
Worldhistory.us - For those who want to understand the History, not just to read it.
Disclaimer: The publication of any and all content eg, articles, reports, editorials, commentary, opinions, as well as graphics and or images on this website does not constitute sanction or acquiescence of said content unless specified; it is solely for informational purposes.
Fair Use Notice: This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which may not be specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific, social justice, and religious issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
Contact us: team@worldhistory.us
Ral Colors
© 2003-2019 Worldhistory.us
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2796
|
__label__cc
| 0.518742
| 0.481258
|
Toxic Flame Retardant Detected In Popular Soda?
Quenching your thirst could wipe out your memory, thanks to a flame retardant chemical.
Patented as a flame retardant for plastics, and banned in food throughout Europe and Japan, a brominated chemical called BVO has been added to sodas for decades in North America. Now some scientists have a renewed interest in this little-known ingredient, found in 10 percent of sodas in the United States. Research on its toxicity dates back to the 1970s, and some experts now urge a reassessment. After a few extreme soda binges – not too far from what many video gamers regularly consume – a few patients have needed medical attention for skin lesions, memory loss and nerve disorders, all symptoms of overexposure to bromine. Other studies suggest that BVO could be building up in human tissues. In mouse studies, big doses caused reproductive and behavioral problems. Scientists originally created brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, for use as a flame retardant in plastics, but the food industry has been adding the compound to certain sodas, sports drinks, and juices for decades to keep the artificial flavoring from separating and floating to the top of the can, bottle, or glass.
The next time you grab a Mountain Dew, Squirt, Fanta Orange, Sunkist Pineapple, Gatorade Thirst Quencher Orange, Powerade Strawberry Lemonade or Fresca Original Citrus, take a look at the drink’s ingredients. In Mountain Dew, brominated vegetable oil is listed next-to-last, between disodium EDTA and Yellow 5. These are just a sampling of drinks with BVO listed in their ingredients, which is required by the FDA. The most popular sodas – Coca-Cola and Pepsi – do not contain BVO.
In the United States, 85 percent of kids drink a beverage containing sugar or artificial sweetener at least once per week, according to a study published last month. Sodas are the largest source of calories for teenagers between the ages of 14 to 18, according to a National Cancer Institute Study. For adults, soda, energy and sports drinks are the fourth largest source of calories, a federal study found.
Hold a bottle of Mountain Dew to a light. It’s cloudy. Brominated vegetable oil creates the cloudy look by keeping the fruity flavor mixed into the drink. Without an emulsifier such as BVO, the flavoring would float to the surface. The FDA limits the use of BVO to 15 parts per million in fruit-flavored beverages.
BVO was patented in the 1960s by chemical companies as a flame retardant. It is also used in light-sensitive photographic printing papers, as an additive for gasoline, to agricultural fumigants. It is composed mainly of bromine, a poisonous chemical whose vapors are considered both corrosive and toxic.
It beggars belief that it should find its way into soft drinks, especially when you consider that consuming bromine-containing products increases bromine content in the body. This, in turn, competes with iodine and causes iodine deficiency creating a condition called “Brominated Thyroid.”
Thyroid damage isn’t the only problem. Bromine is also a potential carcinogen and causes a number of disorders starting from simple headache, fatigue, weight-gain to cancer, heart and kidney diseases.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi do not contain BVO but a whole host of popular fruit flavored sodas – the ones with a cloudy appearance – do.
BVO stabilizes the fruit flavorings in the mix and helps create that cloudy appearance. If you drink Mountain Dew, Squirt, Fanta Orange, Sunkist Pineapple, Gatorade Thirst Quencher Orange, Powerade Strawberry Lemonade or Fresca Original Citrus, you’re drinking BVO.
Soda makers and industry groups say BVO is safe and that their products meet all government standards. But there is now concern that the FDA limit for brominated oil in sodas is based on outdated data from the 1970s, and that it is time for this ubiquitous additive to be re-examined. Their concern is that it builds up in tissues, and may have the same effects as brominated flame retardants.
A binge — for instance at a party or during a long night’s video gaming — has left some soda drinkers in need of medical attention for skin lesions, memory loss and nerve disorders, all symptoms of overexposure to bromine.
Other studies suggest that BVO could be building up in human tissues, just like other brominated compounds such as flame retardants. In animal studies, big doses have caused reproductive and behavioral problems.
In 1970, scientists in England found that rats on a six-week diet containing 0.8 percent brominated maize oil had stockpiles of bromine in their fat tissue. The bromine stayed there even after the rats returned to a control diet for two weeks.
Another study around the same time confirmed that bromine was building up in humans. Researchers measured the serum levels of people in the United Kingdom – before BVO had been banned – and in their counterparts in the Netherlands and Germany, where BVO was not used. The studies found that UK residents had the significantly higher levels of BVO in their bodies and that the largest amounts were found in tissues of children.
Based on data from the early studies like these, the FDA removed BVO from the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) list 1970. But in 1977 after heavy lobbying from the soda industry, the FDA approved the interim use of BVO at 15 ppm in fruit-flavored beverages, pending the outcome of additional studies.
More than 30 years later, BVOs approval status is still listed as interim.
Critics say that soda makers in North America could easily replace BVO with alternatives such as naturally-derived hydrocolloids – chemicals that are used in many sodas in Europe. But manufacturers are resistant, insisting that reformulation is unnecessary and would be costly. Environmental Health News reports that changing that status would be expensive and quotes FDA spokesman Douglas Karas saying it “is not a public health priority for the agency at this time. “Since the alternatives are already used in Europe “their performance must be acceptable, if not comparable, to the U.S.-used brominated systems.” That means “the main driver for not replacing them may be cost” Wim Thielemans, a chemical engineer at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom said.
Previous articleThis Desolate Ghost Town Is Hanging By A Thread Over The Bering Sea
Next articleCleanse Your Kidneys With This Simple Recipe
https://www.worldtruth.tv
Eddie is the founder and owner of www.WorldTruth.TV. This website is dedicated to educating and informing people with articles on powerful and concealed information from around the globe. I have spent the last 38 years researching Bible, History, Alternative Health, Secret Societies, Symbolism and many other topics that are not reported by mainstream media.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2797
|
__label__wiki
| 0.639909
| 0.639909
|
Wellsboro (Hardcover)
By Ann C. Benjamin, Michael J. Cooney
(Save: $5.80 20%)
Wellsboro, the county seat of Tioga County, owes much of its vitality to dense forests, abundant wildlife, and mountainous terrain. Named by the National Park Service as a Natural Landmark in 1968, nearby Pine Creek Gorge was introduced by George Washington Sears, better known as "Nessmuk," in 1860 and later publicized as "the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania." A weeklong Laurel Festival, organized in 1938, celebrates the canyon, the state flower, and Wellsboro. The Laurel Parade and the Laurel Queen coronation conclude the festivities each year. Wellsboro also owes its long-term prosperity to agriculture, logging, mining, and industry, all of which have contributed to the town's economic survival and growth. Corning Glass Works, a shining example of industrial innovation, made Wellsboro "the Christmas Bulb Capital of the World." Described as quaint, Wellsboro is often compared to a New England village. In addition to a row of antique gaslights lining the boulevard, the Penn-Wells Hotel, the Arcadia Theatre, and Dunham's Department Store, all of which date to the early 1900s, add to Main Street's charm, while the Green features a fountain statue of "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Library Editions
Publication Date: August 10th, 2015
Modern - 20th Century
Modern - 21st Century
Kobo eBook (August 10th, 2015): $12.99
Paperback (August 10th, 2015): $17.59
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2801
|
__label__wiki
| 0.91164
| 0.91164
|
Current 2018 Main Ed. (1/14/2019); Titles 1 to 4 2012 Ed. and Supplement V (1/12/2018) 2012 Ed. and Supplement IV (1/6/2017) 2012 Ed. and Supplement III (1/3/2016) 2012 Ed. and Supplement II (1/5/2015) 2012 Ed. and Supplement I (1/16/2014) 2012 Main Ed. (1/15/2013) 2006 Ed. and Supplement V (1/3/2012) 2006 Ed. and Supplement IV (1/7/2011) 2006 Ed. and Supplement III (2/1/2010) 2006 Ed. and Supplement II (1/5/2009) 2006 Ed. and Supplement I (1/8/2008) 2006 Main Ed. (1/3/2007) 2000 Ed. and Supplement V (1/2/2006) 2000 Ed. and Supplement IV (1/3/2005) 2000 Ed. and Supplement III (1/19/2004) 2000 Ed. and Supplement II (1/6/2003) 2000 Ed. and Supplement I (1/22/2002) 2000 Main Ed. (1/2/2001) 1994 Ed. and Supplement V (1/23/2000) 1994 Ed. and Supplement IV (1/5/1999) 1994 Ed. and Supplement III (1/26/1998) 1994 Ed. and Supplement II (1/6/1997) 1994 Ed. and Supplement I (1/16/1996) 1994 Main Ed. (1/4/1995)
Back to Original Document
<< Previous TITLE 35 / PART I / CHAPTER 1 / § 3 Next >>
[Print] [Print selection]
[OLRC Home]Help
35 USC 3: Officers and employees Text contains those laws in effect on July 16, 2019
From Title 35-PATENTSPART I-UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICECHAPTER 1-ESTABLISHMENT, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES, FUNCTIONS
Jump To: Source CreditReferences In TextAmendmentsEffective Date
§3. Officers and employees
(a) Under Secretary and Director.-
(1) In general.-The powers and duties of the United States Patent and Trademark Office shall be vested in an Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (in this title referred to as the "Director"), who shall be a citizen of the United States and who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Director shall be a person who has a professional background and experience in patent or trademark law.
(2) Duties.-
(A) In general.-The Director shall be responsible for providing policy direction and management supervision for the Office and for the issuance of patents and the registration of trademarks. The Director shall perform these duties in a fair, impartial, and equitable manner.
(B) Consulting with the public advisory committees.-The Director shall consult with the Patent Public Advisory Committee established in section 5 on a regular basis on matters relating to the patent operations of the Office, shall consult with the Trademark Public Advisory Committee established in section 5 on a regular basis on matters relating to the trademark operations of the Office, and shall consult with the respective Public Advisory Committee before submitting budgetary proposals to the Office of Management and Budget or changing or proposing to change patent or trademark user fees or patent or trademark regulations which are subject to the requirement to provide notice and opportunity for public comment under section 553 of title 5, as the case may be.
(3) Oath.-The Director shall, before taking office, take an oath to discharge faithfully the duties of the Office.
(4) Removal.-The Director may be removed from office by the President. The President shall provide notification of any such removal to both Houses of Congress.
(b) Officers and Employees of the Office.-
(1) Deputy under secretary and deputy director.-The Secretary of Commerce, upon nomination by the Director, shall appoint a Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office who shall be vested with the authority to act in the capacity of the Director in the event of the absence or incapacity of the Director. The Deputy Director shall be a citizen of the United States who has a professional background and experience in patent or trademark law.
(2) Commissioners.-
(A) Appointment and duties.-The Secretary of Commerce shall appoint a Commissioner for Patents and a Commissioner for Trademarks, without regard to chapter 33, 51, or 53 of title 5. The Commissioner for Patents shall be a citizen of the United States with demonstrated management ability and professional background and experience in patent law and serve for a term of 5 years. The Commissioner for Trademarks shall be a citizen of the United States with demonstrated management ability and professional background and experience in trademark law and serve for a term of 5 years. The Commissioner for Patents and the Commissioner for Trademarks shall serve as the chief operating officers for the operations of the Office relating to patents and trademarks, respectively, and shall be responsible for the management and direction of all aspects of the activities of the Office that affect the administration of patent and trademark operations, respectively. The Secretary may reappoint a Commissioner to subsequent terms of 5 years as long as the performance of the Commissioner as set forth in the performance agreement in subparagraph (B) is satisfactory.
(B) Salary and performance agreement.-The Commissioners shall be paid an annual rate of basic pay not to exceed the maximum rate of basic pay for the Senior Executive Service established under section 5382 of title 5, including any applicable locality-based comparability payment that may be authorized under section 5304(h)(2)(C) of title 5. The compensation of the Commissioners shall be considered, for purposes of section 207(c)(2)(A) of title 18, to be the equivalent of that described under clause (ii) of section 207(c)(2)(A) of title 18. In addition, the Commissioners may receive a bonus in an amount of up to, but not in excess of, 50 percent of the Commissioners' annual rate of basic pay, based upon an evaluation by the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director, of the Commissioners' performance as defined in an annual performance agreement between the Commissioners and the Secretary. The annual performance agreements shall incorporate measurable organization and individual goals in key operational areas as delineated in an annual performance plan agreed to by the Commissioners and the Secretary. Payment of a bonus under this subparagraph may be made to the Commissioners only to the extent that such payment does not cause the Commissioners' total aggregate compensation in a calendar year to equal or exceed the amount of the salary of the Vice President under section 104 of title 3.
(C) Removal.-The Commissioners may be removed from office by the Secretary for misconduct or nonsatisfactory performance under the performance agreement described in subparagraph (B), without regard to the provisions of title 5. The Secretary shall provide notification of any such removal to both Houses of Congress.
(3) Other officers and employees.-The Director shall-
(A) appoint such officers, employees (including attorneys), and agents of the Office as the Director considers necessary to carry out the functions of the Office; and
(B) define the title, authority, and duties of such officers and employees and delegate to them such of the powers vested in the Office as the Director may determine.
The Office shall not be subject to any administratively or statutorily imposed limitation on positions or personnel, and no positions or personnel of the Office shall be taken into account for purposes of applying any such limitation.
(4) Training of examiners.-The Office shall submit to the Congress a proposal to provide an incentive program to retain as employees patent and trademark examiners of the primary examiner grade or higher who are eligible for retirement, for the sole purpose of training patent and trademark examiners.
(5) National security positions.-The Director, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall maintain a program for identifying national security positions and providing for appropriate security clearances, in order to maintain the secrecy of certain inventions, as described in section 181, and to prevent disclosure of sensitive and strategic information in the interest of national security.
(6) Administrative patent judges and administrative trademark judges.-The Director may fix the rate of basic pay for the administrative patent judges appointed pursuant to section 6 and the administrative trademark judges appointed pursuant to section 17 of the Trademark Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1067) at not greater than the rate of basic pay payable for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5. The payment of a rate of basic pay under this paragraph shall not be subject to the pay limitation under section 5306(e) or 5373 of title 5.
(c) Continued Applicability of Title 5.-Officers and employees of the Office shall be subject to the provisions of title 5, relating to Federal employees.
(d) Adoption of Existing Labor Agreements.-The Office shall adopt all labor agreements which are in effect, as of the day before the effective date of the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act, with respect to such Office (as then in effect).
(e) Carryover of Personnel.-
(1) From pto.-Effective as of the effective date of the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act, all officers and employees of the Patent and Trademark Office on the day before such effective date shall become officers and employees of the Office, without a break in service.
(2) Other personnel.-Any individual who, on the day before the effective date of the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act, is an officer or employee of the Department of Commerce (other than an officer or employee under paragraph (1)) shall be transferred to the Office, as necessary to carry out the purposes of that Act, if-
(A) such individual serves in a position for which a major function is the performance of work reimbursed by the Patent and Trademark Office, as determined by the Secretary of Commerce;
(B) such individual serves in a position that performed work in support of the Patent and Trademark Office during at least half of the incumbent's work time, as determined by the Secretary of Commerce; or
(C) such transfer would be in the interest of the Office, as determined by the Secretary of Commerce in consultation with the Director.
Any transfer under this paragraph shall be effective as of the same effective date as referred to in paragraph (1), and shall be made without a break in service.
(f) Transition Provisions.-
(1) Interim appointment of director.-On or after the effective date of the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act, the President shall appoint an individual to serve as the Director until the date on which a Director qualifies under subsection (a). The President shall not make more than one such appointment under this subsection.
(2) Continuation in office of certain officers.-(A) The individual serving as the Assistant Commissioner for Patents on the day before the effective date of the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act may serve as the Commissioner for Patents until the date on which a Commissioner for Patents is appointed under subsection (b).
(B) The individual serving as the Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks on the day before the effective date of the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act may serve as the Commissioner for Trademarks until the date on which a Commissioner for Trademarks is appointed under subsection (b).
(July 19, 1952, ch. 950, 66 Stat. 792 ; Pub. L. 85–933, §1, Sept. 6, 1958, 72 Stat. 1793 ; Pub. L. 86–370, §1(a), Sept. 23, 1959, 73 Stat. 650 ; Pub. L. 88–426, title III, §305(26), Aug. 14, 1964, 78 Stat. 425 ; Pub. L. 93–596, §1, Jan. 2, 1975, 88 Stat. 1949 ; Pub. L. 93–601, §1, Jan. 2, 1975, 88 Stat. 1956 ; Pub. L. 97–247, §4, Aug. 27, 1982, 96 Stat. 319 ; Pub. L. 97–366, §4, Oct. 25, 1982, 96 Stat. 1760 ; Pub. L. 98–622, title IV, §405, Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3392 ; Pub. L. 105–304, title IV, §401(a)(1), Oct. 28, 1998, 112 Stat. 2887 ; Pub. L. 106–44, §2(c), Aug. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 223 ; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, §1000(a)(9) [title IV, §4713], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536 , 1501A-575; Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title III, §13206(a)(2), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1904 ; Pub. L. 112–29, §§20(i)(1), 21(b), Sept. 16, 2011, 125 Stat. 334 , 336.)
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on Title 35, U.S.C., 1946 ed., §2 (R.S. 476, amended (1) Feb. 15, 1916, ch. 22, §1, 39 Stat. 8 , (2) Feb. 14, 1927, ch. 139, §1, 44 Stat. 1098 , (3) Apr. 11, 1930, ch. 132, §1, 46 Stat. 155 ).
The temporary designation of the assistant commissioner as Commissioner in case of a vacancy in office is added. This will eliminate complications since present applicable general statutes (5 U.S.C., 1946 ed., §7) permit a vacancy to be temporarily filled only for not more than 30 days.
Changes in language are made. "Assistant commissioners" is used in the second sentence (and elsewhere in the bill) as referring to all three assistants.
This entire title is subject to Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1263) which vests all functions of the Patent Office in the Secretary of Commerce and authorizes delegation by him. It has been found impractical to so word the various sections of the title, and a general provision has been inserted as the second paragraph of this section of the bill, leaving the wording of various sections of the title in terms of officers previously specified and to whom the functions presently stand delegated.
The Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act, referred to in subsecs. (d) to (f), is Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, §1000(a)(9) [title IV, subtitle G (§4701 et seq.)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536 , 1501A-572. For the effective date of the Act as 4 months after Nov. 29, 1999, see section 1009(a)(9) [title IV, §4731] of Pub. L. 106–113, set out as an Effective Date of 1999 Amendment note under section 1 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1999 Amendment note set out under section 1 of this title and Tables.
2011-Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 112–29, §21(b), added par. (6).
Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 112–29, §20(i)(1), substituted "that Act," for "this Act," in introductory provisions.
2002-Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 107–273, §13206(a)(2)(A), struck out "United States Code," after "title 5,".
Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 107–273, §13206(a)(2)(B)(i), struck out ", United States Code" after "title 5".
Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 107–273, §13206(a)(2)(B)(ii)–(iv), in first sentence, struck out "United States Code," after "section 5382 of title 5," and ", United States Code" after "section 5304(h)(2)(C) of title 5", in second sentence, struck out "United States Code," after "for purposes of section 207(c)(2)(A) of title 18," and ", United States Code" after "clause (ii) of section 207(c)(2)(A) of title 18", and in last sentence, struck out ", United States Code" after "title 3".
Subsec. (b)(2)(C). Pub. L. 107–273, §13206(a)(2)(B)(v), struck out ", United States Code" after "title 5".
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 107–273, §13206(a)(2)(C), in heading, struck out ", United States Code" before period at end, and in text, struck out "United States Code," after "title 5,".
1999-Pub. L. 106–113 reenacted section catchline without change and amended text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows:
"(a) There shall be in the Patent and Trademark Office a Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, a Deputy Commissioner, two Assistant Commissioners, and examiners-in-chief appointed under section 7 of this title. The Deputy Commissioner, or, in the event of a vacancy in that office, the Assistant Commissioner senior in date of appointment shall fill the office of Commissioner during a vacancy in that office until the Commissioner is appointed and takes office. The Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, the Deputy Commissioner, and the Assistant Commissioners shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Secretary of Commerce, upon the nomination of the Commissioner, in accordance with law shall appoint all other officers and employees.
"(b) The Secretary of Commerce may vest in himself the functions of the Patent and Trademark Office and its officers and employees specified in this title and may from time to time authorize their performance by any other officer or employee.
"(c) The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to fix the per annum rate of basic compensation of each examiner-in-chief in the Patent and Trademark Office at not in excess of the maximum scheduled rate provided for positions in grade 17 of the General Schedule of the Classification Act of 1949, as amended.
"(d) The Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks shall be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce and shall receive compensation at the rate in effect for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code.
"(e) The members of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the Patent and Trademark Office shall each be paid at a rate not to exceed the maximum rate of basic pay payable for GS–16 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5."
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 106–44 struck out ", United States Code" after "title 5".
1998-Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105–304 substituted "in effect for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code" for "prescribed by law for Assistant Secretaries of Commerce".
1984-Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 98–622 added subsec. (e).
1982-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–247 struck out "not more than fifteen" after "two Assistant Commissioners, and", and inserted "appointed under section 7 of this title" after "examiners-in-chief".
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 97–366 added subsec. (d).
1975-Pub. L. 93–596 substituted "Patent and Trademark Office" for "Patent Office", and "Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks" for "Commissioner of Patents", wherever appearing.
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 93–601 designated first par. as subsec. (a), redesignated first assistant commissioner as a Deputy Commissioner, granted authority for appointment of not more than fifteen examiners-in-chief to Secretary of Commerce instead of the President, and struck out provision relating to performance by assistant commissioners of duties assigned by Commissioner.
Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 93–601 designated second and third pars. as subsecs. (b) and (c), respectively.
1964-Pub. L. 88–426 repealed provisions which prescribed annual rate of compensation of Commissioner.
1959-Pub. L. 86–370 authorized Secretary of Commerce to fix compensation of examiners-in-chief.
1958-Pub. L. 85–933 increased number of examiners-in-chief from nine to not more than fifteen and specified annual compensation of Commissioner.
Effective Date of 2011 Amendment
Notwithstanding section 35 of Pub. L. 112–29 (set out as a note under section 1 of this title), amendment by section 21 of Pub. L. 112–29 effective as of Sept. 16, 2011, see section 1(g) of Pub. L. 112–274, set out as a note under section 2 of this title.
Amendment by section 20(i)(1) of Pub. L. 112–29 effective upon the expiration of the 1-year period beginning on Sept. 16, 2011, and applicable to proceedings commenced on or after that effective date, see section 20(l) of Pub. L. 112–29, set out as a note under section 2 of this title.
Amendment by Pub. L. 106–113 effective 4 months after Nov. 29, 1999, see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, §4731] of Pub. L. 106–113, set out as a note under section 1 of this title.
Pub. L. 98–622, title IV, §406(b), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3393 , provided that: "The amendments made by sections 401, 402, and 405 of this Act [amending this section and sections 361, 366, 371, 372, and 376 of this title] shall take effect six months after the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 8, 1984]."
Amendment by Pub. L. 97–247 effective Aug. 27, 1982, see section 17(a) of Pub. L. 97–247, set out as a note under section 41 of this title.
Pub. L. 93–601, §4(b), Jan. 2, 1975, 88 Stat. 1957 , provided that: "This Act [amending this section and sections 7 and 151 of this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 151 of this title] shall be effective upon enactment [Jan. 2, 1975]. Examiners-in-chief in office on the date of enactment shall continue in office under and in accordance with their then existing appointments."
Amendment by Pub. L. 93–596 effective Jan. 2, 1975, see section 4 of Pub. L. 93–596, set out as a note under section 1111 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade.
Amendment by Pub. L. 88–426 effective on first day of first pay period which begins on or after July 1, 1964, except to the extent provided in section 501(c) of Pub. L. 88–426, see section 501 of Pub. L. 88–426.
Pub. L. 86–370, §7(b), Sept. 23, 1959, 73 Stat. 653 , provided that: "Sections 1 [amending this section, section 7 of this title, and provisions set out as a note below], 3 [amending sections 2205 and 2208 of former Title 5, Executive Departments and Government Officers and Employees], and 6 [amending section 1082 of former Title 5 and section 903 of Title 20, Education] of this Act shall become effective on the first day of the first pay period which begins after the date of enactment of this Act [Sept. 23, 1959]." Such section 7(b) was repealed by Pub. L. 89–554, §8(a), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 660 .
Existing Positions, Compensation, and Appointments Unaffected by Pub. L. 86–370 Until Action Taken Under Amendments
Pub. L. 86–370, §1(c), Sept. 23, 1959, 73 Stat. 650 , provided that: "The amendments made by this section [amending sections 1 and 7 of this title] shall not affect-
"(1) any position of examiner-in-chief or designated examiner-in-chief existing immediately prior to the effective date of this section [see Effective Date of 1959 Amendment note set out above], or
"(2) any incumbent of any such position, his appointment thereto, his rate of compensation, or his right to receive such compensation,
until appropriate action is taken under authority of such amendments."
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2807
|
__label__cc
| 0.529995
| 0.470005
|
Risk and Morality
Browse Inside
By Aaron Doyle and Richard V. Ericson
Risk and Morality examines how decisions about risk and uncertainty relate to moral principles and ethical conduct. Editors Richard Ericson and Aaron Doyle have brought together in this volume a selection of original essays on the topic by renowned scholars in the disciplines of philosophy, sociology, law, political science, geography, criminology, and accounting from Canada, the United States, England, France, and Australia. Presenting cutting-edge theory and research, the essays analyse the broader social, political, economic and cultural dimensions of risk and morality.
The concept of risk has become pervasive in recent years in political discourse, popular culture, organizational communications, and everyday life. The contributors' respective research projects on risk and morality in politics, business, legal regulation, crime prevention, insurance, extreme sports, and biotechnology provide original empirical evidence to substantiate their theories and address the ideological and policy relevance of their work. Collectively, the contributors explain why risk is such a key aspect of Western culture, and demonstrate that new regimes for risk management are transforming social integration, value-based reasoning and morality. Further, they illustrate that these new regimes do not necessarily foster more responsible conduct or greater accountability in institutions.
Continue Reading Read Less
Series: Green College Thematic Lecture Series
World Rights
Page Count: 464 pages
Dimensions: 6.3in x 1.6in x 9.3in
Product Formats
SaveUP TO 9239
SKU# SP001967
PUBLISHED JUL 2003
PUBLISHED JUN 2003
Collectively, the contributors explain why risk is such a key aspect of Western culture, and demonstrate that new regimes for risk management are transforming social integration, value-based reasoning and morality.
'Risk and Morality presents up-to-date, and indeed cutting-edge, research. Risk analysis is taking off in sociology and especially sociology of law, and this collection makes a major contribution ... Ericson and Doyle have brought together a stunning array of authors, a veritable who's who of people working in the field. They have done the field a great service by commissioning these papers.'
Malcolm M. Feeley, School of Law, University of California at Berkeley
'This book is an excellent multidisciplinary examination of various configurations of risk and morality ... I have learned much from reading it.'
Kelly Hannah-Moffat, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto
Aaron Doyle is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carlton University.
The late Richard V. Ericson was Principal of Green College, University of British Columbia, a centre for interdisciplinary scholarship and graduate education.
Subjects and Courses
By the Same Author(s)
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2808
|
__label__cc
| 0.588544
| 0.411456
|
White Collar Fraud
I am a convicted felon, former CPA, and former criminal CFO of Crazy Eddie. Today, I teach law enforcement agencies, professionals, and businesses how to identify fraud and train them to catch the crooks. Red flags investigated in this blog are often reported to appropriate government agencies as a whistleblower. --- Sam Antar
Website Home Page
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters: Calling a Bean, a Bean
Written by: Sam E. Antar with Ilene, Editor of Phil's Stock World
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR) is currently under the scrutiny of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is facing numerous class action lawsuits alleging securities fraud. In particular, plaintiffs are alleging false and misleading disclosures in violation of federal securities laws.
One troubling issue is that when Green Mountain initially disclosed an accounting error concerning its K-Cup margin percentages, it claimed that the error was “immaterial.” Material and immaterial errors are treated differently. If an accounting error is immaterial, a public company is required to correct it by making a one-time cumulative adjustment to earnings in the latest quarter. If an accounting error is material, a public company is required to notify investors that its previous financial reports cannot be relied on and that it will restate its affected financial reports to correct that error.
On Monday, September 20, 2010, the SEC notified Green Mountain Coffee Roasters that it was conducting an informal inquiry. It requested information concerning “revenue recognition practices and the Company’s relationship with one of its fulfillment vendors.” Eight days later, on September 28, 2010, Green Mountain surprised investors by disclosing news of the SEC inquiry in an 8-K filing. In that 8-K report, Green Mountain also disclosed that it discovered an "immaterial accounting error" affecting financial reports issued from 2007 to June 26, 2010:
In connection with the preparation of its financial results for its fourth fiscal quarter, the Company’s management discovered an immaterial accounting error relating to the margin percentage it had been using to eliminate the inter-company markup in its K-Cup inventory balance residing at its Keurig business unit. Management discovered that the gross margin percentage used to eliminate the inter-company markup resulted in a lower margin applied to the Keurig ending inventory balance effectively overstating consolidated inventory and understating cost of sales. Management determined that the accounting error arose during fiscal 2007 and analyzed the quantitative impact from that point forward to June 26, 2010.
As of June 26, 2010, there is a cumulative $7.6 million overstatement of pre-tax income. Net of tax, the cumulative error resulted in a $4.4 million overstatement of net income or a $0.03 cumulative impact on earnings per share.
After evaluating the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the error in accordance with applicable accounting literature, including Staff Accounting Bulletins published by the SEC, the Company, with the participation of the audit committee of the Board of Directors, has determined that the correction in the margin calculation represents a correction of an error in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 250 Accounting Changes and Error Corrections, that the correction was not material to the fiscal years and the respective quarters ended 2007, 2008 and 2009 and that the Company anticipates that the correction will not be material to fiscal year 2010 and the respective quarters of fiscal 2010. As a result, the Company anticipates the cumulative amount of the accounting correction will be made in the quarter ended September 25, 2010. [emphasis added.]
Thus, Green Mountain claimed that its K-Cup margin error was “immaterial” and said it would correct that error by making a cumulative adjustment to earnings. If the error had been material, the company would have been required to 1) disclose that its previously issued financial reports cannot be relied upon and 2) restate its financial reports to correct that error.
On Friday on November 19, 2010, Green Mountain disclosed three new overstatements totaling $3.2 million pre-tax income and one new understatement of $0.7 million in pre-tax income. These errors plus the K-Cup margin error resulted in a total overstatement of $10.1 million in pre-tax income. This time, the company said it would restate its financial reports issued from 2007 to 2010 to correct its errors.
Green Mountain did not identify any specific accounting error as "material" and it marginalized the errors by using carefully crafted language:
The effects on certain reported periods are quantitatively significant, and the impact of the individual errors will be disclosed in more detail in the Company’s restated financial statements.
The adjustments necessary to correct the errors will have no effect on reported cash flow from operations, and are not expected to have a material impact on the balance sheet. [emphasis added.]
Under SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 99, accounting errors are material when they meet certain quantitative or qualitative criteria such as causing the "financial statements taken as a whole" to be "materially misstated" or "materially misleading." Whether or not accounting errors have a material impact on the balance sheet is not by itself a test for materiality in determining whether it is necessary to disclose the errors and restate results.
Green Mountain waited until November 19, 2010 to inform investors that it was going to restate its financial reports.
Let’s go back to September 28, 2010, when Green Mountain disclosed its K-Cup margin error which caused “a cumulative $7.6 million overstatement of pre-tax income” from 2007 to June 26, 2010. Because the company claimed that its K-Cup margin error was “immaterial,” it was not required to restate its previously issued financial reports to correct that error. Instead, Green Mountain said it would make a one-time adjustment to earnings for the quarter ended September 26, 2010 to correct its K-Cup margin error. Green Mountain claimed that it evaluated “the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the error in accordance with applicable accounting literature, including Staff Accounting Bulletins published by the SEC….”
Material vs. Immaterial accounting errors
According to SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 99:
Among the considerations that may well render material a quantitatively small misstatement of a financial statement item are... whether the misstatement hides a failure to meet analysts' consensus expectations for the enterprise….
In determining whether multiple misstatements cause the financial statements to be materially misstated, registrants and the auditors of their financial statements should consider each misstatement separately and the aggregate effect of all misstatements. [emphasis added]
Public companies must evaluate each accounting error both individually and together in determining materiality. The effects of an overstatement of income cannot be reduced by the effects of an understatement of income, in determining the materiality of the errors.
If Green Mountain’s K-Cup margin error “hides a failure to meet analysts' consensus expectations for the enterprise” in any previous reporting period from 2007 to June 2010 (whether in a quarterly or annual period) that error should be considered material. If Green Mountain’s K-Cup margin error caused it to overstate income and meet or exceed analysts’ consensus EPS forecasts, it should be considered a material accounting error under SAB No. 99. In such a case, Green Mountain’s claim that its K-Cup margin error was “immaterial” was arguably incorrect.
Was Green Mountain’s K-Cup margin error material or immaterial?
We would argue that Green Mountain’s K-Cup margin error was material because it overstated income and caused the company to meet analysts’ consensus earnings estimates for the quarter ended March 27, 2010.
On January 27, 2010, Green Mountain reported its first quarter financial results and provided the following initial guidance for its second quarter ending March 27, 2010:
Fully diluted GAAP earnings per share in the range of $0.56 to $0.61 per share. The fully diluted GAAP earnings per share estimates … exclude any one-time acquisition-related transaction expenses for the pending Diedrich acquisition above the amount incurred in the first quarter of fiscal 2010. [emphasis added]
Green Mountain excluded “any one-time acquisition-related transaction expenses for the pending Diedrich acquisition” from its earnings guidance to analysts. Analysts revised their earnings estimates to adjust for the acquisition-related transaction expenses.
On April 28, 2010, Green Mountain reported its financial results for the quarter ended March 27, 2010.
According to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 totaled $24.7 million or $0.54 per fully diluted share. …the Company incurred approximately $5.0 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, of transaction expenses related to the pending Diedrich Coffee, Inc. (“Diedrich”) acquisition…. Excluding the transaction-related expenses, non-GAAP net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 increased 114% to $27.8 million, or $0.60 per diluted share, from $13.0 million, or $0.33 per diluted share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2009. [emphasis added]
Green Mountain reported $0.54 fully diluted earnings per share. Excluding “one-time acquisition-related transaction expenses” fully diluted earnings per share was $0.60, meeting consensus analysts’ estimates for the quarter ended March 27, 2010. Its matching estimates of $0.60 was relayed by the financial news.
BusinessWeek reported:
Also on Wednesday, Green Mountain said it earned $24.7 million, or 54 cents per share, on revenue of $324.9 million. Excluding costs related to a recent acquisition and other items, Green Mountain earned 60 cents per share, matching analyst estimates.
In addition, RTT news reported:
Excluding items, net income more than doubled to $27.8 million from $13 million, while earnings per share increased to $0.60 from $0.33 in the prior-year quarter. On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.60 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
On December 9, 2010, Green Mountain Coffee issued its 2010 10-K report and provided additional details about its accounting errors and their affect on previous reporting periods. This additional information allows us to surmise the magnitude of the original error disclosed on September 28th. Until Green Mountain issued its 10-K report, there was insufficient information for an outsider to calculate the impact of the K-Cup margin error on quarterly earnings due to insufficient information in previous filings (September 28 8-K report and November 19 8-K report).
The company originally reported net income of $24.7 million for the quarter ended March 27, 2010. Considering information contained in Green Mountain’s 10-K report, two accounting errors under the category “Inter-Company Elimination Adjustments” reduced its net income by $1.378 million.
(Note: On May 18, 2010, Green Mountain had a three-for-one stock split and subsequent financial reports reflect that split in earnings per share computations. Therefore, diluted earnings per share for the quarter ended March 27, 2010 were adjusted from $0.54 as originally reported to $0.18 before the effects of any accounting errors. We are using the numbers prior to the split for ease in making comparisons.)
Green Mountain’s “Inter-Company Elimination Adjustments” came from two accounting errors:
(1) The K-Cup margin error originally reported by Green Mountain in its September 28, 2010 8-K report:
A $7.4 million overstatement of pre-tax income ($4.5 million after tax), cumulative over the restated periods, due to the K-Cup® portion pack inventory adjustment error previously reported in the Company’s Form 8-K filed on September 28, 2010. This error is the result of applying an incorrect standard cost to intercompany K-Cup portion pack inventory balances in consolidation. This error resulted in an overstatement of the consolidated inventory and an understatement of the cost of sales. Rather than correcting the cumulative amount of the error in the quarter ended September 25, 2010, as disclosed in the September 28, 2010 Form 8-K, the effect of this error has been recorded in the applicable restated periods. [emphasis added]
(2) An accounting error due to “applying an incorrect standard cost to intercompany brewer inventory balances,” reported in Green Mountain’s November 19, 2010 8-K report:
A $0.7 million overstatement of pre-tax income ($0.4 million after tax), cumulative over the restated periods, due to applying an incorrect standard cost to intercompany brewer inventory balances in consolidation. This error was identified during the preparation of the fiscal year 2010 financial statements and resulted in an overstatement of the consolidated inventory and an understatement of the cost of sales. [emphasis added]
Both of the above accounting errors reduced Green Mountain’s previously reported net income of $24.7 million for the quarter ended March 27, 2010 by $1.378 million. Unfortunately, Green Mountain did not provide information about how each of those individual “Inter-Company Elimination Adjustments” separately impacted earnings for each reporting period.
Calculating the impact of the K-Cup margin error on earnings for the quarter ended March 27, 2010
Green Mountain disclosed that its K-Cup margin error resulted in a:
…$7.4 million overstatement of pre-tax income ($4.5 million after tax), cumulative over the restated periods ….
The brewer standard cost accounting error resulted in a:
…$0.7 million overstatement of pre-tax income ($0.4 million after tax), cumulative over the restated periods….
Therefore, about 92% of the “inter-company elimination adjustments” from 2007 to 2010 resulted from the K-Cup margin error ($4.5 million after tax divided by $4.9 million after tax).
For purposes of illustration, let’s assume that 92% or about $1.267 million of the $1.378 million adjustment to net income for the quarter ended March 27, 2010 came from the K-Cup margin error. In this case, the K-Cup margin error added $0.03 per share to its earnings (pre-stock split) and Green Mountain would have reported $0.57 diluted earnings per share excluding “one-time acquisition-related transaction expenses.” This would have caused it to miss estimates, as analysts were looking for $0.60 per share (pre-stock split).
In any case, the entire brewer standard cost error (from 2007 to 2010) amounted to a mere $0.4 million after tax. If we assume the entire error occurred exclusively in the quarter ended March 27, 2010, then $0.978 million (total inter-company elimination adjustments of $1.378 million minus brewer standard cost error of $0.4 million) of the adjustment to earnings in that quarter came from the K-Cup margin error. In this case, if Green Mountain had properly computed its K-Cup margin percentages, it would have reported $0.58 diluted earnings per share excluding “one-time acquisition-related transaction expenses” compared to consensus analysts’ estimates of $0.60 per share (pre-stock split).
Based on the analysis above, Green Mountain’s assertion that the K-Cup margin error was “immaterial” in its September 28, 2010 8-K report appears to be wishful thinking. According to SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 99, “Among the considerations that may well render material a quantitatively small misstatement of a financial statement item are... whether the misstatement hides a failure to meet analysts' consensus expectations for the enterprise….” The K-Cup margin error caused Green Mountain to overstate income and meet analysts’ consensus expectations for earnings in the quarter ended March 27, 2010.
Green Mountain claims that it properly evaluated “the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the error in accordance… Staff Accounting Bulletins published by the SEC.” It would be interesting to know how its management came to that conclusion. While outsiders could not have performed these calculations until Green Mountains 10-K was released on December 9, 2010, presumably, Green Mountain would have had the information on September 28, 2010.
Arguably, Green Mountain should have identified the K-Cup margin error as a material accounting error in its September 28, 2010 8-K report, and it should have informed investors that its previous financial reports could not be relied on. Under SEC rules, a material accounting error is required to be disclosed on Form 8-K within four business days. It wasn’t until November 19, 2010 that Green Mountain disclosed that its financial reports could not be relied upon by investors and that it would restate its earnings reports issued from 2007 to 2010 to correct accounting errors.
Disclaimer: This article represents the opinions and analysis of Sam E. Antar, and not the opinions of Phil's Stock World and its employees, agents and affiliates. Posting of the article does not represent an endorsement.
Ilene's disclosure
Ilene is the editor of Phil’s Stock World, a fellow Seeking Alpha contributor. She does not own any Green Mountain Coffee Roasters securities, long or short.
Sam's Disclosure
I am a convicted felon and a former CPA. As the criminal CFO of Crazy Eddie, I helped my cousin Eddie Antar and other members of his family mastermind one of the largest securities frauds uncovered during the 1980's. I committed my crimes in cold-blood for fun and profit, and simply because I could.
If it weren't for the heroic efforts of the FBI, SEC, Postal Inspector's Office, US Attorney's Office, and class action plaintiff's lawyers who investigated, prosecuted, and sued me, I would still be the criminal CFO of Crazy Eddie today.
There is a saying, "It takes one to know one." Today, I work very closely with the FBI, IRS, SEC, Justice Department, and other federal and state law enforcement agencies in training them to identify and catch white-collar criminals. Often, I refer cases to them. I teach about white-collar crime for professional organizations, businesses, and colleges and universities.
Recently, I exposed GAAP violations by Overstock.com which caused the company to restate its financial reports for the third time in three years. The SEC is now investigating Overstock.com and its CEO Patrick Byrne for securities law violations (Details here, here, and here).
I do not seek or want forgiveness for my vicious crimes from my victims. I plan on frying in hell with other white-collar criminals for a very long time.
I do not own any Green Mountain Coffee Roasters or Overstock.com securities long or short. My investigations of these companies are a freebie for securities regulators to get me into heaven, though I doubt I will ever get there. My past sins are unforgivable.
Posted by Sam Antar at January 04, 2011
Labels: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Securities and Exchange Commission
Bob said...
You are providing me very informative, needful and accurate thing through this content about coffee roasters. so please continue your good work. i am very thankful to you.
CRAZY EDDIE MOVIE
Jon Turteltaub To Direct ‘Insane,’ Rise & Fall Of Electronics King ‘Crazy’ Eddie Antar For eOne - Deadline Hollywood, June 13, 2019
Entertainment One Goes ‘Insane’ For Movie On Crooked Discount Appliance Sales King Crazy Eddie - Deadline Hollywood, November 16, 2018
BYLINES
CNBC - Bank Leumi
CNBC - Michael Grimm
Newsweek 20/10 – Bernie Madoff’s Giant Ponzi Scheme
TalkMarkets
Named One of the 25 Most Dangerous People in Financial Media by the Huffington Post in 2012 ("Dangerous in a Good Way")
Smart Stops on the Web, Journal of Accountancy, December 2008
BLOG INCLUDED IN
American Bar Association Journal Blawg List
NJ STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY COMMITTEE
Crazy Eddie’s cousin stars in state Republican hearing on public corruption – Atlantic City Press, August 17, 2009
FEATURED IN CRAIN'S NY BUSINESS (CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW ARTICLE)
FEATURED IN SELLING AMERICA SHORT
"The often-disputed F. Scott Fitzgerald quote about the absence of second acts in American lives should be finally laid to rest by the second coming of Sam Antar" --- Richard C. Sauer
© Copyright 2003 - 2019 Sam E. Antar. All rights reserved. Simple theme. Powered by Blogger.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2810
|
__label__wiki
| 0.606898
| 0.606898
|
NM lawmakers have new tool for tax debate
Published: Tuesday, December 12th, 2017 at 6:26pm
Updated: Tuesday, December 12th, 2017 at 10:03pm
Copyright © 2017 Albuquerque Journal
SANTA FE – New Mexico could shave about 3 percentage points off its gross receipts tax rate – maybe more – if it removed all deductions in the tax code and started levying the tax on wages, real estate transactions and food.
That was one hypothetical scenario shared with state lawmakers Tuesday as experts hired by the state walked them through a computer model they’re building to analyze legislative tax proposals.
The experts – employees of the global professional services firm Ernst & Young – didn’t advocate for any particular proposal Tuesday. They simply demonstrated the power of the computer model they expect to turn over to the Legislature and its staff later this month.
Sen. William Sharer
State Sen. William Sharer, a Farmington Republican who pushed for the $400,000 study, said he hopes it will give legislators the information they need to make sound policy decisions on a topic that’s drawn intense debate, especially over the past year. Opponents have said they fear the potential unintended consequences of revising the tax code.
“I think this model will certainly give us some confidence going forward,” Sharer said.
The tax study isn’t expected to be completed until late January, after the legislative session begins, although parts of the work will be available to the Legislature later this month.
Andrew Phillips and Caroline Sallee of Ernst & Young shared an update Tuesday with the Legislature’s Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Committee. Much of their presentation focused on New Mexico’s gross receipts tax base and how potential changes would affect state revenue.
They are also working on a model that will help analyze potential changes to personal income taxes.
Lawmakers spent nearly three hours poring over the data Tuesday, but it wasn’t clear the discussion moved the political debate forward much.
Democratic legislative leaders have suggested there won’t be enough time in the coming 30-day legislative session to pass a substantial overhaul of the tax code – a priority of Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.
“I’m just hopeful that we can get something meaningful done before I die,” said Rep. Jason Harper, R-Rio Rancho, drawing laughter from his colleagues.
Rep. Bill McCamley, a Las Cruces Democrat and chairman of the House Labor and Economic Development Committee, noted that the study shows that levying the gross receipts tax on food purchases would have a disproportionate impact on households making less than $40,000 – because they spend a higher percentage of their money on food than do higher-income households.
He said he wouldn’t favor adding to the tax burden of poor families, but he acknowledged that other changes to the tax code – to income taxes, for example – could help address his concern.
“I think the tax code here is too complicated,” McCamley said. “I just worry that if we’re not going to address it in a holistic manner, we risk putting the burden more on poor people” or risk reducing government services.
Among the preliminary findings released Tuesday:
• Almost half of all gross receipts in New Mexico – basically the sale of goods and services – is the subject of a tax deduction, meaning it isn’t taxable. Food is in this category, for example.
Many of the deductions are in place to address pyramiding, or the imposition of taxes on each step in a larger transaction, the result of which is an exponential increase in the overall taxes paid. But supporters of overhauling the tax code say much more needs to be done to address pyramiding.
• If New Mexico were to remove every deduction and start levying the gross receipts tax on more goods and services, it could reduce the state share of the tax rate from about 4.4 percent to about 1.43 percent, while generating the same amount of revenue.
But city and county governments also impose gross receipts taxes, so it isn’t clear how high the actual rate would be. In Albuquerque, for example, the rate is about 7.5 percent – added, like a sales tax, to the purchase of most goods and services.
Sharer, who favors a low tax rate across a broad tax base, has been pushing for a 2 percent gross receipts tax, meaning local governments would have to get by with just 0.57 percent to fit under the cap. That might be possible, Sharer said, given that more things would be subject to the tax under a proposal like his.
The scenario evaluated by Ernst & Young would have involved levying gross receipts taxes on a variety of transactions that now get a break, such as food, employee wages and real estate transactions.
Once the company’s work is finished, lawmakers can mix and match their own proposed deductions, exemptions and other changes to evaluate what works.
Sen. Clemente Sanchez, a Grants Democrat and chairman of the Senate Corporations and Transportation Committee, said the study “is a good start for us. Now we can’t claim we don’t have the tool anymore to do something.
“We just need to decide when to do something to fix our tax – I wouldn’t call it a mess – confusion.”
Legislature Blog: latest news
Legislature News
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2817
|
__label__wiki
| 0.617693
| 0.617693
|
Quartet has ‘anonymous fame’
By David Steinberg / Journal Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, December 2nd, 2012 at 12:05am
Updated: Saturday, December 1st, 2012 at 9:22pm
The Washington Saxophone Quartet will play holiday and classical music and some Broadway tunes in their concerts in Corrales on Dec. 8 and Santa Fe on Dec. 9.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The saxophone is usually associated with jazz, and for good reason.
Some of the most famous jazz musicians have played the saxophone – John Coltrane, Charley Parker, Gerry Mulligan and Lester Young, to name a few.
Four other saxophonists who haven’t achieved such fame are Reginald Jackson, James Steele, Rick Parrell and Rich Kleinfeldt. They aren’t jazz musicians, but they’ve made a name for themselves as the longtime members of the Washington Saxophone Quartet.
WHAT: Washington Saxophone Quartet
WHEN and WHERE: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8 at the Historic Old San Ysidro Church, Old Church Road, Corrales, and 7 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco, Santa Fe
HOW MUCH: Tickets for the Corrales concert are $22 in advance at Frame-n-Art or at www.brownpapertickets.com, or $25 at the door. Tickets for the Santa Fe concert are $15, $20, $25 and $30 with student discounts in advance by calling 505-988-1234, or by visiting www.ticketssantafe.org, at the box office or at the door
The quartet will play classical music, Christmas music and a medley of songs from “West Side Story” in concerts at the Historic Old San Ysidro Church in Corrales and the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe.
The holiday music on the program includes tunes from the ensemble’s newest CD “‘Tis the Season” and from Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” suite.
The classical pieces on the program include J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero,” “Simple Gifts” from Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” and Jean Francaix’s “Petit Quatuor pour Saxophones.”
Kleinfeldt said the quartet is playing the Francaix because this year is the 100th anniversary of the French composer’s birth and because it’s a work written expressly for four saxes.
Francaix liked it so much that he arranged it for woodwind quartet, he said.
“If the venue gives us a chance to play, we guarantee them the audience will be pleasantly surprised by what they hear – the sound and the music to some extent,” Kleinfeldt, who plays tenor sax, said in a phone interview from Arlington, Va.
“What they’re not expecting is a group like ours – saxophones that can play classical pieces. There’s a preconceived notion that the sax is jazz. I explain to them that we do just about anything, Renaissance, baroque, contemporary pieces and some jazzy sounding pieces.”
Kleinfeldt said the quartet also enjoys what he termed “anonymous fame.” It holds that questionable distinction because since 1997 it has been heard playing variations on the theme of the NPR show “All Things Considered.”
That anonymity is reinforced when the ensemble plays concerts in towns around the country and the players ask audience members if they’ve ever heard a saxophone quartet before. Few raise their hands.
Then the quartet plays the variations on radio program’s theme. All raise their hands, Kleinfeldt said.
Besides the tenor saxophone, the other three instruments in the ensemble are soprano sax, alto sax and baritone sax.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2818
|
__label__wiki
| 0.824533
| 0.824533
|
Corporate Crime & Investigations Update - 26 March
Insights & briefings
Included in this issue: SFO publishes speech by Joint Head of Bribery and Corruption on future DPA use, Official loses job after allegations of corruption in the US Department for Housing and Urban Development, New anti-corruption National Supervision Commission set up in China, and more...
SFO publishes speech by Joint Head of Bribery and Corruption on future DPA use
Camilla de Silva, joint head of bribery and corruption at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), has given a speech on the future use of deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) by the SFO. Speaking at the ABC Minds Financial Services conference on 15 March 2018, Ms De Silva took the opportunity to remind ABC and compliance specialists that their priority is to promote "clean business" for their organisation and clients. The SFO's priority is on the other hand to "investigate and if appropriate prosecute top end financial crime firmly and fairly", rather than clean up the industry.
According to Ms de Silva, DPAs will be used where appropriate but businesses should expect a prosecution instead if the SFO feels the defendant company has been inadequate in its self-reporting, remediation and/or cooperation. Ms De Silva also outlined examples of good cooperation with the SFO and how businesses should handle internal investigations.
SFO, 16 March 2018
Official loses job after allegations of corruption in the US Department for Housing and Urban Development
It has been reported that Johnson Joy, one of the most senior officials in the US housing department, has lost his job after links to a colleague accused of fraud were uncovered and allegations of corruption were made to a federal watchdog. Joy had been running a religious charity with another senior departmental adviser, Naved Jafry, when it was revealed in the press that Jafry had been repeatedly accused of fraud. It has also been reported that two departmental employees have made complaints regarding reassignment, demotion and termination from their jobs as a result of raising corruption concerns.
The Guardian, 20 March 2018
New anti-corruption National Supervision Commission set up in China
Chinese president Xi Jinping has set up a new anti-corruption agency with jurisdiction over "all public servants exercising public power". Previously corruption investigations were handled by the Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which had jurisdiction over Communist Party members only. Commentators suggest that the National Supervision Commission (NSC) will have jurisdiction over three times as many people, but the NSC has already attracted criticism from human rights groups, with Amnesty International calling it "a systemic threat to human rights in China".
BBC, 20 March 2018
Singapore regulator fines Standard Chartered for money laundering and terrorism financing breaches
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has fined Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore Branch (SCBS) and Standard Chartered Trust (Singapore) Limited (SCTS) S$5.2 million and S$1.2 million respectively for breaches of MAS' anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism requirements.
The breaches took place between December 2015 and January 2016, and surrounded transfers of trust accounts from Standard Chartered Trust (Guernsey) to SCTS. MAS reported that it found SCBS' and SCTS' risk management and controls to be "unsatisfactory", as SCBS and SCTS failed to file suspicious transaction reports "in a timely manner". MAS did however take into account mitigating factors in calculating the punishment, noting that SCBS had been proactive in notifying MAS of its internal review of the trust accounts, and that both sets of management showed commitment to addressing the weaknesses highlighted by MAS.
MAS, 19 March 2018
Shell companies to be banned in Latvia to halt money laundering
In a news conference on 21 March 2018, Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis stated that the Latvian government is planning to pass legislation in April to prohibit the use of shell companies across the country. It is reported that this is a response aimed at rebuilding confidence in the country's financial institutions after the governor of its central bank, Ilmars Rimsevics, was the subject of bribery allegations, and the US accused another bank, ABLV, of harbouring illicit funds.
Reuters, 21 March 2018
Fraud conviction for fake Grenfell fire victim
A woman has been convicted of fraud after claiming that her husband was killed and her home destroyed in the Grenfell fire. It emerged at trial that Joyce Msokeri had in fact never used her phone in the vicinity of the Grenfell site, and she was convicted of three counts of fraud and one charge of possessing a fake document. Msokeri had used her story to amass donations worth £19,000, and also tried to claim insurance on the death of her fictitious husband. She will be sentenced on 6 April 2018.
UK Finance calculates cost of authorised push payment fraud
UK Finance, the banking trade body, has calculated that £236 million was lost by victims in 2017 as a result of push payment fraud, and banks were unable to return 74% of this. The vast majority of victims were consumers. Push payment fraud occurs where fraudsters pose as legitimate businesses in order to issue payment demands. These payments are typically made as bank transfers, which means transferors have no legal right to their money back. It is reported that banks are coming under increasing pressure to take responsibility for remedying the harm caused to victims by these scams going forward.
Iranian national arrested for scheme evading US economic sanctions
It is reported that Iranian national, Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad (Sadr), has been charged for being involved in a scheme aimed at circumventing US economic sanctions against Iran. Sadr was involved in a large infrastructure project in Venezuala. Along with relatives, Sadr allegedly concealed the involvement of Iranian parties in US dollar payments sent through the US banking system in connection with the project. The alleged payments were made between April 2011 and November 2013 through a series of international transactions using entities incorporated in Switzerland and Turkey, and totalled approximately $115,000,000.
Department of Justice, 20 March 2018
FCA publishes its Approach to Supervision and Approach to Enforcement
The FCA has published its Approach to Supervision and Approach to Enforcement documents. The former is designed to show how the FCA aims to be more forward-looking and pre-emptive in its supervision of firms by engaging with firms' business models and drivers of behaviour. In relation to the latter, the FCA has stated that its overriding principle in its approach to enforcement is "substantive justice", and will ensure this is delivered through fair and just outcomes in response to misconduct. The consultation period for both documents is open until 21 June 2018, and their final versions will be published later this year.
FCA, 21 March 2018
Anglian Water donates £50,000 to charity after water pollution incident
Anglian Water has agreed an enforcement undertaking with the Environment Agency after a manhole overflowed into a watercourse in Bedfordshire as a result of a sewer blockage. Anglian Water offered to put right the damage caused by the pollution and to make a donation to the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire. The incident was classified as category 2 by the Environment Agency, as ammonia levels were raised in the watercourse at a nearby farm.
Gov.uk, 14 March 2018
North East man fined for running illegal scrapyard
A man from Middlesbrough has been fined £800 for running an illegal scrapyard. He was operating the scrapyard without an environmental permit for disposal of vehicle waste. The permit is a means of ensuring scrapyards do not drain harmful fluid from scrap vehicles into the ground and water systems. Anthony Hanley was given the opportunity to clear away the scrap vehicles after Environment Agency officers first attended the site in August 2016. However, the officers discovered when they visited in April 2017 that Mr Hanley had resumed his operation.
Along with the fine, Mr Hanley was ordered to pay £4,000 in costs and a victim surcharge of £80.
Company fined £1 million after delivery driver fatality
Plastic product manufacturer Glynwed Pipe Systems Ltd has been fined following an incident in which a delivery driver was struck and killed by a fork lift truck.
The HSE investigation found that Glynwed Pipe Systems Ltd failed to manage workplace transport in the yard where employees and members of the public were exposed to risk of being hit and that the systems of work in place were not safe.
Glynwed Pipe Systems Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and have been fined £1 million and ordered to pay costs of £27,942.57.
HSE, 7 March 2018
Tesco fined £116,000 for employee burn incident
An employee working at a store in Colchester received burns during an incident on 5 May 2016. He was using a corrosive cleaning product to clean an oven when it sprayed back into his face causing burns to his left eye and eyelid. At the time he was not wearing any personal protective equipment. He also had difficulties in understanding and following written and verbal instructions, and his manager was aware of this.
The subsequent investigation found a partially used container of the product which was marked corrosive and that safety goggles were available but were dirty and inadequately stored.
Tesco pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and regulations 6 and 7 of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations. It was fined £116,000 and ordered to pay £10,625 in costs.
SHP Online, 21 March 2018
Nichola Peters
Partner, Head of Global Investigations/Inquiries
Email Nichola
Erin Shoesmith
Partner, Health & Safety
Email Erin
Corporate Crime & Investigations Update - 20 May 2019
Corporate Crime & Investigations Update - 7 May 2019
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2823
|
__label__wiki
| 0.598942
| 0.598942
|
About BRI
Biorepository services
Turn-Key Biorepository Solutions
Schistosomiasis Resource Center
Contact SRC
Schistosomiasis Resource Center Reagents
BRI Research
Contact BRI
Our mission is to advance and conduct
infectious disease-related research
The Biomedical Research Institute (BRI) is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit research company committed to improving global health through a variety of research and service activities. For more than 40 years, with the financial support of the NIH, our mission has been to reduce the global health burden imposed by infectious diseases of the developing world, including schistosomiasis, a deadly parasitic disease. Schistosomiasis is responsible for 250,000 deaths annually, while also causing significant morbidity primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, China, the Philippines and parts of South America.
Schistosomiasis is a major public health problem in many tropical countries worldwide. After malaria, it is one of the most devastating parasitic diseases. The World Health Organization estimates that 250 million people in 78 countries are infected with schistosomiasis, with more than 800 million at risk of infection annually. In many countries, schistosomiasis ranks near the top in causes of morbidity associated with infectious disease. More>>
Bladder Immunology Group (BIG)
Our laboratory is interested in how inflammation protects against pathogens and other noxious stimuli and yet can paradoxically harm the host through secondary effects such as carcinogenesis. The genitourinary tract is our model system. We are examining anti-pathogenic inflammation induced by bacteria such as uropathogenic E. coli. Chronic inflammation-mediated carcinogenesis is being studied using models of nitrosamine and Schistosoma haematobium exposure. Through our research, we seek to better understand inflammation and harness its potential for human benefit. More >>
BRI has close to 70 years of experience in cryobiology. The organization pioneered the cryopreservation of bovine semen and human blood products which is the foundation of modern day in vitro fertilization for agricultural purposes and storage of blood products, respectively. BRI has provided researchers and institutions around the world with low temperature storage space for medical specimens. Our capabilities to store and distribute precious biomaterials help speed research and hasten the discovery of cures and treatments. More >>
Copyright © 2019 Biomedical Research Institute, 9410 Key West Rockville, MD 20850
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2827
|
__label__cc
| 0.72545
| 0.27455
|
Loans & Grants
Home / News and Events / ADEA and JICA renew their strategic partnership
ADEA and JICA renew their strategic partnership
(from left to right) Oley Dibba-Wadda, ADEA Executive Secretary, and Eiro Yonezaki, JICA Chief Representative in Côte d’Ivoire
The Steering Committee of the 42ndSession of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), held from December 3 to 5, 2015 at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) headquarters in Abidjan, was a major platform for discussions on renewed partnerships.
Issues discussed related not only to ADEA’s sustainability, transitioning and ownership by African member countries, but also to renewing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the association and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
By signing the above mentioned MoU, JICA renewed its remarkable full member subscription to ADEA membership, which entitles it to receive some of the following quality services provided by the Association: Invitation to ADEA meetings, including the Steering Committee sessions and the Triennales on Education in Africa; Access to ADEA’s networks, working groups, publications, databases and so forth.
The MoU was signed at the end of the three-day meeting of the 42nd Session of the ADEA Steering Committee, by Eiro Yonezaki, JICA Chief Representative in Côte d’Ivoire, and Oley Dibba-Wadda, ADEA Executive Secretary.
Stefano De Cupis
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2829
|
__label__wiki
| 0.916716
| 0.916716
|
New York Times Column Overlooks Jewish Aid to Syrian Refugees
by Ira Stoll
Syrian refugees on the Greek-Macedonian border in August 2015. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
“Why Don’t You Donate for Syrian Refugees? Blame Bad Marketing,” is the headline over a New York Times column by Charles Duhigg.
It reports, “It is statistically unlikely, however, that you’ll write a check to help Syrian refugees. Though the Syrian crisis is a huge and heartbreaking story, it has translated into relatively little charitable giving.”
In my particular case, “Why Don’t You Donate for Syrian Refugees?” is a headline built around a false premise. I did in fact donate (by credit card, not check) to the Refugee Crisis Fund of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston, and I have an email receipt to prove it.
Nor is CJP the only Jewish organization whose efforts to help Syrian refugees Mr. Duhigg ignores. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society has resettled more than 1,200 Syrian refugees in the United States, using both government money and money it raises. The UJA-Federation of New York gave a $25,000 grant to HIAS’s Syrian Refugee Welcoming Project.
The Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief raised $2 million for Syrian refugees. The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism passed a formal resolution urging its congregations to raise money for the Jewish Coalition for Syrian Refugees.
Is Mr. Duhigg’s ignoring, dismissing, or disparaging these efforts just the latest example of anti-Jewish bias by the New York Times?
Well, perhaps not so fast.
Mr. Duhigg’s column, after all, also ignored the New York Times’ own in-house charity, the Neediest Cases Fund, which raised $6,177,635 in its 2016-2017 seasonal campaign. As the Times itself reported elsewhere:
This year the International Rescue Committee, a worldwide aid group based in New York that helps refugees and vulnerable populations, joined the campaign. For the first time in Neediest Cases history, stories were told about people in distress outside the New York City area. Those stories highlighted the plights of refugees trying to flee conflict.
Times columnist Nicholas Kristof had kicked off the campaign with an article reporting, “I’m delighted that after 105 years, at a time when refugees are a target of vitriol and scapegoating, the Neediest Cases Fund is embracing their cause and backing the International Rescue Committee.”
Sometimes what looks like biased journalism may just be plain old bad journalism, applied pretty much equally to all charities, Jewish or not. Maybe Mr. Duhigg’s marketing advice could help raise even more money for Syrian refugees. If so, he may want to consider addressing himself directly to his colleagues in charge of the Times‘ Neediest Cases Fund, rather than making inaccurate blanket statements about readers failing to donate.
More of Ira Stoll’s media critique, a regular Algemeiner feature, can be found here.
The opinions presented by Algemeiner bloggers are solely theirs and do not represent those of The Algemeiner, its publishers or editors. If you would like to share your views with a blog post on The Algemeiner, please be in touch through our Contact page.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2832
|
__label__wiki
| 0.571827
| 0.571827
|
ISIL 'advances towards eastern Syria airbase'
Group claims to have captured village near strategic facility in Deir Az Zor which they plan to target now.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) has said it has taken control of a village near a key government airbase that it now plans to target in the province of Deir Az Zor.
ISIL on Thursday claimed it was advancing towards the strategic military base, located just outside of the provinical capital, which has long been used by government forces to launch air raids on opposition fighters.
Members of ISIL uploaded a video to social media purportedly showing the armed group in control of the Al Jafra village.
Gaining control of the area surrounding the base is also important to access its rich oilfields, which has been fought over since the country's conflict began in 2011.
Another one of ISIL's main targets in the region is a large weapons depot.
ISIL currently governs over most of Deir Az Zor, including half of the provincial capital, but the Syrian government has maintained control over some parts of it.
Losing the strategic airbase could be a major blow to government forces in the province.
Syria's Civil War
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2833
|
__label__wiki
| 0.980228
| 0.980228
|
Indian league targets 'sleeping giant'
New league kicks off on Sunday with the hope of waking the cricket-mad country up from its football slumber.
Sat Oct 11 2014 09:14:43 GMT+0000
The league features former internationals including del Piero, Trezeguet, Anelka and Pires [AFP]
India's new football league with its cast of celebrity owners, experienced foreign managers and a sprinkling of high-profile players will kick off on Sunday, igniting hopes of waking the country from its football slumber.
Italian World Cup winners Alessandro Del Piero and Marco Materazzi, Spain's Joan Capdevila and Luis Garcia, and French stars David Trezeguet and Robert Pires have all signed up to play in the Indian Super League.
Cricket-obsessed India, with its population of 1.2 billion, is ranked 158th in the world, leading FIFA President Sepp Blatter to call it the 'sleeping giant' of world football.
Indian football had somewhat stagnated. Nothing great was happening and we were not progressing at the desirable rate
Subrata Dutta, All India Football Federation VP
The national league has failed to inspire youngsters to take up the sport, which remains popular only in certain areas of the country, while the appetite to watch televised games is restricted to the English Premier League or Spain's La Liga.
Aiming for change
Modelled on cricket's popular Indian Premier League, the ISL, with its franchise-based model, slick promotion and branding, and the presence of stars from cricket and the country's film industry, is aiming to change all that.
"Indian football had somewhat stagnated," All India Football Federation (AIFF) Vice President Subrata Dutta told Reuters recently.
"Nothing great was happening and we were not progressing at the desirable rate. We have been hovering between 140 and 160 in rankings for many years now and we needed something big to push us forward.
"We at the AIFF felt that an explosion is needed in Indian football. We felt the ISL would give the necessary push to Indian football, it would make a difference."
The tournament, to be played in a round-robin format, will then move around the country to the seven other cities.
The top four sides will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be played over two legs, with the winners advancing to a one off final.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2834
|
__label__wiki
| 0.645768
| 0.645768
|
Rivers United Star Named In Togo Provisional AFCON Squad
Rivers United defender, Yaovi Joseph Douhadji has been named in Togo’s provisional squad to compete at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Gabon.
Douhadji is on the books of last season’s Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) runners up, Rivers United is one of seven defenders called up by Togo national team head coach, Claude Leroy.
The 22-year-old strongman now wants to go one better as he has now set his sights on making the final 23-man list for the tournament.
“To be named among the best 25 players in my country is an extremely important thing.
“Now, I want to focus on working hard try to get the nod of the coach to make the final list.
“To represent my country at the Afcon will be a thing of great pride and I want to work hard to see that it happens,” he told the club’s official website, www.riversunitedfc.com.ng.
Togo is in Group C of the 2017 Afcon alongside the Ivory Coast, Congo DR and Morocco.
How AFCON Participation Could Affect Iwobi's Chances At Arsenal Next Season
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2836
|
__label__wiki
| 0.72212
| 0.72212
|
ALS Canada awards $3 million for 12 new research projects to help make amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) a treatable, not terminal disease
2017 funding competition completes $20 million research partnership with the Brain Canada Foundation following the Ice Bucket Challenge
TORONTO, November 22, 2017 – Today, the ALS Society of Canada announced 12 exciting new research projects being funded in 2017 through the ALS Canada Research Program, which is supported by ALS Societies across Canada. The research being funded includes a multi-year study of a promising drug combination, three trainee grants that will help to nurture the next generation of Canadian ALS researchers currently pursuing their PhDs, two projects that explore how ALS treatments could be delivered through the bloodstream, and an initiative that seeks to understand why the muscles of the eyes are often more resistant to ALS as other muscle groups shut down. The announcement was made in partnership with the Brain Canada Foundation, which through the Canada Brain Research Fund (with financial support from Health Canada) is co-funding the largest grant of $1.8 million through matching funds committed following the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Approximately 3,000 Canadians are living with ALS, a disease that paralyzes the body, taking away the ability to move, talk, swallow and eventually breathe. Each year about 1,000 Canadians are diagnosed with the disease and a similar number die. Most people die within two to five years of their ALS diagnosis because the disease has no cure and few treatment options.
“ALS is an incredibly complex disease, but the research community is making tremendous headway and has come very far with very little in comparison to annual funding levels of diseases that have treatment options,” says Dr. David Taylor, Vice President of Research, ALS Canada. “For the ALS Canada Research Program this has only been possible because of the generosity of donors, partnerships with provincial ALS Societies across Canada, and organizations like Brain Canada, which by matching donations made through the Ice Bucket Challenge has essentially doubled Canada’s ALS research investment over the past several years.”
Combined with research grants jointly awarded by ALS Canada and Brain Canada in 2015 and 2016, the grants awarded in 2017 are putting to work the $20 million earmarked for Canadian ALS research following the Ice Bucket Challenge that in 2014 raised unprecedented awareness for the disease and funds for ALS charities including ALS Societies across Canada. With Brain Canada’s commitment of matched funds now complete, the ALS Canada Research Program will soon return to its historic funding levels with $1.5 million to $2 million in research grants awarded each year.
“Canadians responded generously to the Ice Bucket Challenge, and by matching the $10 million earmarked for research through our partnership with Health Canada, Brain Canada doubled the impact of this generosity,” said Inez Jabalpurwala, President and CEO, Brain Canada Foundation. “Since 2015, in partnership with the ALS Canada Research Program, we have funded 20 grants for novel, outside-the-box research; nine grants for collaborative, translational research projects that will move discovery from the lab to the clinic; and five grants that enable the next generation of researcher professors to start or continue research in promising areas of investigation. While the focus of all these research investments remains ALS, Brain Canada has brought its one system approach, whereby researchers from other areas were encouraged to apply their knowledge, and every discovery carries the potential to impact other neurodegenerative disorders which share common underlying mechanisms with ALS.”
Of the research grants announced today, the $1.8-million project co-funded by ALS Canada and Brain Canada will seek to find out whether a promising drug combination can address misfolded proteins, one of the defining biological characteristics of ALS. It was awarded to a research team led by Dr. Heather Durham from McGill University, with collaborators Dr. Josephine Nalbantoglu (McGill University); Dr. Richard Robitaille (Université de Montréal), and Dr. Chantelle Sephton (Université Laval).
The other 11 projects were funded through the ALS Canada Research Program through two different grant competitions as a direct result of donations and partnerships with ALS Societies across Canada including 40% of net proceeds from the WALK for ALS fundraising events that take places across the country.
The research being funded in 2017 seeks to answer the following questions that will help to move us from greater understanding of ALS to the development of therapies for human use:
Can adjusting the levels of a “guardian” protein protect a protein that becomes toxic in most cases of ALS? $125,000 awarded to Dr. Marco Prado with collaborators Dr. Martin Duennwald and Dr. Flavio Beraldo, all from Western University
Can image-guided focused ultrasound technology be used safely in people living with ALS as a means of delivering future treatment? $124,948 awarded to Dr. Lorne Zinman with collaborators Dr. Nir Lipsman, Dr. Kullervo Hynynen, Dr. Sandra Black, Dr. Todd Mainprize, and Dr. Agessandro Abrahao, all from the University of Toronto
Can microscopic bubbles in our bodies be used to deliver ALS treatments through the bloodstream? $125,000 awarded to Dr. Derrick Gibbings with collaborators Dr. Baptiste Lacoste and Dr. Maxim Berezovski, all from the University of Ottawa
Could targeting the activity of motor neurons in the spinal cord be a new way to diagnose and treat ALS? $125,000 awarded to Dr. Yves De Koninck, Université Laval
Could the change in communication processes between motor neurons and the immune cells of the nervous system after an ALS diagnosis help to identify new treatment targets? $124,930 awarded to Dr. Stefano Stifani, McGill University
Could touchscreen technology help to improve testing for the cognitive impairment that occurs in some cases of ALS? $110,770 awarded to Dr. Flavio Beraldo with collaborators Dr. Marco Prado and Dr. Vania Prado, all from Western University
Could whole genome sequencing reveal new areas of genetic mutations that make some people more likely to develop ALS? $75,000 awarded to Jay Ross, a PhD student in Dr. Guy Rouleau’s lab at McGill University
How might misfolded proteins that occur in ALS cause cells to die? $50,000 awarded to Sonja Di Gregorio, a PhD student in Dr. Martin Duennwald’s lab at Western University
What can we learn from mice that are able to walk almost normally despite significant loss of motor neuron function? $125,000 awarded to Dr. Turgay Akay, Dalhousie University
Why are eye muscles more resistant to ALS, and what can we learn about this that could help to preserve the function and use of other muscles? $121, 048 awarded to Dr. Richard Robitaille with collaborator Danielle Arbour, both from Université de Montréal
Will probiotics that improve ALS symptoms in worms also work in mice? $75,000 awarded to Audrey Labarre, a PhD student in Alex Parker’s lab at the Université de Montréal
The funding of these 12 research projects follows a rigorous scientific assessment by global ALS experts who evaluated a larger pool of applications to identify the projects that are grounded in scientific excellence and have the potential to most quickly advance the field of ALS research in order to develop effective treatments. The scientific evaluation was observed by people who have personal experience with ALS.
About Canada’s ALS Societies and the ALS Canada Research Program
ALS Societies across Canada fundraise on a regional basis to provide services and support to people and families living with ALS in their province and contribute to the funding of the ALS Canada Research Program. The ALS Canada Research Program funds peer-reviewed research grants and fosters collaboration amongst Canadian researchers, helping to nurture new ideas and build capacity. ALS Societies advocate federally, provincially and locally on behalf of people and families living with ALS for better government support and access within the healthcare system.
About Brain Canada and the Canada Brain Research Fund
Brain Canada is a national registered charity headquartered in Montreal that enables and supports excellent, innovative, paradigm-changing brain research in Canada. For nearly two decades, Brain Canada has made the case for the brain as a single, complex system with commonalities across the range of neurological disorders, mental illnesses and addictions, brain and spinal cord injuries. Looking at the brain as one system has underscored the need for increased collaboration across disciplines and institutions, and a smarter way to invest in brain research that is focused on outcomes that will benefit patients and families. Brain Canada’s vision is to understand the brain, in health and illness, to improve lives and achieve societal impact.
The Canada Brain Research Fund is a public-private partnership between the Government of Canada and Brain Canada, designed to encourage Canadians to increase their support of brain research, and maximize the impact and efficiency of those investments. Brain Canada and its partners have committed to raising $120 million, which is being matched by Health Canada on a 1:1 basis for a total of $240 million. For more information, visit www.braincanada.ca.
media@als.ca
Posted in: Research
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2838
|
__label__cc
| 0.646916
| 0.353084
|
Introducing Our Holiday 2016 Fashion Book
Diamonds! Sequins! Liquid eyeliner! Gossip! Oh my! As the visual finale of a year-long celebration of Americana Manhasset’s 60th anniversary, the new Holiday/Resort Fashion Book beautifully celebrates cultural diversity and varying tastes and styles with 19 models of different ethnicities, ranging in age from under 20 to over 60, that personifies “A Celebration.”
Debuting this month, holiday and resort ready-to-wear, accessories and jewelry from the most luxurious brands in the world are captured in full color on such iconic models as Donna Mitchell and Pat Cleveland. Joining the duo are faces like Alek Wek, Jacquetta Wheeler and Ben Shaul, along with a crop of rising stars in the modeling world. The result is a stunning statement of individuality.
Photographed, produced and styled by Laspata/DeCaro, the campaign was shot in multiple studios and on various streets in New York City over the course of several days in early August. “The concept for the campaign was born pertinent to the collections themselves, where a ‘have it your way’ attitude is prevalent,” says Charles DeCaro. “A message of individuality rings loud and clear. To celebrate this sense of self-expression, and as a final homage to Americana’s first 60 years, we chose to feature an assemblage of talent that are as diverse and original as the clothing they wore.”
Read more about Laspata/DeCaro’s on-set adventures in an editorial feature within the book that chronicles the behind-the-scenes dynamics of the shoot. We hope you enjoy the accompanying imagery and thank you for being a part of our past 60 years.
View the 2016 Holiday/Resort campaign
Meet Americana's Personal Shoppers
View PS Picks
Fashion keeps me on my toes because it is a constant evolution and a reflection of the times. It doesn’t exist in a vacuum and it’s always reinventing itself, just like us! I love...
It’s so gratifying to hear a client say, “If it wasn't for you, I would have never picked this out," because that means I’m helping them expand their comfort zone. My favorite...
I enjoy getting to know my clients and their families, their likes and dislikes. After all, getting personal is part of being a good personal shopper! I tend to ask a lot of questions, such as whether you’re drawn to color or to neutrals and if you have...
I've been with Americana Manhasset for 7 years. The best thing about being part of the Americana Personal Shopping team is building a lifetime relationship with my clients...
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2839
|
__label__wiki
| 0.871551
| 0.871551
|
Who Was Wyatt Earp?
From law officer to murderer to Hollywood consultant: the strange career of a man who became myth
Allen Barra
Late in his life Henry Fonda, at dinner with a producer named Melvin Shestack, recalled meeting an old man who said he had firsthand knowledge of a memorable Fonda character, Wyatt Earp, the legendary frontier lawman of John Ford’s classic My Darling Clementine . The man said he “had met the old marshal several times as a child at the turn of the century, at his family’s Passover seders in San Francisco.” Fonda thought the man was putting him on until years later he read a newspaper story which confirmed that Wyatt Earp was indeed married to a Jewish woman. “I wish now,” Fonda told Shestack, “that I’d talked to the man a bit longer.”
What Fonda might have found out was that Wyatt Earp’s ashes lie next to those of his common-law wife of forty-seven years in the Halls of Eternity Memorial Park, in Colma, California. In October of 1957, when Earp’s fame was at its peak with Gunfight at the O.K. Corral riding high on the box office and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp in the top five on television, some teenagers stole the headstone. Its recovery caused journalists and historians to speculate on whether Wyatt Earp had himself converted to Judaism. (“Hero of the Oy K Corral?” asked one columnist.) After all, Jewish cemeteries do not often admit Gentiles. What was the story?
The story was Josephine Sarah (“Sadie”) Marcus, Tombstone’s Helen of Troy, the most glamorous figure in the American West’s most enduring drama, who had always managed to keep her name out of Hollywood’s versions of the Earp story. She was born in 1859 to German Jewish parents who had emigrated to New York in the early 185Os. Sometime in the late 186Os her father, Hyman Marcus, moved his family to San Francisco. The Marcuses were well enough off to live, she said, “in a tall dark house with big windows, narrow hallways and staircases, fussy designs in the wooden balustrades and around the cornices.” It was to be the last house with fussy designs that Josephine would ever call her own; she knew at an early age that she was an adventuress, and for the next seven decades she lived in hotel rooms, mining shacks, tents, and cottages, “among persons who gladly dropped the pleasures of urban life for the hardship and the adventures of prospecting, or the excitement of boom mining camps.”
Josephine Sarah Marcus knew what she wanted in life and what she wanted in a man.
The San Francisco of Josephine’s girlhood was a sophisticated theater-going town, and when she was eighteen, the city went, in her words, “ Pinafore crazy.” When a friend urged her to join a traveling Gilbert and Sullivan troupe, she signed on with scarcely a second thought. She began a journey that took her to Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and finally Prescott, Arizona, before she ended up in the mining camp near the Mexican border known as Tombstone.
Tombstone was one of the most spectacular boomtowns of the West, nothing like the dusty hellholes of old Hollywood Westerns. It got its name when a prospector discovered silver there in 1877, after soldiers from a nearby post scoffed that “all you’ll find there is your own tombstone.” But wells were dug, and once the desert area became inhabitable, people began to notice its beauty and agreeable climate; the elevation made it much cooler than most of the surrounding territory. By 1881 Tombstone was one of the largest settlements between Kansas City and San Francisco, with perhaps ten thousand residents, French restaurants, Chinese opium dens, a bowling alley, and an icecream parlor.
Sometime in 1880, probably when the Pinafore troupe played Prescott, Josephine met a charming, glad-handing minor politico named John Behan. Behan would become sheriff of the newly formed Cochise County, which contained Tombstone, and Josie became his mistress, a fact that she successfully kept from her friends and family. In the fall of 1880 she was traveling by stage to Tombstone when she noticed a strikingly handsome young man who was serving as shotgun guard. “That,” whispered a friend, “is Morgan Earp, one of the Earp brothers. They all look so much alike you can hardly tell them apart.” Josephine was intrigued.
She knew what she wanted in life and what she wanted in a man. “I liked the traveling sort of man,” she is quoted as saying in a disputed version of memoirs, I Married Wyatt Earp , “better than the kind that sat back in one town all his life and wrote down little rows of figures all day or hustled dry goods or groceries and that sort of thing. . . . My blood demanded excitement, variety and change.” Whether or not the words were actually Josephine’s, those sentiments certainly fit.
Josephine Marcus didn’t just seek excitement, she caused it. Bat Masterson described her as the “belle of the honkytonks, the prettiest dame in three hundred or so of her kind.” Allie Earp, the widow of Wyatt’s older brother Virgil, disliked her intensely. Allie’s biographer, Frank Waters, quotes her as describing Josephine as “full-fleshed” with a “small, trim body and a meneo [shake] of the hips that kept her full, flounced skirts bouncing. Certainly her strange accent, brought with her from New York to San Francisco, carried a music new to the ears of a Western gambler and gunman.”
By gambler and gunman , Allie would have meant her brother-inlaw Wyatt, whom she also disliked. Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was born in Monmouth, Illinois, in 1848, of Scotch-Irish stock. His father, Nicholas Porter Earp, was a commanding figure, a sometimes frontier judge, whose other occupations included farmer, storekeeper, barrel maker, and still operator. Nick’s temperament was an odd mix of Unionist principles and loyalty to the Southern sympathies of his Virginian ancestors; his boys were all Union men: James, the eldest, Virgil, and their half-brother, Newton, all fought for the North, and Wyatt tried to enlist. Politically the Earp boys remained Lincoln Republicans all their lives, as did most of the great peace officers of the cattle-town era, including Wild Bill Hickok and the Masterson brothers, Bat, Ed, and Jim.
Nick was always restless, and he passed along the trait to his boys. Wyatt, by the time he was twenty, had lived in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and California and had worked as a stage driver and freight hauler, as a railroad spotter, and as a boxing referee. He married in his early twenties in Lamar, Missouri, and also wore his first badge there, with the title of constable. Then, without warning, his young wife, UrilIa, died, probably in childbirth. There followed a period of dissolution during which he left Missouri owing money to several people and became involved in a horse-stealing incident.
Earp never spoke to anyone of his wife’s death, but his character seemed to change dramatically afterward. His demeanor began to take on a dour, forbidding aspect (as Jack Crabb says of Earp in Thomas Berger’s great novel Little Big Man , “. . . when he looked at you as if you was garbage, you might not have agreed with him, but you had sufficient doubt to stay your gun hand a minute. . .”). For a year he supported himself as a buffalo hunter, and in the process he met Bat Masterson, Bill Tilghman, Neal Brown, and other men with whom he would later become colleagues on the celebrated Dodge City police force. After a brief stint as a deputy marshal in Wichita, he found his calling as a peace officer during Dodge City’s glory years.
In two dozen movies and in a longrunning television series, Wyatt Earp was always depicted as the marshal of Dodge City or Tombstone, the archetypal frontier lawman. In a way he was the archetypal frontier lawman, but technically he was never the town marshal or county sheriff of anywhere. In Tombstone he served as a deputy county sheriff, deputy town marshal under his brother Virgil, and deputy U.S. marshal; in Dodge City, where town marshal was largely an administrative position, he was a highly effective street cop. But he undeniably regarded himself as a “city marshal"; he often padded his résumé with the title.
Earp was a new kind of Western cop, one who planned ahead and took no unnecessary chances. (He and Bat Masterson would plant shotguns at key buildings in town in case they were forced to make strategic retreats.) This meant working as part of a team and with other levels of law enforcement, such as the county sheriff’s office.
Dodge City began as a buffalo hunter’s camp and soon developed a ferocious reputation as a man-killing town. Things got only slightly better when the emphasis changed to cattle, particularly when swarms of tired, thirsty cowhands hit the end of the trail. For the most part the cowhands were rough, good-natured Southern youths letting off steam, but as the Greek proverb says, the boys throw stones in jest but the frogs die in earnest; a bullet through a bedroom window could kill as surely as a bullet aimed at a human.
The authorities first responded to the problem by hiring “shootists” or “pistoleers” such as Wild Bill Hickok, but this quickly turned sour after a few killings (on one memorable occasion Wild Bill even shot and killed a fellow officer). Since most of the cattle drivers were Texans, and many of them ex-Confederates, it seemed only a matter of time before the pre-Civil War memories of “Bloody Kansas” would be relived in the streets of Dodge City. Because the cowhands were the town’s economic lifeblood, the trick, from the city fathers’ perspective, was to keep them in line without chasing them away. The answer was policemen such as Wyatt Earp.
By the time tales of Wyatt’s Dodge City exploits saw print, they had been embellished and exaggerated to the level of folklore, but what inspired people in his own time was not his prowess as a gunfighter but his ability to keep order without firing a gun. In fact, the most famous gunfighter of the American West killed only one man in Dodge City, a rowdy Texan named George Hoyt who took some potshots at him in front of a music hall where the comedian Eddie Foy was playing. The real function of the long-barreled Colts carried by Earp and the other Kansas officers wasn’t duels but “buffaloing,” a relatively humane action that consisted of cracking the barrel of the revolver over the head of an offender and dragging him off to jail, where the arresting officer might be rewarded with as much as $2.50.
By 1878 Dodge had been, compared with its 1875 and 1876 standards, pretty much tamed. Still, the decline in street violence didn’t save Bat’s younger brother Ed, then the city marshal, from being shot to death by a drunken cowhand in April of that year. That event helped sour Earp on the dirty, dangerous profession of “lawing.”
This was the background of the budding legend who arrived in Tombstone in 1879 with three of his brothers, James, Virgil, and Morgan. They probably came with little or no intention of getting back into law enforcement. Wyatt wanted to start a passenger and freight-hauling business, but finding two stage lines already operating, he switched to real estate, mine speculation, and gambling, this last occupation still being generally regarded as one of the frontier’s more respectable professions. In her memoirs Josephine told a story of how Dr. Endicott Peabody, future mentor to Franklin D. Roosevelt at the Groton School, came to the Oriental Saloon seeking funds for the first Protestant church in Tombstone. Earp had been winning at cards and put a stack of bills from his pile in front of the minister. “Here’s my contribution, Mr. Peabody,” he said. Then he told the other players, “Now each of you has to give the same.” Peabody’s St. Paul’s Church stands in Tombstone to this day.
Almost immediately upon their arrival in Tombstone, the Earps found themselves pulled back into the only steady work they were good at. They were drawn partly by their connections with Wells, Fargo & Company, whose shipments were preyed on by local bandits, but also by their temperament: Wyatt had con men for friends his entire life, and he may have been involved in some of their schemes, but on duty he, like all the Earps, was a straight arrow. Wyatt once received public praise from a man who was carried drunk to a Wichita jail and awoke the next morning to find he still had his five-hundred-dollar roll. Virgil was such a stickler for law and order he once arrested Wyatt for disturbing the peace, and on another occasion he fined his own boss, Mayor Clum, for driving his horses too fast on the city streets.
Virgil was such a stickler for law and order he once arrested Wyatt for disturbing the peace.
As the only real law in southeast Arizona, the Earps repeatedly clashed with the local criminal element, a loose confederacy of perhaps fifty to sixty mostly former Texans, known collectively as the Cowboys, a term that denoted a degree of rascality. The Cowboys had no designated leader, but a local rancher and Confederate veteran, Newman Haynes “Old Man” Clanton, seemed to hold a position of authority. Later, after Clanton was killed in a cattle-stealing raid by Mexican soldiers, Curly Bill Brocius and the brooding and enigmatic John Ringo, described by one Tombstone chronicler as “a Hamlet among outlaws,” were held in especially high esteem by fellow cattle thieves. Clanton’s three sons, Ike, Phinn, and Billy, and the McLaury brothers, Frank and Tom, had ranches. Their chief occupation wasn’t ranching, though, but stealing from the cattle-rich haciendas just across the border in Sonora and selling cheaply to small ranchers around Tombstone. In the eyes of Arizona’s Anglo ranchers, most of whom were contemptuous of Mexicans, the Cowboys held the same high status as the James and Younger brothers held among hill folks in Missouri. Prosecution of them was virtually impossible because the U.S. government refused the Army permission to police the border with Mexico, and the county law, represented by Josephine’s new love John Behan, was in league with Brocius, the Clantons, and their friends (the Cowboys were useful as strong-arm men in town lot disputes and in rigging elections for the Democratic party, much the way New York street gangs served Tammany Hall). Behan looked the other way at Cowboy atrocities; some suspected stage robbers (such as his own deputy, Frank Stilwell) weren’t convicted, and others escaped from jail with impunity.
When Josephine Marcus got off the stagecoach in Tombstone, she had no idea of the maelstrom of violence that was approaching. The town itself was quiet enough, largely because Virgil Earp and his brothers had imposed a strict and unpopular gun-control law within its limits. But on the border the Cowboys were massacring Mexican nationals and being cut down in reprisals (one of which resulted in the death of Old Man Clanton). As the Mexican government beefed up its Sonoran garrisons, the Cowboys turned to prey on the few big ranchers on the American side and, finally, on Wells, Fargo silver shipments.
By 1881 the forces on each side were lined up for a major confrontation. Behan and the Cowboys had the backing of the Democratic, anti-Earp Daily Nugget ; the Earps had behind them the Tombstone Epitaph and another, less respectable ally, a Philadelphia dental-college graduate turned gambler named John Henry (“Doc”) Holliday. The blacksheep son of a former Confederate officer, Holliday had a lurid, if somewhat undeserved, reputation as a killer. In fact, he had behaved himself in Dodge City and, despite several embarrassing scrapes, had killed no one in Tombstone. Next to his irascible temper, Holliday’s most distinguishing characteristic was his fierce and unfathomable loyalty to Wyatt Earp.
In the fall of 1881, Earp’s homelife disintegrated. He had come to Tombstone with a woman named Celia Ann Blaylock, of whom we know almost nothing. Eighty years later the publication of Allie Earp’s alleged memoirs, The Earp Brothers of Tombstone , would create the image of Josephine Marcus as a flirtatious home wrecker, but in all likelihood Wyatt, by the time he met her, had very little home left to wreck. Josephine, for her part, had become disillusioned with Behan, and after catching him in bed with the wife of a friend of theirs, she moved out.
In 1881 Josephine’s father sent her a letter, urging her to return to San Francisco. She stayed on till, probably, the early spring of 1882, most likely because of Wyatt Earp. We don’t know when or under what circumstances she first encountered him; the Allie of Earp Brothers recalls Wyatt “polishin’ his boots so he could prance into a fancy restaurant with Sadie,” but there’s no record of Wyatt and Josephine’s ever being seen together in Tombstone. The town was huge for a mining camp, but not big enough for Wyatt Earp to be out with a beautiful young woman without anyone’s noticing.
A good bet is that the high-spirited Josephine didn’t sit at home at night, as did most other frontier women, but that she frequented the same bars, gambling halls, music rooms, and theaters as John Behan. So did Wyatt, and whatever brief moments he and Josie had together they made good use of; a bond that would last nearly half a century was established.
But in the summer of 1881, Wyatt couldn’t have had much time for any kind of personal life. Stage robberies were increasing, and in one a driver was murdered in cold blood. A rumor surfaced, started by the Nugget , connecting Holliday with the robbery, although there is no evidence that he was ever involved in anything worse than a saloon brawl.
Wyatt resolved to catch the stage robbers, partly to clear Holliday’s name and also to get himself publicity for a sheriff’s election against Behan. He went to Ike Clanton with a deal: Wells, Fargo would pay thirty-six hundred dollars (or twelve hundred apiece) for the three stage robbers known to ride with the Clantons. According to Earp, Ike accepted the offer. What went wrong from there we’ll never know, but on the night of October 25 and the morning of the twenty-sixth Ike, apparently terrified that word of the deal was going to get to his Cowboy friends, wandered around Tombstone threatening the lives of Doc Holliday and anyone named Earp. At one point Virgil Earp clubbed him, brought him into court, and fined him. Later Tom McLaury showed up, had words with Wyatt, and got himself clubbed.
Most people in the cowboys’ places would have taken this as a good time to leave town, but when Frank McLaury (who Wyatt later said was in on the deal to turn over the stage robbers) and Billy Clanton showed up, the Clantons and McLaurys dawdled around town, making threats against the Earps, carrying guns in defiance of the local ordinance, and, finally, loitering in an empty lot in back of the O.K. Corral, next to Fly’s Photography Studio.
Which is where the most famous gunfight of the Old West took place. The Earps, a block and a half away, waited until it was obvious that they had to do something or “show the white feather”—retreat. Sheriff Behan apparently tried to disarm the Cowboys but was told by Frank McLaury that he wouldn’t give up his gun unless the Earps—the city police, after all—gave up theirs. At about 2:45 on the afternoon of October 26, the Earps and Holliday began their fateful walk to the lot, a scene that Hollywood would replicate some two dozen times.
A minute later the four swung to the left and entered the lot. Nine men and two horses were suddenly gathered in a space perhaps eighteen feet wide.
“You sons of bitches,” somebody in the Earp party said, “you have been looking for a fight and you can have it!” That, at any rate, is what witnesses friendly to the Cowboys later testified. More than likely this was fiction, as none of the participants had heard such a remark. But everyone heard Virgil’s order: “Throw up your hands.”
Nobody did. Instead there were two quick clicks—probably Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton pulling back the hammers on their single-action Colts—and Wyatt Earp, the most famous gunfighter in the Old West, drew his gun in a fight for the first and only time in his life.
Most witnesses say two shots were fired almost simultaneously, and then the fight became general. Almost thirty seconds later, Frank McLaury, a bullet in his stomach, staggered forward onto Fremont Street, aimed his pistol at Doc Holliday, and grunted, “I have you now, you son of a bitch.”
“Blaze away,” called Holliday. “You’re a daisy if you do.”
McLaury pulled his trigger, the bullet grazed Holliday’s hip, and Morgan and Doc returned the fire. Both shots hit McLaury; either one would have killed him.
It was over. Three men lay dead—the McLaury brothers and Billy Clanton—and three others had been wounded—Virgil and Morgan Earp and Holliday. Only Ike Clanton, who ran, and Wyatt Earp, who had told Ike to “get to fighting or get away,” were unscathed. Who fired first? In the inquest that followed, Behan, Ike Clanton, and their friends said the Earp faction did; the Earps said the Cowboys did. The testimony of nonpartisan witnesses mostly agreed with Virgil and Wyatt; Judge Wells Spicer paid particular attention to them and ruled for the Earps.
In I Married Wyatt Earp , Josephine runs down to the lot as the echoes from the gunshots are fading. “I almost swooned,” she writes, “when I saw Wyatt’s tall figure very much alive, starting up Fremont Street with Doc and Fred Dodge [a friend of Earp’s and an agent for Wells, Fargo] on the opposite side of the street. He spotted me, and all three came across the street. Like a feather-brained girl my only thought was, ‘My God, I haven’t got a bonnet on. What will they think?’ But you can imagine my real relief at seeing my love alive. I was simply a little hysterical.” She had good reason to be. In the few months she would remain in Tombstone, the violence would only worsen.
Until recently Hollywood made the gunfight at the O.K. Corral the climax of the movie; in real life the street fight in Tombstone, as it was called for many years, was merely the first battle in a war that would claim many more lives. In December, Virgil Earp was shotgunned from ambush and lost the use of his left arm forever. Three months later Morgan was shot in the back while playing pool and died in Wyatt’s arms. Then began the truly controversial period of Wyatt Earp’s career as a lawman. He asked for and received Virgil’s deputy U.S. marshal’s badge, and surrounding himself with Doc Holliday and a handful of other trusted associates, he hunted down the men suspected of killing his brother.
The O.K. Corral fight was merely the first battle in a war that would claim many lives.
At the train depot in Tucson, where Morgan’s body was being shipped to the family in California, Wyatt encountered Behan’s former deputy Frank Stilwell, one of the prime suspects. Stilwell’s bullet- and buckshot-riddled body was discovered the next day. If Josephine had had anxious moments after the gunfight, then Wyatt’s Vendetta Ride, as it came to be known, must have been agony for her. For weeks his posse scoured the hills, looking for Cowboys implicated in Morgan’s murder. All the major papers in the West carried reports on Earp’s whereabouts; more than one reported him dead. In San Francisco, Josephine and her parents could read about every fresh outbreak of violence in the Examiner and other local papers.
On March 24, in the hills outside Tombstone, Earp’s party encountered several Cowboys led by Curly Bill Brocius. Wyatt would swear to his dying day that he singled out Brocius and cut him nearly in two with shots from a Wells, Fargo model shotgun. Cowboys adherents still claim that Brocius was never at the fight; he had reformed and moved away. But no one who wasn’t closely connected with the Cowboys ever claimed to see Brocius again.
Satisfied that Morgan’s death was avenged, and with a murder warrant on him for the killing of Stilwell, Earp rode out of Arizona, leaving friends and enemies to debate forever the question of federal versus local authority, of frontier justice versus the law. Wyatt himself engaged in no such discussions; he felt he had killed first in selfdefense and then in revenge for his brothers, and he excused himself for the former and accepted the blame for the latter. He let it go at that; his supporters and detractors would not.
John Behan pursued his own vendetta. He tried to extradite Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday from Colorado to Arizona only to be rebuffed publicly by the governors of both states. He may have been motivated partly by personal enmity. He made a trip to San Francisco early in 1882, probably to try to win Josephine back.
The territorial Democrats deserted Behan, and he failed to be re-elected sheriff. He later surfaced as warden of the Pima County prison, and he never saw Josephine Marcus again.
A few months after leaving Arizona, Earp was in San Francisco with Josephine. One can imagine the reaction of her parents, having read for a year about the violence in and around Tombstone and now finding their daughter attached to the man at the center of it all. Early in 1883 the couple left the Bay Area to embark on an odyssey of the mining camps and boomtowns of the West. In 1887 Earp had a meeting with Doc Holliday in Denver. Holliday, ravaged by tuberculosis, had only a short time to live. As they parted he threw his arm over Earp’s shoulder. “Good-bye, old friend,” he said. “It will be a long time before we meet again.” Josie said Wyatt cried, the only recorded instance of his doing so.
Wyatt and Josie went to San Diego in its boom years in the mid-1880s, back to San Francisco in the 189Os, then to Alaska during its gold rush, where they kept company with Jack London, Rex Beach (who wrote the most famous novel of the gold-rush era, The Spoilers ), the playwright Wilson Mizner, Jack Dempsey’s future promoter Tex Rickard, and a young mining engineer who hung out at Wyatt’s saloon, Herbert Hoover.
The pair went through several small fortunes and finally settled in Los Angeles, where they lived in genteel poverty. Earp never escaped the memory of the Cochise County war; no matter where he went in the West, every few years a national magazine, Harper’s Weekly, Police Gazette , or Scribner’s , or a newspaper in New York, Los Angeles, Denver, or San Francisco would resurrect the story of the shootout in Tombstone, usually mangling the facts beyond recognition.
He craved privacy while continuing to attract attention. Like other former Arizonans in California, he enjoyed meeting actors who were playing scrubbed-up versions of men like him. He became friends with an aspiring young director named John Ford, who would one day make the most pristine of Earp pictures, My Darling Clementine , and he did some advisory work for Tom Mix and William S. Hart.
Meanwhile, a Chicago-based journalist named Walter Noble Burns, who had made himself famous with his 1925 biography The Saga of Billy the Kid , wrote Tombstone: An Iliad of the Southwest , the first bestseller with Earp as its hero. The following year one of Behan’s old deputies, Billy Breakenridge, published Helldorado , a self-serving combination of lies and halftruths that attempted to debunk the Earp legend while nonetheless putting Wyatt at the center of the action in Tombstone.
The two books made Earp more famous than ever—and also made him furious. In 1928 Stuart Lake, a former press secretary for Theodore Roosevelt and a newspaper colleague of Bat Masterson in New York, contacted him about a possible biography. Earp was ready, but as it turned out, he had less than a year to live. He died in 1929. Wyatt and Josie had been together for fortyseven years; there is no record that they were ever married.
Wyatt’s death didn’t stop Lake; he proceeded to write most of the book in Earp’s voice. Lake’s problem wasn’t the absence of Earp but the presence of Josephine, who wanted, she told him, a nice, clean story, meaning one with minimal violence and nothing about her involvement with Behan or about the woman who had been with Earp when he arrived in Tombstone. Despite those restrictions, Lake plowed ahead, producing Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal in 1931. Perhaps a third of the book was exaggerated, and another third was simply invented, but its tone was respectful enough to please Josephine, and it became a huge bestseller. More than that, it became the basis for a Stuart Lake Earp empire, which included the John Ford movie and the highly successful television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp , which starred Hugh O’Brian and ran from 1955 to 1961, and which put Earp’s name on cap pistols, comic books, and lunch boxes.
The most extreme anti-Earp film was Doc , which portrayed him as a sadistic homosexual.
Josephine still wanted to impose her version of events on the public, and she began work on an autobiography. “Such tributes to Wyatt,” she wrote, probably in the late 1930s, “are a tremendous compensation for the many lies that have been told of him, and I intend to continue to refute those stories in whatever way I can until I die or until they are quieted for all time.” But the Tombstone chapter became a huge stumbling block, and she died in 1944 without having provided a finished manuscript. Stuart Lake became full-time caretaker of the Earp legend.
Not everyone was happy with that fact. Virgil’s widow, Allie, for instance, was jealous that Wyatt and not Virgil (who was, after all, the marshal of Tombstone) had become world-famous. She also harbored an intense dislike for Josephine that may have been tinged with anti-Semitism. Frank Waters, a Hollywood screenwriter, interviewed Allie during the 1930s and began writing what would become the foremost among Earp debunking books, The Earp Brothers of Tombstone . No one named Earp was pleased with Waters’s efforts. Josephine threatened to sue Allie when she found out about it; she needn’t have bothered. Allie and her family rejected the project too. Frank Waters saw all the Earps, not just Wyatt, as reflections of the predatory spirit of modern, capitalistic America—Wyatt was a servant of the despoilers of the West, the mining companies and Wells, Fargo—and this view soon became popular in leftist circles among writers looking to take down the most popular law-and-order symbol of the Cold War era. The Earp Brothers of Tombstone was not published until 1960, long after anyone who could stop it was dead.
The book started an anti-Earp reaction. John Ford felt betrayed by its revelations; when he made Cheyenne Autumn in 1964, he had James Stewart portray Earp as a puffed-up, whitesuited bully. John Sturges, who had directed Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1957, made a 1967 follow-up film, Hour of the Gun , in which James Garner played Earp not as the principled lawman Burt Lancaster had been but as a self-styled avenger who used his badge to murder his brother’s assassins. The most extreme of the anti-Earp films was Frank Perry’s Doc (1971), with Harris Yulin as Earp and Stacy Keach as Doc Holliday. Its script, by Pete Hamill, portrayed Wyatt as a sadistic homosexual secretly longing for Holliday. The film was a Vietnam allegory: The Earps and Doc Holliday bring superior firepower to the O.K. Corral—shotguns—and blow the Clantons away, but the people rise against the evil Earps at the next election and send them packing.
From here things could only get better for Wyatt. Tombstone (1993), with Kurt Russell, and Wyatt Earp (1994), with Kevin Costner, finally took balanced views and they were the first films to feature Josephine.
In recent years The Earp Brothers of Tombstone has come to look like dubious history in which Waters imposed his own views on Allie. His tape-recorded interviews with her, if they ever existed, are in the hands of shadowy Earp collectors, and no one is quite sure where Waters’s notes and various drafts are. Josephine’s I Married Wyatt Earp , edited by Glen G. Boyer and published in 1976 by the University of Arizona Press, is now dismissed by many historians as fraudulent.
Boyer, in his own words, found that Josephine’s own unfinished manuscript (which is well documented) “lacked the necessary detail on Tombstone, so it was essential to couple it with [an] earlier, more frank manuscript before a complete narrative could be achieved.” But that earlier manuscript, supposedly containing a Tombstone chapter and shocking revelations, such as the gunfight’s having been started by Doc Holliday and Morgan Earp, is now thought by nearly all Western historians to be a fiction. At various times Boyer has ascribed his added material to a combination of Josephine Marcus and Jack London, Rex Beach, and even Dashiell Hammett, and for years he has insisted that he has the documents on file to prove that I Married Wyatt Earp is solid history. But last July he told the Tucson Star that many key documents were lost years ago in a “messy” divorce settlement.
Josephine outlived Wyatt by fifteen years. The money she received from Frontier Marshal , and a little later from films loosely based on it, alleviated the state of genteel poverty she had lived in with Wyatt in his last years. In her seventies she fought to become the guardian of his legend, storming movie lots and trying to halt productions of the first Earp movie, Law and Order (1932), starring Walter Huston, and, later, Frontier Marshal (1936), starring Randolph Scott. She relented on both films but still felt they put too much emphasis on the few violent moments in Earp’s life. He would no doubt have concurred. She died content that she had kept herself from becoming a character in a Hollywood movie about Wyatt Earp.
A newspaperman in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance says, “This is the West, sir. When the past becomes legend, print the legend.” Probably the reality of Wyatt Earp and the shootout can never be finally disentangled from the legend. Now even the story of the woman who was at the center of the West’s most enduring legend seems to have quickly been absorbed, and overcome, by legend. Someday an enterprising university press will put her actual memoirs into print, and Josephine will finally have her day.
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2841
|
__label__wiki
| 0.92319
| 0.92319
|
Sri Lanka: Halt forced returns of Pakistani religious minorities
14 June 2019, 12:09 UTC
The Sri Lankan government must immediately halt plans to forcibly return asylum-seekers to their countries of origin in violation of international law, Amnesty International said today.
Individuals from Pakistani religious minority groups, in particular Christians and Shi’as who sought sanctuary in Sri Lanka over recent years and were displaced by the Easter Sunday attacks, have been detained and could be deported by the authorities in a move that would breach the customary international law principle of non-refoulement by putting them at risk of serious human rights violations.
“Sri Lanka must halt plans to forcibly return these people and put their lives in harm’s way. They have been forced from their homes twice now, first in their own countries and now in the country where they sought safety and shelter. By sending them back to face the threats they first fled, the authorities would be violating international law,” said Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director at Amnesty International.
Refugees and asylum-seekers in Sri Lanka became a target of reprisal attacks in the wake of the Easter Sunday massacre that claimed the lives of more than 250 people when three churches and three hotels were bombed by an armed group claiming links to the so-called “Islamic State”. Wielding sticks and other weapons, mobs gathered outside the homes of refugees and asylum seekers, demanding they leave immediately. Grabbing the few possessions they could, they sought refuge in nearby police stations and community centres.
The people at risk of deportation have had their asylum claims rejected by the UN refugee agency. Under customary international law, however, the principle of non-refoulement applies to all people, regardless of their asylum status. No one can be sent to a risk of irreparable harm.
There are more than 1,200 refugees and asylum seekers who have been displaced by the violence in the aftermath of the 21 April 2019 attacks. They include more than 1,000 Pakistani Ahmadi Muslims, while the remaining 200 are mostly from religious minorities from Pakistan and Afghanistan, including Pakistani Christians, Pakistan Shi’as, and Afghan Shi’a Hazaras. The people at risk of deportation include Pakistani Christians and Pakistani Shi’as, religious minorities that have faced violence at the hands of armed groups and accusations of “blasphemy”, an offence that carries a maximum punishment of the death penalty.
“Sri Lanka has for years welcomed people fleeing persecution in their own countries. It should build on this positive record, not reverse it. There has to be a fair process, and no one should be deported to face serious human rights violations, whatever their status of their asylum claims,” said Biraj Patnaik.
Fleeing my whole life
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2842
|
__label__wiki
| 0.852773
| 0.852773
|
Nick Waterhouse
Tweet Subscribe
Send this video to your pals!
From: (enter your email address):
Sent To: (enter separate emails with commas):
Add a Message: (optional):
What's In My Bag - Epizode 1168:
Copy the Link to This Video
Select a Service:
Nick Waterhouse – Singer, Guitarist & Producer
LA-based singer, guitarist, and producer Nick Waterhouse is known for his glossy, modern take on classic soul, blues, and R&B. After learning to play guitar at age twelve and playing in a series of throwback retro-soul/rock bands, Waterhouse recorded and...More
LA-based singer, guitarist, and producer Nick Waterhouse is known for his glossy, modern take on classic soul, blues, and R&B. After learning to play guitar at age twelve and playing in a series of throwback retro-soul/rock bands, Waterhouse recorded and self-released his debut single, "That Place," in 2010. For his first live performance later that year, he assembled a backing band, The Tarots, and a group of female singers, The Naturelles. He signed with the Innovative Leisure label in 2011 and released his first full-length, Time's All Gone, in 2012. That same year, he produced the Allah-Las' self-titled debut and embarked on a North American and a European tour with them.
In 2014, Waterhouse released his sophomore LP, Holly. He also stepped back into the studio with Allah-Las for their second album, Worship the Sun. Waterhouse continued his production work in 2016, with credits on releases by Ural Thomas & the Pain and Boogaloo Assassins, and released his third LP, Never Twice. A single from this LP, "Katchi," was remixed by the French duo Ofenbach and landed at #1 on the French charts in 2017. Two years later, Waterhouse released his fourth album, named simply Nick Waterhouse.
Any Other Way
New Breed R&B
Presenting The Ad Libs
The Ad Libs
El Chico
Technicolor Paradise: Rhum Rhapsodies & Other Exotic Delights
Evenin' Blues
Jimmy Witherspoon
Buck 'Em!: The Autobiography of Buck Owens
Buck Owens
Songs Of Experience
Earth Rot
Song Of Innocence
These Great Stars Are On Fire & Fury
It's Too Late To Stop Now Volume I
La Noire Vol. 8: Slick Chicks
Sam Jones & Co.
Nick Waterhouse Releases
Nick Waterhouse (CD)
Nick Waterhouse (LP)
Holly (CD)
Touché Amoré
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2843
|
__label__wiki
| 0.963502
| 0.963502
|
Facebook to Give Data on Hate Speech Suspects to French Courts
Reuters and Chris Dyer, Daily Mail & Reuters, June 26, 2019
Facebook has announced it will hand over the identities of French users suspected of posting hate speech on its platform to the courts.
In a world first, the tech giant has agreed to hand over the identification data of hate speech suspects on its platform to judges, France’s minister for digital affairs Cedric O said yesterday.
Facebook will share the IP addresses of accounts containing ‘homophobic, racist or anti-Semitic content’, a ministerial aide confirmed.
Facebook’s commitment ‘concerns only France’, an aide to digital affairs minister Cedric O said.
On Monday Facebook’s head of global affairs, and former British deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg said that governments, not companies, must regulate social networks.
‘It’s not for private companies, however big or small, to come up with those rules. It is for democratic politicians in the democratic world to do so,’ Clegg told the BBC.
The French parliament is to examine a bill on ‘cyber hatred’ which would require internet platforms to remove within 24 hours content deemed ‘manifestly illicit’ because of references to ‘race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or disabilities’.
The decision by the world’s biggest social media network comes after successive meetings between Zuckerberg and Macron, who wants to take a leading role globally on the regulation of hate speech and the spread of false information online.
So far, Facebook has cooperated with French justice on matters related to terrorist attacks and violent acts by transferring the IP addresses and other identification data of suspected individuals to French judges who formally demanded it.
Following a meeting between Nick Clegg, Facebook’s head of global affairs, and O last week, the social media company has extended this cooperation to hate speech.
‘This is huge news, it means that the judicial process will be able to run normally,’ O told Reuters in an interview. ‘It’s really very important, they’re only doing it for France.’
Since his nomination as minister in March, O has made the fight against hate speech online a key priority through regular contacts with Facebook’s top executives, including founder Mark Zuckerberg.
‘It is a strong signal in terms of regulation,’ said Sonia Cisse, a counsel at law firm Linklaters, adding that it was a world first. ‘Hate speech is no longer considered part of freedom of speech, it’s now on the same level as terrorism.’
With Facebook’s latest move, France is now a clear frontrunner in the quest to regulate big social media outlets, and other platforms might follow suite, Cisse said.
France’s parliament, where Macron’s ruling party has a comfortable majority, is debating legislation that would give the new regulator the power to fine tech companies up to 4% of their global revenue if they don’t do enough to remove hateful content from their network.
The minister is also reluctant to support the idea of breaking up companies like Facebook or Google, whose size, weight on the Internet and financial firepower have turned them into systemic players just as much as big banks.
Facebook has been called a social media monopoly by co-founder Chris Hughes, and calls for a break-up of the group have intensified.
Topics: Censorship, France, Indoctrination
< Mette Finally Made It: Denmark to Get a New Prime Minister
City Teachers Fleeing New York at an Alarming Rate: Report >
Contempt for America on Independence Day
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2844
|
__label__wiki
| 0.751141
| 0.751141
|
Former Colorado Springs priest arrested for sexual assault on teen
A former Colorado Springs priest, 77, has been charged by law enforcement officials with sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
All of the charges against the former St. Gabriel Catholic Church priest are Class 4 felonies.
The teen accusing the priest of sexual assault is 15 years old.
Police began their investigation of the cleric after the teenager’s sister called them and said she was suspicious of the priest, who she said was buying her brother expensive gifts.
She also claimed the priest had given her brother and a friend of his alcohol and marijuana.
According to a report from a Colorado Springs TV station, the priest also paid for the teen to have his nipples pierced.
The teen reportedly told officials that he’d originally gone to the priest because he was interested in Catholicism. The older man, in turn, reportedly began tutoring the teen on religious conversion.
The two met several times a week to discuss conversion, but the boy says, sexual abuse began to take place starting in June or July of last year.
He said the priest kissed him on the mouth one day and then allegedly contrived to get the boy alone and changing his clothes, before the cleric performed oral sex on him.
It’s impossible for outsiders to know at this point about the veracity of the claims. What we do know is that a legal process has begun and that everyone who is accused of crimes has rights that must be protected during that process.
About Eric Anaya
Eric Anaya has been practicing criminal law for over a decade. While attending law school, Eric was appointed to the University of New Mexico’s Board of Regents by the Governor of New Mexico. Eric decided to move to Colorado to accept a position in the El Paso County District Attorney’s Office. He prosecuted hundreds of cases in County Court, but quickly was promoted to prosecute felonies. Eric made the conscious decision to change his practice and his life to defending those wrongly accused. Eric has successfully handled hundreds of cases.
Eric Anaya2018-11-05T12:18:30-06:00June 7th, 2012|AAA, Sex Crimes|
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2846
|
__label__wiki
| 0.806456
| 0.806456
|
Video: The Battle of the Beanfield, Free Festivals and Traveller History with Andy Worthington on Bristol Community Radio
Please support my work as a reader-funded investigative journalist, commentator and activist.
Last week I was in Bristol for a screening of ‘Concrete Soldiers UK’, the new documentary film about the cynical destruction of council estates, and residents’ brave resistance to the destruction of their homes, which I narrate. The screening was at the People’s Republic of Stoke Croft, a pioneering community space in a once-neglected area of Bristol that has now started to be devoured by the insatiable profiteers of the “regeneration” industry. My article about the screening is here, and a brief report about the screening is here, and while I was there I was also interviewed by Tony Gosling for Bristol Community Radio, which is based in the PRSC complex.
Tony and I have known each other for many years, through a shared interest in Britain’s counter-culture, and it was great to take part in his politics show for the station as the author of two very relevant books, Stonehenge: Celebration & Subversion and The Battle of the Beanfield. Although we discussed the film, that interview has not yet been broadcast, because Tony’s primary focus was on discussing the traveller community of the 1970s and 80s, the free festival scene, focused particularly on Stonehenge and Glastonbury, and the Battle of the Beanfield, on June 1, 1985, when, with Margaret Thatcher’s blessing, 1,400 police from six counties and the MoD violently decommissioned the convoy of vehicles — containing men, women and children — that was en route to Stonehenge to establish what would have been the 12th annual Stonehenge Free Festival.
To discuss the above, Tony had also contacted Sean, a veteran traveller, who still lives in a vehicle, and still upholds the DiY values of that time. We had a wonderful discussion over 40 minutes, which Tony has put on YouTube, illustrated with traveller photos by Alan Lodge, and which I’ve cross-posted below. Read the rest of this entry »
Andy Worthington's TV and radio appearances, Battle for Britain: Fighting the Tory Government's Vile Ideology, Stonehenge and civil liberties, UK housing crisis, UK politics
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2847
|
__label__wiki
| 0.992167
| 0.992167
|
17 celebrities who have tried -- and failed -- at having singing careers
Gibson Johns, AOL.com
Aug 17th 2016 4:15PM
These days, celebrities are expected to do it all; being a triple-threat is no longer really a distinctive trait when it comes to Hollywood's biggest names. So, it comes as no surprise that many celebs that aren't particularly musically talented try their hands at a music career.
Perhaps the most infamous attempt to launch a career in music was Kim Kardashian's, which lasted just one single -- the glorious trainwreck that is "Jam (Turn it Up)."
SEE ALSO: Get the look: Celebrities rock athleisure
But Kim K. isn't the only star to try her hand at singing.
Did you know that Ricky Gervais was in a new wave band in the '80s? Or that Tyra Banks was featured on Kobe Bryant's one and only rap single? Neither did we, until we did some major sleuthing on the lovely entity that is the internet.
Check out the gallery below for 17 celebs who majorly failed at having music careers:
Celebrities with failed music careers
Ricky Gervais: The famed musician was one half of the British new wave group, Seona Dancing, in the 1980s. Their single "More To Lose" was a massive hit in the Philippines, apparently.
(Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns)
Kim Kardashian: At this point, Kim K.'s 2011 foray into the music biz is the stuff of legend. Her first and only single, "Jam (Turn It Up)," tows the line between "so bad that it's almost good" and just plain "bad." That being said, the song is pretty catchy, so maybe Kimberly accomplished what she set out to do?
(Photo by Polk Imaging/FilmMagic)
Naomi Campbell: The supermodel released an album called Babywoman in 1994 through Epic Records and featured two singles, including "Love & Tears." Let's just say that Campbell's attempt at a music career was not received very well by critics.
(Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)
Jamie-Lynn Sigler: The "Sopranos" star released a bubblegum pop album in 2001 called Here to Heaven that featured songs like "Come With Me" and "Bada Bing."
Photo: Evan Agostini/Getty Images.
Kobe Bryant: The Basketball legend released his one and only rap single, "K.O.B.E.," in 1998 that was supposed to pre-date a full album that never saw the light of day. The best part about this song? It features Tyra Banks.
(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Jennifer Love Hewitt: The '90s icon released four albums between 1992 and 2002, the last of which, BareNaked, performed the best. It produced one small hit, "BareNaked."
(Photo by Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage)
Jada Pinkett-Smith: Did you know that Jada Pinkett-Smith fronts a metal band called Wicked Wisdom? The actress has released two albums with the band (in 2002 and 2006). They performed at Ozzfest in 2005, on "The Tonight Show" (watch here) and opened for Britney Spears in 2004 on her Onyx Hotel Tour.
(Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
Lindsay Lohan: Lindsay Lohan was actually able to turn herself into a legit pop star for a couple of years, releasing two full-length albums in 2004 and 2005. Her debut single, "Rumors," was a signature party jam of the mid-aughts that we still like to revisit from time to time. Lohan recently revealed that she still has to record a third album for her record contract, so we may be getting new music from her in the future. Here's hoping that's not just a rumor.
(Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images)
Tyra Banks: The multi-talented supermodel and "America's Next Top Model" host released a generic single called "Shake Ya Body" in the early 2000s. Though the song wasn't the best, its accompanying music video was very on brand.
(Photo by Getty Images)
Paris Hilton: We're not sure it's fair to call Paris Hilton's music career "failed," because her debut single "Stars Are Blind" was an actual hit with legitimate staying power (We stand by our claim that it's still one of the best summer songs of all time.), reaching No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006. And Paris is still going: She's released a slew of dance singles in the past few years and spends most of her time traveling the party circuit as a DJ.
(Photo by Philip Ramey/Corbis via Getty Images)
Clint Eastwood: Clint Eastwood has a decades-long music career, though he released just one album in 1963, Rawhide's Clint Eastwood Sings Cowboy Favorites. (Yep, that's real.) Since then, he's released numerous singles and composed multiple film scores.
(Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Brooke Hogan: The daughter of Hulk Hogan had one quasi-hit single, "About Us" featuring Paul Wall, in 2006 that reached No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100. Though she released a follow-up album to 2006's Undiscovered with The Redemption in 2009, the rest of her music failed to take off.
(Photo by John Parra/WireImage)
Joey Lawrence: The actor known for playing Joey Russo in Blossom took his turn in the music world in the '90s with two albums and a slew of unsuccessful singles, the most popular of which, "Nothin' My Love Can't Fix," reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.
(Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)
Alyssa Milano: The actress released a string of four studio albums between 1989 and 1992 that were only available in Japan for some reason. "Best In The World" was her highest-charting single in Japan.
(Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)
Bruce Willis: The actor has released three solo albums (in 1987, 1989 and 2001), including The Return of Bruno, a collection of R&B songs. Here's his cover of "Respect Yourself."
(Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images)
Shaquille O'Neal: The basketball star has released four studio albums. The first of which produced his highest-charting single, "What's Up Doc? (Can We Rock)." His marginal success certainly must have inspired Kobe Bryant's failed music career, right? (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)
Russell Crowe: The Oscar-winning actor has been attached to numerous bands over the years, but his first bizarre attempt at a music career was in the '80s when he released a song called "I Just Wanna Be Like Marlon Brando" under the name Russ Le Roq. (Photo by KMazur/WireImage)
Take a look back at Lady Gaga's iconic 2009 'Paparazzi' VMA performance
Here are Donald Trump's favorite movies, TV shows, books, and music
7 Netflix shows you didn't know existed
celebrity singles
jada pinkett-smith
jam turn it up
wicked wisdom
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2848
|
__label__cc
| 0.706458
| 0.293542
|
aprimeo diagnostics, an R-Biopharm company, is a dynamic, fast paced and rapidly growing company based in the Rhine-Main area near Frankfurt, Germany. Focused on the distribution of innovative, next-level diagnostic solutions, our partnership with BOSCH Healthcare Solutions (BHCS) enables us to provide the innovative molecular diagnostic platform Vivalytic to healthcare professionals, enabling them to make the best therapy decision possible for their patients each and every day.
Our Vision. Our Promise.
Our vision is to enable healthcare professionals to improve patients’ lives always and everywhere by providing access to convenient and innovative near-patient testing.
Driven by creating value, enhancing efficiency and focusing on your needs, we aspire to be the most flexible, reliable and trusted partner in diagnostics, today and tomorrow.
aprimeo diagnostics is fueled by the passion, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of Frank and Diana. Setting itself apart from its peers by exceeding customers’ yet unmet needs and demands, is a sound foundation for continuous growth and substantial success in the upcoming years.
Frank Apostel, Ph.D.
Managing Director and Partner
Frank Apostel was appointed Managing Director and Partner for aprimeo diagnostics in 2019. Prior to aprimeo diagnostics he was Vice President of Business Development at R-Biopharm AG for almost seven years. Before joining R-Biopharm, he worked at QIAGEN GmbH and Eppendorf AG in a variety of business development, product management and sales management roles.
Frank Apostel graduated in Chemistry and earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine from the University Hamburg, Germany.
Diana Martens
Diana Martens is Managing Director and Partner at aprimeo diagnostics since 2019. She has previously worked at R-Biopharm AG with more than 10 years of experience in diagnostics and life sciences. As a Director for Business Development at R-Biopharm AG she was responsible for the management of international and multidisciplinary projects. Earlier, she had roles of increasing responsibility in sales of molecular diagnostics and R&D of R-Biopharm AG.
Diana Martens graduated from the University of Applied Sciences Emden, Germany, with a diploma in Biotechnology.
Contact us +49 - 6151 - 8002380
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2849
|
__label__wiki
| 0.504403
| 0.504403
|
(Reprinted from Army Nurses of World War One: Service Beyond Expectations)
The German Spring Offensive of 1918 was the last ditch attempt by the German Army to win victory in the field before the weight of American forces could make itself felt on the Western Front. In successive attacks using hurricane artillery bombardments and infiltration attacks spearheaded by crack stormtrooper battalions, the Germans sought to destroy first the British and then the French Armies. On May 27, 1918, the third of these attacks was launched against French forces defending the Chemin des Dames sector, and in a single day of heavy fighting, broke through the French defenses. Within four days, the Germans were preparing to secure their gains and begin their final drive against Paris, a mere forty miles away. On both sides, the war seemed nearly over, especially since all that lay between the Germans and Paris were broken French colonial units, including a shattered French Senegalese Division near the small town of Chateau Thierry.
What the German Army had not planned on was the imminent arrival of fresh American troops to take over the defense of this crucial point. When the scope of the German attack and its danger to Paris became clear, General John J. Pershing rushed to the French Army’s headquarters to offer all assistance to his French counterpart, Marshal Ferdinand Foch. Pershing and Foch were not close – for months the American had resisted Foch’s appeals to amalgamate American units piecemeal into the French Army – but Pershing’s gesture transformed the Frenchman’s opinion of the Americans. Pershing later recalled his offer:
"I have come to tell you that the American people would consider it a great honor for our troops to be engaged in the present battle. I ask you for this in their name and my own. At this moment there are no other questions but of fighting. Infantry, artillery, aviation, all that we have are yours; use them as you wish. More will come, in numbers equal to requirements. I have come especially to tell you that the American people will be proud to take part in the greatest battle of history."
Two full American divisions, the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Divisions, were sent to take over the defense of Chateau Thierry from the French Colonials there. The advance elements of the 3rd Division arrived on the scene on the evening of May 31, 1918, and covered the retreat of the Senegalese across the Marne the following day. Joined by the remainder of their division on June 2, the Americans dug in along the banks of the Marne overlooking Chateau Thierry, where they would remain until well into August. During that time, the 3rd Division made up the core of a growing American defensive sector that would resist constant attempts to cross the Marne River and resume the German march on Paris. Always outnumbered, and frequently isolated by retreating French units abandoning their flanks, the 3rd Division and other American units held onto the region and denied the German Army its chance to win the war.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2852
|
__label__wiki
| 0.938264
| 0.938264
|
Kin of 39 Indians missing in Iraq asked to undergo DNA tests
Published : Oct 21, 2017, 9:49 pm IST
Updated : Oct 21, 2017, 9:49 pm IST
In 2014, 39 Indian labourers, mostly from Punjab, were reportedly taken hostage by ISIS when it overran Iraq's Mosul.
There has been no word on them but the government has insisted that without information otherwise, the workers are still considered alive. (Photo: PTI/File)
Amritsar (Punjab): Families of all 39 Indians who went missing in Iraq three years ago have been asked to undergo DNA tests for unspecified reasons.
"All of us have been asked to undergo DNA test; don't know why. We are very nervous," Gurpinder, the sister of Manjinder, who is one among the 39, told ANI.
In 2014, 39 Indian labourers, mostly from Punjab, were reportedly taken hostage by ISIS when it overran Iraq's second largest city of Mosul. The workers were trying to leave Mosul when they were intercepted.
There has been no word on them but the government has insisted that without information otherwise, the workers are still considered alive.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had earlier told family members that an Iraqi official quoting intelligence sources had told Minister of State for External Affairs General (Retired) V.K. Singh that the kidnapped Indians were deployed at a hospital construction site and then shifted to a farm before they were put in a jail in Badush.
However, reportedly earlier in July, the Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim al-Eshaiker al-Jafari had asserted that his dispensation possessed no substantial evidence on the missing persons.
Tags: 39 indians missing, indians abducted by isis, indians in iraq, dna tests
Location: India, Punjab, Amritsar
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2855
|
__label__wiki
| 0.736495
| 0.736495
|
South Pole: The British Antarctic Expedition 1910 -
Although it’s a piece of history learned by every British student, the Terra Nova Expedition of 1910-1913 remains an epic story unknown to many. In this ultimate display of life and boundless bravery, Robert F. Scott and his five-man team battled the elements— traveling through subzero temperatures with motor sledges and ponies—in the hope of being the first to reach this uninhabited territory. Assouline is pleased to announce South Pole, providing a rare opportunity to feel an intimate connection to a heroic age of exploration.
Arriving at the South Pole on January 17, 1912, the adventurers were greeted by their worst nightmare: a Norwegian flag. Disheartened and badly frostbitten, they trudged back toward their boat only to die just eleven miles from the next depot. Featuring a collection of stunning black and white photography alongside entries from Scott’s harrowing diary, this tome starkly presents this well documented tragically untold journey in three unique formats: a trade edition in hardcover; an oversized special edition hardcover with jacket; and, most exclusively, an artist's limited luxury hand bound edition in extra-large format, complete with waterproof pages - the first luxury art book of its kind. The book's proceeds are graciously donated to the Antarctic Heritage Trust who preserve expeditions and the thousands of associated artifacts survive for the benefit of future generations; and inspire people through the values associated with adventure, discovery and leadership.
Beyond the incredible feats of endurance, hardship, and the extraordinary scientific achievements from Scott’s last attempt, the world was captivated by Captain Scott’s prowess as a diarist and the outstanding photographic skill of team member Herbert Ponting. The written and photographic legacy enabled people to connect with this journey frozen in time as they have never before.
Released in January 2012
W 7.63 x L 10.9 x D 0.82 in
Hardcover with Jacket
Christine Dell’Amore, environment writer-editor for National Geographic News, has reported from six continents, including Antarctica. She has also written for Smithsonian magazine and The Washington Post. Christine holds a masters degree in journalism with a specialty in environmental reporting from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
South Pole: The British Antarctic Expedition 1910 - $50.00
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2857
|
__label__wiki
| 0.801497
| 0.801497
|
Statement in support of journalist Rossen Bossev and Capital
Sofia edit-a-thon: for a plural ecosystem of information 14/12/2017
Wikipedia edit-a-thon in Sofia to support media freedom and democratic commons 14/11/2017
Dossier: Freedom of the press in Bulgaria 03/05/2018
European elections in Bulgaria, under the sign of corruption 22/05/2019
Bulgaria, the Decline in Media Freedom 10/06/2014
Bulgaria, "quasi-media" on the rise 13/04/2017
AEJ-Bulgaria
Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa expresses its solidarity with the Bulgarian newspaper Capital and its journalist Rossen Bossev, who was recently sentenced to a fine in a defamation case. They are trusted partners of OBCT, and the cases brought against them highlight some limits with media freedom and the rule of law in the country, which we will continue to follow closely. We republish the statement made by AEJ-Bulgaria on this sentence.
Sofia City Court has confirmed the Sofia Regional Court’s sentencing of Rossen Bossev, a journalist at Capital Weekly and member of the Executive Board of the Association of European Journalists in Bulgaria, AEJ-Bulgaria, to a fine of 1,000 BGN [500 euros] in a defamation case filed by Stoyan Mavrodiev, a former chairman of the Financial Supervision Commission, FSC, а government body in charge of ensuring the stability of the banking system, and current director of the Bulgarian Development Bank.
The defamation complaint is particularly demonstrative of the way in which state officials are able to use institutions as tools for pressure.
Even though the libel has not been proven in court, AEJ-Bulgaria is stunned to learn that Bossev has been sentenced for taking part in a television talk show during which he has tried to explain why FSC has imposed a significant fine to the publication he works for. However, the statements made by Bossev are based on facts which the plaintiff didn’t dispute in court.
Moreover, the judge-rapporteur appointed to this case, Petya Krancheva, has been the subject of a series of articles written by Bossev which have exposed a number of deficiencies in her work. All the stories have been published prior to the trial allocation.
Judge Krancheva refused to recuse herself in spite of the journalist’s request that she did so. This fact draws the objectivity of the court into serious question. What guarantee could exist of a fair trial, when the judge has been personally affected by the journalist’s previous work? How impartial could she be when reviewing a case against the journalist in question?
What also speaks to this bias is the manner in which Judge Krancheva ordered that Bossev be summoned – with a subpoena for major crimes and a search carried out by a group of armed judicial police officials at multiple addresses where the journalist does not reside, creating a sense of disproportionate measure.
The failure of Judge Kruncheva to recuse herself despite an apparent conflict of interest creates reasonable doubts about the fairness of the trial.
The case itself is demonstrative of an abuse of power. After Capital Weekly and Dnevnik, an online publication owned by the same media group as Capital Weekly, revealed Mavrodiev’s alleged links to a money-laundering scheme, the Financial Supervision Commission – which Mavrodiev directed at the time – issued a total of 80,000 euros in fines for a series of stories devoted to problems in the banking industry which the FSC labelled as market manipulation. The record fine, which is considerably higher than most of the fines the FSC imposed on companies in 2013, for example, equals the salaries of all journalists working for Capital Weekly.
These fines caused an uproar of reactions, both domestically and internationally, as well as backlash on the part of journalists and human rights advocates who saw the sanctions as attempt to limit freedom of speech in the country. The FSC’s decision was overturned in court, which demonstrates the immateriality of the sanctions. Following this failure to enforce fines for Capital and Dnevnik, Mavrodiev brought defamation complaints against three of their journalists based on allegations similar to those against Bossev. Two of these journalists have since been exonerated, but Bossev is being charged for his 2015 comments during a television talk show that “Stoyan Mavrodiev is using the FSC to repress Capital and Dnevnik” as well as that Mavrodiev’s actions followed a series of stories in Capital and Dnevnik about his alleged ties with organized crime figures.
At that time, AEJ-Bulgaria came out with a condemning statement, saying that the actions of the FSC were representative of an unprecedented attempt to censor media. Later a Bulgarian court refuted the above-mentioned accusation.
Today, we express strong support for our member Rossen Bossev and we maintain that such cases against journalists are unacceptable, especially when filed by government representatives and reviewed by judges whose impartiality can be called into question.
In the meantime, an online tabloid-style site has published the court’s decision even before the sentence has been made publicly available. This is the latest piece in an ongoing smear campaign, which has been trying to tarnish Bossev’s reputation over the years.
Alexander Kashumov, a lawyer and head of the legal programme of the Access to Information Program, a Sofia-based non-profit organization, promoting freedom of expression, sees the court’s decision as failing to address previous judgements, issued both by the Bulgarian Constitutional Court and the The European Court of Human Rights, ECHR.
“[The court] didn’t consider that the plaintiff is a public figure, responsible for the actions of the Commission which he directed at the time, that citizens have the right to comment on the actions of this commission in relation to his personality as well as the role of the media as a watchdog in a democratic society, the principles of freedom of expression and the right to criticize senior officials,” said Kashumov.
“It’s hard to come across decisions of Bulgarian courts, regardless of the level, where such reasoning and considerations are totally absent. The spirit of the sentence, which does not take into consideration any decision of the Constitutional Court or the ECHR, does not seem relevant to the time, place, and realm in which our modern society exists,” he added.
Such court rulings often times have a “chilling effect” on the exercise of media freedom, as the ECHR has previously stated in its decisions.
All the contents on the Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso website are distributed with a Creative Commons licence when not indicated otherwise. If you want to publish this article again on your blog or website you can do so using the the wording "this article was originally published on Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso", including a direct active link to the original article page and indicating the author's name. An email to the following address informing the editors that the article has been republished is welcome: redazione@balcanicaucaso.org
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2859
|
__label__wiki
| 0.677826
| 0.677826
|
New website helps potential pilots navigate career pitfalls
A website that aims to help aspiring pilots make an informed decision about a career on the flight deck is being launched today.
The European Cockpit Association has developed a site that not only gives advice on routes to a piloting job but also points out some of the hurdles a trainee has to negotiate on route to their dream job.
The new website will help aspiring pilots and their families make informed decisions about career options.
The British Airline Pilots’ Association says the path to becoming an airline pilot in Europe has changed dramatically in the past twenty years and young hopefuls now have to consider taking on substantial debt if they want to chase their dream.
While in the past the financial burden fell to the airlines, it’s now up to the trainee to find up to £100,000 to pay for their training, often with no job guaranteed at the end.
The European Cockpit Association (ECA), representing pilots in Europe, set up the website as a tool to help aspiring pilots and their families assess the training and career options, and the everyday reality of being a pilot today.
“Parents are often the ones who pay the bill”, says ECA President Dirk Polloczek. “Mortgage on the family house is a very common way to finance pilot training. This is why we think it is important for parents to know what they will get in return on their investment. At the same time, they could help the next generation of pilots with choosing a good flight school, creating a plan B and managing expectations about the career”.
Head of Membership and Career Services at BALPA said:
“Nowadays people who want to train as a pilot have to make a huge investment in their future. We don’t want to put people off from fulfilling their dreams, but we want to make sure they know the difficulties there can be in getting there and offer them support along the journey.
“BALPA launched the pilot nextGen Programme to do just that. It aims to protect the profession by reaching down to new entrants, giving them a voice and offering them support while they work towards qualifications and a job. We welcome this new website as another valuable resource that will help potential pilots navigate the pitfalls of entering the career.”
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2860
|
__label__wiki
| 0.872868
| 0.872868
|
SYDNEY DOUBLES FOR CALIFORNIA IN SONY’S AND PLAYMAKER’S RECKONING
Filming is underway in Sydney for Reckoning, a new thriller series from Playmaker for Sony Pictures Television Networks, starring Aden Young (Rectify, The Disappearance) and Tony-nominee Sam Trammell (The Fault In Our Stars, True Blood).
Set in California, the ten-episode-series is being filmed and wholly produced and post-produced in Australia, after being secured through incentives from the Create NSW Made In NSW International Footloose Fund, which was recently renewed by the NSW Government to offer up to $10m in yearly funding to bring film and television productions to the State.
Reckoning explores the darkest corners of the human psyche through the eyes of two fathers, one of whom is a serial killer. Mike (Young) and Leo (Trammell) try to do what’s best for the people they love and the families they protect. But as both struggle to suppress their inner demons, the murder of a local teenager sets them on a course of mutual destruction that will emanate through every facet of their quiet, suburban community.
Also joining the cast are Simone Kessell (Pine Gap, The Crossing), Laura Gordon (Undertow, Secret City 2), Gloria Garayua (How To Get Away With Murder, Bounty Hunters), Mitzi Ruhlmann (Hiding, The Code), Milly Alcock (Pine Gap, Fighting Season), Ed Oxenbould (Wildlife, Paper Planes), Finn Little (Tidelands, Angel of Mine), Anthony Phelan (The Kettering Incident, Deep Water) and Diana Glenn (The Slap, Secrets and Lies).
Created by David Hubbard (Noel) who is co-showrunner with David Eick (Battlestar Galactica, Falling Skies), Reckoning is executive produced by Playmaker’s David Taylor and David Maher (The Code, Chosen), produced by Diane Haddon (The Code, Friday On My Mind), directed and co-executive produced by Shawn Seet (The Code, Storm Boy) with Jennifer Leacey (Bite Club, Pulse) and Peter Andrikidis (Bite Club, Underbelly) also directing.
An Australian production, Sony Pictures Television Networks commissioned Reckoning for its international channels, including AXN, in select territories in Europe and Latin America. The psychological thriller is being produced by Playmaker, an Australian leader in premium scripted content. Sony Pictures Television Distribution will handle worldwide sales of the series, which is set to debut next year.
Assisting with location scouting across the city, the Create NSW’s Screen Destination Attraction team were instrumental in helping producers envisage California in the Sydney setting. Ausfilm members SLATEVFX are also on board for the VFX of the production, and as well as being the home of Playmaker Media, Fox Studios Australia is also aiding the production by providing stages for additional photography and publicity shoots, lighting equipment, production offices, art and costume workshops and a unit base for truck parking.
We caught up with the producers to see how filming is going and to get the latest news from the set:
Why did you choose Sydney as location for Reckoning?
“As Reckoning is set in a coastal Californian town, and the series is being produced by Sydney-based production company Playmaker, it made sense to set the series in Sydney. Sydney’s beaches and lifestyle have a very similar vibe to California.”
What NSW locations have you shot in so far?
“We’ve filmed in and around the beautiful Northern Beaches, Richmond, St Ives, Centennial Park and Auburn.”
How have you found the process of filming in Australia and making it look like California?
“The process has been relatively straightforward. Finding residential streets, houses and buildings that resemble Californian architecture hasn’t been difficult. The beaches and waterways are alike, and areas of vegetation are similar. It’s particularly helpful that Eucalypts are also prevalent in California. It’s really only the vehicles and streets that require a bit more consideration and planning. The availability of contemporary left-hand drive vehicles is limited here but we overcame this by bringing in a number of our key character’s vehicles from the US. Driving and street sequences require us to control the streets we are filming in so that we have vehicles on the right side of the road. This has all been manageable with good planning and co-operation with the relevant traffic and roads authorities.”
How does the quality of Australian crews compare to those in the US?
We’ve found the Australian crews to be outstanding. They are highly-skilled, creatively talented, hardworking and incredibly efficient. The amount and quality of what they can achieve in a 10-hour day is impressive.
DISNEY-OWNED INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC (ILM) SETS UP IN SYDNEY
PARRAMATTA CORRECTIONAL CENTRE – A KILLER LOCATION!
LOCATION SPOTLIGHT: NORTHERN RIVERS, NSW – TROPICAL JUNGLE TO COASTAL PARADISE
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2861
|
__label__cc
| 0.606492
| 0.393508
|
Industry Developments: Retail, Pharma and Insurance
This month, we’re looking at digital transformation developments in retail, pharma and insurance.
Nike became one of the world’s biggest athletic brands in a very different retail landscape. Formerly, when consumers wanted a Nike product they visited a store or, as was frequently the situation, they went through retail partners, which acted as a middleman between the brand and customers. Now, however, Nike are working hard to become the next great direct-to-consumer brand. Nike are accelerating a new initiative, the ‘Consumer Direct Offense’ strategy, aiming to be ‘more personal at scale’, and this has gone hand-in-hand with their purchase of a new consumer data and analytics company – Zodiac. “The acquisition of Zodiac demonstrates our commitment to further accelerating Nike’s digital transformation and enhancing our consumer data and analytics capabilities to help us serve consumers globally,” said Adam Sussman, Nike’s Vice President and Chief Digital Officer.
Consultancy Accenture have released new analysis this month, saying that a greater use of digital health technology such as wearables and smart packaging could help the UK pharmaceutical industry ‘unlock £22bn’ over the next decade. Yen-Sze Soon, managing director at Accenture, said: “Most pharmaceutical companies we work with recognise that digital technologies can drive transformation and growth, but many aren’t yet realising this potential. This research quantifies the potential prize for industry, individuals and society if they get this right.”
Insurance products that can be switched on and off – in contrast to traditional, annual policies – may well be the future of the industry, according to one insurer keen on getting a slice of the pie. The on-demand market worldwide has “exploded in the last few years,” thanks to the rise of the gig and sharing economies, said Cheryl Agius, CEO of Legal & General’s GI business. Earlier this month, L&G revealed a partnership with insurtech Slice Labs – a US firm known for its pay-per-use insurance offering – to provide on-demand cover for UK home-sharers. “Slice Labs are well-established in the US, where they have started to be a strong competitor to Lemonade in terms of how you provide solutions to customers in that gig industry,” Agius said. But while the US and Asia are out in front when it comes to offering policies that fit around consumers’ changing behaviours – just look at Lemonade or ZhongAn – the UK has so far been behind in the race.
Hannah Barnsdall
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2863
|
__label__cc
| 0.737597
| 0.262403
|
Cardiff-by-the-Sea Bed and Breakfasts
California /
Cardiff-by-the-Sea (1)
Cardiff by the Sea Lodge
Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA
With a stay at Cardiff by the Sea Lodge, you'll be centrally located in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, withi...
Secret Garden Inn
Del Mar, CA (4 miles from Cardiff-by-the-Sea)
With a stay at Secret Garden Inn in Del Mar, you'll be within a 5-minute drive of Del Mar Beach a...
(4 miles from Cardiff-by-the-Sea)
Inn at Moonlight Beach
Encinitas, CA (2 miles from Cardiff-by-the-Sea)
When you stay at Inn at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, you'll be on the beach, a 2-minute drive fr...
The Ranch at Bandy Canyon
Escondido, CA (18 miles from Cardiff-by-the-Sea)
Located in Escondido, The Ranch at Bandy Canyon is in the historical district, within a 10-minute...
(18 miles from Cardiff-by-the-Sea)
Rainbow Inn Bed and Breakfast
Fallbrook, CA (27 miles from Cardiff-by-the-Sea)
With a stay at Rainbow Inn Bed and Breakfast in Fallbrook, you'll be within a 15-minute drive of ...
Fallbrook, CA
Coral Tree House
Located in Fallbrook, Coral Tree House is within a 15-minute drive of Temecula Creek Inn Golf Cou...
The Bed & Breakfast Inn at La Jolla
La Jolla, CA (12 miles from Cardiff-by-the-Sea)
Located in La Jolla (Village of La Jolla), The Bed & Breakfast Inn at La Jolla is within a 15-min...
San Diego, CA (21 miles from Cardiff-by-the-Sea)
Located in San Diego (Point Loma), this houseboat is steps from Harbor Island and a 3-minute driv...
Carole's Bed & Breakfast
With a stay at Carole's Bed & Breakfast in San Diego (North Park), you'll be within a 5-minute dr...
Hostel on 3rd
With a stay at Hostel on 3rd, you'll be centrally located in San Diego, just a 5-minute walk from...
Zolna Yachts
With a stay at Zolna Yachts in San Diego (Point Loma), you'll be a 1-minute drive from Harbor Isl...
6793 Fashion Hills Blvd
With a stay at 6793 Fashion Hills Blvd in San Diego (Mission Valley West), you'll be within a 5-m...
San Diego Bay Houseboat
Located in San Diego (Point Loma), San Diego Bay Houseboat is steps from Harbor Island and a 4-mi...
1906 Lodge
Coronado, CA (24 miles from Cardiff-by-the-Sea)
Located in Coronado, 1906 Lodge is by the ocean, a 1-minute drive from Coronado Beach and 7 minut...
Vineyard Hacienda
Spring Valley, CA (29 miles from Cardiff-by-the-Sea)
Located in Spring Valley, Vineyard Hacienda is a 4-minute drive from The Water Conservation Garde...
Spring Valley, CA
Sunshine Mountain Bed and Breakfast
San Marcos, CA (13 miles from Cardiff-by-the-Sea)
Located in San Marcos, Sunshine Mountain Bed and Breakfast is by the ocean, a 3-minute drive from...
Encinitas,CA 1 1 mi.
Del Mar,CA 1 4 mi.
San Marcos,CA 1 10 mi.
San Diego,CA 6 22 mi.
Fallbrook,CA 2 24 mi.
San Francisco,CA 8
Key West,FL 41
Cape May,NJ 14
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2865
|
__label__wiki
| 0.959416
| 0.959416
|
Investment needed to preserve City of Culture legacies – playwright
John Godber, who has lived most of his life in Hull, was given an OBE for services to the arts.
John Godber, was given an OBE by the Duke of Cambridge for services to the arts at Buckingham Palace (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
A Hull playwright has said the area needs continued investment if it is to keep the benefits it gained when it was the UK’s City of Culture.
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/investment-needed-to-preserve-city-of-culture-legacies-playwright-36676066.html
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/article36676063.ece/05d94/AUTOCROP/h342/bpanews_7a1bb182-026c-4b59-8410-3a4686ba9fd3_1
John Godber, a miner’s son and former teacher, was given an OBE by the Duke of Cambridge for services to the arts at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
The dramatist told the Press Association: “He (William) was talking about the City of Culture and whether we thought the City of Culture had delivered.
“I think it has generally, but like any of these projects it’s what happens next, so it’s the legacy, and that needs support and the oxygen of money to make work and also give the city confidence.
“You have to keep the kettle boiling… these enterprises can’t be like a sponsorship for a sport, where one year they do golf, the next year they do tennis, there has to be long term investment.”
We have two fantastic shows visiting us this week - @jgodberco's Scary Bikers and @eclipsetcl's Black Men Walking. Both are here from tonight until Saturday. pic.twitter.com/iquoVLevqa
— Hull Truck Theatre (@HullTruck) February 27, 2018
Hull, where Mr Godber has lived most of his life, was awarded the status of being the UK’s City of Culture 2017.
The playwright, whose stage hits include Bouncers and Lucky Sods, has recently written a play about Brexit.
When asked if he thinks there is a duty for writers reflect the world around them, he said: “Without question, otherwise why are you doing it.
“That’s the job. The role is, I think, to reflect, to lift up the carpet in certain areas and say have a look at this.”
John was delighted be collecting his OBE today #BuckinghamPalace pic.twitter.com/j6Nh1ZuKsn
— John Godber Company (@jgodberco) March 6, 2018
In 2000 Mr Godber had to stand in at one of his musicals at Hull Truck Theatre after the leading lady fell ill.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2866
|
__label__wiki
| 0.533638
| 0.533638
|
Origin and domestication.
Many authorities consider the goat was the first domesticated ruminant. The main wild ancestor is still alive—the Bezoar, or Cretan Wild Goat (Capra aegagrus), which is reddish-brown in summer and gray-brown in winter. Its overall range is from India to Crete, but its numbers have been much reduced; it has disappeared from many areas, and elsewhere is very rare. A few remain in the mountain parts of Crete and an island of the Cyclades. Other wild goats from farther E have contributed to the stock, but the position is complicated. (See Zeuner, ch. 6.) All are hill animals and very sure-footed; they are browsers as much as grazers. Two factors add to the problem of dating: first, for some time the tame form did not differ markedly from the wild. Second, in many cases even experts cannot distinguish some bones of sheep and goats.
The earliest accepted evidence for domestication is from the Neolithic pre-pottery levels of Jericho, with carbon dating of 6,000-7,000 b.c. The remains of some horns show damage suggestive of close confinement. Material from N Iran is of similar age, prob. indicating an earlier origin from which both areas were supplied. Among the early goats, two types are recognized—with corkscrew and with scimitar horns. Gradually the variety increased in size, proportions, color and hair type; but the wide range of breeds now seen, esp. in Europe, is of modern origin. These show a wide range of colors, including black, white and parti-colored. The only Biblical mention of color is the spotted and speckled goats of Genesis 30. Ancient Egyp. art illustrates all these.
Uses.
The goat was first kept for its milk. The meat was eaten, normally, of young only, e.g., Judges 6:19, “Gideon...prepared a kid,” the standard meal for a stranger arriving unexpectedly. Later, the kid was less highly rated. Luke 15:29ff. compares it unfavorably with the fatted calf. Goatskins became the standard material for water bottles in countries of limited rainfall, and the hair was spun and woven into cloth. It seems that the sheep was tamed fairly soon after the goat (see Sheep). Sheep began to replace goats in the areas where it could thrive, i.e. the less hilly places with better grazing, largely because it yielded much better meat, with ample fat, and wool instead of rather coarse hair. The goat was still valued as a milk-producer, but when the domestic cow became available, the goat was more and more confined to the rougher and drier areas. By the time of the patriarchs. sheep and cattle prob. greatly outnumbered goats. Milk is mentioned forty-two times in the OT; only four are specifically goats’ milk, three of which refer to the prohibition against seething (boiling) a kid in its mother’s milk (Exod 23:19, etc).
Damage to vegetation.
Second to man, and with man’s help, goats have been the most important land-destroyers in history (see Fauna). In Mediterranean lands, they climb trees and destroy them by eating twigs and leaves. This is illustrated in ancient art. The goat is hardy, and if allowed to escape it can quickly establish itself and develop a feral race. The damage to vegetation continues, sometimes until the habitat is destroyed and, if it is an island, goats die of starvation.
Place in Biblical narrative.
Numerous references in OT and NT show that the goat was important to the Hebrews, though the range of names and total numbers are far below the sheep and cattle. Goats are spoken of only once in thousands. “The Arabs also brought...seven thousand seven hundred he-goats” (2 Chron 17:11). In most W countries, the problem of dividing sheep from goats (Matt 25:32f.) would never arise, for flocks are unlikely to mix and the two species are not easily confused. This is not so, however, in many lands around Pal., where they often run together and native breeds may be alike in size, color, and shape. The usually up-turned goat tail may be the only obvious difference. Apart from one symbolic passage (Dan 8), the goat seems to have no fig. significance, but some seventy percent of the occurrences refer to animals for sacrifice. This would seem to have been its main importance to the Hebrews (see above). In addition, goats’ hair was the material woven by Heb. women to cover the Tabernacle (Exod 26:7), and it is still used in tentmaking by the Bedouin. The context of scarlet, fine linen, etc. may imply superior quality cloth, perhaps comparable to cashmere from the Kashmir goat today. It is likely that long-haired races from farther E had become established by this time. In general, little can be inferred from the context about the natural history or habits of the goat.
G. S. Cansdale, Animals and Man (1952); F. E. Zeuner, A History of Domesticated Animals (1963).
1. Names:
2. Wild Goats:
The original of our domestic goats is believed to be the Persian wild goat or pasang, Capra aegagrus, which inhabits some of the Greek islands, Asia Minor, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, Afghanistan, and Northwestern India. It is called wa’l (compare Hebrew ya`el) by the Arabs, who in the North apply the same name to its near relative, the Sinaitic ibex, Capra beden. The last, doubtless the "wild goat" (ya`el) of the Bible, inhabits Southern Palestine, Arabia, Sinai, and Eastern Egypt, and within its range is uniformly called beden by the Arabs. It is thought by the writer that the "chamois" (zemer) of De 14:5 may be the Persian wild goat. The word occurs only in this passage in the list of clean animals. See Chamois; Deer; ZOOLOGY. Wild goats are found only in Southern Europe, Southwestern Asia, and Northeastern Africa. They include the well-known, but now nearly extinct, Alpine ibex, steinbok, or bouquetin, the markhor, and the Himalayan ibex, which has enormous horns. The so-called Rocky Mountain goat is not properly a goat, but is an animal intermediate between goats and antelopes.
3. Domestic Goats:
Domestic goats differ greatly among themselves in the color and length of their hair, in the size and shape of their ears, and in the size and shape of their horns, which are usually larger in the males, but in some breeds may be absent in both sexes. A very constant feature in both wild and domestic goats is the bearded chin of the male. The goats of Palestine and Syria are usually black (So 4:1), though sometimes partly or entirely white or brown. Their hair is usually long, hanging down from their bodies. The horns are commonly curved outward and backward, but in one very handsome breed they extend nearly outward with slight but graceful curves, sometimes attaining a span of 2 ft. or more in the old males. The profile of the face is distinctly convex. They are herded in the largest numbers in the mountainous or hilly districts, and vie with their wild congeners in climbing into apparently impossible places. They feed not only on herbs, but also on shrubs and small trees, to which they are most destructive. They are largely responsible for the deforested condition of Judea and Lebanon. They reach up the trees to the height of a man, holding themselves nearly or quite erect, and even walk out on low branches.
4. Economy:
Apart from the ancient use in sacrifice, which still survives among Moslems, goats are most valuable animals. Their flesh is eaten, and may be had when neither mutton nor beef can be found. Their milk is drunk and made into cheese and semn, a sort of clarified butter much used in cooking. Their hair is woven into tents (So 1:5), carpets, cloaks, sacks, slings, and various camel, horse and mule trappings. Their skins are made into bottles (no’dh; Greek askos; Arabic qirbeh) for water, oil, semn, and other liquids (compare also Heb 11:37).
5. Religious and Figurative:
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2874
|
__label__cc
| 0.518593
| 0.481407
|
Congresswoman Waters Calls For FCC To Extend Comment Period On Comcast-NBC Merger
Washiington
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) today urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to extend the deadline for the public to comment on Comcast’s proposed acquisition of NBC Universal. Congresswoman Waters has long been concerned about the effect of media consolidation because it hurts consumers by reducing competition and limits the access of the public to diverse views by crowding out community and minority media outlets.
“The FCC must allow the public more time to present information, make arguments and raise questions about the takeover by Comcast -- the nation's biggest cable and broadband Internet company -- of NBC Universal, which owns broadcast and cable networks, TV stations and programs, and movie studios. A merger of this magnitude would have an enormous impact on virtually every American, and I want to make sure individuals and public interest groups have a chance to be heard,” Congresswoman Waters said.
Congresswoman Waters sent a letter today to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski requesting that the FCC Commissioners reconsider the FCC Media Bureau’s recent denial of a request to extend the filing period by 45 days. She explained, “An extension of time is especially important in these proceedings given the Commission’s request that petitioners raise all issues in their initial filings... [G]iven the extensive resources needed to participate in [a] proceeding and the complex and significant nature of this transaction, a 45-day extension is necessary and in the public interest.”
In raising concerns about the further consolidation of America’s media market and the potential harmful impact of the Comcast-NBC merger, she also noted that only “five companies own America’s major broadcast networks and 90 percent of the top 50 cable networks; produce three-quarters of all prime-time programming; and control 70 percent of the prime-time television market share. These same companies also own the nation’s most popular newspapers and 85 percent of the top 20 Internet news sites.”
The full text of the letter Congresswoman Waters sent to FCC Chairman Genachowski can be found athttp://waters.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=180476
Michael Levin
Congresswoman Maxine Waters
Michael.Levin@mail.house.gov
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2876
|
__label__cc
| 0.572114
| 0.427886
|
Niti Aayog wants two-wheelers under 150cc to go all-electric by 2025, a push vehemently opposed by Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor. (Photographer: Pankaj Nangia/Bloomberg News)
Hero, Bajaj, TVS Object NITI Aayog’s Pitch For All Electric Two-Wheelers
PTI@PTI_News
Jun 24 2019, 5:57 PM Jun 24 2019, 6:04 PM June 24 2019, 5:57 PM June 24 2019, 6:04 PM
Hero MotoCorp Ltd., Bajaj Auto Ltd. and TVS Motor Co. Ltd. have hit out at Niti Aayog’s plan to push for 100 percent electric two-wheelers, saying such a transition is completely uncalled for and could jeopardise the industry.
The companies said concerns of all stakeholders must be taken into consideration instead of imposing adoption of electric vehicles.
“This (transition to electric two-wheelers) is not like Aadhaar, not a software and print cards. You have to set up a whole supply chain, and migrate from the current supply chain,” said Venu Srinivasan, chairman and managing director of TVS Motor.
Expressing similar sentiments, Hero MotoCorp said it was “deeply concerned by the potential repercussions of Niti Aayog’s approach of completely banning two-wheelers up to 150cc that are powered by internal combustion engines".
Niti Aayog had last week asked Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, along with conventional two-and three-wheeler makers, to suggest within two weeks concrete steps towards transition to an all-electric portfolio, keeping in mind the 2025 deadline.
Hero said the move by Niti Aayog comes at a time “when two-wheelers manufactured in India will have the world’s cleanest emissions, along with the world’s highest fuel-efficiencies, effective April 1, 2020”.
“Instead of imposing the adoption of EVs, it would be ideal to have a healthy mix of policy, market dynamics, and customer acceptability,” the country’s largest two-wheeler maker said.
Weighing in, Bajaj Auto’s Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj said “we believe 100 percent transition is completely uncalled for”.
He had earlier asserted that the move was impractical and ill-timed, considering the scale involved when stakeholders do not have “any meaningful experience with any of the pieces of the EV puzzle”, and that too a date so close to implementation of Bharat Stage VI emission norms. “To target two- and three-wheelers but not cars etc. makes it an incomplete initiative,” he had said.
Asserting that a “black or white, zero-one change” is not possible “with 20 million vehicles, $15 billion in sales, one million employees”, TVS’ Srinivasan added that “the whole thing is not thought through. I hope saner thoughts will prevail and people will think through the real implications of all this”.
Hero MotoCorp also said mandating a new technology by banning the existing one is likely to jeopardise the two-wheeler industry.
Considering the significance of the automotive industry that provides employment to millions and is a significant contributor to the country’s gross domestic product, the proposed ban could also have massive consequences on the Indian economy, the company added.
“An abrupt and sudden changeover will disrupt the entire ecosystem of vendors, OEMs, dealers, spare parts manufacturers, and mechanics, as well as other stakeholders, thereby impacting the livelihoods of millions of people dependent on the industry,” Hero MotoCorp said.
“A phase-wise introduction will not only allow for a smooth transition but also enable all involved parties to understand, accept and if required make course corrections in their approach towards EVs.”
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2877
|
__label__wiki
| 0.559101
| 0.559101
|
Of course, it is assuming a lot to believe that Carp will be healthy from here on out. But, when he is healthy, it's pretty hard to believe the guy isn't the best pitcher in baseball.
Carpenters numbers are ridiculous and bordering on Gibsonion through five starts.
With a 4-0 record and a 0.71 ERA in 38 innings pitched, Carp has allowed a total of 19 hits and five walks. Meanwhile, he has 31 strikeouts and has allowed one home run in 136 batters faced so far this season. That works out to 0.2 homers allowed per nine innings pitched. Five games is a relatively limited sample, statistically speaking. But he has been so great that if you mixed five average starts in with his numbers to catch him up with the rest of the pack, Carpenter's stats would still be terrific.
The beauty of his complete game win Thursday night is that it is obvious Carpenter is finally right. You can see in his body language that he is supremely confident in his arm and his stuff. And watching Carpenter pitch in his prime is truly as great as watching Albert Pujols hit in his.
Personally, I think it would really be tough for Carpenter to beat Johann Santana (7-3, 2.00) because east coast writers would find the Cardinals hurler's DL stay an easy excuse to disqualify him. To have a chance, Carpenter would have to remain healthy the rest of the year and maintain vastly superior numbers.
But it would sure be nice to see Carpenter make an All-Star appearance in St. Louis after living through two years of torture.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2880
|
__label__wiki
| 0.520182
| 0.520182
|
Bradley is good. He’s struck out 19 in 27 major league innings. But he’s also a rookie trying to find his way, walking 16 in the same span.
Bradley is also coming back from an injury. He didn’t pitch from April 28-May 16 because of a stint on the disabled list. Since his return, Bradley is 0-1 with a 10.29 ERA in two starts. He’s given up 14 hits in seven innings of work.
Bradley has more going for him than unfamiliarity to Cardinals hitters. He was ranked the No. 11 preseason prospect by Baseball Prospectus in 2015. The publication ranked him No. 9 last year. He’s 29-18 with a 3.14 ERA in four minor league campaigns.
On the other side of the equation, the Cardinals will send oft-injured southpaw Jaime Garcia to the mound for his second attempt to fill the roster black hole left by the season-ending injury to ace starter Adam Wainwright.
Garcia wasn’t sharp but he was effective in his first outing against the New York Mets. He pitched seven innings and allowed two runs on five hits. But Garcia had trouble finding the plate at times, walking five while striking out three.
Garcia threw 102 pitches, 60 for strikes, so we’ll see if he can rebound and keep his surgically-repaired shoulder intact.
All you can ask for from a major league rotation is to give your team a chance to win every day. But, since Wainwright’s loss, the Cardinals have struggled to keep their momentum going with a cast of ineffective substitutes often going up against the top pitcher in the other team’s starting five.
On the bright side, at least Bradley isn’t the Cardinals other form of kryptonite: A lefty pitcher.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2881
|
__label__wiki
| 0.656866
| 0.656866
|
Billion Dollar Whale : The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World
by Bradley Hope and Tom Wright
Overview - Named a Best Book of 2018 by the Financial Times and Fortune, this "thrilling" (Bill Gates) New York Times bestseller exposes how a "modern Gatsby" swindled over $5 billion with the aid of Goldman Sachs in "the heist of the century" (Axios).
Now a #1 international bestseller, BILLION DOLLAR WHALE is "an epic tale of white-collar crime on a global scale" (Publishers Weekly, starred review), revealing how a young social climber from Malaysia pulled off one of the biggest heists in history.
In 2009, a chubby, mild-mannered graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business named Jho Low set in motion a fraud of unprecedented gall and magnitude--one that would come to symbolize the next great threat to the global financial system. Over a decade, Low, with the aid of Goldman Sachs and others, siphoned billions of dollars from an investment fund--right under the nose of global financial industry watchdogs. Low used the money to finance elections, purchase luxury real estate, throw champagne-drenched parties, and even to finance Hollywood films like The Wolf of Wall Street.
By early 2019, with his yacht and private jet reportedly seized by authorities and facing criminal charges in Malaysia and in the United States, Low had become an international fugitive, even as the U.S. Department of Justice continued its investigation.
BILLION DOLLAR WHALE has joined the ranks of Liar's Poker, Den of Thieves, and Bad Blood as a classic harrowing parable of hubris and greed in the financial world.
PRE-ORDER NOW:
Preorder. This item will ship on October 22, 2019.
Billion Dollar Whale (Hardcover)
Publisher: Hachette Books
Billion Dollar Whale (Audio CD - Unabridged)
More About Billion Dollar Whale by Bradley Hope; Tom Wright
Named a Best Book of 2018 by the Financial Times and Fortune, this "thrilling" (Bill Gates) New York Times bestseller exposes how a "modern Gatsby" swindled over $5 billion with the aid of Goldman Sachs in "the heist of the century" (Axios).
Books > Business & Economics > Corporate & Business History - General
Books > True Crime > White Collar Crime
Books > True Crime > Con Artists, Hoaxes & Deceptions
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2883
|
__label__cc
| 0.735382
| 0.264618
|
How to Become a Bounty Hunter in Maine
Maine is a truly singular state. First, it is the only state to share its border with one other state. Secondly, Maine is the only state whose name is one syllable. Maine is also one of only a handful of states without a private bail bond system, so there is no need for bounty hunters in Maine. This is why many people in Maine who are interested in becoming a bounty hunter decide instead to work as private investigators.
Find schools and get information on the program that’s
right for you.
(It’s fast and free!)
Becoming a Maine Private Investigator
Education: Maine requires that you have at least a high school diploma or GED for private investigation work.
Experience: You can meet the experience requirements in three ways. First, you can become an investigative assistant and complete 60 college credit hours. Second, you can earn 60 college credit hours towards an associate’s degree related to private investigation. Finally, you can have three years of investigative experience working for the government or a law enforcement agency.
Age: You must be 21 or older.
Citizenship: There is no firm citizenship requirement.
Concealed Carry Permit: Although not required, many Maine private investigators choose to carry a firearm. You should learn about Maine’s concealed carry permits.
Exam: You must pass a 50-question Professional Investigators exam before being licensed. A passing grade is considered to 76%.
Insurance: You will need a Commercial General Liability policy before you can work as a private investigator. You will also need $10,000 professional surety bond if you’re a Maine resident and a $50,000 surety bond if you are not. The insurance policy must cover $10,000 in property damages, $100,000 for death or injury and $200,000 for multiple deaths or injuries.
How to Receive Your License
To receive your license, you will need to submit an application with the Special Investigations Unit of the Maine Police, which costs $450. You will need to authorize the release of your personal information, particularly related to your psychiatric history. In addition, you must provide documentation that demonstrates you have complied with the educational and experiential requirements.
After you’ve submitted the necessary information, passed your exam and obtained your surety bond and insurance, you will receive your private investigator’s license.
Private Investigator Education
Education is the foundation of any career, including private investigation. A two or four-year degree in criminal justice is the typical path people take towards working in private investigation. However, you could also receive education in similar disciplines such as security management.
Careers Related to Private Investigation
Working as a private investigator is similar to working in law enforcement or as a process server. Private investigators must be trained in law enforcement techniques, particularly those related to locating people.
Cities in Maine
The Maine city of Eastport is the easternmost city in the country. Portland was the birthplace of famed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Maine is also the home of best-selling novelist Stephen King, who lives in Bangor.
Responsibilities of a Private Investigator
Much like a police officer, a private investigator investigates crimes. This can include gathering evidence and tracking the actions and movements of a person. Private investigators can work independently or for a company.
Finding Work as a Private Investigator
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 590 private investigators were working in Maine in 2015. Because positions in this field are projected to remain stable through 2022, positions will be available, albeit competitive.
Pay for a Private Investigator
Those working as private investigators in Maine can expect an average annual salary of $65,830. This amount will generally be higher for anyone working in Metropolitan areas.
Bounty Hunter Programs and Schools in Maine
Choose your area of study and receive free information about programs you are interested in. Private investigators are used by law firms, law enforcement, insurance companies, as well as individuals to conduct investigations to build criminal and civil cases. A degree related to criminal justice could benefit an aspiring private investigator greatly. Request information from multiple schools to find the best program and educational opportunity for you!
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2885
|
__label__cc
| 0.652422
| 0.347578
|
Hall of Fame Home
United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame
Election to the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame is the highest honor USBC can bestow for extraordinary contribution to the sport, on and off the lanes.
The USBC Hall of Fame was created in 2005 by merging the halls of fame of the American Bowling Congress (founded in 1941) and the Women's International Bowling Congress (founded in 1953). The USBC Hall of Fame is governed by the USBC Hall of Fame Committee.
The USBC Hall of Fame consists of Superior Performance, Outstanding USBC Performance, Meritorious Service and Pioneer categories. Superior Performance candidates, both men and women, are elected by a national ballot involving Hall of Fame members and veteran bowling writers. Candidates in other divisions are elected by the USBC Hall of Fame committee.
Click here to visit the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame.
Click HERE for the online portal to submit an application.
For a guide to using the online application portal, click HERE.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2886
|
__label__wiki
| 0.939502
| 0.939502
|
Scotland's Independence Vote Puts UK Union on Edge
LONDON (AP) — Breaking up is hard to do, especially after 307 years. The entire United Kingdom will find out just how hard if Scotland chooses independence in Thursday’s vote.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
A Yes vote will trigger 18 months of negotiations between Scottish leaders and London-based politicians on how the two countries will separate their institutions ahead of Scotland’s planned Independence Day of March 24, 2016. The issues range from whether Scotland will use the pound as its currency to how much U.K. debt it should take on to how the military will be split up — and the results will affect all of the U.K.’s 64 million people, not just the 5.3 million in Scotland. A Yes vote will also ripple across the 28-nation European Union and NATO and boost independence movements around the world, including in Spain’s Catalonia region or Flanders in Belgium.
CENTURIES OF UNION
The parliaments of Scotland and England passed the Acts of Union that led to the creation of Great Britain in 1707 after centuries of conflict, which saw the rise of Scottish heroes like William “Braveheart” Wallace and Robert the Bruce. The union grew to become a great empire in which Scots took a leading role as inventors, artists, doctors, missionaries, engineers and intellectuals — producing luminaires such as economist Adam Smith, author Sir Walter Scott and poet Robert Burns. The global empire thrived on shipbuilding and manufacturing but fell apart after World War II as nations outside the British Isles demanded independence. Scotland has had its own parliament since 1999, although the U.K. government retains control of issues such as foreign policy, defense, immigration, trade and industry.
TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES
Now, after 307 years of union, voters are being asked the following question: Should Scotland be an independent country? Only Scottish residents are eligible to vote but people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will find that the outcome changes their lives as well. It could alter the balance of power in British politics, weaken the nation’s economy and ultimately trigger a separate vote on whether the U.K. should leave the European Union.
NO DOES NOT MEAN THE STATUS QUO
Britain’s political leaders have promised Scotland’s government more powers if voters opt to stay. As opinion polls tightened in recent days, the leaders of the three main political parties in Westminster issued a statement guaranteeing “extensive new powers” to the Scottish parliament, promising to share the nation’s resources “equitably,” and pledging that Scottish leaders would control funding for the National Health Service in Scotland.
WILL THE POUND TAKE A POUNDING?
One of the most contentious issues has been whether an independent Scotland would retain the pound as its currency. U.K. leaders have said there will be no currency union. Independence leader Alex Salmond argues this is simply a campaign tactic and that politicians in Westminster will eventually agree to a currency union because it is best for both countries. Major employers such as Standard Life and the Royal Bank of Scotland have said they will move their headquarters to England if independence passes because of economic concerns.
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist for IHS Global Insight, said there’s likely to be a major market reaction either way: “A vote for independence is likely to result in a further appreciable sterling sell-off; a vote for Scotland to remain in the UK is likely to lead to a significant relief rally for the pound.”
A BOON FOR CONSERVATIVES?
Critics have called for Prime Minister David Cameron’s head if the U.K. loses Scotland — but Britain’s left-leaning Labour Party would also pay a high price. Scottish voters elected 41 Labour members of Parliament in the 2010 election and only one Conservative. Eliminating those Scottish votes would give the Conservatives a 37-seat majority in Parliament and allow them to form the next government without a coalition. In the long term, the loss of Scotland would make it more difficult for Labour to win future elections, potentially ushering in an era of conservative, pro-business government in Britain.
ANOTHER HIGH STAKES VOTE IN THE MAKING
A Conservative victory in 2015 would also drag Britain into yet another high-stakes vote. Cameron has promised a referendum on EU membership to appease voters who are concerned about immigration and meddling by bureaucrats in Brussels. Scotland has been very pro-EU, so losing those votes would weaken the camp that wants Britain to stay. Any British exit from the EU would have huge consequences for its economy. The EU guarantees freedom of movement for people, goods and money, making it simpler to do business across the bloc and its 500 million people.
NORTH SEA OIL — RICHES OR NO?
Salmond, the independence leader, has argued that Scotland should receive as much as 94 percent of the tax revenue generated by North Sea oil and gas production, which would help fund day-to-day government spending, with any surplus going to a fund for future generations. The independence campaign estimates that there are more than 21 billion barrels of oil equivalent in its portion of the North Sea with a market value of almost 1.3 trillion pounds.
But the windfall may not be as great as independence advocates hope, according to analysis by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. While Scotland’s share of North Sea revenue would have been as much as 7.4 billion pounds in recent years, an independent Scotland would lose 7.1 billion pounds a year in transfer payments it gets from the rest of the U.K., according to NIESR. In addition, North Sea revenues are likely to decline in coming years as production slows, meaning Scotland may receive as little as 2.8 billion pounds in 2016-17.
NATO AND NO NUKES
The independence campaign supports continued membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, provided it isn’t required to base nuclear weapons in Scotland. The country’s strategic location would make it a “key partner in NATO’s air and naval policing arrangements for northern Europe,” independence advocates say. Still, if Scotland is nuclear-free, the U.K. would have to move its Trident nuclear missiles away from Faslane in western Scotland.
London / EuropeIndependenceIndependentSpain
140 House GOP Reps Back Democrat Plan to Outsource College Jobs
Nolte: Poll Shows Media Attack on Trump over 'Squad' Tweets Backfired
Feds End Campaign Finance Investigation into Trump ‘Hush Money’ to Stormy Daniels
Ann Coulter: When the MSM Say Someone Is in Prison for a Minor Drug Crime, They’re <i>Always</i> Lying
Elizabeth Warren Introduces Bill to Combat ‘Hunger’ on College Campuses
Philippines: Duterte Demands U.S. Navy Attack China, Citing Defense Treaty
Amazon Faces EU Antitrust Probe, Potential for $23 Billion Fine
WATCH: 6-Year-Old ‘Coach Drake’ Has Insane Meltdown Before Getting Ejected from Baseball Game
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2888
|
__label__cc
| 0.590455
| 0.409545
|
Personal Injury Law BlogTag: Chicago workers compensation attorneys
Injured worker entitled to wage-differential award in spite of income
An Illinois Appellate court ruled that an injured stationary engineer can receive a wage differential award as compensation for her diminished earning capacity in spite of the fact that she did not suffer a decline in income. Kathy Jenkins was employed as a stationary engineer who dealt with maintenance problems for Jackson Park Hospital and …
Employers Who Allegedly Failed to Obtain Workers Comp Insurance Are Indicted
Three Illinois employers have been indicted by a Cook County grand jury on Class 4 felony charges for allegedly failing to obtain workers’ compensation insurance. If convicted, the employers face 1 to 3 years in the state prison and fines of up to $25,000. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) named the individuals charged as …
AMA Impairment Guidelines May Negatively Impact Injured Workers
As part of reforms in the Illinois workers’ compensation system, impairment ratings promulgated by the American Medical Association (AMA) are now used by doctors and arbitrators to decide the workers’ compensation claims of injured workers in Illinois. However, this can have a negative effect on the claims of workers, in particular those with permanent partial …
Nurse Working for State of Illinois Wins Workers Compensation Award
The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) has decided a case of a nurse who slipped and fell during an authorized break in favor of the worker. The nurse, who worked for the State of Illinois, was wearing a walking boot to compensate for an unrelated injury. She wished to go out to her car, which …
Illinois Businesses Illegally Classifying Employees as Independent Contractors
State agencies including the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission are joining together to crack down on businesses that improperly classify employees as independent contractors. In contrast to employees, independent contractors who get hurt while working are not eligible for workers’ compensation. Some business owners may make an honest mistake in misclassifying employees, but others do it …
Woman Allegedly Files Fraudulent Workers’ Compensation Claims
A woman living in McHenry, Ill., faces multiple charges after being arrested for filing fraudulent workers’ compensation claims against three separate employers. Tracy Williams, 43, is charged with workers’ compensation fraud, insurance fraud, aggravated fraud, and perjury, according to a statement released by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Williams is alleged to have filed fraudulent …
Study Shows Race-Based Disparity in Illinois Workers’ Compensation Awards
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health have released a study that shows workers’ compensation settlements awarded to white, non-Hispanic construction workers in Illinois are, on average, higher than those award Hispanic and black construction workers with similar injuries. The difference between average compensation levels for the two groups was …
Illinois Supreme Court to Hear Workers Comp Case
The Supreme Court of Illinois is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case of Skokie Castings, Inc. v. Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund. The case arises from a Skokie Castings employee who sustained a permanently disabling injury while at work. The employer was self-insured up to a certain amount, beyond which its excess insurance carrier …
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2890
|
__label__cc
| 0.601819
| 0.398181
|
Henri Monnier
Henri Monnier, (born June 8, 1805, Paris, Fr.—died Jan. 3, 1877, Paris), French cartoonist and writer whose satires of the bourgeoisie became internationally known.
Monnier studied art with A.-L. Girodet-Trioson and Antoine-Jean, Baron Gros, and was influenced by the work of Honoré Daumier. By 1828 he had established himself as an illustrator and in the 1830s began his satirical writings.
Monnier, obsessed with the pettiness and mediocrity of middle-class life, created the characters Monsieur and Madame Joseph Prudhomme as ideal representatives of the complacent French bourgeoisie. He used them to attack the pretensions and follies of his era in cartoons, stage comedies, and novels. He even portrayed Prudhomme on the stage himself and dressed the part in private life.
Article Title: Henri Monnier
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
URL: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-Bonaventure-Monnier
Access Date: July 17, 2019
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2891
|
__label__wiki
| 0.552792
| 0.552792
|
Objection to ramp for elderly man who can’t get into town because of anti-social behaviour fears
Jim Jones at the flight of steps
Tom Burton
Published: 06:00 Sunday 27 March 2016
The long wait for an access ramp at Cotton End is because of an objection – and the authorities say there is nothing they can do about it.
It is now 18 months since a slope was replaced with steps at Lace Hill and Jim Jones, 92, and others with mobility difficulties, are still waiting.
A temporary, sloped walkway gave Mr Jones access from his Cotton End home in Buckingham onto London Road.
But Barratt Homes blocked it off and replaced it with steps, which made it a nightmare for anyone with limited mobility.
This week, Bucks County Council and Aylesbury vale District Council jointly wrote to Buckingham Town Council to say a resident objectionto the slope is over anti-social behaviour concerns.
And they say they are ‘not in a position to impose on local residents something to which some are strongly opposed’.
The letter said: “If Buckingham Town Council is able to show that the footway link has the support of all local residents, then, depending on the timescale, we may be able to look at this again, but, at the moment we have to inform you that we cannot take the proposal any further.”
County councillor for Buckingham, Robin Stuchbury (Labour), described the letter as ‘strange’.
He said: “They’re happy to be photographed at the Paralymic events. This contradicts everything they stand for. I’m feeling jaded that members of an elected body are so dismissive of this.”
He added: “They spend a lot of public money on promoting themselves to be disability friendly and this doesn’t sit right. An objection is stopping things. If that was how it worked, we wouldn’t have any new estates built.”
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2894
|
__label__wiki
| 0.911781
| 0.911781
|
The man accused of fatally shooting 2 people at a Kroger grocery store reportedly tried to enter a black church minutes earlier
Gregory Bush was arraigned on two counts of murder and 10 counts of wanton endangerment on Thursday in Louisville, Kentucky.
Scott Utterback / Courier Journal via AP
The man accused of fatally shooting two people at a Kroger supermarket in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, on Wednesday attempted to enter a predominantly black church minutes before the attack, The New York Times reports.
Surveillance video at the nearby First Baptist Church showed Gregory Bush, a 51-year-old white man from nearby Louisville, unsuccessfully trying to pry open the church's front doors.
The suspect in a shooting that left two people dead at a Kroger supermarket in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, on Wednesday tried to enter a black church minutes earlier, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Gregory Bush, a 51-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky, was arraigned Thursday on charges of murder in the deaths of Vickie Lee Jones, 67, and Maurice E. Stallard, 69, in addition to 10 counts of wanton endangerment.
A witness cited by NBC News suggested the rampage may have been racially motivated. Bush is white, while Jones and Stallard were black. The unnamed witness said that after the shooting Bush told a bystander "whites don't kill whites."
Bush was arrested minutes after the shooting.
Surveillance footage at the First Baptist Church in Jeffersontown, roughly 2 miles from where the shooting took place, showed Bush trying to break into the church, Jeffersontown Police Chief Sam Rogers said at a news conference on Thursday.
Eight to 10 parishioners were inside the church when Bush tried to get in just after a midweek service, the church administrator Billy Williams told The Times.
"There were 70 people here at our weekly meeting service just an hour before he came by," Williams said. "I'm just thankful that all of our doors and security was in place."
SEE ALSO: 2 dead, suspect in custody after shooting in Kroger grocery store outside Louisville, Kentucky
More: gregory bush Shooting kroger
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2895
|
__label__cc
| 0.748372
| 0.251628
|
Club statement
Details surrounding the club's annual statutory accounts for the financial year ending June 2014
Bolton Wanderers have filed their annual statutory accounts for the financial year ending June 2014.
Net loss improved by £41.6million, down to £9.1million year on year, largely due to the prior year including a number of one-off exceptional items relating to balance sheet impairments and other accounting adjustments.
The year also saw staff costs reduced by £9million, primarily as a result of a number of players leaving the football club and making significant changes to overheads.
Bolton Whites Hotel became wholly owned by Bolton Wanderers Football Club, after previously being held in a joint venture with DeVere Venues.
The hotel continues to build on its reputations for quality and service as a major regional venue for conferences and banquets.
Chairman Phil Gartside said: “There’s no doubting that the transition to the Football League, following a sustained period in the Premier League, has been a challenging one.
“Eddie Davies continues to provide a humbling level of support to the football club, and as a wider business we are continuing to develop our non-footballing operations.
“We continue to move towards a self-sustainable future, demonstrated by the club successfully meeting the Financial Fair Play criteria.”
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2896
|
__label__wiki
| 0.949568
| 0.949568
|
China Wants Its Eye in the Sky to See More of the World
By Yu Dawei and Li Rongde
A Long March-3B rocket blasts off carrying two Beidou-3 satellites at 7:45 p.m. Beijing time on Sunday. The satellites are the infrastructure necessary to expand China’s homegrown Beidou global navigation system. Photo: Visual China
China has launched two satellites as it pushes to expand the global reach of Beidou, its homegrown rival to U.S.-based navigation service GPS.
A Long March 3B rocket blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province on Sunday carrying the two Beidou-3 satellites. The event marks “a major leap forward” in the development of China’s homegrown navigation system, according to state media.
There are 23 Beidou satellites in orbit, but their coverage is limited to China and its neighbors. The expanded system will allow China to reduce its reliance on foreign services such as GPS, which was developed by the U.S., or Russia’s Glonass, which is consists of 24 satellites.
The Chinese system will also compete with the Galileo navigation system that is currently being developed by the European Space Agency.
Navigation systems have a wide range of applications including in smartphones and self-driving cars. China has already gained a foothold in the global market for satellite navigation services, selling technology based on its Beidou system to more than 30 countries. Most of these countries, including Thailand, are members of the Belt and Road initiative that President Xi Jinping launched in 2013.
The new technology has also gained traction at home in recent years with a growing number of chip developers and high-tech firms embracing Beidou-enabled applications.
More than 30 million chips compatible with Beidou were sold in China over the two-year period ending in April, said Ran Chengqi, director of the China Satellite Navigation Office. Nearly 90% of antennas and 30% of circuit boards sold in China are Beidou-enabled, Ran said.
Chinese companies have started to offer services based on the country’s homegrown navigation system. For example, Ofo, a Chinese bike-sharing company has worked with Ran’s office to develop its locks.
China plans to launch six to eight Beidou-3 satellites by the end of this year and 10 more next year. China’s space agency plans to send 11 more satellites into orbit from 2019 to 2020, completing the global coverage of the Beidou Navigation System.
Contact reporter Li Rongde (rongdeli@caixin.com)
Register to read this article for free.
Gov't Says Homegrown Satellite Navigation System Gaining Traction
Dozens of countries including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have expressed an interest in using China's navigation technology, a whitepaper said
China’s Space Ambitions Set Back by Rocket Failure
‘Anomaly’ occurs as Long March-5 — carrying what would have been China’s heaviest satellite — fails midflight
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2899
|
__label__wiki
| 0.666001
| 0.666001
|
My favourite movies of 2018
JazliAziz
January 11 at 12:37 PM
I enjoy watching movies in the cinema, and there were a lot of great movies last year. As 2018 is now done and dusted, I wanted to share my favourite movies of the past year, and one movie which was so bad it actually left me feeling disappointed after watching it.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - IMDbDirected by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo. With Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans. The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.www.imdb.com
Can't begin the list without what was probably the biggest and most anticipated movie of the year. With 10 years and 18 movies building up to Infinity War, it was pretty much impossible for someone to not know this movie came out last year, even if you're not necessarily a fan of the genre. As a big fan of comic book superheroes, I watched the film on opening day and was joined by an entire hall full of fans like me. It's the only explanation as to why we all clapped and cheered when we saw Captain America rescuing Vision and Wanda, or when Thor arrived in Wakanda. One of the reasons why I feel like this wasn't just one of the best movies of the year, but one of the best superhero movies ever, was because the good guys actually lost. Needless to say, I can't wait for Endgame.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) - IMDbDirected by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman. With Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali. Teen Miles Morales becomes Spider-Man of his reality, crossing his path with five counterparts from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.www.imdb.com
Sticking with the superhero theme, Into the Spider-Verse was possibly the most visually stunning movie of the year for me. The artwork and animation was just incredible. However, it takes more than just good looks, a movie must have substance and a good story. Luckily, this movie did. As far as origin stories go, Miles Morales was given a superb story in this film. This movie also shows that some stories are better told as animations rather than live action movies, something I think Disney should be wary of.
Black Panther (2018) - IMDbDirected by Ryan Coogler. With Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira. T'Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country's past.www.imdb.com
Surprise, another superhero movie. If you couldn't tell, I'm a big fan of superheroes. But these movies aren't on my list just because I'm a fan. They're on my list because they were actually really good superhero movies. Black Panther made huge waves early in the year, and it was the most tweeted about movie throughout the year, even garnering more social media attention than Infinity War. This was more than just a movie, it was a cultural breakthrough for Hollywood.
Aquaman (2018) - IMDbDirected by James Wan. With Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson. Arthur Curry, the human-born heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, goes on a quest to prevent a war between the worlds of ocean and land.www.imdb.com
To say DC has been struggling in the box office would be an understatement. Not only have recent DC movies been failing to generate substantial interest from moviegoers which is reflected in relatively poor ticket sales (Justice League only made $658 million compared to Infinity War which made more than $2 billion), DC movies generally don't sit well with critics either. That changed with Wonder Woman which was loved by both fans and critics, and now Aquaman joins this very exclusive club of good DCEU movies. The film is now the highest grossing DCEU film, surpassing even Wonder Woman, and is the only film other than Wonder Woman to receive a Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And I feel it is well deserved. The movie looks stunning (I won't understand how it wasn't nominated for an Oscar), the fight scenes were incredibly choreographed and filmed, Jason Momoa and Amber Heard are perfect as Arthur and Mera, it had both humour and some very emotional scenes, and Aquaman's character growth is well written. A good movie, and a good way for DC to end 2018.
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (2018) - IMDbDirected by Sam Liu. With Bruce Greenwood, Jennifer Carpenter, Chris Cox, John DiMaggio. In an alternative Victorian Age Gotham City, Batman begins his war on crime while he investigates a new series of murders by Jack the Ripper.www.imdb.com
Bear with me, this is the last superhero movie on my list. Promise. Gotham by Gaslight is an interesting take on the story of Batman, set in an alternate time setting - the Victorian era. Many of the popular Batman characters are in the movie, albeit in slightly different roles. Some characters who are traditionally bad guys are victims, some characters who are traditionally good guys turn out to be villains. An interesting story with a surprise twist at the end.
Incredibles 2 (2018) - IMDbDirected by Brad Bird. With Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner. The Incredibles hero family takes on a new mission, which involves a change in family roles: Bob Parr (Mr Incredible) must manage the house while his wife Helen (Elastigirl) goes out to save the world.www.imdb.com
I don't count this as a superhero movie, but a Disney movie (ha!). Disney/Pixar movies are rarely flops, and Incredibles 2 was well worth the 14 year wait. I liked how the roles were reversed in this movie compared to the first. While the original focused on Mr. Incredible, the sequel focused on Elastigirl. Funny, good family values, a classic Disney/Pixar movie.
A Quiet Place (2018) - IMDbDirected by John Krasinski. With Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe. In a post-apocalyptic world, a family is forced to live in silence while hiding from monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing.www.imdb.com
I don't normally watch horror films, but the concept of A Quiet Place got my attention (and I kinda have a crush on Emily Blunt). It was very intelligently done, using sound as a major character in the film. Barely any dialogue the entire movie, but it was such a good story. It'll be interesting to see what story is told in the sequel.
Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) - IMDbDirected by Christopher McQuarrie. With Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg. Ethan Hunt and his IMF team, along with some familiar allies, race against time after a mission gone wrong.www.imdb.com
I like the Mission Impossible franchise, though to be honest, I hadn't actually watched any of the previous movies in the cinema (if I remember correctly). I rectified that by watching Fallout in the cinema, and it was awesome. The plot might have been a bit hard to follow, but the action was exciting, it was great to see Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) as an ally/enemy of Ethan (Tom Cruise), and the tragic love story between Ethan and Julia (Michelle Monaghan) is in my opinion, one of the best love stories from an action movie franchise.
Christopher Robin (2018) - IMDbDirected by Marc Forster. With Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael, Mark Gatiss. A working-class family man, Christopher Robin, encounters his childhood friend Winnie-the-Pooh, who helps him to rediscover the joys of life.www.imdb.com
One of the underdogs of 2018. Minimal promotion, minimal fanfare, minimal social media hype, but one of my favourites this year. Everyone is so busy being adults nowadays that we need to be reminded of what it was like to be a kid once in a while. This is what Christopher Robin teaches us, and to good effect. It's got some innocent childish humour, some not-so-high stakes, but a lot of emotional weight. Might not appeal to the masses, but I really enjoyed it.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) - IMDbDirected by Jon M. Chu. With Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan. This contemporary romantic comedy, based on a global bestseller, follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's family.www.imdb.com
Crazy Rich Asians did for the Asian community in the US what Black Panther did for the black community. Not your average rom-com, this movie is Asian in more ways than just the cast. The movie was filmed predominantly in Malaysia (woohoo!), a lot of Asian (mostly Chinese) culture is shown off in the film, and the family drama is very Asian indeed. The same story couldn't be told with a non-Asian cast. The Asian-ness of the entire production is what makes it special, and what makes it one of the biggest hits of the year.
Bumblebee (2018) - IMDbDirected by Travis Knight. With Hailee Steinfeld, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., John Cena, Jason Drucker. On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small California beach town. On the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, Charlie Watson discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken.www.imdb.com
You know what's the biggest problem with Bumblebee? That it came out too late. I don't mean too late in the year, I mean too late in the entire franchise! This movie was so good that it should've been the beginning of the Transformers franchise, not a prequel that's forced to adhere to a franchise that is pretty much universally ridiculed. It had the original G1 Transformers look, it had a smaller military focus compared to the Michael Bay movies, and most importantly, there weren't a bunch of silly humans taking attention away from the Transformers. It actually had a good, emotionally driven story and didn't rely on over the top cinematography or excessive explosions. If the previous movies left a sour taste in your mouth, this film should wash it all out.
Before I reveal the movie I hated the most last year, here's a list of movies I enjoyed, just not as much as the movies listed above.
Mary Poppins Returns - Emily Blunt is perfect as Mary Poppins. Her elegance, grace, and British wit made this a perfect match, which is why I was disappointed that she didn't feature as much as I had hoped in the film. The movie started off very well, but towards the end she was pushed further into the background. Could've been better.
Deadpool 2 - Always fun to see Deadpool break the 4th wall with lots of real-life references. Not as good as the original, but still a fun watch.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - The appeal of the whole "Jurassic Park" concept to me, is how a theme park for dinosaurs falls apart when the dinos escape. This is why I liked the original Jurassic World movie more than the sequel. It was just a little boring by comparison.
The Meg - Giant shark? Jason Statham? What's not to like? It was a fun movie, but not really "best movie of the year" material.
Ant-Man and the Wasp - As a follow-up to Infinity War, it was always going to pale in comparison. Unfortunately, even taken in isolation this movie wasn't that great. Sure it was fun to see Wasp in the spotlight, but a weak plot and an extremely forgettable villain made this another average superhero movie.
Johnny English Strikes Again (2018) - IMDbDirected by David Kerr. With Rowan Atkinson, Ben Miller, Olga Kurylenko, Emma Thompson. After a cyber-attack reveals the identity of all of the active undercover agents in Britain, Johnny English is forced to come out of retirement to find the mastermind hacker.www.imdb.com
Lastly, the disappointment of the year. I don't recall being as disappointed with the previous Johnny English films, but the third instalment in the franchise was just terrible. A stupid plot, some not so funny comedy, an extremely lame and cringy villain, it was just really bad. Felt like a complete waste of time watching this movie.
I'm really excited for 2019. A lot of good movies to look forward to, some even think it'll be the biggest year in box office history. We'll know soon enough.
January 11 at 5:55 PM
Replying to JazliAziz
I love this list! And thank you for sharing the Batman: Gotham by Gaslight title - we'll have to check it out.
2018 seemed like such a long year that it's hard to keep track of what films were released last year! I've heard excellent things about WIDOWS from my friends who work in film. Loved the Southern Reach Trilogy, so I thought ANNIHILATION was a brilliant adaptation. And I thought SORRY TO BOTHER YOU was a genre-defying tour de force.
Last but not least, an overlooked gem was the bizarre allegorical THE CLEANSE. Highly recommend.
yaypie
2018 was such a great year for movies!
Like @JazliAziz, I also loved Avengers: Infinity War. That it managed to bring together the stories and characters from more than a dozen movies made over the course of a decade was impressive, and that it did so while also being a fantastically entertaining movie is completely unprecedented in film history. It could have been a boggy mess, but instead it's an impeccably crafted rollercoaster ride.
Here are some of my other favorite movies from 2018 (excluding ones that have already been mentioned):
Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)Lake Tahoe, 1969. Seven strangers, each one with a secret to bury, meet at El Royale, a decadent motel with a dark past. In the course of a fateful night, everyone will have one last shot at redemption.letterboxd.com
Bad Times at the El Royale is like The Hateful Eight meets Smokin' Aces meets...something else. Four Rooms? I dunno. Anyway, it's delightful and dark and creepy and fun, and Cynthia Erivo completely steals the entire show. I loved it.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)Vignettes weaving together the stories of six individuals in the old West at the end of the Civil War. Following the tales of a sharp-shooting songster, a wannabe bank robber, two weary traveling performers, a lone gold prospector, a woman traveling the West to an uncertain future, and a motley crew of strangers undertaking a carriage ride.letterboxd.com
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is the Coen Brothers at their best, telling six stories that deftly weave comedy, drama, action, and pathos into a nihilistic Western that's like nothing else in the genre. I laughed. I cried. I pondered the meaninglessness of existence.
Game Night (2018)Max and Annie's weekly game night gets kicked up a notch when Max's brother Brooks arranges a murder mystery party -- complete with fake thugs and federal agents. So when Brooks gets kidnapped, it's all supposed to be part of the game.letterboxd.com
Game Night appears, on the surface, to be a silly comedy based on a silly premise. But it's so deftly executed, so consistently funny, and such a refreshing departure from modern movie comedy tropes that it rises above its genre.
It also wins a special award for my single favorite line delivery of the year: Rachel McAdams's "Yes! ... Oh no, he died!" when a henchman gets sucked into a jet engine. 😂
January 12 at 12:04 AM
Replying to Victoria
I watched Annihilation too. Thought it was very intriguing and somewhat disturbing, but I didn't like the abrupt ending. Found out after that it's actually a trilogy, so I'm looking forward to the sequel (there will be one I assume).
Awesome lists. Thanks! I have to add a few that we loved:
Free Solo (2018)From award-winning documentary filmmaker E. Chai Vasarhelyi (www.rottentomatoes.com
👆 Oh my God. Sweats. So many people around here talked about it.
A Private War (2018)In a world where journalism is under attack, Marie Colvin (Academy Award nominee Rosamund Pike) is one of the most celebrated war correspondents of our time. Colvin is an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, driven to the frontlines of conflicts across the globe to give voice to the voiceless, while constantly testing the limits between bravery and bravado.www.rottentomatoes.com
👆 Tough to watch but unforgettable.
The Grinch (2018) - IMDbDirected by Yarrow Cheney, Scott Mosier. With Benedict Cumberbatch, Cameron Seely, Rashida Jones, Pharrell Williams. A grumpy Grinch plots to ruin Christmas for the village of Whoville.www.imdb.com
👆 Not great reviews, but the kids LOVED it.
The Dawn Wall (2018)In January, 2015, American rock climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson captivated the world with their effort to climb the Dawn Wall, a seemingly impossible 3,000 foot rock face in Yosemite National Park, California. The pair lived on the sheer vertical cliff for weeks, igniting a frenzy of global media attention.www.rottentomatoes.com
👆 Another AMAZING climbing film. Oh my God.
Thoughts on the 2019 Oscar nominations list? You can see the full list here.
1 Reaction
January 23 at 6:30 AM
I don't usually pay much attention to award shows, but I'm seeing a lot of favourites from the list. Some movies just get nominated for so many categories.
I'm surprised Aquaman got snubbed though, especially for visual effects.
James Wan calls Aquaman's VFX Oscars snub a 'f***ing disgrace'Aquaman is a box office smash, ensuring that Jason Momoa's King of Atlantis has a franchise future in the DCEU, but that doesn't mean director James Wan is entirely happy with the film's reception in other areas.www.syfy.com
Sadly, I have seen almost none of the movies on this year’s list: usually I will have seen at least half the Oscar nominees.
Follow this conversation to get notified about new posts. Find it later in the "Following" feed.
Discover More Conversations
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2900
|
__label__wiki
| 0.920443
| 0.920443
|
20 years ago today: Brookfield Zoo gorilla helps boy who fell into habitat
Aug 16, 2016 | 9:51 AM
On Aug. 16, 1996, a crowd of visitors at Brookfield Zoo looked on in horror as they saw a toddler tumble more than 15 feet into a pit, landing near seven
On Aug. 16, 1996, a crowd of visitors at Brookfield Zoo looked on in horror as they saw a toddler tumble more than 15 feet into a habitat, landing near seven gorillas. But as zoo patrons cried out for help, expecting the worst for the 3-year-old boy lying on the concrete below, an unlikely hero emerged.
Binti-Jua, a rare western lowland gorilla, lumbered over to the boy, cradled him in her arms, carried him to a doorway and laid him gingerly at the feet of waiting paramedics. The female gorilla appeared to act out of purely maternalistic compassion for the human child.
Binti Jua, an 8-year-old female western lowlan gorilla, is shown in an image from television rescuing a toddler who fell into the primate exhibit on Aug. 16, 1996, at Brookfield Zoo (WLS-TV)
"She picked up the boy, kind of cradling him, and walked him around," Sondra Catzen, a zoo spokeswoman, told the Tribune at the time.
At first it appeared the boy had been knocked unconscious by the fall, witnesses told zoo officials, but he was alert and crying when paramedics reached him. The boy was treated at a hospital and recovered fully.
Within a few days, camera crews and reporters from England, Germany and Australia clamored to film Binti lounging at home. Dozens of people offered money to "adopt" her. And a Chicago grocer offered 25 pounds of free bananas.
Binti Jua, on Aug. 21, 2000, at the age of 12 at Brookfield Zoo. (Stephanie Sinclair/Chicago Tribune)
Binti's action 20 years ago was recalled by some people when a similar incident was in the news recently. In May, a 4-year-old boy fell into a moat at the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo. That accident had a much sadder outcome: a gorilla dragged the child for 10 minutes before the animal was shot and killed by a response team that believed the boy's life was in danger.
A male gorilla with a child who fell into a moat at the Cincinnati Zoo in May 2016.
Binti-Jua means "daughter of sunlight" in Swahili, but as an infant she had little real mothering. Born in the Columbus Zoo in Ohio in March 1988, she was treated with indifference by her mother, officials said. Humans had to cradle and handfeed Binti with a bottle. As she grew, other female apes groomed and socialized her.
Binti-Jua, then age 17, holds her male newborn in May 2005. (Carl Wagner / Chicago Tribune)
Once mature, Binti learned the basics of nurturing — to the benefit of her own offspring and, in a touching moment that captured the world's attention, an injured little boy.
Text from Chicago Tribune archives, wire reports.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2901
|
__label__cc
| 0.607616
| 0.392384
|
Coalition Success
Maryland Passes Ban on Fracking
In March 2017, a number of successes came out of Maryland’s state legislature, including a ban on hydraulic fracturing. The ban to protect the precious Marcellus Shale formation, local waterways, and drinking water in the Western part of the state had overwhelming, bipartisan support and Maryland’s Republican Governor, Larry Hogan, signed and passed the ban into law noting that, “Protecting our natural clean water supply and natural resources is critically important to Marylanders, and we simply cannot allow the door to open for fracking in our state”. Maryland and New York are the only two states that have banned fracking in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
The threat of natural gas development within the Bay watershed has been a long contested debate. For the last nine years, the Coalition’s Shale Workgroup has pushed back at the local, state, and regional level to champion precedent setting policies to address the impacts of shale gas drilling. The significance of this historic ban speaks volumes to the work of Coalition members, specifically in Western Maryland. Efforts on the ground in favor of Maryland’s fracking ban legislation was seen from 37 diverse Coalition members, including faith groups, sportsmen, and conservation non-profits. Strong support was vocalized through a series of sign-on letters addressed to Governor Hogan and six state legislators whose districts would be impacted by fracked natural gas.
Maryland’s ban on fracking is not just a huge victory for one portion of the Chesapeake watershed, it will also protect drinking water for tens of thousands of people and species of wildlife. This victory signifies the importance of collaboration and working together. Each member of the Choose Clean Water Coalition -no matter how big or small- plays a key role in protecting the Chesapeake. The ban serves as a Coalition win and demonstrates the power of our ability to provide capacity to our members and drive strategic action for the protection of our natural resources.
Mariah Davis is the field manager for the Choose Clean Water Coalition.
Tagged: Shale, Fracking, Maryland, 2017
Newer PostClean Water Advocates Rally for Chesapeake Bay
Older PostConservation Collaboration in New York
Coalition Successes
Watershed-wide
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2902
|
__label__wiki
| 0.602915
| 0.602915
|
Back and Forth MK x Jonas Blue x Becky Hill Download 'Back and Forth' on iTunes
Titanic Photo Expected To Sell For £8,000
A photo of the Titanic, taken in Southampton the day before she left, is expected to fetch up to £8,000 at auction.
The large, sepia image of the liner was bought in a Parisian flea market more than 40 years ago - and shows workmen doing some last finishing touches.
It's going under the hammer in Wiltshire - along with items like a fur coat worn by a stewardess.
The photo is undated but was probably taken on April 9 in 1912, the day before the Titanic left Southampton for her maiden voyage to New York.
Five days later, the trip ended in tragedy when the vessel struck an iceberg and sank, claiming the lives of more than 1,500 passengers and crew.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge, of Henry Aldridge and Son, described the image as ``one of the finest photographs of the Titanic we have had the privilege of auctioning''.
``The clarity and detail are astonishing with the image capturing abseiling cleaning windows and even a workman on a gantry touching up the paint work on the hull, preparing the final finishing touches before she left Southampton for the first and last time,'' he said.
``The provenance is remarkable as it was purchased in a Parisian flea market over 40 years ago alongside some other marine related images.
``What makes it so remarkable is the level of detail, it is truly incredible and certainly the most detailed I have seen.''
The picture, measuring 18 inches by 11 inches, is expected to fetch between £5,000 and £8,000 at auction.
It will be sold at auction by Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes, Wiltshire.
A fur worn by stewardess Mabel Bennett, who wore the heavy coat for protection from the cold as she boarded a lifeboat, is also expected to sell for up to £8,000.
(Picture: Henry Aldridge and Son)
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0042.json.gz/line2904
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.